Privilege for Leuven University
Back with chancellery notes (Bull with privilege by pope Martin V for Leuven University, 9 december 1425 - KU Leuven University Library)
Leuven University was founded in 1425, at the time of the Hook and Cod wars. The man responsible was John of Burgundy, or Duke John IV of Brabant. He was married to Jacqueline, but when he ultimately took the Cod side in the dispute, it led to a separation from his wife. In the end John IV allotted the counties of Holland and Zeeland to the Burgundian monarch Philip the Good, his nephew.
This papal bull, issued on 9th December 1425, the same date as the charter for the founding of the university, is one of the oldest and most important items in the collection of documents from the Old University of Leuven. The original founding charter was lost in the fire in the university hall in 1914.