William Grisaunt

Who is William Grisaunt?

William Grisaunt, also called William English, was an English physician.

Grisaunt as a young man taught philosophy at Oxford University, and in 1299 was either fellow or student of Merton College. He incurred the suspicion of having practised magic, and when of mature age left England and studied medicine at Montpelier. He afterwards settled at Marseilles, where he acquired great fame as a physician; he is said in his practice to have paid special attention to the nature and cause of the disease and to the constitution of the patient. Grisaunt is commonly stated to have been the father of Grimoald or Grimoard, abbot of St. Victor at Marseilles, who became pope as Urban V in 1362. In a contemporary chronicle Urban, who is there called Gillerinus, is said to have been the son of an Englishman. But his latest biographer makes him son of William Grimoard, lord of Grisac in Gevaudin, who died in 1366, aged 99, and there are extant grants of John II and Charles V of France to this William Grimoard in which he is styled father of the pope.