Anna Maria van Schurman, Star of Utrecht

Aug 11, 2025

Discover the remarkable life of 17th-century polymath Anna Maria van Schurman, a trailblazer for women's education. Her journey from a noble upbringing to becoming the first woman to attend university in the Netherlands showcases her resilience and passion for knowledge. The podcast highlights her correspondence with influential figures, her struggles against societal norms, and her role in shaping enlightenment thought. Through her art and scholarship, van Schurman became a key advocate for women's intellectual capabilities, leaving a lasting legacy.

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ANECDOTE

Polyglot Artist And Self-Taught Scholar

Anna Maria compiled a Greek dictionary, translated texts, and mastered many languages and arts.
She balanced intense scholarship with painting, engraving, and musical practice.

ANECDOTE

Deathbed Vow Against Marriage

Anna Maria van Schurman promised her dying father she would never marry.
She kept that vow and framed her life as married to her pen.

INSIGHT

Republic Of Letters Connected Europe

The Republic of Letters spread treatises and dense analytical correspondence across Europe.
That network let van Schurman exchange ideas and gain a continental reputation.

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Polymath Anna Maria van Schurman was a very well-educated woman in the 17th century, making her exceptional. She’s described as the most learned woman of her time, and she basically became a celebrity because of it.

Research:

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"Anna Maria van Schurman." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 31, Gale, 2011. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631009647/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=cdba4228. Accessed 21 July 2025.
“Anna Maria van Schurman: an academic multitalent.” Utrecht University. https://www.uu.nl/en/background/anna-maria-van-schurman-an-academic-multitalent
Clarke, Desmond M. “Anna Maria Van Schurman and Women’s Education.” Revue Philosophique de la France et de l'Étranger. No. 3. July-September 2013. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42773326
de Baar, Mirjam. “Elisabeth of Bohemia’s Lifelong Friendship with Anna Maria van Schurman (1607–1678).” From Elisabeth of Bohemia (1618–1680): A Philosopher in her Historical Context, Women in the History of Philosophy and Sciences 9. S. Ebbersmeyer and S. Hutton (eds.). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71527-4_2
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Larsen, Anne R. “A Women's Republic of Letters: Anna Maria van Schurman, Marie de Gournay, and Female Self-Representation in Relation to the Public Sphere.” Early Modern Women, Fall 2008, Vol. 3 (Fall 2008). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23541520
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National Museum of Women in the Arts. “Anna Maria van Schurman.” https://nmwa.org/art/artists/anna-maria-van-schurman/
National Museum of Women in the Arts. “Anna Maria van Schurman: Self-Portrait.” https://nmwa.org/art/collection/schurman-self-portrait/
Pal, Carol. “Chapter 2 - Anna Maria van Schurman: the birth of an intellectual network.” From Republic of Women: Rethinking the Republic of Letters in the Seventeenth Century.” Cambridge University Press. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139087490.005
Project Vox. “Van Schurman (1607-1678).” https://projectvox.org/van-schurman-1607-1678/
Sint Nicolaas, Samantha. “The Correspondence of Anna Maria van Schurman.” Early Modern Letters Online. http://emlo-portal.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/collections/?catalogue=anna-maria-van-schurman
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Jean de Labadie". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Feb. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-de-Labadie. Accessed 25 July 2025.
Van Beek, Pieta. “The first female university student: Anna Maria van Schurman (1636).” Igitur. Utrecht Publishing & Archiving Services. 2010.
Van der Stighelen, Katlijne. “Chapter Title: Anna Francisca de Bruyns (1604/5–1656), Artist, Wife and Mother: a Contextual Approach to Her Forgotten Artistic Career.” From Women and Gender in the Early Modern Low Countries. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctvrxk3hp.12
Weststeijn, Thijs. “Anna Maria Van Schurman’s Chinese Calligraphy.” Early Modern Low Countries 7 (2023) 1, pp. 1-25 - eISSN: 2543-1587.

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