Collectie Bibliotheca Publica Latina
Item
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Country
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NL
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Name of institution (English)
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Leiden University Libraries
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Language of name of institution
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dut
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Contact information: postal address
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Universiteitsbibliotheek, Witte Singel 27, 2311 BG Leiden
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Contact information: phone number
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0031 71 527 2857
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Reference number
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BPL
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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Latin Public Library Collection
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Title (official language of the state)
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Collectie Bibliotheca Publica Latina
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Language of title
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dut
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heb
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Creator / accumulator
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Leiden University Library
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Date note
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8th century/20th century
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Language(s)
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dut
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fra
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lat
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Extent
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c. 4000 shelfmarks
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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The Collectie Bibliotheca Publica Latina is part of the Special Collections of the Leiden University Library and is composed of manuscripts written in Latin, from the middle ages to the modern era. Many units from the 16th to the 20th century include scholars' correspondence and scholarly papers of Leiden professors and students. The collection holds several letters from Menasseh ben Israel (1604-1657), rabbi of the Portuguese Jewish congregation of Amsterdam and responsible for negotiating the readmission of the Jews to England in 1656. A volume (BPL 293) with letters from Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687) to David le Leu de Wilhem (1588-1658) includes one letter from Israel to Wilhem. Another volume entitled "Epistolarium ad urbem Dordracum pertinent" (BPL 191 AK) contains a letter from Israel to Johan van Beverwijck (or Johannes Beverovicius, 1594-1647), written on November 25, 1639. Another epistolary curiosity of this collection related to the Western Sephardic Diaspora is a letter from Benedictus de Spinoza (1632-1677) to W. van Blijenburgh in 1665 (BPL 293 B).
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Archival history
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The Leiden University Library has been collecting manuscripts alongside printed works since its origins. The first manuscript was acquired by Janus Dousa, the first librarian, in 1585. The Latin manuscripts were kept separately from the Greek and Oriental manuscripts, and referred to as "Manuscripti latini", later as "Codices Bibliothecae Publica Latini", or "Bibliotheca Publica Latina". Incidentally, several more or less extensive collections of Latin manuscripts were kept separate from the Bibliotheca Publica Latina because of their significant provenance (Codices Lipsiani, Codices Vossiani Latini, etc.).
A growing number of Latin manuscripts are already included in the library catalogues of 1595, 1612, 1623, 1636, 1640 and 1674. The library catalogue of 1716 describes 207 items.
The collection is constantly being supplemented with acquisitions, especially concerning Dutch scientific history and that of Leiden University in particular.
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(source: Leiden University Digital Collections)
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Administrative / Biographical history
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Leiden University was founded on February 8, 1575, as a reward by William of Orange to the inhabitants of Leiden for their resistance to the siege by the Spanish army. Right in 1575, William of Orange gifted the first volume of the library, the Polyglot Bible, printed by Christoffel Plantijn. The legacy of the theologian Johannes Holman, who died in 1586, and a large donation of books and manuscripts by Bonaventura Vulcanius, professor of Greek, gave impetus to the foundation of a university library on October 31, 1587. The first catalogue of the library holdings was published in 1595 by Petrus Bertius, entitled Nomenclator autorum omnium, quorum libri vel manuscripti, vel typis expressi exstant in Bibliotheca Academiae Lugduno-Batavae (List of all authors whose books, whether manuscript or printed, are available in Leiden University Library). Other printed catalogues succeeded Bertius' Nomenclator over the following years until 1716. After that year, only partial catalogues were published.
In 1983, the library moved to its present location on Witte Singel in a new building by architect Bart van Kasteel. This transference marked a turning point in terms of rapid automation. The first online catalogue became available in 1988.
At present, apart from books and manuscripts, Leiden University Library also houses art-historical, geographical and electronic collections of all sorts. It is the largest scholarly library in The Netherlands.
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(source: "Leiden University Library" in Encyclopaedia Iranica Online)
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Access, restrictions
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Rules that apply when consulting this material can be found on the Leiden University Library website. The materials can be requested via the online catalogue.
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Author of the description
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Joana Rodrigues and Carla Vieira, 2022
