Magister dixit

Lecture notes from the University of Leuven in KBR

This project aims at digitising and disclosing all handwritten lecture notes of the ancient University of Leuven wherever they are kept.Through the ages, these manuscripts were scattered all over the Low Countries and the neighboring regions. For the Magister Dixit project, KU Leuven joins forces with the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) and KBR.

Lectures notes preserved by the three institutions are brought together for the first time in an online portal by Lectio. The aim is to create a unique digital collection, including a full description and all codicological details.

 

 

Centuries-old student notes

The notes were written down by various students, mainly belonging to the artes faculty, during the courses they attended at the four colleges (or paedagogies) through which the Louvain artes faculty was organised: the Pig, the Castle, the Lily, and the Falcon.

The artes education constituted the first two years of the university curriculum, and involved a detailed study of the basic scientific disciplines, mainly logic, physics, ethics and metaphysics.

The notes are often illustrated with the students’ own drawings or with printed engravings. By studying these documents, we can better map scientific education in the Southern Netherlands.

 

 

The biggest collection in Belgium

With 193 lecture notes, KBR’s collection is the biggest in Belgium. Thanks to the collaboration between KBR and KU Leuven, these manuscripts can be disclosed under ideal circumstances.

 

Contact

Dr. Michiel Verweij, coordinator for KBR

 

Discover the Magister Dixit collection