Ascham, Roger

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 continued to serve her after she took the throne. His best-known book is the posthumous The Scholemaster (1570), which deals with the psychology of learning, the education of the whole person, and the ideal moral and intellectual personality that education should mold. He is notable also for his lucid prose style and his promotion of the vernacular.

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▪ English scholar
born 1515?, Kirby Wiske, near York, Eng.
died Dec. 30, 1568, London

      British humanist, scholar, and writer, famous for his prose style, his promotion of the vernacular, and his theories of education.

      As a boy of 14, Ascham entered the University of Cambridge, where he earned his M.A. (1537) and one year later was elected a fellow of St. John's and appointed reader in Greek. The new Renaissance enthusiasm for the classics, especially Greek, was at its height.

      Ascham's Toxophilus (“Lover of the Bow”), written in the form of a dialogue, was published in 1545 and was the first book on archery in English. In the preface Ascham showed the growing patriotic zeal of the humanists by stating that he was writing “Englishe matter in the Englishe tongue for Englishe men.” He became Princess Elizabeth's tutor in Greek and Latin (1548–50), then served as secretary to Sir Richard Morison (1550–52), English ambassador to the Habsburg emperor Charles V, traveling widely on the European continent. Thereafter, he was appointed Latin secretary to Queen Mary (Mary I), a post he held until her death in 1558. He continued in this position for Queen Elizabeth I until his death. He served her by composing her official letters to foreign rulers and by helping her pursue the study of Greek.

      The Scholemaster, written in simple, lucid English prose and published posthumously in 1570, is Ascham's best-known book. It presents an effective method of teaching Latin prose composition, but its larger concerns are with the psychology of learning, the education of the whole person, and the ideal moral and intellectual personality that education should mold. His success in tutoring three females—Lady Jane Grey, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth—has led some to consider Ascham an early proponent of education for girls.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • 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 …   Renaissance and Reformation 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary

  • 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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