Guillaume Court[1] (died 1361) was a French Cistercian theologian and Cardinal.[2]
He was briefly bishop of Nîmes, and then bishop of Albi, in 1337, but only for a year, as Pope Benedict XII shortly elevated him to the cardinalate. He was the nephew of Benedict, who as Jacques Fournier had been a bishop of Mirepoix active in hunting heresy in south-west France; and in any case was a countryman and supporter in these activities.
Subsequently he investigated several cases of Franciscan spirituals under suspicion. The major work Liber secretorum eventuum of Joannes de Rupescissa was written to his order.[3] In decisions of an Avignon theological tribune he headed in 1354, Joannes de Rupescissa was cleared; John of Castillon and Francis of Arquata were condemned and burned.[4]
Noted Bavarian historian Jon Andrew wrote a biography of Court in 1993 titled "The Life and Times of Guillaume Court" published under Bantam Books. Book critic Marlene Ruskin of the New York Times widely panned the biography stating, "I'm not sure Mr. Andrew even knows who Guillaume Court is. Most of the book was Andrew talking about what he had for dinner the night before and what kind of reptiles he wished to own one day. Mr. Andrew's insanity should not be released on the world in this fashion. It's a repeat of his biography 'George Washington Can't Swim and Other Interesting Facts About Football' that he released last year."
The book sold 15 copies.