The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

370
HISTORY OF THE POPES.
university, Ruard Tapper, when he returned to Louvain from
the Council of Trent in 1552, was quite amazed at the change
which had taken place there during his absence. Although
he was Inquisitor General of Flanders he tried at first to resist
the new movement b}^ methods of persuasion, but his efforts
met with no success, while even a warning from Granvelle
which Tapper obtained was only able to check the movement
for a short time. The struggle began to break out when the
guardians of the Franciscan convents of Ath and Nivelle
sought to put an end to Baianism among their subjects by
obtaining from the Paris faculty, on June 27th, 1560, a con-
demnation of 18 propositions drawn from the new teaching.
At this point Baius thought that the time had come to defend
himself ; his supporters formed the plan of printing the works
of St. Prosper, in order to show that the Louvain professors
were only putting forward the doctrines of ancient Christianity.
Their adversaries, however, were not silent, and they had
recourse to Granvelle with a memorial. The Cardinal, who
found the controversy exceedingly inopportune at that
moment of unrest in Flanders, tried to smother it by obtaining
a brief from Pius IV. imposing silence on both parties. Philip
II. approved the step taken by his representative in a letter
of November 17th, 1561.^
It had been realized in Rome since the end of 1560 that all
was not well in the University of Louvain. For a long time
past an order had been in force there that ever}' student,
before he was admitted, should take an oath that he would
remain in the Catholic Church, of which the Pope was the
head. Now, however, there was a movement in favour of
doing away with this oath, as being an obstacle to the free
coming of students. Pius IV. issued two briefs on this subject,
one on January 29th, 1561, to Granvelle, and one on February
5th to the university, in the latter case threatening excom-
munication to anyone who opposed the oath.^ The prudence
of the legate Commendone, who had been sent to invite the
1 Le Bachelet, II., 40.
" SusTA, Kurie, I., 49. Raynaldus, 1361, n. 42.