Roger Ascham
1515-1568, writer and tutor of Elizabeth I.
Biography
Roger Ascham was born in 1515 in Yorkshire. His father worked as a housesteward in the family of Lord Scroop. He was sent to live in the family of Sir Anthony Wingfield when he was still very young. Wingfield paid for his education. Roger Ascham was tutored together with his own two sons. In 1530, when he was only 15 years of age, he entered St John`s College in Cambrige. Only one year later he took his bachelor degree and in March of the same year he was elected as fellow of the college. He then took his master degree in 1537. In January 1548 he was appointed as Royal Tutor for Princess Elizabeth. He stayed in this position for almost two year, until he left the court. From 1559 until his death in 1568 Ascham lived at the Court of Elizabeth I.
Works
Texophilus (1545) One of his major works was Texophilus, which was published in 1545. Roger Ascham presented his work Texophilus, a book on Archery, to Henry VIII in the picture-gallery at Greenwich. The king was very fond of his work and gave him a pension of ten pounds a year as a reward.
His most famous work The Schoolmaster was published in 1570 ; two year after his death. He started to write on his important book about education in 1563 and he only finished it shortly before his death in 1568. In his work he states the importance of a classical education to ensure England’s leading position in Europe. One of his main points is that every pupil should learn to read and write Latin as well as English. This is already stated in the original title page of the book: “ THE SCHOLEMASTER Or plaine and pefite way of teachyng children, to understand, write, and speak, the Latin tong, but specially purposed for the private brynging up of youth in Gentlemen and Noble mens houses, and commodious also for all such, as have forgot the Latin tonge , and would , by themselves, without a Scholemaster, in short tyme, and with small paines, recoves a sufficient habilitie, to understand, write and speak Latin
Sources Ascham, Roger, The Scholemaster,ed.R. C. Alsten, Menston:The Scolar Press Limited, 1967. Ascham, Roger, Whole Works Erlebach, Peter, Bernhard Reitz und Thomas Michael Stein, Geschichte der englischen Literatur, Stuttgart: Reclam, 2007.