Salamander of Leith

Last updated

AnthonyRoll-27 Salamander.jpg
The galleass Salamander, in the Anthony Roll
History
Scottish Red Ensign.svg Scotland
NameSalamander
BuilderFrench
Laid downUnknown
LaunchedUnknown
Acquired1537
In service1537
Out of service1544
Captured1544
FateUnknown
NotesUsed against Scotland in 1547 by England.
General characteristics
Class and typeWarship
Tons burthen300 tons
PropulsionSails
Complement220
Armament
  • 10 or more cannons
  • 22 cross-bows
  • 9 handguns

Salamander was a warship of the 16th-century Royal Scots Navy. She was a wedding present from Francis I of France to James V of Scotland.

Contents

Flagship of Scotland

Henry Ray saw James V and Madeleine of Valois arrive at Leith on 19 May 1537, noting four great Scottish ships and ten French. [1] Two French ships remained in Scotland as wedding presents; the Salamander and the Morischer, Moriset or Great Unicorn. [2] A list of French wedding gifts includes these two as 'great ships for the wars', with two further 'gallant ships of war.' [3] The ship was repaired or finished in France in March 1537, and James V gave gifts to workmen who set up a new mast at Honfleur. [4]

After a major refit by John Barton, the Salamander took James V on a pilgrimage from Leith to the Isle of May ending at Pittenweem, then returned to France in May 1538 to escort the new queen, Mary of Guise, accompanied by the Moriset, and Mary Willoughby . [5] Mary of Guise herself sailed from Le Havre with Jean de Clamorgan, sieur de Saâne-Saint-Just, captain of the Réale, with two other French ships or galleys, the Saint Jehan, and Saint Pierre. The three French captains and their commander Jacques de Fountaines, Sieur de Mormoulins, were rewarded with gold coins in June 1539. [6] [7] Mormoulins had commanded the French fleet that brought Madeleine in 1537. [8]

New costumes were bought for 4 trumpeters, 4 drummers, and 3 whistlers for the Scottish fleet. [9] The keepers of the Salamander were Alexander Lun and John Reid, and John Ker was its master. [10]

The Salamander became the king's flagship. In 1538 it was equipped with a new compass and four clocks. [11] The Great Lion and the Salamander were fitted with 15 large wheeled guns and 10 smaller wheeled guns in May 1540. The 22 crossbows of the Salamander and 9 small hagbut guns used on the tops were inspected and repaired, and two and half fothers of lead bought for ballast. [12] The ships were "gallantry trimmed with painting and gilding". [13]

Next month, James V embarked on the newly equipped Salamander at Leith, after first making his will on 12 June, [14] and accompanied by the Mary Willoughby, the Great Unicorn, the Little Unicorn, the Lion and twelve other ships sailed to Kirkwall on Orkney. Then he went to Lewis on the West. James's fleet in the West was provisioned from Dumbarton, Ayr and Irvine and returned to Edinburgh by 6 July. [15] John Barton sailed to Dieppe with the Great Lion and Salamander in June 1541, and had their 27 guns cleaned and the latter ship re-rigged. [16]

During 1542, the Mary Willoughby, the Lion, and the Salamander attacked merchants and fishermen off Whitby under the command of John Barton, son of Robert Barton, the 'Skipper from Leith'. [17] In December 1542, the Mary Willoughby, the Salamander and the Lion blockaded a London merchant ship called the Antony of Bruges in a creek on the coast of Brittany near 'Poldavy Haven.' [18]

In the English Navy

The Salamander and the Scottish-built Unicorn were captured at Leith and used as transport for the return journey of a part of Lord Hertford's land army on 14 May 1544, after the burning of Edinburgh, with ballast of 80,000 Scottish iron cannon-shot. [19] With 200 crew and 20 gunners, her armament in the English fleet listed on 1 January 1548 consisted of: 2 brass culverins; 3 brass demi-culverins; 4 sakers; 7 iron port pieces; 3 iron fowlers; 2 iron quarter slings; 17 iron double bases; and 11 hand guns. There were 140 yew bows; 90 bills; and 70 moorish pikes. [20] The Salamander carried roughly half the armament of Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose.

The Salamander, listed in the English fleet as 300 tons with 220 men, and called a galleas in the Anthony Roll, and the Unicorn, returned to Scotland in Edward Clinton's invasion fleet of August 1547, and presumably contributed to the naval bombardment at the Battle of Pinkie. [21] The Salamander was in the fleet taken to Orkney by John Clere in 1557. [22] She may have been destroyed as late as 1574. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James V</span> King of Scotland from 1513 to 1542

James V was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England. During his childhood Scotland was governed by regents, firstly by his mother until she remarried, and then by his first cousin once removed, John Stewart, Duke of Albany. James's personal rule began in 1528 when he finally escaped the custody of his stepfather, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. His first action was to exile Angus and confiscate the lands of the Douglases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary of Guise</span> Queen of Scotland from 1538 to 1542

Mary of Guise, also called Mary of Lorraine, was Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. As the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, she was a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked mid-16th-century Scotland, ruling the kingdom as queen regent on behalf of her daughter from 1554 until her death in 1560.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linlithgow Palace</span> Ruined palace in Scotland

The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, 15 miles (24 km) west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the palace was little used, and was burned out in 1746. It is now a visitor attraction in the care of Historic Environment Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madeleine of Valois</span> Queen of Scotland in 1537

Madeleine of Valois was a French princess who briefly became Queen of Scotland in 1537 as the first wife of King James V. The marriage was arranged in accordance with the Treaty of Rouen, and they were married at Notre-Dame de Paris in January 1537, despite French reservations over her failing health. Madeleine died in July 1537, only six months after the wedding and less than two months after arriving in Scotland, resulting in her nickname, the "Summer Queen".

Sir Andrew Barton was a Scottish sailor from Leith. He gained notoriety as a privateer, making raids against Portuguese ships. He was killed in battle and memorialised in English and Scottish folk songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Scots Navy</span> Military unit

The Royal Scots Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Scotland from its origins in the Middle Ages until its merger with the Kingdom of England's Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707. There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. King Robert I developed naval power to counter the English in the Wars of Independence (1296–1328). The build-up of naval capacity continued after the establishment of Scottish independence. In the late fourteenth century, naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, Flemish and French merchantmen and privateers. King James I took a greater interest in naval power, establishing a shipbuilding yard at Leith and probably creating the office of Lord High Admiral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunbar Castle</span> Fortress overlooking the harbour of Dunbar, Scotland

Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near the English-Scottish border. The last was slighted in 1567; it is a ruin today.

Margaret was a Scottish warship of the 16th century.

Mary Willoughby was a ship of the English Tudor navy. She appears in the navy lists from 1532 during the reign of Henry VIII. She was named after Maria Willoughby, a lady-in-waiting and close friend of Catherine of Aragon. The ship was taken by the Scots in 1536 and was included in the Royal Scots Navy, The English recaptured her in 1547. The ship was rebuilt in 1551, increasing in size from 140 bm to 160 bm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish royal tapestry collection</span>

The Scottish royal tapestry collection was a group of tapestry hangings assembled to decorate the palaces of sixteenth-century kings and queens of Scotland. None appear to have survived.

John Tennent or Tennand of Listonshiels was a servant and companion of King James V of Scotland. He kept an account of the king's daily expenses which is an important source document for the Scottish royal court.

Lion was the name of five warships of the Royal Scottish Navy during the 16th century, some of which were prizes captured by, and from the English. The names of these ships reflect the Royal Arms of Scotland and its central motif of the Lion Rampant.

Robert Barton of Over Barnton was a Scottish landowner, merchant, sailor and politician. He served as Comptroller, Master of the Mint and Lord High Treasurer to James V of Scotland.

John Drummond of Milnab was a 16th-century Scottish carpenter in charge of the woodwork of the palaces, castles and guns of James IV of Scotland and James V of Scotland.

The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack Leith and Edinburgh, and the city was burnt on 7 May. However, the Scottish artillery within Edinburgh Castle harassed the English forces, who had neither the time nor the resources to besiege the Castle. The English fleet sailed away loaded with captured goods, and with two ships that had belonged to James V of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Wark</span> Scottish royal arsenal

The King's Wark in Leith was a building on the Shore of Leith, at the mouth of the Water of Leith into the Firth of Forth. The King's Wark was the Scottish royal arsenal where cannon used on royal ships were kept and maintained, and where supplies shipped to Leith for the royal household were stored. To the north east of the King's Wark the Shore was extended into the sea by a pier known as the "Bulwark". To the west was the Broad Wynd, and on the south, there was a walled yard. An inn on the site was documented in 1623. The site on the Shore includes a public house and restaurant called "The King's Wark" on the corner of the Shore and Bernard Street.

Robert Anstruther was a Scottish soldier in the service of Mary of Guise and Mary, Queen of Scots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mosman (goldsmith)</span> Scottish goldsmith

John Mosman or Mossman was a Scottish goldsmith based in Edinburgh who served the royal court and was involved in gold mining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Arthur (tailor)</span>

Thomas Arthur was a Scottish tailor who worked for James V of Scotland.

References

  1. ↑ State Papers Henry VIII, vol. 5 part 4 cont., (1836), 79, Clifford to Henry VIII.
  2. ↑ Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, Chronicles of Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1814), 372.
  3. ↑ Guthrie, William, History of Scotland, vol. 5 (1767), p. 166 citing the list in Balfour's annals.
  4. ↑ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1905), p. 463.
  5. ↑ Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 182-4: Thomas, Andrea, Princelie Majestie (John Donald: Edinburgh, 2005), pp. 158-159: National Records of Scotland, Household books.
  6. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1907), p. 60: Augustin Jal, Documents inédits sur l'histoire de la marine au XVIe siècle (Paris, 1842), pp. 9-10: BnF Français 4574.
  7. ↑ Collection des ordonnances des rois de France: Catalogue des actes de François 1er, 3 (Paris, 1889), pp. 613–614
  8. ↑ Andrea Thomas, Princelie Majestie: The Court of James V (Edinburgh: John Donald), p. 159: Collection des ordonnances des rois de France: Catalogue des actes de François 1er, 8 (Paris, 1905), p. 271 no. 31819
  9. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1905), pp. 399-402.
  10. ↑ James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 336-7.
  11. ↑ Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 8, 159.
  12. ↑ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 353, 356, 421.
  13. ↑ State Papers of Henry VIII, vol. 5 part 4 cont. (London, 1836), p. 180.
  14. ↑ HMC Mar & Kellie (London, 1904), p. 15.
  15. ↑ Cameron, Jamie, James V (Tuckwell: East Linton, 1998), pp. 245-248.
  16. ↑ Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1907), p. 465.
  17. ↑ Merriman, Marcus, The Rough Wooings (Tuckwell: East Linton, 2000), p. 181, citing Letters & Papers, Henry VIII, vol. 18: See also, William Stanford Reid, Skipper from Leith (University of Pennsylvania, 1962).
  18. ↑ Letters & Papers, Henry VIII, 18:1 (London, 1901), no. 91.
  19. ↑ Stevenson, Joseph ed., The History of Mary Stewart by Claude Nau, Edinburgh (1883), pp. 318, 338-9: The Late Expedition in Scotland (London, 1544), reprinted in Tudor Tracts, London (1903) pp. 41, 44.
  20. ↑ Starkey, David, ed., The Inventory of Henry VIII, vol. 1 (Society of Antiquaries, 1998), pp. 145, 151.
  21. ↑ Calendar of State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 12-13: Patten, William, The Expedition into Scotland 1547 (London, 1548), 1st table 'Y', notes 'our galley' off the battlefield.
  22. ↑ C. S. Knighton & David Loades, Navy of Edward VI and Mary I (Navy Records Society, 2011), p. 338.
  23. ↑ Correspondance Diplomatique De Bertrand De Salignac De La Mothe Fenelon, vol. 6 (1840), p. 93
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.