The Scots College (; ) was a college of the
University of Paris
The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, founded by an
act of the
Parliament of Paris
The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...
on 8 July 1333. The act was a ratification of an event that had already taken place, the founding of the Collegium Scoticum, one of a number of national colleges into which the university was divided. The Scots College came to an end in 1793 when the
National Convention
The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...
abolished the colleges and reorganized the university along different lines.
Early history
At some time not long before 1323 King
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
sent an embassy including the
Earl of Moray
The title Earl of Moray, or Mormaer of Moray (pronounced "Murry"), was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until ...
and his kinsman
David de Moravia (1299–1326), the
Bishop of Moray
The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Mor ...
, "to conclude a treaty of 'confederacy' " renewing the
auld alliance
The Auld Alliance ( Scots for "Old Alliance") was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France against England made in 1295. The Scots word ''auld'', meaning ''old'', has become a partly affectionate term for the long-lasting asso ...
between Scotland and France. A passionate benefactor of religious learning, the Bishop in 1325
endowed
A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are ...
the lands of
Grisy-Suisnes
Grisy-Suisnes () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.
Population
Inhabitants are called ''Grisysoliens'' in French.
See also
*Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department
The fol ...
, just outside Paris to be used as a source of funds for students from his diocese studying at the University of Paris. The ''Collegium Scoticum'' came into existence in 1325 and its foundation was confirmed by
King Charles IV of France in August 1326.
The Scots students were expelled from the
University of Paris
The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
in 1409, during the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
, and did not return until 1440 following the
Treaty of Arras.
The college accepted both lay and clerical students. In 1707, the minimum age for admission was fixed at fifteen, but that was often ignored. It competed with the Jesuit college to attract good students.
Scottish Catholic refuge
When the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
was disestablished in Scotland, the Scots College became a centre for Catholic Scots abroad and a political centre for persons who hoped to reconvert Scotland.
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legit ...
, contributed to it even from prison. Meanwhile, the college buildings at Rue des Fosses de S. Victor became a repository for many valuable Scottish state documents.
James Beaton
James Beaton (or Bethune) ( – 15 February 1539) was a Roman Catholic Scottish church leader, the uncle of David Cardinal Beaton and the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland.
Life
James Beaton was the sixth and youngest son of John Beaton ...
bequeathed
A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...
his property, including the
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...
s of the
Diocese of Glasgow
The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annand ...
, and a great mass of important correspondence, to the Scots College. Some of these documents had already been deposited by him in the
Carthusian
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...
monastery in Paris.
Under Robert Barclay (rector from 1653 to 1682), new premises and a chapel were constructed.
Efforts to reconvert Scotland militarily and politically failed. Neither
James VI & I
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
nor his son
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
were inclined to change religions, but the restored monarch,
Charles II, converted on his deathbed and his successor, his brother,
James II, was a Catholic. The Protestant English found it necessary to depose him in favour of his Protestant daughter, (alternatively he abandoned his throne, and the Convention Parliament invited)
Queen Mary II
Mary II (30 April 1662 – 28 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband, King William III and II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. She was also Princess of Orange following her marriage on 4 November 1677 ...
, and the college once more became a centre for exiled Scottish Catholics.
In the last political movement of any significance raised by the Scottish Catholics, the college became a rallying point for the supporters of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (
Bonnie Prince Charlie
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
).
French Revolution
During the
French Revolution the people of Paris paid little respect to either Catholicism or Protestantism. Social transformation had changed paradigms entirely. The Scots College, seen as an aristocratic institution, was sacked in 1792 and many of its valuable documents were destroyed.
The building was taken for use as a prison during the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
. Among its famous prisoners,
Louis de Saint-Just
Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just (; 25 August 176710 Thermidor, Year II 8 July 1794, sometimes nicknamed the Archangel of Terror, was a French revolutionary, political philosopher, member and president of the French National Convention, a ...
was briefly imprisoned here during the
revolt of Thermidor. He was rescued (equally briefly) by forces under
François Hanriot
François Hanriot (; 2 December 1759 – 28 July 1794) was a French Sans-culotte leader, street orator, and commander of the National Guard during the French Revolution. He played a vital role in the Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 and ...
before he was recaptured and executed at the guillotine.
In 1802, Napoleon issued an edict whereby the English and Scots Colleges were amalgamated into the
Irish College in Paris
The Irish College in Paris (, , ) was for three centuries a major Roman Catholic educational establishment for Irish students. It was founded in the late 16th century, and closed down by the French government in the early 20th century. From 1945 t ...
and the ''Fondation Irlandais''. As the United British Colleges, the foundations were separated again in 1825 by
Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
.
Modern mementos
One of its chapels had a bronze urn containing the brain of
King James VII
James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...
. After he died of a brain hemorrhage on 16 September 1701 at
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...
his body was laid in a coffin at the Chapel of Saint Edmund in the Church of the English Benedictines in the Rue St. Jacques. However, during the French Revolution, his body was desecrated and the other remains were lost.
Notable alumni
*
William Ballantine
Serjeant William Ballantine SL (3 January 1812 – 9 January 1887) was an English Serjeant-at-law, a legal position defunct since the legal reforms of the 1870s.
Early career
Born in Howland Street, Tottenham Court Road in Camden, London, the ...
*
Robert Barclay
Robert Barclay (23 December 16483 October 1690) was a Scottish Quaker, one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was a son of Col. David Barclay, Laird of Urie, and his ...
*
George Buchanan
George Buchanan (; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth-century Scotland produced." His ideology of re ...
*
Seignelay Colbert de Castlehill
Seignelay () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. The regional historian Vaast Barthélemy Henry (1797–1884) was born in Seignelay.
See also
*Communes of the Yonne department
The follo ...
*
James Drummond, 2nd Duke of Perth
James Drummond, 2nd Duke of Perth, etc., (c. 167417 April 1720) was a Scottish nobleman. He held the Peerage created for his father, James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth, by the exiled Stuart monarchs at St Germain.
Life
The eldest son and heir of ...
*
James Drummond, 3rd Duke of Perth
James Drummond, 6th Earl and 3rd titular Duke of Perth (11 May 171313 May 1746) was a Scotland, Scottish landowner and head of Clan Drummond best known for his participation in the Jacobite rising of 1745, during which Charles Edward Stuart atte ...
*
John Drummond, 4th Duke of Perth
John Drummond (1714–1747), titular 7th Earl and 4th Duke of Perth, often referred to by his courtesy title Lord John Drummond, was a Franco-Scottish nobleman, soldier and Jacobite.
Drummond served as an officer in the French Army, but is p ...
*
Edward Drummond, 6th Duke of Perth
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
*
John Fleming, 6th Earl of Wigtown
Earl of Wigtown (or Wigton) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation was in 1341 for Sir Malcolm Fleming of Clan Fleming, and was surrendered in 1372, when the second Earl sold the Earldom and terri ...
*
Alexander Geddes
Alexander Geddes (14 September 1737 – 26 February 1802) was a Scottish Catholic theologian and scholar. He translated a major part of the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible into English.
Translations and commentaries
Geddes was born at ...
*
Thomas Innes
*
Alexander MacdonellMacDonald, Donald. "Alexander MacDonell." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 17 February 2019
* Alexander Smith
*Charles Stewart, 5th Earl of Traquair
*John Stewart, 6th Earl of Traquair
* John Wallace
Staff
Principals
* William Lumsden, 1604–uncertain date
* Under care of Robert Phillip
Robert Phillip (died 4 January 1647 at Paris) was a Scottish Roman Catholic priest, the confessor to Henrietta Maria of France.
Life
He was descended from the Scottish family of Phillip of Sanquhar, but nothing is known of his early life. Ordaine ...
and Alexander Pendrick until 1617.
* Alexander Pendrick, 1617–37
* David Chambers, 1637–41
* George Leith, 1641–55
* Gilbert Blackhall
Gilbert Blackhall or Blakhal (died 1671) was a Scottish Catholic missionary priest. He is now remembered for his autobiographical writings.
Life
Blackhall's background is believed to have been in Aberdeenshire. He spent a period as a soldier of fo ...
, 1653–53
* Robert Barclay, 1655–82
* Louis Innes, 1682–1713
* Charles Whyteford, 1713–38
* George Innes, 1738–52
* John Gordon, 1752–77
* Alexander Gordon, 1777–92
Prefects of Studies
* Robert Barclay, 1653–53
* William Ballantine
Serjeant William Ballantine SL (3 January 1812 – 9 January 1887) was an English Serjeant-at-law, a legal position defunct since the legal reforms of the 1870s.
Early career
Born in Howland Street, Tottenham Court Road in Camden, London, the ...
, 1658–60
* Thomas Lumsden, 1660–72
* David Burnet, 1676–80
* Louis Innes, 1680–82
* Charles Whyteford, 1682–96
* George Adamson, 1697–1703
* James Paplay, 1703–04
* Thomas Innes, 1704–12; 1718–27
* Robert Gordon, 1712–18
* George Innes, 1727–35
* Alexander Gordon, 1735–37
* John McKenzie, 1738–43
* John Gordon, 1743–52
* Robert Gordon, 1753–56
* William Duthie, 1759–61
* Alexander Gordon, 1764–72
* Henry Innes, 1772–77
* Peter Hay, 1777–81
* Alexander Innes, 1781–92
Gallery
File:Crucifixion saint andrew.jpg, Crucifixion of Saint Andrew (17th century), above the altar of the chapel
File:Tomb Brain James II England VII Scotland Scots college Paris.jpg, The monument to the brain of James II of England
James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...
File:Fondation et statuts du collège des Écossais.jpg, ''Scots College (Paris): foundation and statutes.'' Latin manuscript, 17th century (Bibliothèque de la Sorbonne
The Sorbonne Library (French: ''Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de la Sorbonne'') is an inter-university library part of the network of 36 libraries of the Panthéon-Sorbonne University, in Paris, France. It is located at 47, rue des Écoles in ...
, NuBIS)
See also
*Auld Alliance
The Auld Alliance ( Scots for "Old Alliance") was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France against England made in 1295. The Scots word ''auld'', meaning ''old'', has become a partly affectionate term for the long-lasting asso ...
*Scots College, Douai
The Scots College at Douai was a seminary founded in Douai, France, for the training of Scottish Roman Catholic exiles for the priesthood. It was modelled on the similar English College there, founded for the same purpose. It has an unfortunate n ...
* Collège des Écossais, Montpellier
*Scots College (disambiguation) Scots College or Scots School may refer to:
Catholic seminaries
* Scots College, Paris, France, (founded 1325)
* Scots College, Douai, France, (founded 1573)
* Scots College, Rome, Italy, (founded 1600), also known as The Pontifical Scots Colle ...
Notes
Bibliography
*{{cite book , author=Grant, Sir Alexander , title=The Story of the University of Edinburgh During Its First Three Hundred Years Volume I , publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. , year=1884 , location=London
See also
* Irish College in Paris
The Irish College in Paris (, , ) was for three centuries a major Roman Catholic educational establishment for Irish students. It was founded in the late 16th century, and closed down by the French government in the early 20th century. From 1945 t ...
* Scots College Rome
* Royal Scots College
The Royal Scots College (Spanish: ''Real Colegio de Escoceses'') is a major seminary in Salamanca, Spain, for the Catholic Church in Scotland. It was located originally at Madrid, then Valladolid, and has been in Salamanca since 1988.
History
Th ...
, Salamanca, Spain
Colleges of the University of Paris
1333 establishments in Europe
1330s establishments in France