Hof der dingen - Octave Landuyt’s Biscuit Tin

Even at the coffee table, West Flemish people pay tribute to their national history. In 1952, the Coutray-based company Kerkhof-Grijspeerdt launched a biscuit tin decorated with scenes from the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302). 

The company name may not ring a bell, but you will likely remember the network of neighbourhood shops called Centra, launched by this food distribution group in 1947. 

The illustrations on this tin are the work of renowned Ghent painter Octave Landuyt, who passed away in 2024 at the age of 101. The images depict, among others, fighters from the battle in medieval clothing and armour—figures such as Jan Breydel and Pieter De Coninck—and the death of Robert of Artois at the hands of Willem van Saeftinghe. 

The year 1302 is etched into the collective memory of many Flemish people. On 11 July of that year, an army of Flemish farmers and craftsmen defeated a professionally equipped and trained French army. In 1302, a tax increase proved the final straw, causing people to revolt. Under the banner of Pieter De Coninck and Jan Breydel, the people of West Flanders rose against the French occupiers and the local Flemish patricians alike. 

The confrontation took place near Groeninge Abbey in Courtray, where—so the story goes—the French were defeated. As a trophy, the victors are said to have hung the captured golden spurs of the French knights in Courtray’s Church of Our Lady. 

Victory was fleeting, the Battle of the Golden Spurs still burns brightly as a symbol of Flemish identityToday, 11 July is the official Flemish holiday, with the Minister-President of Flanders delivering his traditional speech at the Groeninge Monument in Courtray on the eve of the celebrations. 

And fittingly, in Courtray, you can also visit a museum dedicated entirely to this historic battle.