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Terrell DG Master’s Thesis Proposal

MASTER’S THESIS PROPOSAL


David G Terrell
American Military University
17 April 2011

Tentative Title

Signs of Change: Conceptualizations of Justice and Mercy in 13th Century Christianity in the
Letters of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln

Tentative Thesis

Robert Grosseteste’s conceptualization of justice and mercy, expressed in his extant

letters, differed from the normative theological stance held by his 13th century contemporaries

and prefigured those of 16th century Protestant Reformation theologians.

Prospectus

Bishop Robert Grosseteste of Lincoln (c. 1168-1253) was an English statesman, Scientist,

metaphysician, philosopher, theologian and pastor. He lived during the crystallization of

medieval Europe’s civic, intellectual and religious institutions from the scattered fragments

surviving late Antiquity. He was present at the First Council of Lyons (1245), when Fredrick II

was excommunicated; and, an early supporter of reforms targeting practices that would later tear

western Christendom apart. His extant writings include philosophical and scientific texts;

commentaries on Aristotle; scriptural analysis; sermons; translations of Greek patristic writers;

and, over 130 letters which were not all translated and annotated until 2010. Bishop

Grosseteste’s letters are well positioned to provide the modern researcher with valuable insights

into the concerns and practices of early 13th century English clergy and laity.1

1
Robert Grosseteste, The Letters of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, (Translated by F.A.C. Mantello, &
Joseph Goering, Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2010), 3; James McEvoy, "Robert Grosseteste: The Man and
His Legacy" (In Editing Robert Grosseteste, edited by Evelyn A Mackie, & Joseph Goering, 3-30. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 2003), 18.
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Terrell DG Master’s Thesis Proposal

For two centuries after his death, Grosseteste’s writings exercised a great influence upon

English philosophy and theology. John Wycliffe (d. 1384), bible translator and proto-Reformer,

ranked Grosseteste above Aristotle. Grosseteste’s opposition to abuses of curial and papal

prerogatives; his assertions about the primacy of Scripture; and, his faith that Christ lay at the

center of God’s covenant with mankind, were central ideas in Wycliffe’s theology. In spite of

being labeled “the first reformer”, Grosseteste never deviated in his devotion and allegiance to

catholic doctrine, his ultimate obedience to Papal authority, and his insistent support of a unified

Christendom.2

Scholars have viewed Grosseteste as a reformer, a teacher, and as a statesman. Through

each lens one can find a consistent thread. Regardless of his efforts—to reform the church,

dauntlessly striving to correct curial abuses; to improve the education of his colleagues, reviving

the study of ancient languages and promoting knowledge of ancient and classical thought; and, to

promote the liberties of the church and ethical national principles—Grosseteste insisted “that

abstract notions such as love, truth, mercy, justice, and peace should have real consequences in

human action and the life of the church.”3

Of particular interest to this researcher is the evolution of Christian conceptualization of

justice and mercy, paradigms which figured very prominently in the soteriological writings of

later Protestant reformers, especially those of Wycliffe and Luther. Mantello and Goering, in

their recent work, translated and annotated all of Grosseteste’s letters. They assert that

Grosseteste, in almost every letter, wrestled over these issues. In this thesis, this researcher hopes

to understand and document the translators’ claims by examining the letters of Robert

2
Stephen E. Lahey, John Wyclif, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 139-140; Francis Seymour Stevenson,
Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln: A Contribution to the Religious, Political and Intellectual History of the
Thirteenth Century, (London: MacMillan & Co., 1899), 335-336.
3
Grosseteste, Letters, 21; Stevenson, 337.
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Terrell DG Master’s Thesis Proposal

Grosseteste in detail, seeking to identify and understand his notions of, and attitudes about,

justice and mercy. This researcher intends to identify references to these concepts in

Grosseteste’s letters; compare his attitudes to those of his contemporaries within the Roman

Catholic church; and, compare them with those espoused by principal figures of the Protestant

reformation, two centuries later—with an eye to understanding both how Grosseteste can be

differentiated from his contemporaries and if he presaged latter attitudes that shaped the

Reformation. 4

In anticipation of the effort, this researcher has successfully collected the works listed in

the Preliminary Bibliography and has given the majority an initial reading. The principal sources

of the thesis will be the letters of Robert Grosseteste, as translated by Mantello and Goering, and

his sermons and poetry. The principal biographies of Grosseteste’s life will help determine if

others previously addressed his conceptualization of justice and mercy and, if so, allow their use

to establish a baseline against which one can frame new assessments. Two volumes of essays

about Grosseteste, one published in 1953 and the second published in 2003, and academic

reviews of Grosseteste-related publications present additional academic assessments of his

attitudes, works, and theology as of the dates of their publication; which will provide additional

insights into the evolution of our understanding of Grosseteste’s philosophy and attitudes.

Consideration of appropriate general histories will help provide this researcher with knowledge

of 12th century western philosophy and theology against which he may compare Grosseteste.

Finally, this researcher will examine general surveys of primary Protestant reformation figures

for additional points of comparison with Grosseteste. 5

4
Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation, (New York: Penguin Books, 2004), 106-152; Grosseteste, Letters, 21-22.
5
There are five Grosseteste biographies: Pegge (1793), Perry (1871), Stevenson (1899), Southern (1986), and
McEvoy (2000).
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Terrell DG Master’s Thesis Proposal

Tentatively, the thesis will be organized as follows: (1) a statement of the thesis followed

by a brief introduction of Grosseteste life’s and historical position; (2) a thorough review of

Grosseteste’s letters and writings documenting references to justice and mercy; (3) an assessment

of his thoughts on these two concepts, derived from study of the letters; (4) a comparison to

thoughts upon the same subject expressed by church fathers and other classical texts with which

Grosseteste was acquainted; (5) a comparison to attitudes of contemporaries on the same subject;

and, (6) a brief exposition of views on justice and mercy expressed by later Protestant Reformers

(especially John Wycliffe) where one can assert similarity or attribution.

David G Terrell
Herndon, Virginia
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Terrell DG Master’s Thesis Proposal

Preliminary Bibliography

Abulafia, David. Fredrick II: A Medieval Emperor. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Backus, Irena. "John of Damascus, De fide orthodoxa: Translations by Burgundio (1153/54),


Grosseteste (1235/40) and Lefèvre d'Etaples (1507)." Journal of the Warburg and
Courtauld Institutes, 1986: 211-217.

Bainton, Roland H. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon
Press, 1950.

Bennett, Judith M, and C Warren Hollister. Medieval Europe A Short History. 10th Edition. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2006.

Callus, D A (ed). Robert Grosseteste: Scholar and Bishop. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1955.

Cantor, Norman F. Medieval Lives: Eight Charismatic Men and Women of the Middle Ages.
New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1994.

—. The Civilization of the Middle Ages. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.

Cassirer, Ernst, Francis R Johnson, Paul Oskar Kristeller, Dean P Lockwood, and Lynn
Thorndyke. "Some Remarks on the Question of the Originality of the Renaissance."
Journal of the History of Ideas, 1943: 49-74.

Crombie, A C. Robert Grosseteste and the Origins of Experimental Science 1100-1700. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1953.

Dales, Richard C. "Robert Grosseteste's Scientific Works." Isis, 1961: 381-402.

Dales, Richard C. "The Authorship of the Summa in Physica Attributed to Robert Grosseteste."
Isis, 1964: 70-74.

Dales, Richard C. "The Computistical Works Ascribed to Robert Grosseteste." Isis, 1989: 74-79.

Davenport, Anne A. "The Catholics, the Cathars, and the Concept of Infinity in the Thirteenth
Century." Isis, 1997: 263-295.

De Jonge, M. "The Transmission of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs by Christians."


Vigiliae Christianae, 1993: 1-28.

Dronke, Peter (ed). A History of Twelfth-Century Western Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge


University Press, 1988.
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Terrell DG Master’s Thesis Proposal

Gies, Frances, and Gies Joseph. Life in a Medieval Village. New York: HarperCollins Publishers,
1990.

—. Marriage and the Family in the Middle Ages. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.

Goering, Joseph. "Introduction: Editing Robert Grosseteste." In Editing Robert Grosseteste,


edited by Evelyn A Mackie, & Joseph Goering, xi-xv. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press, 2003.

Goldman, Steven Louis. "On the Interpretation of Symbols and the Christian Origins of Modern
Science." The Journal of Religion, 1982: 1-20.

Goodlich, Michael. "A Profile of Thirteenth-Century Sainthood." Comparative Studies in Society


and History, 1976: 429-437.

Grosseteste, Robert. Castel off loue (Chasteau d'amour, or Carmen de creatione mundi): An
early English Translation of an Old French Poem. Translated by Richard Francis
Weymouth. London: Asher & Co., 1864.

—. On Light or The Beginning of Forms. Translated by Clare C Riedl. n.d.

—. The Letters of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln. Translated by F.A.C. Mantello, &
Joseph Goering. Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2010.

Grosseteste, Robert, and Richard C Dales. "The Text of Robert Grosseteste's Questio de fluxu et
refluxu maris with an English Translation." Isis, 1966: 455-474.

Grosseteste, Robert, and Ruth J Dean. "An Anglo-Norman Version of Grosseteste: Part of His
Suidas and Testamenta XII Patriarcharum." Proceedings of the Modern Language
Association, 1936: 607-620.

Haskins, Charles H. "Medieval Versions of the Posterion Analytics." Havard Studies in


Classical Philology, 1914: 87-105.

Haverkamp, Alfred. Medieval Germany: 1056-1273. 2nd. Translated by Helga Braun, & Richard
Mortimer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Hollister, C Warren, Joe W Leedom, Marc A Meyer, and David S Spear. Medieval Europe: A
Short Sourcebook. 4th. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Holmes, George (ed). The Oxford History of Medieval Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1988.

Hutchinson, Barbara. "Robert Grosseteste: The Role of Education in the Reform of Thirteenth
Century English Society." History of Educations Quaterly, 1965: 26-39.
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Terrell DG Master’s Thesis Proposal

Hutchison, Keith. "Individualism, Causal Location, and the Eclipse of Scholastic Philosophy."
Social Studies of Science, 1991: 321-350.

International Grosseteste Society. The Electronic Grosseteste. 1998-2010.


http://www.grosseteste.com/ (accessed April 7, 2011).

J.C., Russell. "The Preferments and 'Adiutores' of Robert Grosseteste." The Harvard Theological
Review, 1933: 161-172.

Lahey, Stephen E. John Wyclif. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Lenhart, John M. "Science in the Franciscan Order: A Historical Sketch." Franciscan Studies
(Joseph F. Wagner, Inc.), January 1924: 5-44.

Lindberg, David C. "Medieval Science and its Religious Context." Osiris, 1995: 60-79.

Luther, Martin. Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings. Edited by John Dillenberger. New
York: Random House, 1962.

MacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation. New York: Penguin Books, 2004.

Mackie, Evelyn A, and Joseph Goering. Editing Robert Grosseteste. Toronto: Toronto
University Press, 2003.

Martin, Dennis D. "Popular and Monastic Pastoral Issues in the Latter Middle Ages." Church
History, 1987: 320-332.

McEvoy, James. Robert Grosseteste. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

McEvoy, James. "Robert Grosseteste: The Man and His Legacy." In Editing Robert Grosseteste,
edited by Evelyn A Mackie, & Joseph Goering, 3-30. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press, 2003.

Moreton, Jennifer. "Before Grosseteste: Roger of Hereford and Calendar Reform in Eleventh-
and Twelfth-Century England." Isis, 1995: 562-586.

Mortimer, Ian. The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England. New York: Simon & Schuster,
2008.

Pegge, Samuel. The Life of Robert Grosseteste, the Celebrated Bishop of Lincoln. London:
Society of Antiquaries, 1793.

Perry, George G. The Life and Times of Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln. London: Society
for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1871.

Powicke, Maurice. The Thirteenth Century: 1216-1307. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1962.
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Terrell DG Master’s Thesis Proposal

Russell, Josiah C. "Hereford and Arabic Science in England about 1175-1200." Isis, 1932: 14-25.

Russell, Josiah C. "Phases of Grosseteste's Intellectual Life." The Havard Theological Review,
1950: 93-116.

Russell, Josiah Cox. "Some Notes upon the Career of Robert Grosseteste." The Harvard
Theological Review, 1955: 197-211.

Smalley, Beryl. "The Bible and Eternity: John Wyclif's Dilemma." Journal of the Warburg and
Courtauld Institutes, 1964: 73-89.

Southern, R W. Robert Grosseteste: The Growth of an English Mind in Medieval Europe.


Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986.

Stevenson, Francis Seymour. Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln: A Contribution to the


Religious, Political and Intellectual History of the Thirteenth Century. London:
MacMillan & Co., 1899.

Stiefel, Tina. "The Heresy of Science: A Twelfth-Century Conceptual Revolution." Isis, 1977:
347-362.

Taylor, E.G.R. "Robert Grosseteste as an Observer." Isis, 1964: 342.

Terrell, David G. "Pope Innocent IV and Emperor Frederick II: Auctoritias and Potestas in
Conflict." Portfolio of David G Terrell. April 4, 2010.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/31886312/terrell-dg-first-council-of-lyons-scribd (accessed
April 11, 2011).

Thorndyke, Lynn. University Records and Life in the Middle Ages. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1944.

Williams, Steven J. "Defining the Corpus Aristotelicum: Scholastic Awareness of Aristotelian


Spuria in the High Middle Ages." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes,,
1995: 29-51.

© David G. Terrell, 2009-2011, except where otherwise noted, content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. For permission to reprint under terms outside the license, contact
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