The Learned Lady in England, 1650-1760Reynolds, Myra
History
The Learned Lady in England, 1650-1760
Reynolds, Myra
Women -- Education -- Great Britain; Women -- Great Britain; Women authors, English
A third distinguished family in which the daughters were liberally
educated was that of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset. Three of
them, Anne, Margaret, and Jane, were joint authors of _A Century of
Distichs upon the Death of Queen Margaret of Navarre_, printed in
1550 and later translated into Greek, French, and Italian.[37] Henry
Fitz Allan, Earl of Arundel, had both his daughters well trained
in the classics and they had the advantage of the notable library
he had collected. The eldest, Lady Joanna Lumley[38] (d. 1576),
translated four of the _Orations_ of Isocrates from Greek into
Latin, and the _Iphigenia_ of Euripides from Greek into English.
Most of her writings were dedicated to her father. Her manuscripts
were preserved in his library and so passed into royal possession
in the time of James I. Another learned lady was Mary, Countess of
Arundel.[39] She translated from Greek and Latin and collected a book
of similes from Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, and other classic authors.
She, too, dedicated her works to her father, Sir Thomas Arundel.
Sir Thomas Parr, "following the example of Sir Thomas More and
other great men," bestowed on his daughter Catherine[40] a learned
education, as "the most valuable addition he could make to her other
charms." She was interested in all matters pertaining to learning,
and successfully used her influence with the King in behalf of the
universities. She wrote a letter in Latin to the Princess Mary to
induce her to translate Erasmus's _Paraphrase of St. John_, and wrote
many psalms, prayers, and meditations, beside _Queene Katherine
Parre's lamentation of a sinner_, published in 1548. Jane, Countess
of Westmoreland, was placed by her father, the Earl of Surrey, under
the tuition of Mr. Fox, the Martyrologist, who reported her skill in
Latin and Greek as such "that she might well stand in competition
with the greatest men of that age."[41]
Most interesting and most pathetic of all the young women known
for learning in Tudor times was Lady Jane Grey.[42] Ascham, in
a well-known passage in _The Scholemaster_ (1570), describes an
interview he had with her at Bradgate where she was pursuing her
studies under John Aylmer, her tutor. This was in 1550 when Lady Jane
was but thirteen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account