Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Why was William of Ockham summoned to Avignon in 1324?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
William of Ockham
English theologian and philosopher William of Ockham, detail from a stained-glass window, c. 1985; in All Saints' Church, Ockham, Surrey, England.
William of Ockham was summoned to Avignon in the autumn of 1324 at the request of Pope John XXII.
While at Avignon, Ockham faced scrutiny regarding his academic work. John Lutterell, the former chancellor of the University of Oxford, denounced Ockham’s teachings on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, identifying 56 propositions he claimed were in serious error. These teachings were subsequently reviewed by a committee of theologians, and Ockham’s philosophy was later censured by a papal commission in 1326.12