Elizabeth, Lady Wardlaw facts for kids
Elizabeth, Lady Wardlaw (born 1677, died 1727) was a Scottish writer. She is well-known for being thought of as the author of a famous old poem called Hardyknute.
About Elizabeth Wardlaw
Elizabeth was born on April 15, 1677. Her father was Sir Charles Halket, who was a baronet (a special title, like a knight). Her mother was Janet Murray. In 1696, Elizabeth married Sir Henry Wardlaw, who was also a baronet. They had three daughters and one son.
The Ballad of Hardyknute
Lady Wardlaw is most famous because of a long poem, or ballad, called Hardyknute. This poem was first published in 1719. At the time, people believed it was a very old poem that Elizabeth had found in a hidden room at Dunfermline. However, no one ever saw the original old paper that she supposedly found.
Later, in 1724, a poet named Allan Ramsay included Hardyknute in his book of Scottish poems called The Ever Green. In 1767, another book of old poems, called Reliques by Thomas Percy, said that Lady Wardlaw was the real author of Hardyknute.
Other Poems
Some people also believe that Lady Wardlaw wrote another famous ballad called Sir Patrick Spens. One person who supported this idea was Robert Chambers, a writer from the 1800s. A modern expert, Dr. Emily Lyle, thinks that Lady Wardlaw knew an older version of Sir Patrick Spens and used ideas from it when she wrote Hardyknute.
