James
McEvoy.
Robert Grosseteste.
New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000.
Great
Medieval Thinkers series.
xx,219pp.
Publisher's
recommended price
Hardback ISBN
0195114493, £29.00
Paperback, 0195114507, £13.99
As well
as surveying
and introducing, volumes in this series will advance the state of
medieval
studies at both the historical and the speculative levels. In this
respect,
the present volume is typical. Robert Grosseteste (d. 1253) was one of
the most influential Englishmen of his day. A distinguished
mathematician,
philosopher, scientist, and theologian, he was also bishop of Lincoln,
a Father of the First Council of Lyons, and chancellor of Oxford
University.
But his writings have not been much translated into English. And most
published
studies on him are technical and chiefly aimed at professional
medievalists.
In what follows, however, readers will find a straightforward survey
and
appraisal of every aspect of Grosseteste's achievement together with a
guide to the scholarship on him. They will also find a selection of
notable
passages from his writings not accessible to general readers and of
sayings
attributed to him by medieval chroniclers - materials that illustrate
his
original personality, his wisdom and his humour. James McEvoy is one of
the world's leading experts on Grosseteste. So he brings to this book a
lifetime of research and scholarship. But he also writes for beginners
who want clear and painless access to one of the great personalities of
the Middle Ages.
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