Lucy R. Nicholas

Roger Ascham is often classified as ‘a great mid-Tudor humanist’ and he is perhaps best known for his role as tutor to Elizabeth I. His most famous works, The Scholemaster and Toxophilus, have been extensively quarried and anthologised in studies on prose style and English humanism. By contrast, his Neo-Latin works that engaged with theology and key Reformation concerns have languished in the shadows of modern scholarship. Ascham’s Themata Theologica (‘Theological Topics’) is one of these, and its content has the potential to open up many an investigative avenue into the intellectual and religious culture of the sixteenth century. This is the first volume to offer a corresponding English translation. The Themata can be dated to the early to mid- 1540s, and was composed by Ascham while still at Cambridge University and serving as a senior fellow at St John’s College. The work mainly comprises a compendium of relatively short commentaries on Scriptural verses (both Old and New Testament), many of which developed into expositions on difficult philosophical concepts, such as the notion of felix culpa (literally, ‘happy fault’) and some of the most intractable theological questions of the day, including the nature of sin, adiaphora (‘matters of indifference’), justification and free will. This little-known text offers a rare opportunity to trace the course of Ascham’s own religious maturation, but also offers fresh insights into the confessional climate at Cambridge University during one of the most turbulent periods of the Reformation in England.

Roger Ascham is often classified as ‘a great mid-Tudor humanist’ and he is perhaps best recognised for his role as tutor to Elizabeth I. His most famous works, The Scholemaster and Toxophilus, have been extensively excerpted in studies on prose style and English humanism. By contrast, his Latin works that centred on theology and key Reformation concerns have languished in the shadows of modern scholarship. Ascham’s Themata Theologica (Theological Propositions), composed in the late 1530s and early 1540s, is one of these. This little-known text of eleven ‘themes’ offers a rare opportunity both to trace the course of Ascham’s own religious development and to take the temperature of the confessional climate at Cambridge University during one of the most turbulent periods of the Reformation.The present edition, in addition to producing the first English translation of this text, aims to show the ways in which this work can cast fresh light on sixteenth-century intellectual culture by illuminating a critical phase of religious reform and biblical scholarship in England.The essays set forth in this volume present key insights into what Ascham considered essential in the English Church, and how his Christian compatriots should worship.

This volume offers a wide range of sample passages from literature written in Latin in the British Isles during the period from about 1500 to 1800. It includes a general introduction to and bibliography to the Latin literature of these centuries, as well as Latin texts with English translations, introductions and notes. These texts present a rich panorama of the different literary genres, styles and themes flourishing at the time, illustrating the role of Latin texts in the development of literary genres, the diversity of authors writing in Latin in early modern Britain, and the importance of Latin in contemporary political, religious and scientific debates. The collection, which includes both texts by well-known authors (such as John Milton, Thomas More and George Buchanan) and previously unpublished items, can be used as a point of entry for students at school and university level, but will also be of interest to specialists in a number of academic disciplines.

This volume offers a wide range of sample passages from literature written in Latin in the British Isles during the period from about 1500 to 1800. It includes a general introduction to and bibliography to the Latin literature of these centuries, as well as Latin texts with English translations, introductions and notes. These texts present a rich panorama of the different literary genres, styles and themes flourishing at the time, illustrating the role of Latin texts in the development of literary genres, the diversity of authors writing in Latin in early modern Britain, and the importance of Latin in contemporary political, religious and scientific debates. The collection, which includes both texts by well-known authors (such as John Milton, Thomas More and George Buchanan) and previously unpublished items, can be used as a point of entry for students at school and university level, but will also be of interest to specialists in a number of academic disciplines.

This textbook is endorsed by OCR and supports the specification for AS and A-Level Ancient History (first teaching September 2017). It covers the whole of Component 1, both the compulsory Period Study and the three optional Depth Studies:Period Study: Relations between Greek states and between Greek and non-Greek states, 492–404 BC by Steve Matthews and James RenshawDepth Study: The Politics and Society of Sparta, 478–404 BC by Charlie CottamDepth Study: The Politics and Culture of Athens c. 460–399 BC by David L. S. Hodgkinson and James RenshawDepth Study: The Rise of Macedon, 359–323 BC by Lucy NicholasHow and why did a small group of city states defy the might of the Persian Empire? Why did the same city states subsequently descend into 60 years of conflict among themselves? Were Sparta and Athens very different? How did Alexander later redefine the Greek world?These are the sort of questions that you are required to consider for A-Level Ancient History. This book investigates how the birth of democracy and the defeat of Persia allowed a flourish of political and philosophical thought that subsequently defined western civilisation. It further explores the contrasts between Spartan and Athenian culture.The ideal preparation for the final examinations, all content is presented by experts and experienced teachers in a clear and accessible narrative. Ancient literary and visual sources are described and analysed, with supporting images. Helpful student features include study questions, further reading, and boxes focusing in on key people, events and terms. Practice questions and exam guidance prepare students for assessment.A Companion Website is available at www.bloomsbury.com/ anc-hist-as-a-level.

This textbook is endorsed by OCR and supports the specification for GCSE Ancient History (first teaching September 2017). It covers the whole of Component 1, both the compulsory Period Study and the three optional Depth Studies:Period Study: The Persian Empire, 559–465 BC by James RenshawDepth Study: From Tyranny to Democracy, 546–483 BC by Sam BaddeleyDepth Study: Athens in the Age of Pericles, 462–429 BC by Paul Fowler and James Renshaw Depth Study: Alexander the Great, 356–323 BC by Lucy NicholasWas propaganda Persia’s greatest weapon? How did Athens create democracy? Does Pericles’ Athens deserve to be remembered as civilised or barbaric? How did Alexander dominate the ancient world by the age of 32?This book raises these and other key questions. GCSE students and their teachers will explore key political and social developments of the Greek and Persian worlds through the eyes of ancient historians and archaeology. This book invites us to look at ancient societies in a new light and helps explain the development of the modern world.The ideal preparation for the final examinations, all content is presented by experts and experienced teachers in a clear and accessible narrative. Ancient literary and visual sources are described and analysed, with supporting images. Helpful student features include study questions, further reading, and boxes focusing in on key people, events and terms. Practice questions and exam guidance prepare students for assessment.A Companion Website is available at www.bloomsbury.com/anc-hist-gcse.