When George Ballard wrote in 1752 that he had been forced to omit certain women "of distinguished parts and learning" from his Memoirs of Several Ladies of Great Britain because he had "been unable to collect very little else relating to them," his list included Elizabeth Grymeston, Bathsua Makin, and Æmelia Lanier. And today little more is known of Makin and Lanier.

Æmelia's maiden name is in doubt. She may have been the daughter of a member of the King's Music, Baptist Bassano, and Margaret Johnson, but we cannot be sure. We do know that she married Alphonso Lanier, a musician who played the recorder in the King's Music from 1594 until his death in 1613. Apparently Æmelia was well educated and had been trained in Latin and French. Her use of imagery from the field of music demonstrates her close familiarity with that art, either from personal training or from her association with the royal band at court. She was also well versed in classical mythology. Direct reference to the metrical version of the Psalms by the Countess of Pembroke reveals that she moved in that social group which circulated poetry in manuscript. The simple quatrains of her dedicatory poem are followed by the more sophisticated stanzas, ottava rima, of the Salve Deus Rex Judœorum itself.

Court records of the King's Music date back to the coronation of Edward IV in 1460. Queen Elizabeth's band seems to have been the first to include violins, in addition to the usual brasses, woodwinds, and timpani. Many of the musicians came from French and Italian families who arrived in England in the sixteenth century. Nicholas Lanier, father-in-law of Æmelia, was a member of the French Royal Music in the court of Henry II as late as 1561. Lanier appears to have moved that year to England, where he lived in London with Guillaume de Vache, another French musician. And that same year he joined the Queen's band. As was customary, his six sons eventually followed him in the Royal Music, as did many of their sons after them. Of his five daughters we know nothing.

The fifth child was Alphonso who, trained in flute and recorder, joined the band in 1594. He continued in his position at court until his death in 1613. He apparently held an army commission as well, and was known as Captain Lanier. In 1604 he was awarded a "grant of the office of weighing of hay and straw brought to London and Westminster, for 20 years," according to the Grove Supplement. This patent devolved upon Æmelia at his death but she made it over to his brother Innocent, who proposed to apply for a supplementary grant and to give her one-half of the joint proceeds. He failed to acquire the added grant, however, and never made any payments to her. At Innocent's death in 1625, another brother, Clement, held the patent, which had evidently been renewed. He also exploited Æmelia and withheld payment to her when she appealed to the courts for redress in 1635. No settlement was ever recorded.

Henry Lanier, the only son of Æmelia and Alphonso, pursued a career in the King's Music as a flutist, as his father had before him. He had one son, Andrea, whom he placed under the tutelage of an uncle so that the boy might be trained in flute and cornet. Henry died in 1633.

By 1635 Æmelia was left alone, her husband and her son having died, and her grandson having been placed with Alphonso's brother as ward and pupil. Her life had been spent in court circles during the reigns of Elizabeth, James I, and Charles I, all of whom had encouraged the development of music and drama. By 1635 court musicians were engaged in preparing music not only for plays but also for elaborate masques, and a new form of music drama, called "opera," was in its infancy. The term "orchestra" was now being used to describe the band that was located between the singers and the audience—a departure from the usual position behind or beside the stage. Within Æmelia's lifetime England had witnessed the development of the madrigal, the opera, and masques that required fantastic musical settings. Her brother-in-law, Nicholas, became Master of the King's Music, traveled on the Continent as agent for Charles I and the Duke of Buckingham to purchase paintings, and wrote what might be considered the first true English opera, entitled Lovers Made Men in 1617. His portrait was painted by Van Dyck. He was a friend of the famous Henry Lawes, and of John Milton, Sr., the poet's father.

We do not know when Æmelia Lanier died, but her name has not been found in official records after 1639. Her little book published in 1611 would seem to be too polished for a first attempt at writing poetry; it is highly possible that other works exist in manuscript, unidentified.