The Flemish Committee of France is a French association, constituted as a scholarly and cultural society with publishing responsibilities. It is dedicated to the study, preservation and dissemination of

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

French Flanders French Flanders ( ; ; ) is a part of the historical County of Flanders, where Flemish—a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch—was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French regi ...

, with particular emphasis on

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. Founded on 10 April 1853 in

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

as the ''Comité flamand de France'', bearing the motto ''Moedertael en Vaderland'' as of 1 July, the society emerged under the leadership of

Edmond de Coussemaker Charles Edmond Henri de Coussemaker (19 April 1805 – 10 January 1876) was a French musicologist and ethnologist focusing mainly on the cultural heritage of French Flanders. He was a defender of the French Flemish, Dutch language in France. B ...

at a time when the use of the

Flemish language Flemish ( ) is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to the region known as Flanders in northern Belgium; it is spoke ...

remained a delicate matter in the region. It has operated continuously under this French designation since its inception and, through the

publication To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Convention, articl ...

of a bulletin and

annals Annals (, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction betw ...

, as well as the organisation of

lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...

s, ranks among the oldest

learned societies A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The committee is based in

Hazebrouck Hazebrouck (, , , ) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1880, when French was taught ...

, where it maintains a

special library A special library is a library that provides specialized information resources on a particular subject, serves a specialized and limited clientele, and delivers specialized services to that clientele. Special libraries include corporate librar ...

that houses its own publications alongside a collection of regional works. It is also entrusted with the custodianship of the collections of the Jeanne Devos Museum in

Wormhout Wormhout (; before 1975: ''Wormhoudt''; ) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Several people in Wormhout still speak West Flemish, a local dialect of Dutch and the traditional language of the region, while French-speaker ...

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

* �
Comité flamand de France website
* �
Annals from 1853 to 1999 at Gallica
* �
Bulletins from 1857 to 2000 at Gallica
{{Authority control, state=collapsed Learned societies of France Cultural organizations based in France Organizations established in 1853 1853 establishments in France