The University of Valence was founded 26 July 1452, by letters patent from the Dauphin Louis, afterwards

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

, in a move to develop the city of Valence, then part of his domain of

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th cen ...

. It existed until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are consider ...

History

Pope Pius II approved its erection in the papal bull of 3 May 1459. In February 1541, the Canon Pierre Morel opened a college for thirteen poor students. In the 16th century, Valence was famous for its teaching of law, entrusted to Italian professors or to those who had studied in Italy. The Portuguese jurist António de Gouveia taught at Valence, 1554–55; the French jurist,

Jacques Cujas Jacques Cujas (or Cujacius) (Toulouse, 1522 – Bourges, 4 October 1590) was a French legal expert. He was prominent among the legal humanists or ''mos gallicus'' school, which sought to abandon the work of the medieval Commentators and conce ...

(1522–90), from December 1557 to 1559; and François Hotman from the end of 1562 until August 1568. It was at the instigation of Hotman that Bishop Jean de Monluc obtained from

Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the H ...

the Edict of 8 April 1565, which united the University of Grenoble with Valence. Cujas again filled a chair at Valence, August 1567–1575; he had among his auditors

Joseph Justus Scaliger Joseph Justus Scaliger (; 5 August 1540 – 21 January 1609) was a French Calvinist religious leader and scholar, known for expanding the notion of classical history from Greek and Ancient Roman history to include Persian, Babylonian, Jewish a ...

, the historian Jacques Auguste de Thou, and the jurist Pierre Pithou. At this time, the university was known for its "

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

tendencies". Hotman was a determined Protestant; Cujas passed from Protestantism to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, but it is doubtful if his conversion was inspired entirely from religious motives. Consequently, in 1575, Montluc founded at Valence a college of

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

s, but this was of short duration. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the University of Valence was of only minor importance. From 1738 to 1764, its transfer to Grenoble was contemplated but this project was abandoned. Its operations ceased at the time of the French Revolution.

References

*Fournier, ''Statuts et privileges des universités de France'', III (Paris, 1892), 361-412; *Nadal, ''Histoire de l'université de Valence'' (Valence, 1861).

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valence, University of 1452 establishments in Europe 1450s establishments in France Defunct universities and colleges in France Educational institutions established in the 15th century Year of disestablishment missing

History

See also

References

External links