Justus Lipsius (1547-1606), or Joost Lips was a Flemish philosopher, philologist and humanist. He is known for his work on reviving Stoicism and he influenced a number of his contemporaries. He taught at the Universities of Jena, Leiden and Leuven. In the late 1560s he spent two years studying in Rome before travelling Europe more extensively in 1570. In 1579 the new University of Leiden appointed him professor of history. He remained for eleven years. He published many dissertations but two of the most important were the ‘De Militia Romana, 1595, and this ‘Lovanium’ in 1605, intended as an introduction to a general history of Brabant. The headquarters of the European Council from 2004-17 and the Council of the European Union (1995-2017) were both held in the Justus Lipsius Building in Brussels.

The work contains two large folding views, the first of Louvain with a key below to 6 lettered and 84 numbered places. A second folding plate is of the borough of Heverlee to the south of Louvain. It too has a key identifying 66 places. Both are after the work of Jodocus vander Baren. The book is printed by the famous Plantin Preess in Antwerp. Benezit; Funck p. 355; Bibl. Belgica III, pp. 996-8; Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek.