Lucy Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon (1613 – 14 November 1679), born Lucy Davies, was a seventeenth-century English poet.

Biography

She was the daughter of

Sir John Davies Sir John Davies (16 April 1569 (baptised)8 December 1626) was an English poet, lawyer, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1621. He became Attorney General for Ireland and formulated many of the legal ...

(1569–1626) of Englefield, Berkshire, a prominent courtier in the reigns of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

and

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and himself a poet; her mother was notorious as the "mad prophetess" Dame Eleanor Davies (1590–1652), sister of the executed Lord Castlehaven. At the young age of ten years, her father arranged a marriage for her with Ferdinando Hastings, son and heir of

Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon (24 April 1586 – 14 November 1643), was a prominent English nobleman and literary patron in England during the first half of the seventeenth century. Life He was born at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicester ...

(1586–1643). (The Earl was aristocratic but poor; Davies was wealthy and ambitious, and had earlier purchased one of the Earl's estates.) Now Lucy Hastings, she was tutored by

Bathsua Makin Bathsua Reginald Makin (; 1600 – c. 1675) was a teacher who contributed to the emerging criticism of woman's position in the domestic and public spheres in 17th-century England. Herself a highly educated woman, Makin was referred to as Englan ...

and became fluent in French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

; she translated the Latin poems of

Peter du Moulin Peter du Moulin (1601–1684) was a French-English Anglican clergyman, son of the Huguenot pastor Pierre du Moulin and brother of Lewis du Moulin. He was the anonymous author of ''Regii sanguinis clamor ad coelum adversus paricidas Anglicanos'', ...

. As Countess of Huntingdon, Lucy Hastings became involved in a bitter property dispute with her mother in the years 1627–33; Eleanor Davies denounced her daughter as a "

Jezebel Jezebel (;"Jezebel"
(US) and ) was the daughte ...

," though troubles due to her religious writings caused the older woman to be imprisoned and lose control of her property to her daughter for a decade. Though her husband, then the 6th Earl of Huntingdon, was outwardly neutral during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, other members of the family, including his brother Henry Hastings, were ardent Royalists. The Hastings family estate,

Ashby de la Zouch Castle Ashby de la Zouch Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. The castle was built by William, Lord Hastings, a favourite of Edward IV, after 1473, accompanied by the creation of a park. Const ...

, was taken by Parliamentary forces in March 1646; the surrender terms demanded that the Castle be demolished, and the family moved to their estate at Donington Park. Lucy Hastings bore her husband four sons, though three predeceased their father; when the family's heir (another Henry Hastings) died of smallpox in June 1649, his passing inspired a collection of elegies titled ''Lachrymae Musarum'' ("Tears of the Muses"), edited by

Richard Brome Richard Brome ; (c. 1590? – 24 September 1652) was an English dramatist of the Caroline era. Life Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's '' Bartholomew Fair'', in ...

and containing verses by

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...

, Robert Herrick, and others. When the sixth Earl died on 13 February 1656, he was succeeded by Theophilus Hastings, the couple's fourth and sole surviving son. Lucy Hastings' poems were not published in her lifetime, as was usually the case for women who wrote in this historical era. Her work has gained more critical attention in the general rediscovery of women writers of previous centuries in the contemporary era.

References

*Cope, Esther S. ''Handmaid of the Holy Spirit: Dame Eleanor Davies, Never Soe Mad a Ladie.'' Ann Arbor, MI, University of Michigan Press, 1992 *Davidson, Peter, and

Jane Stevenson Jane Barbara Stevenson (born 12 February 1959) is a British historian, literary scholar, and author. Since 2017, she is Senior Research Fellow at Campion Hall, Oxford. From 2007 to 2017, she was Regius Professor of Humanity at the University o ...

, eds. ''Early Modern Women Poets: An Anthology.'' Oxford, oxford University Press, 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Huntingdon, Lucy Hastings, Countess of 1613 births 1679 deaths 17th-century English nobility 17th-century English poets English women poets Lucy Hastings Latin–English translators People from Englefield, Berkshire 17th-century English women writers

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

17th-century English translators Women in the English Civil War