The conflict
In May 1567 Queen Mary of Scotland married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Many of the Queen's allies who previously supported her, including Maitland, Morton, Balfour, and Murray of Tullibardine, disapproved of this and chose to oppose her. Many of the same Lords who claimed disapproval in June had signed the Ainslie Tavern Bond only two months earlier in April, pledging support for the marriage.
In April, Bothwell, along with several others, had been accused of Lord Darnley's murder. Bothwell was acquitted of the charge. His chief prosecutor, Lord Darnley's father, the Earl of Lennox, failed to appear at the trial despite multiple summons. His 3,000 troops were turned back when confronted by Bothwell's 4,000, and then Lennox chose not to appear. Scottish law of the time prohibited an accuser from bringing armed troops to a trial. Many Scottish nobles disputed the trial verdict, and James Murray, brother of the Laird of Tullibardine, offered to duel with Bothwell or prove the guilt of Darnley's murder on Bothwell's henchmen. [1] Despite this very public dissent, Mary made Bothwell the Duke of Orkney and Marquis of Fife on 12 May 1567, then married him three days later. On 11 June 1567 Bothwell's enemies assembled in armour in Edinburgh, with a printed proclamation of their intention to deliver the Queen, revenge Darnley's murder, and preserve the Prince. [2]
Stand-off at Carberry Hill
With only the support of the Hamiltons, Queen Mary and Bothwell left Fa'side Castle on the morning of 15 June 1567 and took position on the nearby field of battle at Carberry Hill against her enemies, the rebel Confederate Lords. Mary's army, according to John Knox, took their position at Carberry Hill in an entrenchment made by the English for the Battle of Pinkie twenty years before. They were armed with cannon and pole-arms brought from Dunbar Castle. According to a letter sent to the Archbishop of Glasgow, the Queen had 200 "hagbutters" commanded by Captains Alexander Stewart and Hew Lauder of her royal guard. Seven or eight cannon were brought from Dunbar Castle to defend the Queen's position at the "auld fort" by Fawside Castle. [3] Bothwell's men had also brought 300 pikes from the armoury at Dunbar. After the surrender these weapons were captured and dispersed, and in September 1567 the Scottish Privy Council wrote to the villages around Carberry asking for their return. [4]
The Confederate Lords approached from Musselburgh with an army of equal force. David Calderwood wrote they were 2,000 but with only a few "harquebusiers" who were volunteers from Edinburgh. [5] Knox, with local knowledge, wrote that they rounded the hill to get an easier ascent and make an approach from Carberry village without the sun in their eyes. At first during this manoeuvre Mary's army thought the Confederate Lords were bypassing them and fleeing to Dalkeith. The stand-off lasted from 11 o'clock in the morning till 5 o'clock in the afternoon. With the armies marshalled against each other, the French ambassador tried to negotiate, and received from the Earl of Morton his firm resolution to fight against the murderer of Lord Darnley. [6] Bothwell's first action was to fire his cannon at cavalry 'prickers' who tried to draw the Queen's party out to fight. [7]
Queen Mary's supporters carried the banner of the Lion of Scotland; the rebel Lords' banner depicted the murder scene showing Darnley dead under a tree with the infant James VI, with the motto, "Judge and Revenge my cause, O Lord"." [8] This banner had been flown as a flag at Edinburgh castle. [9]
Bothwell offered single combat to any of the Confederate Lords. William Kirkcaldy accepted the challenge, [10] but Bothwell would not fight him as he was merely a baron. He also refused Murray of Tullibardine, and then Lord Lindsay. It was hot and Queen Mary's supporters had nothing to drink. [11] The day dragged on. Two of Bothwell's supporters, Edmund Blackadder [12] and the laird of Wedderburn, understanding that Bothwell was intending to leave, made their apologies to the Queen and rode away. [13] In response to an oath made by the rebel Lords, Queen Mary agreed to surrender to Kirkcaldy. He led her horse by the bridle down from the hill, [14] while Bothwell rode off to Dunbar Castle with 25 horsemen. A drawing of the battlefield sent to London with a newsletter survives and gives a schematic idea of the events. [15]
When William Drury, Marshall of Berwick sent a drawing of the Confederate Lord's banner and the plan to London, he added this postscript:
"The Queen's apparel in the field was after the fashion of the women of Edinburgh, in a red petticoat, sleeves tied with points a "partlyte," a velvet hat and muffler. She used great persuasions and encouragements to her people to have tried it by battle. For welcome the Lords showed her the banner with the dead body, which seeing they say that she wished she had never seen him. The banner was hanged out before her window at the Provost's house (in Edinburgh), wherewith she seemed much offended. [16]
George Buchanan wrote that Mary surrendered "dressed only in a short shabby robe, that scarcely reached below her knee." [17] Mary had left her more elaborate outfit in a chest at Fawside Castle: a black dress sewn with grains of jet, a crimson coat and cloak, and her gold and silver embroidered hat. [18]
Aftermath
The rebel Lords took Queen Mary to Edinburgh. Some chronicles say she was first held in the lodging of Simon Preston of Craigmillar. [20] Betraying their oath at Carberry Hill, the Lords imprisoned her in Lochleven Castle, near Kinross, where her keeper was Sir William Douglas, half brother to James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray. William Kirkcaldy was infuriated at the rebel Lords' betrayal of the oath, which he had represented to her in good faith. According to George Buchanan the spy Ninian Cockburn raced to the French court with news of Mary's capture. On the way he overtook her ambassador, William Chisholm, Bishop of Dunblane, who was ignorant of Mary's defeat, and upstaged him in front of Charles IX of France and Catherine de Medici. [21]
Queen Mary remained in prison for eleven months while accusations continued by the Lords who deposed her at Carberry Hill. Bothwell obtained a ship and first went to Shetland, where he was helped by Olave Sinclair. [22] He evaded Murray of Tullibardine and William Kirkcaldy whose ship the Lion ran aground. Then he crossed the sea to Norway, captivity, and madness. [23]
Mary escaped from Lochleven and made for Dumbarton Castle in the west of Scotland. She was drawn into battle at Langside and defeated. Mary sought safety in England, became a closely watched captive, and was executed in 1587. In Scotland, her supporters continued a civil war for the next five years.
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, was the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the father of James VI of Scotland and I of England. Through his parents, he had claims to both the Scottish and English thrones, and from his marriage in 1565 he was king consort of Scotland. Less than a year after the birth of his son, Darnley was murdered at Kirk o' Field in 1567. Many contemporary narratives describing his life and death refer to him as simply Lord Darnley, his title as heir apparent to the Earldom of Lennox.
James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell, better known simply as Lord Bothwell, was a prominent Scottish nobleman and briefly King consort of Scotland in 1567. He was known for his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third and final husband. He was accused of the murder of Mary's second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, a charge of which he was acquitted. His marriage to Mary was controversial and divided the country; when he fled the growing rebellion to Norway, he was arrested and lived the rest of his life imprisoned in Denmark.
The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disaster when, after her capture at Carberry Hill, she was forced to abdicate in favour of James VI. Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle, while her Protestant half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, was appointed Regent on behalf of his nephew. In early May 1568 Mary escaped, heading west to the country of the Hamiltons, high among her remaining supporters, and the safety of Dumbarton Castle with the determination to restore her rights as queen. Mary was defeated and went into exile and captivity in England. The battle is generally considered the start of the Marian civil war.
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. At times a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotland for his half-nephew, the infant King James VI, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570. He was the first head of government to be assassinated with a firearm.
John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl, called the Fair, was a Scottish nobleman and courtier. He was favoured by Mary, Queen of Scots, but later turned against her.
John Erskine, 1st Earl of Mar was a Scottish aristocrat and politician. He was the custodian of the infant James VI of Scotland and Regent of Scotland.
William Maitland of Lethington was a Scottish politician and reformer, and the eldest son of poet Richard Maitland.
George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly, was Lord Chancellor of Scotland and major conspirator of his time.
The Casket letters were eight letters and some sonnets said to have been written by Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Earl of Bothwell, between January and April 1567. They were produced as evidence against Queen Mary by the Scottish lords who opposed her rule. In particular, the text of the letters was taken to imply that Queen Mary colluded with Bothwell in the murder of her husband, Lord Darnley. Mary's contemporary supporters, including Adam Blackwood, dismissed them as complete forgeries or letters written by the Queen's servant Mary Beaton. The authenticity of the letters, now known only by copies, continues to be debated. Some historians argue that they were forgeries concocted in order to discredit Queen Mary and ensure that Queen Elizabeth I supported the kingship of the infant James VI of Scotland, rather than his mother. The historian John Hungerford Pollen, in 1901, by comparing two genuine letters drafted by Mary, presented a subtle argument that the various surviving copies and translations of the casket letters could not be used as evidence of their original authorship by Mary.
Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange was a Scottish politician and soldier who fought for the Scottish Reformation. He ended his career holding Edinburgh castle on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots and was hanged at the conclusion of a long siege.
The Act Anent the demission of the Crown in favour of our Sovereign Lord, and his Majesty's Coronation was an Act of the Parliament of Scotland passed on 12 December 1567. It confirmed the dethronement of Mary, Queen of Scots, in favour of her son, James VI.
The murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, took place on 10 February 1567 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Darnley's lodgings were destroyed by gunpowder; his body and that of his servant were found nearby, apparently having been strangled rather than killed in the explosion. Suspicion was placed upon Queen Mary and the Earl of Bothwell, whom Mary went on to marry three months after Darnley's murder. Bothwell was indicted for treason and acquitted, but six of his servants and acquaintances were subsequently arrested, tried, and executed for the crime.
The Ainslie Tavern Bond was a document signed on about 20 April 1567 by a number of Scottish bishops and nobles. The bond approved the Earl of Bothwell's acquittal on 12 April of implication in the murder of Lord Darnley, recommended him as an appropriate husband for Mary, Queen of Scots, and pledged to assist in defending such a marriage.
The Marian civil war in Scotland (1568–1573) was a period of conflict which followed the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her escape from Lochleven Castle in May 1568. Those who ruled in the name of her infant son James VI fought against the supporters of the Queen, who was exiled in England. Edinburgh Castle, which was garrisoned in her name, became the focus of the conflict and surrendered only after an English intervention in May 1573. The conflict in 1570 was called an "intestine war in the bowels of this commonwealth", and the period was called soon after an "intestine war driven by questions against authority."
Patrick Lindsay, 6th Lord Lindsay of the Byres, (1521–1589), Scottish courtier and Confederate lord.
Robert Melville, 1st Lord Melville was a Scottish diplomat, administrator, jurist, and intriguer, and uncle of the poet Elizabeth Melville.
Margaret Beaton, Lady Reres was a Scottish courtier and companion of Mary of Guise and Mary, Queen of Scots. She was blamed by the enemies of Mary, Queen of Scots, for her involvement in alleged immorality at court.
William Murray of Tullibardine was a Scottish courtier and leader of the Clan Murray.
Sir John Wishart of Pitarrow was a Scottish lawyer, courtier, comptroller of the exchequer, and rebel.
James Stewart (1566–1625), son of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587) and Lord Darnley (1546–1567), was crowned King of Scotland by Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney, in the Holy Rude Kirk at Stirling on 29 July 1567.
