presentation of a research product at the University Library of Leiden, on the lecture notes written down by students of the faculty of Art(e)s, between the foundation of the university and 1815

1. Voices from the Past:
Lecture Notes from the
University of Leiden,
1575-1815
An Smets
Elsevier Heritage Collection Fellowship Lectures
Amsterdam, December 11th 2012

3. 1) Historical context
2) Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
3) Comparison with Louvain lecture
notes 1425 – 1797

4. Historical Context :
University of Leiden
- 03.10.1574: relief of the City of Leiden
- 08.02.1575: official foundation University of Leiden
- 1577: first students lists
- 1811-1815: rector Brugmans under French
gouvernance
- 02.08.1815: Rijksuniversiteit + first law on higher
education in the Netherlands
- 2011/2012: 19328 students, 7 faculties

5. Historical Context :
students 16th – 18th c.
- boys from rich families
- minimum age (1631-): 12 years
- maximum age (1581-): 30 years
- 2-3% inhabitants city of Leiden
- 1575-1600: ca. 55 students / year
1626-1650: ca. 120 students / year
1675-1800: less than 100 students / year

6. Historical Context :
Academic Teaching in Leiden
before 1815 faculty of Artes
faculty of Law faculty of Medecine
faculty of Theology
after1815
faculty of Arts faculty of mathematics
and physics
faculty of Law
faculty of Theology
faculty of Medecine

7. Historical Context :
Faculty of Artes 1575-1815
combination of medieval artes liberales + humanism
teaching language: Latin
manuscripts and books
Titus Livius ed. I. Gronovius
EHC 12.1678.Liv02

8. Historical Context :
Faculty of Artes 1575-1815
subject matters:
- language: rhetorics, dialectics
Latin, Greek and Oriental languages (1613-)
- philosophy: ethics, logic, metaphysics
- sciences: mathematics (including astronomy) and physics
- additional classes: history, economics,…

9. Historical Context :
Lecture notes
written by
- students during class (“dictation”)
- students reworking their notes taken during class
- “uitschrijvers van academielessen”
taken during private and public classes
BPL 467, f. 1 BPL 3539, covers v. 4 and 5

10. Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
website UL Leiden: more 850 lecture notes
(from different universities)
http://www.bibliotheek.leidenuniv.nl/bijzondere-
collecties/handschriftenarchievenbrieven/deelcollecties-whs-
modern.html#collegedictaten
of those: probably 172 lecture notes faculty of Artes,
Leiden, 1575-1815
of those: 123 texts examined on the manuscript
+ 40 texts not belonging to the final list

11. Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
probably 172 lecture notes faculty of Artes, Leiden, 1575-
1815
- lecture notes or other surveys of knowledge?
- (grammatical) explanations on biblical texts
 artes or theology?
- professors teaching at different universities
 were the lecture notes taken at Leiden university?
- no names of students or of professors
 were the lecture notes taken at Leiden university?
…

12. Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
division by century
16th c.: 2 texts (bound together)
17th c.: 24 texts
18th c.: 70 texts
19th c.: 71 texts
unknown: 5 texts
BPL 2783, f. 1

13. Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
division by subject
language: 100 texts
history: 60 texts
economy / politics: 8 texts
philosophy: 6 texts
sciences: 4 texts

14. Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
language: 100 texts
 Latin (73), Greek (16), Latin + Greek (2), Arab (5), Dutch
(4)
history: 60 texts
 the Netherlands (16), Greek Ant. (13), Roman Ant. (13)
economy / politics: 8 texts
philosophy: 6 texts
 metaphysics (4), logic (1), history of philosophy (1)
sciences: 4 texts  physics and cosmology

15. Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
division by language
Latin: 83 texts
Latin + Greek: 46 texts
Latin (+ Greek) + vernacular: 27 texts
Latin + Greek + Hebrew: 5 texts
Latin + Dutch (equiv.): 1 text
Dutch: 10 texts
BPL 1630, f. 18

16. Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
number of lecture notes by professor
21 known professors, 164 texts
1 text: 4 professors (Boxhorn, Corvinus, Gronovius jr., Mure)
2 texts: 3 professors (Lipsius, Pestel, Perizonius)
3 texts: 2 professors (Speyert vander Eyk, Tollius)
4 texts: 2 professors (Siegenbeek, Van der Palm)
5 texts: 1 professor (Schultens)
6 texts: 1 professor (Ruhnkenius)
9 texts: 1 professor (Oudendorp)
10 texts: 1 professor (Valckenaer)
12 texts: 2 professors (Burman, Hemsterhuis)
13 texts: 1 professor (Luzac)
14 texts: 1 professor (Kluit)
21 texts: 1 professor (Gronovius sr.)
38 texts: 1 professor (Wyttenbach)

17. Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
number of lecture notes by student
26 known students, 48 texts
1 text: 18 students
2 texts: 3 students
4 texts: 2 students
5 texts: 2 students
6 texts: 1 student
BPL 1333, v. 1, f. 1

18. Leiden lecture notes 1575 – 1815
special case: Duytsche Mathematique
= engineering school
1600 – 1681 and 1701 – 1815
caracteristics
- classes in Dutch
- practical classes, e.g. fortification
BPL 626, f. 2

19. Leiden lecture notes : Duytsche Mathematique
BPL 1351, f. 68v-69
BPL 1351, f. 153 BPL 1969, f. 68

20. Comparison with Louvain lecture notes
1425 – 1797
cf. Ex Cathedra-project (03-09.2012)
http://expo.bib.kuleuven.be/
differences
- subjects: logic, physics, metaphysics
- language: only Latin
- (almost) always title page with name student, name
professor(s) and date
- much more illustrations

21. Comparison with Louvain lecture notes
emblemata

22. Literature
Maanen, J.A. van. Facets of seventeenth century mathematics in the
Netherlands, Utrecht 1987.
Otterspeer, Willem. De wiekslag van hun geest. De Leidse universiteit in de
negentiende eeuw. Den Haag 1992.
Otterspeer, Willem. Groepsportret met dame I. Het bolwerk van de vrijheid, de
Leidse universiteit 1575-1672. Amsterdam 2000.
Sluijter, Ronald G.H. 2004. ‘Tot ciraet, vermeerderinge ende heerlyckmaeckinge
der universiteyt’. Bestuur, instellingen, personeel en financiën van de Leidse
universiteit, 1575-1812. Hilversum 2004.
Vanpaemel, Geert – Smeyers, Katharina – Smets, An – Van der Meijden,
Diewer. Ex cathedra. Leuvense collegedictaten van de 16e tot de 18e eeuw.
Leuven 2012.