Early printed books
Most books in our collection of early printed books are on Christian morality and private devotion. Even more so than our manuscripts and incunabula, they represent the specific research focus of the Ruusbroec Institute. This collection of books printed from the sixteenth century until the nineteenth century consists of 30 000 items and is unique in its composition. All titles that fitted our research profile have been accepted in the collection, none having been filtered out. This has resulted in a collection that sometimes contains dozens of editions of one single popular title, all with very diverse provenances. Often these books have been used intensively and manifest all kinds of user marks.
In this collection you will find all types of books, mainly in Dutch and Latin. For instance:
- books of prayer
- books on miracles
- books on saints
- books on martyrs
- books on mystics and mysticism
- books on pilgrimages
- books containing sermons
- books containing religious drama
- books on Jesuits
The description of these books in the Short Title Catalogue Vlaanderen (STCV) is in progress.
All books from the early printed books collection can be found in the online catalogue of the University of Antwerp. To order an item from this collection, please click on the 'document request' button in the appropriate window of the online catalogue.