A Transcription and Translation of Sloane MS. 2131, Robert Ashley’s (1561-1641) Vita: with Additional Biographical Details

British Library Sloane MS. 2131, Vita, is an autobiography written in Latin by Robert Ashley (1565-1641), bibliophile, lawyer, and translator. Ashley bequeathed his collection of approximately 5000 books to establish a library at Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court. This is the first full transcription and translation of Ashley’s manuscript to be published. Ashley’s Vita has been cited in a variety of publications, ranging from studies on dreams and children’s literature, to his role as a political agent in the late sixteenth century, but there has been no systematic examination of his autobiography in the context of early modern English biographical studies.