Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley
Encyclopedia
Hon. Elizabeth Carey was an English noblewoman and a patron of the arts. Thomas Nashe
dedicated his Terrors of the Night to her in 1594. On 5 January 1606, at the wedding festivities of the Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
and Lady Frances Howard
, she performed in Ben Jonson
's masque, Hymenaei
as one of the Powers of Juno.
She was married twice: firstly to Sir Thomas Berkeley, by whom she had a son and a daughter; her second husband was Sir Thomas Chamberlain.
and Elizabeth Spencer
. She was baptised two weeks later on 7 June. One of Elizabeth's paternal great-grandmothers was Mary Boleyn
, the elder sister of Queen consort Anne Boleyn
, which made her a distant cousin of Elizabeth I of England
.
, London when she was 18 years of age. Their wedding was one of the occasions that has been suggested that William Shakespeare
's A Midsummer Night's Dream
was performed for the first time in public.
Her husband's family seat was Berkeley Castle
in Gloucestershire
, site of the regicide of King Edward II
in 1327.
She bore her husband a son and a daughter:
When her husband died in 1611, she paid off all his debts. She is recorded as having bought the estate of Cranford
, Middlesex
for the sum of £7,000 from the co-heirs of Sir Richard Aston in 1618. In February 1622, she married her second husband Sir Thomas Chamberland, a Justice of the King's Bench
. He was a generous spouse and when he died on 17 September 1625, bequeathed £10,000 to her son.
was a distant relative. In 1594, Thomas Nashe had dedicated his Terrors of the Night to Elizabeth, and it has been suggested that she served as the model for Lady Rimellaine in Peter Erondell's book of manners, The French Garden which he had written in 1605.
In her late teens, in 1594, Elizabeth translated two of Petrarch
's sonnets into English.
For the occasion of the Earl of Essex's marriage to Lady France Howard, Jonson's masque Hymenaei
was performed, and Elizabeth was one of the female dancers representing the Powers of Juno. There is an extant portrait of Elizabeth dressed in her masque costume.
.
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe was an English Elizabethan pamphleteer, playwright, poet and satirist. He was the son of the minister William Nashe and his wife Margaret .-Early life:...
dedicated his Terrors of the Night to her in 1594. On 5 January 1606, at the wedding festivities of the Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex was an English Parliamentarian and soldier during the first half of the seventeenth century. With the start of the English Civil War in 1642 he became the first Captain-General and Chief Commander of the Parliamentarian army, also known as the Roundheads...
and Lady Frances Howard
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset
Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset was an English noblewoman who was the central figure in a famous scandal and murder during the reign of King James I...
, she performed in Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
's masque, Hymenaei
Hymenaei
Hymenaei, or The Masgue of Hymen, was a masque written by Ben Jonson for the marriage of Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, and Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk, and performed on their wedding day, January 5, 1606...
as one of the Powers of Juno.
She was married twice: firstly to Sir Thomas Berkeley, by whom she had a son and a daughter; her second husband was Sir Thomas Chamberlain.
Family
Elizabeth was born on 24 May 1576, the only child of George Carey, 2nd Baron HunsdonGeorge Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon
George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon KG was the eldest son of Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon and Anne Morgan. His father was first cousin to Elizabeth I of England....
and Elizabeth Spencer
Elizabeth Spencer, Baroness Hunsdon
Elizabeth Spencer, Baroness Hunsdon was an aristocratic English woman, a scholar, and a patron of the arts. She was the inspiration for Edmund Spencer's Muiopotmos, was commemorated in one of the poet's dedicatory sonnets to the Faerie Queene, and was represented as "Phyllis" in the latter's...
. She was baptised two weeks later on 7 June. One of Elizabeth's paternal great-grandmothers was Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...
, the elder sister of Queen consort Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
, which made her a distant cousin of Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
Marriages
Elizabeth married her first husband, Sir Thomas Berkeley on 19 February 1595 at BlackfriarsBlackfriars
Blackfriars is an area of central London, which lies in the south-west corner of the City of London.The name Blackfriars was first used in 1317 and derives from the black cappa worn by the Dominican Friars who moved their priory from Holborn to the area between the River Thames and Ludgate Hill in...
, London when she was 18 years of age. Their wedding was one of the occasions that has been suggested that William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
was performed for the first time in public.
Her husband's family seat was Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK . The castle's origins date back to the 11th century and it has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.The castle has remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the...
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, site of the regicide of King Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
in 1327.
She bore her husband a son and a daughter:
- George Berkeley, 8th Baron BerkeleyGeorge Harding, 8th Baron BerkeleyGeorge Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley was a seventeenth-century English nobleman and a prominent patron of literature in his generation....
(7 October 1601- 10 August 1658), married Elizabeth Stanhope, by whom he had issue. - Theophila (born 1596), married Sir Robert Coke.
When her husband died in 1611, she paid off all his debts. She is recorded as having bought the estate of Cranford
Cranford, London
Cranford is a place in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development located 12.4 miles west of Charing Cross and on the eastern perimeter of London Heathrow Airport....
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
for the sum of £7,000 from the co-heirs of Sir Richard Aston in 1618. In February 1622, she married her second husband Sir Thomas Chamberland, a Justice of the King's Bench
Justice of the King's Bench
Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern academics argue was founded independently in 1234,...
. He was a generous spouse and when he died on 17 September 1625, bequeathed £10,000 to her son.
Patron of the arts
Elizabeth followed in the family tradition as a patron of the arts, just as her mother had been. The poet Edmund SpenserEdmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
was a distant relative. In 1594, Thomas Nashe had dedicated his Terrors of the Night to Elizabeth, and it has been suggested that she served as the model for Lady Rimellaine in Peter Erondell's book of manners, The French Garden which he had written in 1605.
In her late teens, in 1594, Elizabeth translated two of Petrarch
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
's sonnets into English.
For the occasion of the Earl of Essex's marriage to Lady France Howard, Jonson's masque Hymenaei
Hymenaei
Hymenaei, or The Masgue of Hymen, was a masque written by Ben Jonson for the marriage of Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, and Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk, and performed on their wedding day, January 5, 1606...
was performed, and Elizabeth was one of the female dancers representing the Powers of Juno. There is an extant portrait of Elizabeth dressed in her masque costume.
Death
She died on 23 April 1635 and was buried on 25 April in Cranford parish church. Her white marble effigy is attributed to Nicholas StoneNicholas Stone
Nicholas Stone was an English sculptor and architect. In 1619 he was appointed master-mason to James I, and in 1626 to Charles I....
.