ABSTRACT
In 1582 the burgomasters of Leiden even went so far as to declare thatthey would oppose ‘the Genevan Inquisition as resolutely as the Spanish Inquisition’. The Board consisted of three Curators, appointed by the States of Holland for life, and the four annually elected burgomasters of Leiden. The Dutch communities in England in particular maintained excellent relations with the theology professors in Leiden, placing several of their students as boarders with Gomarus and Festus Hommius. The Leiden emphasis on bedside instruction was later developed by the Huguenotimmigrant Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius, who also gave lessons in Anatomy in Leiden from 1637 to 1644 but was not given a chair in medicine until 1658 after having practised in Amsterdam. The strength and attraction of Theology in Leiden undoubtedly lay in its solid foundation in critical, Scriptural theology and biblical exegesis.
