Jan Was or Waes, Latinized Johannes Vasaeus (1511 – 21 October 1561) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

, teacher and historian, who spent his working life in Spain and Portugal.

Life

Vasaeus was born in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

in 1511. At the age of twenty, while he was still studying at the

Collegium Trilingue The Collegium Trilingue, often also called Collegium trium linguarum, or, after its creator Collegium Buslidianum (French: Collège des Trois Langues, Dutch: Dry Tonghen), was founded in 1517 under the patronage of the humanist, Hieronymus van Bus ...

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 ...

, he met

Ferdinand Columbus Ferdinand Columbus (Spanish: ''Fernando Colón'' also ''Hernando'', Portuguese: ''Fernando Colombo'', Italian: ''Fernando Colombo''; c. 24 August 1488 – 12 July 1539) was a Spanish bibliographer and cosmographer, the second son of Christopher C ...

, the second son of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

, who persuaded him to accompany him to Spain. Here he became the first librarian of Ferdinand's personal library (later known as ''

La Colombina LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

''), a collection dedicated to the discoveries and voyages of Christopher Columbus. When Ferdinand died in 1539, the library, consisting of around 10,000 volumes, was given to

Seville Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See ( es, Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along ...

, and Vasaeus' contract was terminated. He then became head of a school in

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

, and in 1541 taught in the

University of Évora The University of Évora (''Universidade de Évora'') is a public university in Évora, Portugal. It is the second oldest university in the country, established in 1559 by the cardinal Henry, and receiving University status in April of the same ...

, both in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. In 1550 he became a teacher and lecturer in

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...

, where he died. His substantial works on the history of Spain appeared posthumously.

Works

* ''Rerum Hispaniae memorabilium'', Cologne, 1577.

References

Alphonse Roersch Alphonse Roersch (1870–1951) was a Belgian philologist, professor at the University of Ghent.Louis BakelantsNécrologie: Alphonse Roersch (1870-1951) '' Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire'', 29 (1951), pp. 999-1001. Life Roersch was born in ...

, ''L'humanisme à l'époque de la Renaissance'', vol. 2 (Leuven, 1933). Writers from Bruges Flemish Renaissance humanists Flemish historians 16th-century educators Librarians 1511 births 1561 deaths Academic staff of the University of Évora {{Belgium-historian-stub