Robert of Courson or Courçon (also written de Curson, or Curzon, ''Princes of the Church'', p. 173.) ( 1160/1170 – 1219) was a scholar at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and later a cardinal and papal legate.

Life

Robert of Courson was born in England some time between 1160 and 1170. Little is known about his family or early life. He may have been a member of an Anglo-Norman family originating from the village of

Notre-Dame-de-Courson Notre-Dame-de-Courson () is a former commune in the department of Calvados in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Livarot-Pays-d'Auge. History Notre-Dame-de-Courson fell in medie ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. Robert was a student of the Parisian theologian Peter the Chanter - a reference to Peter's death in 1197 in Robert's ''Summa'' indicates that he must have studied with the Chanter near the end of his career in the 1190s. According to

Caesarius of Heisterbach Caesarius of Heisterbach (ca. 1180 – ca. 1240), sometimes erroneously called, in English, Caesar of Heisterbach, was the prior of a Cistercian monastery, Heisterbach Abbey, which was located in the Siebengebirge, near the small town of Oberdolle ...

, Robert taught theology at the

, probably starting sometime before 1200 and ending when he became a

cardinal priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of Saint Stephen of Mount Celius in 1212. Prior to that time he had served as a judge delegate in Paris. In 1213, when

Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

proclaimed the

Fourth Lateran Council The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the Council's convocation and meeting, many bi ...

to take place in 1215, Robert was made a papal legate to France to help prepare. In this capacity, Robert convened a number of local councils and preached a new crusade in the Holy Land. Robert also attempted to mediate between

King John of England King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the t ...

and Philip Augustus of France in order to dissuade John from attempting to reconquer lost English possessions in France, eventually leading to a peace in 1215. Robert may also have participated briefly in the Albigensian Crusade in 1214. Robert was not popular as a legate in France and in 1215 the French clergy refused to attend a council he had summoned in Bourges, after which Robert attempted to have them excommunicated. Robert's term as legate ended with the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, after which he was sent to Rome. Many of his decisions as papal legate were negated by Innocent or his successor

Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of impor ...

. In 1218, Robert was made a papal preacher on the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by Al-Adil I, al-Adil, brothe ...

to Egypt, where he died during the Siege of Damietta on February 6, 1219.

Works

He is the author of several works, including a ''Summa'' devoted to questions of canon law and ethics and dealing at length with the question of

usury Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is c ...

. His interference in the affairs of the University of Paris, in the midst of the confusion arising from the introduction of the Arabian translations of Aristotle, resulted in the proscription (1215) of the metaphysical as well as the physical treatises of the Stagyrita, together with the summaries thereof (''Summæ de eiusdem''). At the same time, his rescript (Denifle, "Chartul. Univ. Paris", I, 78) renews the condemnation of the Pantheists David of Dinant and Amaury of Bene, but permits the use, as texts, of Aristotle's Ethics and the logical treatises. The rescript also contains several enactments relating to academic discipline.

References

Bibliography

* * * Denifle, Chartul. Univ. Paris, I (Paris, 1889), 72, 78 *De Wulf, Hist. of Medieval Phil., tr. Coffey (New York, 1909), 252. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert Of Courcon 1160s births 1218 deaths 13th-century English cardinals Canon law jurists Christians of the Fifth Crusade Chancellors of the University of Paris