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 an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

, 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 an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

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

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

. 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 History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

. One of his early works, with a preface by Morris, was ''Mediaeval lore from Bartholomew Anglicus'', 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 as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

'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 in the UK dealing with the study of the book and its history. The Society promotes and encourages study and research in historical, analytical, descriptive and textual ...

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

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

, 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 o ...

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 hon ...

from

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. 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 () is a membership organization for historians of science. The Academy was founded on 17 August 1928 at the Congress of Historical Science by Aldo Mieli, Abel Rey, George Sarton, Henry E. Sig ...

. 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 (Latin, 'Secret of secrets'), also known as the (), is a treatise which purports to be a letter from Aristotle to his student Alexander the Great on an encyclopedic range of topics, including statecraft, ethics, physiognomy, Muslim ...

'', 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