1 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: Hello everybody. Before we get started with the show today, 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:08,800 Speaker 1: we are coming up quickly on our live streaming event 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: that is happening on March two at looped live dot com. 4 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:17,799 Speaker 1: That is where you can go to buy tickets to 5 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 1: get a v I p add on that includes a 6 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: meat and greet with Holly and me. We also have 7 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:26,240 Speaker 1: the link directly to the ticket page pend up at 8 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: the top of our Facebook and our Twitter. We are 9 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: so excited about this. We hope we will see you 10 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,760 Speaker 1: all there on our virtual screens once more. That is 11 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,519 Speaker 1: that looped live dot com, or you can find the 12 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 1: ticket on all our social media. Welcome to Stuff You 13 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class, a production of I Heart Radio. 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry and 15 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy B. Wilson, and today we are going to 16 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: talk about someone who's been on my list for a while, 17 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 1: but I kind of finally sidled up next to it, 18 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: and that is Mary Sydney Herbert, the Countess of Pembroke. 19 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: She was a patron of the arts. She was the 20 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: first woman to publish an English language play, which was 21 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: a translation, and the first woman to publish pastoral poetry 22 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: in English. Which is something that she got away with 23 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: because she was writing for the Queen. Um. Mary is 24 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: really interesting because she was an incredibly wily woman in 25 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,919 Speaker 1: her life. She definitely understood her position as a woman 26 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: in the Elizabethan world and what its limitations and possibilities were, 27 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: and she was able to carefully step around the obstacles 28 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: of that society, finding ways that she could do the 29 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 1: things she wanted without stirring up criticism of her behavior. 30 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: And she also was smart enough to leverage her husband's 31 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: wealth and her family connections to support artists, and she 32 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: became truly influential in the literary world of her time. 33 00:01:56,840 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: Just as a quick aside on her name, sometimes we'll 34 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: just call her Mary, sometimes Mary Sydney, sometimes Mary Sidney Herbert, 35 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: and that's just because you'll see her in all those 36 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: ways if you look up any biography of her um 37 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: as well as the Countess of Pembroke. So that is 38 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:13,399 Speaker 1: the scoop, and we're going to talk about her her 39 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: influence on so much of the things we read today. Yeah. 40 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: So Mary Sydney was born on October fifteen, sixty one 41 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: at tick and Hill Palace in Worcestershire, near Bewdley. Her 42 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: father was Sir Henry Sydney and her mother was Mary Dudley. 43 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: At the time, Sir Henry, who had been really close 44 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: to King Edward the Sixth before his death, was serving 45 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: as Governor of the Marches of Wales. This is the 46 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: region of England that's right up against the Welsh border. 47 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: Mary Dudley also had deep ties to the crown. Her 48 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: father was the Earl of Northumberland and had been very 49 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: influential during Edward the Sixth Rain. When Mary was a child, 50 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: the family spent time in Dublin, where her father was 51 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: Lord Deputy Lieutenant of Ireland, and in pan shirt Kent, 52 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: where the Sydney family home was located, and this very 53 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: Protestant family was very close to Queen Elizabeth the First. 54 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: Her brother, Robert Dudley, is that Robert Dudley that had 55 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: been the Queen's favorite for a long time. Um Mary Dudley, 56 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,400 Speaker 1: her mother, was a lady in waiting to the Queen 57 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: and she had actually nursed Elizabeth through smallpox, contracting it 58 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: herself in the process and becoming, at least by her 59 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: husband's account, disfigured. As a result. Mary Sydney and her 60 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: sister Ambrosia were unique for girls of their time because 61 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: they got a really well rounded and extensive education. They 62 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: learned the things that were fairly typical for girls, a 63 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,040 Speaker 1: bit of music through singing in lute lessons, tutoring, and 64 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: activities like needlework, but they were also taught literature and 65 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: multiple languages, including French, Italian, and Latin. Mary had three brothers, 66 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:59,119 Speaker 1: Robert Thomas and her older brother, Sir Philip Sidney, who 67 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: became the most well known of the siblings. You will 68 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: often see rite ups about Mary that subtitle her as 69 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: the sister of Philip Sidney, but he is not referred 70 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: to with the same sibling definer usually. Philip was seven 71 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: years older than marying he was a scholar and a poet. 72 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: He served the country in the military, and Philip was 73 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: very important in Mary's life. The two were close and 74 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: they would collaborate on writing projects at times, and the 75 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 1: events of Philip's life deeply impacted the course of Mary's life, 76 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: as we're going to discuss in just a moment. Philip 77 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: was well known and well liked in his time, but 78 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:37,920 Speaker 1: he made the mistake of criticizing Queen Elizabeth the first 79 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,119 Speaker 1: for negotiating the possibility of a marriage to a French 80 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 1: suitor that would have meant she was marrying a Catholic, 81 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: which he thought was a terrible idea, and for being 82 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,479 Speaker 1: critical of the Queen, he was soon banished from court. 83 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: When Mary was fourteen, she was invited to the court 84 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: of Queen Elizabeth the First with the promise that the 85 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: Queen would take quote a special care of the teenager. 86 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 1: This invitation was catalyzed by the death of Mary's sister Ambrosia. 87 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: The Queen couched it as an invitation to get away 88 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:12,479 Speaker 1: from Wales. It seems likely she just wanted to give 89 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: Mary a chance to just get out of a grieving home. 90 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 1: Mary was married not that long thereafter, less than two 91 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: years later, at the age of fifteen, to Henry Herbert, 92 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 1: second Earl of Pembroke, who was in his thirties. Herbert 93 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: was a friend of Mary's father, Sir Henry Sydney, and 94 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: this match made her one of the wealthiest women in England. 95 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: It also offered her new husband's family a lot of influence. 96 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: The new role as a wife was initially a little 97 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: bit overwhelming for her, but Mary pretty quickly hit her 98 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: stride and she realized just what she could accomplish with 99 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 1: her husband's influence and wealth. The couple lived primarily in 100 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: their residence of Wilton House in Salisbury. Wilton House had 101 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: been built on the land of the Wilton Abbey by 102 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: William Herbert, the first Earl of Pembroke. It still exists today. 103 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: It's open to the public, although the current structure has 104 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: been changed a good bit due to a fire in 105 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: the seventeenth century. They also spent time at Baynard's Castle 106 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 1: in London that had been built in the fourteen twenties, 107 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: and that structure was destroyed in the Fire of London 108 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: in sixteen sixty six. It is believed that Mary's brother 109 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 1: Philip may have visited Wilton House in fifteen eighty and 110 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: spent some time there, during which time he wrote the 111 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: book The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia, which is dedicated to Mary. 112 00:06:30,200 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: This sort of residency in exile from court may have 113 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,040 Speaker 1: also planted the seeds of Wilton House being a haven 114 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 1: for other literary minds of the day. It eventually had 115 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,799 Speaker 1: the nickname the Wilton Circle that was cultivated by Mary, 116 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:47,599 Speaker 1: although not until several years later Mary had her first 117 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: child in fifteen eighty. This was a daughter named Catherine, 118 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 1: who sadly didn't live to adulthood, and she had another 119 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:57,279 Speaker 1: daughter named Anne, who did live to be an adult, 120 00:06:57,320 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: but still died very young. She was in her twenties. 121 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: She also had two sons, William and Philip. Catherine actually 122 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: died on the same day that Philip was born, when 123 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: she was just three. Mary's family has enjoyed a good 124 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: bit of fame throughout the centuries, aside from her brother, 125 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: in part because Mary and Henry Soon's were the beneficiaries 126 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: of the dedication of Shakespeare's first folio in sixty three. 127 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: The famed writer refers to them as end quote incomparable 128 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: pair of brethren. But William and Philip were not the 129 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: only members even of that immediate family to receive notice 130 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: from writers of the day. Edmund Spencer, Nicholas Bretton, and 131 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 1: Thomas Morley, among others, dedicated their works to Marry and 132 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,960 Speaker 1: that is because she was a dedicated patron of poetry 133 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: and the arts in general. But her in depth work 134 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: in the arts did not start right away. So we 135 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 1: just mentioned the death of Mary's toddler, Catherine, that happened 136 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: in fifteen eighty four, and this was the first of 137 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: several deaths in Mary's life. In fifteen six, she lost 138 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: both her father and her mother within just a few 139 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: months of each other, and that was at a time 140 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: when all of her brothers were away at war. England 141 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: was trying to regain Holland, which was Protestant, from Spain, 142 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: which was Catholic. Mary was the sole member of her 143 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 1: family at her mother's funeral, and then this was followed 144 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: by the death of her dear brother Philip in October 145 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: of that same year. That happened because the wound that 146 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 1: he had received in battle had become infected. The death 147 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: of Philip, to whom she was so close, on top 148 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: of these other losses, was just devastating for Mary. She 149 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 1: took two full years to grieve, and when she emerged 150 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: from this period, during which she stayed exclusively in the country, 151 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: she returned to London in a literal parade, and she 152 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:53,040 Speaker 1: was ready to really invest in the literary world. And 153 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: this time it was with the idea that she was 154 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: going to honor her brother, who had been deeply mourned 155 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: by the public as well. She commissioned elegies of Philip, 156 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: of which there had already been many, but patronage for 157 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,439 Speaker 1: those had waned, so she kind of took up that effort, 158 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 1: and Abraham France, Edmund Spencer, and Thomas Moffatt all wrote 159 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 1: of Sir Philip Sidney under this desire of Mary's. This 160 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:19,079 Speaker 1: is really when she established Wilton House as a nexus 161 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: point of the arts, something that was described as being 162 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: like a college where learning and writing were encouraged and 163 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 1: supported by the Duchess of Pembroke, who presided over some 164 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: of the most prolific writers of the day. And she 165 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 1: worked consistently to elevate the literary reputation of her brother Philip, 166 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: who she felt should be seen as one of the 167 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: greatest writers of their time, like she wanted him to 168 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: be the chaucer of their era, and this included publishing 169 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: a number of his works posthumously. Coming up, we'll talk 170 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: about how Mary was not just a supporter of writers, 171 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: but also did a great deal of her own writing. 172 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:57,839 Speaker 1: We will dig into that after we pause for a 173 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:11,840 Speaker 1: sponsor break. Mary Sidney was an incredibly smart person. She was, 174 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 1: in addition to being a fan of the arts and 175 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 1: particularly of literature, a contributor to the works of the 176 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:21,520 Speaker 1: day herself and a significant one. Her translation work in 177 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: particular has been incredibly important. Her first published original work 178 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,120 Speaker 1: was the Doleful Lay of Clarinda that was published in 179 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: in a Book of Elegies. She likely wrote other pieces 180 00:10:34,040 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: before this, but if so, we don't have any evidence 181 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: of them or any record. We do know that she 182 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:42,000 Speaker 1: wrote this elegy well before it was published, as she 183 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,880 Speaker 1: mentioned it in correspondence In is something she had written 184 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:49,440 Speaker 1: long ago, presumably not long after her brother Philip's death. 185 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,199 Speaker 1: The language of the poem is very clearly about her 186 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 1: coping with the loss of her brother. One Stanza speaks 187 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: of how the world has been robbed of its joy 188 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:03,319 Speaker 1: in the a of a person quote death, The devourer 189 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,640 Speaker 1: of all the world's delight hath robbed you and reft 190 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 1: from me my joy, both you and me and all 191 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: the world he quite hath robbed of joyance and left 192 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: sad annoy joy of the world. And shepherd's pride was 193 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:21,679 Speaker 1: he shepherd's hope, never like again to see. And this 194 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: poem concludes with imagery of the deceased having gone to 195 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 1: heaven and existing in a state of bliss, while the 196 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: people who remain behind on earth are left with their 197 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 1: grief at their loss quote, but live thou, They're still happy, 198 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:38,400 Speaker 1: happy spirit, and give us leave thee here thus to lament, 199 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: not thee that dosed thy Heaven's joy inherit, but our 200 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:46,000 Speaker 1: own selves that here in dolor drent. Thus do we 201 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: weep and wail and wear our eyes morning and others 202 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: are own miseries. Even before she started publishing her own 203 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:57,800 Speaker 1: original works, Mary Sidney Herbert was translating the work of others. 204 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:03,720 Speaker 1: In she pish a translation of Philippe Duplessi mourns Discorde 205 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:08,079 Speaker 1: la vilam That's Discourse on life and Death. She dated 206 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: this in May off. This was a project that her 207 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 1: brother Philip had actually started, but he couldn't complete it 208 00:12:14,960 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: before his death. She also translated Petrarch's trionfo de la 209 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,840 Speaker 1: Morte the Triumph of Death. She translated it into terts arima. 210 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: That's the verse form that uses three line stanzas, in 211 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: which the first and third line of each stands a rhyme, 212 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:31,520 Speaker 1: and then the second line rhymes with the first and 213 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,320 Speaker 1: third line of the stanza that follows. Dante's divine comedy 214 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: is written in tertsarema. This project was another that offered 215 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 1: Mary a meditation on death, something that had touched her 216 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: life so very deeply. And one of the interesting things 217 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 1: that shifts in Mary's Sidney's translation from Petrarch's is that 218 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:51,959 Speaker 1: she chose to give the female character of Laura more 219 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,199 Speaker 1: focused than other scholars of the day. The character was 220 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:57,720 Speaker 1: always there, she wasn't adding to it, but a lot 221 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 1: of English speaking scholars had simply not paid much attention 222 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:02,839 Speaker 1: to that portion of the work. They had focused on 223 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,880 Speaker 1: the earlier section of it. She also translated Robert Garnier's 224 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: mark Antoine. That translation of mark Antoine was more than 225 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:13,880 Speaker 1: just a way to bring French historical drama to an 226 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: English language audience. It also brought the commentary on contemporary 227 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:23,040 Speaker 1: politics through the use of historical storytelling over from France. 228 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,439 Speaker 1: The Garnier play is based on life of Antonius, and 229 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: it's one of the larger group of biographies that Plutarch 230 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,160 Speaker 1: wrote that are grouped under the umbrella title of Plutarch's 231 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,800 Speaker 1: Lives or parallel Lives. So for context of why this 232 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,040 Speaker 1: translation was important in the fifteen nineties in England, Elizabeth 233 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:46,199 Speaker 1: the First was four decades into her reign. She was 234 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: in her sixties she was embroiled in a financial conundrum 235 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,199 Speaker 1: because England was deeply in debt from war and the 236 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 1: economy was struggling. There had also been some issues with crops, 237 00:13:56,240 --> 00:14:00,559 Speaker 1: the conflict between Catholics and Protestants was ongoing, and Elizabeth 238 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: was seen in a far less favorable light than she 239 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,839 Speaker 1: had enjoyed earlier in her reign. People were starting to 240 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,600 Speaker 1: wonder what is going to happen when Elizabeth dies because 241 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:11,719 Speaker 1: there is some discord and strife, and one of the 242 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 1: greatest fears that there was going on at the time 243 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,679 Speaker 1: was that England would plunge into a civil war. So 244 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,520 Speaker 1: the story of Mark Antony and Cleopatra, whose relationship was 245 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:25,480 Speaker 1: connected to the civil War of Actium, probably felt like 246 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: a cautionary tale in late sixteenth century England. And in 247 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,360 Speaker 1: addition to translating works of this nature, Mary Sidney Henry 248 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: began to encourage writer she patronized to create similar works. 249 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: One of the translations that Mary Sidney is most well 250 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 1: known for is another project that her brother Philip had 251 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: been working on before his death. It was the translation 252 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 1: and poetic adaptation of Psalm's forty four through a hundred 253 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,120 Speaker 1: and fifty, with the intent that they would be appealing 254 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: for personal devotional use. It's believed that Mary was probably 255 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: working on this alongside her brother from the very beginning. 256 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 1: To develop this work, Mary studied numerous editions of the 257 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 1: Bible and existing translations in Hebrew, Latin, and English, and 258 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: worked to create verse versions of the songs that were 259 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 1: both true to the original text and esthetically appealing, and 260 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:23,680 Speaker 1: how they formed versus. This was to be clear a 261 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:28,520 Speaker 1: massive project. Psalm one nineteen, for example, contains one hundred 262 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: seventy six verses. Those verses are grouped into twenty two sections, 263 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 1: and each begins with a different letter representing the twenty 264 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 1: two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. For example, the section 265 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 1: beginning with oh starts oh what a lantern? What a 266 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: lamp of light? Is thy pure word to me? To 267 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: clear my paths and guide my goings? Right? I swear 268 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 1: and swear again I of the statutes, will observer be 269 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,920 Speaker 1: thou justly dosed? Ordain? There are more than a hundred 270 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 1: and twenty different verse forms the work, which have come 271 00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: to be known as the Sydney Psalms. They weren't published 272 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: in Mary's lifetime, but circulated only in manuscript Some modern 273 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: scholars have viewed these psalms as a sacred parody, meaning 274 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: that they used the poetry style more associated with secular 275 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:22,680 Speaker 1: romantic verse as a means of popularizing religious poetry. There 276 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: are in the original manuscript also two additional poems. One 277 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,040 Speaker 1: is written in honor of Mary's brother Philip, and there 278 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: is a dedication poem to Queen Elizabeth. Though this is 279 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: considered an important work and was recognized for its achievement 280 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: in its time, Mary refers to this whole project as 281 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: quote half maimed, because she was piecing together and editing, 282 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: and reworking the efforts of her brother, who she felt 283 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 1: was absolutely matchless in skill. In her poem about him, 284 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 1: to the Angel Spirit of the most excellent Sir Philip Sidney, 285 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: she writes, behold, oh that thou were now to behold 286 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: this finished, long, perfect actions, part begun the rest, but 287 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 1: peaced as left by the undone pardon, blessed soul, presumption 288 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,400 Speaker 1: overbold if love and zeal hath to this error, run 289 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 1: to zealous love, love that hath never done, nor can enough, 290 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 1: though justly here controlled. There was a dedication to Queen Elizabeth, 291 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:23,399 Speaker 1: which is titled to the thrice sacred Queen Elizabeth, but 292 00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:26,280 Speaker 1: you'll often see it referred to you by the opening words, 293 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:31,440 Speaker 1: which are even now that care and this Mary maintained humility, 294 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 1: recognizing that the Queen is a woman whose time is 295 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: filled with responsibilities and who acts as an agent whose 296 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:41,960 Speaker 1: power had been bestowed by God. Mary also makes it clear, though, 297 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: that her brother died for the Protestant cause in service 298 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: to the Queen. The second stanza of this poem conveys 299 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:51,840 Speaker 1: the hope that the Queen, who Mary did seem to 300 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,919 Speaker 1: genuinely care for for her entire life, will accept this dedication, 301 00:17:56,119 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: writing quote, yet I dare so as humbleness may dare perish, 302 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 1: some hope they shall acceptance. Find not weighing less thy state, 303 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,920 Speaker 1: lighter thy care, but knowing more thy grace, abler thy mind, 304 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: what heavenly powers the highest thrown assigned assigned the goodness 305 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 1: suiting that degree, And by thy strength thy burden so 306 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: defined to others, toil is exercised to the This was 307 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,399 Speaker 1: not the only poem that Mary wrote for Elizabeth. She 308 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:28,480 Speaker 1: penned another and anticipation of the Queen's visit to the 309 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: Pembroke Estates in This was titled a dialogue between two 310 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:37,680 Speaker 1: shepherds they not and Peers and praise of Austraia, and 311 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:41,120 Speaker 1: this poem Australia clearly represents the Queen and the two 312 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: shepherds debating the best way to praise Austraia or sitting 313 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: as proxy for the poets, sort of working out within 314 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: herself how best to compliment someone like Elizabeth. In the end, 315 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: words are deemed not worthy, as the poem concludes with 316 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: Piers saying, words from conceit do only eyes above conceit? 317 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: Her honor flies, but silence not can praise her. So 318 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: there were a couple of reasons that Mary Sidney Herbert 319 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: would want to ensure Elizabeth's favored during this time uh 320 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,440 Speaker 1: and why she might have been writing such very, very 321 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:19,240 Speaker 1: crazy things to her, And she pursued this favor in 322 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: letters to the Queen as well as in her poetry. 323 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: For one, her husband, the Earl of Pembroke, was nearing 324 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,160 Speaker 1: the end of his life, and for another, her son 325 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: William was almost an adult and she was hoping that 326 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:33,879 Speaker 1: the Queen would grant him a place at court. The 327 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,119 Speaker 1: ill health of Henry Herbert was making things especially tricky, 328 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,360 Speaker 1: because if he died before William came of age, which 329 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: would happen in April of sixt one. Mary worried that 330 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,679 Speaker 1: she and the family and the estates would be at 331 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,920 Speaker 1: the mercy of the Court of Wards, and indeed Mary's 332 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:54,160 Speaker 1: husband died in January, several months before William's twenty first birthday. 333 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 1: What happened next is a true mess, and we will 334 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,960 Speaker 1: explain after we hear from the sponsor that keeps stuffy 335 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:13,560 Speaker 1: meth in history class going. So, this precarious position that 336 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 1: Mary felt her family's future was in got a lot 337 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 1: worse in a hurry in early sixteen o one, having 338 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: little to do with the fact that Henry Herbert had died. 339 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 1: Mary's son, William, had a sexual relationship with one of 340 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 1: the Queen's maids of honor, that was a young woman 341 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: named Mary Fitton. Mary got pregnant and William did not 342 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: behave honorably per the mores of the day, although he 343 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: did acknowledge that the child was his, but he abandoned 344 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,680 Speaker 1: Mary Fitton, and as a consequence, he was arrested and 345 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: incarcerated at Fleet Prison. Queen Elizabeth was understandably furious, and 346 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,840 Speaker 1: this tank to any hope that Mary Sydney had of 347 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,320 Speaker 1: using her connection to the throne to secure a place 348 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 1: at court for her son. William and his mother became estranged. 349 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,720 Speaker 1: The Sydneys were not welcome at court. Mary Fitton's child 350 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:06,159 Speaker 1: was born but did not live, and William spent his 351 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 1: time in prison writing. He was eventually released due to 352 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: ill health, but he was banished from court. That was 353 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:15,440 Speaker 1: until King James took the throne of England in sixteen 354 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: o three. That whole ordeal represented a turning point in 355 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,840 Speaker 1: Mary Sydney's life. She had lost her influence with the Queen, 356 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: and then once King James was in place, she just 357 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:31,480 Speaker 1: became irrelevant. She became busy with managing issues of family property, 358 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 1: and she seems to have stopped writing. We should mention 359 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 1: that some of those property issues involved stopping uprisings by 360 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 1: the residents who didn't like the way the land had 361 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,680 Speaker 1: been parceled out to them. She also was not the 362 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: least bit shy about being litigious, and she was very 363 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: quick to bring suits against anyone she thought had wronged her. Yeah, 364 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: we're speaking very very praisingly of her in many ways, 365 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: but I don't want to be clear that she was 366 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,200 Speaker 1: at this point a rich count who was putting down 367 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: peasant uprisings, who were just trying to get a fair shake, 368 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,000 Speaker 1: maybe suing her tenants. It sounds like right. It was 369 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:10,639 Speaker 1: like I think you stole from me. It was a 370 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:17,960 Speaker 1: lot of petty power moves um. In the early six hundreds, 371 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 1: post Elizabeth and in the reign of King James, Mary 372 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,879 Speaker 1: Sidney saw her sons married once the scandal of his 373 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: involvement with Mary Fitton had faded in the memory of 374 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 1: the court. William got married to Mary Talbot. There are 375 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:35,200 Speaker 1: so many Mary's. Mary Talbot's father was the Earl of Shrewsbury. 376 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:40,639 Speaker 1: Philip got married to Susan Daver. Mary's daughter Anne was betrothed, 377 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:44,440 Speaker 1: something Mary had arranged, but after several postponements to the 378 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: wedding due to illness and died, most likely in the 379 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 1: early winter of sixteen o six. Documentation of Mary Sydney's 380 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:56,399 Speaker 1: life after Anne's death is a little sparse for several years, 381 00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,719 Speaker 1: but by the mid sixteen teens it seems like her 382 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,880 Speaker 1: life settled a bit. Her sons had achieved good positions 383 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:05,560 Speaker 1: at court. They had taken up her mantle as patrons 384 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:08,879 Speaker 1: of the arts. So Mary, who had reconciled by this 385 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: point with William seems to have taken advantage of her 386 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:16,199 Speaker 1: later years to mostly focus on enjoying herself. Yeah. There 387 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,560 Speaker 1: are lots of fun stories about her during this time, 388 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:22,480 Speaker 1: where she's reported as smoking and dancing and shooting pistols 389 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:26,200 Speaker 1: for fun. Uh. She is also rumored to have possibly 390 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,159 Speaker 1: had a romance with Sir Matthew Lister, who was her 391 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: doctor and was younger than her. The King, even though 392 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: she wasn't influential at court but her kids were, had 393 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,640 Speaker 1: granted her land in Bedfordshire, and she had a home 394 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,719 Speaker 1: built there called Hotton House, which she adorned with her 395 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,359 Speaker 1: own crest, which she designed. It incorporated the letters M 396 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 1: and H for Mary Herbert and featured a bear, the 397 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 1: symbol of the deadly side of the family, and a porcupine, 398 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,920 Speaker 1: the symbol used by the Sydneys. The King visited Hotton 399 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,639 Speaker 1: House in sixteen o one, giving recognition to Mary as 400 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,680 Speaker 1: the mother of two imports men of the Court. The 401 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,520 Speaker 1: ruins of Hotten House still exists today and that site 402 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:06,200 Speaker 1: is open to the public. I think you can only 403 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:10,119 Speaker 1: go during daylight hours. Mary also spent time in London, 404 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: where she retained a second residence. Mary died of smallpox 405 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: on September one in London, that was a month away 406 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: from her sixtieth birthday. She died in her London home 407 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 1: and was buried at Salzbury Cathedral under the choir steps, 408 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:29,640 Speaker 1: alongside her husband. Eventually, William and Philip were also laid 409 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:34,600 Speaker 1: to rest there. Unfortunately, as well documented as Mary's life 410 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 1: is in many ways, there are still huge gaps in 411 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,119 Speaker 1: her record. For example, we don't have any of her 412 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,120 Speaker 1: writing work from after the fifteen nineties, although she lived 413 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,840 Speaker 1: for more than two decades after that, and she is 414 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:50,439 Speaker 1: believed to have continued to exchange manuscripts with other writers, 415 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 1: even though she probably wasn't writing at the rate she 416 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:56,439 Speaker 1: had been before. We don't have many of her personal letters, 417 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:00,080 Speaker 1: just some business correspondents, and this is probably because, as 418 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: we mentioned earlier, Wilton House burned in the seventeenth century, 419 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: so any of her personal effects that had been stored 420 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: there were likely destroyed at that time, and her secondary residence, 421 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: Baynard's Castle, also had a fire in the seventeenth century. 422 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: We mentioned it burned during the Great Fire, so we 423 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:19,160 Speaker 1: can assume the same thing happened to any of her writing. 424 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 1: That may have been on hand. There one aspect of 425 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,040 Speaker 1: her life's work that remains a little underdocumented. It's difficult 426 00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:32,240 Speaker 1: to actually proves their interest in science, particularly chemistry and alchemy. 427 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,160 Speaker 1: She's said to have had a lab at Wilton House 428 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,440 Speaker 1: and to have devised a recipe for disappearing inc using 429 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 1: bismuth and salt. This is mostly sourced from a seventeen 430 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: fifty five book that was published in Germany, allegedly translated 431 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,359 Speaker 1: from a writing in English by somebody who claimed to 432 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 1: know Mary and Philip Sydney. This includes a secret procedure 433 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:58,280 Speaker 1: which creates ink that disappears. The author says that he 434 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,920 Speaker 1: has two documents create did by Mary Sydney Herbert using 435 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 1: this inc. One depicting the Tower of London and the 436 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: other that's a fortress floor plan. And to see the ink, 437 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,159 Speaker 1: the reader had to hold the paper near a heat source. 438 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 1: It would appear, according to this writing, in a greenish color, 439 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,240 Speaker 1: and then it would fade away after a few hours. 440 00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:20,440 Speaker 1: And that recipe for disappearing ink, which is in that book, 441 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:23,119 Speaker 1: it works. It's a real recipe for disappearing inc. But 442 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 1: we we don't know for sure if it was Mary's 443 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: doing or not. That same book also claims that Mary 444 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 1: had developed something quite charming, which was a musical code 445 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:36,280 Speaker 1: assigning certain bars to letters so that she could play 446 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 1: a tune on the violin that was actually a musical 447 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 1: representation of a piece of writing. There is also an 448 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:46,399 Speaker 1: account from Mary's time in Salisbury that indicates that she 449 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,960 Speaker 1: tried to hire a very skilled chemist named Mr Boston, 450 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 1: who was believed to be looking for the elusive Philosopher's Stone, 451 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,960 Speaker 1: to work exclusively at Wilton House, but he declined. She did, however, 452 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:02,640 Speaker 1: manage to employ Sir Walter Raleigh's half brother Adrian Gilbert, 453 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: to work in her chemistry lab. Mary Sidney Herbert, Duchess 454 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: of Pembroke had garnered some esteem during her life, but 455 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,440 Speaker 1: that seemed to diminish for a while after her death. 456 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 1: Before the twentieth century, it was common to see most 457 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 1: mentions of her claim she had a rivalry with Shakespeare 458 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:24,480 Speaker 1: that's not really supported by any actual record, and a 459 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,760 Speaker 1: lot of what she wrote herself was rumored to have 460 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:31,600 Speaker 1: really been the work of men. There's an irony here, 461 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: and that she had taken a personal tragedy, which was 462 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,600 Speaker 1: the death of her beloved brother, to seize a rare 463 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:41,159 Speaker 1: opportunity for a woman to achieve a literary career in 464 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: the pursuit of honoring the memory of a man. In 465 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:48,240 Speaker 1: the twentieth century, however, scholars have looked more closely at 466 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:50,399 Speaker 1: Mary Sidney's life, and they've been able to reveal that 467 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,360 Speaker 1: she was formidable. She was a woman who was able 468 00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:55,920 Speaker 1: to take charge when needed and work in the interest 469 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: of her family, and she also has emerged as one 470 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: of the most important literally or figures of the Elizabethan era. 471 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:05,320 Speaker 1: There are scholars in recent history that make the case 472 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,280 Speaker 1: that she may have actually been the author of shakespeare Sonnets, 473 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 1: pointing out that the narrative plot of the Sonnets, the 474 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:14,400 Speaker 1: poet being romantically involved with a younger man who has 475 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:16,680 Speaker 1: feared to be in love with someone else, a married woman, 476 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,160 Speaker 1: actually parallel the events of Mary's life after her husband died, 477 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:23,920 Speaker 1: when she was close with and rumored to be involved with, 478 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 1: Sir Matthew Lister. The very fascinating little side tale we 479 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,000 Speaker 1: can talk a little bit about in our behind the scenes. Um. Yeah, 480 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: she's an interesting one. Interesting interesting Mary Sydney. Do you 481 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:41,720 Speaker 1: have some listener mail for us? I do, and it 482 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:47,239 Speaker 1: features one of my favorite things which is pets uh uh. 483 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 1: This is from our listener Brandy, who writes, Ladies, I 484 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 1: have finally done it. Today I can proudly say I 485 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 1: have finished the archive of stuff you missed in history class. 486 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 1: I started listening over two and a half years ago. 487 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,400 Speaker 1: I listen anytime I'm in my car myself. I started 488 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: with Josh and Candice when Josh pretended to know nothing 489 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 1: about history, and remember when he finally had enough of 490 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,600 Speaker 1: himself that he could no longer stand lying to us. 491 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: I hail from a place I personally love, home in Louisiana, 492 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: and was so pleased when you talked about the Rugaroo 493 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: Festival that I sent the podcast to the organizers of 494 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 1: the festival, only to realize they probably had already heard 495 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,080 Speaker 1: about it since I was listening a year after it 496 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,280 Speaker 1: was published. I look forward to attending the festival this year, 497 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 1: whom you two fingers crossed. It was canceled last year 498 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,000 Speaker 1: due to Hurricane Ida, but I was impressed with the organizers. 499 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:36,120 Speaker 1: They canceled the festival and immediately started helping our community 500 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 1: to recover from the storm. I hear the question why 501 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:41,880 Speaker 1: do you still live there after every storm? There are 502 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 1: so many answers to this question, but the main one 503 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: for me is this is our home. A large part 504 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: of the Cajun culture is the importance of family. We 505 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,120 Speaker 1: stay here because our family is here and this is 506 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:54,800 Speaker 1: our home. Anyway, I'm off my soapbox. Thank you both 507 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:57,080 Speaker 1: for the amazing podcast and keep up the good work. 508 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 1: And she has included pup be pictures. These these puppies 509 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: are in portraits where they look like historical figures and 510 00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:11,520 Speaker 1: it is one of the best, she says. The matriarch 511 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,840 Speaker 1: is Luna, and the three boys are her offspring, Taft, Rutherford, 512 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 1: and Fillmore named after presidents per my niece's request. Sincerely, Brandy, 513 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,040 Speaker 1: these pictures are so stinking cute. I can't deal with it. 514 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 1: I love it, um and I'm I'm just delighted. I 515 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,280 Speaker 1: you know, I grew up on the Gulf Coast, so 516 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:31,680 Speaker 1: I understand that question of why do people live there, 517 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:34,880 Speaker 1: and it's just it's a beautiful place, and if it's 518 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: your home, it's your home. That's that's what's up. Almost 519 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:40,640 Speaker 1: anywhere has some weird thing that comes with it, whether 520 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:44,120 Speaker 1: that be earthquakes or fires or terrible cold or whatever. 521 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 1: Everybody's got a different thing um, Brandy, thank you for 522 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:51,680 Speaker 1: writing us this email. Congratulations on your PhD and Stuff 523 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:53,960 Speaker 1: you Missed in History Class, um, and thank you for 524 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:57,240 Speaker 1: sitting us those pictures because they delight. If you would 525 00:30:57,280 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: like to write to us, you could do so at 526 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,920 Speaker 1: History podcast i heeart radio dot com. You can also 527 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,120 Speaker 1: find us as Missed in History on social media, and 528 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:07,280 Speaker 1: you can subscribe to the podcast on the I heart 529 00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 1: radio app or wherever it is you listen to podcasts. 530 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:17,800 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of 531 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:21,080 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 532 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:24,280 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 533 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:25,840 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.