ADAMO di MARSH (de Marisco). — Born toward the end of the twelfth century in Somerset, he completed his studies at Oxford, where he obtained his degrees in the Faculty of Arts. Ordained a priest, he accepted from his uncle Riccardo, bishop of Durham, the care of souls; but at his death he renounced the substantial income that had fallen to him and entered the Friars Minor at Worcester. Sent once more to Oxford, he advanced his studies in philosophy under the guidance of Roberto Grossatesta, at the same time obtaining the master’s degree in theology; this enabled him, around 1226, to occupy the theology chair at the Oxford convent, which until then had been held by a secular master. He took part in the General Chapter of Assisi in 1239 and was among those who advocated a return to the primitive spirit of the Rule. From his position as regent of the Studium generale, which he held until 1247, he firmly maintained strict academic discipline and, on several occasions as chancellor, championed the university’s threatened interests. Together with Simone di Monfort and Roberto Grossatesta, he also participated in the defense of national liberty and privileges. Averse to honors, and feeling his strength failing, he abandoned everything in order to meet peacefully the death that overtook him on 18 November 1258.
He acquired an exceptional reputation and the title of doctor illustris; Ruggero Bacone numbered him among the maiores clerici de mundo et perfecti in scientia divina et humana (Op. tert., chaps. 22, 23, 25).
According to Little, his works, for the most part theological and concerned with scriptural exegesis, are still unpublished. Brewer (Londra 1858) published 247 letters, which constitute a substantial source for the history of the religious, political, and doctrinal life of the first half of the thirteenth century.
ADAMO, MAYER (Villicus): V. MAYER.