Judith of West Francia, Carolingian Princess and First Countess of Flanders: Biographical Elements and Legacy, ed. Steven Vanderputten. Turnhout: Brepols, 2024, 254 pp., 19 colour images, 2 tables.

On the cover of this edited volume, Judith (b. ca. 843–d. before 879?) stares the reader in the face. Unlike the original portrait painted by the Belgian painter Albert De Vriendt in 1889, the cover does not present Judith in full-length, but up close. We thus catch her most important features: a veiled head adorned with a golden crown set with pearls and precious stones; rich robes of which the mantle is held into position with a fibula; and in her hands a miniature church which is thought to represent the church of St. Donatian in Bruges (see Introduction, p. 37, n 86). This close-up feature of Judith nicely embodies one of the goals of this volume: a detailed study of Judith and the different medieval and postmedieval textual and material sources mentioning her and her family so that insights are gained in her life and legacy.