Magdalen Herbert born Magdalen Newport; Magdalen, Lady Danvers (1561 – buried 1 July 1627) was an English estate manager and patron. She was a patron to

John Donne John Donne ( ; 22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under royal patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's ...

and the mother of poet

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...

. She is seen as the head of an early English literary family.

Life

She was born in 1561, she was the daughter of Sir Richard Newport of

High Ercall High Ercall, also known in the past as Ercall Magna, is a village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. The civil parish is still called Ercall Magna, and had a total population of 1,679 at the 2001 ce ...

, Shropshire. Her maternal grandfather

Sir Thomas Bromley Sir Thomas Bromley (153011 April 1587) was a 16th-century lawyer, judge and politician who established himself in the mid-Tudor period and rose to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was successively Solicitor General and Lord Chan ...

was the executor of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. She married

Richard Herbert, Lord of Cherbury Richard Herbert (1557-buried 15 October 1596), Lord of Cherbury (or Chirbury) in Shropshire, and of Montgomery Castle, was an English Justice of the Peace and Parliamentarian. Richard was the eldest son of Edward Herbert (died 1593) through ...

at her family home in Eyton on Severn near

Wroxeter Wroxeter is a village in Shropshire, England, which forms part of the civil parish of Wroxeter and Uppington, beside the River Severn, south-east of Shrewsbury. ''Viroconium Cornoviorum'', the fourth largest city in Roman Britain, was sited ...

, Shropshire, in 1581. He was the eldest son of Edward Herbert who was a member of a collateral branch of the family of the

Earls of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

. Their eldest son,

Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury (or Chirbury) KB (3 March 1583 – 5 August 1648) was an English soldier, diplomat, historian, poet and religious philosopher of the Kingdom of England. Life Early life Edward Herbert was the ...

was born on 3 March 1583 at Eyton on Severn, Shropshire. Subsequent children were Elizabeth, Margaret, Richard, William, Charles, the poet

(born 3 April 1593),

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(born 1594), Frances, and

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

(born posthumously 1597). By 1593 they had moved to Black Hall, a large, low house in a valley overlooked by

Montgomery Castle Montgomery Castle ( cy, Castell Trefaldwyn) is a stone-built castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, Mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England. Its strategic importance in the Welsh March ...

. Magdalen is seen as the head of an early English literary family. Her husband died in 1596 and for the next thirteen years she was the estate manager. She had a tomb erected in Montgomery church, where her husband was buried, in 1600. The tomb has effigies of Richard and herself and it includes maquettes of eight of their children. Her husband's heraldic symbols and his armour are included but his wife's heraldry and her dress are also are on prominent display. The tomb also includes a cadaver to show that death happens and a painting of a naked woman and the effigy of Time are also included in the design. After her husband's death she had a close (possibly passionate) relationship with the poet

which lasted up to her death. Donne wrote a poem, "Ascension: To the Lady Magdalen Herbert", addressed to her. In about March 1609 she remarried to the much younger Sir

John Danvers Sir John Danvers (c. 1585–buried 28 April 1655) was an English courtier and politician who was one of the signatories of the death warrant of Charles I. Life Danvers was the third and youngest son of Sir John Danvers of Dauntsey, Wiltshire, ...

(c.1585-1655) of

Dauntsey Dauntsey is a small village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. It gives its name to the Dauntsey Vale in which it lies and takes its name from Saxon for Dantes- eig, or Dante's island. It is set on slightly higher ground in t ...

, Wiltshire, and

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

. They had no children in their marriage.
History of Parliament online article by Alan Davidson and Rosemary Sgroi. She managed her own death. Her funeral took place on 1 July 1627 and John Donne, by then ordained and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, made the funeral oration. Danvers, a politician who later became known as one of the signatories of the death warrant of King Charles I of England, Charles I, survived Magdalen and, after remarrying and having a family, died in 1655.
History of Parliament online article by Alan Davidson and Rosemary Sgroi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Magdalen 1561 births 1627 deaths English patrons of the arts