In Ghent

The autograph of the Liber Floridus has been preserved in Ghent since the thirteenth century. First at St. Bavo’s Abbey, and then later at St. Bavo’s Cathedral. This is not surprising as there were numerous exchanges and contacts between St. Omer and the Flemish cities. After the French Revolution, the manuscript was confiscated and added to the collection of the Ghent Municipal Library. Along with other works, it was given to Ghent University on permanent loan shortly after the foundation of the university in 1817.

The Liber Floridus is an important source for the early history of the County of Flanders. For instance, it contains the oldest fragment of an account of the Count of Flanders and one of the later additions contains one of the oldest references to the Battle of the Spurs (1513). Lambert also included details of the glorious deeds of the Counts of Flanders in his book.

Bibliography:

Derolez, A., The autograph manuscript of the Liber Floridus. A key to the Encyclopedia of Lambert of Saint-Omer, Corpus Christianorum Autographi Medii Aevi. Turnhout, Brepols, 1998.