Showing posts with label Flanders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flanders. Show all posts

July 11 - Guldensporenslag — Flemish National Day

    Posted on July 11, 2022     


This is an update of my post published on July 11, 2011:





The Flemish National Day commemorates a bloody battle fought in 1302 between a large, well-armed French army with a core of 2,500 noble cavalry (knights on horses), on the one hand, and on the other hand a large, well-armed group of Flemish peasants and townsfolk. (Actually, once the battle was going, the Flemish army was supplemented by some Flemish nobles—but the original battle was an uprising of “ordinary folk” against nobilty.) 

One reason this particular battle is celebrated is because the “ordinary folk” won! Apparently, a large cavalry force had been considered to be invincible, and military thought at the time dictated that each cavalryman (knight on a horse) was equal to ten infantryman (foot soldiers). This battle made everyone re-think military strategy.


The battle is called the Guldensporenslag, or Battle of the Golden Spurs, because Flemish soldiers gathered hundreds (or even thousands) of golden spurs from the French knights who were killed. The golden spurs were hung in a church as a kind of victory trophy.

Although today's world has no independent nation called Flanders, the Flemish live on in the Dutch-speaking portion of Belgium. This holiday is the is the official Flemish Celebration Day.



For more on the battle and the day, check out the colorful illustrations and information found here

One of my favorite spots in Flanders is Brugge, a picturesque city with walls and canals. I loved wandering the streets, taking a million photos, and eating Belgian fries hot off the street carts (they had a bunch of special sauces you can dip your fries into, which made it especially fun and delicious!).







To see more photos of Brugge, check out this travel blog.



June 29 – Shrimp Festival in Flanders

Posted June 27, 2013

You want to catch some shrimp? You're going to need a boat!

Unless, that is, you live in Flanders.

Apparently Flanders (the northern part of Belgium) is pretty much the only place in the world in which people still catch shrimp on horseback. 


This traditional “fishing” style involves riding into the ocean on horseback—nice and slowly—and when the horses are chest-deep in water, using nets to scoop up tiny gray shrimp. This traditional practice is celebrated this weekend in the town of Oostduinkerke, in the Shrimp Festival. Tourists come from all over to watch the horseback fishing—and of course to eat the shrimp!

How do the Belgians eat the gray shrimp? Two typical dishes are tomatoes stiffed with shrimp and mayonnaise and fried shrimp.

Have a shrimp festival of your own!

  • Take a peek at Shrimp on a Treadmill. (I think it's possible that some people have too much time on their hands!) 

Also on this date:






























Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest pages on June holidayshistorical anniversaries in June, and June birthdays.


And here are my Pinterest pages on July holidayshistorical anniversaries in July, and July birthdays.

June 28 – Happy Birthday, Peter Paul Rubens!

Posted June 27, 2013

There are people who make a splash in a big way, in this world, and Rubens made his splash with colorful paint!

This Flemish painter was born on this date way back in 1577. (Flanders is now a part of Belgium, but Rubens was actually born in Germany but moved to Antwerp, Flanders, when he was 11 or 12 years old.)

Rubens had a happy family life.
Here is a self-portrait in which
he included his wife and son.

(Yes, the kid in the "dress" is a boy.
I read that the blue sash indicated
that this was clothing appropriate
for little boys.)
Rubens used a lot of color and captured a lot of movement in his paintings, and his portraits were popular with nobility. He was able to run a large studio, and he was knighted by the kings of Spain and England!

By the way, the reason that Germany lost Rubens to Flanders was because his parents faced religious persecution and fled their homes. Religious persecution is just never a good idea!











  • Here is a page about Rubens that includes a brief bio, pictures, games and puzzles.

  • Here is a coloring page featuring a Rubens piece. 


  • Rubens had a “secret garden” at his house/studio, which is now a museum. Check it out. 


Here is Peter Paul Rubens's signature, which
identified his paintings as his own. Come up
with a signature of your own—maybe your whole
name, or just your first 
or last name, or just your
initials.


Also on this date:





















Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest pages on June holidayshistorical anniversaries in June, and June birthdays.

And here are my Pinterest pages on July holidayshistorical anniversaries in July, and July birthdays.

July 11, 2011 - Guldensporenslag

Flemish National Day


This day commemorates a bloody battle fought in 1302 between a large, well-armed French army with a core of 2,500 noble cavalry, on the one hand, and on the other hand a large, well-armed group of Flemish peasants and townsfolk. (Actually, once the battle was going, the Flemish army was supplemented by some Flemish nobles—but the original battle was an uprising of “ordinary folk” against noblemen.) One reason this particular battle is celebrated is because the “ordinary folk” won! Apparently, a large cavalry force had been considered to be invincible, and military thought at the time dictated that each cavalryman (knight on a horse) was equal to ten infantryman (foot soldiers). This battle made everyone re-think military strategy.

This is called the Battle of the Golden Spurs because Flemish soldiers gathered hundreds (or even thousands) of golden spurs from the French knights who were killed. The golden spurs were hung in a church as a kind of victory trophy.

Although today's world has no independent nation called Flanders, the Flemish live on in the Dutch-speaking portion of Belgium. This holiday is the is the official Flemish Celebration Day.

For more on the battle and the day, check out the colorful illustrations and information found here

One of my favorite spots in Flanders is Brugge, a picturesque city with walls and canals. I loved wandering the streets, taking a million photos, and eating Belgian fries hot off the street carts (they had a bunch of special sauces you can dip your fries into, which made it especially fun and delicious!). To see other people's millions of photos, check out the slide show on Virtual Tourist. (Just click the photo to go to the next one.) Or scroll to the bottom of the Wikipedia page to see some gorgeous panorama shots of the city.