Isabel (or Isobel) Seton (1594–1638) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

noblewoman known for her embroidery, which was the subject of nine

neo-Latin Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...

s by the Scottish poet Arthur Johnston (poet), Arthur Johnston.

Life and Family

Born in 1594, Isabel Seton was the second of five daughters born to Lilias Drummond and

Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline (1555 – 16 June 1622) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord President of the Court of Session from 1598 to 1604, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1604 to 1622 and as a Lord High ...

. She married John Maitland, the second Lord Maitland of Thirlestane (died 1645), who was created

Earl of Lauderdale Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The current holder of the title is Ian Maitland, 18th Earl of Lauderdale. History The title was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The se ...

in 1624. On the 18 June 1610, she and her husband were granted a charter of the lands of Gilbertoun and others. Seton gave birth to fifteen children, seven sons and eight daughters, of whom only four survived. In August 1632, Lauderdale wrote from

Thirlestane Castle Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Scottish Borders, Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley o ...

to the Countess of Home that Isabel was unwell, and although she "was never a verie readie wrytter to hir freindes" she had managed to pen a letter to the Countess of Roxburghe with the help of her eldest son John. Her eldest son John Maitland became a prominent Scottish politician who was made Duke of Lauderdale in 1672. She died on 2 November 1638 and is buried in Haddington,

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

, where there is a monument with a Latin inscription to her memory.

Embroidery

While Seton's tapestries (embroideries) do not survive, they were celebrated in a series of nine neo-Latin

epigrams An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia. ...

written by the Scottish poet Arthur Johnston and published in the ''Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum'' (1637). In these epigrams, Johnston uses classical allusions to celebrate Seton's embroidery. Johnston associates her closely with

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

, the Roman goddess of weaving, and the first and last epigrams describe her as 'the Minerva of Lauderdale' (''Minervae...Laderdeliae).'' Epigrams 2-7 praise her marvellous and naturalistic depiction of flowers, fruits, animals, birds, fish, and the planets, which are pictured in the guise of

Roman gods The Roman deities most widely known today are those the Romans identified with Greek counterparts, integrating Greek myths, iconography, and sometimes religious practices into Roman culture, including Latin literature, Roman art, and relig ...

. The eighth epigram describes Seton's portrayal of the Roman heroine

Lucretia According to Roman tradition, Lucretia ( /luːˈkriːʃə/ ''loo-KREE-shə'', Classical Latin: �ʊˈkreːtia died ), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome. Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) raped her. Her subsequent suicide precipi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seton, Isabel 16th-century Scottish people 16th-century Scottish women 17th-century Scottish people 17th-century Scottish women

Lauderdale Lauderdale is the valley of the Leader Water (a tributary of the River Tweed, Tweed) in the Scottish Borders. It contains the town of Lauder, as well as Earlston. The valley is traversed from end to end by the A68 road, A68 trunk road, which run ...

Daughters of Scottish earls 1584 births 1638 deaths

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th c ...