Elizabeth Melville
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Melville (or Elizabeth Melvill), is the earliest known Scottish
woman writer to have her work appear in print and is most famous for writing the Ane Godlie Dreame, a Calvinist dream-vision
poem.
Melville was the daughter of Sir James Melville of Halhill
(1535–1617), a statesman, serving in the courts of Mary, Queen of Scots, and King James VI
of Scotland
and author of Memoirs of His Own Life. There is no record of her birth or death, which was common for Scottish women of her Century. Melville married John Colville, or Colvil, of Wester-Cumbrae, who inherited the title of Commendator of the Abbey at Culross
. Colville refused the peerage in 1609, most likely due to financial difficulties, and because of this Melville’s titles of Lady Comrie
and Lady Culross
were purely honorary. She is believed to be the mother of Samuel Colville, author of Mock Poem, which is sometimes described as the Scottish Hudibras
and bore at least 5 other children.
Melville first published Ane Godlie Dreame in 1603 in Scots
, and then translated it into English, probably the following year. Written in the traditional dream-vision style, the poem describes the religious experience of a woman active in the Scottish Reformation
. Ane Godlie Dreame, as well as a collection of letters written by Melville, reveal her strong belief that poetry should be strictly used to serve religion and her Calvinist theological understanding.
Meville’s poem is distinctly Scottish in many ways. Her first title page introduces Ane Godlie Dreame as having been written in Scottish Meter, with octaves of “interlacing rhyme scheme” similar to those appearing in Scottish sonnets. The poem realistically describes the Scottish landscape, with mentions of thorns
and briars, sand, mountains, and a castle on a hill, similar to those found in Edinburgh
and Stirling
.
Besides Ane Godlie Dreame, her other works include 29 other poems recently discovered and written about by Jaime Reid-Baxter.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
woman writer to have her work appear in print and is most famous for writing the Ane Godlie Dreame, a Calvinist dream-vision
Dream vision
A dream vision is a literary device in which a dream is recounted for a specific purpose. While dreams occur frequently throughout the history of literature, the dream vision emerged as a poetic genre in its own right, and was particularly popular in the Middle Ages. This genre typically follows a...
poem.
Melville was the daughter of Sir James Melville of Halhill
James Melville of Halhill
Sir James Melville was a Scottish diplomat and memoir writer.Melville was the third son of Sir John Melville, laird of Raith in the county of Fife, who was executed for treason in 1548. One of his brothers was Robert, 1st Baron Melville of Monimail . James Melville in 1549 went to France to become...
(1535–1617), a statesman, serving in the courts of Mary, Queen of Scots, and King James VI
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and author of Memoirs of His Own Life. There is no record of her birth or death, which was common for Scottish women of her Century. Melville married John Colville, or Colvil, of Wester-Cumbrae, who inherited the title of Commendator of the Abbey at Culross
Abbot of Culross
The Abbot and then Commendator of Culross was the head of the monastic community of Culross Abbey, Fife, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1218 on the patronage of Maol Choluim I, Earl of Fife by Cistercian monks from Kinloss Abbey, Moray. Control of the abbey was secularized in the 16th century...
. Colville refused the peerage in 1609, most likely due to financial difficulties, and because of this Melville’s titles of Lady Comrie
Comrie
Comrie is an affluent village and parish in the southern highlands of Scotland, towards the western end of the Strathearn district of Perth and Kinross, seven miles west of Crieff. The village has won the Royal Horticultural Society "Large Village Britain in Bloom Winner" in 2007 and 2010...
and Lady Culross
Culross
The town of Culross, pronounced "Coo-ros", is a former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland.According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395...
were purely honorary. She is believed to be the mother of Samuel Colville, author of Mock Poem, which is sometimes described as the Scottish Hudibras
Hudibras
Hudibras is an English mock heroic narrative poem from the 17th century written by Samuel Butler.-Purpose:The work is a satirical polemic upon Roundheads, Puritans, Presbyterians and many of the other factions involved in the English Civil War...
and bore at least 5 other children.
Melville first published Ane Godlie Dreame in 1603 in Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
, and then translated it into English, probably the following year. Written in the traditional dream-vision style, the poem describes the religious experience of a woman active in the Scottish Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
. Ane Godlie Dreame, as well as a collection of letters written by Melville, reveal her strong belief that poetry should be strictly used to serve religion and her Calvinist theological understanding.
Meville’s poem is distinctly Scottish in many ways. Her first title page introduces Ane Godlie Dreame as having been written in Scottish Meter, with octaves of “interlacing rhyme scheme” similar to those appearing in Scottish sonnets. The poem realistically describes the Scottish landscape, with mentions of thorns
Common Hawthorn
Crataegus monogyna, known as common hawthorn or single-seeded hawthorn, is a species of hawthorn native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world where it is an invasive weed...
and briars, sand, mountains, and a castle on a hill, similar to those found in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
.
Besides Ane Godlie Dreame, her other works include 29 other poems recently discovered and written about by Jaime Reid-Baxter.
Works
- Ane Godlie Dreame. Edinburgh: R. Charteris. 1603; translated into English by the author as A Godly Dream. Edinburgh: R. Charteris. 1604.
- “A Sonnet Sent to Blackness.” Early Metrical Tales. ed. David LaingDavid Laing (Scottish antiquary)David Laing was a Scottish antiquary.The son of William Laing, a bookseller in Edinburgh, where he was born, he was educated at the Canongate Grammar School. At fourteen he was apprenticed to his father. Shortly after the death of the latter in 1837, Laing was elected to the librarianship of the...
. Edinburgh: W. D. Laing/ Londong: J. Duncan. 1826. P. xxxii. - “Letters from Lady Culross, Etc.” Select Biographies. Ed. W. K. Tweedie. Edinburgh: Wodrow Society, 1845. I: 349-70.
- Poems of Elizabeth Melville, Lady Culross. Ed. Jamie Reid Baxter. Edinburgh: Solsequium, 2010.