author

Richard Rainolde

d. 1606

A Tudor-era writer and clergyman, he is best remembered for an early English handbook on rhetoric and for historical works that brought classical subjects to Elizabethan readers. His life links the world of Cambridge learning with the lively print culture of sixteenth-century London.

1 Audiobook

A booke called the Foundacion of Rhetorike because all other partes of Rhetorike are grounded thereupon, euery parte sette forthe in an Oracion vpon questions, verie profitable to bee knowen and redde

A booke called the Foundacion of Rhetorike because all other partes of Rhetorike are grounded thereupon, euery parte sette forthe in an Oracion vpon questions, verie profitable to bee knowen and redde

by Richard Rainolde

About the author

Born in Essex around 1530, Richard Rainolde—also spelled Reynolds—studied at St John's College, Cambridge, where he entered as a sizar in 1546 and later became a scholar. He took his B.A. in 1552–53 and his M.A. in 1556, building the classical education that shaped his writing.

Rainolde is chiefly known for A booke called the Foundacion of Rhetorike (1563), an important early English guide to rhetoric. He also wrote a chronicle of the Roman emperors, showing his interest in history as well as persuasive speech. His books reflect the Renaissance habit of using classical learning to teach both style and moral judgment.

Later in life he was associated with the church and held the rectory of Little Braxted in Essex. He died in December 1606 at Lambourne, leaving behind a small but notable body of work from the English Renaissance.