The first Forum Antiquum lecture of the new term (at Leiden University) will take place on Thursday September 21. The guest this time will be Dr. Floris Verhaart (University of Warwick). Registration is not necessary, but if you would like to join for dinner (with the speaker), please e-mail to c.pieper@hum.leidenuniv.nl by Monday, 18 September at the latest.
Title: Dominicus Baudius (1561-1613): Letters, Work, and (Love) Life of a Leiden Professor in the Seventeenth Century
Abstract: Born in Lille in 1561, Dominicus Baudius became one of the most widely read letter writers of the seventeenth century. At least fourteen printed editions of his correspondence – most of which is in Latin – were printed between 1615 and 1662. Interestingly, the published text of many of Baudius’ letters was heavily censored. Together with Paul Botley (University of Warwick), I am preparing a critical edition of Baudius’ letters, and in this paper I will discuss how we can reconstruct the original text of the correspondence with the help of e.g. manuscript evidence and what the reasons may have been for the seventeenth-century editors to interfere in these letters. I will also offer a brief introduction to Baudius’ eventful life and work as a professor at the University of Leiden during the years 1603-1613. Finally, I will give some examples of what we can learn from his letters about e.g. the history of the University of Leiden, literary and stylistic conventions in Latin epistolography, and the role played by women in the world of scholarship in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
The speaker: Floris Verhaart is an alumnus of Leiden’s Classics department and at this moment postdoctoral researcher at the University of Warwick. His research interests include the cultural history of early modern Europe and Neolatin studies. He is the author and editor of four books, including Classical Learning in Britain, France, and the Dutch Republic (1690-1750): Beyond the Ancients and the Moderns (Oxford University Press, 2020) and The Latin Language and the Enlightenment (Liverpool University Press, 2023).
Date: 21 September 2023
Time: 15:30
Location: Lipsius 019
Drinks: location t.b.a.