VMs: History of Askham, Anthony

["GC" <glenclaston@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hey all,

for the records keepers out there, I've compiled a short history
of everything I've been able to discover about Anthony Askham.
This in itself is meager, but to date it is the most comprehensive
of any previous compilation I've observed.  Barring a few of my
own observations, I think this is a reasonable compilation, and
suitable for addition to Voynichiana history pages.  You may of
course remove anything you consider speculation, but overall I
think you'll find this reasonably objective and accurate.

[begin history of Anthony Ascham, astrologer, physicion, priest]

Anthony Ascham was born in Kirby Wiske, (or Kirby Wicke,) a
village near Northallerton, in Yorkshire, eldest of three sons,
(Anthony, Thomas and Roger, in order,) to John and Margaret
Ascham.  His father, John Ascham, was house-steward to the ancient
family of Scroop.  It's uncertain the exact day and year of
Anthony's birth, but we find him in attendance at Cambridge in
1526.  Roger, the third eldest, was born in 1515, and entered
Cambridge in 1530 at the age of 15.  As a yardstick, this would
indicated that Anthony was approximately 4 years older than Roger,
being born somewhere during or around 1511.  There is no
information on the middle brother Thomas, other than what is
contained in a letter by Roger concerning Thomas' death around
1562, and a sickness that befell Thomas during the year 1540.

Much more is known about Roger than Anthony, but some parallels
and differences may be drawn.  Roger entered Cambridge in 1530,
taking his B.A. in 1534.  In the same year he was made fellow of
the college, an appointment that provided a stipend large enough
to function on his own.  Until this time Roger was dependent on a
stipend from Sir Humphry Wingfield, a barrister, and in 1533
speaker of the House of Commons.  Roger took his M.A. in 1537,
about the same time he began to publicly act as teacher and tutor
to young men from wealthy families.  Roger also taught Greek at
the college until 1540, when Regius professorship of Greek was
established by Henry VIII.  Roger is thought to have left
Cambridge about this time.

Anthony entered Cambridge around 1526, but it is not known on whom
he was dependent for his educational expenses.  That he attempted
to augment his income is demonstrated by the title pages to his
only known manuscript, a translation of SacroBosco's "Sphaerae",
now in the Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale.  The title pages
for sections in this manuscript begin "Heere Begynneth a Boke",
common language for printed books of the time, but not found in
verbatim translations of the scholastic nature.  This illustrated
manuscript with moveable monthly volvelles would have drawn as
much as 20 pound.  Against the standard of a scholemaster's annual
16 pound income recorded in 1528, this manuscript's resale value
made the effort worthwhile.

Anthony did not graduate from Cambridge until 1540, graduating
with a simple M.B. after 14 long years of attendance.  This
seemingly meager achievement would be very difficult to explain to
a financial sponsor, so it is very likely that Anthony was also
funded by one or more college grants during his stay.  His
departure roughly coincides with departure of Roger, and with a
sickness that overtook his brother Thomas during that year.  Given
Anthony's apparent field of study, it is feasible that he retired
to Yorkshire to care for his younger brother - [Giles, 'Vitae
Aschami'].

Anthony surfaces again in print during 1547, with a series of
almanacs spanning 1547-1558, calculated for the Province of Yorke.
At this time he addresses himself as "physicion".  A publication
of 1550/1551 labels Anthony as "Prieste", indicating that Anthony
had a long standing service with a religious order, probably
through the school of Divinity at Cambridge, and finally took
vows.  Anthony was appointed to the Vicarage of Burneston, in
Yorkeshire, and resided at the ancient St. Lamberts Church as of
1553.  His death is not recorded, but perhaps the date of his
successor's appointment to the vicarage will be discovered in the
future.

It becomes certain that Anthony studied astrology, herbology and
medicine (pharamacology) during his lengthy stay at Cambridge.  He
probably served in the modern capacity of intern at Cambridge's
religiously run hospital, which boasted its own vast herbarium of
rare plants from around the known world.  As early as 1528,
Cambridge had specimens of the wild sunflower, corn, tobacco,
cacao, and several other New World plants.  Species catalogued in
1558 numbered 428 from non-English destinations, 78 of which are
decidedly New World.  Anthony's lengthy stay at Cambridge in
medical and religious service may have led him to learn a form of
medical shorthand, known to exist at the time, and possibly
augment his income by taking down sermons and other lectures.

Anthony's known associations were Thomas Paynell, (a well-known
clergy-physicion and fellow Cantabridgian), John Cheke, (master of
Greke at Cambridge), and one Henry Pendilton, of whom I have been
able to discover exceedingly little.  Anthony makes mention of
being steadily in the company of educated and thoughtful men, but
fails to name them.

Of particular interest is Anthony's (and Roger's) association with
Johathan Cheke of Cambridge.  Cheke was also admitted to Cambridge
in 1526, where he remained until 1544, when appointed tutor to
Prince Edward.  Some believe that the loss of the Regius
professorship of Greek was the reason Roger Ascham sought public
revenue, and as it happens, he lost this chair to the masterful
and superior John Cheke, whom Roger accounted best of friends,
though they did not always see eye to eye.  Cheke was constantly
the subject of conversation in Roger's later letters to Johann
Sturm, a German reformer and friend of Cheke.

Anthony and Cheke were admitted to Cambridge the same year,
probably acquainted reasonably soon after their arrival.  Anthony
was a Yorkshire man, and Cheke a native of Cambridge.  It is
possible Anthony's entire 14 year tenure at Cambridge may have
been influenced by Cheke's friendship and reformationist ideology.
It is also interesting to note that John  Dee, the famed
mathematician and astrologer, (at Cambridge 1530 -1534), numbers
prominently among Cheke's friends and acquaintances.  This group
was Protestant, "Northern English" (a distinction of heritage and
a constant point of contention for college appointments), and
reformist in most views concerning religion and education.

Cheke is well known for his revival of Greek pronunciation and
attempts to add life to the monotone pronunciation of Latin, but
lesser known is his resistance to the Latinization of English
words and the admittance of foreign words into the English
language.  In short, he was an English 'purist'.  'Northern' men
adhered to a phonetic spelling of English that quickly faded
because of the printing press.  Typesetters increasingly
standardized spellings and reduced type ligatures to speed the
process.  Their wages paid 'by the board', these measures
increased speed and reduced errors, effectively increasing the
typesetter's salary.  As comparison of epistles against the
printed word makes evidence, the standardization of the English
language was in full swing between 1525 and 1550, primarily due to
printing conventions.

Cheke introduced a failed attempt at standardizing the English
spelling based on phonetics, his efforts, not surprisingly, more
closely resembling Welsh than modern English.  It is certain Cheke
used this system as part of his instruction to young students, and
ironically he may have been the first, albeit unintentionally, to
introduce the concept of "phonics" to Roger Ascham and teachers in
general through this practice.  This is only important in
considering the differences in the English of Anthony, and his
younger brother Roger.  Roger is known to have adhered to Cheke's
'purist' view of the English language to the point of not wanting
to Latinize words or introduce foreign words into the language,
but his printed works are far more modern in language and spelling
than those of his elder brother, while only a few years apart.
The 'Northman' in Roger's language is less apparent than in the
writings of Anthony.

[end history of Anthony Ascham, astrologer, physicion, priest]

Hope you find this useful.
GC