Editing Hendrik Conscience (section)

===''The Lion of Flanders''===
[[File:Nicaise de Keyser02.jpg|thumb|A romanticized 1836 depiction of the [[Battle of the Golden Spurs]] by [[Nicaise de Keyser]]. Conscience's ''Lion of Flanders'' tapped into a popular interest in the battle ]]
His father thought it so vulgar of his son to write a book in Dutch that he evicted him, and the celebrated novelist of the future started for Antwerp, with a fortune which was strictly confined to two francs and a bundle of clothes. An old schoolfriend found him in a street and took him home. Soon people of standing, amongst them the painter [[Gustaf Wappers]], showed interest in the unfortunate young man. Wappers even gave him a suit of clothes and eventually presented him to [[Leopold I of Belgium|King Leopold I]], who ordered the ''Wonderjaer'' to be added to the libraries of every Belgian school. But it was with Leopold's patronage that Conscience published his second book, ''Fantasy'', in 1837. A small appointment in the provincial archives relieved him from the actual pressure of want, and, in 1838, he made his first great success with the historical novel ''[[De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (book)|De Leeuw van Vlaenderen]]'' (''The Lion of Flanders''), which still holds its place as one of his masterpieces,{{sfn|Gosse|1911|p=971}} the influence of which extended far beyond the literary sphere. Despite the commercial success of the book, its high printing costs meant that Conscience did not receive much money from its sales.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=164}}

During the 19th century, many [[nationalist]]-minded writers, poets and artists in various European countries were turning characters from their countries' respective histories and myths into [[Romanticism|romantic]] icons of national pride. With ''The Lion of Flanders'' Conscience did this successfully with the character of [[Robert III of Flanders|Robert of Bethune]], the eldest son of Guy de Dampierre, count of Flanders, crusader and, most importantly from Conscience's point of view, a prominent protagonist in a struggle to maintain the autonomy of Flanders against great odds.

Historians have accused Conscience of historical inaccuracies, such as depicting his hero to have taken part in the [[Battle of the Golden Spurs]] which, in fact, he did not. It was also pointed out that in reality ''The Lion of Flanders'' did not speak Dutch. Neither did his father, the count of Flanders Guy de Dampierre. Yet Robert of Bethune, "The Lion of Flanders", is still presented as a symbol of Flemish pride and freedom, which is due to the romantic, albeit incorrect portrayal by Conscience. Conscience's portrayal also inspired ''[[De Vlaamse Leeuw]]'' ("The Flemish Lion"), the long-time unofficial anthem of Flemish nationalists and only recently recognised officially as the anthem of Flanders.