Mary Cheke

Mary Cheke, Lady Cheke (née Hill; c.1532 - 30 November 1616) was an English lady of the privy chamber to Elizabeth I, as well as a courtier poet,[1] and epigrammatist.[2]

Mary Cheke, Lady Cheke
Born
Mary Hill

c.1532
Died30 November 1616
Occupationcourtier, epigramatist
Spouse(s)Sir John Cheke (1547-1557; his death)
Henry Macwilliam (m. 1558)
Children3
Parent(s)Richard Hill

Biography

Born Mary Hill in Hampshire, c. 1532. Her father was Richard Hill (d. 1539), of Hartley Wintney; he had served as Sergeant of the Wine Cellar to Henry VIII. After her father's death, her mother remarried Sir John Mason.

On May 11, 1547,[3] she married Sir John Cheke of Mottistone Manor, an English classical scholar and statesman. They had at least three children, the sons, Henry, John, and Edward.[3] After Mary Tudor became Queen in 1554, Mary Cheke's husband left England. From Calais,[3] he requested of Sir John Harrington to look after his wife.[4] John Cheke died in 1557. Late in the next year, 1558,[1] Mary Cheke married Henry Macwilliam of Stambourne Hall, a royal pensioner,[5] but retained the surname Cheke.[2]

Cheke is remembered as an important attendant to Elizabeth I, and for a "witty poetic exchange" at her court. [2] In the late 1590s,[5] Harrington wrote an epigram with negative connotations regarding women in the Bible, and Cheke wrote back a lyrically-clever counter-epigram, "Erat quaedam mulier (a reply to John Harrington's poem, Erat quidem homo)".[4][5]

Cheke died 30 November 1616.[3]

Selected works

  • "Erat quaedam mulier (a reply to John Harrington's poem, Erat quidem homo)", late 1590s

References

Bibliography

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