Oldest parts of Leiden University Archives digitised
Recently, the oldest parts of the Leiden University Archives have been preserved and digitised thanks to a grant from Metamorfoze. This makes an important source on the history of Leiden University – and academic life in the Northern Netherlands in a broader sense – widely available.
In 2025, Leiden University will celebrate its 450th anniversary. Its past – the foundation by William of Orange, students such as Hugo de Groot and Rembrandt van Rijn, and all the changes in the field of education – is preserved in the university archives. This offers a wealth of information about the oldest university in the Netherlands, but also about all kinds of topics that were relevant then and in the centuries that followed, such as freedom of religion and the role of women in science.
Digitisation
Thanks to Metamorfoze – a national programme for the preservation of paper heritage – it was possible to conserve and digitise the oldest parts of the archive (dating back to around 1812), including the resolutions of the Curators and the Senate, the two oldest and most important governing bodies in the history of Leiden University. The Curators were responsible for the day-to-day running of the university, such as appointing professors, while the Senate, which consisted entirely of professors, was responsible for education.
Research opportunities
Digitisation makes it possible to consult a large number of documents remotely. Many of the enrolment registers in the archive are consulted for genealogical purposes, both in the Netherlands and abroad, but also by researchers working on biographies of Leiden alumni. It is also possible to search the scans using external Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) software, for example to find out what topics the Curators discussed at their meetings. This provides insight into the earliest decision-making processes at the University.
Another possibility offered by digitisation is the ability to search through a large number of documents to extract the printed works – something that would otherwise take a great deal of time. This makes it possible to investigate the role of the printing press in the earliest functioning of the University.
The archives and scans are accessible via the Collection Guides of Leiden University Libraries (UBL): Archive of Curators and Archives of the Senate and Faculties.