ASCHAM, Roger

ASCHAM, Roger
(1515-1568)
Roger Ascham played his role in English thought and politics during the reigns of the Tudor monarchs and is best remembered as the author of The Scholemaster, one of the first educational treatises written in the vernacular in Europe. Born at Kirby Wiske, Yorkshire, Ascham, virtually adopted by Sir Humphrey Wingfield, who had him tutored, was sent to St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1530, where he studied under Sir John Cheke. Here he mastered classical literature and developed an eloquent Latin style that, combined with his penmanship, led to important opportunities, including appointment as uni­versity orator and tutor for Henry VIII's* daughters Mary* and Elizabeth.*
When Ascham earned his bachelor of arts in 1534, he was elected a fellow of St. John's. When he was awarded the master's degree in 1537, he began to lecture at the university. In 1545 he published Toxophilus, a dialogue on exercise and recreation, placing special emphasis on the English longbow. Written in English and dedicated to Henry VIII, the book pleased the king, an avid archer, who granted Ascham an annual pension. From 1550 to 1553, as secretary to Sir Richard Morison, ambassador to Charles V,* Ascham visited continental courts, schools, and scholars. When this diplomatic group was recalled to England after Edward VI died in 1553, Ascham returned to Cambridge and wrote Report and Discourse of the Affaires and State of Germany. In spite of his Protestantism, the Catholic queen Mary made him her Latin secretary. After Mary died in 1558, he continued as secretary and tutor to Queen Elizabeth until he died.
In 1563 he began The Scholemaster and completed it just before he died in December 1568. Mainly concerned with the education of proper Christian gen­tlemen, the study of classical literature as the foundation of liberal learning, and the "double-translation" method for teaching Latin, the work also attacks me­dieval romances, Italian books, and travel and discusses wit and literary imita­tion. Its purity of diction and its sentence structure define its place in the development of English prose, and its content, drawn from classical and con­temporary sources, ensures Ascham's stature as a Renaissance humanist edu­cator worthy of note.
Bibliography
L. V. Ryan, Roger Ascham, 1963.
Al Geritz

Renaissance and Reformation 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary. . 2001.

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  • Ascham, Roger — born 1515, Kirby Wiske, near York, Eng. died Dec. 30, 1568, London English humanist, scholar, and writer. He entered Cambridge University at age 14 and studied Greek. He became the future Queen Elizabeth I s tutor in Greek and Latin (1548–50) and …   Universalium

  • Ascham,Roger — As·cham (ăsʹkəm), Roger. 1515 1568. English scholar who as Latin secretary to Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I advocated the use of the vernacular in literature. * * * …   Universalium

  • Ascham, Roger — (ca. 1515 1568)    English humanist and teacher. A poor boy from Yorkshire, educated at Cambridge University at a time when enthusiasm for Greek language and Ciceronian eloquence was colored by growing commitment to religious reform based on the… …   Historical Dictionary of Renaissance

  • Ascham, Roger — (1515, Kirby Wiske, cerca de York, Inglaterra–30 dic. 1568, Londres). Humanista, erudito y escritor inglés. Ingresó a la Universidad de Cambridge a los 14 años y estudió griego. Llegó a ser tutor de griego y latín (1548–50) de la que más tarde… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • ASCHAM, ROGER —    a Yorkshireman, Fellow of Cambridge, a good classical, and particularly Greek, scholar; wrote a book on archery, deemed a classic, entitled Toxophilus, for which Henry VIII. settled a pension on him; was tutor and Latin secretary to Queen… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Ascham, Roger — (1515 1568)    Didactic writer and scholar, s. of John A., house steward in the family of Lord Scrope, was b. at Kirby Wiske, Yorkshire, and ed. first by Sir Humphrey Wingfield, and then at St. John s Coll., Cambridge, where he devoted himself… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Roger Ascham — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Roger Ascham. Roger Ascham (1515, Kirby Wiske, North Yorkshire 30 de diciembre de 1568, Londres) fue un escritor, intelectual y humanista inglés. Ingresó a la …   Wikipedia Español

  • ASCHAM (R.) — ASCHAM ROGER (1515 1568) Humaniste anglais du meilleur ton, qui gaspillait parfois son temps à jouer aux dés et qui assistait à des combats de coqs, Ascham était cependant un grave personnage et un grand érudit. Fort en langues classiques dès son …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • roger — /roj euhr/, interj. 1. Informal. all right; O.K. 2. message received and understood (a response to radio communications). 3. (often cap.) See Jolly Roger. 4. (formerly used in communications to represent the letter R.) [from the name Roger; in… …   Universalium

  • Roger — /roj euhr/, n. a male given name: from Germanic words meaning fame and spear. * * * (as used in expressions) Ascham Roger Bacon Roger Baldwin Roger Nash Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Casement Sir Roger David Clemens William Roger Pierre Roger… …   Universalium

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