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The Working Papers of Hugo Grotius
Transmission, Dispersal, and Loss, 1604â1864
Series: - Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, Volume: 343
Author:
The Working Papers of Hugo Grotius is the first full-length study of the handwritten documents initially used by the author of Mare Liberum (1609) and De Jure Belli ac Pacis (1625) in his day-to-day activities as a scholar, lawyer, and politician, but subsequently incorporated into his own or other archives. Martine van Ittersum reconstructs a process of transmission, dispersal, and loss that started during Grotiusâ lifetime and ended with the papersâ auction in 1864. This is also a study of archival afterlives. Our understanding of Grotiusâ life and work is shaped by the conscious decisions of previous generations to retain or discard documents, frequently for the sake of individual lives and careers, family honour and/or larger political and religious ends.
Martine Julia van Ittersum, Ph.D. (2002), is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Dundee (UK). She has published widely on book history, Dutch history, and the history of Western imperialism and colonialism, including Profit and Principle (Brill, 2006).
âBrill produces beautiful books, with an elegant typeface and attractive layout. Martine Julia van Ittersum is a real sleuth in the archives. Her commitment and determination in researching Grotiusâ working papers and her lively writing style has resulted in a monumental new work of Grotius Forschung. The author takes us on a journey of nearly three centuries, exploring hitherto unknown historical paths at every turn. Her research findings are helpfully summarized in eight appendices. The bibliography is downright impressive, as is the treasure trove of illustrations.â
Henk Nellen, author of Hugo Grotius: A Lifelong Struggle for Peace in Church and State, 1583â1645 (Brill, 2015)
âThis is manuscript and book history at its best, a formidable detective story which traces and reconstructs the transmission, dispersal, and loss of Hugo Grotiusâ manuscripts, artifacts, and personal library during his lifetime (imprisonment, escape, exile, diplomatic appointments, shipwreck) and thereafter.â
William E. Butler, Penn State University. In: Jus Gentium, Vol. 10, No. 1 (January 2025), pp. 242â243.
âA veritable tour de force [...]. This book deserves to be âon the shelvesâ of the libraries of all scholars of Grotius, and of early modern thought more generally.â
Marco Barducci, University of Pavia. In: Grotiana, Vol. 36 (2025).
Henk Nellen, author of Hugo Grotius: A Lifelong Struggle for Peace in Church and State, 1583â1645 (Brill, 2015)
âThis is manuscript and book history at its best, a formidable detective story which traces and reconstructs the transmission, dispersal, and loss of Hugo Grotiusâ manuscripts, artifacts, and personal library during his lifetime (imprisonment, escape, exile, diplomatic appointments, shipwreck) and thereafter.â
William E. Butler, Penn State University. In: Jus Gentium, Vol. 10, No. 1 (January 2025), pp. 242â243.
âA veritable tour de force [...]. This book deserves to be âon the shelvesâ of the libraries of all scholars of Grotius, and of early modern thought more generally.â
Marco Barducci, University of Pavia. In: Grotiana, Vol. 36 (2025).
Acknowledgements
List of Maps and Figures
1 Introduction: Hugo Grotius and the Microsociologies of Archives
â1âEarly Modern Scholars and Textual Production and Loss
â2âThe Role of Material Wealth in Preserving Personal Archives and Libraries
â3âThe Materiality of Texts and the Microsociologies of Archives
â4âThe Life and Times of Hugo Grotius
â5âThe Fate of Grotiusâ Working Papers
2 Knowledge Production and Records Management in Early Modern Europe: The Case of Hugo Grotius (1583â1645)
â1âGrotiusâ Working Methods as a Lawyer and Government Official
â2âIs There a Start Date for Grotiusâ Personal Archive?
â3âWhere Did Grotius Keep His Books and Papers?
â4âThe Working Methods of an Early Modern Scholar
â5âAccess to Printed and Manuscript Materials
â6âHow Grotius Involved His Relatives and Remonstrant Friends in Knowledge Production
â7âCirculating Manuscripts in the Republic of Letters
â8âThe Role of Grotiusâ Relatives and Remonstrant Friends in Printed Publication
â9âConclusion
3 Confiscated Manuscripts and Books
What Happened to Grotiusâ Personal Library and Archive Following His Arrest on Charges of High Treason in August 1618?
â1âWhat Is Known Already About the Confiscation of Grotiusâ Books and Working Papers in the Period 1618â1620?
â2âDid Grotiusâ Relatives Squirrel Away Sensitive Materials Following His Arrest in August 1618?
â3âTo Which Books and Manuscripts Did Grotius Have Access in Captivity?
â4âHow Jan De Groot Recovered Some of His Sonâs Books and Papers in Summer 1621
â5âWhat Happened to Grotiusâ Confiscated Papers?
â6âWhat Happened to Grotiusâ Confiscated Books?
â7âConclusion
4 Creating a (Definitive) Corpus of Writings: How Grotiusâ Employer, Relatives, and Remonstrant Friends Shaped His Intellectual Legacy (1645â1679)
â1âGrotiusâ Intellectual Legacy as a Family Project
â2âWhat Happened to the Book Collection Sold to Christina of Sweden?
â3âManuscript Hunters in Paris, London, and the Low Countries
â4âPieter De Grootâs Stewardship of His Fatherâs Working Papers (1653â1660)
â5âGrotiusâ Intellectual Legacy in the Era of the âTrue Freedomâ and Beyond (1660â1678)
â6âWhat Happened to the Working Papers Inherited by the Descendants of Willem De Groot?
â7âConclusion
5 Preserving and Editing Grotiusâ Manuscripts for the Sake of Family Honor and the Remonstrant Cause (1679â1747)
â1âPublishing, Advertising and Deconstructing Epistolae Quotquot Reperiri Potuerunt
â2âA Remonstrant Hero: How Jean Le Clerc Shaped Grotiusâ Intellectual Legacy
â3âCirculating Manuscripts in the Republic of Letters in the Eighteenth Century
â4âWriting and Publishing an Authoritative Biography of Hugo Grotius
â5âMemorialization through Physical Artifacts
â6âThe Cornets De Groot Family in Bergen op Zoom
â7âConclusion
6 Confronting Grotiusâ Legacy in an Age of Revolution: The Cornets De Groot Family in Rotterdam (1748â1798)
â1âThe Cornets De Groot Family as Beneficiaries of the Stadtholdersâ Patronage
â2âThe Establishment of a Grotius Memorial in the New Church in Delft
â3âA Patriot Revolution in Rotterdam
â4âThe Patriot Politics of Paulus Gevers
â5âHugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot as Patriot Icons
â6âJan Cornets De Grootâs Efforts to Overturn the Patriot Revolution in Rotterdam
â7âPapers, Portraits, and Memorabilia Passed Down the Generations
â8âStatus Symbols: Ancestral Portraits and Grotius Memorabilia
â9âAn Inventory of the Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot (April 1778)
7 Constructing a Conservative National Hero in Response to Patriot Radicalism (1787â1815)
â1âGrotius as the Embodiment of Republican Virtue
â2âThe Rediscovery of the Parallelon Rerumpublicarum and the Making of a Dutch National Hero
â3âWhat Can the Visser Collection Tell Us about the Transmission and Dispersal of Grotiusâ Working Papers?
â4âHow Jacobus Scheltema Rearranged Grotiusâ Working Papers and Marked Up the 1778 Inventory
8 End of the Lineage: How Hugo Cornets De Groot Disposed of His Grotiana (1802â1864)
â1âA Visit from Lieutenant-General A.W.H. Nolthenius De Man in March 1832
â2âAn Epistolary Exchange between Johan Pieter Cornets De Groot Van Kraaijenburg and Distant Relatives in Cuyck and Nijmegen
â3âWhy Did Hugo Cornets De Groot Become Estranged from His Relatives?
â4âThe Death of a Lonely Bachelor in Cuyck in February 1864
â5âHow Jean Baptiste Regouin Rearranged the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot, and Then Sold These to a Tobacco Merchant
9 Preparing for the Auction of the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot, Mostly Behind the Scenes (FebruaryâNovember 1864)
â1âChristiaan Snelleman, Rotterdam Merchant and Remonstrant
â2âA List of Grotiana Compiled by the Remonstrant Minister C.P. Tiele
â3âHow P.A. Tiele Put Together an Auction Catalogue, and Divided Up Manuscript Volumes into Multiple Lots
â4âThe Auctioneer Martinus Nijhoff
â5âHow Frederik Muller Did Business with the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij
10 The 1864 Auction of the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot, and What Happened Next
â1âHow Nijhoff Conducted the Auction and Presented Its Outcome to the Public
â2âThe Story Behind the Swedish Governmentâs Acquisition of Grotiana
â3âWhat Happened to Lots 1â42?
â4âThe Bid and Strike Prices of Lots 43â99, and the Potential and Actual Buyers
â5âThe 1864 Auction in Comparative Context
â6âWhat Explains the Dutch Governmentâs Total Lack of Involvement?
â7âHow Johan Pieter Cornets De Groot Van Kraaijenburg (Re)Assembled a Collection of Family Papers
11 Conclusion
Appendix 1: The 1778 Inventory of the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot, With Notes by Jacobus Scheltema
Appendix 2: Jacobus Scheltemaâs Rearrangement of the Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot (May 1803)
Appendix 3: âShort Description of the Contents of the Enclosed Books, Volumes of Letters, Parchments with Seals Attached to Them, etc., Left by Hugo Grotiusâ
Appendix 4: A List of Grotiana Compiled by C.P. Tiele, at the Request of Christiaan Snelleman (August 1864)
Appendix 5: The Auction of the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot: Bid Prices, Strike Prices, and Horse Trading Behind the Scenes (November 1804)
Appendix 6: The Auction Proceeds: The Final Receipt Sent to Christiaan Snelleman by Martinus Nijhoff
Appendix 7: Grotiusâ Working Papers as Rearranged by P.A. Tiele
Appendix 8: Inheriting Ancestral Portraits and Papers: A Genealogical Chart
Bibliography
Indices
List of Maps and Figures
1 Introduction: Hugo Grotius and the Microsociologies of Archives
â1âEarly Modern Scholars and Textual Production and Loss
â2âThe Role of Material Wealth in Preserving Personal Archives and Libraries
â3âThe Materiality of Texts and the Microsociologies of Archives
â4âThe Life and Times of Hugo Grotius
â5âThe Fate of Grotiusâ Working Papers
2 Knowledge Production and Records Management in Early Modern Europe: The Case of Hugo Grotius (1583â1645)
â1âGrotiusâ Working Methods as a Lawyer and Government Official
â2âIs There a Start Date for Grotiusâ Personal Archive?
â3âWhere Did Grotius Keep His Books and Papers?
â4âThe Working Methods of an Early Modern Scholar
â5âAccess to Printed and Manuscript Materials
â6âHow Grotius Involved His Relatives and Remonstrant Friends in Knowledge Production
â7âCirculating Manuscripts in the Republic of Letters
â8âThe Role of Grotiusâ Relatives and Remonstrant Friends in Printed Publication
â9âConclusion
3 Confiscated Manuscripts and Books
What Happened to Grotiusâ Personal Library and Archive Following His Arrest on Charges of High Treason in August 1618?
â1âWhat Is Known Already About the Confiscation of Grotiusâ Books and Working Papers in the Period 1618â1620?
â2âDid Grotiusâ Relatives Squirrel Away Sensitive Materials Following His Arrest in August 1618?
â3âTo Which Books and Manuscripts Did Grotius Have Access in Captivity?
â4âHow Jan De Groot Recovered Some of His Sonâs Books and Papers in Summer 1621
â5âWhat Happened to Grotiusâ Confiscated Papers?
â6âWhat Happened to Grotiusâ Confiscated Books?
â7âConclusion
4 Creating a (Definitive) Corpus of Writings: How Grotiusâ Employer, Relatives, and Remonstrant Friends Shaped His Intellectual Legacy (1645â1679)
â1âGrotiusâ Intellectual Legacy as a Family Project
â2âWhat Happened to the Book Collection Sold to Christina of Sweden?
â3âManuscript Hunters in Paris, London, and the Low Countries
â4âPieter De Grootâs Stewardship of His Fatherâs Working Papers (1653â1660)
â5âGrotiusâ Intellectual Legacy in the Era of the âTrue Freedomâ and Beyond (1660â1678)
â6âWhat Happened to the Working Papers Inherited by the Descendants of Willem De Groot?
â7âConclusion
5 Preserving and Editing Grotiusâ Manuscripts for the Sake of Family Honor and the Remonstrant Cause (1679â1747)
â1âPublishing, Advertising and Deconstructing Epistolae Quotquot Reperiri Potuerunt
â2âA Remonstrant Hero: How Jean Le Clerc Shaped Grotiusâ Intellectual Legacy
â3âCirculating Manuscripts in the Republic of Letters in the Eighteenth Century
â4âWriting and Publishing an Authoritative Biography of Hugo Grotius
â5âMemorialization through Physical Artifacts
â6âThe Cornets De Groot Family in Bergen op Zoom
â7âConclusion
6 Confronting Grotiusâ Legacy in an Age of Revolution: The Cornets De Groot Family in Rotterdam (1748â1798)
â1âThe Cornets De Groot Family as Beneficiaries of the Stadtholdersâ Patronage
â2âThe Establishment of a Grotius Memorial in the New Church in Delft
â3âA Patriot Revolution in Rotterdam
â4âThe Patriot Politics of Paulus Gevers
â5âHugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot as Patriot Icons
â6âJan Cornets De Grootâs Efforts to Overturn the Patriot Revolution in Rotterdam
â7âPapers, Portraits, and Memorabilia Passed Down the Generations
â8âStatus Symbols: Ancestral Portraits and Grotius Memorabilia
â9âAn Inventory of the Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot (April 1778)
7 Constructing a Conservative National Hero in Response to Patriot Radicalism (1787â1815)
â1âGrotius as the Embodiment of Republican Virtue
â2âThe Rediscovery of the Parallelon Rerumpublicarum and the Making of a Dutch National Hero
â3âWhat Can the Visser Collection Tell Us about the Transmission and Dispersal of Grotiusâ Working Papers?
â4âHow Jacobus Scheltema Rearranged Grotiusâ Working Papers and Marked Up the 1778 Inventory
8 End of the Lineage: How Hugo Cornets De Groot Disposed of His Grotiana (1802â1864)
â1âA Visit from Lieutenant-General A.W.H. Nolthenius De Man in March 1832
â2âAn Epistolary Exchange between Johan Pieter Cornets De Groot Van Kraaijenburg and Distant Relatives in Cuyck and Nijmegen
â3âWhy Did Hugo Cornets De Groot Become Estranged from His Relatives?
â4âThe Death of a Lonely Bachelor in Cuyck in February 1864
â5âHow Jean Baptiste Regouin Rearranged the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot, and Then Sold These to a Tobacco Merchant
9 Preparing for the Auction of the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot, Mostly Behind the Scenes (FebruaryâNovember 1864)
â1âChristiaan Snelleman, Rotterdam Merchant and Remonstrant
â2âA List of Grotiana Compiled by the Remonstrant Minister C.P. Tiele
â3âHow P.A. Tiele Put Together an Auction Catalogue, and Divided Up Manuscript Volumes into Multiple Lots
â4âThe Auctioneer Martinus Nijhoff
â5âHow Frederik Muller Did Business with the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij
10 The 1864 Auction of the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot, and What Happened Next
â1âHow Nijhoff Conducted the Auction and Presented Its Outcome to the Public
â2âThe Story Behind the Swedish Governmentâs Acquisition of Grotiana
â3âWhat Happened to Lots 1â42?
â4âThe Bid and Strike Prices of Lots 43â99, and the Potential and Actual Buyers
â5âThe 1864 Auction in Comparative Context
â6âWhat Explains the Dutch Governmentâs Total Lack of Involvement?
â7âHow Johan Pieter Cornets De Groot Van Kraaijenburg (Re)Assembled a Collection of Family Papers
11 Conclusion
Appendix 1: The 1778 Inventory of the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot, With Notes by Jacobus Scheltema
Appendix 2: Jacobus Scheltemaâs Rearrangement of the Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot (May 1803)
Appendix 3: âShort Description of the Contents of the Enclosed Books, Volumes of Letters, Parchments with Seals Attached to Them, etc., Left by Hugo Grotiusâ
Appendix 4: A List of Grotiana Compiled by C.P. Tiele, at the Request of Christiaan Snelleman (August 1864)
Appendix 5: The Auction of the Working Papers of Hugo Grotius and Pieter De Groot: Bid Prices, Strike Prices, and Horse Trading Behind the Scenes (November 1804)
Appendix 6: The Auction Proceeds: The Final Receipt Sent to Christiaan Snelleman by Martinus Nijhoff
Appendix 7: Grotiusâ Working Papers as Rearranged by P.A. Tiele
Appendix 8: Inheriting Ancestral Portraits and Papers: A Genealogical Chart
Bibliography
Indices
All interested in the life and work of Hugo Grotius, in the social history of knowledge, in book history, in intellectual history and in the history of international law. Keywords: Hugo Grotius, Republic of Letters, social history of knowledge, microsociologies of archives, materiality of texts, archival afterlives, intellectual history, history of book and manuscript collections, history of international law, history of the Remonstrant Brotherhood, Dutch history, history of canon formation in the West.