(1812-1883)
Hendrik Conscience was born in Antwerp on 3 December 1812. A schoolteacher, he served in the patriot army during the Belgian Revolution and then returned to Antwerp to work as a journalist. He began to write fiction, first in French, and then more and more in Dutch. His first novel In 't won-derjaar (In the wonder year) appeared in 1837. Conscience moved to Brussels as curator of the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts and continued to write, publishing over 100 books. He is credited as a creator of the Flemish novel and a dominant figure in modern Flemish literature. His novel De leeuw van Vlaanderen (The lion of Flanders [1838]) includes a preface listing Flemish grievances against French-language dominance in Flanders. Conscience founded the journal Vlaamsch België in Brussels in 1843. He died in Ixelles on 10 September 1883.
Historical Dictionary of Brussels. Paul F. State.