Robert of Courçon


Robert of Courçon was an English cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church.

Life

He was born in England some time between 1160 and 1170, a member of an Anglo-Norman family originating from the village of Notre-Dame-de-Courson in Normandy. After studying at Oxford, Paris, and Rome, he became the Chancellor of the University of Paris in 1211. The following year, he was created Cardinal priest of S. Stefano al Monte Celio. In 1213, he was appointed legate a latere to preach the crusade, and in 1215 was placed at the head of a commission to inquire into the errors prevalent at the University of Paris. He participated in the papal conclave of 1216, which elected Pope Honorius III.
He took an active part in the campaign against heresy in France, and accompanied the army of the Fifth Crusade into Egypt as legate of Pope Honorius III.
He died during the siege of Damietta in 1219, and was buried in Damietta.

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.
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 of the metaphysical as well as the physical treatises of the Stagyrita, together with the summaries thereof. At the same time, his rescript 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.