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Data Source: Mmmonk

• The Excellente Cronike van Vlaenderen is a history on the county of Flanders and the lives of its rulers, written by Anthonis de Roovere (d. 1482), city poet of Bruges. It is a continuation of earlier historiographical genealogical writings that run until the 1420s, and was extended and rewritten several times during the tumultuous fifteenth century by members of the elite in the major Flemish cities, suspicious of the growing power of the dukes of Burgundy. This copy contains the so-called Bruges redaction, running up until the 1480s. The text is presented in two columns per page and written in a cursive script. Initials are mainly in red, occasionally in blue, and red ink is also used to underline titles, add rubrics, and emphasize initials. The upper margin has been cropped to such extent, that it is nearly completely missing. In between the text the heraldic coats of arms of the several Flemish counts and countesses can be found. Four full page drawings have been added to the more recent events, showing (f. 361v) Mary of Burgundy on horseback, surrounded by the coats of arms of her principalities; (f. 378r) the capture of Cambrai by the French in 1477, with the imperial coat of arms above the city gate being replaced by the French; (f. 384r) Maximilian courting Mary; and (f. 400v) Maximilian being admitted to knighthood. The binding is modern and consists of parchment over cardboard. The manuscript was owned by the Bruges collector Willem Deys (1760-1828), and after his death acquired by the Public Library Bruges at an auction. [Summary by Dr. Mark Vermeer]