Elizabeth Grimston

Elizabeth Grimston (also Grymeston or Grimeston; c. 1563 – c. 1603) was an English poet.

Life She was born in North Erpingham, Norfolk, England, to parents Martin Bernye (Barney), Esquire of Gunton, Norfolk, and Margaret Flint. She was the fifth child in the family, with a younger sister Margaret. Elizabeth's father, a prominent lawyer, was the owner of a large amount of land in Gunton, Norfolk, including Gunton Hall and St. Andrew's Church in Gunton.

She married Christopher, the youngest son of Thomas Grimston of Grimston, Yorkshire. Her married life appears to have been rendered miserable by the cruelty of her mother, whereby she became a chronic invalid. Reduced, as she described it, to the condition of "a dead woman among the living", she "resolved to break the barren soil of her fruitless brain," and devoted herself to the compilation of a moral guide-book for the benefit of her son Bernye Grymeston, the only survivor of her nine children. She died in 1603 before the publication of her work, which appeared under the title of Miscelanea : Meditations : Memoratives, by Elizabeth Grymeston, London, 1604, 4to.

Marriage In 1584, when Elizabeth was about 21, she married Christopher Grymeston, son of Thomas Grymeston and Dorothy Thwaytes of Smeeton, Yorkshire. Their marriage was a struggling one that seemed to be subject to much scandal. On 17 December 1578, at the age of 14, Christopher Grymeston had been admitted as a pensioner to the Bachelor's table at Caius College in Cambridge. Christopher received his bachelor's degree in 1582–1583, and was admitted as a fellow-commoner in 1584 at the school. After he received his master's in 1586, he became a fellow of the college (1587–1592), serving as bursar in 1588.

The book is divided into 14 so-called chapters, most of which are brief essays on religious topics. The eleventh chapter is headed 'Morning Meditation, with sixteen sobs of a sorrowful spirit, which she used for a mentall prayer, as also an addition of sixteen staves taken out of "Peter's Complaint" (Southwell's), which she usually played on the winde instrument,' and the twelfth is 'a Madrigall made by Bernye Grymestone upon the conceit of his mother's play to the former ditties.' The thirteenth chapter consists of 'Odes in imitation of the seven pœnitentiall psalms in seven severall kindes of verse.' The 'Memoratives' are a number of moral maxims, which, if not original, are at least pointed and well chosen. The dedication, addressed to the author's son, is a quaint piece of composition, containing good advice for moral guidance and on the choice of a wife; it is reprinted in W. C. Hazlitt's 'Prefaces, Dedications, and Epistles,' 1874. Two later and undated editions of the Miscelanea were published, enlarged by the addition of six other short essays.

One of the many noticeable features of Elizabeth's writing was her use of quotations and concepts from fellow writers, both past and contemporary. While many of her sources were widely recognised, at many points throughout her advice book she failed to reference who she is quoting or borrowing from. In many passages, she paraphrased ideas to suit her own needs, making others' work her own. Numerous sections of her essays contain poetry, and while some scholars call her a poet, none of the verses were her own. While she combined many poems, and altered lines and stanzas, she always conserved the overall meaning of the work. One of the main sources of Elizabeth's passages was England's Parnassus, which many quotes and ideas had been derived from.

Grimston's method of borrowing others' work and making it her own not only made her work more successful and convincing, but also proved her high level of education. Her knowledge of the Bible, as well as Latin, Italian, and Greek become quite clear as readers encounter the numerous quotes and passages she derives from various works she would have been familiar with during her time. "Parallel sentiment" in the two parts of her book, as well as continued proof of knowledge and familiarity with religion, are evidence that Elizabeth wrote the book in its entirety herself.

Death Little is known about the death of Elizabeth Grymeston. There are no death records or cause of death for Elizabeth, but she was not alive when her book was published in 1604; she probably died in 1602–1603. Scholars propose that the editor of the first two editions of her work was Christopher, as the second edition has an authentic coat of arms, implying that a member of her family was closely involved in its publication and authorised it.