Richard Hyrde
Encyclopedia
Richard Hyrde or Hirt was an English humanist scholar, translator and tutor. He was closely associated with the household of Thomas More
, and with the contemporary discussion of female education
.
He graduated at the University of Oxford
in 1518, possibly having been supported in his education by More. He worked in the 1520s on the English translation of the Latin work De institutione foeminae Christianae by Juan Luis Vives
, commissioned by Catherine of Aragon
. Hyrde's translation was printed later (around 1540) as The Instruction of a Christen Woman [sic]. It became a popular conduct book
. One aspect of the teaching of Vives was the restriction of women's reading of romance
s. To the list of texts Vives supplied, none in English, Hyrde added others: "Parthenope
, Genarides
, Hippomadon
, William and Melyour
, Libius and Arthur
, Guye
, Beuis
and others".
He also contributed an introduction to the translation Treatise upon the Pater Noster by Margaret Roper
(More's daughter) of a Latin work Precatio Dominica of Erasmus. There he argues for the entitlement of women to a scholarly education. More himself was involved in both of Hyrde's works, revising the Vives translation before it saw print, and dealing with the formal publication permission of his daughter's work via Thomas Wolsey.
R. W. Chambers states that he was a physician, connecting this vocation with the knowledge of Greek Hyrde advocates. In 1528 he was part of a diplomatic mission to Pope Clement VII
, led by Stephen Gardiner
and Edward Foxe
(attached, Chambers says, as physician). He died in 1528 in Italy of an infectious disease.
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...
, and with the contemporary discussion of female education
Female education
Female education is a catch-all term for a complex of issues and debates surrounding education for females. It includes areas of gender equality and access to education, and its connection to the alleviation of poverty...
.
He graduated at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1518, possibly having been supported in his education by More. He worked in the 1520s on the English translation of the Latin work De institutione foeminae Christianae by Juan Luis Vives
Juan Luís Vives
Juan Luis Vives , also Joan Lluís Vives i March , was a Valencian Spanish scholar and humanist.-Biography:Vives was born in Valencia...
, commissioned by Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
. Hyrde's translation was printed later (around 1540) as The Instruction of a Christen Woman [sic]. It became a popular conduct book
Conduct book
Conduct books are a genre of books that attempt to educate the reader on social norms. As a genre, they began in the mid-to-late Middle Ages, although antecedents such as The Maxims of Ptahhotep are among the earliest surviving works...
. One aspect of the teaching of Vives was the restriction of women's reading of romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
s. To the list of texts Vives supplied, none in English, Hyrde added others: "Parthenope
Partonopeus de Blois
Partonopeus de Blois is an Old French romance written in the 13th century, named for its hero. The romance has been assigned, on the strength of an ambiguous passage in the prologue referring to the Vie seint Edmund le rei, the "life of Saint Edward the king", to Denis Pyramus.-Plot:Partenopeus is...
, Genarides
Generides
Generides or Generydes is an English verse romance, originating in the English Midlands and dated to the end of the 14th century. It survives in two different lengthy forms...
, Hippomadon
Ipomadon
A tale of the Old French romance hero Ipomedon in Middle English survives in three separate versions, a long poem Ipomadon composed in tail-rhyme verse, possibly in the last decade of the fourteenth century, a shorter poem The Lyfe of Ipomydon, dating to the fifteenth century and a prose version,...
, William and Melyour
Guillaume de Palerme
Guillaume de Palerme is a French romance poem, which has been translated into English.The French verse romance was composed circa 1200, commissioned by Countess Yolande...
, Libius and Arthur
Libeaus Desconus
Libeaus Desconus is a 14th century Middle English version of the popular "Fair Unknown" story. Its author is thought to be Thomas Chestre. The story matter displays strong parallels to that of Renaut de Beaujeu's Le Bel Inconnu; both versions describe the adventures of Gingalain, the son of King...
, Guye
Guy of Warwick
Guy of Warwick is a legendary English hero of Romance popular in England and France from the 13th to the 17th century. The story of Sir Guy is considered by scholars to be part of the Matter of England.-Plot:...
, Beuis
Bevis of Hampton
Bevis of Hampton is a legendary English hero and the subject of Anglo-Norman, French, English, Venetian and other medieval metrical romances that bear his name...
and others".
He also contributed an introduction to the translation Treatise upon the Pater Noster by Margaret Roper
Margaret Roper
Margaret Roper was an English writer and translator. She was the daughter of Thomas More and wife of William Roper. During More's imprisonment in the Tower of London, she was a frequent visitor to his cell, along with her husband.Roper married William Roper in 1521 in Eltham, Kent...
(More's daughter) of a Latin work Precatio Dominica of Erasmus. There he argues for the entitlement of women to a scholarly education. More himself was involved in both of Hyrde's works, revising the Vives translation before it saw print, and dealing with the formal publication permission of his daughter's work via Thomas Wolsey.
R. W. Chambers states that he was a physician, connecting this vocation with the knowledge of Greek Hyrde advocates. In 1528 he was part of a diplomatic mission to Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
, led by Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner
Stephen Gardiner was an English Roman Catholic bishop and politician during the English Reformation period who served as Lord Chancellor during the reign of Queen Mary I of England.-Early life:...
and Edward Foxe
Edward Foxe
Edward Foxe was an English churchman, Bishop of Hereford. He was the most Lutheran of Henry VIII's bishops, and assisted in drafting the Ten Articles of 1536....
(attached, Chambers says, as physician). He died in 1528 in Italy of an infectious disease.
Further reading
- Pamela Benson (1992), The Invention of the Renaissance Woman: the challenge of female independence, Ch. 6 The New Ideal in England: Thomas More, Juan Luis Vives and Richard Hyrde