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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 Grotius’ lifetime and ended with the papers’ auction in 1864. This is also a study of archival afterlives. Our understanding of Grotius’ 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.
Price: $289.00
Pages: 706
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Brill's Studies in Intellectual History
Publication Date:
07 May 2024
ISBN: 9789004536005
Format: Hardcover
“Brill 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 Grotius’ 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.”
Henk Nellen, author of Hugo Grotius: A Lifelong Struggle for Peace in Church and State, 1583–1645 (Brill, 2015)
“This is manuscript and book history at its best, a formidable detective story which traces and reconstructs the transmission, dispersal, and loss of Hugo Grotius’ manuscripts, artifacts, and personal library during his lifetime (imprisonment, escape, exile, diplomatic appointments, shipwreck) and thereafter.”
William E. Butler, Penn State University. In: Jus Gentium, Vol. 10, No. 1 (January 2025), pp. 242–243.
“A veritable tour de force [...]. This book deserves to be ‘on the shelves’ of the libraries of all scholars of Grotius, and of early modern thought more generally.”
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, 1583–1645 (Brill, 2015)
“This is manuscript and book history at its best, a formidable detective story which traces and reconstructs the transmission, dispersal, and loss of Hugo Grotius’ manuscripts, artifacts, and personal library during his lifetime (imprisonment, escape, exile, diplomatic appointments, shipwreck) and thereafter.”
William E. Butler, Penn State University. In: Jus Gentium, Vol. 10, No. 1 (January 2025), pp. 242–243.
“A veritable tour de force [...]. This book deserves to be ‘on the shelves’ of the libraries of all scholars of Grotius, and of early modern thought more generally.”
Marco Barducci, University of Pavia. In: Grotiana, Vol. 36 (2025).
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).