Grace Harriet Warrack (29 March 1855 – 3 January 1932) was an editor and translator in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. She commissioned the stained glass windows in High Kirk of the Free Church of Scotland, the Mound, Edinburgh.

Biography

Grace Harriet Warrack was born in Edinburgh on 29 March 1855, the third daughter of John Warrack of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and Grace Stratton of

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, sco, Dunkell, from gd, Dùn Chailleann, "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to t ...

. In 1901 Warrack edited an edition of ''

Revelations of Divine Love ''Revelations of Divine Love'' is a medieval book of Christian mystical devotions. It was written between the 14th and 15th centuries by Julian of Norwich, about whom almost nothing is known. It is the earliest surviving example of a book in ...

'', by the medieval mystic Julian of Norwich, from the Sloane 2499

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

held in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. The edition was translated into modernised English and introduced early 20th century readers to Julian's writings. The title page was illustrated by the Irish-born artist

Phoebe Anna Traquair Phoebe Anna Traquair (; 24 May 1852 – 4 August 1936) was an Irish-born artist, who achieved international recognition for her role in the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland, as an illustrator, painter and embroiderer. Her works included lar ...

. Warrack went on to edit and translate collections of Italian folk music and

French poetry French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not have a significant st ...

. Warrack was awarded the

Palmes académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician *Sir Guy Palmes, English politician * Brian Palmes MP *Lieutenant General Francis Palmes Lieutenant-General Francis Palmes MP ( ...

by the French Minister of Public Instruction for her interest in French literature in Scotland. Warrack worked with the

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

artist

Douglas Strachan Douglas Strachan (26 May 1875, Aberdeen, Scotland – 20 November 1950) is considered the most significant Scottish designer of stained glass windows in the 20th century. He is best known for his windows at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherl ...

to design the windows at the High Kirk of the Free Church of Scotland, now the New College Library, University of Edinburgh. Warrack had been impressed by Strachan's work in Aberdeen and so commissioned work for him in Edinburgh. Her intention was to provide a series of windows in memory of her family, missionary leaders and heroes, and her literary idols. The project took Strachan 20 years to complete, with Warrack spending months considering the design of each window.

Memorial

Warrack died on 3 January 1932. Her sister, Frances Warrack, organised a memorial window in Martyrs’ Kirk, St. Andrews, now the Richardson Research Library,

University of St. Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. Designed and created by

Herbert Hendrie Herbert Hendrie (Manchester, 1887–1946) was an English stained glass artist. He is known for his strong simple designs with scintillating jewel-like effects. Among his best-known works are the fifteen windows for Kippen church and the tall st ...

, the window depicts a large angel blessing two smaller angels, bearing the text "Bless the Lord ye his angels".

Published works

*''Revelations of Divine Love'', 1901 *''Little Flowers of a Childhood: The Record of a Child'', 1906 *''Florilegio di canti toscani: Folk Songs of the Tuscan Hills'', 1914 *''From Isles of the West to Bethlehem'', 1921 *''Une Guirlande de poésies diverses'', 1923 *''Dal cor gentil d'Italia'', 1925

References

External links

Warrack's edition of ''Revelations of Divine Love''
from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warrack, Grace 1855 births 1932 deaths Writers from Edinburgh Scottish editors Scottish women editors 20th-century translators 20th-century Scottish women

Biography

Memorial

Published works

References

Further reading

External links