University of Massachusetts Amherst:Course Website

Romancing the Renaissance:
the Feminization of Early Modern Culture in Twentieth Century Mass Media

English 339

Maroon Divider
Description | Schedule | Syllabus | Class Handouts | Internet Resources
Maroon Divider

Lettice Knowlys
Lettice Knollys (1539-1634)

The Countess of Essex and Leicester

Also known as: Laetitia Knollys, Lettice Knowles, and Lettice Devereux.

 

Lettice Knollys, the Countess of Essex and Leicester was born in 1539. She was cousin to Elizabeth I. Her relationship with Elizabeth I was one that greatly exceeded genealogy. Lettice Knollys had a big part in Elizabeth's affairs of the heart. Lettice's second husband was Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Robert Dudley was a favorite of Elizabeth, and because of the marriage in 1578, which was originally held in secret, Lettice was ban from the Queen's court. Lettice's first Marriage to Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex also impacted the Queen except this time in a rather different fashion. The son of Walter and Lettice, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex 2nd, became Elizabeth's new favorite in her later years. Lettice died December 25, 1634.

 

knollys

Lettice Knollys

Born: 1539

Died: December 25, 1634

Father: Sir Francis Knollys

Mother: Catherine Carey

Married: 1562, Walter Devereux, Earl of Essex 1st

Married: 1578, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

Married: 1589, Sir Christopher Blount

Child: Penelope Devereux, born 1560

Child: Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex 2nd, born 1566

 

References

Weir, Alison. The Life of Elizabeth I. New York: Random House, 1998.

Holt, Victoria. My Enemy the Queen. New York: Random House, 1978.

Strachey, Lytton. Elizabeth and Essex A Tragic History. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1928.

Hibbert, Christopher. The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I, Genius of the Golden Age. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1991.

Anthony, Katherine. Queen Elizabeth. New York: Knopf, 1929.

http://www.dnaco.net/~aleed/corsets/gallery/1585.html

http://www.chrysalis.org/genpub/ROYAL/d0001/g0000052.htm

Please note: It is advisable when attempting to acquire information on Lettice Knollys to look for information through figures such as: Elizabeth I, Robert Dudley, or Robert Devereux. Information on Lettice Knollys is not usually solely dedicated to her.

 

Maroon Divider
Description | Schedule | Syllabus | Class Handouts | Internet Resources
Maroon Divider

Produced and maintained by Your Name (email address)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
last updated - 1/12/99