FLEMISH LANGUAGE. 7 2 1 on an equal basis with French and Latin. The movement was checked by the French occupation in 1794, and, as noted above, it was not until Jan Frans Willems appeared that Flemish became a literary language. As earlj as isis Willems set forth his views concerning the value of Flemish and its ancient history in liis dissertation, Sim la langue et la litttirature tu'-crlandaises, par rap- port aux province* meridionales des Pays-Bas. The movement was actively supported by the Government until 1830, when it received a tem porary setback. Scum, however, the Government returned to its policy of encouragement, and in 1830 commissioned Willems to publish the Middle-Flemish poem of Reinaert, which lie had discovered. This was followed by other texts in rapid succession. At the same time a Flemish annual, ,Y< :■»/< rdiiitseli letterkutidig jaarboekje, was being published by Kens, and was in a nourishing condition. Other pioneers with Willems were David, the founder of the review De Middalaer, Serrure, Snellaert, Blommaert.-and Bormans, of whom the last four collaborated in the Bt-lgsch Museum, which was edited by Willems. One of the most important of the early Flemish writers was Charles-Louis Ledeganck, whose poetry marks an epoch in the history of the literature, in such contributions as his Hint-mat mijncr It-nte, and De Hut in 't Wotrd. He became later also a prose-writer in his De Zinnelooze and Vaarwel tot .de jeugd ; but his masterpiece is the poem De drie Zustcrsteden, in praise of Ghent, Bruges, and Anvers, the three capitals of Flanders. The Mid- dle Flemish literature, whose study had been be- gun by Willems, was continued ably by Serrure in his Yaderlandseh Museum (1855-61), and by David, Bormans, and Snellaert. The most im- portant of the early novelists was Hendrick Con- science, whose masterpiece was his Artevelde, published in 1850, but who was a most prolific author, writing no less than seventy-one books. Theodor van Rijswijck returned to poetry, pub- lishing Oorspronkelijlce Yerhalen and Eppenstein, and his masterpiece describing the Flemish as- pirations, Antigonus. Contemporary with Van Rijswijck was Van Beers, the poet, famous for his Levensbeelden, Gevocl en Leren. and his long epic Begga. Following Conscience came a line of novelists, of whom Delcroix, author of Geld of Liefde and Philippine ran Ylaandrrrn, Sleeckx, who wrote Yolksverhalen, In 't Schipperskwatier, Op 't eksterlaar, and Dirk Meyer, and Snieders, well known for his De gasthuisnon. Romanticism found an exponent in Bergmann's Yerspreide schetsen en novellen (written under the pseudo- nym of 'Tony' ) . A new generation arose — one which had not to create, but to develop, a move- ment. Here are prominent the names of Dant- zenberg, whose Yolksliederen were followed by the poems of De Cort and Van Droogenbroeck. The novel, to which Conscience had contributed so copiously, also received fresh inspiration in Madame Courtmans, who wrote fifty-eight ro- mances, of which the most important are Roza van den Buschkant, Moeder Daneel, Het plan ran Heintje Barbier, De Koeirachter, and Het rod der fortuin. Two poetesses, the sisters Rosalie and Virginie Loveling, are important figures in the literature of Flanders : and their novels, such as Broeder at Zuster, M. Datnien en snjne erfge- nanirn. by Rosalie, and Sidon, Kmiliannt jr. and Oetarie en Estelle, by Virginie, are also worthy of note. Of the West Flemish authors the chief is FLERS. the Ahhe Guido Gezelle, whose poem preach the piety of the > Ihurch militant in in //• I ningi n and in Gi dit hti n <■- wngi n en ', The drama has also been developed bj the Flem- ish, who tend especially, like the Dutch, to ird comedj . I . pecia llj noti orth -. pi oducl en- in thi branch of literature are the )/■■ I I.ik till and /.an, ,i In, .,t Sli ile, a large number of [ess important plays. Consult: Schuerman llgemeen I laamsch Idioticon (Louvaiii. IS50-70); De Ho... West Vlaamseh Idioticon (2d ed., Ghent, 1892); Delepicrre, Sketch o) the History o) I '• »<< ./< Lit erature (London, I860); Vercoullie, Spraakleei ran het Westvlaam , I, (Ghent, 1894); Adriaen- sen, Vlaamseh Voezic (Ziitphen, L889) ; Steelier. Ilislnirt dt- la Ui imii an nterlamdaisi en !'•■ I gique (Brussels, 1887); Arjuna, Dii vlaim ■ .<<■ Bewegung (Cothen. 1807 1; llamclius. HiKlmrt politique ti litt&raire tin mouvement flamand (Brussels, 1894); Snellaert and de I'.iller, Vlaamschi bibliographie (Ghent, 1857 et seq I. FLEMMING, I'm l. See I-'i.kmim;. Pail. FLEMMING, Walteb (1843—). A (;. anatomist. He was born at Sachsenberg, Ger- many. April 21, 1S43. He studied at Gbttingen, Tubingen, Berlin, and Rostock, lie was privat- docent in the last-named place in 1871. in Prague in 1872, and since 18~ti lie has been professor of anatomy in Kiel. His contributions to the knowledge of the finer structure of the cell, and of the process of mitosis, have been very im- portant. He has written Zellsubstanz, Kern wnd Zelltheilung (1882) ; Beitrage zur Kermtniss der '/., lit n wnd Hirer Lebenserscheinttngen ( 187!' si I ; Sludien iiber Regeneration der Gewebe (1885); Xeue Beitrage (1887-91). FLENSBURG, flens'boorK. A town in the northern part of the Prussian Province of Schles- wig-Holstein, pleasantly situated at the end of the Flensburg Fiord, on the Baltic, about 40 miles northwest of Kiel (Map: Prussia, C 1). The buildings worthy of mention are the Marien- kirche, the Nicholaikirche, the court-house, and the theatre. The Flensburg Lion in the old churchyard dates from 1853, and was erected by the Danes to commemorate their victory at Idstedt. It was taken to Prussia by the Germans in 1804. The old cemetery is noteworthy, and contains a sphinx by Thorwaldsen. The fiord is a beautiful stretch of water, and the whole vicinity is attractive. The industries include ship-building, the manufacture of iron and ma- chinery, the production of paper, cloth, carpets, cement, and vinegar. There are oil and rice mills. The city's trade is largely in grain, lumber, coffee. sugar, horses, and fat cattle. The fisheries are productive. Flensburg is the official town of the circle. Population, in 1895, 40.840: in 1000. 48,- 922. The town dates from the twelfth century. Queen Margaret, founder of the Union of Kalmar, died here in 1412. Flensburg was captured twice in the Thirty Years' War. and has suffered much from military campaigns. Severe battles were fought, in its vicinity in the Schleswig-Holstein wars. FLERS, flar. A town in the Department of Orne, France, 41 miles by rail from Aleneon ( Map : France. F 3) . It has an old castle, dating from the sixteenth century, and a Norman church. There are considerable manufactures of
