Frances Knyvet or Knyvett (1583–1605) was an English courtier who performed in

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...

Career

She was a daughter of

Henry Knyvet Sir Henry Knyvet (1537–1598) of Charlton Park, Wiltshire, was an English Member of Parliament. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Knyvet, by his wife Anne, daughter and heiress of Sir Christopher Pickering of Killington, Cumbria, and widow of ...

(1537–1598) of Charlton Park, Wiltshire, and Elizabeth Stumpe (died 1585), the daughter of a wealthy clothier,

James Stumpe Sir James Stumpe (by 1519 – 29 April 1563), of Malmesbury and Bromham, Wiltshire, was an English clothier and Member of Parliament. He was the eldest son of wealthy clothier and MP, William Stumpe. He was knighted 1549 or later and succeeded ...

, of

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

Inigo Jones, design for Masque of Blackness 1605

Her first husband was

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

William Bevill (c. 1548 – 1600) of Killigarth near

Polperro Polperro ( kw, Porthpyra, meaning ''Pyra's cove'') is a large village, civil parish, and fishing harbour within the Polperro Heritage Coastline in south Cornwall, England. Its population is around 1,554. Polperro, through which runs the River ...

. While serving in Parliament in 1593 he was given leave to return home to attend his first wife's illness. She was Jane Arundell, a daughter of Thomas Arundell of Wardour. Bevill is said to have been gored to death by a bull on one of his farms. This story is probably derived from family heraldry featuring a carved bull at St Tallanus' Church, Talland. In 1602, she married Francis Manners, later the 6th

Earl of Rutland Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

. The family home was

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...

. He was made a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

in January 1605. She danced in masques at the court of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...

. Named as "Lady Bevill", she appeared in ''

The Masque of Blackness ''The Masque of Blackness'' was an early Jacobean era masque, first performed at the Stuart Court in the Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1605. It was written by Ben Jonson at the request of Anne of Denmark, the ...

'' as Notis on 6 January 1605. Her sister, Catherine, Countess of Suffolk, portrayed Kathare. This masque, celebrating the creation of Prince Charles as Duke of York, is noted for the use of blackface makeup. Her daughter,

Katherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, married the royal favourite, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1620. Frances, Lady Manners, died of smallpox in the summer of 1605. She was buried at St Mary the Virgin,

Bottesford, Leicestershire Bottesford is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. It lies in the Vale of Belvoir and forms part of the Borough of Melton, as its largest village, on the borders of Leicestershire with Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Loca ...

. Her husband became

in 1612.

Sources of confusion

Frances Knyvet is sometimes confused with another Frances, Lady Manners, and Countess of Rutland (born 1571). Frances Cary was the daughter of Edward Cary and Katherine Knyvett, and married George Manners, 7th Earl of Rutland in March 1605.

Lady Anne Clifford Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, '' suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became '' suo jure ...

wrote that this "Lady Manners" was a friend to her in London in 1616 and used to visit her and help dress her hair. Some portraits thought to depict Frances, Lady Manners, are now believed to depict

Cecily Tufton Manners, Countess of Rutland Cecily Manners, Countess of Rutland ( Tufton; died 1653) was an English aristocrat. Career She was a daughter of Sir John Tufton and Catherine Browne. She first married Sir Edward Hungerford. He died in 1607. In 1608, she married Francis Manner ...

.''Weiss Gallery: A Connoisseur's Eye'' (London, 2020)
pp. 32-34.

External links

Heraldic shield of Earl Francis and his first wife, Countess Frances Knyvet, Bottesford

The Tomb of John Bevill of Killigarth – Scandal, Angry Bulls & Daphne Du Maurier

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knyvet, Frances 17th-century English women 1583 births 1605 deaths Wives of knights