Battle of the Golden Spurs

The writer Conscience popularized the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1838 in his magnum opus The Lion of Flanders. The 'man who taught his people to read' did take considerable liberties with the truth. Conscience spoke of tens of thousands of soldiers at Groeningeveld. In reality, about 8,000 Flemings stood against approximately the same number of, albeit much better-armed, French soldiers. Even among those 'Flemish' forces, necessary qualifications must be made: the commander-in-chief Jan Van Renesse was a Zealandic, the other major leader was Gwijde of Namur from - what's in a name - Namur. Robert of Bethune, the 'Lion of Flanders' from Conscience's novel, was nowhere to be found on the battlefield on July 11, 1302.

Dromos