Robert Ashley (writer) facts for kids

Robert Ashley (born in 1565, died in October 1641) was an English lawyer and translator. He lived during the time of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Dorchester, which means he helped make laws for the country.

Robert Ashley's Life Story

Early Life and Family

Robert Ashley was born in 1565. His father was Anthony Ashley from Damerham, Hampshire. His mother was Dorothy Lyte from Lytes Cary in Somerset. Robert had an older brother, Anthony Ashley, 1st Baronet of Wimborne St Giles, and a younger brother, Sir Francis Ashley.

School Days

When he was young, Robert went to Grammar School in Southampton. His headmaster there was Hadrian Saravia. At 13, he continued his studies at Salisbury Cathedral School with Adam Hill.

University Years

In 1580, Robert went to Oxford University. He first studied at Hart Hall, then Alban Hall, and finally Magdalen Hall. He earned his first degree (BA) in 1582. In 1583, he became a fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford. He completed his Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1587.

Becoming a Lawyer and a Language Lover

After university, Robert began studying law in 1588. He joined New Inn and then Middle Temple, which are places where lawyers train. He became a lawyer in 1595 after traveling to France.

However, Robert found that law wasn't always exciting. He loved learning languages much more! He taught himself Dutch, French, Spanish, and Italian. He believed that just as different places grow different fruits, different countries offer different kinds of knowledge.

Serving in Parliament

In 1597, Robert Ashley was chosen to be a Member of Parliament for Dorchester. This meant he helped represent the people of Dorchester in the English Parliament.

His Amazing Library

Robert Ashley lived for many years in the Middle Temple. He passed away in October 1641 and was buried in the Temple Church. He never had children.

Robert was a huge book lover. He collected about 5,000 books! He kept his large collection in his rooms at the Middle Temple. He even had to rent a second room just to hold all his books. When he died, he left his entire collection to the Middle Temple. He also left £300 to help pay for someone to look after the books.

Robert Ashley's Writings and Translations

Robert Ashley was known for translating books from other languages into English. He did this during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth, King James I, and King Charles I.

As a boy, he enjoyed reading adventure stories like Bevis of Hampton and Guy of Warwick. Later, he liked famous collections of stories such as the Decameron and the Heptameron.

Here are some of the main books Robert Ashley translated:

• Urania (1589): This was a Latin poem translated from the French of Du Bartas.
• The Interchangeable Course (1594): Translated from the French of Louis le Roy.
• Almansor, the learned and victorious King that conquered Spain, his Life and Death (1627): This book was translated from Spanish. In its introduction, Ashley mentioned seeing a "glorious golden library of Arabian books" at the Escorial in Spain.
• Relation of the Kingdom of Cochin-China (1633): This book described many interesting things about Cochin-China (now part of Vietnam). It was translated from the Italian of Christoforo Borri.
• David Persecuted (1637): Translated from the Italian of Malvezzi.

Robert also translated a book called Of Honour from Latin, but it was never officially published.

Interestingly, Robert Ashley is also believed to be the main writer of a special collection of writings called the Book of Magical Charms. This was only discovered in 2017!