15.05.25 / Lecture John Tholen – How a Fleming made Erasmus famous in Rotterdam (NL)
How a Fleming made Erasmus famous in Rotterdam: Willem de Vreese and the Rotterdam Erasmus Collection
In 1920, the director of the Rotterdam city library was sentenced to death. Yet this Fleming, Willem de Vreese, remained in office until 1934. He transformed the municipal institution into a broad public library with a scientific function. His conviction in Belgium for collaboration during the First World War had no impact on his work in Rotterdam. One of De Vreese’s areas of focus was Erasmus: through his efforts, Rotterdam’s collection of Erasmus books grew into the largest Erasmus collection in the world, now a UNESCO World Heritage.
The lecture will tell the story of Erasmus and Rotterdam: how he was born there, how he claimed the city as Roterodamus, how Rotterdam in turn claimed Erasmus, and how highlights from the Rotterdam Erasmus collection provide insight into Erasmus’ life.
Lecturer: John Tholen
Dr. John Tholen is a curator at the Rotterdam Public Library, where he manages, among other things, the world’s largest Erasmus collection, added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 2023. He studied classical languages and book science and earned his PhD in 2019 with a study on early modern editions of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Recently, he published an anthology of Erasmus’ correspondence: Erasmus the Traveler, which explores the necessity and hardships of Erasmus’ wanderlust.
Practical
Thursday 15/05/2025 at 6pm, in Duch
Entrance : 5 euro / 3 euro (when showing a proff of membership to Willemsfonds, Davidsfonds, Masereelfonds of the Friends of the Erasmus House at the front desk)
Payment on site.
A collaboration between Davidsfonds – Willemsfonds – Masereelfonds – Erasmus House
