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:
Aldersey-Williams, Hugh. “’A Truer and Deeper Knowledge’: Anna Maria van Schurman’s The Learned Maid (1659).” Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-learned-maid/
"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
de Baar, Mirjam. “SCHURMAN, Anna Maria van.” Online Dictionary of Dutch Women. https://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Schurman,%20Anna%20Maria%20van/en 1/13/2014.
Dekker, Maryse. “Anna Maria van Schurman: Brains, Arts and Feminist avant la letter.” Art Herstory. 2/23/2021. https://artherstory.net/anna-maria-van-schurman-artist-scholar-and-woman-of-letters/
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
Larsen, Anne R. “Religious Alterity.” French Forum, FALL 2018, Vol. 43, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26762079
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.

Polymath Anna Maria van Schurman was a very well-educated woman in the 17th century, making her exceptional. She&rsquo;s described as the most learned woman of her time, and she basically became a celebrity because of it.
Research:
<ul>
<li>Aldersey-Williams, Hugh. &ldquo;&rsquo;A Truer and Deeper Knowledge&rsquo;: Anna Maria van Schurman&rsquo;s The Learned Maid (1659).&rdquo; Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-learned-maid/</li>
<li>"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&amp;sid=bookmark-GPS&amp;xid=cdba4228. Accessed 21 July 2025.</li>
<li>&ldquo;Anna Maria van Schurman: an academic multitalent.&rdquo; Utrecht University. https://www.uu.nl/en/background/anna-maria-van-schurman-an-academic-multitalent</li>
<li>Clarke, Desmond M. &ldquo;Anna Maria Van Schurman and Women&rsquo;s Education.&rdquo; Revue Philosophique de la France et de l'&Eacute;tranger. No. 3. July-September 2013. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42773326</li>
<li>de Baar, Mirjam. &ldquo;Elisabeth of Bohemia&rsquo;s Lifelong Friendship with Anna Maria van Schurman (1607&ndash;1678).&rdquo; From Elisabeth of Bohemia (1618&ndash;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</li>
<li>de Baar, Mirjam. &ldquo;SCHURMAN, Anna Maria van.&rdquo; Online Dictionary of Dutch Women. https://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Schurman,%20Anna%20Maria%20van/en 1/13/2014.</li>
<li>Dekker, Maryse. &ldquo;Anna Maria van Schurman: Brains, Arts and Feminist avant la letter.&rdquo; Art Herstory. 2/23/2021. https://artherstory.net/anna-maria-van-schurman-artist-scholar-and-woman-of-letters/</li>
<li>Larsen, Anne R. &ldquo;A Women's Republic of Letters: Anna Maria van Schurman, Marie de Gournay, and Female Self-Representation in Relation to the Public Sphere.&rdquo; Early Modern Women, Fall 2008, Vol. 3 (Fall 2008). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23541520</li>
<li>Larsen, Anne R. &ldquo;Religious Alterity.&rdquo; French Forum, FALL 2018, Vol. 43, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26762079</li>
<li>National Museum of Women in the Arts. &ldquo;Anna Maria van Schurman.&rdquo; https://nmwa.org/art/artists/anna-maria-van-schurman/</li>
<li>National Museum of Women in the Arts. &ldquo;Anna Maria van Schurman: Self-Portrait.&rdquo; https://nmwa.org/art/collection/schurman-self-portrait/</li>
<li>Pal, Carol. &ldquo;Chapter 2 - Anna Maria van Schurman: the birth of an intellectual network.&rdquo; From Republic of Women: Rethinking the Republic of Letters in the Seventeenth Century.&rdquo; Cambridge University Press. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139087490.005</li>
<li>Project Vox. &ldquo;Van Schurman (1607-1678).&rdquo; https://projectvox.org/van-schurman-1607-1678/</li>
<li>Sint Nicolaas, Samantha. &ldquo;The Correspondence of Anna Maria van Schurman.&rdquo; Early Modern Letters Online. http://emlo-portal.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/collections/?catalogue=anna-maria-van-schurman</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>Van Beek, Pieta. &ldquo;The first female university student: Anna Maria van Schurman (1636).&rdquo; Igitur. Utrecht Publishing &amp; Archiving Services. 2010.</li>
<li>Van der Stighelen, Katlijne. &ldquo;Chapter Title: Anna Francisca de Bruyns (1604/5&ndash;1656), Artist, Wife and Mother: a Contextual Approach to Her Forgotten Artistic Career.&rdquo; From Women and Gender in the Early Modern Low Countries. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1163/j.ctvrxk3hp.12</li>
<li>Weststeijn, Thijs. &ldquo;Anna Maria Van Schurman&rsquo;s Chinese Calligraphy.&rdquo; Early Modern Low Countries 7 (2023) 1, pp. 1-25 - eISSN: 2543-1587.</li>
</ul>

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Stuff You Missed in History Class

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.

Anna Maria van Schurman, Star of Utrecht 

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