Jan Roegiers (1944–2013) was a professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, and also university archivist, librarian and curator. He specialised in early modern academic history, and in particular the history of the pre-1797 University of Leuven. During his lifetime he was "generally regarded as one of the most authoritative voices in the world of academic history, archive and library science and the heritage sector in Belgium." He is also credited with giving the newly established Flemish university (an independent institution only from 1968) a sense of historical continuity with Leuven's past.

Early life

Jan Roegiers was born in

Sleidinge Sleidinge is a village in the municipalities of Evergem in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. It is located about north-west of Ghent. History Sleidinge was originally located in a large heath and forest area. The village was first mentione ...

East Flanders , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van O ...

, on 19 October 1944. He attended the Sint-Vincentiuscollege in Eeklo and from there entered the diocesan seminary in Ghent. After a short time in the seminary he enrolled at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, where he completed degrees in History and in library and archive science.

Academic career

He became a senior lecturer in the faculty of Arts and the faculty of Theology, chief archivist of the university (1975–2009), head of Leuven University Library (1981–1996), and curator of the university's art collection (1983–2009). He was director of the ''

Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

'' (1990-2009), chair of the editorial board of '' LIAS: Journal of Early Modern Intellectual Culture and its Sources'' (1993-2009), and chair of the editorial board of '' Trajecta'' (1998-2009). He was a moving influence on the early stages of the Flemish

short-title catalogue A short-title catalogue (or catalog) is a bibliographical resource that lists printed items in an abbreviated fashion, recording the most important words of their titles. The term is commonly encountered in the context of early modern books, which ...

(STCV). Roegiers gave his valedictory lecture, on academic heritage and university history, on 19 February 2010. On the same occasion he was presented with a

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

celebrating his career, ''The Quintessence of Lives: Intellectual Biographies in the Low Countries presented to Jan Roegiers'', edited by P. Delsaerdt, H. Schwall, D. Vanysacker, and J.-P. Delville (Brepols, 2010). His retirement was marked with a special exhibition in Leuven University's Central Library, ''Anima Academiae Bibliotheca'', from 10 June to 25 August 2010. Roegiers died on 12 July 2013 and was buried on 19 July in the Sint-Jan-de-Doperkerk in Leuven. The reading room of the university archive was named "Jan Roegiers reading room" in his memory. His rich library went to KU Leuven Libraries after his death.

Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roegiers, Jan 1944 births 2013 deaths Academic librarians Belgian archivists 20th-century Belgian historians KU Leuven alumni KU Leuven faculty People from Evergem 21st-century Belgian historians