''The Monument of Matrones'' (1582) was the first published anthology of English women's writing.King, John N. (2005)
"Thomas Bentley’s Monument of Matrons: The Earliest Anthology of English Women’s Texts."
In ''Strong Voices, Weak History: Early Women Writers and Canons in England, France, and Italy.'' University of Michigan Press, , p. 216. A compilation of

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

s and meditations written largely by and for women published in London, its full title was ''The Monument of Matrones: Conteining Seven Severall Lamps of Virginitie, or Distinct Treatises; Whereof the First Five Concerne Praier and Meditation: the Other Two Last, Precepts and Examples''. The ''Monuments seven "Lampes" or books make up 1500

quarto Quarto (abbreviated Qto, 4to or 4º) is the format of a book or pamphlet produced from full sheets printed with eight pages of text, four to a side, then folded twice to produce four leaves. The leaves are then trimmed along the folds to produc ...

pages. The ''Monument'' was compiled by Thomas Bentley, then a student of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

, in a bid for royal patronage, and issued by the printer

Henry Denham Henry Denham was one of the outstanding English printers of the sixteenth century. He was apprenticed to Richard Tottel and took up the freedom of the Stationers' Company on 30 August 1560. In 1564 he set up his own printing house in White Cros ...

in 1582, just as the cult of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

as the Virgin Queen was emerging. The desired patronage was not forthcoming, and Bentley became churchwarden of St Andrews Holborn with the support of John Aylmer, Bishop of London, in 1584. Described in its Introduction as "diuers verie godlie, learned and diuine treatises, of meditationes and praier, made by sundrie right famous Queenes, noble Ladies, vertuous Virgins, and godlie Gentlewomen of al ages", Bentley's compilation provides virtuous examples and precepts for women, as well as prayers and devotional works. The second "Lampe" or treatise collects important works of

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

female piety, including

Marguerite of Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (french: Marguerite d'Angoulême, ''Marguerite d'Alençon''; 11 April 149221 December 1549), also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Que ...

's ''

Miroir de l'âme pécheresse ''Miroir de l’âme pécheresse'' ("Mirror of the Sinful Soul") is a 1531 poem by Margaret of Valois-Angoulême, Marguerite d'Angoulême. It was translated by the future Elizabeth I, Queen Elizabeth I in 1548 as ''A Godly Meditation of the Soul' ...

'', a mystical narrative of the soul as a yearning woman translated by Queen Elizabeth as the ''Mirror of the Sinful Soul'', along with prayers and devotional works by Anne Askew; Frances Neville, Lady Bergavenny; Queen

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

;

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

; and Queen Elizabeth herself, to whom the work was dedicated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monument of Matrones Prayer books British anthologies 1582 books