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Mary Cheke, Lady Cheke (née Hill; c. 1532 - 30 November 1616) was an English lady of the privy chamber to Elizabeth I, as well as a courtier poet,[1] and epigrammatist.[2]

Mary Cheke, Lady Cheke
Born	Mary Hill c. 1532 Hampshire, England
Died	30 November 1616
Occupation	courtier poet epigrammatist
Language	English
Nationality	British
Spouse	John Cheke ​ ​ (m. 1547; died 1557)​ Henry Macwilliam ​ (m. 1558)​
Children	3
Relatives	Sir John Mason (step-father)

Biography

Born Mary Hill in Hampshire, c. 1532. Her father was Richard Hill (d. 1539), of Hartley Wintney; he had served as Sergeant of the Wine Cellar to Henry VIII. After her father's death, her mother remarried Sir John Mason.

On May 11, 1547,[3] she married Sir John Cheke of Mottistone Manor, an English classical scholar and statesman. They had at least three children, the sons, Henry, John, and Edward.[3] After Mary Tudor became Queen in 1554, Mary Cheke's husband left England. From Calais,[3] he requested of Sir John Harrington to look after his wife.[4] John Cheke died in 1557. Late in the next year, 1558,[1] Mary Cheke married Henry Macwilliam of Stambourne Hall, a royal pensioner,[5] but retained the surname Cheke.[2]

Cheke is remembered as an important attendant to Elizabeth I, and for a "witty poetic exchange" at her court. [2] In the late 1590s,[5] Harrington wrote an epigram with negative connotations regarding women in the Bible, and Cheke wrote back a lyrically-clever counter-epigram, "Erat quaedam mulier (a reply to John Harrington's poem, Erat quidem homo)".[4][5]

Cheke died 30 November 1616.[3]

Selected works

• "Erat quaedam mulier (a reply to John Harrington's poem, Erat quidem homo)", late 1590s

References

Bibliography

• Sage, Lorna; Greer, Germaine; Showalter, Elaine (30 September 1999). The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-66813-2.
• Stevenson, Jane; Davidson, Peter; Davidson, Regius Chalmers (2001). Early Modern Women Poets (1520-1700): An Anthology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-924257-3.

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