Der Löwe von Flandern

This book by the Flemish author Hendrik Conscience (1812-1883) was first published in 1838. This German language edition was first published in 1919, the printed edition has 424 pages, the ebook edition has 5570 locations.

This is the story of the 'Battle of the Golden Spurs' (also known as the Battle of Courtrai) which was fought on July 11, 1302, near Kortrijk (Courtrai) in Flanders. The background is a revolt by the Flemish against their French rulers. In this historical novel there is also a lovestory as a second theme. Conscience did extensive historical research before writing this book, he does make one mistake though: he writes in this book that Robrecht III of Béthune fought with the Flemings, while in reality the real historical Robrecht imprisoned was by the French.

Hendrik Conscience was a convinced Fleming (even though his father was French, his mother was Flemish). His sympathy for the Flemings is very clear in this book: the Flemings are the good guys and the French are the bad guys (but the worst are the Fleminsh traitors). The language is a bit dated, the book has a slower pace than modern books. The battle itself is descibed with a lot of details, it is very bloody, This book is a historical novel, based on real facts, that is entertaining and worth your time. I recommend this book to anyone who likes historical stories.