THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
fetes, Priories, and other Religious Houses in Ireland (Dublin, 1871-73) and Acta Sancti Brendani
(1872).
MORATA, OLIMPIA: Italian Protestant; b. at Ferrara 1526; d. at Heidelberg Oct. 26, 1555. She received a thorough education in Latin under the direction of her father, the Humanist Fulvio Pellegrini, who lived at the court of Ferrara as teacher of the Princes Ippolito and Alfonso, and in Greek under the Protestant Kilian Sinapi (Senf). In 1540 Olimpia was drawn to the court as companion and fellow pupil of Princess Anna of Este; and- " soon shone as a star in the choir of the Duchess Renata." She likewise took part in producing, before Paul III., 1543, the Adelphi of Terence; the leading rdles falling to the ducal princes and princesses. Her life in court came to an end in 1548 by reason of the marriage of the princesses. Soon after she was stricken by the sudden death of her father, and her return to court did not eventuate, possibly because of her Lutheran bent and the duke's opposition to that tendency. She married, in 1550, the physician Grtindler of Schweinfurt. In spring the young couple journeyed across the Alps, taking with them Olimpia's brother, a lad of eight years, with a view to fixing their home at Schweinfurt, in the following October. Olimpia's letters testify to the happiness of her marriage, and to her deep Evangelical piety. In 1553 the so-called " wild Margrave " Albrecht of Brandenburg- Ansbach captured the town of Schweinfurt, after the mercenaries of the bishop had camped about the town and introduced the plague. The capture of the city was attended with murder and plundering, from which Grtindler barely saved his life, and fled with Olimpia through the Spessart and Odenwald, finding shelter finally in the castle of the count of Erbach. He contrived to obtain a medical professorship at Heidelberg in 1554; but afflictions and hardships had undermined his wife's health, and she died in the very next year. A contagious disease soon carried off her husband and her brother, and all were laid to rest in the cemetery of St. Peter's Church, where their resting-place is marked by a gravestone with a touching inscription. The town of Schweinfurt has also marked the house in which Olimpia dwelt, with a tablet inscribed:
Vilis et exilis domus hsec quamvis, habitatrix Clara tamen claram sat faoit et celebrem. " A famous woman dwelling in this house, Though cheap and poor it be. Has by her simple dwelling there Made its celebrity."
K. Benrath.
Bibliography: Her Opera, including her letters, were edited by C. S. Curione, Basel, 1558, 1562, 1570, 1580. Biographies are by G. A. Nolten, Frankfort, 1775; R. Turnbull, Boston, 1846; and (best) by J. Bonnet, Paris, 1850. Consult also B. Fontana, Renata di Francia, ii. 283 sqq., Rome, 1893; E. Rodocanachi, Une protectrice de la reforme en Italie et en France. Renee de France, duchesse de Ferrare, Paris, 1896.
MORAVIANS. See Unity of the Brethren.
MORE, HANNAH: English authoress and philanthropist; b. at Stapleton (3 m. n. of Bristol) Feb. 2, 1745; d. at Clifton (asuburb of Bristol) Sept. 7, 1833. She was educated at Bristol by her father, who was the village schoolmaster. At the age of
sixteen she produced a pastoral drama, entitled The Search after Happiness (not published until 1773), and in 1774 the tragedy The Inflexible Captive, and several poems; in 1777 a tragedy, Percy (brought out by Garrick, and played for fourteen nights); and in 1779 her last tragedy, The Fatal Falsehood. But, her views having changed, after Garrick's death in 1779, she declared that she did not " consider the stage, in its present state, as becoming the appearance or countenance of a Christian; on which account she thought proper to renounce her dramatic productions in any other light than as mere poems." Henceforth she turned her attention to religious themes and non-dramatic poetry, and wrote very many pieces, long and short. Of these the most famous are the popular tales in the monthly publication entitled The Cheap Repository, begun in Bristol, 1795. Such stories as Parley the Porter, Black Giles the Poacher, and above all, The Shepherd of Salisbury Plains, have not only been very widely circulated, but have endeared their author to many households. Not read much to-day, but once very popular, are: Thoughts on the Manners of the Great (1788); Religion of the Fashionable World (1791); Strictures on the Modern System of Female Education (London, 1799); Hints toward Forming the Character of a Young Princess (1805; she had been recommended by Bishop Porteus for governess to the little Princess Charlotte, daughter of George III., but court-etiquette required a lady of rank for this position); C celebs in Search of a Wife (1809; her most popular work, ten editions having been sold in first year); Practical Piety (1811); Christian Morals (1813); Essay on the Character and Writings of St. Paid (1815); Modern Sketches (1819); Spirit of Prayer (1825) . Her collected works were published 8 vols., London, 1801; 19 vols., 1818, in 11 vols., 1830. Her poems were collected in 1816 and 1829.
When she gave up writing for the stage, she also turned her back upon the fashionable and brilliant society in London, in which she had lived as a favorite for five years, and retired to Bristol, and then, in 1786, to her " little thatched hermitage " at Cowslip Green, at Wrington, ten miles from Bristol. There, in 1790, she was joined by her sisters, who had long kept school at Bristol; and together, upon the suggestion of Wilberforce, they began to establish Sunday-schools and other religious and philanthropic meetings at Cheddar and a number of other places. In these, Hannah taught the Bible and catechism. In 1802 they all moved to Barley Wood. In 1828 Hannah, who survived her sisters, removed to Clifton, where she died. Hannah More was in every way a remarkable woman. She was considered one of the great reformers of contemporary manners and morals. Her philanthropic labors were abundant and successful. She received, it is said, upward of thirty thousand pounds sterling for her writings, and bequeathed ten thousand pounds sterling for pious and charitable purposes.
Bibliography: Her life has been written by H. Thompson, London, 1838 (best); W. Roberts, 4 vols., ib. 1835, abridged ed., 1872; C. L. Balfour, ib. 1854; A. J. Buckland, ib. 1882; and C. L. Yonge, ib. 1888. Consult: L. B. Walford, Twelve English Authoresses, London, 1892; A. Birrell, Essays about Men, Women and Books, ib. 1894; DNB, xxxviii. 414-120.