Elizabeth Grimston facts for kids
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Elizabeth Grimston (also spelled Grymeston or Grimeston) was an English poet who lived around the late 1500s. She was born in 1563 and passed away around 1603. She is known for writing a special guide for her son.
About Elizabeth's Life
Elizabeth was born in North Erpingham, a town in Norfolk, England. Her parents were Martin Bernye and Margaret Flint. Martin Bernye was a well-known lawyer who owned a lot of land in Gunton, Norfolk. This included Gunton Hall and St. Andrew's Church. Elizabeth was the fifth of her parents' six children.
Elizabeth married Christopher Grimston. Her life as a married woman was quite hard, partly because of her mother's actions. She often felt unwell and alone. Because of this, she decided to write a book. This book was a moral guide for her son, Bernye Grymeston. He was the only one of her nine children who survived. Elizabeth died in 1603, just before her book was published. The book was called Miscelanea : Meditations : Memoratives.
Her Marriage and Family Challenges
In 1584, when Elizabeth was about 21, she married Christopher Grymeston. He was the youngest son of Thomas Grimston from Yorkshire. Their marriage faced many difficulties.
Christopher was a student at Caius College in Cambridge. He started there in 1578 when he was 14. He earned his first degree in 1582–1583 and continued his studies. After getting his master's degree in 1586, he became a fellow (a senior member of the college) and was in charge of the college's money (bursar) in 1588.
Being a fellow at Caius College meant Christopher could not be openly married. Fellows were expected to live at the college. Because Christopher stayed a fellow for many years, his marriage to Elizabeth had to be kept secret for almost ten years. These challenges might have led Christopher to leave Caius College in 1592. He then joined Gray's Inn in London to train as a lawyer.
The secrecy of their marriage was not the only problem. In her book, Elizabeth wrote about suffering because of her mother's anger. She also worried about her husband's safety, as he faced threats of harm. Elizabeth wrote her book mainly to give advice to her son, in case she died before she could teach him how to live a good and religious life.
Elizabeth's mother, Margaret Flint, was angry because of a change in Martin Bernye's will. Normally, Elizabeth's older brother, Marmaduke, would inherit their father's many properties. However, Martin Bernye changed his will to make Elizabeth and Christopher the main people to inherit the Bernye lands. These lands included Gunton Hall and other properties in Gunton, Thorpe Market, Suffield, Antingham, Hanworth Abbey, and Bradfield. This made Elizabeth's mother very upset because she lost her right to inherit anything. However, in the end, Margaret Flint outlived her daughter, and all the property was placed in her name.
Elizabeth and Christopher's religious beliefs also caused problems with her mother. Both Elizabeth and her husband were known as recusants. This meant they chose to follow the Catholic faith instead of the official Church of England. In her book, Elizabeth used teachings based on Catholic ideas. Many of the poems and lessons that inspired her work came from Catholic traditions. Historians have also found that Elizabeth's relative, Robert Southwell, died in 1594 because of his Catholic beliefs. Elizabeth was likely in London at that time. She often quoted him in her book, showing that his Catholic beliefs inspired her writing. She also quoted Richard Rowlands (Verstegan), a Catholic poet who left England because of his faith. Elizabeth's clear Catholic leanings were a major part of her book for her son. This would have been a point of conflict with her mother, who followed the state religion. Christopher might also have been a practicing Catholic. Elizabeth's book mentions her fear for her husband's life, which might have also led to conflict with Caius College and his departure.
Her Published Work
Elizabeth Grymeston's only book, Miscellanea. Meditations. Memoratives, was published in 1604, after her death. It became very popular, with four editions printed in just fourteen years. The first edition had fourteen chapters, and later editions added six more essays.
Miscellanea was written as a guide for Elizabeth's only living son, Bernye. She wrote it to help him if she was not alive to raise him. Elizabeth used her feelings as a mother to speak directly and simply to her son and her readers. She used clear and strong pictures in her writing and was able to use and even change quotes from many sources for her own purposes.
The book has 14 chapters, most of which are short essays on religious topics. One chapter is called 'Morning Meditation,' and it includes prayers and lines from another poet's work. Another chapter has a song written by Bernye Grymeston about his mother's music. The book also includes poems similar to the seven psalms of forgiveness, written in different styles. The 'Memoratives' section contains many wise sayings that are well-chosen. The book's dedication, written to her son, gives good advice on how to live and how to choose a wife.
One special thing about Elizabeth's writing was how she used quotes and ideas from other writers. While many of her sources were well-known, she often did not say who she was quoting. She sometimes changed ideas to fit her own needs, making others' work her own. Many parts of her essays contain poetry. While some experts call her a poet, none of the poems were entirely her own. She combined many poems and changed lines, but she always kept the original meaning. A main source for Elizabeth's passages was a book called England's Parnassus.
Grimston's way of using and adapting others' work made her book more successful and convincing. It also showed how educated she was. Her knowledge of the Bible, as well as Latin, Italian, and Greek, is clear from the many quotes she used. She knew many works from her time. The similar feelings in different parts of her book, along with her knowledge of religion, show that Elizabeth wrote the entire book herself.
Her Death
Not much is known about Elizabeth Grymeston's death. There are no official records of when or how she died. However, she was not alive when her book was published in 1604. She likely died in 1602 or 1603. Experts believe that Christopher, her husband, might have been the editor of the first two editions of her book. The second edition has a family coat of arms, which suggests that a family member was closely involved in publishing it and gave their approval.
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