Cecily Heron facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cecily Heron
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Portrait study of Cecily Heron at 20-years-old, pregnant with her first child, drawn by Hans Holbein the Younger, c.1527
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Cecily More
1507 Bucklersbury, St Stephen Walbrook parish, London, England
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| Spouse(s) | Giles Heron |
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| Relatives | Margaret Roper (sister) Elizabeth Dauncey (sister) |
Cecily Heron (born Cecily More; 1507–?) was a daughter of Thomas More. She was part of a group of very smart and well-educated women. These women were seen as examples of "learned ladies" for a long time.
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Growing Up and Learning
Cecily More was the third child of Thomas More and his first wife, Jane Colte. Her older sisters were Margaret and Elizabeth. She also had a younger brother, John.
After his first wife passed away, Thomas More married Alice Middleton. Their family grew to include Alice's daughter. They also welcomed two young women Thomas More adopted: Margaret Giggs and Anne Cresacre.
A Special Education
Cecily and her siblings received a special education. This was based on the "humanist" way of thinking. It focused on classical studies like Latin and Greek. Their father, Thomas More, and tutors like William Gunnell taught them. Many smart people, including Nicholas Kratzer, visited their home.
Their house was a lively place for learning. It was known as a "model of humanistic interests." Even the famous scholar Erasmus was drawn to it. According to writer George Ballard, Cecily "was educated in almost all kinds of learning." She was also "a perfect mistress of the Latin tongue." This means she was very good at Latin.
Girls' Education in the 1500s
In the 1700s, poet Mary Scott wrote that the three More sisters were "women of great talents and learning." Thomas More believed his daughters should have the same classical education as his son. This was very unusual for the time.
He wrote that girls were "equally suited for those studies." He felt that learning helped their minds grow, just like seeds grow in good soil. Margaret More, Cecily's sister, became one of the most learned women in England during the 1500s. Even though Thomas More believed in educating girls, he still thought women should mostly stay at home.
Family Life
Cecily married Giles Heron in 1525. Giles had been cared for by her father when he was younger. They had two sons and one daughter.
Giles Heron owned land and was a Member of Parliament. This meant he was involved in government. However, politics during the time of the Tudors were very risky. Giles Heron faced serious political trouble and was executed in 1540. Their oldest son, Thomas, was later able to get back some of the family's land. Not much more is known about Cecily Heron's later life.
Remembering Cecily Heron
A family portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, called Sir Thomas More and Family (around 1527), was lost in a fire. However, Rowland Lockey painted copies of it, including one in 1592. Lockey's painting shows Thomas More's idea of a family that loved learning.
Holbein also drew individual studies for the larger portrait. One of these is a drawing of Cecily Heron. It was made when she was pregnant with her first child. This drawing was shown in an exhibition in London in 2020. It showed how her dress was loosened to fit her growing stomach, telling its own story.
Cecily Heron and her sisters are mentioned in several important books. These include George Ballard's Memoirs of several ladies of Great Britain (1752). They are also in Mary Hays's Female Biography, or Memoirs of Illustrious and Celebrated Women of All Ages and Countries (1803). Mary Scott praised the women of the More, Seymour, and Cooke families in her poem The Female Advocate (1775). She called them "a bright assemblage," meaning a brilliant group.
See also
- Collective 18th-century biographies of literary women
- List of women in Female Biography
