Mary Gunter
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Mary Gunter | |
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| Born | 1586 |
| Died | 1622 |
| Nationality | Kingdom of England |
Mary Gunter born Mary Cresswell (1586 – 1622) was an English convert to protestantism.
Life
Gunter was born in 1586 and her father was a gentleman named Thomas Cresswell. She was said to be a kinswomen of Sir Christopher Blount[1] and Blount was known to Queen Elizabeth because he was the third husband of Lettice Dudley. Lettice Dudley was hated by the Queen and banned from her court because she had married the Queen's suitor the Earl of Leicester.
When she was fourteen her guardian died and she was taken in by Sir Christopher Blount. Blount was executed in March 1601 for his part in the Essex Rebellion five weeks before.[2] However she was still welcome as his kinswoman and she was looked after by Lettice Knollys.[1]
The countess was alarmed to find that Gunter was intending to join the many English Catholic women who were leaving for what is now Belgium to become nuns in English founded convents. The countess and her chaplain, John Wilson, decided to intercede. Her Catholic books and rosary were taken from her and she was converted to the protestant faith. She later questioned this and even considered renouncing her faith in God, but she would remain a protestant.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Gunter [née Cresswell], Mary (1586–1622), convert to protestantism". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71780. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
- ^ Hammer, P.E.J. (1999): The Polarisation of Elizabethan Politics: The Political Career of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex 1585–1597 Cambridge UP ISBN 0-521-01941-9
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