Friday, March 6, 2026

Teyler Lecture: Agneta and Engeltje. Businesswomen, Cultural Leaders. Intellectuals

A Look at Mennonite Women in Early Modern Haarlem and the Surrounding Area

The next edition of the Teyler in Context lecture series, organised by the Teylers professors and the Archive and Library Committee of Doopsgezind Haarlem, will take place on Friday, 6 March 2026. Through lectures by various historians, this series explores and analyses the world of Pieter Teyler (1702–1778), that of early modern, Mennonite Haarlem.

Image: Title page design for a collection album by Agnes Block (detail), Philip Tideman, 1690–1700. This sketch is the design for a later, much more detailed drawing intended as the title page for a collection of flower and plant drawings by various artists. Agnes (Agneta) Block (1629–1704), the collector, owned at least four such albums, for which Tideman drew appropriate title pages.

This fourth edition focuses on women. Mennonite women were active participants in intellectual circles, both within and outside of trade. They also acted as investors and traders, refusing to be limited by the gender norms of their time.

Remarkable women

Two of the speakers are Huygens researchers Dr Eric Jorink and Lara Offermans. They each highlight a remarkable Mennonite woman: Agneta Block (1629–1704) and Engeltje van Hooven (1696–1759).

Further information

Visit the Doopsgezind Haarlem website.

Registration can be completed by mail via administratie@doopsgezindhaarlem.nl.