Name Elizabeth Weston | Role Poet | |
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Died November 23, 1612, Prague, Czech Republic | ||
Project legacy divine science chapter 3 elizabeth jane weston
Elizabeth Jane Weston (Latin: Elisabetha Ioanna Westonia; Czech: Alžběta Johana Vestonie) (November 2, 1582 in London – November 23, 1612 in Prague) was an English-Czech poet, mostly known for her Neo-Latin poetry. She had the unusual distinction for a woman of the time of having her poetry published. The full works, published in two volumes in 1608, were entitled Parthenica (meaning Maidenly Writings). The subject matter varied between idyllic reveries, odes to Emperor Rudolf II (originally sent to him with the intention of convincing him to lend money), odes to herself, and anti-Semitic diatribes.
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She was born to Joanna Cooper (June 23, 1563 in Chipping Norton - 1606) and her first husband, John Weston, about whom almost nothing is known. The father died when Elizabeth was six months old. Her stepfather, Edward Kelley, was a well-known alchemist. Kelley, along with John Dee, was employed in the court of Rudolf II, which resulted in the family moving to Bohemia: to Třeboň (until 1588), Jílové (since 1591) and when Kelley was imprisoned to Most due to financial difficulties (see debtor's prison). After Kelley's death, the family moved to Prague.
Her command of languages was remarkable, being fluent in at least five: Czech, English, German, Italian, and Latin.
In 1603, she married a lawyer, Johnnes Leo. Together, they had seven children, before she died in childbirth in 1612. She is buried in St. Thomas' Church in Malá Strana, the so-called Lesser Town of Prague.
A collection of her poetry, edited and translated by Donald Cheney and Brenda M. Hosington, was published by the University of Toronto Press in 2000.