The
University of Valence was founded 26 July, 1452, by letters patent from the Dauphin Louis, afterwards
Louis XI of FranceLouis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
, in a move to develop the city of
ValenceValence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
, then part of his domain of
DauphinéThe Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
. It existed until the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
History
Pope Pius IIPope Pius II, born Enea Silvio Piccolomini was Pope from August 19, 1458 until his death in 1464. Pius II was born at Corsignano in the Sienese territory of a noble but decayed family...
approved its erection in the Bull of 3 May, 1459. In February, 1541, the Canon
Pierre Morel-Movie career:After spending his formative years in cinema school, Pierre Morel debuted in 2000 as camera operator with the first Richard Berry's film L'Art de la séduction....
opened a college for thirteen poor students.
In the sixteenth century Valence was famous for its teaching of law, entrusted to Italian professors or to those who had studied in Italy. The Portuguese jurist, Govea, taught at Valence, 1554-55; the French jurist,
Jacques CujasJacques Cujas 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 concentrate on ascertaining the correct text and social context of the original works of Roman law.He was born at...
(1522-90), from December 1557 to 1559; and
François HotmanFrançois Hotman was a French Protestant lawyer and writer, associated with the legal humanists and with the monarchomaques, who struggled against absolute monarchy. His first name is often written 'Francis' in English. His surname is Latinized by himself as Hotomanus, by others as Hotomannus and...
from the end of 1562 until August 1568. It was at the instigation of Hotman that Bishop Montluc obtained from
Charles IX of FranceCharles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...
the Edict of 8 April, 1565, which united the
University of GrenobleUniversity of Grenoble or Grenoble University was a university in Grenoble, France until 1970, when it was split into several different institutions:...
with Valence.
Cujas again filled a chair at Valence, August, 1567-75; he had among his auditors
ScaligerThe noble family of the Scaliger were Lords of Verona. When Ezzelino III was elected podestà of the commune in 1226, he was able to convert the office into a permanent lordship...
, the historian Jacques-Auguste de Thou, the jurist
PithouPithou is a surname, and may refer to:* François Pithou* Jean Pithou* Nicolas Pithou* Pierre PithouThe above were all brothers....
. The university was a Protestant centre. Hotman was a determined Protestant; Cujas passed from Protestantism to
CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, 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 seventeenth and eighteenth 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.
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