Editing and Introduction by Amaya Warren, Bella Moore, Biprashna Gochhe Shrestha, Isabella Ruiz, and Lila Nottingham
Amaya Warren, Bella More, Biprashna Goche Shrestha, Isabella Ruiz, and Lila Nottingham are undergraduate students at the University of Central Arkansas
The writing “From Lady Elenor, Her blessing to her beloved daughter,” was published in 1644 and is a part of a collection of writings by Eleanor Davies. Lady Eleanor Davies, formerly Touchet, was the fifth daughter of George Touchet. Eleanor Davies was a notable figure in early modern English literature. She was identified as a prophet for some time. She also spent a few years in jail and made predictions. She was married to Sir John Davies, a poet and lawyer who was fifty years old. It was said that Eleanor actually predicted the death of her first husband.
In February of 1617, her father died, leaving her and her husband his estate, various heirlooms. In January of 1613, Lady Eleanor Davies had a daughter, Lucy Davies, who was later named Lady Huntingdon. Lucy was married to Ferdinando Hastings, heir of Lord Huntingdon. Lady Eleanore also bore 2 sons from her first marriage. One named Jack was speechless and died young, while the other one died even younger. In July 1625, she was said to have had her first vision, which set her on the path to becoming a public prophet.
Her vision was from the voice of the prophet Daniel. On December 7th, 1626, Sir John Davies, Lady Eleanor’s husband, died. Before his death, he had mocked her for weeping in public, and months before that, he burned her first written book. Three months later, she married Sir Archibald Douglas, a professional soldier. She then continued prophesying until her reputation grew and grew.
Lady Eleanore Davies’ younger brother in May 1631 was executed for sodomy and having a servant rape his wife. This event was a significant turning point in her life. After her family’s journey, she was imprisoned. She was imprisoned a second time for debt. On July 5th, 1652, she died. “From Lady Eleanore, her blessing to her beloved daughter” was written to The Honorable Lucy of Huntingdon. It was printed in the year 1644 and during the Prophet Daniel’s vision. It was publicized in London. Her daughter was the Countess of Huntingdon and died in 1679.
Editorial Note
“From the Lady Eleanor, Her Blessing To Her Beloved Daughter” is a personal and heartfelt piece written by Lady Eleanor Davies in the seventeenth century. This text is a highly compressed prophetic and allegorical meditation that blends Scripture, national heraldry, royal succession, and the upheavals of seventeenth-century Britain. It was written in the voice of a mother addressing her daughter which moves rapidly between biblical visions.
The main approach is to make the text more accessible and understandable for our audience. Because of the use of early modern language in this text, the transcription provided here aims to make the work easier for modern readers to follow while still keeping the tone and intent of the original. The aim of this edition is clarity and understanding for the reader so that the force, and symbolic richness of the author’s vision has not been changed and is still alive with meaning. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, and phrasing have been gently smoothed where needed, and headnotes as well as footnotes have been added but the spirit of Lady Eleanor’s message remains unchanged. The author’s ideas and tone remains the same as it is intended to stay faithful to the original text.
The tone of the piece is urgent and deeply personal. It is both a blessing and a warning, a private testament and a public prophecy. The author believes her insights were entrusted to her much as visions were entrusted to Daniel, and she continually weaves her own life, her daughter’s endurance, and the nation’s turmoil into a single spiritual narrative. A mother’s heartfelt blessing, shaped by the religious and personal concerns of her time are preserved here in a form that supports careful and comfortable reading. This note is offered to help readers approach the text with a sense of its context and purpose.
Citations:
Eleanor, L. D. 1. (n.d.). [TCP] From the Lady Eleanor, her blessing, to her beloved daughter, the Right Honorable Lvcy, Covntesse of Huntingdon. https://llds.ling-phil.ox.ac.uk/llds/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.14106/B21322/B21322.html?sequence=5
Lady Eleanor Douglas. (n.d.). orlando.cambridge.org. https://orlando.cambridge.org/profiles/dougel