Jean Elliot (April 1727 – 29 March 1805), also known as Jane Elliot, was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

poet. She wrote one of the most famous versions of ''

The Flowers of the Forest ''Flowers of the Forest'', or ''The Fluuers o the Forest'' (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud 3812), is a Scottish folk tune and work of war poetry commemorating the defeat of the Scottish army, and the death of James IV of Scotland, James IV, at the Ba ...

'', a song lamenting the Scottish army's defeat in the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory ...

. Published in 1776, it is her only surviving work. The lyrics are set to an earlier tune c. 1615–1625 in the John Skene of Halyards Manuscript as "Flowres of the Forrest."

Biography

Daughter of Sir Gilbert Elliot, Jean was born in 1727 at Minto House in

Teviotdale Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

. During the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

, when a posse of Jacobite Army soldiers came to arrest her influential father, Jean received and entertained the officers at Minto House with such calmness, courtesy and composure that she was able to convince them that her father was not within reach when he was actually hiding himself among Minto crags, not far from the Minto House. While Miss Elliot had many admirers, she never married. From 1782 to 1804 she resided in Brown's Square,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. She is said to have been the last lady in the city who kept standing in her hall a private

sedan chair The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

. Towards the end of her life, Jean went back to

. She died either at Minto House, or Mount Teviot, the residence of her younger brother Admiral John Elliot, on 29 March 1805. Her brothers included Gilbert,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, and Andrew Elliot.

References

External links

"Women in History of Scots Descent: Song Writers"
ElectricScotland.com
"Abbotsford Series of the Scottish Poets Volume 1 by George Eyre-Todd"
Google Books 1727 births 1805 deaths Scottish women poets Scottish women writers 18th-century Scottish women writers Daughters of baronets {{Scotland-writer-stub