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The Preferments and Adiutores of RobertGrosseteste
J. C. Russell
Harvard Theological Review / Volume 26 / Issue 3-4 / October
1933, pp 161 -172DOI: 10.1017/S0017816000005265, Published online:
05 October 2011
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How to cite this article:J. C. Russell (1933). The Preferments
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THE PREFERMENTS AND 'ADIUTORES' OFROBERT GROSSETESTE
J. C. RUSSELLUNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
IN MANY fields of activity Robert Grosseteste was an impor-tant
figure in thirteenth-century England. Bishop of Lincolnfor nearly
two decades (1235-1253), he pursued a vigorouspolicy as statesman
and churchman. He was already a dis-tinguished teacher and
chancellor of the University of Oxford.His voluminous writings 1
were more acceptable to his con-temporaries than those of any other
author. His scientificachievements were such that Professor Sarton
has styled avolume of his monumental History of Science, From
RobertGrosseteste to Roger Bacon. In death his memory was reveredas
that of a saint.
Such a career as that of Grosseteste has naturally been
thesubject of numerous biographies. The years of his episcopateand
his knowledge of philosophy and theology have bulkedlarge in these
studies, since their sources are abundant andgood.2 In comparison
the sources for the other phases of hislife are meagre. Moreover,
to the nucleus of accurate dataconjectures have been added which
have been repeated bybibliographers until they have an unjustified
semblance ofworth. An examination of the sources already known
supple-mented by the addition of new material makes possible
somerevisions in the biography of Grosseteste, especially in
regardto his preferments and to his 'adiutores,' his helpers in the
useof ancient language.3
The preferments and helpers of Grosseteste are, of course,1 A
critical study of the very large number of books attributed to him
is being
prepared by S. Harrison Thomson.1 The best is probably F. S.
Stevenson, Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln,
London, 1899. References to the others are in L. J. Paetow, A
Guide to the Study ofMedieval History, New York, 1981, p. 464. To
these should be added Luard's accountsin the Dictionary of National
Biography and in the introduction to his edition of theletters of
Grosseteste in the Rolls Series (London, 1861).
' The expression is Roger Bacon's. Opera Inedita, ed. Brewer, p.
91.
-
162 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEWinteresting in themselves, and
they are also interesting for theclues which they give to his
intellectual life. For a scholar ofhis preeminence, curiously
little is known of his education andprofessional career. His
writings contain few autobiographicalremarks, and his admirer,
Roger Bacon, fails to give much in-formation upon this subject. We
are thus reduced to such hintsas are given by a study of his
preferments. They suggest thathe may have studied at certain
places. They enable us to ex-amine the bibliographical tradition
that Grosseteste held fourarchdeaconries, a very unusual holding
which would havetaken up most of his time if he had given his
duties the atten-tion which we should expect of a man of his
conscience. As tohis helpers, we may question Bacon's statement
that Grosse-teste mastered the languages, Hebrew and Greek, late
inlife. Bacon's reputation for accuracy is hardly sufficient to
off-set the inherent improbability that an aged prelate would
havethe time or energy to devote to such a task.
A recent sketch of Grosseteste's life until he became
bishopgives the following outline (the points to which exception
maybe taken are italicized):4
Grosseteste was born about 1175 at Slradbroke in Suffolk. He
studied atOxford, and having become proficient in law, medicine,
and the naturalsciences, he soon acquired distinction as a teacher
at the University. Shortlyafter 1208 he was appointed Master of the
Oxford schools, the holder ofwhich office was first termed
'Chancellor' in the Legatine Ordinance of1214.. Grosseteste then
held in succession the archdeaconries of Chester,Northampton, and
Leicester until 1232, when he decided to retain only hisprebend at
Lincoln. Between 1229 and 1235 he was the first reader in theol-ogy
to the Franciscans. In 1235 he accepted the bishopric of Lincoln. .
. .
He is also said to have been a member of the household ofWilliam
de Vere, bishop of Hereford (1186-1199), a witness ofa Lincoln
charter of 1209, the archdeacon of Wiltshire in 121k,and holder of
the church of Abbotsley.
The earliest reference to Robert Grosseteste is probably inthe
Lincoln charter of which he was a witness.5 The date usu-
* D. E. Sharp, Franciscan Philosophy at Oxford in the Thirteenth
Century, Oxford,1930, p. 12.
' The original is probably lost but it is enrolled in a
cartulary, British Museum,MS Reg. 11B ix, fol. 25r. It has been
published by Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum,V, p. 191.
-
ROBERT GROSSETESTE 163ally assigned to it, 1209, is apparently
based upon two conjec-tures, both probably wrong.6 A comparison of
it with otherLincoln charters shows that it must be of the time of
Hugh I(1186-1200); probably it is to be placed before Roger de
Rolves-ton became dean in 1195 and even before William de Montewas
made chancellor a few years earlier; possibly it is even ofthe
years 1186-1189.7 In this list of witnesses the name, MasterRobert
Grostete, occupies the last place. He was probably aperson then of
no great importance, hardly a canon since hisname follows those of
the rural deans, but possibly the scribeof the charter.8
Grosseteste was thus a master at least sixtyyears and possibly
sixty-five years before his death, if we ac-cept the charter
transcript as trustworthy.9 We have, however,Bacon's testimony that
Grosseteste lived to a great age.10 Thedate of his birth, if he was
at Lincoln and a master by 1189must be placed at least as far back
as 1170 and possibly earlier.Stradbroke as his birthplace seems a
very late conjecture.11
For a long time the letter of Gerald of Wales
congratulatingBishop William de Vere of Hereford (1186-1199) upon
takingMaster Robert Grosseteste into his household and
acquaint-
(1) That the Bishop Hugh of the charter is Hugh II (1209-1235)
and (2) thatGrosseteste was archdeacon of Chester in 1210.
7 There are fifteen names in the list including two abbots, a
prior, and two (rural)
deans, all with their titles: the absence of title is therefore
of some significance. SinceSimon of Sewell was treasurer of
Lichfield by 1205, there would be no cause for listinghim among
canons of Lincoln in the time of Hugh II (1209-1235). See C. W.
Foster,ed., The Registrant Antiquissimum of the Cathedral Church of
Lincoln, I, 254. Rogerde Rolveston apparently became archdeacon of
Leicester in 1189, succeeding Hamo,who became dean in that year. MS
Cotton, Vesp. E xx, fol. 33V in the British Museum.Sometimes
archdeacons' titles were omitted in Lincoln charters before 1200,
so thatthe charter may be after 1189. Four of the witnesses appear
together in the same orderin a charter in which Hamo appears as
archdeacon of Leicester: therefore before 1189.British Museum, MS
Reg. 11 B ix, fol. 27T.
8 For evidence of the custom of placing the scribes' names last,
see my 'The Signif-
icance of Charter Witness l i s ts in Thirteenth Century
England,' New Mexico NormalUniversity Bulletin, August, 1930, pp.
11 f.
There is a possibility that 'Robert Grosseteste' is a copyist's
error for some otherR. Grosseteste, such as the Richard or Ralph
mentioned below.
10 'Solus dominus Robertus propter longitudinem vite sue,' etc.
Compendium
Studii Philosophic ed. Brewer, London, 1859, p. 472.11
H. R. Luard, ed. Flores Historiarum (Matthew of Westminster),
London, 1890,I, p. xlvi.
-
164 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEWance has been well known.12 His
membership in this prelate'shousehold is confirmed by the
appearance of his name in severalof the bishop's charters. In two
instances his name is clearlyamong those of the bishop's clerks and
chaplains and after thenames of the canons of Hereford.13
Unfortunately, it is noteasy to fix an accurate date for these
documents.14 Gerald'sletter tells us that Grosseteste was already
proficient in law,medicine, and the liberal arts; natural science
and theologyare not mentioned.
Grosseteste then was at Lincoln between 1186 and 1200,probably
in the earlier part of the period, and at Hereford before1199.
Tradition has it that he studied at Oxford. These cluesare
interesting because at this time there were celebratedteachers in
all three places. At Lincoln, there was William deMonte who had
taught at Paris and was a famous theologian.16Alexander Neckam at
Oxford was a man of very wide interestsand attainments, almost as
versatile as Grosseteste himself.16At Hereford one Arabist, Roger
Infans, and probably a second,the even more famous Alfredus
Anglicus, lived.17 Their inter-ests in languages and natural
science were quite like thosewith which Grosseteste inspired the
Franciscan school at Ox-ford a generation later.18 Of course these
are only indicationsof possible influences which would have to be
followed up bycomparison of the writings of these scholars with the
works ofGrosseteste.
12 Giraldi Cambrensis Opera, ed. Brewer, London, 1861, I, p.
249.
13 Oxford, Balliol College, MS 271, fol. 56" and 88" as a clerk:
fol. 6* and 79" status
undesignated. His surname is given in the ablative,
Grossicapite. He may be theMaster Robert of a charter in MS Arundel
19, fol. 81r, a cartulary of Tintern Abbey,in the British
Museum.
11 A very systematic study of the diplomatics of the Hereford
documents might
make a more accurate date possible.15
He was highly regarded by both Alexander Neckam and Gerald of
Wales. Thelatter thought it worth while to study under William at
Lincoln after 1191: it is possi-ble that he may have met
Grosseteste there. The name, William of Leicester, some-times
applied to William de Monte, does not seem to be supported by any
evidence.
16 For Neckam, see Russell in English Historical Review, XLVII,
1982, pp. 260-
268.17
For these men see Russell in Isis, XVIII, 1982, pp. 14-25.18
A. G. Little in Archivum Franciscanum Historicum, XIX, 1926, pp.
807-810.
-
ROBERT GROSSETESTE 165In one respect Grosseteste's scholarly
achievements have
probably been overestimated, as in the following
statement.19
Grosseteste is, nevertheless, the first Englishman to assimilate
the newlearning of Aristotle and the Arabs. His commentaries on the
PosteriorAnalytics, the Sophistic Elenchi, the Physics, and the
Metaphysics (nolonger extant) are the earliest originating in the
Christian Occident.In this field, chronological signposts are
unfortunately few, butenough exist to cause one to question these
statements. Thefirst two books mentioned above were the subject of
commen-taries by James of Venice at least half a century before
Grosse-teste.20 Professor Haskins has shown that Englishmen hada
large share in the introduction of this learning into the
Latinwest, and the above-mentioned Roger Infans and
AlfredusAnglicus can probably be said to have assimilated the
newlearning of Aristotle and the Arabs!21 If we believe a
contem-porary poet who was interested in such matters, no one had
readthe treatises of the Arabs earlier or oftener at Paris or
Oxfordthan another Englishman, John Blund.22 By 1210-1213
anotherpoet was listening to a great master of this knowledge at
Oxford,John of London.23 The question is not an easy one.
The question of Grosseteste's alleged plurality of
archdeacon-ries is apparently simpler than those of his education
or of hisplace as interpreter of the new learning. He was
certainlyarchdeacon of Leicester as is shown by the salutations of
someof his letters. He acted in this capacity from 1229 to
1232.24
19 Sharp, Franciscan Philosophy at Oxford in the Thirteenth
Century, p. 10.
** C. H. Haskins, Studies in the History of Mediaeval Science,
2nd ed., Cambridge,Mass., 1927, p. 227. Miss Sharp does not list
this book in her bibliography and ap-parently does not cite it.
Ibid., Chs. II, VI, possibly XIII, and XVIII.B This account (in
poem no. 127) is edited by Heironimus and Russell in their
forthcoming Shorter Latin Poems of Master Henry of Avranches
Relating to England(Mediaeval Academy of America).
a L. J. Paetow, Morale Scolarium of John of Garland, Berkeley,
1927, p. 83.
M F. N. Davis, ed. Rotuli Hugonis de Welles, Lincoln, 1912-14,
II, pp. 308-321.
He succeeded a certain W. in the bishop's twentieth year (20
December 1228-19 Decem-ber 1229) and was succeeded by another W. in
the twenty-third year (1231-1232).As archdeacon he witnessed a
charter in the twenty-second year: British Museum, MSCotton,
Domitian A. x, fol. 203Y. This causes the date of his letter to the
Franciscans,written as archdeacon of Leicester, to be postponed
from ca. 1225. See Luard's edi-tion in the Rolls Series, pp. 17
f.
-
166 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEWWhen he resigned his livings in
the autumn of 1232 because ofillness, he stated in a letter that he
was retaining a prebendin Lincoln cathedral, which seems to have
been the church ofSt. Margaret of Leicester.25 Of his other
preferments but oneis certain, the church of Abbotsley, to which he
was presentedby the bishop of Lincoln on 25 April, 1225.26
In the record of his presentation to Abbotsley and as a wit-ness
of a charter of Hugh Foliot, bishop of Hereford (1219-1234) his
name appears without title.27 Since the title, arch-deacon, is
normally given together with the name of the arch-deaconry in the
documents, the lack of such designation createsthe presumption that
the person did not hold the office. Forwant of positive evidence
Wharton's suggestion that Grossetestewas archdeacon of Chester in
1210 and the unsupported state-ment that he was archdeacon of
Northampton in the FastiEcclesiae Anglicanae are not convincing.28
For his holding ofthe archdeaconry of Wiltshire stronger evidence
has beenalleged.
Along with the archdeaconry of Wiltshire he is said to haveheld
the rectory of Calne: both in the diocese of Salisbury. AtCalne,
according to the story, he was followed by St. EdmundRich. Such a
succession of great men makes a pleasant talewhich one is naturally
sorry to destroy. The only basis for itis that, in an account of a
difficulty over tithes at Berwick
" Luard, ed. Roberti Grosseteste Episcopi . . . Epistole, 1861,
Rolls Series, p. 43:' Noveris quoque quod omnes redditus quos
habui, resignavi, preter prebendam quamhabeo in ecclesia
Lincolniensi.'
Rotuli Hugonis de Welles, Lincoln, II, p. 238: 'Ecclesie sancte
Margarete extra mu-ros patronus dominus Lincolniensis et est
prebenda Lincolniensis.'
Rotuli Roberti Grosseteste, p. 391: 'Magister R. Grosseteste
quondam rector ejus-dem ecclesie (S. Margarete).'
Rotuli Hugonis de Welles, III, p. 48.17
W. A. Leighton, 'Extracts from the Cartulary of Haghmon Abbey,
co. Salop,'Transactions of the Shropshire Archeological and Natural
History Society, NewSeries, I, 1878, p. 182. The editor gives Dan
R. G.; Dan presumably stands for'dominus.' In the presentation R.
G. is given as deacon, which cannot be a mistakefor archdeacon
since for the latter the whole title is included. The title, if
any, seemsto be preferred to the holy orders. See op. cit., I l l ,
pp. 15, 16, 24, 100.
28 Wharton, Anglia Sacra, I, p. 457; his statement that
Grosseteste was made bishop
of Lincoln about 1250 is sufficient indication of his haziness
about the bishop's life.Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae, Oxford, 1844,
II, p. 55.
-
ROBERT GROSSETESTE 167Basset of about 1220, the archdeacon of
Wiltshire is twice giventhe name, Robert Grosseteste, which is
clearly a mistake forRichard.29 Even in that document the name
appears fivetimes as Richard, while all the references in the
Salisbury cartu-lary call the archdeacon R. or Richard.30 This
Richard mayhave been a relative of Robert, but the only evidence
seems tobe the similarity of an unusual name Grosseteste.31
Grosseteste, it seems, held no important ecclesiastical
posi-tion until 1229. Probably he was the first chancellor of
Oxford(by 1221);32 the bishop of Lincoln may only have
acknowledgedhim as Master of the Schools.33 How much earlier he was
chan-cellor or teacher at Oxford is unknown: 1208 and 1214 are
ap-parently conjectures.34 Upon becoming archdeacon in
1229Grosseteste seems to have performed his duties in
person.35Probably, then, he did not become lecturer to the
Franciscansuntil he resigned his preferments in 1232.
"Grosseteste did not know Greek and Hebrew well enoughto
translate by himself," said Roger Bacon, " but he had manyhelpers."
M If the helpers can be identified the time in his life
28 W. H. R. Jones and W. D. Macray, Charters and Documents, etc.
of Salisbury,
London, 1891, Rolls Series, pp. 111-118.10
W. H. R. Jones, The Register of S. Osmund, London, 1884, Rolls
Series, I, p. 380;II, pp. 16, 180, 133.
n Richard's name appears as a witness of a charter of Bishop
Herbert Foore of
Salisbury of about 1198. Brit. Mus. MS Cotton, Claudius C. ix,
fol. 182r, 184r. Theremay have been a contemporary Ralph
Grosseteste. He appears in two documentsas a papal delegate
appointed by Pope Innocent III in a dispute involving the prioryof
Worcester. Worcester Cathedral, Muniments B 406 (as Master Ralph
Grosseteste),and in MS A, iv (Reg. I) of the same cathedral (as
Master R. Grosseteste).
32 H . E . Salter, Mediaeval Archives of the University of
Oxford, Oxford, 1920, I ,
p. 10.33
H . E . Salter, Snappe's Formulary and Other Records, Oxford,
1924, p. 52. Butnot out of ill will apparently, since the bishop
was patron of all the preferments whichGrosseteste is known to have
held.
34 That he was a professor of theology a t Oxford seems clear
from evidence pre-
served by Tanner, Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica, p .
847.35
Rotuli Hugonis de Welles, II, pp. 208,321. In the time of
Grosseteste an 'official'of the archdeacon of Leicester is
mentioned only once (p. 312), and that citation doesnot make it
clear whether the official was Robert's or an earlier archdeacon's.
Therolls state when officials did the work.
* Opera Inedita, ed. Brewer, pp. 91, 472: 'Grecum et hebreum non
scivit sufficien-ter, ut per se transferred sed habuit multos
adiutores.' An interesting illustration of the
-
168 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEWin which he was most interested in
translation may be deter-mined or at least conjectured. Some
persons have already beencalled his helpers: Adam Marsh, Thomas of
Wales, Nicholasof St. Albans, and John of Basingstoke.37 There is
no directevidence that the first two were of as much assistance to
himas the other two. Some additional facts may be added
aboutNicholas and John, and two other men may be conjectured tohave
also been 'adiutores.' The special interest of the othertwo,
William of Arundel and William de Mara, is that theywere acquainted
with Hebrew.
John of Basingstoke turns up as a witness of a charter
ofIsabelle de Lucy (between 1216 and 1228), an item which seemsto
have no connection with the rest of his known career.38 Hisacademic
life has long been known through Matthew Paris'enthusiastic
description.39 Like many other young Englishmenhe had gone to Paris
to study, but unlike most of them he pro-ceeded to Athens. There he
is alleged to have had as instructora youthful prodigy not yet
twenty but already a scholar anda seer, Constantia by name. There
also, he had heard of afamous book, the Testament of the Twelve
Patriarchs. Uponreturning to England he had recommended the book to
Grosse-teste who had sent for it. Basingstoke appeared as
arch-deacon of Leicester on 1 April 1235, that is, so shortly
afterGrosseteste's election as bishop that it is a question
whether
way in which Grosseteste acquired books of the Greeks remains in
a note on MS 7 ofPembroke College, Cambridge, 'Memoriale Magistri
Roberti Grosseteste pro exameronbasilii.' As M. R. James explains
in the library catalogue, "The hand in which this iswritten is, I
believe, Grosseteste's own. The meaning is that the monks (of Bury
St.Edmunds) gave him a copy of Basil's Hexaemeron + a rare book
which they had, andgot this in exchange."
v L. Baur, Die Philosophic des Robert Grosseteste, Miinster,
1917, p. 42.
Upon the translation of the Ethics by Grosseteste, Professor
Powicke has a note-worthy article in the Proceedings of the British
Academy, XVI, 1980.
88 British Museum, MS Egerton 2104a, fol. 80r. The date is
furnished by the name
of another witness, Philip de Falkenberg, archdeacon of
Huntingdon. Le Neve (II,p. 49) indicates that another person was
archdeacon in 1216, while Philip died in No-vember or December,
1228; Calendar of Close Rolls, 1227-31, p. 122, Calendar ofPatent
Rolls, 1225-32, p. 231. The other witnesses are Robert de Lucy, Mr.
Geoffreyde Lucy, Mr. Richard de 'Herclawe,' Richard Makerel and
Nicholas de Seleburne,chaplain. Basingstoke was already a
master.
39 Chronica Majora, Rolls Series, V, pp. 284-287.
-
ROBERT GROSSETESTE 169he was appointed by the previous bishop.40
In one of his let-ters Grosseteste speaks of the archdeacon in
terms which seemto imply intimacy,41 and with another archdeacon,
William ofArundel, he represented the bishop in a dispute in 1241.a
Hedied in 1252, a year before Grosseteste.43
In the translation of the Testament of the Twelve
PatriarchsBishop Grosseteste had the assistance of Nicholas Grecus,
bybirth and education a Greek.44 He was given as a benefice
thechurch of Dachet by the monastery of St. Albans in 1239 or1240,
which he held until his death in 1279.45 We should liketo suggest
that he was a son of the Master Aristotle who ap-pears in England
about the end of the twelfth century, but ouronly evidence is a
charter which has as two of its witnessesMaster Aristotle and his
son, Nicholas.46
By 6 April 1236, already a master, he appears on the
episcopalrolls of Lincoln as one of the bishop's clerks.47 He was
pro-moted to be a canon of Lincoln by 14 September 1246 and
wasstill serving in 1278.48 His collaboration in translation
probablyplaced him on terms of intimacy with the bishop so that it
isnot surprising that he was sent to Rome to assist in securing
thecanonization of Grosseteste during the papacy of AlexanderIV
(1254-1261).49 Another Greek, Master Robert, appears in
40 Rotuli Roberti Grosseteste, p. 391.
a Luard, ed. Roberti Grosseteste . . . Epistole, London, 1861,
Rolls Series, p. 65.
a Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora, Rolls Series, IV, p. 152.
Ibid., V, pp. 284-287.44
British Museum, MS Reg. 4 D vii, fol. 246V; 'assistente eidem
clerico Nicholaoab ecclesia beati Albani beneficiato nacione et
educatione greco,' written by MatthewParis.
45 Mat thew Paris, Chronica Majora, IV, p. 233. T h e
presentation is recorded in
the Rotuli Roberti Grosseteste, p . 354. H i s death is noted in
the Gesta AbbatumMonasteri i S. Albani, Rolls Series, I , p . 440.
H e is to be distinguished from a contem-porary Master Nicholas of
St . Albans: see M a t t h e w Paris, op . cit. V, p . 261; Rotul
iRoberti Grosseteste, pp . 68, 212, 297; and British Museum, M S
Cotton, Julius D iii,fol. 4 r .
44 British Museum, M S Cotton, Claudius D xi, fol. 223".
47 Rotul i Roberti Grosseteste, p . 395.
48 Ibid., p. 92. He appears as canon on pp. 93, 104, 112, 113,
118, 237, 332, 336,
428, 435. For 1278, see Bradshaw and Wordsworth, Statutes of
Lincoln Cathedral,Cambridge, 1897, II, p. ccviii.
49 R. E. G. Cole, 'Proceedings relative to the canonization of
Robert Grosseteste,
Bishop of Lincoln,' Associated Architectural Society Reports,
XXXIII, 1915-16, p. 6.
-
170 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEWthe records, but as yet there
seems no evidence to associate himwith either Nicholas Grecus or
Grosseteste.50
Only occasionally does such an administrative order as aroyal
mandate to a sheriff give a clue to literary history. Aclue is
evident in a letter close of 28 June 1240 by which theking ordered
the sheriff of Huntingdon to allow the archdeaconof Huntingdon to
have a Jew with him to help in the transla-tion of a certain tract
for the conversion of the Jews.81 Anarchdeacon in the diocese of
Lincoln in 1240 interested in He-brew might well be among the
'adiutores' who helped the bishop'extract much from the glosses of
the Hebrews.'62 A letterof Adam Marsh states that a certain
'interpretatio Biblie' cor-rected by this archdeacon, William of
Arundel, about whichJohn of Basingstoke had asked had not been
given to the friarsminor of Oxford.53 'Interpretatio Biblie'
usually designated aglossary giving the meaning of Hebrew words in
the Bible. Oneother notice arouses our interest. Among the events
of Marchand April 1246 Matthew Paris records the following
obituary:64
Et circa idem tempus mag. Robertus de Harundel, qui in Hebreo
idio-mate fuerat peritissimus et multa de Hebreo in Latinum
fideliter transtulerathumanis rebus exemptus, mundum salutavit.
The coincidence of the name, Arundel, with interest in
Hebrewsuggests the possibility of identity which assumes that
'Robert'is a mistake for William. If William died in the spring of
1246,the two were probably identical.
Of the career of the archdeacon of Huntingdon, the docu-ments
give but few facts. In the episcopal rolls his name ap-pears first
in the fifth year of Grosseteste (123{M
-
ROBERT GROSSETESTE 171From the fifth to the twelfth year there
are occasional refer-ences to him, but in the last year his
successor, Roger of Raven-ingham is mentioned twice.66 Since
Grosseteste dated his epis-copal year from sometime within the
first twenty-six days ofFebruary, probably from the death of his
predecessor, followingthe custom of English royalty, the twelfth
year of his episcopateincluded the period, February 1246 to
February 1247." Sincethe death of 'Robert of Arundel' fell within
this same periodthe identity of the two seems probable.
William de Mara, an English Franciscan who possessed
anexceptional knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, is the otherscholar
who may have been one of the bishop's 'adiutores' inlanguages. An
English Franciscan skilled in those languageswas almost certainly
educated in the Oxford school of the orderwhich was in close touch
with Grosseteste.88 Although deMara's career reached its zenith
nearly thirty years after Grosse-teste's death, a series of sermons
still extant shows that hepreached at Lincoln in the decade,
1260-1270. His career, thuspushed back toward the time of
Grosseteste, may be broughtwithin the bishop's time if we may
identify him with thedeacon of the same name presented to a living
in the diocese ofLincoln in 1250 or 1251, or with the official of
the same namewho presented the deacon.89 One or the other of these
men orperhaps a third held several livings from 1259 to 1274 in
thesame diocese.60 The Franciscan had a magnificent career
atGilbert. In 1236 a Master W. de Arundel was canon of Exeter;
British Museum, Add.Charter 13970. Le Neve, Fasti Ecclesiae
Anglicanae, I, p. 400, indicates a William ofArundel as precentor
of Exeter in 1242.
Eotuli Roberti Grosseteste, p. 269, V year; pp. 272,273, VI
year; p. 277, VII year;p. 289, XI year; p. 290, XII year. Roger on
pp. 290, 291.
*7 A charter dated on the kalends of February, 1249 is given as
of the fourteenth
episcopal year, while another of 27 February, 1249 and a third
of 7 March, 1249 areof the fifteenth year; Rotuli Roberti
Grosseteste, pp. 112, and 118. A charter of thesecond year is dated
1236 in the margin (p. 394), which is less reliable than the
other.Hugh of Welles died on the seventh or eighth of February;
Matthew Paris, ChronicaMajora, III, p. 806; S. Pegge, The Life of
R. Grosseteste, London, 1793, p. 35.
58 For de Mara, see Lamare, Guil. by E. Longprls in the Diet, de
theologie catho-
lique, VIII, cols. 2467-2469, Paris, 1909." Rotuli Roberti
Grosseteste, p. 497 for the deacon, pp. 495, 499, 501 for the
arch-
deacon of Oxford.* Rotuli Ricardi de Gravesend, p. 236
(admission to Syrington rectory in 1259-
-
172 HARVARD THEOLOGICAL REVIEWParis, where he became a pillar of
the order and chose tocorrect, what few have tried, the Bible and
St. Thomas Aquinas.He clearly belonged to a younger generation than
John ofBasingstoke and William of Arundel, and was possibly
evenyounger than Nicholas Grecus and Roger Bacon.
The traditional biography of Robert Grosseteste is
alteredsomewhat by the evidence presented in this study. Born
inSuffolk probably by 1170, he was a master at Lincoln possiblyby
1189, and a well educated clerk of Bishop de Vere of Here-ford by
1199. These suggest that his intellectual indebtednessto Lincoln
and Hereford as well as to Oxford masters shouldbe studied. The
bibliographical tradition that Grossestesteheld important
preferments breaks down upon examination:his only important holding
before he became bishop of Lincolnwas the archdeaconry of Leicester
from 1229 to 1232. Despitehis episcopal duties from 1235 to 1253,
he maintained his in-terest in Hebrew and Greek, if the number of
'adiutores' abouthim is significant. In this he probably had the
help of Johnof Basingstoke and Nicholas Grecus in Greek and William
ofArundel (and possibly William de Mara) in Hebrew. Thus, ofhis
life of probably more than eighty years, only about twentywere
devoted to his archdeaconry and bishopric. The academicand
scholarly phases of his career are thus shown to be muchlonger and
freer from other duties than the biographies haveindicated, so that
his literary output, vast as it was, becomesless miraculous.60), p.
298 (admission to Herlington rectory in 1273); p. 199 (resignation
of Eversholtto Robert de la Mare in 1874). He acknowledged in
chancery in 1273 that he owed 40*to be levied in default of payment
on his lands and chattels in Buckingham and Bed-ford (where the
three churches were); Calendar of Close Rolls, 1272-79, p. 44.