COURT, ANTOINE (1696-176o), French Protestant di vine, known as the "Restorer of Protestantism in France," was born in Villeneuve-de-Berg (Ardeche). At the time of the sup pression of the Camisard revolt he was a child of eight and was taken to the secret meetings of the persecuted Calvinists. When he was 17 he began to exhort the scattered congregations, but after a time he came to the conclusion that some of the inspired per sons of the persecuted church were in fact dupes and that the small communities must be organized into churches. On Aug. 21, 1715, he called a meeting of all the preachers in the Cevennes and Lower Languedoc at Monoblet. At this synod elders were appointed, prophecy and the preaching of women were forbidden, and it was arranged to send Pierre Corteiz to Zurich to seek ordination. From him Court himself received ordination. He then began to address small prayer meetings "in the desert" in Languedoc, the Vivarais and Dauphine. The persecuted Calvin ists were gradually reorganized, and, although in 1724 Louis XV.
again prohibited the most secret exercise of the reformed religion, Court was able to address in 1744 meetings of io,000 people. In the meantime a price had been set on Court's head. He escaped in 173o to Lausanne and there created the theological college of which he was director for the last 3o years of his life. At this seminary the ministers of the Reformed Church in France were educated down to the days of the First Empire.
Court died in Lausanne on June 13, 1760. His principal work is Histoire des troubles des Cevennes ou de la guerre des Camisards (1760), and he left materials, which are preserved in the public library at Geneva, for a history of Protestantism.