For the first time, many of Aristotle’s
works were being studied in the original
ancient Greek language that was slowly
spreading with the revival of classical texts.
In addition, translations were made into
common languages such as Italian and
French. New branches of Aristotelian stud-
ies were also forming, along with various
schools of thought on how to organize
Aristotle’s texts and present his system of
knowledge. Many of Europe’s leading uni-
versity lecturers devoted themselves exclu-
sively to the study of Aristotle, with some
strictly following the texts, and others ap-
plying the Aristotelian system to the ever-
changing natural and social worlds they
experienced. For example, Leonardo Bruni,
an important translator of Aristotle’s
works, replaced the word-for-word trans-
lations of the medieval era with a freer
translation more fit for study in Latin. Ga-
lileo Galilei and Philipp Melanchthon also
incorporated Aristotelianism into their
works. While some writers were content to
simply annotate Aristotle’s works, others
probed deeper, posing questions and prob-
lems in an attempt to extract deeper uni-
versal meaning to their new systems of
natural philosophy.
As the organizer of philosophical and
scientific thought, Aristotle was the most
important figure of the classical world for
all Renaissance scholars, and his works
provided the basic framework of all uni-
versity studies. Aristotle’s works were read
in lecture halls in the three stages oflectio
(lecture),repetio(repetition), anddisputa-
tio(disputation, or argument). The inven-
tion of printing in the mid-fifteenth cen-
tury allowed Aristotle’s works to be widely
distributed to a literate public. Lavish print
editions, with commentaries, indexes, and
summaries along with questions for argu-
ment and examination, were the precur-
sors to the modern school textbook.SEEALSO: Bruni, Leonardo; classical litera-
tureAscham, Roger ..................................
(ca. 1515–1568)
A noted scholar of England, Ascham was
born in Yorkshire and entered Cambridge
University at the age of fourteen. He be-
came so proficient in ancient Greek stud-
ies that he presented lectures on the sub-
ject to his fellow students, and won
widespread admiration for his writing and
speaking abilities. He completed his
bachelor’s degree at the age of eighteen
and soon after was made a fellow of the
university. Wearied by the constant study,
writing, and lecturing, Ascham diligently
applied himself as well to the sport of ar-
chery. His workToxophiluswas an essay
on the manly, English sport, and imparted
the lesson that practice, physical work, and
sheer repetition is more useful in certain
arts than mere theory. The essay, written
in a straightforward English free of the
pretentious language of other academics,
won the favor of King Henry VIII, who
granted Ascham a pension of ten pounds
a year and hired him as a tutor to his
daughter Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth
I. Ascham instilled a love of the Greek and
Latin classics in Elizabeth, and as a re-
spected scholar he was appointed by Henry
as a diplomat. He became Latin secretary
to Queen Mary and continued in the posi-
tion as secretary when Elizabeth succeeded
her half sister to the throne of England.
Ascham was a key figure in the teaching of
classical literature in the English Renais-
sance. Late in his life he completedThe
Scholemaster, a famous treatise on the
teaching of Latin.SEEALSO: Elizabeth I; Henry VIIIAscham, Roger