Jan Was or Waes, Latinized Johannes Vasaeus (1511 – 21 October 1561) was a

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

, teacher and historian, who spent his working life in Spain and Portugal.

Life

Vasaeus was born in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

in 1511. At the age of twenty, while he was still studying at the

Collegium Trilingue The Collegium Trilingue, often also called Collegium trium linguarum, or, after its creator Collegium Buslidianum (, ), is a university that was founded in 1517 under the patronage of the humanist, Hieronymus van Busleyden. The three languages tau ...

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, he met

Ferdinand Columbus Ferdinand Columbus ( or ; ; ; 15 August 1488 – 12 July 1539) was a Spanish bibliographer and cosmographer, the second son of Christopher Columbus. His mother was Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, who his father never married. Biography Ferdinand Colu ...

, the second son of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

, who persuaded him to accompany him to Spain. Here he became the first librarian of Ferdinand's personal library (later known as ''

La Colombina LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

''), a collection dedicated to the discoveries and voyages of Christopher Columbus. When Ferdinand died in 1539, the library, consisting of around 10,000 volumes, was given to

Seville Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (), better known as Seville Cathedral (), is a Catholic cathedral and former mosque in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alc� ...

, and Vasaeus' contract was terminated. He then became head of a school in

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

, and in 1541 taught in the

University of Évora A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Un ...

, both in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. In 1550 he became a teacher and lecturer in

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

, where he died. His substantial works on the history of Spain appeared posthumously.

Works

* ''Rerum Hispaniae memorabilium'', Cologne, 1577.

References

* Alphonse Roersch, ''L'humanisme à l'époque de la Renaissance'', vol. 2 (Leuven, 1933). {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasaeus, Johannes Writers from Bruges Flemish Renaissance humanists Flemish historians People from the Spanish Netherlands 16th-century educators Flemish librarians 1511 births 1561 deaths Academic staff of the University of Évora