Richard Croke (or Crocus) (c. 1489–1558) was an English classical scholar, and a royal tutor and agent.
Early life and education
He was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...
.''Concise Dictionary of National Biography''. He took his BA at
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
in 1510, and proceeded to travel.
He studied Greek with William Grocyn in London and Oxford, and then with
Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...
and
Aleander
Girolamo Aleandro (also Hieronymus Aleander; 13 February 14801 February 1542) was an Italian cardinal, and .
Life
Aleandro was born on 13 February 1480 in Motta di Livenza, in the province of Treviso, part of the Republic of Venice. He studie ...
in Paris in 1511. In 1514, he was called to the
University of Leipzig
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
, where he remained for some years. Among his pupils were
Joachim Camerarius
Joachim Camerarius (12 April 150017 April 1574), the Elder, was a German classical scholar.
Life
He was born in Bamberg, in the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg. His family name was Liebhard, but he was generally called Kammermeister, previous member ...
,
Hieronymus Dungersheim
Hieronymus Dungersheim or Dungersheym von Ochsenfart(1465, Ochsenfurt – 1540) was a German Catholic theologian and controversialist (skeptic). A professor of the University of Leipzig, he was an early opponent of the Lutherans there. Caspar Creuziger. He was replaced by
Petrus Mosellanus
Petrus Mosellanus Protegensis (real name Peter Schade) (b. 1493 in Bruttig, d. 19 April 1524 in Leipzig) was a German humanist scholar. He is best known for the popular work on rhetoric, ''Tabulae de schematibus et tropis'',Online summar and his ' ...
. As a young man he was identified as a follower of Erasmus, who at this period was constructing his ''
editio princeps In classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' ( plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which could be circulated only after being copied by hand.
...
'' of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
in Greek (Basle, 1516).
Career
He was recalled by
John Fisher
John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI.
Fisher was executed by o ...
in 1519 to teach Greek at Cambridge; it had been in abeyance since Erasmus's time (1511–1513), and he was Cambridge's second lecturer in Greek. He became Public Orator at Cambridge in 1522, Fellow of
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. Th ...
in 1523, and
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...
in 1524. He quarrelled with Fisher over college matters in the later 1520s.
In 1529 and 1530, he acted for
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...
in Italy, in the matter of the king's intended divorce from
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
; earlier he had tutored Henry in Greek. Croke later tutored the illegitimate Duke of Richmond and Somerset, his son. While seeking
canon lawyer
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is the ...
s to support Henry's side of the argument, he also contacted humanists (such as Girolamo Ghinucci) and sought manuscripts.
On his return to England, he in 1531 became deputy vice-chancellor of Cambridge, and vicar of
Long Buckby
Long Buckby is a large village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. In 2020 the parish of Long Buckby, which includes the hamlet of Long Buckby Wharf, was estimated to have a population of 4,303.
Long Buckby is hill top village, ...
, Nottinghamshire. A year later he moved to the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...
.
He was a witness at the 1555 trial of
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry ...
.
Works
*''
Ausonius
Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; – c. 395) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France. For a time he was tutor to the future emperor Gratian, who afterwards bestowed the consulship on him ...