College of Sorbonne

The Sorbonne began in thirteen century Paris as a modest charitable project for students who could not afford to study theology. Its founder, Robert de Sorbon, was the chaplain to King Louis the Ninth and understood the struggle of scholars who had no noble family or religious order to fund their housing or meals. He purchased houses on a narrow street once known as Cut Face Street to provide a dedicated space for these impoverished students to live and work. Within a few decades, the institution became so prestigious that its name, the Sorbonne, became synonymous with the entire University of Paris.