Toxophilus, the Schole of Shooting

work by Ascham

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 14, 2026

Quick Summary

Roger Ascham's Toxophilus, published in 1545, is a foundational work on archery written in English. Presented as a dialogue, it champions archery as a valuable activity for Englishmen, reflecting a growing patriotic sentiment. Ascham, a humanist scholar and writer, also served as a tutor to Princess Elizabeth. While Toxophilus focuses on archery, Ascham's other major work, The Scholemaster, published posthumously, delves into educational theories and effective teaching methods, particularly for Latin.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Roger Ascham
Ascham’s Toxophilus (“Lover of the Bow”), written in the form of a dialogue, was published in 1545 and was the first book on archery in English. In the preface Ascham showed the growing patriotic zeal of the humanists by stating that he was writing “Englishe matter…
Read More
Ascham’s Toxophilus (“Lover of the Bow”), written in the form of a dialogue, was published in 1545 and was the first book on archery in English. In the preface Ascham showed the growing patriotic zeal of the humanists by stating that he was writing “Englishe matter…
Read More