Gezelle, Guido, 1830-99, Flemish poet, b. Bruges, a Roman Catholic priest. A forerunner of the Flemish literary revival, he was the leading poet of the Flemings. In six volumes of lyrics, especially Rijmsnoer [necklace of rhymes] (1897), he combined a love of nature, a championing of the Flemish cause, and an intense feeling for religion. He wrote in the popular idiom of his region.