College of Sorbonne

The College of Sorbonne was a theological college of the University of Paris, founded in 1253 (confirmed in 1257) by Robert de Sorbon (1201–1274), after whom it was named. The Sorbonne was disestablished by decree of 5 April 1792, after the French Revolution, along with the other Paris colleges. It was restored in 1808, then closed finally in 1882. In recent times the name "Sorbonne" came to refer to the group of liberal arts faculties of the University of Paris, in contrast to the vocational faculties of law and medicine. "Sorbonne" is also used to refer to the main building of the University of Paris in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, which houses several faculties created when the University was divided into thirteen autonomous universities in 1970. Overview Robert de Sorbon was the son of peasants from the village of Sorbon in the Ardennes, who became a master of theology, a canon of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, and the confessor and chaplain of King Louis IX (Saint Louis). At the time that he founded his college, the University of Paris had already been in existence for half a century, and already had thousands of students. Obtaining a higher degree in theology could take as long as twenty years, and therefore required considerable financial support. Students who belonged to the religious orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans, or from the large monasteries of Cluny or Citeaux, received housing and board from their religious orders, but independent students did not. Sorbon founded his college to provide housing and board for poorer students of theology who did not have such support.