University of Avila (1550-1807).—Under the patronage of Queen Isabella, the Dominicans established (1504) chairs of philosophy and theology in their College of St. Thomas at Avila, Spain. About 1550, the Papal Nuncio, Juan Poggio, raised the college to university rank. Gregory XIII, at the request of Philip II, ratified the nuncio’s action by the Bull “In Apostolatus culmine”, 4 April, 1576. Innocent X, in 1645, approved the statutes of the university and empowered it to grant degrees in arts, theology, medicine, and law. Its work, however, was mainly theological. Though it enjoyed the favour of the Spanish sovereigns, especially of Charles II, it never attracted a large number of students. It had no endowment, but depended upon tuition fees. As a result, it began to decline during the eighteenth century, and it was suppressed, along with several other minor universities, in 1807.
De Zarate, De la Instruccién publica en Espara (Madrid, 1855), II, 208; La Furenrr, Historia de las Universidades .. . en Espafa (Madrid, 1885), Il, 149; Bullarium Ord, Fred. (Rome, 1733), V.
HK. A. Pace.