Last week, Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th November, Ordered Universe members were made very welcome at the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Research, and the Department of History at Swansea University. Joshua Harvey and Giles Gasper were hosted by Charlie Rozier, formerly of Durham now a medieval historian at Swansea, and gave an afternoon paper to the MEMO seminar. – ‘The Scientific World of Robert Grosseteste: Natural Phenomena in Historical Perspective’, focusing on the treatise On Colour and On the Rainbow, with discussion s well of On the Liberal Arts. The paper was very well attended, with a lively and useful question session afterwards. Sharing experiences and knowledge is a central part of the academic experience and it was very to do so with friends old and new; we came away with fresh insights and valuable comments. The Friday seminar with the MA in Medieval Studies took the form of a two-hour collaborative reading session on the Colour and Rainbow treatises. This was a joy, a reminder of the intricacy of Grosseteste’s expression, and of the complexity of his thought, and the open-ended nature of the interpretations we have marshalled. We were both impressed with the level of engagement with the text, and the enthusiasm for embracing 13th century science. An excellent experience all round, and a privilege to take part on teaching and research at Swansea.
