Known unknowns: The mutilated and missing pages of Leiden MS. Lips 3 (2)

Machielsen, Jan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8492-0263 2023. Known unknowns: The mutilated and missing pages of Leiden MS. Lips 3 (2). Humanistica Lovaniensia 72 , pp. 173-188.

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Abstract

Leiden University MS Lips 3 (2) contains a series of letters sent by the Brabant humanist Justus Lipsius (1547-1606) to his old university friend, the Jesuit Martin Delrio (1551-1608). They cover a crucial period in their relationship, from Lipsius’ return to the Catholic fold in Mainz in 1591 to his arrival in Leuven in 1593, his home for the remainder of his life. Lipsius’ letters were carefully copied and numbered by Delrio but subsequently edited by Lipsius. Closer study reveals that Lipsius seriously contemplated their publication. The fact that missing pages correspond with printed letters indicates that he physically excerpted them for publication. These insights, in turn, suggest that the material (manuscript) nature of Lipsius’ correspondence should not fool us: even when notionally private, his letters were always written with a potentially wider public in mind.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DH Netherlands (The Low Countries)
ISSN:	0774-2908
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	18 December 2023
Date of Acceptance:	11 December 2023
Last Modified:	07 May 2024 09:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/164858

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