Anthony Walker, Mary Rich, and Seventeenth-Century Funeral Sermons of Women

The publication of funeral sermons became increasingly common in seventeenth-century England, and the commemoration of women, especially those with some status, was not unusual; but Anthony Walker's tribute to Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick, is noteworthy. Unlike the lives of so many other wome...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inProse studies Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 200 - 224
Main Author Anselment, Raymond A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 02.09.2015
Subjects
commemoration
flattery
Funeral sermons
godly woman
idealized
Proverb 31
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The publication of funeral sermons became increasingly common in seventeenth-century England, and the commemoration of women, especially those with some status, was not unusual; but Anthony Walker's tribute to Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick, is noteworthy. Unlike the lives of so many other women commemorated at funerals, considerable autobiographical information about the countess exists in her memoir, extensive diary, and many meditations that have survived in manuscripts. Seen in this context as well as in relation to a number of other sermons on seventeenth-century women, this essay provides an unusual opportunity to appreciate the distinctiveness of his celebration and the extent to which it is determined by convention. While faithful to the memory of the countess, Walker's published sermon gives significant dimension to her life and the idea of the virtuous woman.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0144-0357
1743-9426
DOI:10.1080/01440357.2015.1107952