The Antwerp issue of the first edition of this work on the origin of the Netherlands by the early Humanist and historian Cornelius Gerardi Aurelius (ca. 1460-1531), teacher and friend of Erasmus in Gouda and best known for his Divisiekroniek (1517). The other issue of the Batavia is printed in Leiden in the same year.
Aurelius Batavia brings together his earlier writings on the history and geography of the Batavian region, here appearing in their first printed editions: (1) Defensorium gloriae Batavinae (written ca. 1508-1509), on the ancestors of the Dutch people, and (2) Elucidarium scopulosarum questionum super Batavina regione et differentia (written ca. 1509-1510), dedicated to the historian Reinier Snoy of Gouda. On pp. 99-124 the first edition of his Diadema Imperatorium (written ca. 1519-1520) a treatise on the ideal monarch, dedicated to Charles V. All these works are edited by Bonaventure Vulcanius (1538-1614) who has played a leading role in Northern humanism. In 1577, he became secretary of Philips of Marnix of St. Aldegonde (1540-1598), burgomaster of Antwerp, friend and councellor of William the Silent (1533-1584), and probable author of the Dutch national anthem. From 1581, Aurelius was professor of Greek and Latin at the Leiden University.
Since Erasmus had published Auris Batava in the 1508 edition of his Adagia, it was generally accepted that the Batavians, which Tacitus has described, were to be identified with the Dutch. In Dutch historiography, Aurelius was the creator of the so-called Batavian myth: that the Batavians, the brave and faithful allies of the Romans, were the direct ancestors of the Dutch. In the long term, the Batavian myth boosting the self-confidence of the Dutch, ultimately leading to the Revolt against Spain and the establishment of a free and independent nation with a heroic past, always fighting against tyranny.
With the bright pink Cholmondeley Library bookplate on the front pastedown and a manuscript ownership inscription "R Walpole 060" with the initials "HL", linking the present work to the distinguished Walpole family, an influential English aristocratic lineage famed for its 18th-century political prominence. The binding is somewhat stained, with a hole in the back board where one of the ties would have been, lacking all ties, and a tear on the title page (not affecting the text). Otherwise in good condition. Adams A 2252; Belg. Typ. 200; EEB (Proquest) ned-kbn-all-00010698-001; Haitsma Mulier van der Lem, 20 b; Molhuysen, Corn. Aurelius, in: Ned. Arch. Kerkgesch., 2,1 (1902), pp. 1-35; Plantin Press Online cp010705; STCN 044102003; STCV 12917042; Tilmans, Dutch national consciousness in early humanist historiography: the Italian influence on Aurelius ..., in: Th. Hermans, etc., From Revolt to Riches (2017), pp. 19-26; Voet (Plantin) 605; not in BM STC Dutch.