Toxophilus
Encyclopedia
Longbow
A longbow is a type of bow that is tall ; this will allow its user a fairly long draw, at least to the jaw....
archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
by Roger Ascham
Roger Ascham
Roger Ascham was an English scholar and didactic writer, famous for his prose style, his promotion of the vernacular, and his theories of education...
, first published in London in 1545. Dedicated to King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, it is the first book on archery written in English.
Ascham was a keen archer and a lecturer at St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, and wrote Toxophilus or the Schole or Partitions of Shooting to defend archery against claims that it was a sport unbefitting a scholar.
Toxophilus is written in the form of a dialogue between two characters, Philologus ("a lover of study") and Toxophilus ("a lover of the bow"), who is also a scholar and defends archery as a noble pastime.
Ascham prefixed his work with an elaborate dedication to Henry VIII, who approved of the book and granted Ascham a pension of £10 a year, which was confirmed and augmented by Edward VI.
Influence on English
As well as being the earliest printed book in English about archery, Toxophilus is also important as a model for how books of instruction could be written in English (rather than Latin) and how English could be written in a clear style, for as he remarks in his preface "To All Gentle Men and Yeomen ofEngland": "Many English writers have not done so, but using strange words, as Latin, French, and Italian, do make all things dark and hard."
So, unlike other scholars writing in English at the time, such as Thomas Elyot
Thomas Elyot
Sir Thomas Elyot was an English diplomat and scholar.-Early Life:Thomas was the child of Sir Richard Elyot's first marriage with Alice De la Mare, but neither the date nor place of his birth is accurately known...
and John Cheke
John Cheke
Sir John Cheke was an English classical scholar and statesman, notable as the first Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge University....
, he avoided neologisms and flowery classical terms, and "succeeded in making his English work as a vehicle of wide communication ... Some of the passages describing the environment (for example, the way in which the wind could interfere with the aim of an expert archer) were vivid and at the time unparalleled in English writing."
The word "Toxophilus" was invented by Ascham. The noun "toxophilite", meaning "a lover or devotee of archery, an archer", is derived from it.
History of archery
The next major work on archery in English was The Art of Archerie by Gervase MarkhamGervase Markham
Gervase Markham was an English poet and writer, best known for his work The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman first published in London in 1615.-Life:Markham was the third son of Sir Robert Markham of Cotham, Nottinghamshire, and was...
, published in London in 1634.
Toxophilus has served as a source book for many subsequent works on the history of archery
History of archery
The bow and arrow are known to have been invented by the end of the Upper Paleolithic.Projectile points on are known from earlier prehistory, dating to the Middle Paleolithic...
, for example The Archer's Craft
The Archer's Craft
The Archer's Craft by A. E. Hodgkin is a book on the making and use of traditional English and Welsh bows. The book describes how to make both longbows and short hunting bows and arrows. It also describes hunting with the bow and on its history and place in English culture of the yeoman class and...
by A. E. Hodgkin.
Editions
- Ascham, Roger; ed. Arber, EdwardEdward ArberEdward Arber was an English academic and writer.Arber was born in London. From 1854 be 1878 he worked as a clerk in the Admiralty, and began evening classes at King's College London in 1858. From 1878 to 1881 he lectured in English, under Prof. H...
(1868). English Reprints: Toxophilus, 1545. London: Murray. - Ascham, Roger; ed. Wright, William Aldis (1904). English Works: Toxophilus, Report of the Affaires and State of Germany, The Scholemaster. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Further reading
- Hardy, RobertRobert HardyTimothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE, FSA is an English actor with a long career in the theatre, film and television. He is also an acknowledged expert on the longbow.-Early life:...
(2006). Longbow: A Social and Military History. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 9781852606206. - Ryan, L. V. (1963). Roger Ascham. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804701495.