Collectanea, Carmina and Epistolae
Title page of Collectanea in the handwriting of professor de Vocht.
The sixteenth century humanist scholar Cornelius Valerius van Auwater (1512-1578) was educated at the Faculty of Arts and the Collegium Trilingue in Leuven. After his studies, Auwater succeeded Petrus Nannius (1496-1557) as the fourth professor of Latin at the Collegium Trilingue, a position he would keep until his death.
Sketches of Roman objects from Collectanea A.
Sketches of Roman objects from Collectanea A.
Woodcut with the four wind directions from Collectanea A.
Indication of the lifelines from Collectanea A.
After Auwater died in 1578, the Collegium Trilingue preserved his personal manuscripts. Several attempts to print the manuscripts failed because of Auwater's illegible handwriting, and the manuscripts slid into obscurity. During the first half of the twentieth century, the manuscripts were rediscovered and handed over to professor Henry de Vocht (1878-1962). Professor De Vocht compiled the manuscripts into six volumes: Collectanea (four volumes of loose notes, poems and letters), Carmina (one volume of poems), and Epistola (one volume of 186 letters that were all written between 1537 and 1561).
Janus Secundus' (1511-1536) Basia with notes of Auwater. (Collectanea B)
Fragment from Collectanea B.
Argumentatum on Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulide. (Collectanea C)
Argumentatum op Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulide.(Collectanea C)
The Auwater manuscripts contain valuable information about a wide variety of sixteenth century topics, such as the literary and scientific activities in the Netherlands, the history of the Collegium Trilingue, daily life at the university, and the lives of professors and humanists around the city of Leuven.
Title page of Carmina in the handwriting of professor de Vocht.
In venerabile corporis & sanguinis Jesu Christi sacramentum from Carmina.
Title page of Epistolae in the handwriting of professor de Vocht.
Fragment of a lettre from Epistolae.
Fragment of a lettre from Epistolae.
Written by Valentina Viana Pereira
Bibliography
Coppens, Chris, et al. Gemotiveerde proeflijst van topstukken binnen de Collectio Academica Antiqua van de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. 2008, pp. 24-28.
Feys, Xander. “Teruggevonden papieren van de vierde professor Latijn aan het Trilingue: Cornelius Valerius”. Erasmus’ Droom: Het Leuvense Collegium Trilingue 1517-1797, Leuven, Peeters, 2017, pp. 168–70.
Van Auwater, Cornelius Valerius. Carmina, Leuven, 1540-1575.
Van Auwater, Cornelius Valerius. Collectanea A-B-C. Leuven, 1540-1575.
Van Auwater, Cornelius Valerius. Epistolae. Leuven, 1540-1575.