Medieval Light, Robert Grosseteste, and the Architecture of Lincoln Cathedral

Architecture of Lincoln Cathedral
Sam Stevens
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
University of Otago
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Abstract
The focus of this thesis is whether or not the scientific writings of Robert Grosseteste,
specifically his treatise on light entitled De Luce, had any influence on the architecture and
design of the rebuild of Lincoln cathedral in the thirteenth century. This paper analyses the
medieval approach to light and the works of selected modern scholars who link the writings of
Grosseteste with Lincoln cathedral. These are discussed to try and establish if any influence can
be proven.
Part 1: Light Theories in the Middle Ages 15
i: Abbot Suger and the Use of Light at St Denis; Justification and Influences 17
ii: The Nobility of Light; Suger and Pecham 32
iii: Robert Grosseteste and De Luce: “On Light.” 36
Part 2: Grosseteste’s Influence on the Design of Lincoln Cathedral 47
i: Nicholas Temple 50
iii: Lincoln Cathedral 79
iv: Grosseteste as Bishop of Lincoln: His Role, Letters and Residences 89
v: Scholasticism and Lincoln Cathedral 109
vi: The Library at Lincoln 128
Conclusion 131
Bibliography 135
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, thanks must go to Dr. Judith Collard, who although was unable to help me
finish this project, has been a great influence on my medieval studies. Thanks also to Professor
Takashi Shogimen who offered valuable advice and support in the early stages of the
development of this thesis. I am also extremely grateful to Associate Professor Simone Marshall
who picked up this project in its final stages, and whose enthusiasm and expertise to help me
complete this has been invaluable. Lastly thanks to all my family and friends for their support,
encouragement, and motivation to complete this thesis.
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Introduction
The application of theories about light was apparent in the design of the Gothic cathedrals in the
Middle Ages. This was seen in the use of stained glass and elongated forms which allowed
certain areas to be bathed in colour and create a sense of awe and wonder for the visitor to the
cathedral. Ann Meyer in her discussion of medieval allegory sees the great cathedrals themselves
as, “perhaps, the most conspicuous examples of how Platonic concepts of light, image and
cosmos have evolved and were fused with the Christian concepts of history and Church.”1
Robert Grosseteste wrote his treatise De Luce (On Light) around 1225 which discussed the
formation of the cosmos and the nature of light itself.2 Shortly after this and during the
episcopate of Grosseteste the rebuild of the central tower occurred at Lincoln Cathedral after its
collapse in 1237.3 It is the link between the writings of Grosseteste and the design of Lincoln
cathedral in this Neo-Platonic and Christian age that this thesis looks to explore. The key
question that is asked is how much influence did De Luce and other works by Grosseteste have
on the design, architecture and building process of the rebuild of Lincoln Cathedral? To allow
the reader a greater understanding of the concepts considered in this thesis this introduction will
endeavour to show the influences upon the scholars of the Middle Ages toward the application of
light theories in their buildings and theoretical writings. These are the influences that had
1 Ann R. Meyer, Medieval Allegory and the Building of the New Jerusalem, (DS Brewer Cambridge, 2003), 70. 2 The dating of De Luce has been a point of some conjecture. Richard W. Southern in Robert Grosseteste: The Growth of an
English Mind in Medieval Europe, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1986.) states that De Luce must have been written after the
Hexaemeron, placing it around 1240, 136-9. James McEvoy The Philosophy of Robert Grosseteste, (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1982). on the other hand, places De Luce between 1225 and 1230, 488. Cecilia Panti has since stated that she believes that
McEvoy’s dating is “more appropriate” (Robert Grosseteste’s De Luce: A Critical Edition, Robert Grosseteste and His
Intellectual Milieu: New Editions and Studies, John Flood, James R. Ginther, Joseph W. Goering eds., (Pontifical Institute of
Medieval Studies, Toronto, 2013), 204. This has been endorsed by Temple, Hendrix and Frost in Bishop Robert Grosseteste and
Lincoln Cathedral; Tracing Relationships between Medieval Concepts of Order and Built Form, Introduction ,4. 3 Nicholas Temple, “Light and Procession: Bishop Grosseteste and the Ceremony of the Visitation,” in Bishop Robert
Grosseteste and Lincoln Cathedral: Tracing Relationships between Medieval Concepts of Order and Built Form, Nicholas
Temple, John Shannon Hendrix, Christian Frost, eds, (Milton Park, Routledge Publishing Ltd. 2016)., 39.
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distinctly Christian, and Neo-Platonist characteristics. This branch of theology and metaphysics
was the established tradition in Christian thought of the Middle Ages. This focus excludes the
Eastern writers on optics and light, such as Alhazen whose work De Aspectibus or Perspectiva,
is regarded by Umberto Eco as the “source of much medieval thought on light.” 4 David C.
Lindberg reiterates his importance stating that Alhazen’s theory of vision “dominated western
thought until the seventeenth century.”5 Alhazen’s influence on the optical and light theories of
the Middle Ages is important, but he is only discussed in passing in this introduction for the sake
of brevity and clarity. His influence on Grosseteste’s De Luce is acknowledged and discussed in
chapter three of this thesis.
With this focus on the Biblical and Platonic traditions, the writings of Augustine become of
significant importance. His works such as De Civitate Dei and Confessions, written around
400A.D. referenced the Bible, Plato, and Aristotle, were hugely influential in the Middle Ages.
For this reason, Augustine’s thoughts that relate to the influence on light theories are discussed
throughout this entire thesis. Augustine’s writings were hugely influential in the medieval era, as
noted by Scott McDonald, who stated:
Augustine’s vast body of writings would be preserved and passed along to thinkers of a
very different world from the one Augustine himself inhabited. For more than a
millennium after his death, philosophers and theologians, poets and historians would
view the world through the lens of his writings.6
4 Umberto Eco, Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages, trans. Hugh Bredin, (Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1986),
48. 5 David C. Lindberg, “Alhazen” in A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages, Jorge J.E Gracia, and Timothy B. Noone,
eds., (Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford, 2003), 127. 6 Scott McDonald, “Augustine” in A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages, Jorge J.E. Gracia and Timothy B. Noone, eds,
(Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford, 2003), 156. McDonald also discusses Augustine’s changed approach to the works of Plato
on page 169 where he noted that as his Christian commitments deepened his Platonist tendencies were refined.
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Plato becomes important for this thesis because of the significance that Augustine places upon
him and the similarities that can be seen in the writings of Plato and the Bible on light. Augustine
was quite clear in his admiration of Plato, he noted in De Civitate Dei that:
Among the disciples of Socrates, it was Plato who deservedly achieved the most
outstanding reputation; and he quite overshadowed all the rest.7
We begin this discussion, which considers the importance of both Plato and Augustine, with the
Bible. Here we see many links to the way in which the scholars of the Middle Ages viewed light
and light theories. This is to be expected of course as Christianity exuded an influence over all
aspects of medieval life. There are other links to be found, however, that show commonalities
between the Biblical stories and the writings of Plato, which were used by Augustine in his
writings.
Light is mentioned throughout the Bible and is often used to portray Jesus or God. It is also used
to denote wisdom or knowledge. Firstly, let us begin by looking at the properties of light as
discussed in Genesis, the Old Testament’s account of the creation of the world. In this section of
the Bible, we are introduced to the idea of the “first light.” This is the light that is first created by
God when he commands: “Be light made. And light was made.” (Genesis 1:3).8 The light that
God creates here is not light as we physically perceive it.9 This light is created before the
separation of light and dark, which happens in Genesis 1:4, where “God saw the light that it was
7 Augustine, The City of God against the Pagans, ed. R.W. Dyson, (Cambridge University Press, 1998), Book viii Chapter 4,
316. 8 Vulgate. Org, The Latin Vulgate Old Testament Bible, accessed May17, 2021. This Latin translation is from the Douay-Rheims
version of the Latin Vulgate Old Testament Bible. The quoted section above translates as, “dixitque Deus fiat lux et facta est
lux.” https://vulgate.org/ot/genesis_1.htm. 9 James McEvoy, The Philosophy of Robert Grosseteste, 158-60. McEvoy here discusses the nature of light from Genesis and
relates it to the sources for Grosseteste’s De Luce, which include Augustine and St Basil.
good; and he divided the light from the darkness.”10 This happens well before the formation of
the sun on the fourth day of creation, when “God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the
day.” (Genesis 1:16).11 In the Christian story of Creation, as referred to above, there are then
three types of light:
1. the light that God first created; ‘God’s light,’
2. the light that is separate from darkness,
3. the sun.
The idea of the first light is discussed by Augustine who attempted to explain the nature of this
light in his book De Civitate Dei. In Book XI Chapter 7 he noted that the first light created by
God was a part of “things removed from our perception” and he offered the theory that this light
was in fact the light of heaven, or the holy city populated by the “holy angels and blessed
spirits.”12 A similar concept was seen in St Basil’s Hexaemeron where, according to James
McEvoy “the first word of God produced light, which shone, however, only to illuminate the
heavens already formed.”13 This primordial light, according to these theorists may not have been
the first thing created, as God already existed in heaven, but certainly is the light that exists
before the creation of the sun and the separation of light from darkness.14
The separation of light into varying forms can also be seen in the writings of Plato, in his
Republic, which was written around 360-380 BC, and Timaeus, one of his later works written
around 360 BC.15 The influence of this Athenian philosopher resonated in the Middle Ages
10 Vulgate. Org, The Latin Vulgate Old Testament Bible, accessed May18, 2021. “vidit Deus lucem quod esset bona et divisit
lucem ac tenebras.” https://vulgate.org/ot/genesis_1.htm. 11 Vulgate. Org, The Latin Vulgate Old Testament Bible, accessed May18, 2021. 12 Augustine, The City of God against the Pagans, Book XI Chapter 7, 457. 13 James McEvoy, The Philosophy of Robert Grosseteste, 159. 14 James McEvoy, The Philosophy of Robert Grosseteste, 158. McEvoy here is referring to De Genesi ad Litteram by Augustine. 15 Luke Purhouse, Plato’s Republic A Reader's Guide, (Continuum International publishing Group, London, 2006). In his
introduction to this guide Purhouse offers no date for the writing of The Republic by Plato instead stating that it is “difficult to
through Augustine, who in his De Civitate Dei, described Plato as the pupil of Socrates who
“shone with a glory so illustrious that he eclipsed all others… ”16 As we have discussed
Augustine’s influence in the medieval period was panoptic and as such this endorsement of Plato
must be regarded as an important benchmark for the scholars of the Middle Ages.
In Book VI of Plato’s Republic, two characters Socrates and Glaucon, are discussing the nature
of sight. The result of this conversation is that if one is to see clearly with understanding, then a
third nature, namely light, is required.17 In this discussion on the nature of sight and visibility
Plato develops the argument to an understanding of the visible and intelligible realms, thus
linking light with the attainment of knowledge and truth. He also discusses the nature of light in
two parts, separating the sun, as a source of light, from what he calls “the good.”18 Here the
division of light into physical and spiritual elements is a direct correlation with the light
described in Genesis.
These parallels between the Bible and Platonic creation stories were discussed by Augustine,
who makes a comparison between the book of Genesis and Plato’s Timaeus. In De Civitate Dei
trace a precise chronology for Plato’s works, as none is dated”. 4 The date offered as around 380 B.C. stems from Wikipedia;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_(Plato) and 360 B.C. comes from another website
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.html. John M. Cooper, in his introduction to the Republic, offers no date at all, but does say
in the introduction to Timaeus that “Most scholars would date Timaeus among Plato’s last works, though a minority argue for a
date in the ‘middle period’, closer to the Republic, which it seems to certainly postdate.” John M. Cooper, ed., Plato, Complete
Works, (Indianapolis, Hackett Publishing Company Inc., 1997.) 971, 1224. 16 Augustine, The City of God against the Pagans. This reference is in Book VIII Chapter 4 entitled, Of Plato, the most
distinguished of the pupils of Socrates, who divided philosophy as a whole into three departments. 316. As Plato was a pagan
Augustine had to be careful how he used the concepts that Plato put forward. To that end Augustine used the ideas of Plotinus
who is regarded by Ann Meyer as being the conduit by which Augustine was able to assimilate Plato into Christian doctrine.
Meyer; Medieval Allegory and the Building of the New Jerusalem, 31. 17 The full quote from Republic VI is as follows: “Sight may be present in the eyes, and the one who has it may try to use it, and
colours may be present in thing, but unless a third kind of thing is present, which is naturally adapted for this very purpose, and
the colours will remain unseen.
What kind of thing do you mean?
I mean what you call light.
Quote taken from Cooper, ed., Plato, Complete Works,1128. 18 Cooper, ed., Plato, Complete Works, Republic VI, 1129.
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there is a chapter entitled; “Where Plato was able to acquire the understanding by which he came
so close to Christian knowledge.”19 Here Augustine noted similarities between the opening of
Genesis where God made the heaven and earth, and Plato’s Timaeus. The Platonic text described
the creation of the earth as a joining of the four elements and assigns fire to heaven. In the
Timaeus Plato describes the universe initially being made out of fire and earth, with fire being
visible and the earth being solid and tangible.20 Air and water were added to solidify the
universe, and the four elements work together in a “symphony of proportion.”21 Augustine noted
that Plato’s statement linking earth and fire “bears a certain resemblance to ‘In the beginning
God made heaven and the earth’.”22 Augustine’s link here seems to be quite tenuous, but he
perseveres with his hypothesis that Plato was indeed aware of the early biblical writings
throughout the rest of this chapter. Other evidence from Augustine also includes the fact that the
spirit is also translated as air, thus the Spirit of God is also found in one of the four elements used
in the creation of the universe.23 What this shows is that from Augustine’s time links between the
Genesis and the creation story of Plato were discussed.
Similarities between Plato and Genesis can also be seen when Plato describes “the good” as the
father of the sun, whom he “begot as its analogue,” showing an obvious parallel with the creation
of man from Genesis (1:27).24 This analogy also serves to show that the “the good” is another
19 Augustine, The City of God against the Pagans. Book VIII Chapter 11,327. 20 Cooper, ed., Plato, Complete Works, Timaeus, 1237. 21 Cooper, ed., Plato, Complete Works, Timaeus, 1237-8. 22 Augustine, The City of God against the Pagans. Book VIII Chapter 11,328. 23 Augustine, The City of God against the Pagans. Book VIII Chapter 11,328. 24The similarities with the creation stories are readily apparent as seen between the Egyptian Story of Creation and Plato’s
philosophy on the same subject in his Timaeus. In both stories there appears a passage in which the god will “have intercourse
with himself” to create a likeness. In the Timaeus the god creates the world “which he begat for himself” and in the Egyptian
story Ra gives birth to Shu and Tefnut “by himself...” There is an obvious correlation between these stories and the story from
Genesis (1:27) where God “created man to his own image: to the image of God, he created him:” This leads us to consider the
influences of the Egyptian story on Plato. Although Plato is known to have travelled to Egypt around the time the first five books
of the Bible known as the Pentateuch were written, to say that one influenced the other is beyond the scope of this study. James
McEvoy’s article entitled "Plato and The Wisdom of Egypt" does not try to prove that Plato went to Egypt but aims to …
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form of light, as the sun is “its analogue”, thus there are two forms of light, one in the intelligible
realm, beyond our comprehension as humans, unless we strive to attain it through wisdom and
spiritual enlightenment. The other is the sun which shines upon the physical realm, in which we
live our daily lives.
As we have seen links between the creation story of Plato and the book of Genesis were made by
Augustine. This can be seen in the separation of light into physical and spiritual forms, which is
an important factor in the development of the medieval light theories espoused by Robert
Grosseteste, which will be discussed in the fourth chapter of this thesis.
The separation of light into different forms can also be seen in the introduction to the Gospel of
John known as the In Principio. The Gospel of John is also important for describing how the idea
of knowledge and truth is shown through light. Norman Klassen noted that the In Principio (John
1:1-14) was easily one of the best-known passages in the Middle Ages from the New Testament
and one reason for this was its resonance with the creation story.25 The first part, John1:1-5,
reads as follows:
In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
“uncover what Plato knew of that land of fascination and how he employed his knowledge for his own philosophical purposes.”
In his De Doctrina Christiana, Augustine mentions that his friend Ambrose had stated that Plato went to Egypt in the time of the
prophet Jeremiah and then received his wisdom from Christian scriptures. However, he had to retract this statement and later in
De Civitate Dei or stated that “...a careful calculation of the dates contained in the chronological history indicates that Plato born
some one hundred years after the time when Jeremiah prophesied.” This was to avoid any controversy around the use of pagan
influences on Christian thought.
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/mythology/summary-and-analysis-egyptian-mythology/the-creation,
(https://vulgate.org/ot/genesis_1.htm.)
Augustine, De Doctrina Christiana, (translated by R.P.H. Green, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1995, Book Two Section 108, 107.
Augustine, The City of God against the Pagans, Book VIII Chapter 11, 327. 25 Norman Klassen, Chaucer on Love, Knowledge and Sight, Chaucer Studies XXI, (D.S. Brewer, Cambridge,1995), 2.
All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made.
In him…