Roger Ascham: The Tudor Teacher Who Guided Elizabeth I and Admired Lady Jane Grey
We have been finding out about some of the people connected to Lady Jane Grey, but what about the scholar who left us one of the most famous stories from her childhood?
Today I want to find out a little about Roger Ascham. He was an English scholar, writer and royal tutor who taught the future Elizabeth I and later described finding Lady Jane Grey reading Plato in Greek while the rest of her household were out hunting.
Roger was born around 1515 in Kirby Wiske, Yorkshire. He was one of several sons born to John Ascham, who worked as a steward for the Scrope family.
Roger was educated in the household of Sir Humphrey Wingfield. Alongside his studies, he developed an enthusiasm for archery, a subject that would later inspire his first major book.
At around fifteen years old, Roger entered St John’s College, Cambridge. He became particularly interested in Greek and soon gained a reputation as a talented scholar and teacher.
Roger believed that teaching a subject was one of the best ways to improve your own understanding of it. He helped other students learn Greek and eventually became one of Cambridge’s leading scholars in the language.
In 1545, Roger published Toxophilus, a book promoting archery. Rather than writing in Latin, he chose English because he wanted to show that serious subjects could be discussed clearly and elegantly in his native language.
The book was dedicated to Henry VIII, who rewarded Roger with an annual pension.
Roger’s royal career developed further in 1548, when he was chosen to tutor the fourteen-year-old Princess Elizabeth.
He taught her Greek and Latin and guided her through the works of classical writers. Roger was deeply impressed by Elizabeth’s intelligence, determination and ability with languages.
He remained her tutor until 1550, when he left England to work as secretary to the diplomat Sir Richard Morrison.
Before travelling abroad, Roger visited Lady Jane Grey at Bradgate House in Leicestershire.
According to Roger’s later account, Jane’s family and household were outside hunting when he arrived. Jane had chosen to remain indoors, where he found her reading Plato’s Phaedo in its original Greek.
Roger was astonished that such a young girl could read and understand such a difficult philosophical work.
When he asked why she preferred studying to joining her family outside, Jane reportedly explained that she was often harshly corrected for her mistakes. However, her tutor, John Aylmer, treated her kindly and encouraged her love of learning.
Roger was not Jane’s regular tutor, but he used their conversation to support his belief that children learned more successfully through patience and encouragement than through fear and severe punishment.
However, he recorded the meeting years later in a book written to promote his educational ideas. His description should therefore be treated as his own memory and interpretation rather than a word-for-word account.
Roger later served as a Latin secretary to Mary I and continued working at court after Elizabeth became queen in 1558.
He began writing The Scholemaster in 1563. The book focused on teaching Latin but also criticised teachers who relied too heavily on physical punishment.
Roger died in London on the 30th of December 1568. The Scholemaster was published after his death in 1570.
Roger Ascham is remembered as an important Tudor scholar, a supporter of writing in English and a teacher who believed kindness could encourage a genuine love of learning.
He is also forever connected to two highly educated Tudor women: Elizabeth I, whom he taught, and Lady Jane Grey, whom he famously found reading Plato while her family were out hunting.
Do you think that Roger Ascham should be remembered most for teaching Elizabeth I or for preserving this famous story about Lady Jane Grey?
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