“Life of the Muses’ day, their morning star!” The Cultural Influence of Lucy Harington Russell, Countess of Bedford, 11–12 August 2016, Lincoln College, Oxford
Please see https://ladybedford.wordpress.com/ for conference information, a draft schedule, and full registration details. Graduate subsidies are available thanks to the Society for Renaissance Studies, Royal Historical Society, Royal Musical Association. Early registration would be appreciated.
* Keynote speakers: Professor Linda Levy Peck and Professor Merry Wiesner-Hanks.
Lucy Harington Russell (1580–1627), Countess of Bedford, was the pre-eminent woman patron of early seventeenth-century England, and a key figure behind the artistic achievements of such luminaries as John Donne, John Dowland, Ben Jonson, Michael Drayton, Samuel Daniel, and Aemilia Lanyer. She commissioned John Florio to make the first English translation of Montaigne’s Essais, and herself wrote poetry praised by Donne. Grand full-length portraits and exquisite miniatures testify to her patronage of artists, she participated in the most sumptuous court masques of the Jacobean era, managed her husband’s estates, intervened in politically sensitive marriages, and served as Queen Anna’s most trusted confidant. In an age when women’s voices were suppressed in politics and culture Lady Bedford exerted considerable influence in both arenas. Yet she is almost always discussed in relation to the men whom she enabled and inspired. This conference seeks to place her at the centre of critical enquiry, asking questions about power, politics, patronage, culture, literature, performance, art, architecture, religion, and the body. Please email daniel.smith@ell.ox.ac.uk with any questions.