John Studley facts for kids

John Studley (born around 1545, died around 1590) was an English scholar. He is best known for translating plays by an ancient Roman writer named Seneca.

Studley helped create a book called Seneca his tenne tragedies translated into English in 1581. This book was put together by Thomas Newton. It was the only printed collection of Seneca's plays available in England during the time of Queen Elizabeth I. Some people even think Studley's work might have influenced the famous playwright Shakespeare.

Studley's Life Story

John Studley was born around 1545. He was one of the very first students at Westminster School. He was also the first student from that school to be chosen to study at Cambridge University.

He started studying at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1561. He did his translations of Seneca's plays while he was still a student there. He earned his first degree in 1566 and a master's degree in 1570. During this time, he was also chosen to be a fellow of the college. This meant he was a senior member of the college.

Studley had strong religious beliefs. He was a Calvinist, which was a type of Protestant. On February 1, 1573, he was called before the leaders of the colleges at Cambridge. He was accused of not following the official religious rules of the church. A few months later, he left his position as a fellow. We don't know much more about his life after that time.

His Written Works

John Studley translated four of Seneca's plays. These plays were Agamemnon, Medea, Hippolytus, and Hercules Oetaeus.

When he translated the plays, he used a common style for the talking parts. For the songs sung by the chorus, he used rhyming lines. He often changed the original text quite a bit. For example, he added a new scene to Agamemnon at the end. In this scene, he told more about the death of Cassandra and other events. For Medea, he added his own introduction and made the chorus songs longer.

The plays Agamemnon and Medea were approved for printing in 1566. The play Hippolytus was approved in 1567. The Agamemnon play was published in 1566 and was dedicated to Sir William Cecil.

Studley also wrote poems in Latin about the death of Nicholas Carr. Carr was a Greek professor at Cambridge. These poems were printed in 1571. In 1574, Studley published a translation of a book by John Bale. The book was called Acta Pontificum Romanorum. Studley's translated version was titled The Pageant of the Popes. It told the lives of all the Popes up to the year 1555. This book was dedicated to Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex.