CHAP. VIII.

HISTORICAL MINUTES OF ROBERT GROSSETETE, BISHOP OF LINCOLN.

THIS illustrious prelate* took an active and honourable part in many of the events mentioned in the preceding chapters. As several circumstances of his life shew the spirit of the times, to which this portion of our work relates, on most of the subjects of the preceding pages; and as, notwithstanding the great renown of this prelate in his own time, and in the times which immediately followed, the particulars of his life are little known to the generality of readers, it has been thought, that a short biographical notice of him in this place, would not be unacceptable.

*This account of Robert Grossetete is taken from "The "Life of Robert Grossetete, the celebrated bishop of Lincoln, "" by Samuel Pegge, LL. D. prebendary of Louth, in that "diocese, with an account of the bishop's works, and appen"dix, quarto, 1793." This work is become extremely scarce, and a new edition of it, enlarged by interweaving in it a history of the times, which was Dr. Pegge's original design, would be a valuable present to the public.-By the favour of Dr. Cameron, the roman-catholic bishop in the Lowlands of Scotland, the writer has been favoured with a perusal of a manuscript life of bishop Grossetete, by the late doctor Perry, president of the English roman-catholic college of Valladolid. Should such a work, as the writer has suggested, be undertaken, both this manuscript and a life of Grossetete, which Dr. Pegge mentions in his preliminary observations, to have been left in manuscript, by Mr. Knight the biographer of Erasmus, should be consulted.

VIII. 1.

Birth and early years of Grossetete.

He was born, according to the most probable opinion, about the year 1175, at Stow, a village near Lincoln, of obscure parents. His mother, on her death-bed, recommended him to "seek God "and true wisdom, more than meat or drink." Impressed with this sentiment, the mayor of Lincoln having proffered him a boon, Robert entreated the mayor to procure him the means of improving his mind. The good mayor placed him in a grammar school: there he distinguished himself; and, having finished in it his grammatical studies, was removed to Oxford. Anthony Wood* mentions, that this celebrated university then contained 30,000 students; some of whom were foreigners. Here Grossetete made great proficiency in the learning of the schools, and obtained also a considerable degree of knowledge both of the Greek and Hebrew languages. To pursue his studies with greater advantage, he repaired to Paris: "Whither," says Dr. Pegge, in his life of our pre

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* "Athenæ Oxonienses. An exact History of all the Writers "and Bishops who had their education in the most ancient "and famous university of Oxford, from the 15th year of king Henry the seventh, A. D. 1500, to the end of the year "1690, representing the birth, fortune, preferment and death " of all those authors and prelates, the great accidents of their "lives, and the fate and character of their writings. To which are added the Fasti or Annales of this University for the same time, fol. 1791."-See vol. i. p. 80, 84, 98.

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late," almost all our English divines, who aspired "after a superior degree of eminence in their profession, resorted for the finishing of their cha"racter, notwithstanding the high reputation of 66 our own domestic academies."

VIII. 2.

Grossetete's Proficiencies in Literature.

GROSSETETE cultivated literature through life. The writings, which he left behind him, embraced the whole circle of science, logic, ethics, œconomics, politics, arithmetic, geometry, the doctrine of the sphere, comets, the air, light, catoptrics, astronomy, metaphysics, music, medicine, canon law and theology. He composed treatises on most of these subjects. The far greater part remains in manuscript: some of his sermons, and many of his letters, were published by Mr. Browne in his Fasciculus.

The vulgar looked on Grossetete as a prodigy. Like many other men of science, who flourished in the dark ages, he was accused of magic: he was said to have framed a head, that spoke and gave council; and to have had such a power over the invisible world, that, on an emergency, he compelled Satan to assume the shape of a horse, which carried him to Rome and back again, in twentyfour hours. To some of these magic honours, Roger Bacon, the Franciscan friar, afterwards succeeded.

Grossetete first attracted the notice of the public by his lectures on theology. The reputation

which he acquired by them, soon obtained for him the degree of doctor in that science. He was afterwards promoted to the archdeaconries of Salisbury and Leicester. In 1234 and 1235, he was unanimously elected by the chapter of Lincoln to that extensive and wealthy see, and the king readily confirmed his election.

Through the whole of his episcopacy, Grossetete strove to promote religion and learning, to enforce, among his clergy, an exact observance of discipline. This engaged him in several disputes; one, with the dean and chapter of his own cathedral church, on his right to visit them; one, with the dean and chapter of the cathedral church of Canterbury, on their right to receive, during the vacancy of that see, appeals from his sentences; and several with the regular clergy of his diocese, on his right to reduce, under his donation, all the churches possessed by them, to which they could not shew a regular and authenticated title; and on his right to charge those, to which they shewed such a title, with the payment of a competent stipend to an incumbent, who performed the parochial duty. In all these contests, he succeeded, and his conduct gave general satisfaction: but he was engaged in more important contests both with the crown and the pope. These more properly relate to the subject of these pages.

VIII. 3.

The Sentiments of bishop Grossetete on the different nature of Spiritual and Temporal Power.

WE shall first state these in the prelate's own words:

"Whatever portion secular princes possess of "that power and dignity, which is ordained by "God, they receive it all from the church: whereas "the princes of the church-(her prelates),"ceive no part of their ecclesiastical dignity and "authority from secular princes, but from God. "He, who receives power from another, cannot "rebel against him, from whom he receives it, by "abusing what he hath received, any other than if "the axe should glory against him, who saws with "it; or the rod or staff against him who lifteth it.

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Moreover, secular princes are to remember, that "both swords belong to Peter, the natural as well "as the spiritual; with this difference, that the princes of the church, who sit in the chair and "office of Peter, wield the spiritual sword by themselves, but wield the temporal one by the hand "and ministry of secular princes, who are to un"sheath or sheath the sword they carry, at the beck and direction of the princes of the church: for, as Paul saith, the secular prince doth not wear the sword in vain, and adds the reason, be"cause he is the minister of God, an avenger to "execute wrath upon him, who doeth evil. Secular

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