Rachel Jevon (1627 – ?) was an English poet of the mid-17th century. She most known for her poem ''Exultationis Carmen To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty upon his most Desired Return'', published in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and English versions in 1660.Crowley, Joseph P. (3 January 2008)

Biography

Jevon was probably born in

Broome, Worcestershire Broome is a village and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. The parish had a population of 357 at the 2021 census. The village is situated on the lower slopes of the Clent Hills and lies to one side of Broome L ...

, where she was baptised on 23 January 1627. Her father, Daniell Jevon (died 1654), was the rector of Broom, and Rachel's mother was called Elizabeth, maiden name unknown. According to a petition presented to the king in 1662, Rachel's father was a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

supporter during the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

who had been imprisoned for his loyalty to the crown. Very little else is known about her family or life, but her writings suggest she was well educated, as it was rare for women of the period to publish in Latin. Jevon's poem ''Exultationis Carmen To the Kings Most Excellent Majesty upon his most Desired Return'' consisted of 190 lines of iambic pentameter couplets and was written in both English and Latin versions. It was written to celebrate the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

of King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

, and narrates his royal lineage, his escape to France after defeat at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

in 1651, his travels on the European continent and his triumphal return to England. It includes allusions to biblical and classical literature and depicts the King as a spirit of peace, the spring, wearing five crowns, as a royal lion, as a royal oak, as Biblical figure

King David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

, as a bridegroom, and as the sun. She claims that she was helpless to resist celebrating the king's return in verse. According to the subtitle of the poem, it was "presented with her own hand" on 16 August of 1660. It was printed by John Macock. Early in Charles's reign, after his marriage to

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...

in May 1662, Rachel presented two petitions seeking employment as a servant in the royal household. It is unknown if she was appointed to a position. Her date of death is also unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jevon, Rachel 1627 births 17th-century English poets 17th-century English women writers 17th-century writers in Latin Date of death unknown English monarchists English women poets Neo-Latin poets People from Wyre Forest District Writers from Worcestershire