Anna Maria van Schurman. Icon of women’s emancipation

Written by Rory Thornfield

In the mid-17th century in Protestant Holland, women had no access to university education. However, in 1636, a female student sitting behind a screen appeared at the University of Utrecht so that men could not see her. Anna Maria van Schurman became the first woman to study at a Dutch university. Her extraordinary intellect and artistic talent shook the European world of science.

Childhood of a Prodigy

Anna Maria was born in Cologne, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, as the daughter of wealthy parents Frederik van Schurman of Antwerp and Eva von Harff de Dreiborn. Already at the age of four, she could read, which was an extraordinary achievement in the 17th century. At the age of six, she mastered the art of creating intricate paper cutouts, surpassing all children her age.

When she was ten years old, she learned embroidery in just three hours. A technique that adults practiced for years was mastered by her almost instantly. In her writings, she later recalled how she invented the method of sculpting in wax. She said she had to discover many things that no one was able to teach her. This self-portrait made in wax was so realistic, especially the necklace, that her friend, the Princess of Nassau, had to prick it with a pin to make sure it was not real.

Anna’s talents were not limited to one field. Her versatility was exceptional even by Renaissance standards. Her parents quickly recognized that they were raising an extraordinary child. However, the real breakthrough came when her father made a decision that changed her life.

Education Against Social Conventions

From the age of eleven, Anna was taught Latin and other subjects by her father along with his sons. This was an unusual decision at a time when girls from noble families generally did not receive classical education. Her father gave her Seneca to read to learn Latin. Private education and self-study were supplemented through correspondence and discussions with distinguished figures.

Her teachers included André Rivet and Friedrich Spanheim, both professors at Leiden University, and the family’s neighbor Gisbertus Voetius, a professor at the University of Utrecht. She excelled in painting, paper cutting, embroidery, and wood carving. Another art form she experimented with was calligraphy. She learned it simply by looking at a model book. After mastering this art, she invented styles that allowed her to write in many of the languages she knew.

Such education was practically unattainable for women in those times. Most girls from good homes learned only the basics of reading, writing, and household management. Anna, however, had access to the same level of instruction as her brothers. This intellectual preparation opened doors for her that remained closed to other women.

Breakthrough at the University of Utrecht

In 1634, due to her outstanding knowledge of Latin, she was invited to write a poem for the opening of the University of Utrecht. In the poem, she celebrated the city and the new university. She pointed out the university’s potential to help the city cope with the economic effects of floods and the changing course of the Rhine. She also challenged the exclusion of women from the university.

In response to her complaint, the university authorities allowed her to attend Professor Voetius’ lectures. In 1636, she became the first female student at this university, and at any Dutch university. Women at that time could not study at universities in Protestant Holland. When she attended lectures, she sat behind a screen or in a curtained booth so that male students could not see her.

At the university, she studied Hebrew, Arabic, Chaldean, Syriac, and Ethiopian. Her interest in philosophy and theology and her artistic talent contributed to her fame as the Star of Utrecht. In the 1640s, she spoke fourteen languages fluently and wrote in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, French, Arabic, Persian, Ethiopian, German, and Dutch. According to her contemporary Pierre Yvon, Anna had an excellent command of mathematics, geography, and astronomy.

Celibacy and Network of Learning

The pious young scholar apparently had several suitors. After his wife’s death in 1631, Constantijn Huygens asked Anna for her hand in marriage and wrote ten poems in three languages to her in 1634. Huygens was teased by other Dutch intellectuals. Anna’s commitment to celibacy and her studies seemed unwavering.

When she chose the phrase Amor Meus Crucifixus Est, meaning My Love Has Been Crucified, as her motto, her intellectual friends were convinced that her choice not to marry stemmed from piety rather than commitment to scholarship. The decision to remain celibate allowed her to fully dedicate herself to intellectual development. In an era when women were defined primarily by marriage and motherhood, Anna chose a different path.

She corresponded with Danish noblewoman Birgitte Thott, who translated classical authors and religious writings. Thott’s preface to her translation of Seneca’s philosophical works contained an argument for women’s right to education. Anna publicly praised Thott and called her the tenth muse of the north. Through correspondence, she established a network of learned women across Europe.

She corresponded in Latin and Hebrew with Dorothea Moore, in Greek with Bathsua Makin, in French, Latin, and Hebrew with Marie de Gournay and Marie du Moulin, in Latin and French with Elizabeth of Bohemia, and in Latin with Queen Christina of Sweden. A frequent topic in this correspondence was the education of women. Anna expressed in her letters her admiration for educated women such as Lady Jane Grey and Queen Elizabeth I.

Her life proves that even in the most restrictive circumstances, intellectual determination and family support can open doors to knowledge. Anna Maria van Schurman became a symbol of the fight for women’s equal access to education. Her achievements paved the way for subsequent generations of female scholars.

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Rory Thornfield

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Rory's grandfather left behind a wartime diary filled with accounts of a minor Burma skirmish that history books never mentioned. Reading it, Rory realized: behind every famous battle are dozens of forgotten struggles, each with its own human drama.

His preferred topics: The overlooked corners of military history – secondary campaigns, shadow battalions, local conflicts that never made headlines. From medieval sieges to twentieth-century expeditions, he focuses on the soldiers, not the generals. The people who faced impossible choices and carried those experiences forever.

Rory strips away the romanticism without losing respect for those who served. He combines tactical analysis with personal stories, examining human endurance and moral complexity rather than celebrating warfare. His writing is balanced, thoughtful, and deeply researched.

Outside work, Rory visits forgotten battlefields (now quiet farmland), photographs war memorials nobody tends anymore, and interviews veterans' families.