Francis I. (1515-47). Paris University became more friendly to the
classics, and eminent scholars like Lascaris and Aleandro were invited
to lecture on Greek. The College of St. Barbe became a great classical
stronghold within the university, and the movement began to develop so
rapidly as to excite the jealousy and suspicions of the theologians.
This unfortunate division was rendered more acute by the foundation of
the College de France in 1529. It was handed over entirely to the
Humanistic party in spite of the opposition of the more conservative
school, and served as a centre for all kinds of literary,
philological, and antiquarian researches.

The most eminent of the French Humanists were Budaeus (1467-1540),
regarded in his own time as but slightly inferior to Erasmus, Germanus
Brixius (Germain de Brie), Canon of Notre Dame and translator of
portion of the works of St. John Chrysostom, Stephen Poncher, Bishop
of Paris and advocate of the Humanist party at the Court of Francis
I., the Dominican, William Petit, Robert (1503-59) and Henri (1528-98)
Estienne (Stephanus) to whom we are indebted for the two monumental
works, /Thesaurus Linguae Latinae/ and /Linguae Graecae/, Scaliger
(1540-1609) the well-known authority on chronology and epigraphy, and
the philologist and classicist Isaac Casaubon (1559-1614).

In France there was a sharp rivalry from the beginning between the
Scholastics and the Humanists. The university was divided into
separate camps. The college of St. Barbe was opposed by the Montaigue
College, the rector of which was the leader of the Scholastic party.
The Humanists regarded the Theologians as antiquated, while the
Theologians looked upon their opponents as supporters of the
Reformation movement. In case of a few of these, as for example
Lefevre d'Etaples,[16] Gerard Roussel, and others, these suspicions