A WHO’S WHO OF TUDOR WOMEN: M

compiled by

Kathy Lynn Emerson

to update and correct

her very out-of-date

WIVES AND DAUGHTERS, THE WOMEN OF SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND (1984)

NOTE: this document exists only in electronic format

and is ©2008-11 Kathy Lynn Emerson (all rights reserved)

ISABELLE MABBE (d.1597/8) (maiden name unknown)
Isabelle Mabbe was the wife of goldsmith John Mabbe (c.1515-1582). Their children were John, Robert, Richard, Stephen, and Edward (d. before 1597). When her husband died, Isabel inherited considerable property, including a life interest in the Tabard Inn in Southwark. The inn was in the hands of Robert Mabbe by 1584, but it was not until 1590 that Isabelle sold him the deed for £150. In 1593, she was probably the Widow Mabbe living in Bull Head Alley near the Bear Garden. At her death, Isabelle owned the six houses adjoining the inn but in her will, dated May 30, 1597 and proved December 15, 1598, she described herself as being of Totteridge, Herefordshire. Along with numerous bequests to family members, she left twenty shillings to her maid, Joan. The entire will can be found at Oxford-Shakespeare.com.

ELEANOR MACCARTHY
see ELEANOR FITZGERALD

FIONNUALA or FINOLA MACDONALD or MACDONNELL (d. c. 1611)
Fionnuala MacDonald was the daughter of James MacDonald of the Isles (d. August 1565) and Lady Agnes Campbell (c.1515-c.1590). She was raised at the Scottish court. Her father was killed in battle by Shane O’Neill but four years later her marriage and that of her mother were part of an alliance between Irish and Scottish clans. In August 1569 on Rathlin Island, Fionnuala married Hugh Dhubh (the Black) O’Donnell, chief of Tyrconnell (c.1535-November 2, 1600) as his second wife. Her mother married Shane O’Neill’s successor, Turlough Luineach O’Neill (c.1530-1595). Their dowries were armed men rather than money. One account says 400-500 Campbells and 700 MacDonalds from Kintyre while another calls them 1200 Scottish mercenary troops. “By these two women,” an English agent in Ireland wrote, “arisith all mischief against the English in the Pale.” Certainly they were both active in the effort to preserve Ulster from English rule. Fionnuala became known as “Iníon Dhubh” (Dark Girl). With O’Donnell she had seven children—Nuala (d.1611+), Hugh Roe (the Red) (1572-August 30,1602), Rury (1575-1608), Manus (d. October 24, 1600), Mairghaed (d. 1608+), Máire (d.1662) and Cathbarr (d.1608). In 1587, Sir John Perrot plotted to kidnap Hugh Dhubh, his wife, and their oldest son Hugh, but only Hugh Roe fell into English hands. He was imprisoned in Dublin Castle. This so angered Fionnuala that she vowed to restore him to all his rights as an Irish chieftain so that he might defeat the English. In 1588 she threatened to hire Spaniards to stir up trouble. That same year she arranged the assassination of Hugh Gallagher (d.1588), who stood in the way of her plans. Donal, her husband’s son by his first marriage (some sources say illegitimate son) fell in battle against Fionnuala's forces in 1592. In January 1592, Hugh Roe had finally escaped from Dublin. It took almost a year for him to recover his health but in the meantime his mother persuaded her ailing husband to relinquish leadership to the younger man. On April 24, 1592, Hugh Roe became “the O’Donnell” in the last enkinging ever held in Ireland and then united with Hugh O’Neill, who had married his half sister Siobhan (d.1591) in 1574, to rebel against the English. His mother “joined a man’s heart with a woman’s thought” and the rising she fomented lasted until James I succeeded Queen Elizabeth in 1603. King James created Fionnuala’s younger son, Rury, earl of Tyrconnell, Hugh Roe having died the previous year, but the truce did not last. In 1608, Rury and other members of the family, including his sister Nuala, fled to Louvain and then to Rome. Fionnuala retired to Kilmacrennan. Biography: slightly different versions of her life are found in three Oxford DNB entries, for her husband, her son, and her mother ("Campbell, Lady Agnes").

CECILY MACWILLIAM (d.1627)
Cecily MacWilliam was the youngest daughter Henry MacWilliam (MacWilliams/Mackwilliam) of Stambourne Hall, Essex (1532-December 1586) and Mary Hill (1532-November 30, 1616). The unpublished PhD dissertation All the Queen's Women: The Changing Place and Perception of Aristocratic Women in Elizabethan England 1558-1620 (1987) by Joan Barbara Greenbaum Goldsmith lists Elizabeth MacWilliam, daughter of Mary Hill, as being in attendance at court from 1587, but the lists of MacWilliam children I’ve seen do not include an Elizabeth. Cecily had four older sisters, but their names were Margaret, Susan, Ambrosia, and Cassandra. Cecily, however, was a maid of honor to Queen Elizabeth before her marriage to Sir Thomas Ridgway of Tor Abbey, Devonshire (1564-January 24, 1631/2), later created earl of Londonderry. They had five children, Sir Robert (d.1639/40), Cassandra, Edward, Mary, and MacWilliam.

MARY MACWILLIAMS

see MARY HILL

URSULA MAIDENHEAD (c.1513-c.1583)
The parentage of Ursula Maidenhead is something of a mystery. The monument to her second husband, on which she also appears in effigy, reports that Thomas Hungerford "had to wife Ursula Maidenhead, the daughter of Lady Sands." Various genealogy sites identify "Lady Sands" as Margaret Dixon of Witherslack (d.1548+), wife of William Sandys of Hawkshead, Furness Fells, Lancashire (c.1480-c.1548), where he had a house called Esthwaite Hall. Some of these same genealogy sites say Ursula was born at Colton Hall, Staffordshire, but they are unclear as to who her father was. Some also confuse Sandys with his uncle, the first baron Sandys. As far as I can tell, the William Sandys married to Margaret Dixon was not even knighted, let alone a lord, and he was not, apparently, Ursula's father. Ursula's first husband was James Barnard of London (d.1540), by whom she had Richard (d. by 1582), Edmund, another son, and two daughters. By 1543, Ursula had married Thomas Hungerford of Chelsea (1511-1581). In 1544, Hungerford claimed, in right of his wife as Barnard's widow, "seven tenements or cottages with their appurtenances, containing by estimation one hundred acres of land, meadow and pasture . . . at a rent of fifty-four shillings and sixpence." The children of Thomas Hungerford and his wife Ursula were Edward (d.1614), Anthony, another son, and Mary. Ursula made her will in 1583. Included in it was a list of the portraits the Hungerfords had collected. Among them were likenesses of all the Tudor kings and queens, of Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, of William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, and of Thomas and Ursula. Portraits: one extant in 1583; effigy on Hungerford monument in Chelsea Old Church.

FRANÇOISE de MAILLÉ (d.c.1535)
Françoise de Maillé (also called, in one source, Françoise de Maillé de la Tour Landry, dame de Châteauroux) was the daughter of Hardouin de Maillé and Antoinette de Chauvigny (d.1473). Her father was chamberlain to King Louis XI and according to Alison Weir (Mary Boleyn) she was in the service of the king's daughter, Jeanne de France, at one time. Jeanne, who was crippled from birth, was set aside and sent to a nunnery by her husband, Louis XII, in 1498, so that he could marry Anne of Brittany. In 1480, Françoise married François Beaujeu-Linières, seigneur de Linières, de Rezay, and de Thevét. After his death, she wed Jean d’Aumont, baron de Conches and d’Estrabonne (1458-February 19, 1523). They were married on February 14, 1484. Their children were Pierre (d.1548+), Claude (d.1554), Felix (d.1538?), and another Pierre. In 1513, she was appointed to replace Lady Guildford as chief lady of the household (dame d’honneur) of Mary Tudor, the new Queen of France, when most of Mary's retinue was sent home. This was a short-lived appointment, as King Louis died shortly after his marriage, but while she held the post, she was in charge of the young Mary Boleyn and several other English girls. Later Françoise was governess to the children of King Francis I.

JOAN MAINWARING
see JOAN HURSTE

KATHERINE MALLORY (1540-1579+)
Katherine Mallory was the daughter of Sir William Mallory of Studely and Hutton, Yorkshire (1500-April 27, 1547) and Jane Norton (1500-1588), although some sources call her the daughter of Sir John Mallory of Studely. She married George Radcliffe of Derwentwater (1517-1579) and herself received a grant of market and lease in Keswick, Cumberland. In May 1565, copper ore said to contain silver was found in the area and Queen Elizabeth brought in foreign workmen with mining experience to mine the ore. The first twenty German miners arrived in Keswick on September 20, 1565. The Radcliffes objected to this, in part because they claimed mineral rights the queen was attempting to usurp. Lady Radcliffe in particular opposed the opening of the mines. She refused to let any wood be cut down on her lands, either for props in the mines or for fuel. In July 1566, after an English mob attacked German workers, resulting in a German death, she intervened to save the leaders of the mob from the gallows. Apparently, however, she eventually compromised, since documents reprinted in Elizabethan Keswick by W. G. Collingwood include the following records for 1569: Rent to Miladi Catharina Radclieff, paid through her Bailey Parsovel Radclieff, for the land on which the Smelthouses stand, due at Michaelmas, I/- a year, according to agreement made with (Sir) George Radclieff; three years’ rent from Michaelmas 1566, 3/-. and We bought from Miledi Catharina Badclieff all her wood called Baras (Barrow) from the parks toward Borrowdale, containing 150 oaks, 300 ashes and about 800 birches; the agreement was signed by the trustees of her children, Mr. William Mallori and Thomas Thurland, in the presence of Jhon Tarston, Richardt Duedle (Dudley), Joris Lample (G. Lamplugh) and Mr. Sackhfield; and owe Ser Joris Radclieff £33 6 8. Katherine had at least one child, a son Sir Francis (1562-December 23, 1622)

ETHELREDA, AUDREY or ESTHER MALTE (c.1532-c.1556)

Ethelreda Malte, also called Audrey and Esther, was the illegitimate daughter of John Malte (d.1547), Henry VIII's tailor, and Joanna Dyngley or Digneley, although the late sixteenth century Nugae Antiquae claims she was the natural daughter of the king. Alison Weir (Mary Boleyn) suggests a birth date in the late 1520s on St. Ethelreda's Day (June 23). She believes Ethelreda was the king's child. Joanna Dyngley apparently took no part in her daughter's life and was married to a man named Dobson at some point after Ethelreda’s birth. As for John Malte, he received a sizeable grant of land from the king in 1541, including the manors of Watchfield and Uffington in Berkshire, and another, with Ethelreda, in 1546. John Malte's will is dated September 10, 1546 and was proved June 7, 1547. In it he calls Ethelreda "Awdrey Malte, my bastard daughter, begotten on the body of Joane Dingley, now wife of one Dobson." She was to inherit most of his property in Berkshire, Hertfordshire, and Somerset. At that time, according to The History of Parliament entry for John Harington, she was not yet fifteen and was betrothed to an illegitimate son of Sir Richard Southwell. At some point between September 1546 and November 11, 1547, however, Ethelreda married John Harington of Stepney (1525-July 1, 1582). At that time he was in the service of Thomas Seymour, Lord Seymour of Sudeley. Ethelreda and John had one child, a daughter they named Hester (d.1568+). In 1554, Ethelreda appears to have been one of Elizabeth Tudor's attendants during the princess's incarceration in the Tower of London and may have served her earlier, at Hatfield. Ethelreda was still living in October 1555, when she settled Kelston on her husband, and in early 1556. Her death occurred before April 1, 1559. Biography: Ruth Hughey's John Harington of Stepney. NOTE: Philippa Jones's The Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses and Bastards spends a good deal of time making the argument that Ethelreda's mother was Joan Moore, daughter of Sir John Moore of Dunkelyn, Worcestershire, who married first Michael Ashfield, then James Dingley, and finally Thomas Parker of Notgrove, Gloucestershire. She goes on to explain that the name Dobson was an error in transcription for Dunkelyn. This obviously doesn't work if Malte's will specifically reads "Joane Dingley, now wife of one Dobson." Jones doesn't quote that section, but does state that Malte's will left £20 "to Joan Dyngley, otherwise Joane Dobson." She further suggests a date of June 23, 1535 for Ethelreda's birth. This allows her to propose Joan as the mysterious mistress of 1534 who was a friend of Princess Mary's and a member of Queen Anne's court. Her theory appears to spring from the belief that the king would not consort with a lowborn woman like a laundress (Joan's place in the royal household according to other sources). According to Jones, John Malte lived with his daughter, Bridget Scutt, and Ethelreda continued to live with the Scutts after his death, marrying John Harington somewhat later than Harington's biographer proposes. She also believes that Ethelreda was always sickly (the excuse for her husband's interest in Isabella Markham) and died in November 1555 at St. Catherine's Court. She suggests, on very little "proof," that Harington had an earlier first wife named Esther. Jones does provide one detail on Ethelreda that I am prepared to accept, the existence of a portrait sold in 1942 to an unknown collector. It is described as three-quarter length with the subject in an "embroidered dress." There was also a portrait of Ethelreda's daughter, Hester. It has been described as a child holding a book.

LADY MALTRAVERS
see ANNE PERCY; ELIZABETH WILLOUGHBY

ANNE MANNERS
see ANNE ST. LEGER

ANNE MANNERS (1523-1549)
Anne Manners was the eldest daughter of Thomas Manners, earl of Rutland (c.1492-September 20, 1543) and Eleanor Paston (d.1551). She was one of the three child brides at the dynastic weddings that took place on July 3, 1536, marrying Henry Neville, 5th earl of Westmoreland (1525-February 10, 1564). He was the son of Ralph Neville, 4th earl of Westmorland and two of his sisters were also married that day, one of them to Anne's brother, another Henry. The 4th earl had eighteen children in all. Anne and Henry had six children, Charles (August 18, 1542-November 16, 1601), Eleanor, Ralph, Mary (d.1563+), Catherine (c.1541-March 27, 1591), and Adeline (c.1547-1613). Portrait: effigy on her husband's tomb at Staindrop, Westmorland, a wooden monument erected in 1560.

BRIDGET MANNERS (1577-July 10,1604)
Bridget Manners was the daughter of John Manners, 4^th earl of Rutland (d. February 24, 1588) and Elizabeth Charleton (d. March 1594). Bridget was eleven when her father died and her mother, who had other children still at home, agreed to let Bridget’s step-grandmother, Bridget Hussey (d. January 12, 1601), widow of the 2^nd earl and by that time also countess of Bedford, take over the girl’s education. Young Bridget played the lute but was otherwise uneducated. She went to Woburn Abbey in June 1588, taking with her a maid named Mary Harding. Letters from Bridget’s mother and from Mary still exist, giving more details of the arrangement. After a year in the household at Woburn Abbey, Bridget went to court as a maid of honor to Queen Elizabeth. There she was a great success, not only with the queen, who eventually made Bridget her carver, but also with the gentlemen. Barnabe Barnes wrote a poem in her praise, "To the Beautiful Lady The Lady Bridget Manners," in which he called her "fairest and sweetest of all those sweet, fair flowers." She was courted by the earls of Southampton, Bedford, and Northumberland and by Lord Wharton. It was her mother’s wish, however, that she marry Robert Tyrwhitt of Kettleby, Lincolnshire (c.1573-1617), who was her (Elizabeth Charleton’s) ward and Bridget seems to have been happy with this choice. She took a month’s leave of absence from court and the marriage took place at Belvoir Castle in August 1594. The queen, however, had not given her approval for the match and she was not pleased when she heard of it. The couple was separated by royal decree and Tyrwhitt was imprisoned in the Tower. Bridget returned to court in the hope of winning Queen Elizabeth’s forgiveness, which she eventually did, although the fact that her brother, the young earl of Rutland, agreed to pay £1300 of her £2500 marriage portion to the Crown may have been a factor. The Tyrwhitts had four children: William (c.1598-1642), Robert, Bridget (d.1614), and Rutland. According to the monument her husband erected in Bigby Church, Bridget was “of speech affable, of countenance amiable, nothing proud of her place and fortunes, and usynge her grace rather to benefit others than herself.” Portraits: effigy on her father’s tomb.

BRIDGET MANNERS

see BRIDGET HUSSEY

CATHERINE MANNERS (July 1539-March 9, 1572)
Catherine Manners was the youngest child of Thomas Manners, 1st earl of Rutland (c.1492-September 20, 1543) and Eleanor Paston (d.1551), born at Belvoir Castle three months after her sister Gertrude's wedding at Holywell, the Rutlands' London mansion. She was named for Catherine, duchess of Suffolk. In August 1543, she married Sir Henry Capell of Raines Hall, Essex (d. June 22, 1588). She was at court during the reign of Mary Tudor. She was the mother of Sir Arthur (c.1544-April 1632), Frances (b.1548), William (September 14, 1556-before 1583), Edward (b. March 4, 1558), John (b. 1560), Gamahel (January 2, 1561-November 10, 1633), Agnes (b. January 1, 1562), Frances (b. March 18, 1564), Anne (b. June 8, 1566), Robert (b. February 19, 1567), and Mary (January 26, 1569-October 12, 1633). In 1561, when the duchess of Suffolk had smallpox, Catherine sent a bed to the Barbican for her use.

DOROTHY MANNERS

see DOROTHY VERNONX

ELEANOR MANNERS

see ELEANOR PASTON

ELIZABETH MANNERS

see ELIZABETH SIDNEY

ELIZABETH MANNERS (c.1576-May 1, 1591)
Elizabeth Manners was the only child of Edward Manners, 3rd earl of Rutland (July 12, 1549-April 14, 1587) and Isabel Holcroft (d. January 16, 1606). Elizabeth was granted the title baroness Roos or Ros after her father’s death. In 1588, at age twelve, she married William Cecil (1566-1640) and had one child, also named William (May 1590-June 27, 1618).

FRANCES MANNERS (c.1530-September 1576)

Frances Manners was the daughter of Thomas Manners, 1^st earl of Rutland (d. 1543) and Eleanor Paston (d.1551). She married Henry Neville, Lord Bergavenny (c.1530-February 20, 1586/7) and had one child, Mary (March 25,1554-June 28,1626). As Lady Bergavenny, Frances wrote protestant prayers in both prose and verse, published after her death in The Monument of Matrones (1582), edited by Thomas Bentley. Biography: Oxford DNB entry under “Neville [née Manners], Frances.”

GRACE MANNERS
see GRACE PIERREPONT

ISABEL MANNERS
see ISABEL HOLCROFT

MARGARET MANNERS

see MARGARET DYMOKE; MARGARET NEVILLE

MARGARET MANNOCK
see MARGARET MUNDY

CECILY MANSELL
see CECILY DABRIDGECOURT

EDITH MANSELL (d.1520) (maiden name unknown)
Edith was the wife of Philip Mansell. They had a daughter named either Alice or Jane who married Matthew Craddock in 1489 and died before her mother. They also had two sons, Philip and Richard of Chicheley, Buckinghamshire (d. November 1543). Several sources say that Edith Mansell, former mother-in-law of Matthew Craddock, was murdered in 1520, but details are lacking and, in fact, most genealogical tables show not an Edith but a Mabel (Mary/Mabilia/Mabella) Nicolas/Nicholas as the wife of Philip and mother of his children. Mabel is identified as the daughter of Sir Griffith ap Nicholas of Newton, Carmarthenshire and Jane ferch Jenkin ap Rees ap David and as the coheiress of her mother.

JANE MANSELL
see JANE POLE

ELVIRA MANUEL (1444+-1506+)

Doña Elvira Manuel de Villena Suárez de Figueroa was the daughter of Juan Manuel de Villena Fonseca, señor de Belmonte de Campos, and Aldonza Suárez de Figueroa. She came to England in 1501 as the duenna of Catherine of Aragon and immediately came into conflict with Henry VII by disapproving of his desire to inspect the Spanish princess before her wedding to Henry’s son Arthur. Elvira was married to Don Pedro Manrique, who was also in Catherine’s household. Their son, Inigo, also came to England, as the master of Catherine’s pages. After Prince Arthur’s death, Elvira Manuel claimed that the marriage to Catherine had never been consummated, thus paving the way for a marriage between Catherine and Arthur’s younger brother, the future Henry VIII. Elvira was also in contact with her brother, Don Juan Manuel, who was a servant of Philip of Burgundy. In December 1505, for promoting Philip’s interests at the expense of those of Ferdinand of Aragon, Catherine’s father, Elvira was told to leave England. She departed on the pretext of visiting a doctor in Flanders about a disease that had already caused her to lose one of her eyes, but she knew that she would not be permitted to return. She had alienated not only King Henry but also Catherine of Aragon. Elvira spend the rest of the life among Spanish exiles at the court of Flanders. Catherine was said never to have spoken her name again.

ELIZABETH MARBERY

see ELIZABETH VENABLES

MARGARET OF AUSTRIA (January 10,1480-December 1,1530)

Margaret of Austria, also known as Margaret of Savoy, was the daughter of Maximilian I (1459-1519) and Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482) and was married in 1497 to Juan of Castile (d.1497), brother of Catherine of Aragon. In 1501, she took as her second husband Philibert II, Duke of Savoy (d.1503). Twice widowed and still young, she preferred being regent of the Netherlands to another marriage. She took over that job, and the guardianship of her brother Philip’s six children, in 1507 and remained regent until her death. She entertained Henry VIII in 1513, after his invasion of France, and was rumored to be about to marry Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk. There was no chance of that, but Margaret did accept his daughter, Anne Brandon, into her household. A very young Anne Boleyn was also part of Margaret’s household for a time. Biographies: Eleanor E. Tremayne, The First Governess of the Netherlands: Margaret of Austria (2010); Jane Iongh, Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands (1953); Marian Andrews, The High and Puissant Princess Marguerite of Austria (1907). Portraits: There are several portraits of Margaret of Austria, including the one below.

MARGARET OF PARMA (December 28, 1522-January 18, 1586)

Margaret of Parma was the illegitimate daughter of Charles V (1500-1558) and Johanna van der Gheenst. She married first Alexander de Medici, duke of Milan (d.1537) and after he was assassinated, wed Ottavio Farnese, duke of Parma (October 9, 1521-September 18,1586) on November 4, 1538. By her second marriage she was the mother of Alexander Farnese, duke of Parma (1545-1592). In 1557 (some sources say from March until May and others May-June), Margaret was in England with Christina of Denmark, duchess of Lorraine, to help their cousin, Philip II, convince Elizabeth Tudor to marry the duke of Savoy. They did not even succeed in meeting the princess. Margaret’s later political interests continued to be in conflict with Elizabeth’s. She became regent of the Netherlands in 1559 and served in that capacity until 1567. During those years, thousands of textile workers fled the Netherlands for England to escape religious persecution. In 1563/4 the English privateers began to attack merchant shipping. Margaret banned the importation of English cloth in retaliation and Elizabeth responded by forbidding all imports from the Netherlands. Margaret countered by closing Netherlands ports to all English shipping. The ports soon reopened, but there was continued unrest. Philip II added to the tension by taxing the Netherlands heavily. In 1566, William of Orange began to plan rebellion and armed comflict was imminent. Margaret turned the regency over to the duke of Alva in 1567 and retired to Ortona, Italy. Portrait: in the Prado, Madrid.

ANNE MARKHAM
see ANNE ROOS; ANNE STRELLEY

GERTRUDE MARKHAM (1571-before 1607)
Gertrude Markham was the daughter of Robert Markham of Cotham, Nottinghamshire (1536-1606) and Mary Leake (1538-c.1597). She married Thomas Sadler of Standon, Hertfordshire (c.1536-January 5, 1607) and was the mother of Gertrude (d.1635) and Ralph (d. February 12, 1660). Portrait: effigy at Standon.

ISABELLA MARKHAM (March 28, 1527-May 20, 1579)

Isabella Markham was the daughter of Sir John Markham of Coltham, Nottinghamshire (1500-1564 OR c.1482-October 1559+) and his third wife, Anne Strelley (c.1495-October 12, 1554). She married John Harington of Stepney (1525-July 1, 1582) as his second wife. She may have met him when he was imprisoned in the Tower from around February 1549 until early 1550, as her father was Lord Lieutenant of the Tower of London at that time, but other records indicate that she was already in the service of Elizabeth Tudor. Upon Elizabeth’s arrest in March 1554, Isabella went to stay with a Mr. Topcliffe. Harington had been at Cheshunt with Elizabeth just before that, in January, and was arrested on February 8, 1554 on the basis of a compromising letter connecting him to the conspiracy of Sir Thomas Wyatt. He was held for eleven months and was finally released on January 18, 1555 on a bond of £100. Harington’s first wife, Ethelreda Malte, was one of Elizabeth's attendants for the duration of her incarceration. Isabella was the subject of Harington's poems, all of them written before his wife's death. Isabella returned to Elizabeth’s household in October 1554, when Elizabeth was set free, and remained part of that household after Elizabeth became queen. The date of Isabella’s marriage to Harington is unknown, but it was after April 1, 1559. Their son, John, was christened on August 4, 1560. Queen Elizabeth was his godmother. Their other children were Robert (d. December 6, 1601), Elizabeth (b.1559?), Francis (1564-January 22, 1639), and James (1565-1592). Isabella was a lady of the privy chamber from 1558 until her death and was rarely absent from court. She received the dedication of Thomas Palfreyman’s Divine Meditations in 1572. Biography: Most of the known facts about Isabella are included in Ruth Hughey’s John Harington of Stepney.

JOAN MARLER (d.1531) (maiden name unknown)
Joan married Richard Marler (by 1479-June 4, 1527), a grocer who was mayor of Coventry in 1509 and was the richest man in that city. She was his second wife and the mother of his son William (d.1537+). Marler wrote his will on January 12, 1527, naming Joan as one of his executors. After his death, Joan became a vowess. In her will, she left money to endow a sermon. She was buried with her husband in the Marler Chapel of Holy Trinity Church.

BRIDGET MARNEY
see BRIDGET WALDEGRAVE

CATHERINE MARNEY (c.1480-1535)
Catherine Marney was the daughter of Henry, 1st baron Marney (1447-May 24, 1523) and his first wife, Thomasine Arundell. Her first marriage, to Edward Knyvett (c.1486-1503) was childless. She inherited a life interest in his lands, including the manor of Stanway, Essex and twelve other manors and lands in Essex, Kent, and Suffolk. In 1508 or 1509, she married Thomas Bonham (1459-June 18, 1532). They had five sons, including John (d. by 1532) and William (1513-1547+) and two daughters, including Elizabeth. In her second widowhood, she inherited a life interest in all of Bonham's lands and goods. Her third husband was John Barnaby, who had been a servant of Bonham's from as early as 1514.

CATHERINE MARNEY (1515-1539+)
Catherine Marney was the daughter and coheiress of John, 2nd baron Marney (1480-April 27, 1525) and Christian Newburgh (c.1497-August 7, 1517). She was the ward of Thomas Howard, 3rd duke of Norfolk. She was betrothed to two of the earl of Sussex’s younger sons in succession and in about 1528 married the second, George Radcliffe (d.c.1532). Before 1539 (one source says May 19, 1532), she married Thomas Poynings (c.1512-August 17, 1545). She had a son by her second marriage, christened in March 1539, but he died young.

ELIZABETH MARNEY (1517-1542+)
Elizabeth Marney was the daughter and coheiress of John, 2nd baron Marney (1480-April 27, 1525) and Christian Newburgh (c.1497-August 7, 1517). She was the ward of Thomas Howard, 3rd duke of Norfolk. She was betrothed to his younger son, Thomas Howard (1528-1582), later viscount Bindon, and became the first of his four wives in about 1526. She was the mother of Henry (1542-January 19, 1590), Thomas (d. March 1, 1610/11), Francis, Giles, Elizabeth, and Grace.

GRACE MARNEY (1487-c.1553)

Grace was the daughter of Henry, 1^st baron Marney (1447-May 24, 1523) and Elizabeth (Isabel) Wilford. As the wife of Catherine of Aragon’s custodian, Sir Edmund Bedingfield of Oxborough, Norfolk (1479/80-1553), she was with the imprisoned queen at Kimbolton when she died on January 7, 1536. Grace's son, Sir Henry Bedingfield (1511-1583) was one of Mary Tudor’s supporters against the duke of Northumberland.

 

DOROTHY MARROW (d.1538+)
Dorothy Marrow was the daughter and heir of Thomas Marrow of Berkswell, Warwickshire and Isabel Brome. Her first husband, married c. 1516, was Francis Cokayne of Ashbourne, Derbyshire (d. August 5, 1538). Their children were Sir Thomas, (November 27, 1520-November 15, 1592), Francis, William, Alice, and Barbara. After her husband died, Dorothy purchased her eldest son's wardship for £366. Her second husband was Sir Humphrey Ferrers of Tamworth, Staffordshire (d.1553). Her children, Thomas and Barbara, married his two children, John and Dorothy, by his first wife. Portrait: brass in Ashbourne Church to Thomas and Dorothy Cokayne, although she is not buried there.

ELIZABETH MARSHALL (1453-1496)
Elizabeth Marshall was the daughter of John Marshall of Upton, Leicestershire and Elizabeth Cheek. She married Ralph FitzHerbert of Norbury, Derbyshire (1428-March 2, 1481) around 1455. Their children were Margaret, Dorothy, John (d.1531), Henry (d. before 1532), Thomas (d.1532), Richard, William, Anthony (1470-1538), Edith (1472-1511), Agnes, and Alice. It has been suggested that the Elizabeth Fitzherbert who was in the service of Elizabeth of York was her daughter but it is also possible that this was Elizabeth herself. One account says she was buried October 20, 1490. Another says she died in 1496. Her will was made in 1490. Portrait: effigy in Norbury Church.

DORCAS MARTIN
see DORCAS ECCLESTONE

ELIZABETH MARTIN or MARTYN
see ELIZABETH CASTLYN or CASTELIN

MARGERY MARTIN
see MARGERY DENTON

MARY MARTYN (1558-1574)

Mary Martyn or Martin was the daughter of Sir Roger Martin of Long Melford, Suffolk (d. December 20, 1573), a mercer and Lord Mayor of London in 1567, and his second wife, Elizabeth Castlyn or Castelin (d.1583). Mary was painted by George Gower in 1573 at the age of fifteen, to commemorate her wedding to Alexander Denton of Hillesden, Buckinghamshire (1542-1576) on June 8, 1573 at St. Antonin, Budge Row, London. They had one child, Thomas (1574-1633). Portrait: Gower portrait; effigy in All Saints, Hillesden, erected by Alexander's mother, Margaret Mordaunt, in 1576.

MARY I (February 18,1516-November 17,1558)

Mary Tudor was the only child of Henry VIII (June 28,1491-January 28,1547) and Catherine of Aragon (December 16,1485-January 7,1536) to live to adulthood. She succeeded her half brother, Edward VI to the throne and married Philip II of Spain (May 21,1527-September 13,1598). She attempted to restore Catholicism to England but died childless and was succeeded by her protestant half sister, Elizabeth I. Biographies: among others, Bloody Mary by Carolly Erikson, Mary Tudor: A Life by David Loades; The First Queen of England: The Myth of "Bloody Mary" by Linda Porter; Mary Tudor: England's First Queen by Anna Whitelock. Portraits: Numerous portraits exist, from girlhood on, although many once said to be Mary Tudor have since proven to be other ladies.

MARY OF HUNGARY (September 18,1505-October 18,1558)

Mary of Hungary was the daughter of Philip, archduke of Flanders and king of Castile (1478-1506) and Juana of Castile (November 16,1479-April 12,1555). She married Louis II of Hungary (1506-August 26,1526) on January 13,1522. They had no children. In 1530, upon the death of her aunt, Margaret of Austria, Mary’s brother, Charles V, appointed her regent of the Netherlands. She was generally pro-English, refusing to harbor Reginald Pole in 1537. In 1550, Roger Ascham, best known as Elizabeth Tudor’s tutor, wrote of Mary: “She is a virago . . . she is never so well as when she is flinging on horseback and hunting all the night long.” Once, she made the seventeen day ride from Augsburg to Brussels in thirteen days. She was succeeded as regent by her niece, Margaret of Parma. Biography: Jane de Iongh, Mary of Hungary: Second Regent of the Netherlands (1959). Portraits: in addition to painted portraits, including a joint portrait with Louis of Hungary, there is a bust in the Kunthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS (December 8,1542-February 7, 1587)

Mary, queen of Scots was the daughter of James V (1513-December 14,1542) and Marie of Guise (November 20,1515-June 11,1560) and the great-granddaughter of Henry VII of England. She was brought up in France and married to the dauphin, who became Francis II (January 19,1544-December 5,1560). Upon his death and the death of her mother, Mary returned to Scotland. There she married her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545-1567) and gave birth to her only child, the future James VI and I (1566-1625). After Darnley’s murder, she married James Hepburn, earl of Bothwell (1536-1578), although this was later nullified. Harried out of Scotland, she crossed into England on May 16, 1568, seeking the protection of her cousin, Elizabeth Tudor. Instead, she spent the rest of her life as Elizabeth’s prisoner and was eventually executed for conspiring to seize the throne. Biographies: There are several, but Antonia Fraser’s Mary, Queen of Scots is both engrossing and authoritative. Portraits: Many exist, dating from her girlhood in France through her captivity in England.

MARGARET MARZEN
see MARGARET ELLERBEK

BRIDGET MASKEW
see BRIDGET BICKERDIKE

ELIZABETH MASON

see ELIZABETH ISLEY

MARY OR MARIA MATHEW
see MARY OR MARIA WHITE

MARY MATHEWS (1517-1602)
Mary Mathews was the daughter of Thomas Mathews of Colchester, Essex. She married three times, ending up as an extremely wealthy woman. Mary Mathews' first husband was Thomas Langton of London (d.1551), a skinner. On February 7, 1551/2 she married Sir Andrew Judde (c.1490-September 7, 1558), who had been Lord Mayor of London the previous year. After his death, she married James Altham (d.1583), another wealthy merchant, a former sheriff of London who was sheriff of Essex in 1570-1 and purchased Mark Hall in Latton (now Harlow), Essex in 1562. Queen Elizabeth visited Mark Hall in 1571, 1576, and 1578. Mary may have had as many as nine children from her three marriages (some genealogies say four marriages), two sons and seven daughters, but since she referred to several of her grandchildren as her sons and daughters in her will, there is some confusion. She had at least two daughters by Langton, Mary (d.1575) and Jane (d.1609) and one, Martha, by Judde. Sir Andrew Judde left his widow Ashford Manor and Esture, Kent (worth £73/year), Barden in Hertford, worth £40/year, and land in Surrey worth £28/year. At her death, Lady Judde left some £2000 to be distributed in cash and a considerable number of household furnishings. She was buried with her third husband. Portraits: effigy on Judde tomb in St. Helen's Bishopsgate; effigy on Altham tomb in St. Mary-at-Latton Church, where she was buried.

FRANCES MATTHEW

see FRANCES BARLOW

ALICE MAY
see ALICE SPRING

ELIZABETH MAY (c.1565-June 1643)
Elizabeth May was the daughter of Richard May of Mayfield, Sussex (c.1530-December 30, 1588), a merchant tailor, and Mary Hillersdon (d. December 30, 1618). She married Sir Baptist Hicks (1551-October 18, 1629) on September 6, 1584 at All Hallows, Bread Street, London. He was a wealthy mercer and moneylender. Their children were Juliana (July 1586-November 26, 1680), Mary, Elizabeth, and three sons who died young. After 1608, they acquired Campden House in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, from which he later took his title, viscount Campden. He was also baron Hicks of Ilminster. Campden left an estate valued at well over £100,000. Elizabeth wrote her will on February 14, 1642/3. She died before June 26, 1643. Portrait: effigy on the tomb Elizabeth erected to her husband and herself in the Church of St. James, Chipping Campden.

JANE MAY
see JANE SANDES

MARY MAY
see MARY HILLERSDEN

FRANCES MAYNARD
see FRANCES CAVENDISH

JANE MEARS

see JANE BUSSY

FRANCES MEAUTAS, MEAUTYS or MEWTAS (d. 1627)
Frances Meautas was the daughter of Hercules Meautas of West Ham, Essex (c.1548-1587), and Philippa Cooke. She was one of the last of the maids of honor of Queen Elizabeth's reign. She married first Edward Shute (some sources say Robert Shute of Hockington, Cambridgeshire) and as a widow became the mistress of Robert Radcliffe, 5th earl of Sussex (June 12, 1569-September 22, 1629) and gave birth to his illegitimate daughter, Jane, in 1609. According to Charlotte Merton's The Women who served Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, Frances offered one Mathias Evans £50/annum if he would use witchcraft, backed up by poison, to dispose of the countess of Sussex and two others. She threatened to shoot or stab Sussex if he attempted to reconcile with his wife, revealing that she carried a stiletto for this purpose. The plot was foiled when the countess brought charges of sorcery against Frances, but Frances does not appear to have been arrested. It was the last wish of Sussex's estranged wife, Bridget Morrison, that he not marry his "concubine," but Frances and Sussex wed the day after she died in December 1623.

JANE MEAUTAS, MEAUTYS or MEWTAS (1581-May 8,1659)
Jane Meautas was the daughter of Hercules Meautas of West Ham, Essex (c.1548-1587), and Philippa Cooke. She was a lady of the bedchamber to Anne of Denmark. To celebrate her marriage to Sir William Cornwallis (d.1611) in 1608, Queen Anne gave Jane a jewel of gold with diamonds valued at £60. Jane and Sir William had a son, Frederick (1610-1661). Jane was left a wealthy widow with complete control of her property and her son's upbringing. In the spring of 1614 she married Nathaniel Bacon (1585-1627), youngest son of Sir Nicholas Bacon of Redgrave, Suffolk, but not before a lengthy correspondence established her right to continue to manage her own affairs and retain control of an independent income. In addition, Nicholas was granted the Bacon family estate at Culford, Suffolk. Jane's claim to fame today comes from the publication in 1842 of her private correspondence for the years 1613-1644. A more recent edition of the letters was published in 2003, edited by Joanna Moody. Jane and her second husband had three children, Anne (b.1615), Nicholas (b.1617), and Jane (February 1624-1627). Later in life, Jane also became guardian for her nephew (son of her brother Thomas) and her son Frederick's children. Biography: Oxford DNB entry under "Bacon, Jane." Portrait: full length portrait, artist unknown. NOTE: Oxford DNB entry (written by Joanna Moody) suggests that this might instead be Jane's mother-in-law, Anne Thornage, Lady Bacon.

CATHERINE de’ MEDICI (April 13,1519-January 5,1589)

Catherine de’ Medici was queen, then queen mother of France. She was the daughter of Lorenzo, duke of Urbino (d.May 4,1533) and Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, countess of Boulogne (1516-April 28,1533). After the death of her husband, Henri II (1519-1559) and that of her oldest son, Francis II (January 19,1544-December 5,1560), she served as regent for the next two kings, Charles IX (June 27,1550-May 30,1574) and Henri III (September 19,1551-August 2,1589). She hoped to convince Queen Elizabeth to become her daughter-in-law, and negotiations progressed as far as a visit to England by François, duc d'Anjou and d’Alençon (March 18,1555-June 19,1584) in 1579. Catherine herself never met Elizabeth Tudor. Her other children were Elizabeth, queen of Spain (April 2,1545-October 3,1568), Claude, duchess of Lorraine (November 12,1541-February 21,1575), Louis, duc d'Orleans (February 3, 1549-October 24, 1549), Marguerite, queen of Navarre and France (May 14,1553-March 17,1615), and twins, Victoria and Joan, born June 24, 1556, who died young. Biographies: Leonie Frieda's Catherine de’ Medici: Renaissance Queen of France, R. J. Knecht's Catherine de’ Medici, and Irene Mahoney's Madame Catherine. Portraits: numerous.

MARGARET MEDLEY

see MARGARET WOTTON

MARY MEDLEY
see MARY DANNETT

AGNES MELLER or MELLERS (d.1513+) (maiden name unknown)
Agnes married Richard Meller (d.1509), a bellfounder who was mayor of Nottingham in 1499-1500 and 1505-1506. Their house was in Broad Street, while the foundry was located in Queen Street. They had at least three children, Richard, Thomas, and Elizabeth. At some point after his death but before 1512, Agnes became a vowess. In 1513, following instructions in his will, she founded the Free School of Nottingham.

DOROTHY MELTON (d. September 21, 1557)
Dorothy Melton was the daughter and heiress of Sir John Melton of Aston (c.1470-February 26, 1545) and Catherine Hastings (c.1479-December 21, 1557). She married Sir George Darcy (1487-August 23, 1558), and their children were Mary, Thomas, Elizabeth (1537-December 26, 1577), John (1540-October 1602), Agnes (d.c.1573), William, George, Edith (d. October 1585), and Dorothy. In early 1537, just after the Pilgrimage of Grace, she wrote to her husband, begging him to come home to her and their children because of the danger of further rebellion they faced. He was created Baron Darcy of Aston in 1548.

ELIZABETH MELVILLE (d.c.1640)
Elizabeth Melville was the daughter of Sir James Melville of Hallhill (1535/6-November 13,1617) and Christina Boswell. Her father was the author of memoirs. Elizabeth wrote poetry and was also a deeply religious woman who supported exiled and excommunicated Presbyterian ministers. She married John Colville of Culros, by whom she had three sons, Samuel, James, and Alexander (1620-1676). In his dedication to her in 1599 of his Hymnes, or, Sacred Songs, protestant minister Alexander Hume makes reference to Elizabeth’s “copious” compositions. In 1603, her “Ane Godlie Dreame compylit in Scottish Meter bi M.M., Gentilwoman in Culros at the request of her freindis” was printed in Edinburgh. It was originally in Scots dialect but an English edition followed and the piece soon became a popular Calvinist tract. There were four editions by 1606 and it continued to be printed as late as 1644. An excerpt reads: "I looked up unto that Castle fair,/Glist'ring like gold and shining silver bright:/The stately towers did mount above the air;/They blinded me they cast so great a light./My heart was glad to see that joyful sight./My voyage then I thought was not in vain;/I him besought to guide me there aright,/With many vows never to tire again." A number of her letters are also extant. Biography: Oxford DNB entry under “Melville, Elizabeth.”

ELIZABETH MEREDITH
see ELIZABETH FARTHING

AMY MERVYN
see AMY CLARKE

ELIZABETH MERVYN
see ELIZABETH MOMPESSON

LUCY MERVYN (c.1565-1609/10)
Lucy Mervyn was the daughter of Sir James Mervyn (Marvyn/Marvin) of Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire (1529-May 1, 1611) and Amy Clarke (d.1575+). She married George Touchet, lord Audley of Heleigh (1551-February 20, 1617), who was created earl of Castlehaven in 1617. Their children were Mervyn, 2nd earl (c.1592-1631), Anne, Elizabeth, Mary (d.1611), Christian, Eleanor (d.1652), and Sir Ferdinand. Some of her correspondence is extant, including a letter to her half sister (see ELIZABETH HORNE).

ELIZABETH METCALFE
see ELIZABETH CLIFFORD

ALICE METHWOLD
see ALICE HUTCHEN

FRANCES MEWTAS (d.1600+)
Frances Mewtas was the daughter of Sir Peter Mewtas (d.1562) and Jane or Joan Ashley (c.1517-c.1551?), both of whom served at the court of Henry VIII. She was at court, probably as a maid of honor, from 1558-1565, as her sister Cecily may also have been. She was courted by Edward Seymour, earl of Hertford, before he made a secret marriage to Lady Catherine Grey in 1561. On February 10, 1566, she married Henry Howard, 2nd viscount Howard of Bindon (1542-January 16, 1591), by whom she had a daughter, Douglas (January 29, 1571/2-1590). Her second husband was Edmund Stansfield of Stansfield. They were married before June 2, 1595.

JANE or JOAN MEWTAS

see JANE or JOAN ASHLEY

MARGARET MEYNELL

see MARGARET BABTHORPE

ALICE MEYSEY
see ALICE BROCK

MARGERY MIDDLECOTT (d. February 1588)
Margery or Margaret Middlecott was probably the daughter of Richard Middlecott of Bishopstow, Wiltshire (d. 1569), a wealthy clothier, and Margaret Stokes (d.1584). She married twice, first to Thomas Burges (Bruges; Bridges; Brydges) of Leigh upon Mendip, Somerset (d.1543), who left money in his will to his weavers. They had three children, Thomas (d.1622), James, and Elinor. Margery then married Phillip Cottington (d.1562), another clothier, and lived with him in the same house she’d shared with Burges. With Cottington, she had five children, Phillip (d.1615), Edward, James, Silvestre (d.1593+), and John (d.1597). In 1573, Margery deeded the manor of Godmanston to her son Phillip Cottington and bought the parsonage of Shepton Montacute for her daughter Silvestre, the wife of Robert Dackombe (d. May 12, 1621). According to a member of the Bruges family, who kindly provided me with most of this information, Margery, who outlived both of her husbands, was a shrewd businesswoman. She was buried in Leigh upon Mendip churchyard.

ALICE MIDDLETON

see ALICE HARPUR

ALICE MIDDLETON (c.1501-1563)
Alice Middleton was the daughter of John Middleton of Hitchin, Hertfordshire (1471-October 1509), a London mercer, and Alice Harpur (c.1474-1536). Her mother remarried in 1511, taking as her second husband Sir Thomas More and bringing Alice into the circle of More’s highly educated daughters. She was treated as his daughter "in other things and learning both." In 1517, Alice married Thomas Erlington or Elrington of Willesden, Middlesex (1490-January 1523), a marriage arranged by More. They had three children, Thomas (c.1520-1566), Simon, and John. In 1524, Alice remarried, taking as her second husband (his second of three wives) Sir Giles Alington of Horseheath, Cambridgeshire (June 1499-August 22, 1586), by whom she is said by some sources to have had ten children (four sons and six daughters) and by others only five. They included Elizabeth, Joan, and Sir Richard. Correspondence from 1534 between Alice Alington and Margaret More Roper is extant. Alice was buried with her second husband in Horseheath Church.

HESTER MIDDLETON (d. January 26, 1614/15)
Hester Middleton or Myddelton was the daughter of Sir Thomas Myddelton (1550-August 12, 1631), a wealthy merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1613 but had roots in Denbighshire, and his second wife, Jane (or Elizabeth) Danvers (d.1598+), although Hester seems to have been named after Myddelton's first wife, Hester Saltonstall, who was buried on July 21, 1586 in St. Dunstan's in the East, London. The family lived, after 1595, in a house called The Bear in Tower Street. It was not until after Hester married Sir Henry Salusbury/Salisbury (d. August 2, 1632) that her father established himself at Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. Hester had at least one child, Sir Thomas Salusbury (d.1643). Portrait: effigy in St. Mary's Church, Stansted Mountfitchet, showing her in hunting clothes.

MARGARET MIDDLETON
see MARGARET PRATT

MARGARET MIDDLETON (1552/3-x. March 25,1586)

Margaret Middleton was the daughter of Thomas Middleton (d.1567) and Jane Turner (c.1515-1585). She married John Clitherow on July 1, 1571 and had by him four children, Henry (b.1572), Anne (1574-August 3, 1622), a daughter b.c.1576, and a son b.c.1581. In 1574, Margaret converted to Catholicism. From 1576, her husband paid regular fines for her recusancy. She was imprisoned in York Castle from August 1577-February 1578, again from October 1580-April 1581, and a third time from March 1583-winter 1585. While in prison, she learned to read. On March 10, 1586, she was arrested again, this time for harboring a priest, which had been made a treasonous offense in 1581. She was arraigned on March 14 and condemned to be pressed to death. The sentence ws carried out in the toll-booth on Ouse Bridge. Although some of her contemporaries suggested that she was insane, Margaret Clitherow became a martyr and a role model for other recusants. She was canonized in 1970. Biography: K. Longley’s Saint Margaret Clitherow (1986); Oxford DNB entry under “Clitherow [née Middleton], Margaret.” Portraits: engravings showing her martyrdom.

BLANCHE MILBORNE (d.1557)

Blanche Milborne was the daughter of Simon Milborne of Tillington and Jane Baskerville. She was bilingual, born in England but living in a Welsh environment. She was married first in 1494 to James Whitney of Whitney and Pen-cwm (c.1466-June 30,1500). Her dowry was the manor of Ilcomb in Gloucestershire. When she was widowed, she was left with three young children—Robert (c.1495-1540/1), Elizabeth, and James. Two others, Watkin or Walter and Anne, had died young. She remarried soon after, taking as her second husband William Herbert of Troy Parva (d. April 1524). They had three sons, including Charles (c.1501-1557) and Thomas (d. October 8, 1588), and in August 1502 entertained King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York at Troy House near Monmouth. They were frequent guests of the duke of Buckingham at Thornbury. In 1516, William Herbert was knighted. In the late 1520s and early 1530s, Blanche was probably part of the Countess of Worcester’s household and may have acted as governess to the earl’s children. She may have been put in charge of Princess Mary’s household as early as 1531, when Mary was separated from her mother, Catherine of Aragon. Sometimes referred to as Lady Herbert and other times as Lady Troy, Blanche was the one charged with giving their earliest lessons to both Princess Elizabeth and Prince Edward. In each household in turn she became Lady Mistress when Lady Bryan relinquished that post. She carried Elizabeth’s train at the christening of Prince Edward in 1537. She was still in the Lady Elizabeth’s household as late as 1545 but had left by the time King Henry died in 1547. Lady Troy retired to Troy House, living there into her late seventies. Biography: The information above is condensed from the account in the biography of Blanche Milborne’s niece and goddaughter, Blanche Parry, Ruth Elizabeth Richardson’s Mistress Blanche: Queen Elizabeth’s Confidante. Other sources tend not to mention Blanche Milborne in connection with either Mary or Elizabeth.

JOAN MILBORNE
see JOAN HILL

FRANCES MILDMAY
see FRANCES RADCLIFFE

GRACE MILDMAY

see GRACE SHERRINGTON

BRIDGET MILL (d.1546+)
Bridget Mill was the daughter of John Mill or Mills (c.1475-May 3, 1551), town clerk of Southampton, and his wife Alice. Her first husband was John Huttoft (d.1542/3) of Southampton. They wed in 1539 and had three daughters. When Huttoft's brother-in-law, Antonio Guidotti left the country owing enormous debts, the entire family was faced with years of financial difficulties. Because of this, Bridget did not prove her husband's will until 1561. Meanwhile, in 1543, she married, as his second wife, Nicholas Thorne (d. August 19, 1546), benefactor of the Bristol grammar school, by whom she had two children, Bridget and John. Her third husband was James Paget. See also URSULA HUTTOFT. Portrait: memorial brass with her second husband and his first wife, now in Bristol Grammar School.

ALICE MIRFYN
see ALICE SQUIRE

MARY MIRFYN (d.1542)

Mary Mirfyn was the daughter of Sir Thomas Mirfyn (d.1523), Lord Mayor of London in 1518, and (probably) his first wife, Alice Marshall, since she was already married (or at least betrothed to) Sir Andrew Judde (c.1490-September 4, 1558), at the time of her father's death. Some genealogies, however, say that her mother was his second wife, Elizabeth Don or Donne, which would place her birth date at 1519 at the earliest, and give her date of marriage as 1537. She was the mother of John, Richard, Andrew, Thomas, Elizabeth and Alice (c.1533-1592/3) Judde. There is a great deal of confusion about Sir Andrew's wives. Wife number three was also named Mary and some accounts say she was Mary Mirfyn. See MARY MATHEWS. An alternate date of death for Mary Mirfyn is November 14, 1550, but this is more likely the date of death for Judde's second wife, Agnes.

MARGARET or ELLEN MITCHELL (d.1545+)
Margaret (called Ellen or Helen by the Oxford DNB) Mitchell was the daughter of William Mitchell and Margaret Cromwell (genealogies) or of John Mitchell of Much Hadham, Hertfordshire (DNB). She married first one Ralph or Matthew (DNB) Barré, a London tradesman who abandoned her and their two children. Some accounts say that she worked as a laundress in the household of Thomas Cromwell, later earl of Essex, but as he may have been her cousin (Margaret Cromwell was his aunt), she may simply have been a dependent. In any case, it was there that she met Sir Ralph Sadler/Sadlier/Sadleir of Standon, Hertfordshire (1507-March 30, 1587). Since Barré had gone abroad and was presumed dead, she married Sadler around 1533 and they had seven children—Thomas (1534-January 5, 1606), Edward (1537-April 4, 1584), Henry (1539-March 17, 1618), Anne (d.1576), Mary, Dorothy (d.1578+), and Jane (d.c.1587) When her first husband turned up, inconveniently alive, it required a private act of Parliament in 1546 to legitimize her children by Sadler.

EDITH MOHUN (1566-1628)

Edith Mohun was the daughter of William Mohun (d.1588) and Elizabeth Horsey and married Sir Ralph Horsey (1550-1612). Peter Coles (or Colse) dedicated his Penelope’s Complaint to Lady Horsey in 1596, also praising Sir Ralph and their daughter, Grace, but there was more than the hope of a reward behind the gesture. Although facts are scarce after all this time, the rumor persists that there was a scandal involving Rafe Horsey and Sir Walter Raleigh, and that the entire Horsey family was offended by an earlier poem by Henry Willoughby, another Oxford scholar. Willobie his Avisa (1594) may have used Sir Ralph, who was Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, as the model for the “nobleman” who tries and fails to win Avisa, the virtuous innkeeper’s wife. The Horseys also had a son, George (1577-1640).

MARY MOLYNEUX
see MARY CARYLL

ELIZABETH MOLYNS
see ELIZABETH SOUTHWELL

CATHERINE MOMPESSON
see CATHERINE PAKINGTON

ELIZABETH MOMPESSON (d. September 25, 1581)
Elizabeth Mompesson was one of the four daughters of John Mompesson of Bathampton, Wiltshire (d. May 3, 1511) and Alice Lye or Leighe (d. between 1513 and 1516). Her first husband was Sir Richard Perkins or Parkyns of Ufton Robert Manor, Berkshire (1500-1560). She was responsible for saving his life on June 10, 1534, when a hot-tempered neighbor, Sir Humphrey Forster of Aldermaston House, burst into Ufton Robert Manor and assaulted him. Forster had already attacked Pam Hall, assaulted Francis Perkins, brother of Richard, and taken him prisoner. Forster had drawn his sword, threatening Richard, when Elizabeth intervened and somehow persuaded him to leave. He took Francis with him, however, and imprisoned him overnight at Aldermaston. Richard and Francis's wife brought suit against Forster but the results are not known. More details can be found at Royal Berkshire History. The court transcripts indicate that Elizabeth and Richard had young children in 1534, but they had died before January 26, 1558/9, when Richard made his will. After her first husband died, Elizabeth was responsible for turning Ufton Robert into Ufton Court. Richard also left her custody of two of his late brother William's children, Francis and Dorothy. Elizabeth's second husband was her second cousin, Sir John Mervyn of Fountayne or Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire (d. June 19, 1566). She was his second wife. She also had children by Sir John, but none of them lived either. Sir John left a will, said to have been written on the day he died. His oldest son, James, challenged its validity, claiming it had really been written by Elizabeth and the priest, William Gyll. He brought suit against them for forgery. Elizabeth's witnesses were "servingmen, handmaidds, ladds, and girles" but once again the resolution of the case is missing. At the time Sir John died, there was a "wooing" in progress between his daughter, Margaret Mervyn and Francis Perkins, Lady Mervyn's nephew and ward. They later married and in her will (dated July 24, 1581 and proved September 27, 1581), Elizabeth Mervyn made them her heirs. She also left instructions, contrary to those in Sir John's will, that she be buried beside her first husband at Ufton. In addition, she left what is known as the Ufton Dole, which is still distributed today. This is said to have been given in gratitude for finding her way back home after becoming lost in the woods.

MARY MOMPESSON
see MARY HOWARD

DOROTHY MONK or MONCK (1564-1633+)

Dorothy Monk or Monck was the daughter of Sir Thomas Monk of Potheridge, Devon. Before 1582, she married John Killigrew of Arwennack (c.1554-August 12, 1605), who quickly began to run through her fortune. He was a somewhat notorious character, having dealings with pirates and involved in other nefarious activities. In 1582, Dorothy herself was accused of participating in a raid on a ship at anchor in Falmouth harbor, along with the two Lady Killigrews, Elizabeth Trewinard and Mary Wolverston (see those entries for details). Two of John Killigrew’s uncles managed to keep the three women out of prison. In 1587, Dorothy’s husband was charged with robbery, but once again his uncle, Sir Henry Killigrew, came to the rescue and made restitution for him. In 1595, John Killigrew was summoned to London to answer charges of piracy and debt and in 1598, at a time when he kept a London house in Canon Row and had another house in Falmouth, he was sent to Fleet Prison on charges of piracy and treason. On September 7, 1599, Dorothy visited Dr. Simon Forman the astrologer. In his notes he recorded that she was thirty-five and pregnant. Killigrew died in prison. He and Dorothy had nine sons and five daughters.

FRANCES MONK
see FRANCES PLANTAGENET

ELEANOR MONTAGU
see ELEANOR ROPER

LORA MONTGOMERY
see LORA BERKELEY

JANE MOORE
see JOANNA DYNGLEY

EDITH MORDAUNT
see EDITH LATIMER

JOAN MORDAUNT
see JOAN FERMOR

MARGARET MORDAUNT (c.1509-1576+)
Margaret Mordaunt was the daughter of John Mordaunt, 1st baron Mordaunt of Turvey (1490-August 18,1562) and Elizabeth de Vere (c.1491-before 1584). In about 1526, she married Edmund Fettiplace of Besselsleigh, Berkshire (c.1505-April 1, 1540). Their children were John (1526/7-December 25, 1580), Thomas (1540-February 15, 1616), George (1534-July 21, 1577), Edward or Edmund, William, Elizabeth, Jane , Anne (d. August 16, 1568), and Dorothy. Her second husband, married by 1542, was Thomas Denton of Hillesden, Buckinghamshire (d. October 3, 1558), a lawyer and MP, by whom she had Alexander (1542-76) and Alice. According to Denton's will, dated July 20, 1557, Margaret was to have Hillesden for life with Alexander to inherit it eventually, along with his father's library. His wardship was granted to his mother in November 1559. When Alexander died, Margaret erected a monument to him in Hillesden Church. Portrait: brass with her first husband in All Saints, Marcham and marble effigy with her second in All Saints, Hillesden.

ALICE MORE (d.1544/5)
Alice More was the daughter of Sir John More of Loseley and his wife Isabel. She married three times, first to William Huntingdon of Exeter, then to a man named Clarke, and third, as his fourth wife, to Sir John More (1451-1530), the father of Sir Thomas More. The other, better known Dame Alice More, Sir Thomas’s second wife, was ALICE HARPUR. This Dame Alice More was left the manor of Gobions in North Mimms, Hertfordshire but she was expelled from the property in 1534 when her stepson was arrested. She died at Northall, Hertfordshire.

ALICE MORE

see ALICE HARPUR

ANNE MORE (1584-August 15, 1617)
Anne More was the daughter Sir George More (November 8, 1553-October 16, 1632) and Anne Poynings (d.1590). She was in the household of her aunt, Lady Egerton, in 1600, when that lady died. Unsupervised, the girl fell in love and eloped with Egerton’s secretary, John Donne (1573-March 31, 1631) in December 1601. Keeping the marriage secret, she returned to her father’s house at Loseley until Donne’s letter of February 2, 1601 to his father-in-law made known the true state of affairs. Donne was briefly imprisoned in the Fleet and lost his position with Egerton. More allowed his daughter to join her husband after he was freed, but did not release her dowry. They were helped by Anne’s cousin, Francis Wolley (Lady Egerton’s son by an earlier marriage), living in his house at Pyrford. Later they moved to Mitcham, Surrey. In November 1611, Donne went abroad, leaving his wife and children behind. Anne went to stay with a younger sister on the Isle of Wight. On Donne’s return, the family lived in London where Anne died after giving birth to a stillborn child. They had twelve children in all, including Constance (b.1603), John (1604-1662/3), Francis (b.1607), Lucy (1608-1627), Bridget (b.1609), and Mary (1611-1614).

ANNE MORE
see ANNE CRESACRE

CATHERINE MORE
see CATHERINE PAKINGTON

CECILY MORE (1507-1540+)
Cecily More was the daughter of Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) and Jane Colte (1488-1511). She is best known for having been given an unusually fine education and for her presence in various More family portraits. Her father is the subject of numerous biographies, most of which say little about his daughters beyond praising their scholarship. Cecily married Giles Heron (x. August 4, 1540) who, like her father, was executed for treason, and they had three children: Thomas, John, and Alice. Some sources say Edmund and Jane instead of John and Alice. Portraits: drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1526/7, in which she is pregnant; family portraits by Holbein and Rowland Lockey.

ELIZABETH MORE (September 12, 1482-1538)
Elizabeth More was the daughter of Sir John More (c.1451-1530) and Agnes Graunger (d.1499) and the sister of Sir Thomas More. She married John Rastell (c.1475-1536) and was the mother of John (d.1536+), Joan (1504-1574), and William (1508-1565).

ELIZABETH MORE (1506-1564)
Elizabeth More was the daughter of Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) and Jane Colte (1488-1511). She is best known for having been given an unusually fine education and for her presence in various More family portraits. Her father is the subject of numerous biographies, most of which say little about his daughters beyond praising their scholarship. Elizabeth married William Dauncey (Dauntesey/Daunce/Dauncer) (c.1505-May 28, 1548) and had seven children: John (b.1525), Thomas, Bartholomew, William, Germain, Alice, and Elizabeth. They lived at Canons Park, Middlesex and in London, then (1543+) at Cassiobury, Hertfordshire. Portraits: drawing by Hans Holbein the Younger (inscribed “Lady Barkley”); family portraits by Holbein and Rowland Lockey.

ELIZABETH MORE (April 28, 1552-January 21, 1600)
Elizabeth More was the eldest daughter of Sir William More of Loseley, Surrey (1527-1600) and (probably) Margaret Daniell. She married three times. Her first husband was Richard Polstead of Albury or Aldbury, Surrey (d.1576). They were married in Blackfriars, London on November 3, 1567. Accounts of the wedding expenses can be found in an article by John Evans, "The Wedding of Richard Polsted and Elizabeth, Daughter of William More of Loseley, Surrey," in Archaeologia 36 (1855), pp. 35-53. They had no children. Early in her widowhood, she was courted by Tobie Mathew, later Archbishop of York, but she chose as her second husband Sir John Wolley of Pirford or Pyrford, Surrey (d. February or March 1595/6), Latin secretary to Queen Elizabeth, by whom she had a son, Sir Francis Wolley (1583-1611). In the 1590s she was a lady of the privy chamber. The queen nicknamed her "sweet apple." Several of the letters she wrote to her father from court are still extant. In 1597, she married Sir Thomas Egerton (1540-1617). At the time of her death, the earl of Essex was being held in York House, Egerton's residence as Lord Keeper, and was also thought to be dying. He recovered. Lady Egerton was buried with her second husband in St. Paul's Cathedral, London but there is a monument to her memory in the Loseley Chapel of St. Nicholas's Church, Guildford.

FRANCES MORE or MOORE
see FRANCES BROOKE

MARGARET MORE (1505-1544)
Margaret More was the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) and Jane Colte (1488-1511). She is best known for having been given an unusually fine education. Her scholarship was praised by contemporaries and successive generations alike. She is also known for having rescued her father's head when it was removed from the spikes at London Bridge. She is said to have kept it until her death and passed it on to one of her daughters. Her father is the subject of numerous biographies, most of which say little about his daughters beyond praising their scholarship. Margaret married William Roper (1498-1578) and had five children: Elizabeth (1523-1560), Mary (d. March 20,1572), Margaret (1526-1578), Thomas (1533-1598), and Anthony (1544-1597). Biography: E. E. Reynolds, Margaret Roper; John Guy, A Daughter's Love: Thomas More and His Dearest Meg (2009); Oxford DNB entry under "Roper [née More], Margaret." Portraits: miniature by Hans Holbein the Younger; the original 1527 Hans Holbein painting of the More family is lost, but a preliminary drawing still exists, as does a copy made by Rowland Lockey c.1592. Lockey also painted two versions of the descendants of Sir Thomas More, adding successive generations.

MARIA MORE
see MARIA or MARY SCROPE

ELEANOR MORETON
see ELEANOR ROPER

ANNE MORGAN (1529-January 19, 1606)

Anne Morgan was the daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan of Arkestone, Herfordshire and Elizabeth Whitney. On May 21, 1545 she married Henry Carey (March 4,1526-July 23, 1596), later created baron Hunsdon. As Lady Hunsdon, Anne was a lady of the privy chamber. She had twelve children, nine sons and three daughters, including George, 2nd baron Hunsdon (1547-September 9,1603), John, 3rd baron Hunsdon (d.1617), Catherine (d.February 24,1603), Philadelphia (c.1552-February 3,1627), Edmund, Robert (1560-1639), Margaret (1567-1605), and three sons who died young. In 1568 she left court for Berwick-upon-Tweed when Hunsdon was appointed governor there. According to Charlotte Merton's The Women who served Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, she had to pay domestic staff and even some staff officers out of her own pocket.When Lord Hunsdon died, he left the family in debt, thanks to the expense of serving the queen. Elizabeth Tudor paid Hunsdon’s funeral expenses (£800) and granted the widow an outright gift of £400, a pension of £200 per annum from the Exchequer, and the keepership of Somerset House for life. Lady Hunsdon used some of the money to erect a monument to her late husband in Westminster Abbey. Portrait: While another copy is elsewhere identified as Mary Hill, Mrs. MacWilliam, the portrait at Hatfield c. 1585-90 by a follower of George Gower is called Lady Hunsdon.

LUCY MORGAN (1560?-1610)

This entry is highly conjectural. A woman named Lucy or Luce Morgan was a gentlewoman of the court of Queen Elizabeth from 1579 to 1582, as evidenced by gifts to her from the queen’s wardrobe. She had married a man named Parker by Yuletide 1588/9, when she gave the queen a box of cherries as a New Year’s gift. Leslie Hotson in Mr. W.H., a rather fanciful attempt to solve some of the mysteries surrounding Shakespeare’s sonnets, argues that the gentlewoman Lucy Morgan is also “Lucy Negro, Abbess of Clerkenwell,” He further argues that Luce Morgan was the dark lady of Shakespeare’s poems. Shakespeare’s involvement with the dark lady is generally accepted to have taken place c. 1591-3 and her betrayal of him with, probably, the earl of Southampton, c. 1593. There is no record of Lucy Morgan or Lucy Parker for those years. A Luce Morgan had, however, set up a bawdy house in St. John Street, Clerkenwell by 1594. She entertained students from Gray’s Inn in 1595 with a choir of “black nuns.” She is mentioned in records of the Queen’s Bench in 1596, but seems to have avoided prosecution for several years. On January 15, 1600 she was committed to Bridewell for being a “notorious and lewd woman.” She was still there at the end of the year. In the seventeenth century the career of Black Luce was celebrated more than once in print and one satirical epitaph, “On Luce Morgan,” includes the biographical information that she became a Roman Catholic and that she died diseased. How reliable any of this information is would be anybody’s guess, but it makes a good story.

ALICE MORIN (d.1602)
Alice Morin was the wife of Swithin Wells (c.1536-December 10, 1591), who ran a secret school for Catholic boys in Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire from c.1576-1582. In about 1585, they moved to London, taking a house in Gray’s Inn Lane, Holborn. It was raided in November 1591. Alice and her husband and others who had gathered to hear Mass were tried in December and condemned. Swithin Wells was hanged opposite his house, but Alice received a last-minute reprieve. Instead of hanging, she was imprisoned in Newgate, where she remained until her death.

ELIZABETH MORISON (1545-1611)
Elizabeth Morison was the daughter of Sir Richard Morison (1510-March 12, 1556) and Bridget Hussey (c.1514-January 12, 1601). Her father was a diplomat and her parents were abroad from 1551-1553, when Elizabeth remained in England. They returned briefly at the start of Mary Tudor’s reign, collected their family, and returned to the Continent as exiles. Elizabeth married first William Norris (d. December 25, 1579), by whom she was the mother of Francis, 2nd baron Norris (July 6, 1579-January 29, 1622/3). She married her second husband, Henry Clinton, 2nd earl of Lincoln (1540-September 29, 1616), on October 20, 1586. Their children were Sir Henry (1587-1641), Elizabeth (1589-1636), and Robert. According to Joan Barbara Greenbaum Goldsmith's unpublished PhD dissertation, All the Queen's Women: the changing place and perception of aristocratic women in Elizabethan England, 1558-1620, Elizabeth and her second husband separated in the 1590s.

JANE SYBILLA MORISON (1551-July 1615)
Jane Sybilla Morison was the daughter of Sir Richard Morison (1510-March 12, 1556) and Bridget Hussey (c.1514-January 12, 1601). She was born in Augsburg while that city was under siege. She returned with her parents to England when Mary Tudor became queen, but then went into exile with them until Elizabeth Tudor took the throne. In c.1571, she married her stepbrother, Lord Edward Russell (1551-1572/3). Some accounts give them a daughter, Laetitia while others say they had no children. Her second husband, wed in 1574, was Arthur, 14th baron Grey de Wilton (1536-1593). Jane Sybilla was naturalized by Act of Parliament in 1576, apparently because she had been born abroad, although this doesn’t seem to have been a necessity. Many English children were born on the Continent during the Marian exile. Jane Sybilla’s children from her second marriage were Thomas (1575-July 9, 1614), Bridget (1577-July 28, 1648), and William (1579-1605). In the previous incarnation of this entry I stated that she was buried on June 26, 1580. I have no idea where that information came from, but it is not accurate. Not only did she live to see her children grow up, she was still alive when her son Thomas died as a prisoner in the Tower of London.

JANE MORLEY
see JANE THROCKMORTON

ANNE MORRIS
see ANNE PUTTENHAM

BRIDGET MORRISON (March 1575-December 1623)
Bridget Morrison was the daughter of Sir Charles Morrison of Cassiobury, Hertfordshire (1548-April 1599) and Dorothy Clarke (1550-May 1618). In 1592, Bridget married Robert Radcliffe (June 12,1569-September 22,1629) and as Lady Fitzwalter and later as countess of Sussex she received dedications from Robert Greene (1592), Thomas Kyd (1595), George Chapman (1598) and others. They had four children—Elizabeth (b. May 32, 1594), Henry (August 1,1596-1620), Thomas (July 15,1597-1619), and Honora (August 27, 1598-1613). Bridget was described by a contemporary as “of very goodly and comely personage and a rare wit” but her husband was not faithful to her. He kept a mistress, Mrs. Sylvester Morgan, Bridget’s former waiting gentlewoman, and set her up as a rival countess at a Mr. Daylies’ house. He even hired a Captain Whitlock to tell Bridget how much he was spending on his mistress’s clothing. In 1601, Bridget left her husband. She and her children were granted an allowance of £1700 a year and probably went back to Cassiobury to live with her mother. Later Sussex took up with another woman, Frances Meautas, widow of Edward Shute, by whom he had a daughter, Jane. Frances plotted to poison Bridget but failed (see FRANCES MEAUTAS). Bridget’s dying wish was that her husband not marry his concubine, but of course he did.

BRIDGET MORRISON or MORISON

see BRIDGET HUSSEY

ELIZABETH MORS (d.1514+)
Elizabeth Mors was the daughter of William Mors/Mores/Morris, sergeant of the hall to Henry VII. In 1483, she was a servant, probably a waiting gentlewoman, in the household of Sir Richard Delabeare (De La Bere/Delabere/Delaber) of Kinnersley, Herefordshire (c.1440-July 15, 1514). At that time he was married to his first wife, Anne Touchet, daughter of Lord Audley. When Henry Stafford, 2nd duke of Buckingham rebelled against Richard III, he sent his son and heir, Edward, to Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers, at Woebley, Herefordshire, where he was entrusted to Sir Richard Delabeare. Delabeare took the six-year-old boy to his own house at Kinnersley (also spelled Kynnardsley) and there placed him in the care of Elizabeth Mors. It is not clear what happened to the twenty or so retainers who accompanied the young Lord Stafford, but when the king offered a reward of £1000 for Edward, he was in great danger. He was twice smuggled out of Kinnersley when it was about to be searched. Sir Richard was arrested, as was young Edward’s mother, the duchess of Buckingham (Katherine Woodville). During a third search of Kinnersley, Elizabeth Mors took Edward into the park and sat there with him on her lap for four hours until it was safe to go back to the house. To protect Edward while they took him to another location, Elizabeth shaved his head and dressed him like a girl (shaved heads were in fashion then for women). He rode seated sideways on a pillion to be taken to the house of one of Elizabeth’s friends. The journey was made openly, during the day, and apparently kept him out of King Richard's hands. There is no further mention of him until he reappears, as 3rd duke of Buckingham, after Henry VII became king in 1485. Some twenty years after these events (c.1503), Elizabeth told the story so that it could be written down for the duke. By then, she had married Sir Richard and therefore was referred to in the account as Dame Elizabeth Delabeare. The date of Elizabeth's marriage is unknown, but she and Delabeare had ten sons and six daughters. According to the memorial brass in the cathedral church in Hereford, Delabeare had twenty-one children altogether, eleven sons and ten daughters. After his death, Elizabeth married Thomas Baskerville.

AVISE MORTELMAN (d. October 1554)
Avise or Avis Mortelman was the daughter of Henry Mortelman (d.1515+) and his wife Joan. Mortelman owned Ram's Head in Petty Wales, London at the time of his death and left it in equal parts to his widow, Joan, and his daughter, Avise. Joan, however, remarried, taking as her second husband Nicholas Jenyn (d.1532), the king's skinner, and Avise was unable to claim her inheritance until twenty-seven years after her mother's death. Avise also married twice. Her first husband was Nicholas Gibson (d.1540), a grocer who was also an alderman and sheriff of London. Gibson founded a free school at Radcliffe/Ratcliff (now Stepney), Middlesex in 1536, providing £50 for that purpose. In 1553, an almshouse was also established there. Meanwhile, in a will dated September 23, 1540, Gibson left his wife a house in Stepney. In 1541, Avise remarried. Her second husband was a member of Henry VIII's court, Sir Anthony Knyvett, a gentleman who reportedly had accumulated serious debts by 1536. One account suggests that he put aside his first wife, Matilda, widow of John Dennis, to marry the wealthy Avise. Whatever the truth of that story, Knyvett made his will in June 1548 and it was proved in July 1549. Also in 1549, the Cooper's Company became Lady Knyvett's tenants at Radcliffe. In 1552, she asked them to take over the school her first husband had founded. She was probably buried with him in the Stepney Parish Church of St. Dunstan. She appears to have had no children by either marriage.

MOTHER OF MAIDS
see MARGARET (or ANNE) FOLIOT

ELIZABETH MOTON (1438-1504+)
Elizabeth Moton was the daughter of Sir Reynald or Reginald Moton or Motton of Peckleton, Leicestershire (1409-March 31, 1445) and Margaret Brugge (1411-April 15, 1474). She married Ralph Pole or de la Pole of Radburne or Radbourne, Derbyshire (1435-May 31, 1492) and was the mother of Margaret, John (1460-1490), Thomas, Alban (d.1515+), and others. Upon her son John's death, she became the guardian of her grandson, German Pole (1482-1552). He married Anne Plumpton, daughter of Sir Robert, in 1499, which is why two letters from Elizabeth have been preserved in the Plumpton Correspondence. In 1502, German and his wife were living in Derbyshire, probably with his grandmother. He was apparently content to have her remain there after he was of age to inherit, but in a letter written on July 10, 1504, Elizabeth reveals that she has taken a house "within the Freres at Derby.” There she intends "to dispose myselfe to serve God dilygently, and kepe a narrow house and but few of meany . . . it is tyme for me to get me into a litle corner, and so wyll I doe."

ANN MOULSON
see ANN RADCLIFFE

MARY MOUNDEFORD
see MARY HILL

ALICE MOUNTAGUE, MONTAGU or MONTAGUE (d. 1581+) (maiden name unknown)
Mrs. Mountague was the queen’s silkwoman and also provided silks to Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester. She gave Queen Elizabeth her first pair of knitted silk stockings as a New Year’s gift in 1577. They were plain black but so delighted the queen that she would never wear cloth stockings again. Alice is first found in royal accounts as Alice Smythe, silkwoman, in 1558, providing “gold, sylver, sylke, and sylkework of diverse sortes” for the coronation. A marriage license was granted on June 10, 1562 to Alice Smithe, widow, of the City of London, and Roger Mountague and from Michaelmas 1562 onward Alice Mountague appears as royal silkwoman in the queen’s accounts. From Michaelmas 1581, Roger Mountague is listed as the queen’s silkman and Alice disappears. Roger continued in this post until the end of the reign in 1603. It seems most likely that he was Alice and Roger’s son.

MARIE MOUNTJOY (c.1567-October 1606) (maiden name unknown)
Marie Mountjoy was a Frenchwoman, although she might have been born in England of immigrant parents. At around age sixteen, she married Christopher Mountjoy (before1564-1620), a tiremaker (he made wigs and headdresses) in London. In 1582, they were living in the household of John Dewman, tailor, in St. Martin le Grand. They had one child, a daughter named Mary. By 1596, the family was living in Silver Street. On February 27 of that year, “Mrs. Monjoyes childe” was buried. From this wording Charles Nicholl (in The Lodger Shakespeare, His Life on Silver Street) concludes that Marie was having an affair and bore an illegitimate child and further suggests that the father was Henry Wood (August 18, 1566-1598+) a cloth trader and a married man. On September 10, 1597, Marie “lost out of her purse . . . a gold ring, a hoop ring & a French crown.” On November 22, she consulted the astrologer, Simon Forman, who had a reputation for finding lost items. On December 1, 1597, she consulted Forman again, this time in his capacity as a physician. She believed she was pregnant. He predicted that she would miscarry. She was there again on March 7, 1598. Henry Wood and his wife (separately) also consulted Forman. On one occasion, Mrs. Wood was apparently considering a partnership with Marie Mountjoy. Marie supported the marriage of her daughter, Mary, to her husband’s apprentice, Stephen Belott, in November 1604. She died less than two years later and was buried on October 30, 1606 at St. Olave’s.

MARY MOUNTJOY (d.1612+)
Mary Mountjoy was the daughter of Christopher Mountjoy (before 1564-1620) and his wife Marie (c.1567-1606). In November 1605, she married her father’s apprentice, Stephen Belott. They lived at first in a chamber in the house of George Wilkins in St. Giles, Cripplegate, then moved back in with Mary’s father, and in 1608 were again living in St. Giles, where their daughter Anne was baptized on October 23. Another daughter, Jane, was baptized on December 17, 1609.

ELIZABETH MOWBRAY
see ELIZABETH TALBOT

ELIZABETH MUNDEN (d.1555+)
Elizabeth Munden was the daughter of Thomas Munden of Watton at Stone, Hertfordshire. She appears to have married three times, first to Robert Burgoyne of Sutton Bedfordshire (c.1485-October 21, 1545), an auditor, by whom she had Robert (December 21,1540-May 2, 1613), Dorothy, Elizabeth, and George. When Burgoyne died, there was money due him that, as executor, Elizabeth had to collect. Some genealogies have her married to Robert Lytton (1513-March 1551) but before the end of the reign of Edward VI in 1553, she had married Edward Twyneho (Twinio/Twyne) (by 1518-1577), who was M.P. from Old Sarum in 1554. With him, she pressed for the payment of £40 owed by Sir Fulke Greville, which resulted in Greville being declared an outlaw. He surrendered himself in 1555 and was pardoned.

MARGARET MUNDY (d. January 1565 or 1566)
Margaret Mundy was the daughter of Sir John Mundy of St. Peter’s, Cheapside, London (d. 1537), a goldsmith who was Lord Mayor in 1522-3. Some accounts say her mother was his first wife, whose name is not known. Others list her as the child of his second wife, Julian Browne (d. September 1537). In 1526, Margaret married Nicholas Jennings/Jenyns/Jennyns of Preston, Lancashire and All Hallows, Barking, London (d.1532), by whom she had Bernard (d.1552), Juliana, and Anna. There may have been another daughter, Margaret, but her appearance in Jennings genealogies seems to be a case of attributing a daughter by Margaret Mundy's third husband to the wrong spouse. Margaret was the second wife of Nicholas Jennings. Her second husband was named Howard and was almost certainly Sir Edmund Howard (c.1478-1539), a younger son of the 2nd duke of Norfolk and half brother to both the 3rd duke and the countess of Wiltshire (Anne Boleyn's mother). Margaret was his third wife, married at some point between 1532 and 1535. One of her stepchildren was Catherine Howard, who was also, briefly, queen of England. Howard was Comptroller of Calais during most of their marriage. Lady Howard is mentioned three times in The Lisle Letters, although she is misidentified there as Howard's second wife (see DOROTHY TROYES). She was on her way to Calais on April 8, 1535. On January 5, 1537, she and Sir Edmund were in London, where he had been ill, but they expected to return to Calais shortly. And in an undated letter that the editor suggests is from 1535, Sir Edmund thanks Lady Lisle for the medicine she gave him, which "caused the stone to break" but "made me piss my bed this night, for the which my wife hath sore beaten me, and saying it is children's parts to bepiss their bed." According to The History of Parliament entry for Sir George Howard (d.1580), inaccurate accounts of his life have George married to Margaret Mundy by 1537. The author of the entry states that this is not compatible with the known facts of her life, but does not seem to be aware that Margaret's second husband was probably Sir George's father. By 1547, Margaret had taken a third husband, Henry Mannock or Mannox of London and (later) Haddenham, Cambridgeshire and Hemingfield Grey, Huntingdonshire (d.1564). Mannock's entry in The History of Parliament states that he is not the same Henry Mannox who was Catherine Howard’s first lover, but it also says that Catherine's lover was executed in 1541. Two other lovers were, but not Mannox. Whoever this Henry Mannock was, the marriage was not a successful one. In his will, made on March 18, 1564, he disinherited Margaret for "unnatural behavior" and their son for "naughty, light and lewd behavior." His heir was to be their daughter, Margaret Mannock, who would inherit when she reached her twentieth birthday or married.

AGNES MUSGRAVE
see AGNES WHARTON

ELIZABETH MUSGRAVE
see ELIZABETH CURWEN; ELIZABETH DENKARING

ELIZABETH MUSTON (1478-October 1543)
Elizabeth Muston was the daughter of William Muston of Cropwell, Nottinghamshire (d.1486). In about 1491, she married Sir Richard Whetehill, (c.1466-November 1536), mayor of Calais in 1533-4. His surname was also spelled Wheathill, Wheathell, Whethill, Whettyll, Whethil, Whetthyll, and Whettles. Their children included Elizabeth (1504-1542), Robert (c.1507-1563+), Nicholas (d. March 1546), Margaret (d.1572), Gilbert, Katherine, and Margery (1519-1552). In 1531, Elizabeth's oldest son, Robert, was promised the coveted post of a Calais Spear, but the appointment had to wait upon a vacant room. When he was still waiting in March of 1534, his mother went to England and persuaded the queen to ask the king for a particular room held by one John Highfield, who had been on his deathbed since the previous October. Unfortunately, Highfield recovered, restored to health by January 1535. In April 1536, Elizabeth was so distraught by the situation that, in the words of Lord Lisle, the Lord Deputy of Calais, she "came upon my poor wife, in Pilate’s voice railing upon me, many slanderous words and untrue, as shall be proved . . . which did not a little grieve me, seeing that I did her no wrong." The incident apparently took place in church. In the first week of November of that year, Elizabeth's husband died. He wrote his will on October 26, 1536, giving his wife control of all lands and rents set aside for the marriages of four daughters and two sons. The sons were to have five marks a year until they married and the girls were to receive 200 marks each upon their marriages. Robert's marriage, to Jane Grenville, had already been negotiated, and took place the next year. At the same time, Lady Whetehill was obliged to write at least two letters to Lord Cromwell to ask for his assistance. Robert had contested his father's will, in the process reducing Elizabeth and her other children to poverty. In the letter written from Calais on April 20, 1537, she states that she was married to Sir Richard for forty-six years and bore him fourteen children. The second letter, written on November 7, 1538, indicates some progress but reveals a new sticking point. Elizabeth is content to take a hundred marks a year and let Robert have £10 more per annum than his father's will provided, but now Robert wants a share of the house she has been living in since her husband died, "a little house in the country with a little farm . . . the which farm my husband hath given me by his will." Robert wants to move in, with his wife, and take over half the house. Elizabeth "will not agree, considering his unnatural handling of me that am his mother . . . he driveth me unto extreme trouble and poverty."

DOROTHY MYNNE
see DOROTHY CURZON

KATHERINE MYNNE
see KATHERINE HYDE

CECILY MYTTON
see CECILY DELVES

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