ROLLE, RICHARD (1290?-1349).—­Hermit and poet, b. at Thornton, Yorkshire, was at Oxf.  Impressed by the uncertainty and the snares of life he decided to become a hermit, a resolution which he carried out with somewhat romantic circumstances.  He wrote various religious treatises in Latin and English, turned the Psalms into English verse, and composed a poem—­The Pricke of Conscience—­in 7 books, in which is shown the attitude of protest which was rising against certain Papal pretensions and doctrines.

ROLLOCK, ROBERT (1555?-1599).—­Theologian and scholar, b. in Stirlingshire, was first a Prof. in St. Andrews, and then the first Principal of the Univ. of Edin.  He also held office as Prof. of Theology, and was one of the ministers of the High Church.  He was one of the earliest of Protestant commentators.  He wrote chiefly in Latin, but some of his sermons and commentaries are in vernacular Scotch.

ROPER, WILLIAM (1496-1578).—­Biographer, s. of a Kentish gentleman, m. Margaret, dau. of Sir Thomas More.  He has a place in literature for his excellent and appreciative biography of his father-in-law.  He was a member of various Parliaments between 1529 and 1558.  Although he remained a Roman Catholic, he was permitted to retain his office of prothonotary of the Court of King’s Bench after the accession of Elizabeth.

ROSCOE, WILLIAM (1753-1831).—­Historian, s. of a market-gardener near Liverpool, for a time assisted his f., devoting all his spare time to mental improvement.  Subsequently he entered the office of an attorney, and in due time went into business on his own account, continuing, however, his literary studies.  In 1799 he joined a local bank as partner and manager, which proved an unfortunate step, as the bank was obliged, in 1816, to suspend payment.  In 1795 he rose into fame at a bound by his Life of Lorenzo de’ Medici.  It was followed in 1805 by the Life and Pontificate of Leo the Tenth, which, though also a work of great ability, had not the same success—­his treatment of the Reformation offending Protestants and Roman Catholics alike.  Both works were translated into various languages.  He also wrote some poems, including The Butterfly’s Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast, and several pamphlets on political questions, including the slave-trade, of which he was a determined opponent.  He also took a leading part in the public life of Liverpool, which he represented in Parliament for a few years.  He was an accomplished botanist.

ROSCOMMON, WENTWORTH DILLON, 4TH EARL of (1633?-1685).—­Poet, nephew of the famous Earl of Strafford, was b. in Ireland.  He studied and travelled on the Continent, and enjoyed a considerable literary reputation in his own day on the strength of a poetical Essay on Translated Verse, and translations from Horace’s Art of Poetry.