Margaret à Barrow facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margaret à Barrow
|
|
|---|---|
Portrait of Margaret, Lady Elyot, around 1532–34 by Hans Holbein the Younger. This was a study for a painting that is now lost. It is kept at Royal Collection, Windsor Castle.
|
|
| Born | 1500 |
| Died | 26 August 1560 |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Parent(s) |
|
Margaret à Barrow (born in 1500, died on August 26, 1560) was an English lady famous for her great learning. You might also see her name written as Margaret Aborough or Lady Margaret Elyot.
Early Life and Education
Margaret was the daughter of Sir Thomas à Barrow. When she was a child, she was part of a small group of students who learned at the home of Thomas More. Thomas More was a very important lawyer, social philosopher, and statesman in England.
Her studies, alongside More's own daughter, Margaret, included many subjects. She learned about law, history, philosophy, and even theology (the study of religious beliefs). Margaret's connection to the More family continued even after she grew up. She often attended meetings at their home where smart people discussed new ideas about humanist theology.
Marriages and Valuables
Around the year 1520, Margaret Aborough married an author named Thomas Elyot. Both Margaret and Thomas Elyot had their portraits drawn by a famous artist, Hans Holbein the Younger. These drawings were done at Thomas More's home. While the actual oil paintings of these portraits are now lost, the original drawings are still kept by the Royal Collection Trust.
Margaret Elyot owned a very valuable old law book called the Nova statuta Angliae manuscript. It is not known how she got this book. Even though it was worth a lot, she did not sell it. Instead, after her husband Thomas Elyot died around 1545, she gave the book as a gift. She gave it to George Freville, who was a lawyer from Cambridgeshire.
Margaret married again in April 1551. Her second husband was Sir James Dyer. He was also a very smart lawyer and a member of the Middle Temple, which is a famous legal society. James Dyer later became the Speaker of the House of Commons, a very important position in the English government.
Later Life and Legacy
Margaret à Barrow passed away on August 26, 1560. She was buried in the churchyard of St Andrew Church in Great Staughton.
