"A' the bells o' merrie Lincoln
Without men's hands were rung,
And a' the books o' merrie Lincoln
Were read without man's tongue;
And ne'er was such a burial
Sin' Adam's days begun."
The work of St. Hugh at Lincoln is chiefly of importance as marking an epoch in the history of Gothic architecture. As the earliest known example of the pointed style carried out consistently in its details, the choir of Lincoln Minster cannot be too carefully studied. Close attention will, of course, make more evident its defects; the stone vault, which has the appearance of being all askew, is especially unsuccessful, but the perfection of the Angel Choir could not be attained all at once, and the faults of the earlier work serve but to emphasise the beauties of the later.
At Hugh's death the work did not lie neglected long, if at all. A letter was issued in December 1205, appealing for help on behalf of the novum opus at Lincoln. The "Brotherhood of the Church of Lincoln" was offered to those who would contribute; in this way they became enrolled for a certain number of years among those who were specially named in the prayers of the church. The western transept was completed during the early years of the thirteenth century, and the nave constructed, replacing the Norman work of Remigius. The designers here profited by the experience of the past. The vaulting shews a great improvement, and the whole work is of such superior skill as to earn the high praise of the late Professor Freeman, who says that "there are few grander works in the style of the thirteenth century than Lincoln nave, few that shew greater boldness of construction and greater elegance of detail." The nave appears to have been carried steadily onwards to the completion of the first five bays, at which point a curious irregularity is perceptible. The vault suddenly falls two feet lower, and its axis is turned slightly northwards, ultimately falling in with the old west front. The span of the last two bays is also lessened. Perhaps a slight error was made in the direction of the nave at first, which became more evident as time went on, so as to necessitate the change. It has, however, also been suggested that the first intention may have been to remove the west front of Remigius altogether, and to build another at a somewhat different angle farther westwards. If this was the case, economical reasons probably occasioned the change of design, and secured the preservation of a most interesting relic of Remigius' church. It should be remarked that some authorities consider these narrow bays to be no later than the others, and that the work was carried on at both ends of the nave simultaneously, finally meeting towards the middle. There is no document remaining which records the precise date of the erection of the nave at Lincoln, but it would not be difficult to shew that the first half of the thirteenth century practically covers the whole period of its construction. Very little, if any at all, can have been built before the death of St. Hugh in the year 1200, and it was undoubtedly finished before the Angel Choir was begun in 1255. Precentor Venables mentions that Bishop Hugh de Wells, in his will dated 1233, bequeaths 100 marks to the fabric of his church at Lincoln, as well as all the felled timber of which he might die possessed, through all his episcopal estates. He draws the conclusion that the legacy of so large a quantity of timber points to there being a good deal of roofing going on at the time. A new central tower was also begun about this time; it fell in 1237-9, and was replaced by a third, which still stands.
As the new nave was approaching completion, the bishopric of Lincoln was conferred on a man who was destined to play a part second only to that of St. Hugh in the history of the diocese. It has been said that probably no one had greater influence on English thought and literature for the next two centuries than Robert Grosseteste, the friend of Roger Bacon. It is to Grosseteste that Tyssyngton refers when he speaks of "Lincolniensis, cujus comparatio ad omnes doctores modernos est velut comparatio solis ad lunam quando eclipsatur." Of humble birth, Grosseteste rose to be one of the greatest scholars of his day, and the boldest defender of the rights and liberties of the Church of England. In the first year of his episcopacy (1235) he visited the monastic establishments of his diocese, and found it necessary to remove no fewer than seven abbots and four priors. Such a proceeding was, of course, much resented, but when the bishop meditated a still bolder stroke, and contemplated a Visitation of the cathedral, the opposition was brought to a climax. He says: "In my first circuit some came to me finding fault and saying, 'My Lord, you are doing a thing new and unaccustomed.' To whom I answered 'Every novelty which does good to a man is a blessed novelty.'" Grosseteste wrote a pamphlet in defence of his claim, in answer to which the cathedral body produced a charter, altogether a forgery, purporting to give authority to the dean to govern all things, requiring an appeal to the bishop only if his own discipline failed. The matter was referred to the Pope, and finally decided by a Bull of Innocent IV., in 1245, in the bishop's favour. Amongst his reforms was the suppression of the "execrable custom" known as the "Feast of Fools," when the "House of God" was turned into a "house of joking, scurrility, and trifling." It was enjoined that the minster authorities should "by no means permit to be holden this Feast of Fools, since it is full of vanity and defiled with pleasures, in the church of Lincoln on the venerable feast of the Circumcision of our Lord." But there were troubles to come from higher quarters still; Grosseteste had put his hand to the plough, and was determined not to look back. Six years after his triumph over the chapter, he was temporarily suspended by the Pope for refusing to induct an Italian, ignorant of the English tongue, into a rich benefice in his diocese. In the year 1253, the Pope again required him to appoint an Italian (this time his nephew, Frederick di Lavagna) to a canonry, and he again refused. In spite of a sentence of excommunication for this offence, Grosseteste fearlessly continued his episcopal duties.