Dates

• Existence: c 1570 - 1624

Biography

Esther Inglis (c.1570-1624) was a Franco-Scottish Huguenot calligrapher, writer, and artist, associated with the court of King James VI/I. She was the daughter of French parents, Nicolas Langlois and Marie Presot, who emigrated as refugees from Dieppe to Britain, shortly after 1570, to escape religious persecution. “Inglis” is an Anglicism of her family name, “Langlois” or “Anglois”, which Esther adopted in her work from 1606. Marie Presot was herself a calligrapher, who taught Esther how to write, while Nicolas Langlois was a schoolmaster. The family eventually settled in Edinburgh, where Esther was to spend most of her life and career. Esther Inglis was a prolific and exceptionally skilled scribe; a corpus of over 62 manuscripts survives worldwide, and she produced these books as gifts which were often presented to prospective patrons. Many of her manuscripts include dedications which show that they were intended for recipients including English and Scottish royals (Elizabeth I, James VI/I, and Prince Henry), members of European royal families, and Scottish nobility. Inglis married a Scotsman, Bartholomew Kello, in 1596. Inglis’ manuscripts are often miniature, and might contain up to forty different scripts within the same book, from letters just one millimetre high, to elaborate alphabets which she copies from the manuals of sixteenth-century writing-masters. Some of Inglis’ manuscripts have embroidered covers; some imitate the appearance of printed books; some are illuminated in styles which are associated with earlier traditions of manuscript-making. The texts of Inglis’ manuscripts are all religious, copying either the words of the Geneva Bible, or works of devotional prose or verse. Inglis included self-portraits in many of her manuscripts, which usually show her in the act of writing; she presents herself as being guided in her craft by her Protestant belief. Within her lifetime, Inglis was praised by writers including Andrew Melville, and by contemporary scribes who saw her manuscripts. The Inglis manuscripts now held at Edinburgh University Library were formerly owned by David Laing (1793-1878), who was Inglis’ first collector.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

La.III.522: Specimens of calligraphic styles of writing, 1570-1624 (approximate)

 Item

Identifier: La.III.522

Scope and Contents MS La.III.522 is a composite manuscript of late-sixteenth and/or early-seventeenth century pieces of calligraphy, assembled by a later collector. The bulk of the manuscript is a combination of two different calligraphic alphabets with sample-texts, which follow the aspect and structure of early-modern writing-books. One of these decorative alphabets is composed of gothic, knotwork intials, while the other is structured by Roman capital letters against backgrounds of delicate, swirling vines....

Dates: 1570-1624 (approximate)

Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Laing Collection / Section III. Bound volumes