Robert de Sorbon

During dad's last visit to Paris, he was wondering what "Sorbonne" meant...I didn't know the name's origin either so I thought I'd research it. Here is what I found:

"Sorbonne" is derived from the Maison de Sorbonne, founded by Robert de Sorbon(1201-1274), a French theologian.

Born into a poor family in Sorbon, in what is now the Ardennes département, Robert de Sorbon entered the Church and was educated in Reims and Paris. He was noted for his piety and attracted the patronage of the Comte d'Artois and King Louis IX of France, known as Saint Louis. He later became the King's confessor in 1258.

Sorbon began to teach around 1253 and in 1257 established the Maison de Sorbonne, a college in Paris originally intended to teach theology to 20 poor students. It was sponsored by King Louis and received the endorsement of the Pope in 1259. It subsequently grew into a major centre of learning and became the core of what would become the University of Paris. Sorbon served as chancellor of the university from 1258 and taught and preached there until his death in 1274.

The Maison de Sorbonne was considered as one the first significant colleges of the medieval University of Paris. However it was suppressed during the French revolution and reopened by Napoleon in 1808 and finally closed in 1882. It was one the many colleges of the University of Paris that existed until the French revolution (1789-1815, a period of political and social upheal in the French history).

Finally, in 1970, the historic University of Paris was divided into thirteen different universities, three of these successor institutions include Sorbonne in their names: University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne (where I currently study), University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle, and University of Paris IV: Paris-Sorbonne. The thirteen universities still stand under a common rectorate with offices in the Sorbonne.