Janus Dousa Jr.

Johan Van der Does Junior (Janus Dousa Junior)
Roelof Willemsz. van Culemborg: Johan Van der Does (right) with his father (left), detail of a Van der Does family portrait, 1590-1592.
Born(1571-01-16)16 January 1571
Noordwijk
Died26 December 1596(1596-12-26) (aged 25)
The Hague
Academic background
EducationLeiden University
Academic work
EraDutch Renaissance
DisciplineClassical languages, library science
InstitutionsLeiden University
Roelof Willemsz. van Culemborg: Group portrait of Jan van der Does, his wife Elisabeth van Zuylen (both seated) and their family, 1590-1592. To the left father Jan with to his right Johan Jr. Also shown is the classical scholar and poet Franciscus Dousa (1577-1630), the fourth son of Janus Dousa senior and younger brother of Junior. Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden.
Arnoud van Halen, 1700 - 1732: Johan van der Does de Jonge (Jr., 1571-96). Librarian at Leiden. After an engraving.

Janus Dousa Jr. (Latinized from Johan van der Does, also Janus Dousa filius, Janus II Dousa, Janus Dousa the younger, 16 January 1571 - 26 December 1596) was a Dutch classics scholar, Neo-Latin poet, historian and the second librarian of the young Leiden University (1593-1596).

Biography

Young years

Dousa Jr., the eldest son and the first of ten children of Janus Dousa (Johan van der Does, Dousa Sr.), was born at Noordwijk but in 1573 his family moved to Leiden, where his father was in command during the second siege by the Spanish army (26 May–3 October 1574). He was taught the classics by his father and at a young age excelled in languages. He was then, for instance, already well versed in writing Neo-Latin poetry. Johannes Meursius called Junior "verum Gratiarum pullum" (a true chick of the Charites). Janus Dousa Jr. concluded his studies at Leiden University in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Roman law, mathematics and astronomy, with professors Peter Tiara (Petreius Tiara, Pieter Tjeerts, Greek language), Bonaventura Vulcanius, Justus Lipsius, and Petrus Bertius in 1583. He assisted his father in literary studies and library activities. In 1594 he tutored Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange for a short time, when the prince was a student at Leiden University.

In the summer of 1585, Dousa Sr. led an informal Dutch embassy to England to investigate a possible Anglo-Dutch union, later leading to the failed military mission of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and his nephew the poet Philip Sidney to the Netherlands. A small group of Leiden Neo-Latin poets, including Dousa Jr., his friend Dominicus Baudius and Georgius Benedicti Wertelos, visited London in the summer and autumn of 1585 and met with fellow English poets.

Librarian of Leiden University 1593-1596

When his father Dousa Sr. was appointed a member of the Hoge Raad in 1591, Junior assumed the duties of his father as a pro tem university librarian and succeeded him officially on 15 July 1593, at the age of 21, so becoming the second librarian of the young Leiden University. On a two-year journey through Europe including Germany and Poland with two of his brothers starting in 1594 he fell ill and died shortly after his return at The Hague in 1596, at the age of 25.

Reputation

Notwithstanding his young age, Junior was considered a significant scholar, so that his portrait graces the frieze of the Bodleian Library at Oxford. In 1612, Leiden library curators commissioned five portraits of scholars considered outstanding, with Junior alongside his father Janus Dousa Sr., Justus Lipsius, Johannes Heurnius and Henricus Junius.

Leiden University's leading professor Joseph Justus Scaliger mourned the untimely death of his student: « Jamais je n’ai pleuré de mort que lui, mais je l’ai pleuré à bon escient. Il mourait tout en parlant ; il ne sentait point de mal. Le pauvre Janus était si bon et si simple ! Je pleuray huit jours durant comme une vieille, lorsqu'il fut mort.» (Translation from the French: I have never cried for anyone's death but his, but I cried for him with good reason. He died while talking; he felt no pain. Poor Janus was so kind and simple! I cried for eight days like an old woman when he died.) During his absence and after his decease, Petrus Bertius stood in for Janus Dousa Junior as the university librarian.

Quotations

Source:

Epigram for the historian Van Meteren, 1585

Latin epigram by Janus Dousa Jr. at age 14 as a tribute contribution to the Album Amicorum presented to the Flemish historian Emanuel van Meteren

Mens mihi in ambiguo utrum tua iussa secutus
  Inscalpam libro carmina pauca tuo;
An potius nihil hic ausus, metuensque tot inter
  Obscurum artifices nomen habere viros
Nil scribam, reddamque tibi hoc inglorius Album
  Nomine denigrare ipse meo veritus :
Sed quoniam tibi maiori parere necesse est,
  Qui me sis factus paene senex puero,
Effigiem tibi non aliquam aut insignia pingam
  Maiorum, at male natum hoc Epigramma dabo.
Ergo cape EMANUEL manum monimenta mearum,
  Ingeniique modo non puerilis opus,
'Mnemostunon filias' aeternum mique tibique,
Dum notus terris sit vetus EMANUEL.


D. EMANUELI DEMETRIO mercatorum doctissimo, amicitiae
paternae caussa scripsi hoc qualecunque Epigramma JANUS DOUSA filius.
Londini Anno 1585. Aetatis vero 14.

— Janus Dousa Jr.
Translation:

While doubting in my mind whether following your orders
  I'll engrave a few poems in your book;
Or rather not risking anything here, fearing that among so many
  expert artists I with an obscure name
will write nothing, and return to you this Album as a nobody,
  worrying that I smirch my name:
But since of course i must obey a senior, you,
  Who has made a wise old man of me out of hardly a boy,
I'll paint you not some portrait nor coats of arms
  Of my ancestors, but I'll give you this feeble born Epigram.
Therefore, receive, EMANUEL, the memorials by my hands,
  and so the work of a nearly childish talent,
A 'Mnemostunon filias' [Greek: A friendship memorial] eternal for me and you,
As long as the old EMANUEL be known throughout the world.


To Mr. EMANUEL DEMETRIUS, most learned of merchants, for paternal friendship's sake
I have written this sort of Epigram, JANUS DOUSA son. London, 1585. Aged 14.

Rerum Coelestium, 1591

Source:

Jani Dousae filii Rerum Coelestium Liber primus. Ad Illustrem virum Henricum Ranzovium Vicarium Regis Daniae

[1] Astra renitenti subterlabentia Mundo,
Et toties superis implexos orbibus orbes,
Sideraque in multas caelum laqueantia formas,
Errantumque choros varios, atque aurea Divum
[5] Tecta canam. Tu, per quem olim discordia rerum
Semina concordi coierunt pace ligata,
Praescriptosque tenent aeterno foedere fines,
Frigida ne calidis pugnent, aut humida siccis;



O qui stelliferi supra spatia ardua Mundi
[10] Ignigenos habitas tractus atque avia regna;
Quem coeli Indigetes unum venerantur, & omnis
Observat superûm pictis exercitus alis,
Magne Parens , tua dum in populos juvar edere facta,
[14] Annue tam grandi coepto & juvenilibus ausis.

— Janus Dousa Filii: Poemata, Rerum Coelestium Liber Primus opening Latin verses, p. 16.
Translation:

(Translation) Janus Dousa Son: First Book of the Heavens. To the illustrious man Henricus Ranzovius (Heinrich Rantzau), Governor for the King of Denmark.

[1] Of stars gliding down in a gleaming Universe,
and orbits so often entangled in higher orbits,
also of sky-paneling constellations in many shapes,
and various choruses of wanderers [i.e., planets] and of the Gods' golden
[5] ceilings I shall sing. You, by whom once the different
atoms of things came together bound by harmonious peace,
and in eternal covenant uphold prescribed bounds.
Let the cold not fight the heat, nor the wet the dry.


O who above the starry Universe's lofty spaces
[10] lives in fiery regions and remote kingdoms
Whom alone heaven's Powers venerate, and [who]
Watches the armies of the Gods with completely painted wings,
Great Parent, because it pleases to divulge your work to the nations,
[14] Nod approvingly to such a great undertaking and youthful endeavours.

Publications

Janus Dousa Junior's publications include:

History

  • Dousa, Janus; Dousa, Janus Junior (1601). Bataviae Hollandiaeque annales: a Iano Dousa filio concepti atque inchoati iam olim; nunc vero a patre eidem cognomine ac superstite, Nordovici domino, supremi concilii adsessore, tum archivorum in Batavis custodiae praefecto, recogniti, suppleti, novaque octo librorum accessione ad integrae usque decades finem perducti et continuati [Annals of Batavia and Holland: conceived and started long ago by Janus Dousa Junior; now by his surviving father of the same name, Lord of Noordwijk, advisor of the Hoge Raad, former state archivist, revised, supplemented, and ... eight books? brought to a complete end and continued to the end of the decade.] (in Latin). Lugduni-Batavorum. p. 500. OCLC 151178952. Dousa Jr. wrote the first part ‘Batavia’ (pages 1–47), book 8 with an insert by his father presumably (403-410), book 9 and 10 with another insert by his father at pages 481-495 describing the Holland Count Dirk V.
    • reprinted in de Groot, Hugo; Johan (Janus), van der Does Sr. (Dousa); Johan (Janus), van der Does Jr. (Dousa) (1617). Chronicon Hollandiae. De Hollandorum republica et rebus gestis commentarii Hugonis Grotii Iani Dousae patris Iani Dousae filii. Leiden: Johan Maire. The reprint is preceded by Grotius' Liber de antiquitate reipublicae Batavicae.
  • Annales Hollandiae prosa oratione.

Classical authors' editions with commentaries

Commentaries on the classical authors Catullus, Petronius, Propertius, Plautus and Tibullus.

  • Dousa, Janus (1592). Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, jampridem viri docti judicio castigati, et nunc denuo recogniti ac variis lectionibus et notis illustrati a Jano Dousa filio. Accessit Pervigilium Veneris. - Jani Dousae filii In Catullum, Tibullum, Propertium conjectanea et notae ... Item Jani Dousae patris in Propertium paralipomena. [In Pervigilium Veneris notata Justo Lipsio, "Electorum I.", cap. V.] (in Latin). Leiden Batavorum: Franciscus Raphelengius, ex officina Plantiniana. OCLC 458304915.
    • Conjectanea et notæ in Catullum, Tibullum et Propertium (Conjectures and notes on Catullus, Tibullus and Propertius), following his edition of these poets, Leiden, 1592.
  • Spicilegium in Petronii Arbitri Satyricon (Leftovers about the Satyricon by Petronius Arbiter). Lugd. Bat. [Leiden] 1594. 12mo. Reprinted several times.
  • Iani Dousae Filii Animadversiones In M. Acci Plauti Comoedias (Remarks on the Comedies by M. Accius Plautus by Janus Dousa Jr.), in Plautus, M. Accius (1598). Dousa, Ianus (ed.). M. Accius Plauti, comici, fabulae superstites XX, ex recensione Dousica, recens magno studio et quanta fieri potuit, accurata diligentia editae. Frankfurt: Petrus Kopffius, Joannes Saurius. pp. 784–804. OCLC 1281887266.. Scan "Plautus, Titus Maccius: M. ACCI. PLAVTI, COMICI, FABVLAE SVPER-STITES XX. Ex ... , 1598". digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de. Berlin: Staatsbibliotheek zu Berlin, Stabi Digitalisierte Sammlungen. Retrieved 2026-02-19.

Original Neo-Latin poetry

  • Jani Dousae filii Poemata olim a patre collecta, nunc ab amicis edita [Poems by Jan Dousa the son, once collected by his father, now published by his friends] (in Latin). Lugduni Bat.: A. Cloucquium. 1607. OCLC 458361204. 227 pages.
    • Rabus, Willem, ed. (1704). Jani Dousae filii Poemata [Poems of Janus Dousa Junior] (in Latin). Rotterdam: Adrianus van Dijk. OCLC 782087287. 212 pages. Reprint of 1607 edition.
    • "Digitale Sammlungen Jani Dousae filii Poemata". digital.ulb.hhu.de (in Latin). Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf. Retrieved 19 February 2026. Provides a hyperlink to the PDF scan of Jani Dousae filii Poemata [52.85 MB]. This book includes Rerum Coelestium Liber Primus, Silvae (genre Silvae), Elegiaca, Funera, Odae, Jambi, Erotopaegnion, Elogia, Epigrammata puerilia, and Epigrammata juvenilia.
  • Dousa, Ianus F; Molinaeus (Du Moulin), Petrus (Pierre) (1594). In nuptias Mart. Pilii I.C. et lectissimæ Ianæ Olivariæ epithalamia. Lugd. Bat. [Leiden]: Franciscus Raphelengius. OCLC 69075722.
  • Brittannicorum Carminum Sylva, Lugd. Bat. 1586. 4o. (following Janus Dousa Sr. Odae Brittannicae.)
  • Rerum coelestium: in laudem Umbrae declamatio et carmen: una cum aliquot poëmatiis. Lugd. Bat. [Leiden]. 1591.
    • in van der Wowern, Johan (1636). Dies æstiva, sive De vmbra pægnion. Unà cum Iani Dousæ F. in eandem declamatione. Oxford: William Turner, William Webb. OCLC 606543483.
  • Farrago variorum carminum (Farrago of various poems).

Letters and Other

  • Letters 1586, 1591-1596.
  • Janus Dousa junior in 1592 curated the captions of Goltzius' portraits of the scholars Julius Caesar Scaliger and his son Josephus Justus Scaliger.

Secondary literature

Portraits

References

  1. 1 2 Haitsma Mulier, Eco; van der Lem, Anton. "146 Dousa Sr. (Does), Janus (Johan van der), en Dousa Jr., Janus" (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 February 2026. pp 121-122 Repertorium van geschiedschrijvers in Nederland 1500-1800 (1990), Nederlands Historisch Genootschap, Den Haag.
  2. ↑ van der Aa, A. J. (1852–1878). "Dousa Jr.". Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden, bevattende levensbeschrijvingen van zoodanige personen, die zich op eenigerlei wijze in ons vaderland hebben vermaard gemaakt, 21 vols. Vol. 4. Haarlem: Van Brederode. pp. 219–221. OCLC 65379269.
  3. ↑ Rabus 1704, PDF scan p. 16.
  4. ↑ van der Aa, A. J. "Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden, bevattende levensbeschrijvingen van zoodanige personen, die zich op eenigerlei wijze in ons vaderland hebben vermaard gemaakt; voortgezet door K.J.R. van Harderwijk en G.D.J. Schotel, Haarlem 1852-1878" (in Dutch). pp. 121–122. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  5. ↑ Peter Tiara article on Dutch language Wikipedia.
  6. ↑ Blok, P.J.; Molhuysen, P.C. (eds.). "Does (jonker Johan van der)". Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek (NNBW) (in Dutch). Vol. VI. pp. 429–430.. Also DBNL at Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek. Deel 6 (1924).
  7. ↑ Georgius Benedicti on Dutch wikipedia.
  8. ↑ van Dorsten, J.A. (1962). Poets, Patrons, and Professors. Sir Philip Sidney, Daniel Rogers, and the Leiden Humanists. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  9. ↑ Enenkel, Karl (2018). "From Chivalric Family Tree to "National" Gallery: The Portrait Series of the Counts of Holland, ca. 1490–1650". The Quest for an Appropriate Past Literature, Art and Architecture. pp. 233–301. doi:10.1163/9789004378216_012. ISBN 978-90-04-37821-6.. Section 7 The Counts in the National Gallery of Honour: Georgius Benedicti Wertelos’s Epitaphs and Petrus Scriverius’s Series
  10. ↑ Berkvens-Stevelinck, p. 29.
  11. ↑ Scaliger JJ, et al. (1695). Scaligerana, ou Bons mots, rencontres agreables, et remarques judicieuses & sçavantes de J. Scaliger (in Latin). Cologne. p. 66. OCLC 67992122.
  12. ↑ Grateful acknowledgement: Dutch Wikipedian VVWint kindly helped with the translation of the following quotations from the original Latin. Remaining errors are not his fault.
  13. ↑ Rogge, H.C. (1897). "Het Album van Emanuel van Meteren" [The Album of Emanuel van Meteren] (PDF). Oud Holland. 15 (4). Leiden: Brill: 159–192. doi:10.1163/187501797X00131.. Also at https://www.jstor.org/stable/42718599. Quote at page 185.
  14. ↑ "Digitale Sammlungen Jani Dousae filii Poemata". digital.ulb.hhu.de (in Latin). Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf. Retrieved 19 February 2026. Provides a hyperlink to the PDF scan of Jani Dousae filii Poemata [52.85 MB]. This book includes Rerum Coelestium Liber Primus, Silvae (genre Silvae), Elegiaca, Funera, Odae, Jambi, Erotopaegnion, Elogia, Epigrammata puerilia, and Epigrammata juvenilia. Quotation from the start of the Rerum Coelestium Liber Primus, p. 16, p. 46 in the scan.
  15. ↑ Siegenbeek, Matthijs (1812). Laudatio Jani Dousae cum subjunctis annotationibus. Lugduni Batavorum: Vincent Herdingh. pp. 126–130. OCLC 828820193.
  16. ↑ "Dousa, Janus (the younger), 1571-1596. Early modern letters online". emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Oxford: Bodleian Library. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  17. ↑ Dousa, Janus (1591). "Brieven van Janus Dousa (1571-1596) aan Carolus Clusius (1526-1609)" [Letters by Janus Dousa (1571-1596) to Carolus Clusius (1526-1609)] (in Latin). hdl:1887.1/item:1585995.. Manuscript Leiden University Library shelf mark VUL 101:97.
  18. ↑ Sellink, Manfred (1991). "Een teruggevonden Laatste Oordeel van Hendrick Goltzius. Goltzius' relatie met de Antwerpse uitgever Philips Galle". Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek (NKJ) / Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art. Goltzius-Studies: Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617) (1991-92) (in Dutch). Vol. 42/43. Brill. pp. 145–158. JSTOR 24705369.. On page 155.
  19. ↑ Anonymous / Culemborg, Roeloff Willemsz. van (active 1558 - 1596). "Portret van Janus (II) Dousa, bibliothecaris van de Universiteit Leiden Icones 54". hdl:1887.1/item:1581998.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)