Sorbonne

The most famous of the colleges in the medieval university of Paris. It was founded in the mid-13th century by Robert de Sorbon (1207-74), chaplain to Louis IX, with the king's consent. The college was devoted entirely to theology and was regulated by the strictest discipline. None could enter it until he had already graduated as bachelor of arts, and the management of the college was in the hands of a body of 36 students: The Socii. The course of study, including frequent disputations, was most thorough, and the Sorbonne rapidly rose to the highest position among the theological schools of Europe. Such was its reputation that difficult cases were actually sent from Rome for its decision.

The Sorbonne welcomed the introduction of printing, but with the decay of the scholastic philosophy its fame also died away. It clung to the old ideas until the revolution, when its property was all confiscated. On the reorganisation of the University of Paris in 1808, the Sorbonne became the seat of the three faculties of literature, science, and theology. In 1823 the university library was moved to the Sorbonne. In 1868 the École des Hautes Etudes, and in 1897 the École Des Chartes were established there. Reconstruction of the buildings was completed in 1889.

Since 1969 the Sorbonne has lost its academic unity and is just a building shared by various colleges of the Paris University. It remains the seat of the Rectorat and of the vice-chancellor of Paris University.

© JM Dent/Historybookshop.com