Margaret Harington (died 1601) an English woman in 16th-century Spain.

Biography

Margaret Harington was third daughter of Sir James Harington and Lucy Sidney, the daughter of

Sir William Sidney Sir William Sidney (1482?–1554) was an English courtier under Henry VIII and Edward VI. Life He was eldest son of Nicholas Sidney, by Anne, sister of Sir William Brandon. In 1511 he accompanied Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy into Spa ...

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, within the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The village is situa ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. In July 1559 Margaret Harington left England with her cousin

Jane Dormer Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria (6 January 1538 – 13 January 1612) was an English lady-in-waiting to Mary I who, after the Queen's death, married Gómez Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba, 1st Duke of Feria and went to live in Spain, where she woul ...

wife of Gómez Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba, 1st Duke of Feria, travelling first to

Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about away f ...

in France, where

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

gave a jewel to Dormer, and then remained in the Feria household in Madrid. Feria's other attendants included; a sister of Sir Edward Stradling, a sister of Sir William Pickering, Mistress Paston who later married Sir Henry Newton, with

Susanna White Susanna White (born 1960) is a British television and film director. Early life White was born in England in 1960. She first became interested in films at 8 years old, when she visited the set of the BBC children's TV show Crackerjack, and aske ...

the wife of Thomas Tonge

Clarenceux King of Arms Clarenceux King of Arms, historically often spelled Clarencieux (both pronounced ), is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial kings of arms and his jurisdiction is that part of Englan ...

and a life-long servant of

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

. In 1588 she married don Benito de Cisneros, with a dowry from the Countess of Feria of 20,000 ducats. Gustav Ungerer suggests her presence in Madrid would have connected her brother Sir John Harington with Spanish culture, and how this may have informed the perceptions of Africans by the audience of ''

Titus Andronicus ''Titus Andronicus'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593, probably in collaboration with George Peele. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy and is often seen ...

'', performed at Burley-on-the Hill on 1 January 1596. When the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

envoy

Louis Verreycken Lodewijk Verreycken (in French language sources referred to as Louis Verreycken) (1552 - 23 October 1621), Lord of Impden, Sart, Ruart, Hamme was secretary of the Council of State of the Habsburg Netherlands and audiencier of the Privy Council of ...

from the Spanish Netherlands had an audience with Queen Elizabeth on 23 February 1600,

Rowland Whyte Rowland Whyte (died after 1626) was an Elizabethan official and businessman, whose letters provide important evidence about the latter stages of the life of Queen Elizabeth I and the transition to the rule of James I. The letters were first publish ...

noted that he was received in the presence chamber by "great ladies" of the court including Margaret's sisters, Mabel, Lady Noel, Sarah, Lady Hastings, and Theodosia, Lady Dudley. She had two children, Francisco and Maria, who died before her. She co-founded a monastery in

Zafra Zafra () is a town situated in the Province of Badajoz (Extremadura, Spain), and the capital of the comarca of Zafra - Río Bodión. It has a population of 16,677, according to the 2011 census. Zafra is the hometown of Fray Ruy Lopez, author ...

. She died in Madrid in 1601 and was buried in the church of Santa Marina at Zafra, where the Countess of Feria erected a monument.Edgar Estcourt & Joseph Stevenson, ''The life of Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria by Henry Clifford'' (London, 1887), pp. 110, 151, 209: Frederick Madden, ''Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary'' (London, 1831), p. 222: Antonio Ponz, ''Viage de España'', vol. 8 (Madrid, 1778), pp. 185-6.

References

External links

Lauren Working'Counter-Reformation English Women and the Spanish Baroque', TIDE Travel Transculturality, and Identity in England c. 1550 - 1700
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harington, Margaret People from Rutland 1601 deaths 16th-century English women

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...