Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Collège de Beauvais, also known as Collège de Dormans-Beauvais, was founded on May 8, 1370 by Jean de Dormans, Bishop of Beauvais and Chancellor of France. It was located in the current rue Jean-de-Beauvais (formerly rue du Clos-Bruneau) in Paris. The chapel Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste, built in 1375 by the architect Raymond du Temple (also master of the Louvre and Vincennes), is the only remaining vestige. The stained-glass windows, attributed to Baudoin de Soissons and Jean de Bruges, were dismantled and then preserved at the Musée Carnavalet after journeys linked to their aborted restoration and resettlement in Saint-Séverin.

In the 16th century, the college was closely associated with the College of Presles, with which it shared a common gate. Directed by figures such as Nicolas Charton (protesting murdered during the Saint Barthélemy) or Martin Everard (Catholic), he became a place of intellectual exchange. In 1515, the management rented the Hôtel Sainte-Catherine to vault the cellar, illustrating its economic and real estate role in the area.

From the end of the 17th century, the college became a bastion of Jansenism, frequented by the children of parliamentarians. He closed permanently in 1763, sold to the college of Lisieux after the destruction of his buildings to arrange the place in front of the church of Sainte-Geneviève (future Pantheon). His famous students include Boileau, Racine, Perrault, and Cyrano de Bergerac, while teachers such as Godefroy Hermant or Jean-Baptiste-Louis Crevier marked their time there.

The stained glass windows, dismantled after the Restoration, were wrongly attributed to the bays of Saint-Séverin before being restored by Prosper Lafaye. Their history reflects the hazards of heritage conservation. The chapel, now church of the Saints-Archanges, remains the only architectural testimony of this missing college, whose buildings were destroyed in 1762.

The institution played a key role in the education of Parisian elites, combining teaching, religious controversies and intellectual life. Its legacy continues through its former students and teachers, as well as its integration into the medieval academic landscape of Paris.

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