Knowledge and the Affectus Mentis in Robert Grosseteste and St. Bonaventure

Robert Grosseteste (c.1168–1253) was an English polymath active in the first half of the thirteenth century. His works spanned multiple disciplines, and he made significant contributions to fields as disparate as natural philosophy and vernacular spiritual literature. The present study concerns an important contribution Grosseteste made to the philosophy of mind and his influence on the famous Franciscan theologian and philosopher, Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (c.1217–1274). Bonaventure used Grosseteste's famous aspectus/affectus distinction many times and followed Grosseteste's account of how Aristotle's disordered affections hindered his ability to know. This suggests that he read Grosseteste's Hexaëmeron not only in the 1250s, as was known, but also in 1273.