Along the Rapenburg, the main canal in the town of Leiden, stands the Bibliotheca Thysiana. Founded in 1655, it is the only purpose-built seventeenth-century library in the Netherlands. The... Show more Along the Rapenburg, the main canal in the town of Leiden, stands the Bibliotheca Thysiana. Founded in 1655, it is the only purpose-built seventeenth-century library in the Netherlands. The building contains several thousands of books on all kinds of subjects, including classical literature, theology, philosophy, law, history, science, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and botany. Most of these books were collected by the jurist Joannes Thysius. In his testament, drawn up only a few days before he died at the age of 31, Thysius declared that his books should be placed in a public library in order to be used by scholars. In this dissertation, Thysius’ motives for collecting books are reconstructed on the basis of his personal life, and in relation to contemporary literature about the nature of an ideal library. Furthermore, a comparison is made between his collection and those of contemporary scholars and professionals in order to determine whether he succeeded in composing a library that would suit his purpose. Show less
