Institution

Old University of Leuven

1425–1797 · 15th century

The Old University of Leuven was founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V at the request of Duke John IV of Brabant and became one of the great universities of Catholic Europe. Erasmus worked there, the Collegium Trilingue made it a centre of humanism, and in the Counter-Reformation its theologians were among the Church's leading defenders. It was suppressed under French rule in 1797; its modern successors are KU Leuven and UCLouvain.

Old University of Leuven
Image: CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Old University of Leuven. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/old-university-of-leuven
MLA
“Old University of Leuven.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/old-university-of-leuven. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Old University of Leuven.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/old-university-of-leuven.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Old University of Leuven’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/old-university-of-leuven (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻