FLAMBARD, RANDOLPH, a Norman who came over with the Conqueror to England and became chaplain to William Rufus, whom he abetted and pandered to in his vices, in return for which, and a heavy sum he paid, he was in 1099 made bishop of Durham.

FLAMBOYANT, the name given, from the flame-like windings of its tracery, to a florid style of architecture in vogue in France during the 15th and 16th centuries.

FLAMENS, priests elected in Rome by the people and consecrated by the chief pontiff to the service of a particular god, such as Jupiter, Mars, &c.

FLAMINIUS, CAIUS, a Roman tribune and consul, who constructed the Flaminian Way; perished at Lake Trasimene, where he was defeated by Hannibal in the Second Punic War, 217 B.C.

FLAMINIUS, T. QUINTUS, a Roman consul, who defeated Philip of Macedon and proclaimed the freedom of Greece, and it was his close neighbourhood to Hannibal that induced the latter to take poison rather than fall into his hands (230-174 B.C.).

FLAMMARION, CAMILLE, French astronomer, born at Montigny-le-Roi; he was attached to the Paris Observatory in 1858, and by means of books and lectures has spent a busy life in popularising his science; many of his works have been translated into English; b. 1842.

FLAMSTEED, JOHN, the first astronomer-royal of England, born near Derby; his devotion to astronomy gained him the favour of Sir Jonas Moore, who was the means of getting him the appointment of astronomer-royal in 1675; from the Observatory of Greenwich, specially built for his use, he catalogued the fixed stars and supplied Newton with useful information bearing on his lunar theory; in 1675 he took holy orders, and was presented to the living of Burstow in Surrey, which he held till his death (1646-1719).

FLANDERS, the land of the Flemings, borders upon the North Sea, formerly extended from the Scheldt to the Somme, and included, besides the present Belgian provinces of East and West Flanders, part of Zealand, and also of Artois, in France; the ancient county dates from 862, in which year Charles the Bold of France, as suzerain, raised it to the status of a sovereign county, and bestowed it upon his son Baldwin I.; it has successively belonged to Spain and Austria, and in Louis XIV.’s reign a portion of it was ceded to France, now known as French Flanders, while Zealand passed into the hands of the Dutch; the remainder was in 1714 made the Austrian Netherlands, and in 1831 was incorporated with the new kingdom of BELGIUM (q. v.).

FLANDRIN, a French painter, born at Lyons; was a pupil of Ingres; represented the religious movement in art in the 19th century (1809-1864).

FLAUBERT, GUSTAVE, a realistic romancer, born at Rouen; author of “Madame Bovary,” a study of provincial life, which became the subject of a prosecution, and “Salammbo,” wonderful for its vigour and skill in description; he indulged in repulsive subjects (1821-1880).