Mary Mary Quiet Contrary....

"By day, by night, I think of him 


In wood or mead, or where I be


My heart keeps watch for one who's gone


                                                          And yet I feel he's aye to me"
                                 ~Mary Queen of Scots, written after the death of Francis II

The fascination with Mary Queen of Scots is quite lengthily. Recently, she has been featured on the CW’s “Reign” and Swiss film maker Thomas Imbach, “Mary Queen of Scots” 2013.  What makes Mary such a fascinating topic, one of legend, one of children’s rhymes?  Her life was something that was a bit of a whirlwind romance with three husbands, all ending up dead, then later her death.

Currently Mary is gracing the screen every week on Thursday nights, in Reign. Adelaide Kane portrays her grace.  The show is supposed to be a loose adaptation of Mary’s life in France and leading up to when she returns to Scotland. But where the winter finale left off, we don’t know where Mary was running off too. All we know I she ran away. The Mary on the show is a bit head strong, willful, and not exactly virtuous, as she tumbles in the hay with Francis, before being wed.  I don’t think the real Mary would have done this, or would she have been allowed to.


Mary was the only child of James V of Scotland and Mary Guise of France. She was born in 1542 at Linlithgow Palace in Scotland. Her father James V soon died, conflicting sources say in battle and one states due to nervous collapse, and or drinking contaminated water.  Dates are also unclear. Wiki states 6 days after birth and another states one year.  The Scottish lords attempted to make peace with England.  A marriage was arranged between Mary and Henry VIII’s son Edward VI. The ink was barely dry on the treaty, when religious war broke out and the Catholic opposition took Mary to Sterling Castle.   The match was broken and Scotland went back to being France’s ally.  As a very young child, Mary was moved from castle to castle partly due to safety concerns. Part of the alliance, and the blood shed in Scotland, and due to Mary being such a young age, it questioned that the Scottish lords would not respect her authority, so she was sent to France at age 5 for her safety and well being.  Interestingly, it was while in France that her name of “Stewart” changed to “Stuart” for suit the French court. (Source: http://www.royal.gov.uk/historyofthemonarchy/scottish%20monarchs%28400ad-1603%29/thestewarts/maryqueenofscots.aspx)

Her arrival to France did not come with out cost. She was already betrothed to Francis II the son of King Henry II, of France’s son. Surprisingly, the depiction of Queen Catherine in “Reign” is actually pretty accurate, as she and Mary did not get along and were at odds many of the time. Mary and Francis II were married at Sunday, April 24th 1558 in the Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris.  Mary was 16 and Francis was 14 and Mary was 15. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last long, as Francis died two years later from an inner ear infection that had abscessed into his brain in 1560.  Months earlier in 1559, Henry II died from injuries obtained in a jousting tournament.  Her mother, died in Scotland also in 1560.  In the short amount of time, Mary lost her father-in-law, her mother, and her husband.  It is believed that she never truly emotionally recovered.  Loosing three people very close to her in such a short amount of time was devastating, yet it’s devastating to any person.

She returned to Scotland as Queen of the Scots aged eighteen in 1561.  When she left, Scotland was still predominantly Catholic, upon her arrival home; it was now a Protestant country, as a result of the teachings from John Knox.  It was in Scotland, she met the infamous Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley
--> (Mary and Darnley were first cousins). In the upcoming film “Mary Queen of Scots” Darnley is portrayed by Aneurin Barnard (The White Queen). I am eager to see this adaptation for many reasons.  Unfortunately, Darnley’s quick rise to fame brought a short ending to his life. He became arrogant, a drunkard and quiet overbearing according to sources. It is noted that he went into a rage because he believed that Mary’s secretary, David Rizzio were having an affair, and Darnley organized a gang and during one of Mary’s private parties stabbed him over 50 times. In June 1566 her son, James was born. Her marriage with Darnley continued to tumble in to ashes. The disastrous marriage ended on February 9th 1567 when Darnley was found by Mary and one of her servants murdered, by suffocation in the garden of Kirk O'Field. 

Mary quickly married after Darnley’s death. Her last husband was James Hepburn, Earl of Boswell.  Whether the marriage was consensual or forced, as it is rumored that Boswell raped her while they were in Durham, as they were married just three months after Darnley’s death in .  They were on their way back from visiting her son, that April of 1567.   They were married in a protestant ceremony in Edinburgh in May of the same year.  It is thought that she turned to Boswell when she was having marital problems with Darnley, and suggested that he helped orchestrate his murder, and the possible explosion at Kirk O’Field. This was perhaps one of the biggest mistakes she made and eventually caused her demise.  The word got out and this angered her subjects and fellow Scottish nobles. The lords rose up against her and she surrendered to their opposition in June of 1567 at Carberry Hill, which was near Edinburgh. She was taken to Loch Leven Castle where she was imprisoned but escaped in 1568.  During her imprisonment at Loch Leven, it is believed she miscarried twins, that July of  1567.  She fled to England, asking for Elizabeth I, her cousin for help but instead was arrested. Elizabeth's distaste for Mary’s decision to marry Boswell in the first place, was quite evident in one of her letters:

“How could a worse choice be made for your honour than in such haste to marry such a subject, who besides other and notorious lacks, public fame has charged with the murder of your late husband, besides the touching of yourself also in some part, though we trust in that behalf falsely.” (Letter to Mary, Queen of Scots, 23 June 1567." Quoted by Loades, 69–70.)

Mary was imprisoned for 19 years. What happened to Boswell? I guess you could say he took off. How noble and loyal… not. Apparently, he fled via ship and sailed to Demark. He was met with a surprise and surprisingly Anna Throndsen, a Norwegian noblewoman and a former wife of Boswells, with the backing of her family, assisted in arresting him. Had King Frederick not heard that the English were looking for him as a suspect in Lord Darnley’s murder, he might have gotten away. Boswell ended up in Dragsholm Castle, which was infamous for its horrid conditions. He went mad and died April 14, 1578.

Back in England, Sir Francis Walsingham helped build the case against Mary for Elizabeth I, as she was a direct threat to the throne.  Mary being Roman Catholic didn’t help Mary.  Religious uprisings broke out around the country as many rebellions.  The focus of the rebellions where attempts to free Mary and put her on the throne. The rebellion in 1569 was a loss that over 750 rebels were executed. The tension between Catholic and Protestant England only mounted while Mary was imprisoned.

It took many years for them to have enough evidence to convict her of treason, but more than enough plots were uncovered by Walsingham The fact that Mary was Catholic and to have the assumption or risk of a possible “Catholic” queen was not a popular subject by many.  It was noted, that Elizabeth was at first hesitant to sign Mary’s death warrant.  Mary dressed as a martyr, was executed at Fotheringhay Castle, north of London, on February 8, 1587.  Sad to note, Mary was not allowed to have her a Catholic priest present at her execution.  She brought her dog with her to her execution, as the dog came out and refused to leave its mistress. She was given 24-hour notice that she would die that day.  After Mary’s beheading, it was discovered that she was wearing a wig, a surprise to many. Her clothes, the wooden block, everything that was touched by her blood, and any personal effects were later burned to prevent people from taking pieces for religious or symbolic purposes. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Queen_of_Scots, Fraser 1994, p. 540; Guy 2004, p. 9)

Suspicions even after her death continued and do so today. It is questioned that Elizabeth didn’t really sign the death warrant, or ordered it, yet her secretary at the time Davidson, was even told not to carry out it’s orders. This is still being questioned today.

As a result of Mary’s turbulent life and the challenges and defeats she bore; she has always been quite a popular enigma to many, both in film, novel, and scholar.  She is perhaps one of the most heroic women of Tudor Scotland and England.

Sources:
http://www.royal.gov.uk/historyofthemonarchy/scottish%20monarchs%28400ad-1603%29/thestewarts/maryqueenofscots.aspx
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/mary_queen_of_scots.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_II_of_France
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Queen_of_Scots
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hepburn,_4th_Earl_of_Bothwell
http://scotlandsmary.com/

King of the North: Richard III and the city of York

“welbyloued of my neyghbours, true to my frendes, obeysaunt & devoute in thynges religious…” from The Declamation of Noblesse

After Edward IV became king, he gave his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester lands in the north of England to govern, including the borderlands of Scotland and some of the most prominent cities in the north of England.  Richard had been in control of the north since 1461 under his brother Edward IV.  His relationship with the north had already been growing.  Soon after he wed Anne Neville, he was granted more lands, and the forfeited lands of Warwick.  Richard was then dubbed, “Warden of the West Marches of Scotland.”  During the summer of 1482, Richard invaded Scotland at King Edward's command to control unrest from the relations and political upheaval coming out of France.  Richard’s relationship with the north of England was not always one of championing for his brother the king, but one of good relations with its cities.  One such city, York, was not only was a city that he had close relations with, but it was also a city that greatly loved and supported him. By looking at this relationship between king and city; we can gather quite a different picture of what Richard was really like, definitely not one of tyrannical sorts. 

 

Battle of Bartlet c.Geoffery Wheeler

York was a great city that deeply honored and held Richard in highest esteem. They looked to him in economic hardship for help and in returned granted him the warmth and welcome befitting to a great king.  This is seen in by the many gifts of generosity to his family.  Because Richard had spent much of his youth in Northern England, Yorkshire and Middleham Castle, he was very close and had close patronage in the north. It was here he made generous donations and contributions to the church, held great parties displaying gifts to its citizens and gifts to him as well. In showing such support on the day of his coronation, the mayor and Alderman traveled to Middleham Castle to bring his son, Edward gifts of wine and food. (Source: History of York; http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/themes/medieval/king-richard-iii-and-york)

Besides growing up in the area at Middleham Castle, his visits to York seemingly few were actually of note of the times. We know that once he was king, he visited York a few times, one time for three weeks in 1483.  (One source noted that Richard was actually in York, when the famous princes in the Tower went missing or ill befell them.) Noted in the city chronicles, he was presented with gifts, and it was this trip that his son was crowned Prince of Wales, at the Minister in York. This was more than likely followed by great and elaborate festivities in the city.  Richard also had the bodies of his father, Richard of York and brother Edmund in 1476, moved to the church in Fotheringhay his birthplace, to the church for reburial. The reburial celebration not only did it bring jobs to the area by requiring masons to build of the additional tombs, but it brought great festivities honoring his father and brother.  The simple act of moving his dearly departed family back to rest in the north, not only shows closeness and ties to a land of his upbringing but it exhibits much love and admiration.

Being a very pious and openly religious man; he made many generous contributions to the church in the area, not just the placing of his family in Fotheringhay church.  It is speculated that he had planned to be buried at York Minister. A debate that has been quite a hot topic of late, adding that he had planned to have a large chapel built in his honor as well, to pray for his soul, once he passed on.  Whether his intentions were written down, this I am unsure of, his generosity and work to place various colleges in the area, and gifts could have been a result of his last intentions.  One of the biggest and surviving contributions Richard made to the north was the college he had in stalled in Middleham in 1478.

The relationship Richard had with his tidings in the north and the city of York, were quite evident and on good terms through out his reign. The city archives note with great sadness, emotion, and heartbreak with the outcome of the battle of Bosworth where their beloved Richard had fallen:

“Were assembled in the counsail chambre where and when it was shewed by diverse persons and especially by John Sponer send unto the feld of Redemore to bring tidinges frome the same to the citie, that King Richard late mercifully reigning upon us was thrugh grete treason of the ducof Northfolk and many othere that turned ayenst hyme, with many othre lordes and nobilles of this north parties, was pitiously siane and murdred to the grete hevynesse of this citie, the names of whome foloweth hereafter.”

23rd August 1485
York City Archives. House Book B2—4f. 169v.

The city of York was set to send 80 men to aid Richard in his battle but they came to late.  Blame over time has been placed on Henry Percy.  Owner of a manor, Percy as battle commander at Bosworth in 1485, failed to join the battle at command of the king aiding the betrayal of Stanley and defeat of Richard. It is even noted that Henry VII was fearful of his visit to York after Richard’s death, as the city was still quite loyal to their slain king and he feared for his life.  Under Henry VII rule, word was supposed to be dispatched by Percy and delivered to York that the king was raising taxes to fund a war in France. The kings response to his plea of the citizens complaint was to have the taxes stay, resulting in his return to town, a ransacked manor house, and his murder.  Obviously, a man who had been known to betray their beloved Richard, York’s “King of the North,” met his demise eventually.

King Richard III, was a man who was seen as a “perfect prince” to the city of York and the north. For the relationship he had with the city of York, was one of great loyalty brought together with justice from the laws he created, the harmony of his relationship with the city, and the church in the area.  His outgoing and well known display of public morality and loyalty had a huge impact on his reputation. It painted a perfect image of what and how a prince should be, one that was admired in the north. It’s this relationship that York to this day still holds dear.  
"loyalté me lie" ~motto of King Richard III


Sources:
http://www.livescience.com/38935-king-richard-iii-facts.htm
http://richardiii-ipup.org.uk/resources
http://www.richardiii.net/2_1_0_richardiii.php#interests