Bathsua Reginald Makin, author of
An Essay to Revive the Antient Education of Gentlewomen, was regarded in seventeenth-century England as a learned woman, notable for her fluency in classical and modern languages. In addition to writing a defense of women's education, she published poetry and established her own school. Her achievement was remarkable for a woman of the middle classes.
Bathsua Reginald was born in 1599 or 1600 to Henry Reginald, a London schoolmaster. Nothing is known of her mother. Her sister, Ithamaria, was born in 1601 and christened at St. Dunstan's, Stepney. The girls' unusual names, variants of the Old Testament “Bathsheba” (King Solomon's mother) and “Ithamar” (a son of Aaron), suggest a close association between the Reginald family and the circle of
1073 words
Citation: Hamilton, Patricia L.. "Bathsua Makin". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 September 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2891, accessed 21 November 2024.]
