Elizabeth Elstob

Who was Elizabeth Elstob?

Elizabeth Elstob, the "Saxon Nymph", was born and brought up in the Quayside area of Newcastle upon Tyne, and, like Mary Astell of Newcastle, is nowadays regarded as one of the first English feminists. She was proficient in eight languages and became a pioneer in Anglo-Saxon studies, an unprecedented achievement for a woman in the period.

In London she translated Madeleine de Scudéry's Essay upon Glory in 1708 and an English-Saxon Homily on the Nativity of St Gregory in 1709. Both works are dedicated to Queen Anne, who is praised in feminist prefaces.

From 1702, Elizabeth was part of the circle of intelligent women around Mary Astell, who helped to find subscribers for her Rudiments of Grammar for the English-Saxon Tongue, the first such work written in English. The preface, An Apology for the Study of Northern Antiquities, took issue with the formidable Jonathan Swift and seems to have caused him to amend his views.

Elizabeth's brother William Elstob was sent to Eton and Cambridge and entered the church. Like his sister, he was a scholar and edited Roger Ascham's Letters in 1703. Elizabeth lived with him at Oxford from 1696, and in London from 1702.