Leiden Special Collections Blog

Asian Special Collections

Chinese Poetry Journals and the Magic of Materiality

Why the Leiden Online Collection of Unofficial Poetry from China, the largest academic collection of its kind worldwide, is a blessing; and why you should definitely go to Leiden to study the collection up-close.

Guest author • 24-05-2022

Manuscripts, Archives and Letters

Medieval love stories and morality in text and image: 'Der minnen loep' by Dirc Potter

The Dutch poet Dirc Potter (1370-1428) aimed to teach men and women about morality in his love treatise 'Der minnen loep'. His ideas about love were innovative and kind of unusual at the time, which is only one of many reasons why it deserves a closer look.

Guest author • 19-04-2022

Asian Special Collections

Imagining a garden: Lu Zichang’s map of the Prospect Garden

曹雪芹 Cao Xueqin’s 18th-century magnum opus, 紅樓夢 'Honglou meng' or 'Dream of the Red Chamber' remains one of China’s most loved classics. One edition from the UBL Special Collections was recently digitised and the map of the garden that it contains preserved. What makes this map so fascinating?

Guest author • 22-03-2022

Middle Eastern Special Collections

Tricks ánd Treats: Medieval Machines from the Middle East

Medieval Arabic manuscripts in the Leiden University Libraries with colourful images of intricate machinery are part of a tradition that goes back a long way in the Middle East.

Arnoud Vrolijk • 15-02-2022

Manuscripts, Archives and Letters

'The human life consists in vigilance'. The network of Johannes de Laet

Professional and personal correspondence as well as Album Amicorum entries reveal who Johannes de Laet was, who his contacts and peers were and how he wanted to be viewed in the learned and public sphere.

Guest author • 18-01-2022

Manuscripts, Archives and Letters

Tears behind a manuscript - The tragic history of a Dutch East Indies’ officer

Leiden University Libraries holds an exceptional manuscript by a certain Nicolaas Willem Schmal (1796-1837): 'Boertige Mengelingen en Puntdichten'. It was purchased in 1997 and has not been studied up to now. It mainly contains comic verses but also reveals a terrible tragedy.

Rick Honings • 21-12-2021

leidenspecial&shy;collectionsblog — page 10

Chinese Poetry Journals and the Magic of Materiality

Medieval love stories and morality in text and image: 'Der minnen loep' by Dirc Potter

Imagining a garden: Lu Zichang’s map of the Prospect Garden

Tricks ánd Treats: Medieval Machines from the Middle East

'The human life consists in vigilance'. The network of Johannes de Laet

Tears behind a manuscript - The tragic history of a Dutch East Indies’ officer

leidenspecialcollectionsblog — page 10