Johannes Smith of Kettenis (10 October 1590 - 30 May 1651), known as Johannes Smetius, was a Dutch minister, collector and archaeologist, particularly known for his collection of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

antiquities and his studies of the Roman past in the city of

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

Biography

Smetius was born in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

to Johann Smith of Kettenis, a textile merchant, and Mary Raets of Karken. In 1605, he began his studies with Johannes Pontanus, professor of physics and mathematics at the University of Harderwijk. He returned to Aachen in 1612 and found work as a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

minister. Following the Siege of Aachen, he left to study at the Academy of Sedan. He assumed the position as a lecturer of philosophy in 1615. He declined an appointment to the Academy of Saumur, preferring to follow his parents to

in 1617. He began to preach at Saint Stephen's Church. Smetius developed a fascination with Roman artifacts. Much of his spare time and money was spent collecting and studying Roman archaeology in and around the city. He also cultivated a passion for Latin poetry. During the 1620s, the excavation of tuff foundations around Nijmegen revealed many Roman era antiques. This abundance of Roman finds enabled Smetius to lay an important foundation for his archaeological collection, known thereafter as the Smetius Collection. The residents of Nijmegen knew of his interest in antique objects and offered him finds found during excavations and construction work. His collection grew to contain 10,000 Roman coins, thousands of which had been previously undocumented, and around 4,500 miscellaneous artifacts. Smetius opened his collection for public viewing, attracting many distinguished visitors such as Johannes Gronovius, Nicolaas Heinsius, Constantijn Huygen, Franciscus Junius, Johannes Pontanus, and

Claudius Salmasius Claude Saumaise (15 April 1588 – 3 September 1653), also known by the Latin name Claudius Salmasius, was a French classical scholar. Life Salmasius was born at Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy (region), Burgundy. When Salmasius was sixteen, his fath ...

. Smetius' hobby of collecting antiquities was not unique at this time. It was quite common among the wealthy citizens of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

to build a private collection of Roman antiquities out of hobby or learned interest. Such a collection served as a status object for many people, but Smetius built his collection out of pure scientific interest. He selected not so much on the basis of rarity or beauty, but on the basis of historical value for the city of Nijmegen. Partly for this reason, Smetius is often seen as a pioneer in scientific archaeology in Nijmegen. With Lambert Goris, Smetius started the , which was a precursor to the old University of Nijmegen. On 30 May 1651 Smetius became unwell during his sermons and died later that day. He was buried with his parents at Saint Stephen's Church, where he had been active as a minister since 1618. Lambert Goris was the orator at his funeral.

Legacy

After his death, his collection, apart from a number of pieces that were donated to the city of Nijmegen, was purchased by Johann Wilhelm and relocated to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. The collection was slowly dismantled, and it is no longer possible to find the original pieces. Smetius was survived by a son, Johannes Smetius (1630 - 1710). The Smetiusstraat in downtown Nijmegen was named after him.

Select publications

*''Oppidum Batavorum seu Noviomagum liber singularis'', published in 1644, contains research on the origin of the Batavians. The opinion of Cluwer and other geographers was that the city of cited by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

(''Hist.'' V, 19) was Batenborch, a fortress located near the right bank of the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

, one league below Ravejleyn. Smetius argued that this city is Nijmegen. *''Thesaurus antiquarius seu Smetianus, sive notitia elegantissimæ supellectilis Romanæ et rarissimæ Pinacothecæ'', etc., published in 1658, contains the description of his collection. It was reprinted with additions by his son in 1678, under the title of ''Antiquitates Noviomagenses, sive notitia rarissimarum rerum antiquarum quas in veteri Batavorum oppido comparaverunt J. Smetius pater et filius''.

Footnotes

References

* Ruurd B. Halbertsma: ''Scholars, Travellers and Trade. The Pioneer Years of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, 1818–1840''. Routledge, London/New York, , S. 10f. * Leo Nellissen (2004) ''Johannes Smetius: Nijmeegse oudheden. Antiquitates neomagenses''. Stilus, Tilburg, . * Raingard Eßer: ''From Province to Nation. Immigration in the Dutch Republic in the Late 16th and Early 17th Century''. In: Steven G. Ellis, Lud'a Klusáková (Hrsg.): ''Imagining Frontiers, Contesting Identities''. Pisa University Press, Pisa 2007, , S. 270f. *. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smetius, Johannes Dutch archaeologists 17th-century Dutch historians Dutch Protestant ministers and clergy 1590 births 1651 deaths