In 2021, Scots linguist and historian Ashley Douglas brought renewed attention to Poem 49 of the Maitland Quarto Manuscript: an anonymous nine-stanza poem written in the sixteenth century that expresses the author’s love for another woman.
Writing for the National Library of Scotland’s Wee Windaesproject, Ashley introduced the little known Sapphic poem to a wider audience and presented evidence connecting its authorship to Marie Maitland, the scribe who compiled the Manuscript.
At the same time, we were preparing to launch the first suite of national LGBT-inclusive curriculum resources for schools as part of the implementation of Scotland’s National Approach to LGBT Inclusive Education. We began working with Ashley to develop a series of teaching resources about Poem 49 and the life of Marie Maitland.
This collaboration culminated in the publication of two popular teaching resources for secondary schools: a Literacy and English resource supporting learners to analyse Poem 49 and its significance, and a Social Studies resource examining the historical context in which the poem and Manuscript were produced.
A really thrilling discovery... This is a real extension of our knowledge of women of the period, engagingly told.
Philippa Gregory
The publication of With My Own Hand continues Ashley’s work to uncover Marie’s story.
The book presents archival evidence to highlight the life of Marie, a woman whose writing represents one of the earliest known examples of Sapphic poetry in Europe since the surviving fragments of Sappho of Lesbos, who lived between approximately 630 and 570 BCE.
The expressions of same-sex love contained in Poem 49 were written in early modern Scotland, within a society shaped by strict religious and cultural expectations. Homosexuality was heavily condemned and could be punishable by death, while women who departed from accepted social norms could face suspicion and persecution during the era of the Scottish witch trials.
Despite this backdrop, Ashley reveals in With My Own Handthat Marie included three Sapphic poems in the Maitland Quarto Manuscript, expressing her love and commitment to an unidentified woman.
In 2021, with Ashley and her wife, Eilidh, we commissioned an imagined portrait of Marie Maitland to help bring this overlooked historical figure to life. The portrait now appears on the reverse of the new book and was recently displayed at the National Galleries of Scotland.
We were privileged to attend the launch of With My Own Hand at the National Library of Scotland, where Ashley appeared in conversation with author Sara Sheridan, alongside live performances from folk singer Josie Duncan.
The publication marks a significant contribution to uncovering the remarkable, yet long-overlooked, story of Marie Maitland.
The book strengthens lesbian representation in Scottish history and serves as a timely reminder that same-sex love and relationships have always existed, even when they have been omitted or erased from the historical record.
We have been privileged to support and collaborate with Ashley throughout the past five years as part of the journey to ensure that Marie’s story is recognised.
We have developed two curriculum resources to help bring Marie Maitland’s story into the classroom.
Our Literacy and English resource supports learners to critically analyse Poem 49 and strengthen their understanding of Scots language and literature.
Our Social Studies resource explores the context of early modern Scotland in which Marie compiled the Maitland Quarto Manuscript, offering learners insight into a previously overlooked aspect of this important period in Scottish history.
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