Grosseteste was born into a humble Anglo-Norman family in Suffolk (c. 1168), and was probably educated at the cathedral school of Lincoln, since he first appears with the title of master in a Lincoln Charter of (c. 1189). A letter (c. 1192) by Gerard of Wales recommends him for his excellence in liberal arts, canon law, and medicine to Bishop William de Vere of Hereford, where Grosseteste remained until the bishop’s death (1198). The high reputation of Hereford for scientific learning likely encouraged Grosseteste to produce his first scientific opuscula On Liberal Arts and On Sound. The following 25 years are particularly obscure. According to Callus’ biography (in Callus ed., 1955) Grosseteste taught the arts at Oxford until 1209, when the schools closed. He moved then to Paris to study theology and returned in 1214 to become the first chancellor and to teach theology until 1229/1230. The evidence for the chancellorship comes from a controversial anecdote, claiming that he was, in fact, entitled magister scholarium. Southern (1986) proposed an alternative biography, which places Grosseteste in the provincial setting of England. A few legal documents from c. 1213 to c. 1225 testify to Grosseteste’s administrative position in Hereford, in association with the Archdeacon, later Bishop, Hugh Foliot, whom he followed to France during the papal interdict of England (1209-1213); but, according to Southern (1986), Grosseteste neither was in Paris, nor studied theology there. Instead, he occasionally taught the arts in English schools, while his stable teaching in Oxford - and possibly his chancellorship - started after 1225, when he received a prebend in Abbotsley, became a priest and, finally, began to lecture in theology. Goering (in McEvoy 1995) rejected Southern’s disagreement regarding Grosseteste’s familiarity with the Parisian milieu, which is indirectly testified by Grosseteste’s friendship with Parisian theologians (mainly Alexander of Hales and William of Auvergne) and his writings from the 1220s. A Parisian contact can be inferred also from Grosseteste’s precocious knowledge of Averroes and from the circulation and sources of his cosmological writings of the years 1220-1225: On the Sphere, On Comets, and On Heavenly Movements (Panti 2001). Also a controversial charter of 1223 might corroborate his Parisian connection (Schulman 1997; against which see McEvoy, in Mackie and Goering 2003:19-20). Grosseteste’s entire scientific and philosophical production belongs to this obscure period. It comprises his major treatises on Easter computation (Computus), on light metaphysics (De luce), on optics and mathematical verification of natural phenomena (De lineis, angulis etfiguris-De natura locorum and De iride), and his commentaries on Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics and Physics. The latter was probably assembled later from Grosseteste’s glosses, with additions which also circulated independently (Definitate motus et temporis).
Grosseteste’s last 25 years are well documented. In 1229/ 1230 he became the first lecturer to the Oxford Franciscans. His familiarity with the Friars turned into an enduring friendship and a strong spiritual empathy, particularly with Adam Marsh (Gieben in McEvoy 1995). As a theologian, Grosseteste lectured on Scripture, disputed theological questions, and preached university sermons (Ginther 2004). His theological writings have noteworthy philosophical implications and include a brief commentary on Ecclesiasticus 43:1-5, some opuscula on divine causality (De statu causarum, De subsistentia rei, and De ordine emamandi causatorum a Deo), on truth (De veritate and De veritate propositionis), on God’s foreknowledge and free will (De scientia Dei and De libero arbitrio), on God as first form and the location of angels (De unica forma omnium-De intelligentiis). In the 1230s Grosseteste also attended to his major exegetical works: De decem mandatis (with remarks on ethics), the Hexaemeron (largely influenced by Augustine and Basil, with large sections on cosmology and against the eternity of the world), and De cessatione legalium (on human happiness and natural law). He also commented on the Pauline Epistula ad Galatas and wrote a large collection of sermons, among which were the Ecclesia sancta celebrat (on human nature), and a huge variety of theological annotations, the Dicta.
In 1235 Grosseteste was elected Bishop of Lincoln, the largest diocese of England. He was a compromise candidate, but he acted as a powerful and rigorous leader. The Minors were his assistants in ecclesiastical duties and also procured him Greek books. In 1239-1241 he began to make translations from Greek. His translations include the works of John Damascene, the entire corpus of Pseudo-Dionysius, enriched with Grosseteste’s own commentary, the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Nicomachean Ethics - with accompanying Greek glosses and Grosseteste’s annotations - parts of the Greek lexicon Suidas, and parts of Aristotle’s De caelo with Simplicius’ commentary. Grosseteste also compiled a Tabula of topical concordances of his Christian and non-Christian readings, covering theological and philosophical items, each associated with a indexing symbol. In addition, he composed some Anglo-Norman poems, including the allegorical Chasteau d’amour, on world creation and Christian redemption, as well as texts on household management and courtly etiquette. As a bishop, Grosseteste instituted an innovative program of pastoral care, applying principles he had previously elaborated in his pastoral works, including the famous Templum Dei, on confession. Also, many of his letters are concerned with his innovative political and pastoral ideas, which drove him to disagree both with the secular and the ecclesiastical power. The Lincoln Chapter appealed to the papacy against his innovations, but Grosseteste successfully defended himself in 1245, at the First Council of Lyons, to which he returned in 1250 to criticize the inadequate policy of Pope Innocent IV. He clashed again with the papacy in 1253, in a vigorous letter (n. 128) concerning the appointment of an incompetent cleric. His rebellion made him a hero of the antipapists and his ideas influenced church reformers, first and foremost John Wyclif. Grosseteste died in October 1253. Three attempts for his canonization failed. His philosophical and theological ideas influenced thirteenth-century Franciscan thinkers (mainly Thomas of York, Richard Rufus of Cornwall, Roger Bacon, Bonaventure and the Dominican Richard Fishacre) and fourteenth-century Oxonian philosophers (Adam Wodeham, William of Ockham, Thomas Bradwardine, and William of Alnwick). His fame on the continent was mainly due to his commentary on Posterior Analytics and his Greek translations. A detailed essay in modern and medieval historiography on Grosseteste is by McEvoy (in O’Carrol 2003). The catalogue of Grosseteste’s works by Thomson (1940) needs an overall updating (partly made by McEvoy 1982).
World History
