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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

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0017816000005265

How to cite this article:J. C. Russell (1933). The Preferments and Adiutores of RobertGrosseteste. Harvard Theological Review, 26, pp 161-172 doi:10.1017/S0017816000005265

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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.