Louis I, Duke of Orléans
In 1407, Louis I, Duke of Orléans was assassinated in the streets of Paris, on orders of the Duke of Burgundy John the Fearless. His defense counsel, Jean Petit, argued that it was a justifiable act of "tyrannicide". Gerson denounced Petit's propositions openly and often, and attempted to have his theory of tyrannicide condemned. In doing, he gained the enmity of the powerful Duke of Burgundy. During the Cabochien revolt of spring 1413, his house in Paris was plundered and he only escaped assassination by taking refuge for two months up under the vaulted roofs of Notre-Dame. Gerson believed he had escaped the mob through the protection of St. Joseph.