William Barker is unfortunately remembered largely as the faithless servant who betrayed his master, Thomas Howard, fourth Duke of Norfolk, following the exposure of the Ridolfi Plot. It is only appropriate, then, that his reputation be rehabilitated because of his significance as one of the earliest Tudor translators of Italian literature, an important collector of classical inscriptions, and a proponent of humanist education, including the celebration of learned women.

Barker was born about 1520, probably in Norfolk, into a humble family, but he received a good education at St. John's College, Cambridge, through the assistance of the fiercely Protestant queen Anne Boleyn. He was granted his M.A. in 1540 and may have remained at Cambridge as a fellow or received some other educational appointment, perhaps as tutor to a young nobleman. There is no doubt, though, that Barker was a Roman Catholic and remained one, despite his acceptance of...