University of Louvain Founded

1425

Duke John IV of Brabant chartered a new university at Louvain in the Low Countries. It would eventually house Erasmus, produce the Complutensian Polyglot Bible's Flemish counterparts, and become a theological battleground during the Reformation. Its medieval establishment anchored Low Countries scholarship for five centuries. It grew into one of northern Europe's most important centers of learning, attracting students across the Low Countries and Rhineland.