science

Rowland York

Rowland York is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rowland York rather than just read about it. In short: Rowland York or Yorke (died 1588) was an English soldier of fortune and defector to Spain. Early life Rowland York was the ninth of eleven sons of Sir John York.

Key takeaways

Rowland York belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rowland York to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rowland York from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rowland York or Yorke (died 1588) was an English soldier of fortune and defector to Spain.

Early life Rowland York was the ninth of eleven sons of Sir John York. He volunteered for the Netherlands under Thomas Morgan of Llantarnam in 1572. He embarked at Gravesend on 19 March that year with his two companions, the poet George Gascoigne and William Herle, but the ship in which they sailed was nearly lost on the coast of Holland owing to the incompetence of the Dutch pilot. Reaching the English camp in safety, he took part in August that year in the attack on Goes under Captain (afterwards Sir) Humphrey Gilbert and the Prince of Orange's agent Jerome Tseraerts.

Plots and equivocal reputation Opinions differed about York. By some, he was held "bolde of courage, provident in direction, industrious in labour, and quick in execution". But his profligacy and the fact that he was a Roman Catholic caused him from the first to be distrusted by the states. In October 1580 he was reported by William Herle to Francis Walsingham to have been arrested on a charge of felony. Four years later York was detected in a plot with John Van Imbyss to betray Ghent to the Duke of Parma. Against the advice of the Prince of Orange, who would have preferred a more summary punishment, he was clapped in prison in Brussels, whence he was released when the city fell into Parma's hands in 1585. He served at the siege of Antwerp, but by the intercession of his friends, he was allowed to return to England. Joining the expedition under the Earl of Leicester that year, he succeeded in ingratiating himself with Sir Philip Sidney. Appointed by Leicester to the command of the Zutphen sconce, he, according to William Camden, took the opportunity thus offered him of paying back a grudge he had against the earl by surrendering the sconce to the Spaniards and inducing Sir William Stanley to do the same for Deventer. He was appointed captain of a troop of lancers in the Spanish service; but was not, as he thought, sufficiently rewarded. Since he was known to be a bold and determined villain, it is said the Spaniards took precautions to prevent any double treachery by causing him to be poisoned.

Death He died in Zutphen on a Sunday in February 1588, having first 'received sacraments, unction, and all'. Three years later his body was exhumed and gibbeted in Zutphen by order of the states. His heir was Edmund Yorke, who was executed at Tyburn in 1595 for attempting to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. Edmund had been persuaded by his uncle's associate Sir William Stanley, and Stanley's rather mysterious lieutenant Jacques de Francesci (Captain Jacques), that the assassination would be a meritorious act. On returning to England he quickly fell under suspicion, due perhaps to his association with the Irish fencing master Patrick O'Collun. They were both arrested, along with Richard Williams, and all three were convicted of treason and executed.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "York, Rowland". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rowland York

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rowland York claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rowland York before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rowland York ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rowland York

In research: Rowland York appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rowland York in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rowland York is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1588 deaths, 16th-century English soldiers, 16th-century births, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rowland York outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rowland York in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rowland York means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rowland York out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rowland York in simple terms?

Rowland York or Yorke (died 1588) was an English soldier of fortune and defector to Spain. Early life Rowland York was the ninth of eleven sons of Sir John York.

Why does Rowland York matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rowland York?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rowland York.