Grosseteste, Robert (grōs`tĕst), c.1175–1253, English prelate. Educated at Oxford and probably also at Paris, he became one of the most learned men of his time. He taught at Oxford and later, as rector, made the university an important center of learning. In 1224 he became lector of the Franciscans there and founded the Oxford Franciscan school, which profoundly influenced medieval thought. His most illustrious pupils, Adam Marsh Marsh, Adam, or Adam de Marisco (mâr`ĭskō), d. 1259?, English Franciscan scholar.
..... Click the link for more information. and Roger Bacon Bacon, Roger, c.1214–1294?, English scholastic philosopher and scientist, a Franciscan. He studied at Oxford as well as at the Univ. of Paris and became one of the most celebrated and zealous teachers at Oxford.
..... Click the link for more information. , continued Grosseteste's work at Oxford after he was made (1235) bishop of Lincoln, then the most populous see of England.

As bishop, Grosseteste was an indefatigable administrator and zealous reformer, visiting the monasteries, assigning suitable candidates to parish offices, and preaching to the people. Grosseteste fought for the maintenance of the Magna Carta. He thwarted efforts of Henry III Henry III, 1207–72, king of England (1216–72), son and successor of King John.

Reign

Early Years

Henry became king under a regency; William Marshal, 1st earl of Pembroke , and later Pandulf acted as chief of government, while
..... Click the link for more information. to control ecclesiastical appointments, and as a member of the baronial council he supported the reforms of Simon de Montfort Montfort, Simon de, earl of Leicester, 1208?–1265, leader of the baronial revolt against Henry III of England.

Early Life

He was born in France, the son of Simon de Montfort , leader of the Albigensian Crusade.
..... Click the link for more information. (1208–65). Grosseteste did not hestitate to censure Pope Innocent IV Innocent IV, d. 1254, pope (1243–54), a Genoese named Sinibaldo Fieschi, a distinguished jurist who studied and later taught law at the Univ. of Bologna; successor of Celestine IV. He was of a noble family.
..... Click the link for more information. for his excessive exactions and for appointing foreigners to rich English benefices; he also attacked the Curia for its corruption and indolence. Some historians see in Grosseteste's protests against Rome an influence upon Wyclif Wyclif, Wycliffe, Wickliffe, or Wiclif, John (all: wĭk`lĭf), c.
..... Click the link for more information. and a foreshadowing of the Reformation Reformation, religious revolution that took place in Western Europe in the 16th cent. It arose from objections to doctrines and practices in the medieval church (see Roman Catholic Church ) and ultimately led to the freedom of dissent (see Protestantism ).
..... Click the link for more information. .

Grosseteste was a prolific scholar. He knew Greek and probably Hebrew; his translations of, and commentaries on, Aristotle served as a foundation for the scholasticism scholasticism (skōlăs`tĭsĭzəm), philosophy and theology of Western Christendom in the Middle Ages.
..... Click the link for more information. of Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas. His prolific writing included treatises on physics, optics, light, motion, color, mathematics, astronomy, psychology, pastoral works, and polemical poems in French for the laity. For 50 years after his death he was venerated in his diocese as a saint. In recent years he has been accounted one of the early practitioners of modern scientific method.

Bibliography

Few of Grosseteste'ss writings are available in English. Three treatises are translated in Richard McKeon, Selections from Medieval Philosophers (1928–31). See also S. H. Thomson, The Writings of Robert Grosseteste (1940); J. McEvoy, The Philosophy of Robert Grosseteste (1987); R. Southern, Robert Grosseteste: The Growth of an English Mind in Medieval Europe (1986).

Grosseteste, Robert

(born c. 1175, Suffolk, Eng.—died Oct. 9, 1253, Buckden, Buckinghamshire) English bishop and scholar. He introduced Latin translations of Greek and Arabic writings in philosophy and science to Europe. After serving as chancellor of the University of Oxford (c. 1215–21), he served as first lecturer in theology to the Franciscans, whom he greatly influenced. As bishop of Lincoln from 1235, he promoted a belief in the importance of the cure of souls, a centralized, hierarchical view of the church, and a belief in the superiority of the church over the state.