Emilia Lanyer (1569-1645) was the first woman in England to declare herself a poet. She published Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum in 1611.

Baptized Aemilia Bassano in 1569, Aemilia was the daughter of a court musician Baptist Bassano and his wife, Margaret Johnson. After her father died when Aemilia was 7, she spent some of her childhood living with Susan Bertie, Countess of Kent. Whether Bertie fostered the child or whether Aemilia was a servant is not clear, but it was while living with Bertie that the girl received a formal education and learned Latin.

At the age of 18, Aemilia became the mistress of Henry Carey, Queen Elizabeth 1’s Lord Chamberlain. She was apparently married off toAlphonso Lanyer, a court musician, after she became pregnant by Henry Carey in 1592.

Alphonso Lanyer’s death in 1613 and Emilia Lanyer supported herself for several years by running a school.