Student Notes from Latin Europe (1400?1750): A Research Companion

The first comprehensive guide dedicated solely to research on Latin-European early modern student notes

The many preserved collections of student notes from the early modern period – ranging from neatly maintained notebooks to barely legible scribbles crammed between lines of printed text – hold considerable but largely untapped potential as an historical source. At the same time, the analysis of these notes poses significant challenges for scholars. This book aims to be a concise and accessible companion for scholars interested in engaging with this young and burgeoning research field. Written by a diverse group of specialists from across Europe and the US, it explores the various technical and practical aspects involved in reading, interpreting, and editing student notes, while also demonstrating how these sources can enrich various areas of historical research. Indeed, student notes reveal that early modern lecture halls were often more dynamic, diverse, and creative than we might have expected.

Ebook available in Open Access.

Contributing authors: Alicja Bielak (Polish Academy of Sciences), Ann Blair (Harvard University), Dieter Cammaerts (KU Leuven), Natasha Constantinidou (University of Cyprus), Gwendoline de Mûelenaere (UCLouvain), Lorenz Demey (KU Leuven), Xander Feys (KU Leuven), Daniel Gehrt (Universität Erfurt), Marc Laureys (Universität Bonn), Maxime Maleux (KU Leuven), Andy Peetermans (KU Leuven), Maximilian Schuh (FU Berlin), Violet Soen (KU Leuven), Michael Stolberg (Universität Würzburg), Tomás Valle (Universität Hamburg), Jarrik Van Der Biest (KU Leuven), Raf Van Rooy (KU Leuven)

Xander Feys is a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven, specializing in humanist pedagogical praxis, university and book history in the Southern Low Countries, and the early modern reception of Vergil and Homer.

Maxime Maleux earned his PhD in linguistics with a dissertation on the teaching of Hebrew in the early modern Low Countries and currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven.

Andy Peetermans is a research associate at KU Leuven, interested in early modern grammar writing and its didactic dimensions.

Raf Van Rooy is assistant professor of Latin Literature at KU Leuven, working on early modern literary multilingualism, with a specific interest in exchanges between Latin and Greek.