Richard Croke

Richard Croke (* 1489; ? † 21 or August 29, 1558 in London), Richard Crocus, was an English philologist and professor of Greek language in Leipzig and Cambridge.

Life

Croke studied in 1505 at Eton and at King's College, University of Cambridge and then moved to Oxford. After living in Paris, Leuven and Cologne he took over in 1515 as the first Professor of Greek at the University of Leipzig. Croke revolutionized the Greek lessons in Leipzig, where he not only basics of grammar mediated, but the entire Greek language. He praised the order and organization of the city by saying: " Athens and Carthage would still blooming now, if they had had such a council ." 1516, he wrote a first - Greek textbook for his students. 1518 returned Croke, presumably mediated by Thomas More, however, to his home to the University of Cambridge back. His successor in Leipzig was the eminent humanist Peter Mosellanus.

1519 he was appointed as successor of Erasmus Sarcerius professor at Cambridge. There was, however, a fierce controversy and Croke had to put up with violent hostility on the part of conservative theologians. Croke changed as bailiff to the court of King Henry VIII 1529/30 he was sent by the king on a diplomatic mission to Italy, where he should seek a positive opinion for a divorce and re-marriage of the King of universities and theologians.

After his return to Croke 1532 went to Oxford University, where he worked until his retirement in 1545.

Works

• M. R. Croci Londoniensis Tabulae, Graecas literas compendio discere cupiendibus etc. Schuhmann, Leipzig 1516.