Margaret Giggs by Hans Holbein the Younger

Margaret Clement or Clements (1508–1570), née Giggs, was one of the most educated women of the Tudor era and the foster daughter of

Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

Biography

Clement's maiden name was Giggs. She was born in 1508 and was the daughter of a gentleman of Norfolk.

was her legal guardian, bringing her up from a child with his own daughter who was also named Margaret. Algebra was probably her special study and More had an "algorisme stone" of hers with him in the Tower of London during his imprisonment, which he sent back to her the day before his execution in 1535. In devotion to her Catholic faith and to its adherents, she risked her life to aid the Carthusian Martyrs, monks starved to death in prison for refusal to renounce the Faith. She obtained also the shirt in which Thomas More suffered, and preserved it as a

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

Sir Thomas Elyot Sir Thomas Elyot (c. 149626 March 1546) was an English diplomat and scholar. He is best known as one of the first proponents of the use of the English language for literary purposes. Early life Thomas was the child of Sir Richard Elyot's firs ...

had conveyed to her and her husband the indignation felt by

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

's nephew, at More's resignation, but

William Roper William Roper ( – 4 January 1578) was an English lawyer and member of Parliament. The son of a Kentish gentleman, he married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas More. He wrote a highly regarded biography of his father-in-law. Life William Roper ...

, writing years later, had the emperor talking about More's execution; as

R. W. Chambers Raymond Wilson Chambers (12 November 1874 – 23 April 1942) was a British literary scholar, author, librarian and academic; throughout his career he was associated with University College London (UCL). Life Chambers was educated at Univer ...

points out, Elyot was not ambassador to the imperial court when More died.Raymond Wilson Chambers (1935), ''Thomas More'', London: Cape. She remained a Roman Catholic, and died in exile at Mechlin, Duchy of Brabant, in the Habsburg Netherlands on 6 July 1570. She had two children. One daughter, Winifred, married William Rastell, a judge and More's nephew. Another, also

Margaret Clement Margaret Clement or Clements (1508–1570), née Giggs, was one of the most educated women of the Tudor era and the foster daughter of Sir Thomas More. Biography Clement's maiden name was Giggs. She was born in 1508 and was the daughter of a ...

, led a convent in Leuven.

Education

Clement received a humanist education from More despite the gender restrictions and roles. She excelled in math and medicine, yet was also educated in liberal studies such as theology and philosophy. She also had an outstanding command of Greek, as noted by Spanish scholar Juan Luis Vives. While More provided extensive tutoring to Clement, he also enlisted the help of many other scholars, including John Clement and

Nicholas Kratzer Nicholas Kratzer (1487? – 1550), also known as Nicolaus Kratzer and Nicholas Crutcher, was a German mathematician, astronomer, and horologist. Much of Kratzer's professional life was spent in England, where he was appointed as astronomer to King ...

Biography

Education

See also

References

Further reading