Gerard Isaac Lieftinck

Gerard Isaäc Lieftinck (3 August 1902 – 9 May 1994), known in print as G.I. Lieftinck, was a Dutch academic specialising in medieval European manuscripts.

Personal life The eldest of two boys and three girls, Lieftinck was born in Amsterdam in 1902 to Gerard Lieftinck (1875–1957), an entrepreneur and director of the tobacco brokerage J.H. Lieftinck & Son, and his wife Elisabeth Esser (1878–1963). He married twice, had two sons, and died in Deventer in 1994.

Education and career From 1920 to 1925 Lieftinck studied medicine at the University of Amsterdam. Thereafter he switched to Dutch literature which remained his focus until he completed his studies in 1931; his first article, about fifteenth century Dutch mystic Hendrik Mande, appeared shortly thereafter. In 1936 Lieftinck successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on the Middle Dutch Tauler manuscripts. The post was upgraded to Professor of Palaeography and Manuscripts in 1963, making him only the second person to teach in that field at Leiden (the first being S.G. de Vries, who held the post from 1909 to 1931). He held the position until his retirement in 1972, , Comité International de Paléographie Latine,

Selected publications Authored books (with J. P. Gumbert). Manuscrits Datés Conservés dans les Pays-Bas, Tome Deuxième: Les Manuscrits d'Origine Néerlandaise (XIVe–XVIe Siècles) et Supplément au Tome Premier. (Leiden: Brill, 1988). Catalogue Paléographique des Manuscrits en Écriture Latine Portant des Indications de Date. Boekverluchters uit de Omgeving van Marie van Bourgondie c. 1475–c. 1485. 2 Vols. (Brussels: Paleis der Academiën, 1969). Manuscrits Datés Conservés dans les Pays-Bas, Tome Premier: Les Manuscrits d'Origine Étrangère (816–c. 1550). (Amsterdam: Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij, 1964–). Catalogue Paléographique des Manuscrits en Écriture Latine Portant des Indications de Date. Mediaeval Manuscripts with ‘Imposed’ Sheets. (Den Haag: Nijhoff, 1961). Problemen met Betrekking tot het Zutphens-Groningse Maerlant-handschrift. (Amsterdam: Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij, 1959). De Librijen en Scriptoria der Westvlaamse Cisterciënser-abdijen Ter Duinen en Ter Doest in de 12e en 13e eeuw en de Betrekkingen tot het Atelier van de Kapittelschool van Sint Donatiaan te Brugge. (Brussels: Paleis der Academiën, 1953). Bisschop Bernold (1027–1054) en zijn Geschenken aan de Utrechtse Kerken. (Groningen, 1948). Codicum in Finibus Belgarum ante Annum 1550 Conscriptorum qui in Bibliotheca Universitatis Asservantur. (Leiden: Brill, 1948). Codices Manuscripti, 5. Vertalingen van Nederlandsche Letterkunde na 1880 aanwezig in de Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Foreword by Leendert Brummel. (Den Haag, 1939). De Middelnederlandsche Tauler-Handschriften. (1936). [Phil. Diss. Amsterdam].

Edited volumes (with B. Bischoff and G. Battelli). Nomenclature des Écritures Livresques du IXe au XVIe Siècle: Premier Colloque International de Paléographie Latine, Paris 28–30 avril 1953. (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1954).

Book chapters and articles “Kunstwerk of Juweel?: Het Gebedenboek van de heer C.H. Beels te Hilversum”. Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 8 (1957): 1–28. “Een Uniek Handschrift met de Middelnederlandse Versie van de Statuten van Het Gulden Vlies van 1431”. Tijdschrift voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde 67 (1950).