Papers previously presented at the 2003 conference of the International Robert Grosseteste Society, held at Bishop Grosseteste University College, Lincoln, England.

This book explores a wide range of topics relating to scientific and religious learning in the work of Bishop Robert Grosseteste (c. 1168–1253) and does so from various perspectives, including those of a twenty-first century scientists, historians, and philosophers as well as several medievalists. In particular, it aims to contribute to our understanding of where to place Grosseteste in the history of science (against the background of the famous claim by A.C. Crombie that Grosseteste introduced what we now might call “experimental science”) and to demonstrate that the polymathic world of the medieval scholar, who recognized no dichotomy in the pursuit of scientific and philosophical/theological understanding, has much to teach those of us in the modern world who wrestle with the vexed question of the relationship between science and religion. The book comprises an edited selection of the best papers presented at the 3rd International Robert Grosseteste Conference (2014) on the theme of scientific and religious learning, especially in the work of Grosseteste.

In this book Philippa Hoskin offers an account of the pastoral theory and practice of Robert Grosseteste, bishop of Lincoln 1235-1253, within his diocese. Grosseteste has been considered as an eminent medieval philosopher and theologian, and as a bishop focused on pastoral care, but there has been no attempt to consider how his scholarship influenced his pastoral practice. Making use of Grosseteste’s own writings – philosophical and theological as well as pastoral and administrative – Hoskin demonstrates how Grosseteste’s famous interventions in his diocese grew from his own theory of personal obligation in pastoral care as well as how his personal involvement in his diocese could threaten well-developed clerical and lay networks.

This volume honors the Rev. Professor James McEvoy on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. The theory of friendship, which has been one of McEvoy's major fields of research and publication, used to be at the heart of the philosophical project, and indissociable from it. For Socrates, philosophy was possible only as the pursuit of wisdom, virtue, and beauty in a community of friends engaged in an "erotic" quest for the good. The present volume wants to make a contribution to the recovery of the friendship theme in its central importance to philosophy. It contains eighteen contributions by colleagues and pupils of Professor McEvoy from three different continents, who approach the topics of friendship, love, and charity from a variety of different angles. Several contributions are devoted to the theory of friendship in ancient and medieval thought, including its Christian appropriation. Others analyze friendship in modern and contemporary philosophy, while two contributors introduce cross-cultural perspectives (Hinduism and traditional African thought). This volume will help to throw into higher relief the importance of the philosophy of friendship, as well as stimulating further discussion on this intriguing topic.

Bishop Robert Grosseteste and Lincoln Cathedral is an in-depth investigation of Grosseteste?s relationship to the medieval cathedral at Lincoln and the surrounding city. This book will contribute to the understanding of Gothic architecture in early thirteenth century England - most specifically, how forms and spaces were conceived in relation to the cultural, religious and political life of the period. The architecture and topography of Lincoln Cathedral are examined in their cultural contexts, in relation to scholastic philosophy, science and cosmology, and medieval ideas about light and geometry, as highlighted in the writings of Robert Grosseteste - Bishop of Lincoln Cathedral (1235-53). At the same time the architecture of the cathedral is considered in relation to the roles of the clergy and masons; the policies of the bishop; matters of governance, worship and education; ecclesiastical hierarchy, church liturgy, politics and processionals. The book explores Grosseteste?s ideas in the broader context of medieval and Renaissance cosmologies, optics/perspective, natural philosophy and experimental science, and considers historical precedents in regard to religious, political and symbolic influences on church building. The contributors to this volume make an important contribution to our current understanding of the relation between architecture, theology, politics and society during the Middle Ages, and how religious spaces were conceived and experienced.

This book examines Robert Grosseteste’s often underrepresented ideas on education. It uniquely brings together academics from the fields of medieval history, modern science and contemporary education to shed new light on a fascinating medieval figure whose work has an enormous amount to offer anyone with an interest in our educational processes. The book locates Grosseteste as a key figure in the intellectual history of medieval Europe and positions him as an important thinker who concerned himself with the science of education and set out to elucidate the processes and purposes of learning. This book offers an important practical contribution to the discussion of the contemporary nature and purpose of many aspects of our education processes. This book will be of interest to students, researchers and academics in the disciplines of educational philosophy, medieval history, philosophy and theology.