Edmond Henri Joseph Reusens (25 April 1831 in

Wijnegem Wijnegem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Wijnegem proper. Wijnegem is one of the most expensive municipalities of the Flanders. In 2021, Wijnegem had a total population ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

– 25 December 1903 in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

archeologist and historian. Sent to the University of Leuven immediately after his ordination to the priesthood (1854), he soon became head librarian of the university (1859–1896). He collaborated with his rector, Pierre François Xavier de Ram, in his works on the religious history of Belgium, and in 1864 they founded the review ''Analectes pour servir à l'histoire ecclésiastique de la Belgique'' which Reusens continued to direct until his death. With the same teacher, he became interested in the history of the University of Leuven, to which he devoted almost exclusively the last years of his life. Through his historical studies he acquired a knowledge of

palaeography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") ...

and

diplomatics Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, p ...

and became professor of a course in these branches (1881–1903) which was the first of its kind in Belgium. In 1900 he was appointed member of the Royal Commission of History (

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

). After teaching theology for two years he had charge of a new course in Christian archaeology from 1864-1900. In this department he soon acquired great distinction, as is evidenced by the success of his manual, his appointment (1884) to the Royal Commission of Monuments (Brussels), his participation in the exposition of ancient art, and his role in the renovation of religious art in Belgium. His principal works are: ''Eléments d'archéologie chrétienne'' (Leuven, 1871-5); ''Eléments de paléographie'' (Leuven, 1899); ''Documents relatifs à l'histoire de l'université de Leuven'' (Leuven, 1881–1903).

Sources

*. Cites: **''Annuaire de l'universite catholique de Louvain'' (1905) pp. xv-xxiii; **''Universite catholique de Louvain'', bibliography and supplement, I, II, III (Leuven, 1900, 1902, 1904, 1906)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reusens, E 1831 births 1903 deaths 19th-century Belgian historians 19th-century Belgian male writers Belgian archaeologists Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni People from Wijnegem