author
Roger Ascham
1515–1568
Best remembered as Queen Elizabeth I’s tutor and one of Tudor England’s clearest prose stylists, he wrote lively, practical books that linked learning with everyday life. His work on education and language helped shape the way English humanism was understood in the 16th century.
1 Audiobook
The Scholemaster
by Roger Ascham
About the author
Born around 1515 in Kirby Wiske, Yorkshire, Roger Ascham became an English scholar, writer, and humanist known for his graceful prose and strong belief that serious learning could be expressed in English as well as Latin. He studied at St John’s College, Cambridge, where he built his reputation as a classicist and teacher.
He is closely associated with the Tudor court. Ascham served Princess Elizabeth as her tutor in Greek and Latin between 1548 and 1550, and he later worked under Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. That unusual run of service across changing reigns speaks to both his learning and his usefulness as a scholar in public life.
Ascham is especially remembered for Toxophilus, a dialogue about archery that also shows his commitment to clear English writing, and for The Scholemaster, a thoughtful work on teaching written late in his life. Together, those books helped make him an important voice in Renaissance education, combining classical learning with a plain, readable style.