Mildred Cooke
Encyclopedia
Mildred Cooke, Lady Burghley (c.1525–4 April 1589) was an English
noblewoman, translator, and poet of the sixteenth century.
, tutor to Lady Elizabeth Tudor, lauded her for being able to read Greek as easily as English and ranked her and her sisters along side Lady Jane Grey
in regards to their erudition. Mildred's sister, Anne
, was known for her translation from Latin of John Jewel
's Apologie of the Anglican Church (1564). Lady Burghley's daughter, Anne Cecil
, followed in her mother's footsteps and was a prolific poet and sonnet
writer. Anne would go on to marry the poet and playwright Edward de Vere
.
On 21 December 1545, at the age of twenty, she married William Cecil
, as his second wife. Cecil would become Elizabeth's most trusted advisor after she gained the throne in 1558. Mildred was described by several Spanish Ambassadors as a "furious heretic with great influence over her husband". In a letter of 1567, the Spanish Ambassador called Mildred a much more "furious" heretic than her husband, but Mildred proved to be more concerned with domestic matters than those at the court. Mildred was, however, briefly at Elizabeth's court as a lady of honor in the privy chamber at the beginning of the reign. She and her husband quite frequently entertained the Queen
at their many residences, including Burghley House
.
From then on many sought her advice and support. Elizabeth sometimes entrusted her with political matters, especially with those related to Scotland
.
Mildred never published her many translations, but instead spent her time on charity. She did however translate and circulate a manuscript of St. Basil's homily on Deuteronomy in around 1550. Mildred dedicated her work to Anne Stanhope, Duchess of Somerset, wife of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
. Mildred had served in the Duchess's household before her marriage to Lord Burghley. In her charity, which was kept secret from her husband, Mildred provided an exhibition for two scholars and four quarterly sermons at St. John's College
in Cambridge, Cecil's old college. Books, some in Greek and Hebrew, were also contributed to the St. John's College in Cambridge
, Christ Church, Oxford, and Westminster College
.
For many years after their marriage Lord and Lady Burghley had no children. A daughter, Francisca, was the first born but did not survive long. In 1556, another daughter named Anne
was born. Two boys, both named William, followed in 1559 and 1561 but died in infancy. Then in 1563, another son was born, Robert
; the successor of his father at court and the future Earl of Salisbury
. Their final child, a daughter name Elizabeth, followed in 1564.
Lady Burghley had charge of her children's education as well as that of the various wards her husband was responsible for, including Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
.
Lady Burghley died on 4 April 1589 after 43 years of marriage. She was buried with her daughter, Anne, Countess of Oxford
, in Westminster Abbey where an enormous Corinthian tomb twenty four feet high was erected. The effigy depicts the figure of Lady Burghley as she lies on a sarcophagus; at her head are her three granddaughters Elizabeth, Bridget, and Susannah de Vere and at her feet her only son Robert Cecil. In a recess is the recumbent figure of the Countess of Oxford. In the upper story Lord Burghley is seen kneeling in his robes. The epitaphs are from his pen and tell how his eyes were dim with tears for those who were dear to him beyond the whole race of womankind. Lord Burghley himself lay in state here but was buried at Stamford. A long Latin inscription on the tomb was added by Lord Burghley.
There are two known portraits of Lady Burghley; they are both at Hatfield
and are by the Master of Mildred Cooke. One of her shows her during a pregnancy, probably that of 1563 (both portraits have more recently been attributed to Hans Eworth).
(2011) by Anna Altmann.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
noblewoman, translator, and poet of the sixteenth century.
Life and work
Mildred was the eldest of the five daughters of Sir Anthony Cooke and Anne Fitzwilliam. She studied Latin and Greek, which she especially enjoyed translating. Roger AschamRoger Ascham
Roger Ascham was an English scholar and didactic writer, famous for his prose style, his promotion of the vernacular, and his theories of education...
, tutor to Lady Elizabeth Tudor, lauded her for being able to read Greek as easily as English and ranked her and her sisters along side Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
in regards to their erudition. Mildred's sister, Anne
Anne Bacon
Anne Bacon was an English gentlewoman and scholar. She made a lasting contribution to English religious literature with her translation from Latin of John Jewel's Apologie of the Anglican Church...
, was known for her translation from Latin of John Jewel
John Jewel
John Jewel was an English bishop of Salisbury.-Life:He was the son of John Jewel of Buden, Devon, was educated under his uncle John Bellamy, rector of Hampton, and other private tutors until his matriculation at Merton College, Oxford, in July 1535.There he was taught by John Parkhurst,...
's Apologie of the Anglican Church (1564). Lady Burghley's daughter, Anne Cecil
Anne Cecil
Anne Cecil, Countess of Oxford was the daughter of statesman William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the translator Mildred Cooke. In 1571, she became the first wife of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford...
, followed in her mother's footsteps and was a prolific poet and sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
writer. Anne would go on to marry the poet and playwright Edward de Vere
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford was an Elizabethan courtier, playwright, lyric poet, sportsman and patron of the arts, and is currently the most popular alternative candidate proposed for the authorship of Shakespeare's works....
.
On 21 December 1545, at the age of twenty, she married William Cecil
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...
, as his second wife. Cecil would become Elizabeth's most trusted advisor after she gained the throne in 1558. Mildred was described by several Spanish Ambassadors as a "furious heretic with great influence over her husband". In a letter of 1567, the Spanish Ambassador called Mildred a much more "furious" heretic than her husband, but Mildred proved to be more concerned with domestic matters than those at the court. Mildred was, however, briefly at Elizabeth's court as a lady of honor in the privy chamber at the beginning of the reign. She and her husband quite frequently entertained the Queen
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...
at their many residences, including Burghley House
Burghley House
Burghley House is a grand 16th-century country house near the town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, England...
.
From then on many sought her advice and support. Elizabeth sometimes entrusted her with political matters, especially with those related to 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...
.
Mildred never published her many translations, but instead spent her time on charity. She did however translate and circulate a manuscript of St. Basil's homily on Deuteronomy in around 1550. Mildred dedicated her work to Anne Stanhope, Duchess of Somerset, wife of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
. Mildred had served in the Duchess's household before her marriage to Lord Burghley. In her charity, which was kept secret from her husband, Mildred provided an exhibition for two scholars and four quarterly sermons at St. John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
in Cambridge, Cecil's old college. Books, some in Greek and Hebrew, were also contributed to the St. John's College in Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, Christ Church, Oxford, and Westminster College
Westminster College, Cambridge
Westminster College in Cambridge is a theological college of the United Reformed Church, formerly the Presbyterian Church of England. Its principal purpose is the training of clergy for ordination, but is also used more widely for training within the denomination...
.
For many years after their marriage Lord and Lady Burghley had no children. A daughter, Francisca, was the first born but did not survive long. In 1556, another daughter named Anne
Anne Cecil
Anne Cecil, Countess of Oxford was the daughter of statesman William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the translator Mildred Cooke. In 1571, she became the first wife of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford...
was born. Two boys, both named William, followed in 1559 and 1561 but died in infancy. Then in 1563, another son was born, Robert
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC was an English administrator and politician.-Life:He was the son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and Mildred Cooke...
; the successor of his father at court and the future Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury
Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in British history. It has a complex history, being first created for Patrick de Salisbury in the middle twelfth century. It was eventually inherited by Alice, wife of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster...
. Their final child, a daughter name Elizabeth, followed in 1564.
Lady Burghley had charge of her children's education as well as that of the various wards her husband was responsible for, including Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG was an English nobleman and a favourite of Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during the Nine Years' War in 1599...
and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford was an Elizabethan courtier, playwright, lyric poet, sportsman and patron of the arts, and is currently the most popular alternative candidate proposed for the authorship of Shakespeare's works....
.
Lady Burghley died on 4 April 1589 after 43 years of marriage. She was buried with her daughter, Anne, Countess of Oxford
Anne Cecil
Anne Cecil, Countess of Oxford was the daughter of statesman William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the translator Mildred Cooke. In 1571, she became the first wife of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford...
, in Westminster Abbey where an enormous Corinthian tomb twenty four feet high was erected. The effigy depicts the figure of Lady Burghley as she lies on a sarcophagus; at her head are her three granddaughters Elizabeth, Bridget, and Susannah de Vere and at her feet her only son Robert Cecil. In a recess is the recumbent figure of the Countess of Oxford. In the upper story Lord Burghley is seen kneeling in his robes. The epitaphs are from his pen and tell how his eyes were dim with tears for those who were dear to him beyond the whole race of womankind. Lord Burghley himself lay in state here but was buried at Stamford. A long Latin inscription on the tomb was added by Lord Burghley.
There are two known portraits of Lady Burghley; they are both at Hatfield
Hatfield House
Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil...
and are by the Master of Mildred Cooke. One of her shows her during a pregnancy, probably that of 1563 (both portraits have more recently been attributed to Hans Eworth).
In fiction and film
Lady Burghley was portrayed in the movie AnonymousAnonymous
- People :* Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an anonymous, undisclosed, or unknown creator or author* Anonymous IV, a 13th century English student of medieval music theory whose works are a major source for modern scholars of that era...
(2011) by Anna Altmann.