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The Medieval Church · c. 1235–1253

The Letters

Robert Grosseteste · c. 1168–1253

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What it is

Correspondence of a reforming bishop, including a refusal to install the pope's nephew in an English benefice on the grounds that the order was contrary to the gospel.

Why it lasted

The classic medieval statement that papal commands may be resisted when they contradict the purpose of the office itself.

Where to read it

Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.

These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.

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