Hessels van Est), (1542–1613), the commentator on the Pauline epistles. He had studied classics at Utrecht and afterwards spent some twenty years at Louvain, in the study of philosophy, theology and Holy Scripture, and in 1580 received the degree of Doctor of Theology. In 1582 he became Professor of Theology at Douai, a position which he retained for thirty-one years and which he combined for the last eighteen years of his life with that of Chancellor of the University, in addition to being for many years rector of the diocesan seminary. Estius's works were written in Latin and for the greater part published posthumously. In the 18th century, the University of Douai was the second largest in the kingdom of France by number of students, with a total student registration ranging between 1,500 and 2,000. Closed university during the French Revolution (1795–1808) The university was suppressed during the French Revolution and its libraries' holdings transferred to the town's Bibliothèque Municipale (founded by Louis XV in 1767), which also received the collections of the Jesuits of the College of Anchin. A good part of these collections was however destroyed when the library was burnt as a consequence of bombardment on August 11, 1944, in the aftermath of the World War II Normandy landings. Modern university of Douai (1808–1887) Douai Faculties of Letters and sciences were re-established in 1808. Douai regained a Faculty of Law in 1854, but in 1887 this was transferred to Lille. Currently the University of Lille and the "Artois University" who make up a part of the Community of Universities and Institutions Lille Nord de France regard themselves as successors to Philip II's University of Douai. Transformation as University of Lille (1896) In 1887, all faculties in Douai were relocated in the neighbouring city of Lille. The University of Lille was then established in 1896 with all faculties including Sciences, Law, Medicine and Pharmacy, Literature and Humanities. Faculties Faculties of the old University of Douai Faculty of Arts (1562–1795) The Faculty of Arts in Douai had intense activity and conferred Master of Arts degrees, which was a prerequisite to study theology and law. Just as at the universities of Louvain and Paris, obtaining this MA degree from the Faculty of Arts was the first and mandatory step before undertaking studies in other faculties. The University of Douai's fame was in Philosophy and Mathematics, through (or in competition with)