Robert Steele (1860–1944) was a British scholar, best known for editing between c. 1905 and 1941 the 16-volume ''Opera hactenus inedita Rogeri Bacon''. Early in his life Steele was a disciple of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He w ...

, who was apparently influential in directing young Steele's attention towards studying medieval writings, and also attracted Steele's political views towards

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...

. After studying chemistry, Steele was for a brief time a teacher of this subject at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English ind ...

. He soon abandoned this job and moved to London where he worked as a freelance journalist, writing for various literary and socialist publications. He became a member of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...

. One of his early works, with a preface by Morris, was ''Mediaeval lore from

Bartholomew Anglicus Bartholomaeus Anglicus (before 1203–1272), also known as Bartholomew the Englishman and Berthelet, was an early 13th-century Scholastic of Paris, a member of the Franciscan order. He was the author of the compendium ''De proprietatibus rerum' ...

'', a selective modernization of a medieval encyclopedia, edited—according to

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

's review—"with a nice sense of how much modern readers are likely to stand." Steele's first major work on medieval manuscripts was ''The Earliest English Arithmetics'', published with the help of the

Early English Text Society The Early English Text Society (EETS) is a text publication society founded in 1864 which is dedicated to the editing and publication of early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes contain editions of ...

. Later he published ''Early English Music Printing'' with the

Bibliographical Society Founded in 1892, The Bibliographical Society is the senior learned society dealing with the study of the book and its history in the United Kingdom. Largely owing to the efforts of Walter Arthur Copinger, who was supported by Richard Copley ...

. He was able to visit France, Italy, and Russia; the latter visit helped him write ''The Art of the Russian Icon'' published with the

Medici Society The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

. His publications of Bacon's works attracted funding from several

learned societies A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...

, as well as a

Civil List Pension Pensions in the United Kingdom, whereby United Kingdom tax payers have some of their wages deducted to save for retirement, can be categorised into three major divisions - state, occupational and personal pensions. The state pension is based on ...

and an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

. He was also one of the early Executive Members of the

International Academy of the History of Science The International Academy of the History of Science (french: Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences) is a membership organization for historians of science. The academy was founded on 17 August 1928 at the Congress of Historical Science b ...

. His house and personal library were destroyed in a German air raid in 1941. He had ten children. Steele's edition of Bacon's ''

Secretum secretorum The or (from Latin: "The Secret of Secrets"), also known as the ( ar, كتاب سر الأسرار, lit=The Secret Book of Secrets), is a pseudo-Aristotelian treatise which purports to be a letter from Aristotle to his student Alexander ...

'', with its lengthy introduction and numerous notes, is seen as the modern basis for its study by English scholars. However, Steele's view that Bacon's reading of the ''Secretum'' was the turning point towards experimentalism in Bacon's philosophy is viewed with skepticism by later scholars like S.J. Williams, who nonetheless acknowledge the special place that the ''Secretum'' played in Bacon's own writings.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Robert British medievalists 1860 births 1944 deaths Schoolteachers from Bedfordshire Scholars of Latin literature British editors Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America