The Publication of 'Hecatodistichon' - March 1550
- thedudleywomen
- Apr 1, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 28
In March 1550, a poem was composed, dedicated to the life and achievements of the recently deceased Marguerite of Navarre; she was the sister of the French king François I, herself a writer and poet, in addition to being a patron of Reformist art and literature.
Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford, had been quickly nominated to the position of 'Lord Protector' of England, in addition to receiving the promotion of Duke of Somerset, when his 9-year-old nephew Edward VI ascended the throne in January 1547. He had effectively become the most powerful man in England, leading the Regency Council, a group of sixteen trusted men nominated by his former brother-in-law Henry VIII to govern the country during the minority of his only son. However, Somerset could not hold this position of power for long, with increasing unpopularity and frustration from other members of the Council, including following the downfall and execution of his younger brother Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley in March 1549, and recurrent incidents of political and social unrest throughout the country, including in response to the implementation of his religious policies regarding the Protestant Reformation in England. By October 1549, Somerset had been arrested and taken to the Tower of London, on initial charges regarding the mismanagement of government, and removed from his position of 'Lord Protector'; however, he was released from the Tower in February 1550 (Loades, 2015; Scard, 2020; Paul, 2022).
Edward Seymour's second marriage to Anne Stanhope (before 1535), had been successful in regards to their offspring; whilst their first son Edward died only aged two, they went on to have a total of ten children, including Anne, later Countess of Warwick, and (another) Edward, Earl of Hertford. Whilst the couple were both fervent supporters of Protestantism, it was Anne who appears to have had the stronger leanings towards reform; she actively encouraged Protestant writings and had many publications dedicated to her (Soberton, 2018). She was also identified as one of the women who had influenced Katherine Parr's strong 'heretical' views whilst Queen. These beliefs appear to have been passed on to their children, and influenced their education, their religious upbringing and access to various source materials at the time. She was known to have supported Protestant preacher Anne Askew, who was burned for heresy in 1546 during the reign of Henry VIII, sending financial aid to her whilst imprisoned in the Tower of London (Weir, 1991). Anne herself was also arrested and taken to the Tower of London in October 1549, following the arrest of her husband; however, Anne was released in early 1550, prior to her husband's release in February (Soberton, 2018).
In keeping with the Reformist policies being implemented, which were more extreme than those implemented under the reign of Henry VIII, Somerset was also keen for change regarding education. He expressed a desire to move away from the traditional training of the clergy at the colleges of Cambridge and Oxford, with a focus on training for the law and its' application in government. This untraditional but progressive approach was reflected in the education of his children; his sons Edward and Henry spent time with their cousin Edward VI and his tutors, whilst his three eldest daughters Anne (born c.1538), Margaret (born c.1540) and Jane (born c.1541) received a privileged classical but 'liberal' education, as well as being taught multiple languages; it was known that his eldest daughter Anne was fluent in Latin, Greek, Italian and French. Shortly following the ascension of Edward VI in 1547, Seymour appointed Humanist French poet and painter Nicolas Denisot, 'le comte d'Alsinois', as tutor to his daughters; he appears to have held this position until his return to Paris in mid-1549. Also around this time, Denisot was commissioned to paint a portrait of their uncle, Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley (c.1545-49). Other tutors of the girls included John Crane and Thomas Norton, the latter becoming a passionate supporter of Reform, specially of the Calvinism movement (Scard, 2020).
Marguerite d'Angoulême, Queen of Navarre (known as 'Marguerite de Navarre') was the wife of King Henry II of Navarre, and the brother of King François I of France. Her intelligence was praised throughout France, and beyond, including England, being a patron of the arts throughout her life. Marguerite was also a prolific writer; she wrote many short stories and poems, including the 'Heptaméron': a collection of seventy-two short stories with subject matters including love, lust, infidelity and sexuality. She also played an important part in France's own religious reformation, actively encouraging and protecting Protestant writers, and providing texts to other high-status individuals, including reportedly to a young Anne Boleyn when she was a lady-in-waiting at the French Court (Weir, 1991).
Following Marguerite's death in December 1549, in honour of her life and achievements, the three sisters reportedly wrote a poem, completely in Latin, dedicated to the queen whose work they were likely familiar with; it is believed that Denisot taught Marguerite's work to the girls during his tenure as their tutor. The poem consisted of 104 distichs, or couplets. Each couplet was headed with the names of Anne ('Anna'), Margaret ('Margarita') and Jane ('Iana'), their voices each speaking out their tribute (Seymour et al., 1550).
Following the composition of the poem, Nicolas Denisot then edited and published the work of whom he called "three most excellent princesses" in Paris, as 'Annae, Margaritae, Ianae, Sororum Virginum Heroidum Anglarum, In Mortem Divae Margaritae Valesiae Navarrorum Reginae, Hecatodistichon' (or 'Hecatodistichon'), the first edition being released in March 1550. In its title, Denisot made reference to the girls' classical education, referring to them as 'Heroidum Anglarum' or 'The English Heroides' - the original Heroides being a selection of heroines in Greek and Roman mythology (Seymour et al, 1550). The 'Hecatodistichon' was the first published by collective Englishwomen (in any language) prior to 1560s, and remained the only piece of work published in Latin by Englishwomen in the 16th century. The poem was republished the following year, as part of a collection of works dedicated to Marguerite - 'Le Tombeau de Marguerite de Valois Royne de Navarre' (1551).
The sisters were young at the time of the initial publication; Anne was approx 12-years-old, Margaret approx 10-years-old, and Jane the youngest, at approx 9-years-old. Whilst their ages have made scholars question the validity of the claim that the girls were the primary authors of the poem, there is contemporary evidence of their intelligence and academic achievements, specifically Jane's, including their correspondence with Protestant scholars on the continent (Scard, 2020). Anne's fluency in languages was also inherited by her two sons, in particular her second son, Sir Henry Unton; he was also known to have been fluent in Latin, French and Italian, these skills being useful to help in his career progression (Strong, 1999).
Somerset's old friend and ally John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, subsequently took over the leadership of the Regency Council in October 1549; he held this position until Edward VI's death in July 1553, following which he made attempts with other members of the Privy Council to place his daughter-in-law Jane Grey on the throne of England. However, shortly following taking on the role as 'Lord President' in October 1549, Warwick continued and intensified the religious reform of the country, of which Somerset had been a key instigator from the beginning of Edward VI's reign (Paul, 2022).
Somerset was released from the Tower of London on 06 February 1550, but did not rejoin Edward VI's government until April 1550, albeit in a position of less influence and power. In June 1550, only months after the publication of the poem, the marriage took place between Anne Seymour, Somerset's eldest daughter, and John Dudley, the eldest son and heir of the Earl of Warwick; this marriage was designed to demonstrate strength and reconciliation between the two families, although this cordiality did not last (Paul, 2022).
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