Robert Grosseteste (c. 1175 - 1253) was an English statesman, scholastic philosopher, theologian, scientist and Bishop of Lincoln. He has been called the "founder of the tradition of scientific thought in medieval Oxford." He is best known for a host of scientific treatises including: an introductory text on astronomy, a treatise on the metaphysics of light, a work on tides and tidal movements, a study of the rainbow, and a treatise on mathematical reasoning in the natural sciences.