Anne Locke

Oftentimes we think that women who lived before the twentieth century were not allowed to be educated. Modern feminists would have you believe that women’s rights began with their efforts. The truth is that down through the centuries there have always been women who have risen above their social circumstances and made great contributions to society.

The majority of women then, and even now, preferred to marry and have children and raise a family. This has not precluded them from reading and studying on their own, when they have had the strong desire to educate themselves and not remain in ignorance. Even when women chose to live at home and take care of a family, many were literate and indeed some were great writers. There have always been many women who were extremely intelligent and gifted and did not let their gender stop them from educating themselves.

Modern feminists will tell you that men have always suppressed women and not allowed them to have a life outside of the home. But, throughout all of history and especially during the time of the Reformation, many fathers and husbands were not threatened by the fact that their gifted wives and daughters were female and actually encouraged them to read and study and write. These men were even proud of their wives and daughters and said so publicly.

Anne Locke (1533 – 1607) was just such a fortunate woman.  Anne was born in the parish of St. Mary Bow in London around 1533.  She was the daughter of Londoner Stephen Vaughan and a Welsh mother, Margery Guinet or Gwynneth. Her father was a mercer who served as president of the English merchants’ factory at Antwerp, where he spent a good deal of time, and also as an envoy-at-large for Henry VIII. (Henry reigned from 1509 to his death in 1547). In her upbringing Anne was given an education that made her literate in at least three languages (English, French and Latin), and a zeal that would mark the rest of her life. So here we have an example of a wise father who recognized his daughter’s gifts and saw to her education.

Anne was not a woman of the nobility, as were Queen Catherine Parr and Anne Boleyn, (two of the six wives of Henry VIII), but of the increasingly prosperous and mobile merchant class. This rising middle class of people was well educated and influential. Many women availed themselves of the opportunity to help out in family businesses.

Not only was Anne literate, but impressively erudite: she not only knew Scripture, but also translated Calvin from French. She probably rendered her own translation of the 51st Psalm from Latin, which was the basis for her sonnet, The Meditation of a Penitent Sinner. As is evident from her famous letter to the Duchess of Suffolk, she had a delightful command of rhetoric. Perhaps most importantly, however, Anne possessed strong religious convictions formed by her Protestant theology that emphasized the need for each Christian to bear personal witness to his or her faith. This meant each and every Christian, male and female.

Anne’s writing ability was recognized by many in her day. Interestingly, according to Robert Louis Stevenson, she was the woman “Knox loved most.” John Knox was a famous Scottish Reformer. (1514-1572) He and Anne certainly had a great friendship. She joined him in Geneva during the persecution under Queen “Bloody” Mary. (Mary reigned from 1553-1558) When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558, she returned to England. Knox returned to Scotland and they continued to correspond for a number of years.

Besides her translations and her letters, we have a long sonnet which she wrote and is considered to be the first English sonnet sequence by a woman, A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner published in 1560.

Within a year or two of her father’s death, Anne married Henry Locke, a neighbor of the Vaughans’ and himself a mercer. They remained in Cheapside, in Stephen Vaughan’s parish of St. Mary Bow.

There were many other gifted women who were influential during the 16^th century. God raised up remarkable women to help with the Reformation. Examples of other faithful women are Mrs. Martin Luther, Argula von Grumbach, the Solway Martyrs, Angela Merici, and others. Incredible women can be found in any century. It takes courage and a strong commitment to the Lord and your convictions to make a difference in the lives of those around you. These women were special because they lived according to those convictions and did not let their circumstances stop them. We can all learn from them and be a light in our corner of the world in our own time.