%2c_RP-P-OB-26.668.jpg)
Nicolaas Heinsius the Elder (Latin:Nicolaus Heinsius; 20 July 1620 – 7 October 1681) was aDutchclassical scholar,poet anddiplomat. He travelled all over Europe to visit the major libraries and over time collected Europe's largest private library in the field of classical literature. He is regarded as a brilliant text critic in his critical publications ofClaudian,Ovid (his most important work),Vergil,Prudentius,Velleius andValerius Flaccus.
Heinsius was born inLeiden, theNetherlands as the son ofDaniel Heinsius, one of the most famous scholars of theDutch Renaissance. HisboyishLatinpoemBreda expugnata was printed in 1637, and attracted much attention. In 1642 he began his wanderings with a visit toEngland in search ofmanuscripts of theclassics but met with little courtesy from the English scholars. In ill health, he went toSpa in 1644 to seek a cure by drinking the local mineral water. His health restored, he set out once more in search ofcodices, passing throughLeuven,Brussels,Mechelen,Antwerp and so back to Leiden, everywhere collating manuscripts and takingphilological and textual notes.
Almost immediately he set out again, and arriving inParis was welcomed with open arms by the Frenchscholars. After studying the classical texts he could obtain, he traveled in 1646 southwards visited on the wayLyon,Marseille,Pisa,Florence (where he paused to publish a new edition ofOvid) andRome. The next year, he was inNaples, which he left during the reign ofMasaniello. He pursued his studies inLivorno,Bologna,Venice, where he received assistance fromJan Reynst andPadua. In Padua he published in 1648 his volume of original Latin verse entitledItalica.
%2c_title_page_(cropped).jpg)
He proceeded toMilan and worked for a considerable time in theBiblioteca Ambrosiana. While preparing to exploreSwitzerland the news of his father's illness recalled him hurriedly to Leiden. Soon after he was invited toStockholm byChristina of Sweden. At the Swedish court he became embroiled in a heated dispute withClaudius Salmasius over the Greek of theNew Testament. The quarrel became both highly personal and widely known, and Heinsius as university librarian refused him access to the books he wished to consult. Heinsius paid a brief visit to Leiden in 1650 and immediately returned to Stockholm. In 1651 he visited France and Italy withIsaac Vossius to buy books and coins for Christina. In 1654 Christina stepped down. Two years later Heinsius became a diplomat for theStates General of the Netherlands of at the invitation ofCoenraad van Beuningen. In 1665 he was appointed by the city of Amsterdam as the official historian. In 1669 he visited Moscow and in 1672 Bremen. In 1675 he settled down in his country house nearVianen, but moved to the Hague later.
Heinsius had two illegitimate children by Margareta Wullen, daughter of a Lutheran minister from Stockholm, who was a nude model in Amsterdam. He married her only after a lawsuit, but did not want to recognise his sons, Daniel andNicolaas Heinsius the Younger (1655–1718) but was eventually forced to do so. Nicolaas the Younger became a physician, He had to flee the Dutch Republic in 1677 for committing manslaughter in the streets of the Hague. In 1679 he was appointed QueenChristina of Sweden's private physician in Rome. He later returned to Holland and was the author of theDen vermakelyken avanturier, ofte De Wispelturige, en niet min Wonderlyke Levens-Loop van Mirandor (The Jolly Adventurer or the Unpredictable and not less Wonderful Life of Mirandor) (1695), the only Dutch-language romance novel of the 17th century.
Heinsius collected one of the biggest private libraries in Europe. He was visited byLorenzo Magalotti in 1668 when visiting theUnited Provinces. After his death about 13.000 books were sold in 1683. The famous catalogue was used by many scholars as a reference. He maintained an extensive correspondence with other scholars of his time such asChristiaan Huygens,Gaspar Gevartius andAlbert Rubens, the son ofPeter Paul Rubens.[1]
In 1653 Heinsius collected his Latin poems into a volume. His latest labours were the editing ofVelleius Paterculus in 1678 and ofValerius Flaccus in 1680. He died atThe Hague on 7 October 1681.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Heinsius, Nikolaes".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 216.
Media related toNicolaas Heinsius the Elder at Wikimedia Commons