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

. 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

History

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

approved its erection in the papal bull of 3 May 1459. In February 1541, the Canon

Pierre Morel Pierre Morel (born 12 May 1964) is a French film director and cinematographer. His work includes '' District 13'', '' From Paris with Love'', and '' Taken.'' Career After spending his formative years in cinema school, Morel debuted in 2000 as ...

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 António de Gouveia (c.1505 – March 1566) was a Portuguese humanist and educator during the Renaissance. Gouveia was born in Beja. After graduating in Paris he taught at the Collège de Guyenne in Bordeaux, and then at Toulouse, Avignon, ...

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 Jean de Monluc, 1508 to 12 April 1579, was a French nobleman, clergyman, diplomat and courtier. He was the second son of François de Lasseran de Massencome, a member of the Monluc family; and Françoise d' Estillac. His birthplace is unknown ...

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 ...

the Edict of 8 April 1565, which united the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

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 Jacques Auguste de Thou (Thuanus) (8 October 1553, Paris – 7 May 1617, Paris) was a French historian, book collector and president of the Parliament of Paris. Life Jacques Auguste de Thou was the grandson of , president of the Parliament ...

, and the jurist

Pierre Pithou Pierre Pithou (1 November 1539 – 1 November 1596) was a French lawyer and scholar. He is also known as Petrus Pithoeus. Life He was born at Troyes. From childhood he loved literature, and his father Pierre encouraged this interest. Young ...

. At this time, the university was known for its "

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

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 Jesuits, 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