George Villiers

The Erpenius collection of manuscripts was known in Cambridge as the ‘Duke’s Library’ after George Villiers the Duke of Buckingham, a courtier to King James VI and I, and his son Charles I. Villiers finally purchased the collection in 1625 while in the Hague on diplomatic business. Following Erpenius’s death, Leiden University was in conversation with his widow about them purchasing the collection. When this negotiation broke down, the Duke offered her £500 for his manuscripts. 1625, oil on canvas M. J. van Mierevelt

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