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The publication of funeral sermons became increasingly common in seventeenth-century England, and the commemoration of women, especially those with some status, was not unusual; but Anthony Walker’s tribute to Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick, is noteworthy. Unlike the lives of so many other women commemorated at funerals, considerable autobiographical information about the countess exists in her memoir, extensive diary, and many meditations that have survived in manuscripts. Seen in this context as well as in relation to a number of other sermons on seventeenth-century women, this essay provides an unusual opportunity to appreciate the distinctiveness of his celebration and the extent to which it is determined by convention. While faithful to the memory of the countess, Walker’s published sermon gives significant dimension to her life and the idea of the virtuous woman. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]