Opposite the Hôtel de Ville is the fine church of St Pierre, in the form of a cross with a low tower to which the spire has never been added. The existing edifice was built on the site of an older church between 1425 and 1497. It contains seven chapels, in two of which are fine pictures by Dierich Bouts formerly attributed to Memling. Much of the iron and brass work is by Jean Matseys. There is also an ancient tomb, being the monument of Henry I., duke of Brabant, who died in 1235. There are four other interesting churches in Louvain, viz. Ste Gertrude, St Quentin, St Michael and St Jacques. In the last-named is a fine De Crayer representing St Hubert. Some ruins on a hill exist of the old castle of the counts of Louvain whose title was merged in the higher style of the dukes of Brabant. LOUVER, LOUVRE or LUFFER, in architecture, the lantern built upon the roof of the hall in ancient times to allow the smoke to escape when the fire was made on the pavement in the middle of the hall. The term is also applied to the flat overlapping slips of wood, glass, &c., with which such openings are closed, arranged to give ventilation without the admission of rain. Openings fitted with louvers are now utilized for the purposes of ventilation in schools and manufactories. The word has been derived from the French _l'ouvert_, the "open" space. This, Minsheu's guess, is now generally abandoned. The Old French form, of which the English is an adaptation, was _lover_ or _lovier_. The medieval Latin _lodium_, _lodarium_, is suggested as the ultimate origin. Du Cange (_Glossarium_, s.v. "lodia") defines it as _lugurium_, i.e. a small hut. The English form "louvre" is due to a confusion with the name of the palace in Paris. The origin of that name is also unknown; _louverie_, place of wolves, is one of the suggestions, the palace being supposed to have originally been a hunting-box (see PARIS). LOUVET, JEAN (c. 1370-c. 1440), called the president of Provence, occupied the position of president of the Chambre des Comptes at Aix in 1415. Towards the end of that year he went to Paris with Louis II. of Anjou, king of Sicily, attached himself to the dauphin Charles, and after having been chief steward of the household to Queen Isabella he turned against her. He was one of the principal agents of the Armagnac party, and became the most influential adviser of Charles VII. during the first years of his reign. But his rapacity gained him enemies, and when the constable Arthur, earl of Richmond, attained a preponderating influence over Charles VII. Louvet retired to his captaincy of Avignon. He still remained a personage of importance in his exile, and played an influential part even in his last years. See Vallet de Viriville in the _Nouvelle Biographie générale_, and G. du Fresne de Beaucourt, _Histoire de Claries VII._ (1881-1891). (J. V.*)