Sounding a Sonativum: Robert Grosseteste and the Generation of Sound
Giles Gasper’s lecture for the 2016 Annual Grosseteste Day lecture at Bishop Grosseteste University took place on Friday 7th October. Taking as its main focus the treatise On the Generations of Sounds the lecture presents the main features of the text, and then explores the historical context of its composition. Grosseteste’s interest in the soul and its activities, as well as the questions about his authoritative sources, emerge in the context of contemporaries, amongst them John Blund and Alfred of Sareshull. With very different emphases, and in some cases sources, both were also interested in questions of the soul, its composition, definition and function. When and where Grosseteste might have written the text are also considered. Thanks due especially to Jack Cunningham and his team at Bishop Grosseteste for organising the lecture, and the subsequent book launch, and for making the occasion so welcoming. And also to the audience for a series of excellent questions, and for supporting the lecture series. This was the third annual lecture at BGU given by a member of the Ordered Universe, a privilege for which we are all very grateful.