“Her mind has no womanly weakness”: The Humanist Studies of Princess Elizabeth, 1538-1558
Abstract
Elite women in early modern England and Europe were usually educated in the skills of embroidery, dance, music, and cooking, with some rudimentary training in writing, reading, and Latin. These were all skills that were believed necessary to attract stronger marriage prospects from, and be better partners to, elite men. This thesis examines Elizabeth I’s (1533–1603) education during the years before she assumed the crown, circa 1538–1558. Partly because of their intense focus on Elizabeth’s reign (1558–1603) rather than her childhood, historians have not given sufficient attention to her informal and formal education. Sources such as letters, the published works of her tutors, in addition to Elizabeth’s own translation works, poetry, prayers, and other writing have been examined to gain an understanding of the curriculum to which the young Elizabeth was exposed. These sources reveal that Elizabeth was exposed to a wide range of humanist writings that were atypical of the curriculum traditionally offered to noble women. In receiving a humanist education akin to that which Tudor men acquired at Cambridge University, to which most of Elizabeth’s tutors had close affinity, Elizabeth was provided a sound intellectual foundation that later helped her to meet the challenges of a regnant queen ruling in a patriarchal society.
Description
Keywords
Education--History of, Biography, History--European, Social Structure and Development, WomenÕs Studies
Citation
Hamill, K. A. (2017). “Her mind has no womanly weakness”: The Humanist Studies of Princess Elizabeth, 1538-1558 (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26352