Davies, Lady Eleanor (1603-1652)
Davies, Lady Eleanor (1603-1652)
Eleanor Touchet, daughter of George, Lord Audley, and wife of Sir John Davies, an eminent lawyer in the time of James I and author of a poem of considerable merit, "Immortality of the Soul." Sir John Davies seems to have highly valued Eleanor's gift of prophecy, which led to her publishing a book, Strange and Wonderfull Prophesies (1649). She claimed to receive her prophecies from a spirit that communicated to her audibly (i.e., by clairaudience ), although the voice could be heard by no other person. Amid her numerous other writings are Amend; Amend; Gods Kingdome is at Hand; Amen, Amen (1643) and Before the Lord's Second Coming: Of the Last Days to be Visited (1650).
Sir John Davies was nominated lord chief justice of the king's bench in 1626. Before he was inducted into office, Lady Eleanor, sitting with him at dinner, suddenly burst into tears. Sir John asked her what made her weep, and she replied, "These are your funeral tears." Sir John dismissed the prediction. Within a few days he suffered a stroke and died.
Lady Eleanor also predicted the death of the duke of Buck-ingham the same year. For the assumption of the gift of prophecy, she was cited before the high commission court in 1633 and was imprisoned briefly and fined.
Sources:
Davies, Lady Eleanor. Great Britains Visitation. London, 1645.
——. The Revelation Interpreted. London, 1645.
——. Of Times and Seasons, Their Mystery. London, 1651.