COURT, kir. ANTOINE ( 1696-1760). A French Reformer called the 'Restorer of Prot estantism in France.' He was born at Villeneuve de Berg, in Languedoc. March 27. 1695. His parents were peasants, adherents of the Reformed Church, which was then undergoing cruel per secution. When but seventeen years old Court began to speak at the secret meetings of the Protestants, held literally 'in dens and caves of the earth,' and often in darkness, with no pastor present to teach or counsel. lie entertained a great desire to build up the Church so ruthlessly persecuted: and to this end he proposed font. things: (I) regular religious meetings for teach ing and worship: (2) suppression of the fanati cism of those who professed to be inspired, and of the consequent disorders: (3) restoration of discipline by the establishment of consistories, conferences, and synods: (4) the careful train ing of a body of pastors. To the performance of this great task he devoted his life. From audiences of half a dozen meeting in secret, be came to address openly 10,000 at one time. In 1715 he convoked the first Synod of the Desert. In 1724 further fury was hurled at the Protes tants in a decree which assumed that there were no Protestants in France, and prohibited the most secret exercise of the Reformed religion. A price was set on Court's head, and in 1729 he fled to Lausanne. There, after great exertion, he founded a college for the education of the clergy, of which, during the remaining thirty years of his life, be was the chief director. This
college sent forth all the pastors of the Reformed Church of France until the close of the eigh teenth century. He died at Lausanne, June 13, 1760. Court intended to write a history of Protestantism, and made extensive collections for the purpose; but he did not live to do the work. Ile wrote, however, in Historical Memorial of the Most Remarkable Proceedings Against the Protestants in France from 1744-51 (Eng. trans., London, 1732) Histoire des troubles des Ce vennes on de la guerre des Camisards (1760; new ed., Alais, 1S19, 3 vols.). Consult his Auto biography. ed. by E. Hugues (Toulouse, 1885) ; his Letters, from 1739, ed. by C. Dardier (Paris, 1S85, 1S91) ; E. Hngucs, Antoine Court (Paris, 1872) ; id., Les synodes do desert (3 vole., Paris, 1885-86) ; and H. M. Baird, The Huguenots and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (New York, 1895). His only son, ANTOINE COURT DE GEBELIN (born at Nimes January 25, 1725, died in Paris May 10, 1784). who took the name of his grandmother, was 'a literary man of recog nized rank, and rendered excellent service, first as his father's amanuensis and assistant and afterwards as a scholar at the capital. He is remembered in connection with the famous case of Jean Galas (q.v.) by his work Les Ton lonsaines, on lettres historiques et apologetiques en faveur de la religion reformee (Lausanne, 1763 ).