Archives of the University of Santo Tomas

Last updated
Angelo Vincenzo Zani, Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education of the Holy See (Vatican), examining historic documents related to the university's establishment during his visit to the Archives, on 21 January 2015. UST Archives.JPG
Angelo Vincenzo Zani, Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education of the Holy See (Vatican), examining historic documents related to the university's establishment during his visit to the Archives, on 21 January 2015.

The Archives of the University of Santo Tomas (AUST), also known in Spanish as the Archivo de la Universidad de Santo Tomas, is located at the Miguel de Benavides Library in Manila. The AUST is the central repository of historical and rare documents pertaining to, but not exclusively, to the history of the University of Santo Tomas, one of the oldest existing universities in Asia, and the oldest institution of higher learning in the Philippines. The collections consist of historical documents such as Papal bulls, royal decrees, rare Filipiniana prints, historical treatises, addresses, sermons, novenas, catechisms in many Philippine languages, national periodicals, and academic records of all educational institutions in the Philippines during the Spanish period. The archives is also home to the only incunabula, or books printed before 1500, in the country. [1]

Contents

Aside from having one of the largest collection of 15th-, 16th-, 17th-, and 18th-century European manuscripts in Asia, the archives also boasts of possessing the biggest collection of extant ancient baybayin scripts in the world. [1] [2]

Collection

The oldest book is an incunabula by a Jewish historian and translated into Spanish. Josefo Flavio's La Guerra Judaica was printed in 1492 and recounted the Jewish wars with the Romans. Other books in the collection include numerous existing samples of the ancient Tagalog script baybayin written on paper, including the only two known complete long texts handwritten in Baybayin, covering real estate transactions in 1615 and 1635 known as the UST Baybayin Documents which were declared National Treasures in August 2014, [3] a first edition 16th Century copy of Nicholas Copernicus' groundbreaking book on the revolution of celestial bodies, and the very rare Plantin Polyglot Bible, printed between 1569 and 1573 under the support of King Philip II of Spain. [4] [5]

The Lumina Pandit Exhibition

To mark the 400th anniversary of the University of Santo Tomas, the Archives department for the first time released to the public some of its rare collections in the university's exhibit entitled Lumina Pandit: An Exhibition of Historical Treasures. Among the exhibited manuscripts is one of the first dictionaries in the country, the Arte de la Lengua of Fr. Francisco Blancas de San Jose, OP, as well as a similar Tagalog dictionary by the Franciscan Fr. Juan de Plasencia. Also displayed were the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas of Antonio de Morga, the first history book of the Philippines; and the Librong Pagaaralan nang Manga Tagalog nang Uicang Castilla of Tomas Pinpin, the first printed book written in Tagalog and printed by a native [5] [6]

Services

Only the microfilm collections are allowed to be viewed by researchers. Services are made available to the faculty, staff and students of UST as well as to outsiders. UST students are required to present his/her library card and a letter from the adviser or Department Head. Research fee of P20.00 per visit is charged for researchers. Microfilm reader fee is P2.00 per hour, while a fee of P4.00 per page is charged for the microfilm printer. The microfilm section is open to researchers every Tuesdays to Fridays at 9:00 to 12:00 PM, and 1:00 to 5:00 PM. [7]

Related Research Articles

Baybayin is a Philippine script. The script is an abugida belonging to the family of the Brahmic scripts. Geographically, it was widely used in Luzon and other parts of the Philippines prior to and during the 16th and 17th centuries before being replaced by the Latin alphabet during the period of Spanish colonization. It was used in the Tagalog language and, to a lesser extent, Kapampangan-speaking areas; its use spread to the Ilocanos in the early 17th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries, baybayin survived and evolved into multiple forms—the Tagbanwa script of Palawan, and the Hanuno'o and Buhid scripts of Mindoro—and was used to create the constructed modern Kulitan script of the Kapampangan and the Ibalnan script of the Palawan people. Under the Unicode Standard and ISO 15924, the script is encoded as the Tagalog block.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Santo Tomas</span> Private university in Metro Manila, Philippines

The University of Santo Tomas (UST), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila, is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel de Benavides, third Archbishop of Manila, it has the oldest extant university charter in Asia and is one of the world's largest Catholic universities in terms of enrollment found on one campus. It is the main campus of the University of Santo Tomas System that is run by the Order of Preachers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arch of the Centuries</span> Triumphal arch in Manila

The Arch of the Centuries is a triumphal arch at the Plaza Intramuros of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, in the Philippines that stands meters away from the university's Millennium Gate along España Boulevard. Half of the current structure, the side facing the UST Main Building is the ruins of the original Intramuros arch while the side that faces España Boulevard is a replica. The arch was formerly the original entrance to the university when the campus was still in Intramuros during the years from 1680 to 1941. It was declared by the National Museum as a National Cultural Treasure on 25 January 2010.

<i>Maragtas</i> Illuminated manuscript by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro

The Maragtas is a work by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro titled History of Panay from the first inhabitants and the Bornean immigrants, from which they descended, to the arrival of the Spaniards. The work is in mixed Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a languages in Iloilo in 1907. It is an original work based on written and oral sources available to the author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditions of the University of Santo Tomas</span> Traditions of the university

The University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines marks a variety of traditions largely influenced by the Spanish and Filipino Dominican culture. Many are annual events, such as religious assemblies marking the start and end of the academic year, a welcome walk for new students, as well as intercollege sport competitions and talent exhibitions. Christmas is celebrated in a month-long festivities culminated by the UST Paskuhan. Many Roman Catholic feast days are also celebrated.

The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas (UST) celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2011. The agenda before the quadricentennial in 2011 included the introduction of new academic programs, improvements in the university's infrastructure, and other projects to raise UST's national and international prominence and promote its role as a social catalyst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Santo Tomas Publishing House</span> Philippine university publishing house

University of Santo Tomas Publishing House (USTPH) is a Filipino academic and literary publishing house. USTPH, in its current form, was established in 1996. It was inspired by the four-century-old UST Press, which was founded in 1593. USTPH, formerly the UST Press, is the oldest continuing press in Asia today. It is even older than the University of Santo Tomas, which was established in 1611. At present, it is equipped with high quality printing machines from Germany and advanced computer technology from the United States, Japan, and other countries. The USTPH aims to provide extensively the creative and innovative outputs of the academe, not only within, but also outside the campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in the Philippines during Spanish rule</span>

During the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines (1521–1898), the different cultures of the archipelago experienced a gradual unification from a variety of native Asian and Islamic customs and traditions, including animist religious practices, to what is known today as Filipino culture, a unique hybrid of Southeast Asian and Western culture, namely Spanish, including the Spanish language and the Catholic faith.

<i>Doctrina Christiana</i> Late 16th century catechism book

The Doctrina Christiana were two early books on the catechism of the Catholic Church, both published 1593 in Manila, Philippines. These are two of the earliest printed books in the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miguel de Benavides Library</span>

The Miguel de Benavides Library, also known as the University of Santo Tomas Library, is the main academic library of the University of Santo Tomas. The library has been in continuous service and its collection antedates the existence of the university itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kulitan</span> Brahmic script

Kulitan, also known as súlat Kapampángan and pamagkulit, is one of the various indigenous suyat writing systems in the Philippines. It was used for writing Kapampangan, a language mainly spoken in Central Luzon, until it was gradually replaced by the Latin alphabet.

This is a timeline of the history of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, the oldest university in Asia, comprising important events of the history of the university and of the development of Philippine higher education in general. To read about the background to these events, see History of the University of Santo Tomas. See also the history of the Rector Magnificus of the University of Santo Tomas, and the Santo Tomas Internment Camp

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary Building</span> Ecclesiastical and educational building in Sampaloc, Manila

The University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary Building currently houses the Santísimo Rosario Parish, the Central Seminary, and the Faculties of Ecclesiastical Studies of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas in Manila. The parish was canonically inaugurated on April 26, 1942, by Michael J. O'Doherty, the Archbishop of Manila. On January 25, 2010, the National Museum of the Philippines formally declared the Central Seminary Building as a National Cultural Treasure.

Old Tagalog, also known as Old Filipino, is the earliest form of the Tagalog language during the Classical period. It is the primary language of pre-colonial Tondo, Namayan and Maynila. The language originated from the Proto-Philippine language and evolved to Classical Tagalog, which was the basis for Modern Tagalog. Old Tagalog uses the Tagalog script or Baybayin, one of the scripts indigenous to the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Santo Tomas Baybayin Documents</span> 17th century land deeds

The University of Santo Tomas Baybayin Documents or UST Baybayin Documents are two 17th century land deeds written in Baybayin script.

The UST Christmas Concert is an annual musical event of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeology of the Philippines</span>

The archaeology of the Philippines is the study of past societies in the territory of the modern Republic of the Philippines, an island country in Southeast Asia, through material culture.

Suyat is the modern collective name of the indigenous scripts of various ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century up to the independence era in the 21st century. The scripts are highly varied; nonetheless, the term was suggested and used by cultural organizations in the Philippines to denote a unified neutral terminology for Philippine indigenous scripts.

Michael Anthony Vasco is a Filipino professor and educational administrator.

References

  1. 1 2 University of Santo Tomas Archives Archived 2013-05-24 at the Wayback Machine University of Santo Tomas Website accessed June 17, 2012
  2. ↑ Lao, Levine (January 16, 2012). "UST collection of ancient scripts in 'baybayin' syllabary shown to public". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ Sembrano, Edgar Allan (August 25, 2014). "UST documents in ancient 'baybayin' script declared a National Cultural Treasure". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  4. ↑ rare books and maps at the lumina pandit exhibit Wordpress.com accessed June 17, 2012
  5. 1 2 Light and language in ‘Lumina Pandit’ Archived June 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Inquirer.net accessed June 17, 2012
  6. ↑ ‘Lumina Pandit,’ exhibit of UST rare books, extended Archived June 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Inquirer.net accessed June 18, 2012
  7. ↑ Academic Archives National Commission for Culture and the Arts accessed June 17, 2012

14°36′35.5″N120°59′21.5″E / 14.609861°N 120.989306°E / 14.609861; 120.989306

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.