Caspar Barlaeus (12 February 1584 – 14 January 1648) was a Dutch

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

and Renaissance humanist, a

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, poet, and historian.

Life

Born Caspar (Kaspar) van Baerle in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, Barlaeus' parents fled the city when it was occupied by Spanish troops shortly after his birth. They settled in

Zaltbommel Zaltbommel (), also known, historically and colloquially, as Bommel, is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. History The city of Zaltbommel The town of Zaltbommel was first mentioned as "Bomela" in the year 850. Zaltbommel received ...

, where his father eventually would become head of the

Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Other terms used include Lateinschule in Germany, or later Gymnasium. Latin schools were also established in Colon ...

. Caspar studied theology and philosophy at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

. After his study, he preached for 1.5 years in the village of

Nieuwe-Tonge Nieuwe-Tonge is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee, and lies about 13 km south of Hellevoetsluis. History The village was first mentioned in 1480 or 1481 as ...

, before returning to Leiden in 1612 as an under-regent of a college. From 1617 he also was professor in philosophy at the university. Because of his

remonstrant The Remonstrants (or the Remonstrant Brotherhood) is a Protestant movement that split from the Dutch Reformed Church in the early 17th century. The early Remonstrants supported Jacobus Arminius, and after his death, continued to maintain his ori ...

sympathies, he was forced out of this job in 1619. He then studied and graduated in medicines (in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

), but never practiced professionally. From 1631, he was professor of philosophy and rhetoric at the Amsterdam Athenaeum, '' Athenaeum Illustre''), which is commonly regarded as the predecessor of the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

; the ''Athenaeum'' had its seat in the fourteenth-century Agnietenkapel. In January 1632, Barlaeus, along with Gerard Vossius, held his inaugural speech at the Amsterdam Atheneum. Barlaeus later encouraged Martinus Hortensius to lecture –and give an inaugural speech- at the same Institution. One of his huge patrons was Amsterdam burgomaster

Andries de Graeff Andries de Graeff (19 February 1611 – 30 November 1678) was a regent and burgomaster (mayor) of Amsterdam and leading Dutch statesman during the Golden Age. He came from the De Graeff family, which, together with the Bicker family by marria ...

, his neighbor at Oudezijds Achterburgwal. Barlaeus suffered from mental illness including the delusion that he was made of glass (the

Glass delusion Glass is an amorphous ( non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window panes, tableware, and optics. Some common objects made o ...

) though Gill Speak refers to his glass delusion as ‘unsubstantiated’.

Writings

Barlaeus published many volumes of poetry, particularly

Latin poetry The history of Latin poetry can be understood as the adaptation of Greek models. The verse comedies of Plautus, the earliest surviving examples of Latin literature, are estimated to have been composed around 205–184 BC. History Scholars conv ...

. He also wrote the

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a term o ...

that accompanies the 1622 portrait of cartographer

Willem Blaeu Willem Janszoon Blaeu (; 157121 October 1638), also abbreviated to Willem Jansz. Blaeu, was a Dutch cartographer, atlas maker, and publisher. Along with his son Johannes Blaeu, Willem is considered one of the notable figures of the Netherlan ...

. Barlaeus was involved in various aspects of cartography and history. He translated Antonio de Herrera's ''Description of the West Indies'' in 1622. In 1627, Barlaeus provided the text for the

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

created by

Jodocus Hondius Jodocus Hondius (Latinized version of his Dutch name: ''Joost de Hondt'') (17 October 1563 – 12 February 1612) was a Flemish and Dutch engraver and cartographer. He is sometimes called Jodocus Hondius the Elder to distinguish him from h ...

. In 1647, he wrote an account of the Dutch colonial empire in Brazil, inspired by the leadership of

John Maurice of Nassau John Maurice of Nassau ( ; ; ; ; 17 June 1604 – 20 December 1679), called "the Brazilian" for his fruitful period as governor of Dutch Brazil, was Count and (from 1664) Prince of Nassau-Siegen. He served as ''Herrenmeister'' (equivalent to Gra ...

(Johan Maurits) at

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

. The ''Rerum per octennium in Brasilia et alibi nuper gestarum sub praefectura'', as it is called, contains numerous maps and plates of the region. The engravings of Brazilian northeastern locales, fleets, battles, and maps were for 160 years the main references to Brazilian landscapes available in Europe, and are well known by Brazilians today as the most important examples of pre-national art.

Franciscus Plante Franciscus Plante (21 April 1613 (bapt.) – 1690) was a Dutch poet and chaplain. Biography Plante was born in Bruges and studied theology at Oxford. In October 1636 he travelled as personal chaplain with John Maurice of Nassau to the Dutc ...

wrote a similar work in the same year called ''Mauritias'', and included the maps already published in Barlaeus' work. These were maps of ''

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

'', ''

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

'', ''

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

'', and ''Pernambuco Borealá''. Plante also incorporated a portrait of John Maurice that had already been included in Barlaeus' work. CasperBarlaeus

In 1638, Barlaeus wrote ''Medicea Hospes, sive descriptio publicae gratulationis, qua ... Mariam de Medicis, excepit senatus populusque Amstelodamensis''. Published by Willem Blaeu, it includes two large folding engraved views of the ceremonies on the occasion of the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

queen mother Marie de Medici's triumphal entry into

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in 1638. Considered an important moment in Dutch history, Marie's visit lent ''de facto'' international recognition of the newly formed

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. Marie de Medici actually traveled to the Netherlands as exile, but spectacular displays and water pageants took place in the city's harbor in celebration of her visit. There was a procession led by two mounted

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

s; a large temporary structure erected on an artificial island in the Amstel River was built especially for the festival. This building was designed to display a series of dramatic tableaux in tribute to her once she set foot on the floating island and entered its

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

Death and legacy

*Barlaeus died at Amsterdam. Franciscus Plante wrote Barlaeus'

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

and

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

in 1648. *

Barlaeus Gymnasium The Barlaeus Gymnasium is a secondary school in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is one of the five categorial gymnasia in Amsterdam, the other four being Vossius Gymnasium, Ignatius Gymnasium, Het 4e Gymnasium and Cygnus Gymnasium. It offers ...

, in Amsterdam, is named after him. There is a in both Amsterdam and

Works

* ''Manes Auriaci'' (1625) * ''Hymnus ad Christum'' (1628) * ''Poemata'' (1628) * ''Medicea hospes'' (1638) * ''Faces augustae'' (1643) * ''Rerum in Brasilia et alibi gestarum'' (1647) * ''Verscheyde Nederduytsche gedichten'' (1651) * ''Mercator sapiens, sive Oratio de coniungendis mercaturae et philosophiae studiis''

References

Sources

*
Barron Maps
barron.co.uk *

(full bibliography), let.leidenuniv.nl *
Biography and Works: Caspar Barlaeus
dbnl.org *

(full index and texts of Barlaeus' poetry), let.leidenuniv.nl *

let.leidenuniv.nl *
Festival Books
libraries.rutgers.edu *

pernambuco.com

External links

The Correspondence of Caspar van Baarle
i
EMLO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlaeus, Caspar 1584 births 1648 deaths 17th-century Dutch poets 17th-century writers in Latin Colonial Brazil 17th-century Dutch historians 17th-century Dutch physicians Dutch male poets 17th-century Dutch Calvinist and Reformed ministers Dutch Renaissance humanists Leiden University alumni Academic staff of Leiden University Muiderkring Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam Dutch Golden Age writers People from Zaltbommel Arminian theologians Arminian writers Remonstrants