The Roman Law Library of Professor Armand Vandeplas

Armand Vandeplas’ bibliophilic interest in legal books began as part of his preparation for his university studies. In the 1950s, he started building his personal library, focusing on both old and contemporary legal publications. His impressive collection of Roman law, one of the most comprehensive of its kind and containing unique complete series, was completed between 1965 and 1995. It consists of approximately 900 items, primarily in Latin, French, and Flemish. The collection mainly includes 16th-century editions along with some later 17th- and 18th-century works. All the books were acquired from antiquarian bookstores, with a small portion from Belgium, some from Krakow and Prague, and the majority from Italy, particularly from Milan, Florence, Bologna, and Genoa. In his acquisitions, the collector paid special attention to selecting books with bindings in good condition. Many of the books also bear old material evidence, such as ownership notes, inscriptions and annotations. The collection was acquired by the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation in June 2021. Its integration into the Historical Library’s collections was presented as a model of best practices for incorporating new collections during the celebration of the European Conservation Day 2021.

Armand Vandeplas (1928) is a jurist. He was born in the Flemish town of Tienen, Belgium. He pursued classical studies (ancient Greek and Latin) in secondary education and then studied history, commercial, and diplomatic sciences at the Catholic University of Leuven, where he also completed a PhD in law. He served as a Professor of criminal law at the same university and held judicial positions in Rwanda and Burundi. He was the president of the Court of Appeal in Antwerp, in the criminal law division, for 20 years. A passionate bibliophile, he was an active member of the Friends of the University Library of Leuven and served as its president for 25 years.