Abstract
The influence of Avicebron’s Fons vitae with its idea of Creation emanating from the deity has been recognized by many scholars as an important source for Robert Grosseteste’s De luce. It will be argued here that this treatise on light is an early work and it is crucial to see it as emerging from a Parisian milieu which was not only discovering the new Greek learning but also seeking rationalistic accounts for the origins of the cosmos: both features of De luce. It will also be argued that in common with these works De luce betrays pantheistic traits which Grosseteste later relinquishes in keeping with doctrinal and ecclesiastical developments in the West in the first half of the thirteenth century. The chapter will conclude by maintaining that Grosseteste, as a key figure in the reformation of the post-Lateran IV Church, learnt how to use the philosophers in a way that was acceptable to an authority which had grown intolerant of anything but the canons of Scripture and the Church Fathers. In doing so he made a highly significant contribution to a pursuit of knowledge which ultimately helped to render Greek learning palatable to the Latin ecclesiastical establishment.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
For a full account of this sect see Dickson (1989).
- 4.
The scant information we have regarding the life of Amaury is contained in the (Gesta Philippi II Augusti).
- 5.
See also (Ditionnied Histoire et de Géographie Ecclésiastiques).
- 6.
A translation can be found in Russell (1971).
- 7.
Fr Gabriel Théry has noted that David of Dinant is not mentioned in the canons and suggests that this was because of ‘a certain liking for David on behalf of the Pope (1923).
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Cunningham, J.P. (2016). Robert Grosseteste and the Pursuit of Learning in the Thirteenth Century. In: Cunningham, J.P., Hocknull, M. (eds) Robert Grosseteste and the pursuit of Religious and Scientific Learning in the Middle Ages. Studies in the History of Philosophy of Mind, vol 18. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33468-4_3
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