Esther Inglis (1571-1624) was one of the finest calligraphers of the Tudor and Stuart period. She produced over sixty exquisitely illuminated documents and little books, illustrated with flowers and with embroidered covers. Most of her books were Protestant religious texts including psalms from the Geneva Bible and verses from the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
Inglis presented many of her books to members of the English court including Queen Elizabeth I, the Earl of Essex, and James VI, and to French and Dutch officials who were working for the Protestant cause.Inglis was born to Nicholas Langlois and Marie Pressot in 1571.
Her father was a schoolteacher who later became Master of the French School in Edinburgh, and her mother was also a calligrapher. The family fled to England around 1570.