Robert Grosseteste (before c.1168-1253) made an outstanding contribution to the thought and the culture of his time. The generation which witnessed the chartering of the universities of Paris and Oxford (in 1200 and 1214 respectively) was full of a sense of vigorous scholastic renewal and intellectual innovation. Grosseteste made a distinctive contribution to the University of Oxford, the earliest years of which (1214-1235) he may fairly be said to have dominated, intellectually speaking. His life was full of initiatives of the most varied kind, which, when we take them all together, can be seen to have resulted in an exceptionally diversified output of writing: philosophical and scientific treatises, commentaries on Aristotle, biblical exegesis and theological reflection, letters, and not the least in importance, translations from the Greek. During his years as Bishop of Lincoln, from 1235 up to his death in 1253, he continued to pursue his translating activities, while adding considerably to his output of sermons and pastoral writings, and framing an influential set of constitutions for the diocese of Lincoln.