Liberal Arts education derives its name from the Latin artes liberales, the knowledge and skills (artes) required to become a free (liber) person capable of thinking, judging and acting independently. Rooted in Greek and Roman antiquity, liberal arts dominated the Middle Ages in Europe and continued to develop well into the modern world, especially in the United States. In the past two decades, it has returned to Europe and flourished in the Netherlands, in the institutional setting of University Colleges. See here  for the full text, written by David Janssens, University College Tilburg.