Grimani, Cardinal Domenico (1461–1523) Italian
humanist and patron of the arts
He was the son of Doge Antonio Grimani of Venice and
served the papal Curia, becoming apostolic secretary and
protonotary in 1491. From 1497 to 1517 he was patriarch
of Aquileia (and was succeeded by three of his nephews).
He was employed by Venice as envoy to the pope. He was
a collector of coins, cameos, paintings, and antique sculp-
tures, many of which passed to the Venetian state at his
death, and he owned the Grimani Breviary (now in the
MARCIANA library) with illuminations by the Fleming
Simon Benig.
Grindal, Edmund (c. 1519–1583) English churchman,
archbishop of Canterbury (1575–83)
Grindal was educated at Cambridge and, as a devoted
Protestant and Calvinist, fled to Germany during the
Catholic reign of Mary I. He returned at the accession of
Elizabeth I and became bishop of London (1559) before
moving to the archdiocese of York (1570) and finally Can-
terbury. Despite his rapid promotion to high ecclesiastical
office, his influence on Elizabethan Protestantism was
limited. This was mainly because he provoked the wrath
of Elizabeth with his support for “prophesying,” or the
open discussion of the Scriptures, a practice of which the
queen disapproved. He was placed under house arrest and
stripped of his functions in 1577; plans were afoot for his
resignation on the grounds of increasing blindness when
he died.
Grocyn, William (c. 1446–1519) English humanist and
scholar
Very little is known about his life before his matriculation
at New College, Oxford (1465). In 1481 he was appointed
reader in divinity at Magdalen College. In 1488 he went to
Italy to study Greek at Florence and Rome with Demetrius
Chalcondyles and POLITIAN. He returned in 1491, was or-
dained priest, and began to teach Greek at Exeter College,
Oxford, the first time in England the subject had been
taught publicly; ERASMUS and Sir Thomas MORE were
among his pupils. Some impression of Grocyn’s character
can be gained from Erasmus’s letters; he comes across as a
man who combined traditional scholastic theology with a
respect for the new learning. Grocyn died at Maidstone,
leaving a library of 105 printed books and 17 manuscripts.
None of Grocyn’s own writings survives; his importance
today rests on his consistent encouragement of humanism
in England and his embodiment of the highest standards
of scholarship.
Grolier, Jean, Viscount d’Aguisy (1479–1565) French
nobleman and humanist bibliophile
Grolier was born in Lyons (hence his ex libris “Grolerii
Lugdunensis et Amicorum”—“of Grolier of Lyons and
Friends”) and was the friend of many distinguished hu-
manists, including Aldus MANUTIUS, whom he met while
ambassador in Italy (1510–35), and BUDÉ. Many books in
Grolier’s extensive library were handsomely bound with
stamped patterns of interlaced geometrical designs and
gold tooling; these bindings in the Grolier style are much
sought after by collectors. Among the craftsmen who
worked for him were Étienne Roffet (died 1548) and Ge-
offrey Tory (c. 1480–1533), both bookbinders to the
French kings. In 1545 Grolier became treasurer of France.
Further reading: Bookbindings from the Library of Jean
Grolier (London: British Museum, 1965); Anthony Hob-
son, Renaissance Book Collecting: Jean Grolier and Diego
Hurtado de Mendoza, Their Books and Bindings (Cam-
bridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1999).Groot, Hugo de See GROTIUSGroote, Gerard See COMMON LIFE, BROTHERS AND SISTERS
OF THE; DEVOTIO MODERNAgrotesques Fanciful mural or sculptural decorations in-
corporating human, animal, and plant forms, originally
used in ancient Roman buildings and revived by Renais-
sance artists in various media. Such decorations were
found during excavations of Roman houses at the begin-
ning of the 16th century, notably at the Golden House
(Domus Aurea) of Nero: the word “grotesque” is derived
from the Italian grotteschi (paintings found in grottoes, i.e.
excavated chambers). RAPHAELand his followers quickly
established grotesque motifs as a facet of their style, par-
ticularly in their frescoes. Early examples of grotesque or-
nament in architecture occur in PINTURICCHIO’s cathedral
library ceilings at Siena (1502–07), PERUGINO’s ceiling of
the Cambio in Perugia (c. 1500), and SIGNORELLI’s embell-
ishments in Orvieto cathedral (1499–1504).Grotius (Hugo de Groot) (1583–1645) Dutch jurist,
statesman, theologian, playwright, and poet
Grotius was born at Delft and went in 1594 to study law
at Leyden before visiting Orleans (1598) where he took a
doctorate. He settled at The Hague (1599) to practice law.
Grotius had been an accomplished Latinist at an early age,
editing Martianus Capella when he was just 15 years old;
he wrote some fine Latin verse and of his three Latin dra-
mas on biblical subjects—Christus patiens, Sophom-
phaneas, and Adamus exul—the last is best remembered as
having suggested to John Milton the subject of Paradise
Lost. In 1603 the states general appointed Grotius official
historiographer. For the Dutch East India Company, by
whom he was employed as an advocate, he wrote (1604)
De jure praedae, arising out of the company’s claim to the
prize of a Portuguese galleon captured in the East. This
case led him to formulate his theory of the oceans being
free to all nations (mare liberum), a concept rejected by the
English lawyer John Selden in Mare clausum (1635). His222244 GGrriimmaannii,, CCaarrddiinnaall DDoommeenniiccoo