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Columbia SHnibergitp ^
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LIBRARY
HISTORY
OP
SCOTLAND.
ts
THE
HISTORY OF SCOTLAND
FROM THE
ACCESSION OF ALEXANDER III. TO
THE UNION.
BY
PATRICK FRASER TYTLER,
F.R.S.E. AND F.A.S.
NEW EDITION.
IN TEN VOLUMES.
VOL. V.
EDINBURGH:
WILLIAM P. NIMMO.
1866.
MURRAY AND GIBB, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
CONTENTS OF THE FIFTH VOLUME.
CHAP. I.
JAMES THE FOURTH.
{Continued.)
1497-1513.
Departure of Perkin Warbeck from Scotland,
Seven years' truce with England,
James's progress to Inverness,
Attention to his navy, ....
to the administration of justice.
Foundation of King's College, Aberdeen,
Treaty of marriage with England,
Lady Margaret Drummond,
Marriage of James with the Princess Margaret of England,
Rebellion in the North, ....
James's measures regarding the Highlands,
Court of Daily Council, '. . . .
Proceedings of the Parliament,
Progress of the king to the Borders,
Extinction of the rebellion in the North,
Embassy from the Pope,
Embassy to France,
Death of Henry the Seventh,
State of Scotland,
Naval affairs, .
Introduction of Printing,
Symptoms of war with England,
Exploits of the Bartons, and death of Andrew Barton,
James's warlike preparations, ....
Page
I
2
3
5
7
9
10
12
16
17
19
20
21
25
26
29
30
33
34
35
36
38
40
44
RR402
VI
CONTENTS.
Embassy of Dacre and West, .
Second embassy of West,
lleiuforcemeuts from France and Denmark
Arran's foolish expedition against Ireland,
James assembles his army.
His defiance sent to Henry,
Preparations of the Earl of Surrey,
Stratagems to prevent war,
Muster of the Scottish host,
Messages between James and Surrey,
Surrey's skilful manoeuvres,
Infatuation of the Scottish king.
Battle of Flodden, and death of James,
Causes of the defeat,
Character of the king,
Page
45
47
48
50
52
53
54
55
56
58
60
61
63
68
69
CHAP. II.
JAMES THE FIFTH.
1513-1524.
State of Scotland, ....
Coronation of James the Fifth,
Surrey disbands his army,
Evils of the minority,
The queen marries the Earl of Angus,
French and English factions.
Death of Elphinston bishop of Aberdeen,
Intrigues of Henry the Eighth,
Arrival of Albany in Scotland,
State of parties, ....
Decisive measures of Albany, .
The queen refuses to give up the king, her
Treasonable conduct of Home,
The queen flies to England,
Unfounded accusations against Albany,
Home and Angus desert the queen, .
Henry's intrigues in Scotland,
Home and his brother executed.
Ungenerous conduct of France,
Albany revisits that kingdom, .
son.
71
72
73
74
78
79
80
82
83
84
86
87
90
93
96
97
99
102
103
105
CONTENTS.
Vll
Return of the queen-mother,
Murder of De la Bastie, .
Activity of Arran,
State of the Highlands and Isles,
Violence and ambition of Angus,
Mission from Denmark,
Truce between England and Scotland,
Feuds of the nobles and the clergy.
Embassy of Aubigny,
Arrival of Albany in Scotland,
His upright policy, .
Thwarted by the intrigues of Dacre,
Angus is compelled to fly.
Difficulty of arriving at truth in these times,
Conduct of Bishop Gawin Douglas,
Henry's imperious demands,
Angus passes into France,
Preparations for war,
Duplicity of the queen-mother,
Albany's expedition into England,
Observations on his conduct.
Difficulties of his situation.
His second visit to France,
Ferocity of the Border war,
Albany returns to Scotland,
Venality of the Scottish nobles.
The Regent assembles his army.
The Scottish nobles refuse to fight.
Disastrous result of the expedition,
Observations on the retreat,
A Parliament, ....
Albany returns to France,
106
108
lb.
109
112
114
115
117
120
121
122
123
125
127
ib.
128
130
ib.
131
132
133
134
135
136
ib.
139
140
141
143
144
ib.
145
CHAP. III.
JAMES THE FIFTH.
1524-1528.
Revolution in the government, .
Successful intrigue of the queen-mother, .
Regency of Albany declared to have ended.
147
148
ib.
Till
CONTENTS.
Coalition between Arran and the queen,
Her imprudent conduct, .
Negotiation with France,
Venality of the Scottish nobles,
Secret agreement between Angus and Wolsey,
Angus returns to Scotland,
His attack upon the capital.
His recovery of the chief power.
Miserable situation of the country, .
Intrigues of the queen-mother.
She loses all weight in the government,
The queen is divorced.
Marries Henry Stewart, .
Angus obtains possession of the young king's person.
Tyranny of the Douglases,
Buccleugh attempts to deliver the king,
Death of the Earl of Lennox, .
Parliament assembles.
Remorse of Arran, ....
State of the Highlands,
Beaton the chancellor reconciled to Angus.
Martyrdom of Patrick Hamilton,
Insolent tyranny of Angus,
Plot for the escape of the young king,
Its complete success.
Despair and indignation of the Douglases,
150
151
ib.
152
ib.
ib.
156
158
159
160
162
165
ib.
167
168
169
171
172
173
175
176
178
179
180
182
183
CHAP. IV.
JAMES THE FIFTH.
1528-1542.
James the Fifth assumes the supreme power.
His character at this time.
His policy upon his accession.
Proceedings against the Douglases,
Their great power, .
State of the Borders,
Imprisonment of the Border barons.
Rebellion in the Orkneys,
State of the Isles,
185
ib.
186
188
189
191
193
194
195
CONTENTS.
IX
Matrimonial negotiations,
Institution of the College of Justice,
State of Europe,
Border war, ....
James's northern progress,
Festivities in Athole,
Negotiations with England,
Persecution of the Reformers, .
Henry the Eighth offers the Princess Mary in marriage
James,
Matrimonial embassy to France,
The Papal Legate Campeggio visits Scotland,
James affianced to Marie de Bourbon,
Parliament assembles, ....
James visits the Court of Francis the First,
Becomes enamoured of the Princess Magdalen, ,
Marriage of James the Fifth, .
Returns to Scotland with his queen.
Reflections on James's policy, .
State of parties, ...
Death of the queen,
James's second marriage, .
Forbes's conspiracy against the king.
Conspiracy of Lady Glammis, .
Negotiations with England,
Persecution of the disciples of the Reformation,
Martyrdom of Kennedy and Russel,
Mission of Sir Ralph Sadler to James,
Fails in his great object, .
James's voyage to the Western Isles,
Conspiracy against the king.
Parliament assembles.
Its wise provisions, .
Death of the queen-mother,
James loses both his sons.
Second embassy of Sadler,
James disappoints Henry of the interview at York,
Preparations of England for war.
Defeat of the English at Hadden-Rig,
The Duke of Norfolk assembles an army, .
James musters his host on the Borough-muir,
Disgraceful rout at the Solway Moss,
VOL. V.
to
Page
196
198
199
201
203
ib.
204
206
208
ib.
209
210
ib.
212
213
ib.
214
ib.
216
217
ib.
218
220
221
222
226
227
228
230
232
234
235
239
240
241
242
243
245
ib.
246
250
CONTENTS.
The calamity overwhelms the king, .
Despair and death of James the Filth,
Pbge
. 250
. 251
CIJAP. V.
MARY.
1542-15-16.
State of Scotland at the death of James, .
Henry the Eighth's project for a marriage between the
queen and Prince Edward, ....
His intrigues with the Douglases and his Scottish prisoners
State of parties in Scotland,
Cardinal Beaton's attempt to be regent, .
Earl of Arran chosen regent, .
Arrival of Cassillis, Glencairn, and the Scottish prisoners in
burgh, ......
Their intrigues detected by Cardinal Beaton,
Imprisonment of Beaton, ....
Henry's foolish conduct, ....
Efforts of the Catholic party,
^Meeting of Parliament, ....
The Bible communicated to the people.
Arrival of Sadler, the English ambassador, in Edinburgh,
The Cardinal recovers his liberty,
Scottish ambassadors sent to England,
The Earl of Lennox returns to Scotland, .
Arran recants his Protestant opinions,
Beaton's able policy, ....
Mission of Sir George Douglas to England,
Treaties of peace and marriage,
Opposed by Beaton,
Arran's double conduct, ....
Beaton gets possession of the young queen.
Treaties of peace and marriage ratified, .
Unpopularity of Arran, ....
Reconcilement between Arran and the cardinal
Henry resolves on war, ....
Lennox joins the English party,
Arrival of the French fleet.
Unpopularity of the English party, .
infant
Edin-
253
ib.
254
257
259
260
262
263
ib.
265
267
269
271
ib.
273
274
275
277
278
279
281
282
283
284
285
287
288
289
ib.
290
291
CONTENTS. XI
Page
Fine trait of the Scottish merchants, 292
Seizure of Lords Maxwell and Somerville, . . . .lb.
Meeting of Parliament, 293
French ambassadors introduced, ib.
Strong feelings against England, 294
Act against heretical opinions, 295
Base conduct of the Douglases, 296
Beaton's cruelty against the Reformers, 298
Wishart's and Brunston's plot for the assassination, or seizure of
Beaton, 299
Great invasion of Scotland by the Earl of Hertford, . . . 300
Retreat of the English, 302
Lennox and Glencairn, the only peers in the English interest, . 303
Glencairn totally defeated, 305
Junction of the Catholic and Protestant parties, . . . 306
Deprivation of the Governor Arran, 307
State of the Highlands and Isles, ib.
Disturbances in the Lowlands, ib.
Earl of Lennox's expedition against Scotland, .... 308
Beaton labours in vain to reconcile the Scottish and English
factions, 311
Double conduct of the Douglases, 312
Miserable condition of the country, 313
Battle of Ancram Moor, and defeat of the English, . . .316
George Douglas continues his correspondence with Henry the
Eighth, 318
Mission of Cassillis to England, 319
Proposals of Henry through Cassillis, 320
They are rejected, ib.
Cassillis's proposal for the assassination of Beaton, . . .321
Mission of Forster into Scotland, 323
Arrival of Lorges Montgomerie in Scotland, .... 325
Henry's negotiations with Donald lord of the Isles, . . . 328
Hertford invades Scotland, 329
His dreadful ravages, 330
Parliament at Stirling, 332
Brunston's intrigues with England, 334
Lord Maxwell imprisoned, 335
Failure of Lennox's attempt on Dumbarton, .... 337
Proposals of James Macconnell lord of the Isles, to Henry, . 338
Progress of the Reformation, 339
Arrival of George Wishart in Scotland, . ... 340
XU CONTENTS.
His history, 341
His preaching, 342
His friends, 343
His journey to Edinburgh, 344
He is seized by the Earl of Bothwell, 346
His trial and condemnation, 347
His execution, 348
Its effects, 349
Beaton's progress into Angus, 351
The conspiracy against him resumed, 352
Assassination of Beaton, 355
Observations, 35fi
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
A. On the authenticity of the Chronicle, entitled a "Diurnal of
Occurrents in Scotland," 359
B. On the trial of Lady Glammis, 363
C. Battle of Flodden, 373
Historical Remarks on the Assassination of Cardinal Beaton, . 376
Additional illustrations from the Hamilton MSS., . , .391
Impolicy of Henry the Eighth towards Scotland, . . . 393
HISTORY
OP
SCOTLAND.
CHAP. I.
JAMES THE FOURTH
(CONTINUED.)
1497—1513.
Bngland. I France.
nenryVII. | Lewis XII
Uenry VIII. I
CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS.
Germany.
Maximilian.
Spain.
Ferdinand
and
Isabella.
Portugal.
John II.
Emanuel.
Popes.
Alex. VI. (Borgia)
Pius III.
Julius II.
Leo. X.
The departure of Perkin Warbeck from Scotland, was
followed, after a short interval, by a truce with Eng-
land. It was evidently the interest of Henry the
Seventh, and of James to be at peace. The English
monarch was unpopular ; every attack by a foreign
power endangered the stability of his government, en-
courasins: domestic discontent, and streno-thenino; the
hands of his enemies : on the side of the Scottish king-
there were not similar causes of alarm, for he was strong
in the affections of his subjects, and beloved by his
nobility ; but grave and weighty cares engrossed his
attention, and these were of a nature which could be
best pursued in a time of peace. The state of the
VOL. V. A
2 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1497.
revenue, the commerce and domestic manufactures of
his kingdom, and the deficiency of his marine, had now
begun to occupy an important place in the thoughts
of the still youthful sovereign: the disorganized con-
dition of the more northern portions of his dominions,
demanded also the exertion of his utmost vigilance •
so that he listened not unwillingly to Henry ""s proposals
of peace, and to the overture for a matrimonial alliance,
which was brought forward by the principal Commis-
sioner of England, Fox bishop of Durham. The pacific
disposition of James appears to have been strengthened
by the judicious counsels of Pedro D' Ayala, the Spanish
envoy at the court of Henry the Seventh : this able
foreigner had received orders from his sovereigns,
Ferdinand and Isabella, to visit Scotland as the am-
bassador from their Catholic majesties ; and on his
arrival in that country, he soon acquired so strong
an influence over this prince, that he did not hesitate
to nominate him his chief commissioner for the con-
ducting: his ne2:otiations with Eno;land. A seven
years' truce was accordingly concluded at Ayton, on
the thirty-first of September, 1497,* and in a meeting
which took place soon after, between William de
Warham, Henry's commissioner, and D'Ayala, who
appeared on the part of James ; it was agreed that
this cessation of hostilities should continue durinor the
lives of the two monarchs, and for a year after the
death of the survivor. Having accomplished this ob-
ject, the Spanish minister and his suite left the Scot-
tish court to the regret of the king, who testified by
rich presents the regard he entertained for them.-f-
This ne";otiation with England beino; concluded,
* R)'mer, vol. xii. pp. 673, 678 inclusive.
+ >1S. Accounts of the Iligh Treasurer of Scotland under the 31st of
October, 14^7.
1497. JAMES IV. 3
James had leisure lo turn his attention to his affairs at
home ; and, although in the depth of winter, with the
hardihood which marked his character, he took a pro-
gress northward as far as Inverness. It was his object
personally to inspect the state of these remote portions
of his dominions, that he might be able to legislate for
them with greater success than had attended the efforts
of his predecessors. The policy which he adopted was,
to separate and weaken the clans by arraying them in
opposition to each other, to attach to his service by re-
wards and preferment some of their ablest leaders — to
maintain a correspondence with the remotest districts
— and gradually to accustom their fierce inhabitants to
habits of pacific industry, and a respect for the restraints
of the laws. It has been objected to him that his pro-
ceedings towards the highland chiefs were occasionally
marked by an unbending rigour, and too slight a regard
for justice; but his policy may be vindicated on the
ground of necessity, and even of self-defence.
These severe measures, however, were seldom resort-
ed to but in cases of rebellion. To the great body of his
nobility, James was uniformly indulgent; the lament-
able fate of his father convinced him of the folly of
attempting to rule without them : he was persuaded
that a feudal monarch at war with his nobles, was
deprived of the greatest sources of his strength and dig-
nity ; and to enable him to direct their efforts to such
objects as he had at heart, he endeavoured to gain their
affections. Nor was it difficult to effect this : the course
of conduct which his own disposition prompted him to
pursue, was the best calculated to render him a favourite
with the aristocracy. Under the former reign they
seldom saw their prince, but lived in gloomy indepen-
dence at a distance from court, resorting thither only on
4 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1497.
occasions of state or counsel; and when the parliament
was ended, or the emergency had passed away, they
returned to their castles full of complaints against a
system which made them strangers to their sovereign,
and ciphers in the government. Under James all this
was changed. Aft'able in his manners, fond of magni-
ficence, and devoted to pleasure, the king delighted
to see himself surrounded by a splendid nobility: he
bestowed upon his highest barons those offices in his
household which ensured a familiar attendance upon
his person : his court was a perpetual scene of revelry
and amusement in which the nobles vied with each other
in extravagance, and whilst they impoverished them-
selves, became more dependent from this circumstance
upon the sovereign. The seclusion and inferior splen-
dour of their own castles became gradually irksome to
them; as their residence was less frequent, the ties which
bound their vassals to their service were loosened, wliilst
the consequence w^as favourable to the royal authority.
But amid the splendour of his court, and devotion to
his pleasures, James pursued other objects which were
truly laudable. Of these the most prominent and the
most important was his attention to his navy: the
enterprises of the Portuguese, and the discoveries
of Columbus, had created a sensation at this period
throughout every part of Europe, which, in these times,
it is perhaps impossible for us to estimate in its full
force. Every monarch ambitious of w^ealth or of glory,
became anxious to share in the triumphs of maritime
adventure and discovery. Henry the Seventh of Eng-
land, although in most cases a cautious and penurious
prince, had not hesitated to encourage the celebrated
expedition of John Cabot, a Venetian merchant, settled
at Bristol ; and his unwonted spirit was rewarded by
1497. JAMES IV. 6
the discovery of the continent of North America.* A
second voyage conducted by his son Sebastian, one of
the ablest navigators of the age, had greatly extended
the range of our geographical knowledge ; and the
genius of the Scottish prince catching fire at the suc-
cesses of the neiirhbourino; kino'dom, became eao'er to
distinguish itself in a similar career of naval enterprise.
But a fleet was wanting to second these aspirings ;
and to supply this became his principal object. His
first care was wisely directed to those nurseries of
seamen, his domestic fisheries, and his foreign com-
merce. Deficient in anything deserving the name of
a royal navy, Scotland was nevertheless rich in hardy
mariners, and enterprising merchants. A former par-
liament of this reio'n had adverted to the o'reat wealth
still lost to the country from the want of a sufiicient
number of ships, and busses, or boats, to be employed
in the fisheries."!- ^^^ enactment was now made that
vessels of twenty tons and upwards should be built in
all the seaports of the kingdom ; whilst the magistrates
were directed to compel all stout vagrants who fre-
quented such districts, to learn the trade of mariners,
and labour for their own living.^
Amongst his merchants and private traders, the
king found some men of ability and experience. Sir
Andrew Wood of Largo, the two Bartons, Sir Alex-
ander Mathison, William Merrimonth of Leith, whose
* Mr Biddel in his Life of Sebastian Cabot, a "work of great acuteness
and research, has endeavoured to show that the discovery of North America
belongs solely to Sebastian and not to John Cabot. From the examination
of his proofs and authorities, I have arrived at a totally opposite conclusion.
The reader who is interested in the subject ■will find it discussed in the
Appendix to " A Historical View of the Progress of Discovery in North
America " ; in which the subject is fully treated.
't' Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 235. " Anent the greit
innumerable riches yat is tint in fault of schippis and buschis."
X M'Pherson's Annals of Commerce, vol. ii. pp. 17, 18.
C) HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1497.
skill ill maritime afiairs had procured liim the title of
*• king of the sea," and various other naval adventurers
of inferior note were sought out by James, and treated
with peculiar favour and distinction. They were en-
eoura2:ed to extend their vovaires, to arm their trading;
vessels, to purchase foreign ships of war, to import
cannon, and to superintend the building of ships of
force at home. In these cares the monarch not only
took an interest, but studied the subjects with his usual
enthusiasm, and personally superintended every detail.
He conversed with his mariners — rewarded the most
skilful and assiduous by presents — visited familiarly
at the houses of his principal merchants and sea officers
— practised wdth his artillery-men — often discharging
and pointing the guns, and delighted in embarking on
short voyages of experiment, in which, under the tuition
of Wood or the J3artons, he became acquainted with
the practical parts of navigation. The consequences of
such conduct were highly favourable to him : he became
as popular with his sailors as he was beloved by his
nobility; his fame was carried by them to foreign
countries ; ship-wrights, cannon-founders, and foreign
artisans of every description, flocked to his court from
France, Italy, and the Low Countries ; and if amongst
these were some impostors, whose pretensions imposed
upon the royal credulity, there were others by whose
skill and o'enius Scotland rose in the scale of knowledo^e
and importance.
But the attention of James to his navy and his
foreign commerce, although conspicuous, was not ex-
clusive; his energy and activity in the administration
of justice, in the suppression of crime, and in the regu-
lation of the police of his dominions, were equally re-
markable. Under the feudal government as it then
1497. JAMES IV. 7
existed in Scotland, the obedience paid to the laws,
and the consequent increase of industry and security
of property, were dependent in a great degree upon the
personal character of the sovereign. Indolence and
inactivity in the monarch commonly led to disorder
and oppression. The stronger nobles oppressed their
weaker neighbours ; murder and spoliation of every
kind were practised by their vassals ; whilst the judges,
deprived of the countenance and protection of their
prince, either did not dare or did not choose to punish
the delinquents. Personal vigour in the king, was in-
variably accompanied by a diminution of crime and a
respect for the laws ; and never was a sovereign more
indefatigable than James m visiting with this object
every district of his dominions ; travelling frequently
alone, at night, and in the most inclement seasons to
great distances ; surprising the judge, when he least
expected, by his sudden appearance on the tribunal,
and striking terror into the heart of the guilty by the
rapidity and certainty of the royal vengeance. Pos-
sessed of an athletic frame, which was streno-thened bv
a familiarity with all the warlike exercises of the age,
the king thought little of throwing himself on his horse,
and riding a hundred miles before he drew bridle ; and,
on one occasion it is recorded of him, that he rode un-
attended from his palace of Stirling in a single day to
Elgin, where he permitted himself but a few hours'
repose, and then pushed on to the shrine of St Duthoc
in Ross.*
Whilst the monarch was occupied in these active
but pacific cares, an event occurred which, in its con-
sequences, threatened once more to plunge the two
countries into war. A party of Scottish jouths, some
* Lesley's History, Bannatyne edit. p. 76.
8 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1498-9.
of them highly born, crossed the Tweed at Norharn,
and trusting to tlie protection of the truce, visited the
castle ; but the national antipathy led to a misunder-
standing : they were accused of being spies, attacked
b}'" orders of the governor, and driven with ignominy
and wounds across the river. James'*s chivalrous sense
of honour fired at this outrage, and he despatched a
herald to England, demanding inquiry, and denounc-
ing war if it were refused. It was fortunate, however,
that the excited passions of this prince were met by
quietude and prudence upon the part of Henry ; he
represented the event in its true colours, as an unpre-
meditated and accidental attack, for which he felt re-
gret and was ready to afford redress. Fox, the Bishop
of Durham, to whom the castle belonged, made ample
submissions; and the king, conciliated by his flattery,
and convinced by his arguments of the ruinous im-
policy of a war, allowed himself to be appeased.
Throuohout the whole ne2:otiation, the wisdom and
moderation of Henry presented a striking contrast to
the foolish and overbearing impetuosity of the Scot-
tish monarch : it was hoped, however, that this head-
strong temper would be subdued by his arrival at a
maturer a2:e : and in the meantime the Eno-lish kinfj
despatched to the Scottish court his Vice-Admiral
Rydon, to obtain from James the final ratification of
the truce, w'hicli was given at Stirling, on the twentieth
of July, 1499.*
In the midst of these threateninsrs of war which
were thus happily averted, it is pleasing to mark the
efforts of an enlightened policy for the dissemination
of learning. By an act of a former parliament, (1496,)*!*
* RjTTier, Foedera, vol. xii. p. 728.
f Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol ii. p. 238.
1500. JAMES IV. 9
it had been made imperative on all barons and free-
holders under a fine of twenty pounds, to send their
sons at the age of nine years to the schools, where
they were to be competently founded in Latin, and to
remain afterwards three years at the schools of " Art
and Jury," so as to ensure their possessing a know-
ledge of the laws. The object of this statute was to
secure the appointment of learned persons to fill the
office of sheriffs, that the poorer classes of the people
might not be compelled from the ignorance of such
judges to appeal to a higher tribunal. These efforts
were seconded by the exertions of an eminent and
learned prelate, Elphinston bishop of Aberdeen, who
now completed the building of King"'s College in that
city, for the foundation of which he had procured the
papal bull in 1494. In the devout spirit of the age,
its original institutions embraced the maintenance of
eight priests and seven singing boys ; but it supported
also professors of divinity, of the civil and canon law,
of medicine and humanity; fourteen students of phi-
losophy and ten bachelors were educated within its
walls : nor is it unworthy of record, that its first prin-
cipal was the noted Hector Boece, the correspondent
of Erasmus, and a scholar whose classical attainments
and brilliant fancy had already procured for him the
distinction of professor of philosophy in Montague
College at Paris. Scotland now possessed three uni-
versities : that of St Andrew''s, founded in the com-
mencement of the fifteenth century ; Glasgow, in the
year 1453 ; and Aberdeen, in 1500. Fostered amid the
security of peace, the Muses began to raise their heads
from the slumber into which they had fallen ; and
the genius of Dunbar and Douglas, emulated in their
10 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1500-2.
native language the poetical triumphs of Chaucer and
of Gower.*
It was about this time that James concluded a de-
fensive alliance with France and Denmark; and Henry
the Seventh, who began to be alarmed lest the monarch
should be flattered by Lewis the Twelfth into a still
more intimate intercourse, renewed his proposals for
a marriage with his daughter. The wise policy of
a union between the Scottish kins; and the Princess
Mariraret had su2:2:ested itself to the councillors of both
countries some years before ; but the extreme youth
of the intended bride, and an indisposition upon the
part of James to interrupt by more solemn ties the
love which he bore to his mistress Margaret Drum-
niond, the daughter of Lord Drummond, had for a
while put an end to all negotiations on the subject.
His continued attachment, however, the birth of a
daughter, and, perhaps, the dread of female influence
over the impetuous character of the king, began to
alarm his nobility, and James felt disposed to listen
to their remonstrances. He accordingly despatched
his commissioners, the Bishop of Glasgow, the Earl
of Bothwell his high admiral, and Andrew Forman
apostolical prothonotary, to meet w^ith those of Henry;
and, after some interval of debate and negotiation, the
marriage treaty was concluded and signed in the palace
of Richmond, on the twenty-fourth of January, 1502, •[*
It was stipulated, that as the princess had not yet
completed her twelfth year, her father should not be
obliged to send her to Scotland before the first of Sep-
tember, 1503; whilst James engaged to espouse her
* Memoirs of William Dunbar, p. 45, prefixed to Mr Laing's beautiful
edition of that poet.
f Rymer, Fcjedera, vol. xii. pp. 776, 777, 787.
1502. JAMES IV. 11
within fifteen days after her arrival.* The queen was
immediately to be put in possession of all the lands,
castles, and manors, w^hose revenues constituted the
jointure of the queens-dowager of Scotland; and it
was stipulated that their annual amount should not
be under the sum of two thousand pounds sterling.
She was to receive during,- the lifetime of the kino- her
husband, a pension of five hundred marks, equivalent
to one thousand pounds of Scottish money ; and, in
the event of James's death, was to be permitted to re-
side at her pleasure, either within or without the limits
of Scotland. On the part of Henry, her dowry con-
sidering his great wealth, was not munificent. It
was fixed at thirty thousand nobles, or ten thousand
pounds sterling, to be paid by instalments within
tliree years after the marriage.^* Besides her Scottish
servants, the princess was to be at liberty to keep
twenty-four English domestics, men and women; and
her household was to be maintained by her husband in
a state conformable to her hio'h rank as the dauo;hter
and consort of a kino;. It was lastlv ao-reed, that
should the queen die without issue before the three
years had expired within wdiich her dowry was to be
paid, the balance should not be demanded ; but in the
* Rymer, Foedera, vol, xii. p. 765, gives the dispensation for the marriage.
It is dated 5th August, 1500.
'h At a period as remote as 1281, ■when silver was far more valuable than
in 1502, Alexander the Third gave -with his daughter to the King of
Norway the value of 9333 pounds of standard silver, one half in money,
for the other half an annuity in lands, valued at ten years' purchase, whilst
the stipulated jointure was to be ten per cent, of her portion. Henry the
Seventh, on the other hand, when it might be thought more necessary for
him to conciliate the affection of his son-in-law, gives only 5714 pounds,
silver of the same standard, and stipulates for his daughter a jointure of
twenty per cent., besides an allowance for her privy purse. [M'Pherson's
Annals of Commerce, vol. iv, in Appendix, Chronological Table of Prices,]
The well kno^vn economy, however, of the English monarch, and his shrewd-
ness in all money transactions, precludes us from drawing any general con-
clusions from this remarkable fact, as to the comparative wealth of Scotland
in the thirteenth and England in the sixteenth century.
12 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1502.
event of lier death, leaving issue, the wliole sum was
to be exacted.* Such was this celebrated treaty, in
which the advantages were almost exclusively on the
side of England; for Henry retained Berwick, and
James was contented with a portion smaller than that
which had been promised to the Prince of Scotland by
Edward the Fourth, when in 1474 this monarch in-
vited him to marry his daughter Csecilia.-f* But there
seems no ground for the insinuation of a modern his-
torian,:}: that the deliberations of the Scottish commis-
sioners had been swayed by the gold of England ; it
is more probable they avoided a too rigid scrutiny of
the treaty, from an anxiety that an alliance, which
promised to be in every way beneficial to the country
and to the sovereign, should be carried into effect with
as much speed as possible.
The tender age of the young princess, however, still
prevented her immediate union with the king, and in
the interval a domestic tragedy occurred at court, of
which the causes are as dark as the event was deplor-
able. It has been already noticed that James, whose
better qualities were tarnished by an indiscriminate
devotion to his pleasures, had, amid other temporary
amours, selected as his mistress Lady Margaret Drum-
mond, the daughter of a noble house, which had already
given a queen to Scotland. At first little anxiety was
felt at such a connexion ; the nobles, in the plurality
of the royal favourites, imagined there existed a safe-
guard for the royal honour, and looked with confidence
to James's fulfillin"; his enfT;a<2:ements with Eno-land ;
but his infatuation seemed to increase in proportion as
* Rymer, Foedera, vol, xii. pp. 787, 792, inclusi^-e.
•\- The portion of Caecilia was 20,000 marks, equal to £13,3u3 English
money of that age. — Rymer's Foedera, vol. xi. pp. 825, 830'.
X Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 4i.
1502. JAMES IV. 13
the period for the completion of the marriage ap-
proached. His coffers were exhausted to keep up the
splendid establishment of his mistress : large sums of
money, rich dresses, grants of land to her relations,
and needy domestics, all contributed to drain the
revenue, whilst her influence must have been alarmino-.
The treaty was yet unconfirmed by the oath of the
king, and his wisest councillors began to dread the
consequences. It was in this state of things that,
when residino^ at Drummond castle, Ladv Marsraret,
along with her sisters, Euphemia and Sybilla, were
suddenly seized with an illness which attacked them
immediately after a repast, and soon after died in great
torture, their last struggles exhibiting, it was said, the
symptoms of poison. The bodies of the fair sufferers
were instantly carried to Dunblane, and there buried
with a precipitancy wdiich increased the suspicion, yet
no steps were taken to arrive at the truth by disin-
terment or examination. It is possible that a slight
misunderstanding between James and Henry concern-
ing the withdrawing the title of King of France,
which the Scottish monarch had inadvertently per-
mitted to be given to his intended father-in-law,* mav
have had the effect of exciting the hopes of the Drum-
monds, and reviving the alarm of the nobles, who
adopted this horrid means of removing the subject of
their fears ; or we may, perhaps, look for a solution of
the mystery in the jealousy of a rival house, which
shared in the munificence and disputed for the afi"eC"
tions of the king.i*
From the sad reflections which must have clouded
* Rymer, Fcedera, vol. xiii. pp. 43, 44.
+ The Lady Janet Kennedy, daughter of John lord Kennedy, had born
a son to the king, whom James created Earl of Moray.
14 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, 1502.
his mind on this occasion, the monarch suddenly turned,
with his characteristic versatility and energy, to the
cares of government.
Some time previous to this (but the precise date is
uncertain) he provided the King of Denmark with
vessels and troops for the reduction of the Norwegians
who had risen against his authority. The Scottish
auxiliaries, in conjunction with the Danish force and
a squadron furnished by the elector of Brandenburg,
were commanded by Christiern prince royal of Den-
mark, and the insurgent Norwegians for the time
completely reduced, whilst their chief, Hermold, was
taken prisoner and executed. James's fleet now re-
turned to Scotland ; the artillery and ammunition
which formed their freight, were carried to the castle
of Edinburdi, and a mission of Snowdon herald to the
Danish king, to whom James sent a present of a coat
of gold, evinced the friendly alliance which existed
between the two countries.*
All was now ready for the approaching nuptials of
the king. The pope had given his dispensation, and
confirmed the treaties ; James had renewed his oath
for their observation, and the youthful bride, under
the care of the Earl of Surrey, and surrounded by a
splendid retinue, set out on her journey to Scotland.
Besides Surrey and his train, the Earl of Northum-
berland, Lord Dacre, the Archbishop of York, the
Bishop of Durham, and other civil and ecclesiastical
grandees, accompanied the princess, who was now in
her fourteenth year; and, at Lambcrton kirk, in Lam-
mermuir, she was met by the Archbishop of Glasgow,
* Tliis expedition of the Scottish ships to Denmark, in 1502-3, is not to
he found in Pinkerton. Its occurrence is established beyond doubt by the
MS. accounts of the Lord High Treasurer, and by the Historians of Den-
mark. — Lacombe, Ilistoire de Dannemarc, vol. i. p. 237.
1502. JAMES IV. 15
the Earl of Morton, and a train of Scottisli barons.
The roval tents which had been sent forward, were
now pitched for her reception ; and according to the
terms of the treaty, the Earl of Northumberland de-
livered her with great solemnity to the commissioners
of the king. The cavalcade than proceeded towards
Dalkeith. When she reached Newbattle, she was met
by the prince himself, with all the ardour of a youth-
ful lover, eager to do honour to the lady of his heart.
The interview is described by an eye-witness, and
presents a curious picture of the manners of the times.
Darting, says he, like a hawk on its quarry, James
eagerly entered her chamber, and found her playing
at cards : he then, after an embrace, entertained her
by his performance upon the clarichord and the lute :
on taking leave, he sprung upon a beautiful courser
without putting his foot in the stirrup, and pushing
the animal to the top of his speed, left his train far
behind.* At the next meeting the princess exhibited
her musical skill, whilst the king listened on bended
knee, and highly commended the performance. When
she left Dalkeith to proceed to the capital, James met
her, mounted on a bay horse, trapped with gold ; he
and the nobles in his train riding at full gallop, and
suddenlv checking;, and throwino; their steeds on their
haunches, to exhibit the firmness of their seat. A
singular chivalrous exhibition now took place : a
knight appeared on horseback, attended by a beautiful
lady, holding his bridle and carrying his hunting horn.
He was assaulted by Sir Patrick Hamilton, who seized
the damsel, and a mimic conflict took place, which
concluded by the king throwing down his gage and
calling "peace."''' On arriving at the suburbs, the
* Leland, Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 284,
16 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1502.
princess descended from her litter, and, mounted upon
a pillion behind the roval bridegroom, rode through
the streets of the city to the palace, amid the accla-
mations of the people.* On the eighth of August,
the ceremony of the marriage was performed by the
Archbishop of St Andrew's, in the abbey church of
Holyrood; and the festivities which followed were
still more splendid than those which had preceded it.
Feasting, masques, morris dances, and dramatic en-
tertainments, occupied successive nights of revelry.
Amid the tournaments which were exhibited, the kins:
appeared in the character of the Savage Knight, sur-
rounded by wild men disguised in goats'* skins ; and
by his uncommon skill in these martial exercises, car-
ried off the prize from all who competed with him.
Besides the English nobles, many foreigners of dis-
tinction attended the wedding, amongst whom, one of
the most illustrious was Anthony D'Arsie de la Bastie,
who fou2:ht in the barriers with Lord Hamilton, after
they had tilted with grinding spears. HamJlton was
nearly related to the Idng ; and so pleased was James
with his magnificent retinue and noble appearance in
honour of his marriage, that he created him Earl of
Arran, on the third day after the ceremony.f De la
Bastie also was loaded with gifts ; the Countess of
Surrey, the Archbishop of York, J the officers of the
queen''s household, down to her meanest domestic, ex-
perienced the liberality of the monarch ; and the revels
broke up, amidst enthusiastic aspirations for his hap-
piness, and commendations of his unexampled gene-
rosity and gallantry.
* Leland, Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 28G-7.
+ Mag. Sig, xiii. 639. Aug. 11, 1503.
X Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer, suh anno 1503. August, 9, 11,
12, 13.
1502. JAMES IV. 17
Scarce had these scenes of public rejoicing concluded,
when a rebellion broke out in the north which demand-
ed the immediate attention of the kin^:. The measures
pursued by James in the highlands and the isles, had
been hitherto followed with complete success. He had
visited these remote districts in person ; their fierce
chiefs had submitted to his power, and in 1495 he had
returned to his capital, leading captive the only two
delinquents, who offered an}^ serious resistance — Mac-
kenzie of Kintail, and Macintosh heir to the Captain of
clan Chattan. From this period, till the year 1499, in the
autumn of which the monarch held his court in south
Kentire, all appears to have remained in tranquillity;
but after his return (from what causes cannot be dis-
covered) a complete change took place in the policy of
the king, and the wise and moderate measures already
adopted were succeeded by proceedings so severe as to
border on injustice. The charters which had been
granted during the last six years to the vassals of the
isles, were summarily revoked. Archibald earl of
Argyle, was installed in the office of lieutenant, with
the ample and invidious power of leasing out the entire
lordship of the isles.* The ancient proprietors and
their vassals were violently expelled from their here-
ditary property ; whilst Argyle and other royal fa-
vourites appear to have been enriched by new grants
of their estates and lordships. We are not to wonder
that such harsh proceedings were loudly reprobated:
the inhabitants saw, with indi2:nation, their riohtful
masters exposed to insult and indigence, and at last
broke into open rebellion. Donald Dhu, grandson of
John lord of the Isles, had been shut up for forty years,
* The island of Isla, and the lands of north and south Kentire, were alone
excepted.
VOL. V. B
18 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1502.
a solitary captive in the castle of Iiichconnal. His
mother was a daughter of the first Earl of Argyle ;
and although there is no doubt that both he and his
father were illeoitimate,* the affection of the isleraen
overlooked the blot in his scutcheon, and fondly turned
to him as the true heir of Ross and Innisgail. To
reinstate him in his right, and place him upon the
throne of the Isles was the object of the present rebel-
lion. -f A party led by the MacJans of Glenco, broke
into his dungeon, liberated him from his captivity, and
carried him in safety to the castle of Torquil Macleod
in the Lewis; whilst measures were concerted through-
out the wide extent of the Isles for the establishment
of their independence, and the destruction of the regal
power. Although James received early intelligence
of the meditated insurrection, and laboured by every
method to dissolve the union amongst its confederated
chiefs, it now burst forth with destructive fury. Bade-
noch was wasted with all the ferocity of highland war-
fare, — Inverness given to the flames ; and so widely
and rapidly did the contagion of independence spread
throughout the Isles, that it demanded the most prompt
and decisive measures to arrest it. But Jameses power,
though shook, was too deeply rooted to be thus destroy-
ed. The whole array of the kingdom was called forth.
The Earls of Argyle, Huntley, Crawford, and Marshal,
with Lord Lovat and other barons, were appointed to
lead an army against the islanders ; the castles and
strono^holds in the hands of the kinoj were fortified and
garrisoned ; letters were addressed to the various chiefs,
encouraging the loyal by the rewards which awaited
them, whilst over the heads of the wavering or dis-
affected, were suspended the terrors of forfeiture and
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 247. + Ibid.
1503. JAMES IV. 19
execution. But this was not all : a parliament assem-
bled at Edinburgh on the eleventh of March, 1503,*
and in addition to the above vigorous resolutions,
the civilisation of the highlands, an object which had
engrossed the attention of many a successive council,
was again taken into consideration. To accomplish,
this end, those districts, whose inhabitants had hitherto,
from their inaccessible position, defied the restraints of
the law, were divided into new sheriffdoms, and placed
under the jurisdiction of permanent judges. The pre-
amble of the act complained in strong terms of the
gross abuse of justice in the northern and western
divisions of the realm, — more especially the Isles ; it
described the people as having become altogether
savage, and provided that the new sheriffs for the
north Isles should hold their courts in Inverness and
Dingwall, and those for the south, in the Tarbet of
Lochkilkerran. The inhabitants of Dowart, Glen-
do wart, and the lordship of Lorn, who for a lono-
period had violently resisted the jurisdiction of the
Justice Ayres or ambulatory legal courts, were com-
manded to come to the Justice Ayre, at Perth ; and
the districts of Mawmor and Lochaber, wdiich had in-
sisted on the same exemption, were brought under the
jurisdiction of the Justice Ayre of Inverness. The
divisions of Bute, Arran, Knapdale, Kentire, and the
larger Cumray, were to hold their courts at Ayr, whilst
the deplorable condition of Argyle was marked by the
words of the act, " that the court is to be held wher-
ever it is found that each highlander and lowlander
may come without danger and ask justice,"' — a prob-
lem of no easy discovery. The districts of Ross and
Caithness, now separated from tlie sheriffdom of In-
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii, pp.. 239, 249.
20 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1503.
verness, were placed under their own judges ; and it
was directed that the inhabitants of these three great
divisions of the kingdom should as usual attend the
Justice Ayre of Inverness.
It appears, that for the purpose of quieting the
lowland districts, the king had adopted a system, not
uncommon in those times, of engaging the most power-
ful of the resident nobles and gentry in a covenant or
" band," which, under severe penalties, obliged them
to maintain order throughout the country. By such
means the blessings of security and good government
had been enjoyed by Dumfries-shire, a district hither-
to much disturbed; and the Earl of Bothwell now
earnestly recommended a similar method to be pur-
sued in the reduction of Teviotdale.
In the same parliament, a court of daily council was
appointed, the judges of which were to be selected by
the king, and to hold their sittings in Edinburgh. The
object of this new institution was to relieve the lords
of the " Session" of the confusion and pressure of busi-
ness, which had arisen from the great accumulation of
cases, and to afford immediate redress to those poorer
litigants whose matters had been delayed from year to
year. The ferocity of feudal manners, and the gradual
introduction of legal subtilties were strikingly blended
in another law passed at this time, by which it was
directed, that no remissions or pardons were hereafter
to contain a general clause for all offences, as it was
found, that by this form, much abuse of justice had been
introduced. A ferocious ruffian, for example, who, to the
crime of murder, had, as was generally the case, added
many inferior offences, in purchasing his remission, was
in the practice of stating only the minor delinquency,
and afterwards pleading that the murder was included
1503. JAMES IV. 21
under the pardon. It was now made imperative, that
before any remission was granted, the highest offence
should be ascertained, and minutely described in the
special clause ; it being permitted to the offender to plead
his remission for all crimes of a minor description. The
usual interdiction was repeated against all export of
money forth of the realm : forty shillin2:s beino- fixed as
the maximum, which any person might carry out of the
country. The collection of the royal customs was more
strictly ensured: it was enjoined, that the magistrates
of all buro'hs should be annually chanQ-ed : that no Scot-
tish merchants should carry on a litio;ation bevond seas.
in any court but that of the Conservator, who w^as to be
assisted by a council of six of the most able merchants,
and was commanded to visit Scotland once every year.
The burghs of the realm were amply secured in the pos-
session of their ancient privileges, and warningwasgiven
to their commissaries or head-men, that when anv tax
wastobe proposed, or contribution granted by the parlia-
ment, they should be careful to attend and give their
advice in that matter as one of the three Estates of the
realm; a provision demonstrating the obsoleteness of
some of the former laws upon this subject, and proving
that an attendance upon the great council of the king-
dom was still considered a o-rievance by the more labori-
ous classes of the community. With regard to the
higher landed proprietors, they were strongly enjoined
to take seisin, and enter upon the superiority of their
lands, so that the vassals who held under them might
not be injured by their neglect of this important legal
solemnity ; whilst every judge, who upon a precept
from the Chancery had given seisin to any baron, was
directed to keep an attested register of such proceeding
m a court -book, to be lodged in the Exchequer.
22 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1603.
It appears by a provision of the same parliament,
that " the Green Wood of Scotland" was then utterly
destroyed: a remarkable change from the picture for-
merly a'iven in this work of the extensive forests which
once covered the face of the country. To remedy this,
the fine for the felling or burning of growing timber
was raised to five pounds, whilst it was ordered that
every lord, or laird, in those districts where there were
no great w^oods or forests, should plant at the least one
acre, and attempt to introduce a farther improvement,
bv enclosing a park for deer, whilst he attended also
to his warrens, orchards, hedges, and dovecots. All
park-breakers and trespassers within the enclosures of
a landholder, were to be fined in the sum of ten pounds;
and if the delinquency should be committed by a child,
he was to be delivered by his parents to the judge, who
was enjoined to administer corporal correction in pro-
portion to its enormity. In the quaint language of
the act, " the bairn is to be lashed, scourged, and dung,
according to the fault." All vassals, although it was
a time of peace, were commanded to have their arms
and harness in good order, to be inspected at the annual
military musters or w^eapon-schawings. By an act
passed in the year 1457, it had been recommended to
the king, lords, and prelates, to let their lands in " few
farm;^ but this injunction which, when followed, was
hiohlv beneficial to the country, had fallen so much
into disuse, that its legality w^as disputed: it loosened
the strict ties of the feudal system, by permitting the
farmers and labourers to exchange their military ser-
vices for the payment of a land rent; and although it
promoted agricultural improvement, it was probably
opposed by a large body of the barons, who were jealous
of any infringement upon their privileges. The benefits
1503. JAMES IV. 23
of the system, however, were now once more recognised.
It was declared lawful for the sovereign, his prelates,
nobles, and landholders, to " set their lands in few,""
under any condition which they might judge expedient ;
taking care, however, that by such leases the annual
income of their estates should not be diminished to the
prejudice of their successors. No creditor was to be
permitted to seize for debt, or to order the sale of, any
instruments of agriculture ; an equalisation of weights
and measures was commanded to be observed throuirh-
out the realm ; it was ordained that the most remote
districts of the country, including the Isles, should be
amenable to the same laws as the rest of the kingdom,
severe regulations were passed for an examination into
the proper qualifications of notaries; and an attempt
was made to reduce the heavy expenses of litigation,
and for the suppression of strong and idle paupers.
The parliament concluded by introducing a law which
materially afi'ected its own constitution. All barons
or freeholders, whose annual revenue was below the
sum of one hundred marks of the new extent established
in 1424, were permitted to absent themselves from the
meeting of the three Estates, provided they sent their
procurators to answer for them ; whilst all whose income
was above that sum were, under the usual fine, to be
compelled to attend.*
Such were the most remarkable provisions of this
important meeting of the three Estates ; but in these
times the difiiculty did not so much consist in the mak-
ing good laws, as in carrying them into execution.
This was particularly experienced in the case of the
Isles, where the rebellion still raged with so much vio-
lence, that it was found necessary to despatch a small
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 240-254.
24 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. loOk
naval squadron under Sir Andrew Wood and Robert
Barton, two of the most skilful officers in the country,
to co-operate with the land army, which was command-
ed by the Earl of Arran, lieutenant-general of the
king.* James, who at present meditated an expedi-
tion in person against the broken clans of Eskdale and
Teviotdale, could not accompany his fleet farther than
Dumbarton. •[' The facility with which Wood and
Barton reduced the strong insular castle of Carne-
burgh, which had attempted to stand a siege, and com-
pelled the insurgent chiefs to abandon their attempts
at resistance, convinced him, that in his attention to
his navy, he had not too highly estimated its impor-
tance. Aware also of the uncommon energy with which
the monarch directed his military and naval resources,
and witnessing the rapidity with which delinquents
were overtaken by the royal vengeance, Macleod, Mac-
Ian, and others of the most powerful of the island lords,
adopted the wiser policy of supporting the crown, being
rewarded for their fidelity by sharing in the forfeited
estates of che rebels. J:
A temporary tranquillity having been thus established
in the north, the king proceeded, at the head of a force
which overawed all opposition, into Eskdale. Infor-
mation was sent to the English monarch, requesting
him to co-operate in this attempt to reduce the warlike
borderers, whose habits of plunder were prejudicial to
the security of either country ; and Lord Dacre the
warden, received his master"'s instructions to meet the
Scottish king and afford him every assistance. He
repaired accordingly to James"'s head quarters at Loch-
* Treasurer's Accounts, 1504. March 14.
+ Ibid, sub anno 1504. April 18, 30 ; May 6, 9, 10, and 11.
X Treasurer's Accounts, 1504. May 7-11.
1504. JAMES IV. 25
maben, and proceedings against the freebooters of these
districts were commenced with the utmost vigour and
severity. None, however, knew better than James
how to combine amusement with the wei2:htier cares
of government. He was attended in his progress by
his huntsmen, falconers, morris dancers, and all the
motley and various minions of his pleasures, as well
as by his judges and ministers of the law; and whilst
troops of the unfortunate marauders were seized and
brought in irons to the encampment, executions and
entertainments appear to have succeeded each other
with extraordinary rapidity.* The severity of the
monarch to all who had disturbed the peace of the
country was as remarkable as his kindness and affabi-
lity to the lowest of his subjects who respected the
laws ; and many of the ferocious borderers, to whom
the love of plunder had become a second nature, but
who promised themselves immunity because they robbed
within the English pale, lamented on the scaffold the
folly of such anticipation. The Armstrongs, however,
appear at this time to have made their peace with the
crown; ■[" whilst the Jardines, and probably other power-
ful septs, purchased afreedom from minute inquiry, by an
active co-operation with the measures of the sovereign.
On his return from the " Raid of Eskdale" to Stir-
ling, James scarcely permitted himself a month''s repose,
which was occupied in attention to the state of his fleet,
and in negotiation by mutual messengers with the Lord
Aubigny in France, when he judged it necessary to
make a progress across the Mounth as far as Forres ;
visiting Scone, Forfar, Aberdeen, and Elgin, inquiring
into the state of this part of his dominions, scrutinizing
* Treasurer's A'-counts, August 9, 1504 ; also under August 17, 19, 20,
21, 23, aud 31. For the particulars, see the entries on this expedition,
t Ibid. 1504, September 2.
26 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1505.
the conduct of his sheriffs and ma2:istrates, and declar-
ing his readiness to redress every grievance, were it
sustained by the poorest tenant or labourer in his
dominions.*
Soon after his return he received the unpleasant
intelligence that disturbances had again broken out in
the Isles, which would require immediate interference.
In 1504, great efforts had been made, but with little
permanent success, and the progress of the insurrection
became alarming. Macvicar, an envoy from Macleod,
who was then in strict alliance with the king, remained
three weeks at court: Mac-Ian also had sent his emis-
saries to explain the perilous condition of the country ;
and, with his characteristic energy, the king, as soon
as the state of the year permitted, despatched the Earl
of Huntley to invade the Isles by the north, whilst
himself in person led an army against them from the
south ; and John Barton proceeded with a fleet to
reduce and overawe these savage districts.-f* The
terror of the royal name ; the generosity with which
James rewarded his adherents : and the vio-orous
measures which he adopted against the disaffected,
produced a speedy and extensive effect in dissolving
the confederacy. Maclean of Dowart, Macquarrie of
Ulva, with Macneill of Barra, and Macinnon, offered
their submission, and were received into favour ; and
the succeeding year (1506) witnessed the utter de-
struction of Torquil Macleod, the great head of the
rebellion, whose castle of Stornaway in Lewis was
stormed by Huntley; whilst Donald Dhu, the captive
upon whose aged head his vassals had made this des-
perate attempt to place the crown of the Isles, escaping
* Treasurer's Accounts, 1504, sub mense Oct. -See also Sept. 26.
t Ibid. 1505, Sept. 0",
1505. JAMES IV. 27
the gripe of the conqueror, fled to Ireland, where he
soon after died.*
It was now proper for the monarch to look to his
foreign relations, to seize the interval of peace at home,
that he mi2:ht streno-then his ties with the continent.
France, the ally of Scotland, had been too constantly
occupied with hostilities in Italy, to take an interest
in preventing the negotiations for the marriage of the
king to the Princess of England. The conquest of the
Milanese by the arms of Lewis the Twelfth, in which
Robert Stuart lord of Aubigny had distinguished him-
self, and the events which succeeded in the partition
of the kingdom of Naples between the Kings of France
and Castile, concentrated the attention of both mon-
archs upon Italy, and rendered their intercourse with
Britain less frequent. But when the quarrel regarding
the division of the kingdom of Naples broke out between
Ferdinand and Lewis, in 1503, and the defeats of
Seminara and Cerignola had established the superior-
ity of the Spanish arms in Italy, negotiations between
Lewis and the Scottish court, appear to have been
renewed. The causes of this were obvious. Henrv
the Seventh of Eno-land esteemed none of his foreion
alliances so highly as that with Spain: his eldest son.
Arthur, had espoused Catharine the Infanta ; and, on
the death of her husband, a dispensation had been
procured from the Pope for her marriage with his
brother Henry, now Prince of Wales. It was evident
to Lewis, that his rupture with Spain was not unlikely
* Nor whilst the Bartons, by their naval skill secured the integrity of the
kingdom at home, did the monarch neglect their interests abroad. Some of
their ships, which had been cruising against the English in 14.97, had been
seized and plundered on the coast of Brittany, and a remonstrance was ad-
dressed to Lewis the Twelfth, by Panter, the royal secretary, which com-
plained of the injustice, and insisted on redress. [Epistolae Regum Scotorura,
voL i. pp. 17, 18.]
28 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1505-6.
to bring on a quarrel with England, and it became
therefore of consequence to renew his negotiations with
James the Fourth.
These, however, were not the only foreign cares
which attracted the attention of the kins:. In the
autumn of the year 1505, Charles D'Egmont duke
of Gueldres, a prince of spirit and ability, who with
difficulty maintained his dominions against the unjust
attacks of the Emperor Maximilian, despatched his
secretary on an embassy to the Scottish monarch,
requesting his interference and support.* Nor was
this denied him. The duke had listened to the advice
of the Scottish prince when he requested him to with-
draw his intended aid from the unfortunate Edmund
de la Pole earl of Suffolk, the representative of the
House of York, who had sought a refuge at his court ;
and James now anxiously exerted himself in his behalf.
He treated his envo}'' with distinction ; despatched an
embassy to the duke, which, in passing through France,
secured the assistance of Lewis the Twelfth, and so
effectually remonstrated with Henry the Seventh and
the Emperor Maximilian, that all active designs against
the duchy of Gueldres were for the present abandoned. -[*
In the midst of these transactions, and whilst the
presence of Huntley, Barton, and the Scottish fleet was
still necessary in the Isles, the more pacific parts of
the country were filled witli joy by the birth of a prince,
which took place at Holyrood on the 10th of February,
1506. None could testify greater satisfaction at this
event than the monarch himself.J He instantly des-
patched messengers to carry the news to the Kings of
* Accounts of the High Treasurer, 1505, Sept, 6.
t Ibid. 150G, July 6 and 8.— Epistolaj Reg. Scot. vol. i. pp. 21, 30, 34.
X To the lady of the queen's chamber, -who brought him the first intelli-
gence, be presented a hundred gold pieces and a cup of silver.
1507. JAMES IV. 29
England, France, Spain, and Portugal; and, on the 23d
of February, the baptism was held with magnificence
in the chapel of Holyrood. The boy was named James,
after his father; but the sanguine hopes of the kingdom
were, within a year, clouded by his premature death.
At this conjuncture an embassy from Pope Julius
the Second arrived at the court of Scotland. Alarmed
at the increasing power of the French in Italy, this
pontiff had united his strength with that of the Emperor
Maximilian and the Venetians, to check the arms of
Lewis, whilst he now attempted to induce the Scottish
monarch to desert his ancient ally. The endeavour,
however, proved fruitless. James, indeed, reverently
received the papal ambassador, gratefully accepted the
consecrated hat and sword which he presented, and
loaded him and his suite with presents ; he communi-
cated also the intelligence which he had lately received
from the King of Denmark, that his ally, the Czar of
Muscovv, had intimated a desire to be received into
the bosom of the Latin church ; but he detected the
political finesse of the warlike Julius, and remained
steady to his alliance with France. Nay, scarcely had
the ambassador left his court, when he proposed to send
Lewis a body of four thousand auxiliaries to serve in
his Italian wars, an offer which the rapid successes of
that monarch enabled him to decline.
Turnino- his attention from the continent to his
affairs at home, the king recognised with satisfaction
the effects of his exertions, in enforcing, by severity
and indefatigable personal superintendence, a universal
respect for the laws. The husbandman laboured his
lands in security, the merchant traversed the country
with his goods, the foreign trader visited the markets
of the various burghs and sea-ports fearless of plunder
30 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1508.
or interruption ; and so convinced was the monarch
of the success of his efforts, that, with a whimsical
enthusiasm, he determined to put it to a singular test.
Setting out on horseback, unaccompanied even by a
groom, with nothing but his riding cloak cast abouthim,
his hunting knife at his belt, and six-and-twenty pounds
for his travelling expenses in his purse, he rode, in a
single day, from Stirling to Perth, across the Mounth,
and through Aberdeen to Elgin ; whence, after a few
hours'* repose, he pushed on to the shrine of St Duthoc
in Ross, where he heard mass. In this feat of bold
and solitary activity, the unknown monarch met not
a moment''s interruption ; and after having boasted,
with an excusable pride, of the tranquillity to which he
had reduced his dominions, he returned in a splendid
progress to his palace at Stirling, accompanied by the
principal nobles and gentry of the districts througli
which he passed.
Soon after, he despatched the Archbishop of St
Andrew's and the Earl of Arran to the court of France,
for the purpose of procuring certain privileges regarding
the mercantile intercourse between the two countries,
and to fix upon the line of policy which appeared best
for their mutual interest regarding the complicated
affairs of Italy. In that country an important change
had taken place. The brilliant successes of the Vene-
tians ao-ainst the arms of Maximilian had alarmed the
jealousy of Lewis, and led to an inactivity on his part,
which terminated in a total rupture; whilst the peace
concluded between the Emperor and James"'s ally and
relative, the Duke of Gueldres, formed, as is well known,
the basis of the league of Cambrai, which united, against
the single republic of Venice, the apparently irresistible
forces of the Pope, the Emperor, and the K ings of France
1509. JAMES IV. 81
and Spain. For the purpose, no doubt, of inducing
the king to become a party to this powerful coalition,
Lewis now sent the veteran Aubigny to the Scottish
court, with the President of Toulouse ;* and the mon-
arch, who loved the ambassador for his extraction, and
venerated his celebrity in arms, received him with
distinction. Tournaments were held in honour of his
arrival ; he was placed by the king in the highest seat
at his own table, appealed to as supreme judge in the
lists, and addressed by the title of Father of War.
This eminent person had visited Scotland twenty-five
years before, as ambassador from Charles the Eighth
to James the Third ; and it was under his auspices
that the leao:ue between the two countries was then
solemnly renewed. He now returned to the land which
contained the ashes of his ancestors, full of years and
of honour ; but it was only to mingle his dust with
theirs, for he sickened almost immediatelv after his
arrival, and died at Corstorphine.-|-
Another object of Lewis in this embassy was to
consult with James re2;ardino' the marriafj:e of his eldest
daughter, to whom Charles king of Castile, then only
eight years old, had been proposed as a husband. Her
hand was also sought by Francis of Valois dauphin
of Vienne ; and the French monarch declared that he
could not decide on so important a question without
the advice of his allies, of whom he considered Scot-
land both the oldest and the most friendly. To this
James replied, that since his brother of France had
honoured him by asking his advice, he w^ould give it
frankly as his opinion, that the princess ought to
* " Vicesima prima Martii antedicti, GalHse oratores, D""^ videlicet D'Au-
beny et alter, supplicationum regia) domus jNlagister, octoginta equis egregie
comitati, urbuem ingressi snt, Scotiam petituri/'—Narratio Hist, de gestis
Henrici VII. per Bernardum Andream Tholosatem. Cotton. MSS. Julius
A. iii.
"^ Lesley's History, Bannatyne edit, p, 77,
32 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1509.
marry within her own reahn of France, and connect
herself rather with liim who was to succeed to the crown
than with any foreign potentate ; this latter being
a union out of which some colourable or pretended
claim might afterwards be raised against the integrity
and independence of his kingdom. The advice was
satisfactory, for it coincided with the course which
Lewis had already determined to follow.
Happy in the affections of his subjects, and gratified
by observing an evident increase in the wealth and
industry of the kingdom, the king found leisure to re-
lax from the severer cares of government, and to gratify
the inhabitants of the capital by one of those exhi-
bitions of which he was fond even to weakness. A
magnificent tournament w-as held at Edinburgh, in
which the monarch enacted the part of the Wild
Knight, attended by a troop of ferocious companions
disguised as savages ; Sir Anthony D'Arsie and many
of the French nobles who had formed the suite of
Aubigny, w^ere still at court, and bore their part in
the pageant of Arthur and his Peers of the Round
Table, whilst the prince attracted admiration by the
uncommon skill which he exhibited, and the rich gifts
he bestowed ; but the profuse repetition of such ex-
pensive entertainments soon reduced him to great
difficulties.
The constant nes^otiation and intimacy between
France and the Scottish court appear at this time to
have roused the jealousy of Henry the Seventh. It
required, indeed, no great acuteness in this cautious
prince to anticipate the probable dissolution of the
League of Cambrai, in which event he perhaps anti-
cipated a revival of the ancient enmity of France, and
the possible hostility of James. His suspicion was
indicated by the seizure of the Earl of Arran and his
1509. JAMES IV. 33
brother Sir Patrick Hamilton, who had passed through
England to the court of Lewis, without the knowledge
of Henrv, and were now on their return. In Kent
they were met by Vaughan, an emissary of En2:]and;
and, on their refusal to take an oath which bound them
to the observation of peace with that country, they
were detained and committed to custody. To explain
and justify his conduct, Henry despatched Dr West
on a mission to the king, who resented the imprison-
ment of his subjects, and declared that they had only
fulfilled their duty in refusing the oath. He declined
a proposal made for a personal interview with his royal
father-in-law, insisted on the liberation of Arran, and
on these conditions agreed to delay, for the present,
any renewal of the league with France. The impri-
soned nobles, however, were not immediately dismissed;
and, probably, in consequence of the delay, James con-
sidered himself relieved from his promise.
The death of the Ensjlish kin^^ occurred not lonsr
after, an event which was unquestionably unfortunate
for Scotland. His caution, command of temper, and
earnest desire of peace, were excellent checks to the
inconsiderate impetuosity of his son-in-law ; nor, if
we except, perhaps, the last-mentioned circumstance
of the detention of Arran, can he be accused of a single
act of injustice towards that kingdom, so long the
enemy of England. The accession of Henry the
Eighth, on the other hand, although not productive
of any immediate ill effects, drew after it, within no
very distant period, a train of events injurious in their
progress, and most calamitous in their issue. At
first, indeed, all looked propitious and peaceful. The
Scottish king sent his ambassador to congratulate his
brother-in-law of Ensrland on his accession to the
VOL. V. c
34 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1509
throne;* and the youthful monarch, in the plenitude
of his joy on this occasion, professed the most anxious
wishes for the continuance of that amity between the
kingdoms which had been so sedulously cultivated by
his father. The existing treaties were confirmed, and
the two sovereians interchano-ed their oaths for tbeir
observance ; ■[* nor, although so nearly allied to Spain
by his marriage, did Henry seem at first to share in
the jealousy of France which was entertained by that
power; on the contrary, even after the battle of
Agnadillo had extinguished the hopes of the Venetians,
he did not hesitate to conclude a treaty of alliance with
Lewis the Twelfth. All these fair prospects of peace,
however, were soon destined to be overclouded by the
pride and impetuosity of a temper which hurried him
into unjust and unprofitable wars.
In the meantime Scotland, under the energetic
government of James, continued to increase in wealth
and consequence: her navy, that great arm of national
strength, had become not only respectable, but power-
ful : no method of encouras^ement had been neojlected
by the king ; and the success of his efforts was shown
by the fact that, the largest ship of war then known
in the world was constructed and launched within his
dominions. This vessel, which was named the Great
Michael, appears to have been many years in building,
and the king personally superintended the work with
much perseverance and enthusiasm. J The family of
* Rotuli Scotise, vol. ii. p. 572.
+ R}-mer, Foedera, vol. xiii. pp. 261, 262.
Ij: Her length was two hundred and forty feet, her breadth fifty-six to the
water's edge, but only thirty-six within ; her sides, which were ten feet in
thickness, were proof against shot. In these days ships carried guns only
on the upper deck, and the Great Michael, notwithstanding these gigantic
dimensions, could boast of no more than thirty-five ; sixteen on each side,
two in the stem, and one in the bow. She was provided, however, with
three hundred small artillery, under the names of myaud, culveriua, and
1509. JAMES IV. 35
the Bartons, which for two generations had been pro-
lific of naval commanders, were intrusted by this
monarch with the principal authority in all maritime
and commercial matters : they purchased vessels for
him on the continent, they invited into his kingdom
the most skilful foreign shipwrights ; they sold some of
their own ships to the king, and vindicated the honour
of their flag whenever it was insulted, with a readiness,
and severity of retaliation which inspired respect and
terror. The Hollanders had attacked a small fleet of
Scottish merchantmen ; plundering the cargoes, mur-
dering the crews, and throwing the bodies into the sea.
The afiair was probably piratical, for it was followed
by no diplomatic remonstrance ; but an exemplary
vengeance followed the off"ence. AndrcAV Barton was
instantly despatched with a squadron, which captured
many of the pirates; and, in the cruel spirit of the
times, the admiral commanded the hogsheads which
were stowed in the hold of his vessels to be filled with
the heads of the prisoners, and sent as a present to his
royal master.*
So far back as 1476, in consequence of the Bartons
having been plundered by a Portuguese squadron, let-
ters of reprisal were granted them, under the protec-
tion of which, there seems reason to believe that they
more than indemnified themselves for their losses.
The Portuiruese, whose navv and commerce were at
this time the richest and most powerful in the world,
retaliated; and, in 1507, the Lion, commanded by
double dogs ; "whilst her complement was three hundred seamen, besides
officers, a hundred and twenty gunners, and a thousand soldiers [^I'Pher-
son's Annals of Commerce, vol. ii. p. 42.] The minuteness of these details,
which are extracted from authentic documents, may be pardoned upon a
subject so important as the navy.
^ Lesley's History, Baimatyne edit. p. 74.
36 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 150D.
John Barton, was seized at Campvere, in Zealand,
and its commander thrown into prison. The sons
of this officer, however, having procured from James
a renewal of their letters of reprisal, fitted out a
squadron, which intercepted and captured at various
times many richly-laden carracks returning from the
Portuguese settlements in India and Africa ; and the
unwonted apparition of blackamoors at the Scottish
court, and sable empresses presiding over the royal
tournaments, is to be traced to the spirit and success
of the Scottish privateers.
The consequence of this earnest attention to his
fleet, was the securing an unusual degree of tranquillity
at home. The islanders were kept dow^n by a few
ships of war more effectually than by an army ; and
James acquired at the same time an increasing autho-
rity amongst his continental allies. By his navy he
had been able to give assistance on more than one oc-
casion to his relative the King of Denmark; and while
the navy of England was still in its infancy, that of
the sister country had risen, under the judicious care
of the monarch, to a respectable rank, although far
inferior to the armaments of the leadins: navioators of
Europe, the Spaniards, the Portuguese, and the Vene-
tians.
It was at this period, that the memorable invention
of printing, — that art which, perhaps, more than any
other human discovery, has changed the condition and
the destinies of the world, — found its way into Scot-
land, under the auspices of Walter Chepman, a servant
of the king's household.* Two years before, the skill
* lie printed in the year 1508, a small volume of pamphlets, and soon
after, the " Breviary of Aberdeen.""
1509. JAMES IV. 37
and ingenuity of Chepman appear to have attracted
the notice of his royal master ; and as James was a
friend to letters, and an enthusiast in every new in-
vention, we may believe, that he could not view this
astonishing art with indifference. We know that he
purchased books from the typographer ; and that a
royal patent to exercise his mystery was granted to
the artist ; the original of which still exists amongst
our national records. The art, as is well known, had
been imported into England by Caxton as early as the
year 1474. Yet more than thirty years elapsed be-
fore it penetrated into Scotland, — a tardiness to be
partly accounted for by the strong principle of con-
cealment and monopoly.
Amidst all these useful cares, the character of the
monarch, which could no longer plead for its excuse
the levity or thoughtlessness of youth, exhibited many
inconsistencies. He loved his youthful queen with
much apparent tenderness, yet he was unable to re-
nounce that indiscriminate admiration of beauty, and
devotion to pleasure, whicli, in defiance of public de-
cency and moral restraint, sought its gratification
equally amongst the highest and lowest ranks of society.
He loved his people, and would, in the ardent genero-
sity of his disposition, have suffered any personal pri-
vation to have saved the meanest of his subjects from
distress ; but his thoughtless prodigality to every
species of empiric, to jesters, dancers, and the lowest
retainers about his court, wath his devotion to gam-
bling, impoverished his exchequer, and drove him in
his distresses to expedients, which his better reason
lamented and abandoned. Large sums of money also
were expended in the idle pursuits of alchemy, and
the equally vain and expensive endeavours for the
38 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1509.
discovery of gold mines in Scotland : often, too, in the
midst of his labours, his pleasures, and his fantastic
projects, the monarch was suddenly seized with a fit
of ascetic penitence, at which times he would shut
himself up for many days with his confessor, resolve
on an expedition to Jerusalem, or take a solitary pil-
grimage on foot to some favourite shrine, where he
wept over his sins, and made resolutions of amend-
ment, which, on his return to the world, were instantly
forirotten. Yet all this contradiction and thoui^htless-
ness of mind was accompanied by so much kindliness,
accessibility, and warm and generous feeling, that the
people forgot or pardoned it in a prince, who, on every
occasion, showed himself their friend.
It was now two years since the accession of Henry
the Eighth to the crown ; and the aspect of affairs in
England began to be alarming. The youthful ambi-
tion of the Ensflish kins: had become dazzled with the
idle vision of the conquest of France ; he already pon-
dered on the dangerous project of imitating the career
of Edward the Third and Henry the Fifth ; whilst such
was the affection of James for his ally, that any enter-
prise for the subjugation of that kingdom was almost
certain to draw after it a declaration of war a2:ainst
the aggressor. Nor were there wanting artful and
insidious friends, who, to accomplish their own ends,
endeavoured to direct the arms of Henry against
Lewis. Pope Julius the Second and Ferdinand of
Spain having gained the object they had in view by
the league of Cambrai, had seceded from that coalition,
and were now anxious to check the successes of the
French in Italy. The pontiff, with the violence which
belonged to his character, left no measure unattempted
to raise a powerful opposition against a monarch whose
150.9. JAMES IV. S9
arms, under Gaston de Foix and the Chevalier Bayard,
were everywhere triumphant ; and well aware that an
invasion of France by Henry must operate as an im-
mediate diversion, he exhausted all his policy to effect
it : he at the same time succeeded in detachins: the
emperor and the Swiss from the league ; and the re-
sult of these efforts was a coalition as formidable in
every respect as that which had been arrayed so lately
against the Venetians. Julius, who scrupled not to
command his army in person, Ferdinand of Spain,
Henry the Eighth, and the Swiss republics, deter-
mined to employ their whole strength in the expulsion
of the French from the Italian states ; and Lewis,
aware of the ruin which might follow any attempt to
divide the forces of his kingdom, found himself under
the necessity of recalling his troops, and abandoning
the possessions which had cost him so many battles.
These transactions were not seen by James without
emotion. Since the commencement of his reign, his
alliance with France had been cordial and sincere. A
lucrative commercial intercourse, and the most friendly
ties between the sovereigns and the nobility of the two
countries, had produced a mutual warmth of national
attachment ; the armies of France had repeatedly been
commanded bv Scotsmen ; and, throuo-hout the Ions:
course of her history, whenever Scotland had been
menaced or attacked by England, she had calculated
without disappointment upon the assistance of her ally.
As to the wisdom of this policy upon the part of her
sovereigns, it would now be idle to inquire ; it being
too apparent that, except where her independence as
a nation was threatened, that kingdom had everything
to lose and nothino; to o^ain bv a war with the sister
country. But these were not the days in which the
40 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1511.
folly of a war of territorial conquest was recognised by
European nionarclis ; and tlie gallantry of the Scottish
prince disposed him to enter with readiness into the
quarrel of Lewis. We find him accordingly engaged in
the most friendly correspondence with this sovereign,
requesting permission, owing to the failure of the har-
vest to import grain from France, and renewing his
determination to maintain in the strictest manner, the
ties of amity and support.
At this crisis an event happened which contributed
in no small degree to fan the gathering flame of ani-
mosity against England. Protected by their letters
of reprisal, and preserving, as it would appear, a here-
ditary animosity against the Portuguese, the Bartons
had fitted out some privateers which scoured the
Western Ocean, took many prizes, and detained and
searched the English merchantmen under the pretence
that they had Portuguese goods on board. It is well
known, that at this period, and even so late as the
days of Drake and Cavendish, the line between piracy
and legitimate warfare was not precisely defined, and
there is reason to suspect that the Scottish merchants
having found the vindication of their own wrongs and
the nation's honour a profitable speculation, were dis-
posed to push their retaliation to an extent so far
beyond the individual losses they had suftered, that
their hostilities became almost piratical. So, at least,
it appeared to the English : and it is said that the
Earl of Surrey, on hearing of some late excesses of the
privateers, declared that " the narrow seas should not
be so infested whilst he had an estate that could fur-
nish a ship, or a son who was able to command it."
He accordingly fitted out two men-of-war, which he
intrusted to his sons Lord Thomas Howard and Sir
151]. JAMES IV. 41
Edward Howard afterwards Lord High-admiral ; and
this officer having put to sea, had the fortune to fall
in with Andrew Barton, in the Downs, as he was re-
turning^ from a cruise on the coast of Portusral. The
engagement which followed was obstinately contested:
Barton commanded his own ship, the Lion ; his other
vessel was only an armed pinnace : but both fought
with determined valour till the Scottish Admiral was
desperately wounded ; it is said, that even then this
bold and experienced seaman continued to encourage
his men with his whistle,* till receiving a cannon shot
in the body, it dropped from his hand, and he fell
dead upon the deck. His ships were then boarded,
and carried into the Thames ; the crews, after a short
imprisonment, being dismissed, but the vessels detained
as law^ful prizes. It was not to be expected that James
should tamely brook this loss sustained by his navy,
and the insult offered to his flag in a season of peace.
Barton was a personal favourite, and one of his ablest
officers ; whilst the Lion, the vessel w hich had been
taken, was only inferior in size to the " Great Harry,""
at that time the largest ship of war which belonged
to England. Kothesay herald was accordingly des-
patched on the instant, with a remonstrance and a
demand for redress : but the kino; had now no lon^'er
to negotiate with the cautious and pacific Henry the
Seventh, and his impetuous successor returned no
gentler answer than that the fate of pirates ought
never to be a matter of dispute among princes.
It happened unfortunately that at this moment
another cause of irritation existed : Sir Robert Ker,
* Lesley, Bannatyne edition, pp. 82, 83. Pinkerton, ii. 69, 70. A gold
•whistle was, in England, the emblem of the office of High-admiral. Kent's
Illustrious Seamen, vol. i. p. 519.
42 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1512.
an officer of James'*s household, master of his artillery,
and warden of the middle marches, having excited
the animosity of the borderers by what they deemed
an excessive rigour, was attacked and slain by three
Englishmen named Lilburn, Starhead, and Heron.*
This happened in the time of Henry the Seventh, by
whom Lilburn was delivered to the Scots, whilst Star-
head and Heron made their escape ; but such was the
anxiety of the English king to banish every subject of
complaint, that he arrested Heron, the brother of the
murderer, and sent him in fetters to Scotland. After
some years Lilburn died in prison, whilst Starhead and
his accomplice stole forth from their concealment ; and
trustinix that all would be for2:otten under the acces-
sion of a new monarch, began to walk more openly
abroad. But Andrew Ker, the son of Sir Robert, was
not thus to be cheated of his reveno-e: two of his vas-
sals sought out Starhead's residence during the night,
although it was ninety miles from the Border, and,
breakinir into the house, murdered him in cold blood ;
after which they sent his head to their master, who
exposed it with all the ferocity of feudal exultation, in
the most conspicuous part of the capital ; a proceeding
which appears to have been unchecked by James, whilst
its summary and violent nature could hardly fail to
excite the indignation of Henry. There were other
sources of animosity in the assistance which the Eng-
lish monarch had afforded to the Duchess of Savoy
against the Duke of Gueldres, the relative and ally of
his brother-in-law, in the audacity with which his
cruisers had attacked and plundered a French vessel
which ran in for protection to an anchorage off the
* The name as given by Buchanan, Book xiii. c, 26, is Starhead. Star-
liedus. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 71, has Sarked ; but he gives no authority for
the change.
1512. JAMES IV. 43
coast of Ayr, and the manifest injustice with which
he refused to deliver to his sister, the Queen of Scot-
land, a valuable legacy of jewels which had been left
her by her father''s will.
Such beino; the state of affairs between the two
countries, an envoy appeared at the Scottish court with
letters from the pope, whilst nearly about the same time
arrived the ambassadors of England, France, and Spain.
Henry, flattered by the adulation of Julius, who greeted
him with the title of Head of the Italian League, had
now openly declared war against France : and anxious
to be safe on the side of Scotland, he condescended to
express his regret, and to offer satisfaction for any vio-
lations of the peace. But James detected the object
of this tardy proposal, and refused to accede to it. To
the message of the Kino; of France, he listened with
affectionate deference, deprecated the injustice of the
league which had been formed against him, and spoke
with indisrnation of the conduct of Ensrland, re2:rettinfj
only the schism between Lewis and the See of Rome,
which he declared himself anxious by every means to
remove. Nor were these mere words of good will : he
despatched his uncle, the Duke of Albany, as ambas-
sador to the emperor, to entreat him to act as a medi-
ator between the pope and the King of France, whilst
the Bishop of Moray proceeded on the same errand to
that country,* and afterwards endeavoured to instil
pacific feelings into the College of Cardinals, and the
Marquis of Mantua.
To the proposals of the ambassador of Ferdinand,
who laboured to engage him in the papal league against
Lewis, it was answered by the king, that his only de-
sire was, to maintain the peace of Christendom ; and
* EpistolsB Reg. Scot. vol. i. p. 126-128.
44 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1512.
SO earnest were his endeavours upon this subject, that
he summoned a general council for the purpose of de-
liberating upon the likeliest methods of carrying his
wishes into effect. To secure the co-operation of
Denmark, Sir Andrew Brownhill was deputed to that
court, and letters which strongly recommended the
liealino; of all divisions, and the dutv of forijiveness,
were addressed to the warlike Julius. It was too late,
however : hostilities between France and the papal
confederates had begun ; and James, aware that his
own kingdom would soon be involved in war, made
every effort to meet the emergency with vigour. His
levies were conducted on a great scale ; and we learn
from the contemporary letter of the English envoy
then in Scotland, that the country rung with the din
of preparation : armed musters were held in every part
of the kingdom, not excepting the Isles, now an inte-
gral portion of the state : ships were launched — forests
felled to complete those on the stocks — Borthwick,
the master gunner, was employed in casting cannon ;
Urnebrig, aGerman, in the manufacture of gunpowder:
the Great Michael was victualled and cleared out for
sea : the castles in the interior dismantled of their
guns, that they might be used in the fleet or the army:
and the ablest sea officers and mariners collected in the
various sea ports.* In the midst of these preparations
the king visited every quarter in person — mingled
with his sailors and artisans, and took so constant an
interest in everythins: connected with his fleet, that
it began to be rumoured he meant to command it in
person. Yet whilst such was the hostile activity ex-
liibited throughout the country, negotiations witli
England were continued, and both monarchs made
* Treasurer's Accounts, 1511, 1512.
1512. JAMES IV. 45
mutual professions of their desire to maintain peace ;
Henry in all probability with sincerity, and James only
to gain time. It was at this time that the Scottish
queen gave birth to a prince in the palace of Linlithgow,
on the tenth of April, 1512; who afterwards suc-
ceeded to the throne by the title of James the Fifth.*
Early in the year 1512, Lord Dacre and Dr West
arrived as ambassadors from England, and were re-
ceived with a studied courtesy, which seemed only
intended to blind them to the real designs of Scotland.
Their object was to prevail on the king to renew his
oath regarding the peace with England ; to prevent
the sailing of the fleet to the assistance of the French ;
and to offer, upon the part of their master, his oath
for the observation of an inviolable amity wdth his
brother.-f- But the efforts of the English diplomatists
were successfully counteracted by the abilities of the
French ambassador De la INIotte : they departed, with
splendid presents, indeed, for the king delighted in
showing his generosity even to his enemies, but with-
out any satisfactory answer ; and James, instead of
listening to Henry, renewed the league with France,
consenting to the insertion of a clause which, in a spirit
of foolish and romantic devotion, bound himself and
his subjects to that kingdom by stricter ties than be-
fore. J About the same time an abortive attempt by
the Scots to make themselves masters of Berwick, and
an attack of a fleet of English merchantmen by De la
Motte, who sunk three, and carried seven in triumph
into Leith, must be considered equivalent to a declara-
tion of war. Barton, too, Falconer, Mathison, and other
veteran sea ofiicers, received orders to be on the look-
* J^esley, p. 84. f Ibid. p. 85.
X MS. Leagues, Harleian, 1244, pp, 115, 116,
4(3 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1512.
out for English ships ; and, aware of tlie importance
of a diversion on the side of Ireland, a league was en-
tered into with O'Donnel, prince of Connal, who visited
the Scottish court, and took the oath of liomage to
James : Duncan Campbell, one of the highland chiefs,
engaged at the same time to procure some Irish ves-
sels to join the royal fleet — which it was now reckoned
would amount to sixteen ships of war, besides smaller
craft ; a formidable armament for that period, and
likely, when united to the squadron of the king of
France, to prove, if skilfully commanded, an overmatch
for the navy of England. Yet James's preparations,
with his other sources of profusion, had so completely
impoverished his exchequer, that it became a question
whether he would be able to maintain the force which
he had fitted out. In a private message sent to Lord
Dacre, the treasurer of Scotland appears to have stated
that a present from Henry of five thousand angels,
and the payment of the disputed legacy, which with
much injustice was still withheld, might produce a
revolution in his policy;* and it is certain that, on the
arrival of letters from Lewis, instigating Scotland to
declare war, the reply of the monarch pleaded the im-
possibility of obeying the injunction unless a large
annuity was remitted by France. The borderers,
however, of both countries had already commenced
hostilities ; and Robert Barton, acting under his let-
ters of reprisal, and scouring the narrow seas, came
into Leith after a successful cruize, with thirteen Eng-
lish prizes.*!"
In their mutual professions of a desire for peace both
* Letter, Lord Dacre to the Bishop of Durham, 17th of August. Caligula,
B. iii. 3, quoted by Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 78. Also Letter, John Ainslow
to the Bishop of Durham, 11th of September. Caligula, B. vi. 22.
f Lesley, Bannatyne edit. p. bo.
1512. JAMES IV. 47
governments appear to have been insincere : Henr}^
had determined to signalize his arms by the reconquest
of Guienne, and only wished to gain time for the em-
barkation of his army ; James, shutting his eyes to
the real interests of his kingdom, allowed a devotion to
Lewis, and a too violent resentment for the insult of-
fered to his fleet, to direct his policy. To concentrate
his strength, however, required delay. Repeated mes-
sages passed between the tw^o courts ; the Scottish
prince, by his ambassador Lord Drummond, even pro-
ceeded so far as to offer to Henry a gratuitous remis-
sion of all the late injuries sustained by his subjects,
provided that monarch would abandon the confederacy
against France ;* and although the proposal w^as re-
jected, Dr West again proceeded on an embassy to
Scotland, of which his original letters have left us some
interesting particulars. He found the king engrossed
in warlike preparations, yet visited for the moment, by
one of his temporary fits of penance, in which he pro-
jected an expedition to Jerusalem, animated equally
by a romantic desire of signalizing his prowess against
the infidels, and a hope of expiating the guilt which he
had incurred in appearing in arms against his father.
He had been shut up for a week in the church of the
Friars Observants at Stirling ; but the effect of this
reli2;ious retirement seems to have been the reverse of
pacific. He expressed himself with the utmost bitter-
ness against the late warlike pontifi", Julius the Second,
then recently deceased ; declaring that, had he lived,
he would have supported a council even of three bishops
against him. He had resolved to send Form an the
Bishop of Moray, and the chief author of the war
against England, as ambassador to Leo the Tenth, the
* Rymer, Foedei-a, vol. xiii. pp. 347, 348.
48 , HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. ]513.
new Pope ; and it was reported that Lewis had secured
the services of this able and crafty prelate by the pro-
mise of a cardinal's hat. To Henry's offers of redress
for the infractions of the truce, provided the Scottish
FJionarch would remain inactive during the campaign
against France, he replied that he would not proceed
to open hostilities against England, without previously
sending a declaration by a herald ; so that if the king-
fulfilled his intention of passing into France with his
army, ample time should be allowed him to return for
the defence of his kingdom. It w^as unequivocally
intimated that peace with France was the only condi-
tion upon which an amicable correspondence could be
maintained between the two kingdoms ; and amongst
minor subjects of complaint, Henry's continued refusal
to send his sister's jewels was exposed in a spirited
letter from that princess, which was delivered by Dr
West on his return.*
La Motte soon after asrain arrived from France with
a small squadron laden with provisions for the Scottish
fleet, besides warlike stores and rich presents to the
king and his principal nobles. About the same time
the King of Denmark sent several ships into Scotland
freighted with arms, harness, and ammunition, and
O'Donncl, the Irish potentate, visited tlie court in
person to renew his offers of assistance against England.
But an artful proceeding of Anne of Brittany, the
consort of Lewis, had, it was believed, a greater effect
in accelerating the war than either the intrigues of the
Bishop of Moray or the negotiations of La Motte.
This princess who understood the romantic wcaknes.
of the Scottish king, addressed to him an epistle con-
* ^Vest to Henry, 1st April. MS. Letter, Brit. Mus. Calig. B.ji. 5«
This letter is now printed in " Illustrations of Scottish History," (p. 76-0.9,)
presented by !Moses Steven, E.^q., to the Maitland Club.
1513. JAMES IV. 49
ceived in a strain of hi^^h-flown and amorous complaint.
She described herself as an unhappy damsel, surround-
ed by danger, claimed his protection from the attacks
of a treacherous monarch, and sent him, not only a
present of fourteen thousand crowns, but the still more
tender gift of a ring from her own finger — a token to
her faithful knight upon whose ready aid she implicitly
relied. She concluded her letter by imploring him to
advance, were it but three steps, into English ground
for the sake of his mistress, as she had already suffered
much misconstruction in defence of his honour, and
in excusing the delay of his expedition.* To another
monarch than James an appeal like this would have
been only excusable at a court pageant or a tourna-
ment ; but such was his hio^h-wrouoht sense of honour
that there can be little doubt it a,ccelerated his warlike
movements ; and when, soon after its delivery, intelli-
gence arrived of the passage of the English army to
France, and the opening of the w-ar by Henry the
Eighth in person, he at once considered all negotiation
as at an end, issued his writs for a general muster of
the whole force of his dominions, and ordered everv
ship in his service to put to sea.
The fleet which assembled evinces that the efforts
of the kins: to create a navv had been eminently sue-
cessful. It consisted of thirteen great ships, all of
them, in the naval phraseology of the times, with three
tops, besides ten smaller vessels, and a ship of Lynne
lately captured. In addition to these there was the
Great Michael, a thirty-oared galley w^hich belonged
to her, and two ships, the Margaret and the James,
which, although damaged in a late gale, were now re-
paired and ready to put to sea. Aboard this fleet was
* Lindsay, p. 171. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 87.
VOL. V. D
50 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
embarked a force of three thousand men, under the
command of the Earl of Arran, a nobleman of limited
experience in the art of war; one of the principal
captains of the fleet wa3 Gordon of Letterfury,* a son
of the Earl of Huntley; but unfortunately Arran"'3
higher feudal rank and his title of Generalissimo in-
cluded an authority over the fleet as well as the army,
and this circumstance drew after it disastraus conse-
quences. Why James should not have appointed
some of his veteran sea officers, Barton, AVood, or
Falconer, to conduct a navy of which he was so proud
to its destination in France, is not easily discoverable,
but it probably arose out of some hereditary feudal
right which entailed upon rank a command due only
to skill, and for which it soon appeared that the pos-
sessor was utterly incompetent.
Instead of obeying the orders which he had received
from the king, who, with the object of encouraging his
seamen, embarked in the Great Michael and remained
on board till they had passed the May, Arran con-
ducted the fleet to Carrickfergus, in Ireland, landed
his troops, and stormed the town with much barbarity,
sparing neither age nor sex.-)* The reckless brutality
with which the city was given up to the unlicensed
fury of the soldiery would at all times have been
blameable, but at this moment it was committed during
a time of peace, and against the express promise of the
king ; yet such was the folly or simplicity of the per-
petrator, that with the spirit of a successful freebooter,
he did not hesitate to put his ships about and return
to Ayr with his plunder. Incensed to the utmost by
such conduct, and dreading that his delay might totally
* Lesley, p. 87. + Pinkerton's Scottish Poems, vol. i. p. 150,
1513. JAMES IV. 51
frustrate the object of the expedition, James despatched
Sir Andrew Wood, to supersede Arran in the com-
mand ; but misfortune still pursued his measures, and
before this experienced seaman could reach the coast,
the fleet had again sailed. Over the future history of
an armament which was the boast of the sovereign,
and whose equipment had cost the country an immense
sum for those times, there rests a deep obscurity.
That it reached France is certain, and it is equally
clear that only a few ships ever returned to Scotland.
Of its exploits nothing has been recorded — a strong pre-
sumptive proof that Arran's future conduct in no way
redeemed the folly of his commencement. The war,
indeed, between Henry and Lewis was so soon con-
cluded that little time was given for naval enterprise ;
and the solitary engagement by which it was distin-
guished, (the battle of Spurs,) appears to have been
fought before the Scottish forces could join the French
army. With regard to the final fate of the squadron,
the probability seems to be that, after the defeat at
Flodden, part, including the Great Michael, were
purchased by the French government ; part arrived
in a shattered and disabled state in Scotland ; whilst
others which had been fitted out by merchant adven-
turers, and were only commissioned by the government,
pursued their private courses, and are lost sight of in
the public transactions of the times. But we must
turn from these unsatisfying conjectures to the im-
portant and still more disastrous events which were
passing in Scotland.
Although the war was condemned by the wisest
heads amongst his council, and the people, with the
exception of the borderers whose trade was plunder,
deprecated the interruption of their pacific labours,
52 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
SO great was the popularity of the king, that from one
end of the country to the other, liis summons for the
muster of his army was devotedly obeyed. The low-
land counties collected in great strength, and from the
highlands and the remotest isles, the hardy inhabit-
ants hastened under their several chiefs to join the
royal banner. The Earl of Argyle, Mac-Ian of Ardna-
murchan, Maclean of Dowart, and Sir Duncan Campbell
of Glenurcha, with many other barons, led their clans-
men and vassals to support the quarrel of their sove-
reign, and within a short period James saw himself at
the head of an army, which at the lowest computation
was a hundred thousand strong.
On the same day in which his fleet had sailed, a
herald was despatched to France, who found the Eng-
lish monarch in his camp before Terouen, and delivered
a letter of which the tone was calculated to incense
a milder monarch than Henry. It dwelt with some
exaggeration upon the repeated injuries and insults
which James had received from his brother-in-law.
It accused him of refusing a safe conduct to his am-
bassador (a proceeding-worthy only of an infidel power;)
it upbraided him with a want of common justice and
affection in withholding from his sister, the Queen of
Scotland, the jewels and the legacy which had been
left her by her father;* it asserted that the conduct
of Enoland, in a late meetins: of the commissioners of
the two countries on the Borders, had been deficient in
honour and good faith ; that Heron, the murderer of
a Scottish baron, who was dear to the king, was pro-
tected in that country ; that Scottish subjects in time
of peace had been carried off in fetters across the
* Ellis's Letters, first series, vol. i. p. 6-1. — Queen Margaret to Henry the
Eighth.
1513. JAMES IV. 5.S
Border; that Andrew Barton had been slaughtered
and his ships unjustly captured by Henry's admiral;
whilst that prince not only refused all redress, but
showed the contempt with which he treated the demand
by declaring war against James's relative, the Duke
of Gueldres, and now invading the dominions of his
friend and ally the King of France. Wherefore, it
concluded, " We require you to desist from farther
hostilities against this most Christian prince, certifying
your highness that in case of refusal we shall hold
ourselves bound to assist him l)y force of arms, and to
compel you to abandon the pursuit of so unjust a
war.""*
On perusing this letter, Henry broke out into an
expression of ungovernable rage, and demanded of the
Scottish envoy whether he would carry a verbal answer
to his master. " Sir," said the Lion herald, " I am
his natural subject, and what he commands me to say
that must I boldly utter ; but it is contrary to my
allegiance to report the commands of others. May it
please your highness, therefore, to send an answer in
writing — albeit the matter requires deeds rather than
words — since it is the king my master's desire that
you should straitway return home." " That shall 1
do (replied Henry) at mine own pleasure, and not at
your sovereign's bidding," adding many injurious re-
flections upon the broken faith and treachery of the
Scottish king ; to which the herald replied, as he had
been instructed, by a denunciation of war. It was
thought proper, however, that a graver answer should
be sent to James's remonstrance, and a letter was
* These are not the exact words, hut a paraphrase of the conclusion of the
letter which exists in the British Museum. Caligula, B. vi. 49, 50. It has
been printed by Holinshed, p. 1 '65.
54 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
fortliwitli drawn up Avhicli in violence exceeded it ;
but as the Iierald ^Yas detained on his return in Flan-
ders, and did not reach Scotland till after the fatal
result of Flodden, it was never delivered to the king.*
The Eniilish monarch boasted, on beino- informed of
James''s resolution, that he had left the task of defend-
ing his dominions to a noble person \vho knew well
how to execute it with fidelity, and he now addressed
his orders to the Earl of Surrey, enjoining him with
all expedition to summon the array of the northern
counties, and to hold himself in readiness to resist the
invasion. It was, indeed, high time to accelerate his
levies, for Home the Lord-chamberlain, at the head of
a force of eight thousand men had already burst across
the English border, and after laying waste the country,
was returnins: home with his bootv. A Ions: interval
of peace, however, had been followed, as usual, by a
decay of military skill amongst the Scots. The cham-
berlain neglecting his discipline, forgot to push on his
piquets, but marching in a confused mass, embarrassed
by the cattle which he drove before him, and thought-
less of an enemy, was surprised and defeated with
great slaughter at a pass called the Broomhouse, by
Sir AVilliam Bulmer. The action was, as usual, de-
cided by the English archers, who, concealing them-
selves in the tall furze with which the place abounded,
struck down the Scottish companies by an unexpected
discharge of their arrows."|* This being often repeated,
* "We cannot greatly marvel (says Henry to James) considering the
auncient accustumable manners of your progenitors whiche never kept longer
faithe and promise than pleased them. * ■*" And if the example of the King
of Navarre being exclused from his realme for the assistance given to the
French King cannot restrain you from this unnatural dealing, we suppose
ye shall have the assistance of the said French King as the King of Navarre
bath nowe, who is a king without a realme." — Holinshed, p. 139.
t Holinshed, edit. 1808, p. 471. Hall, p. 5o(),
1513. JAMES IV. 55
the confusion of their ranks became irrecoverable, and
the English horse breaking in upon them gained an
easy victory. Five hundred were slain upon the spot,
and their leader compelled to fly for his life, leaving
his banner on the field, and his brother Sir George
Home with four hundred men prisoners in the hands
of the English. The remainder, consisting of borderers
more solicitous for the preservation of their booty than
their honour, dispersed upon the first alarm, and the
whole affair was far from creditable to the Scots. So
much was the king incensed and mortified by the result
of this action that his mind, already resolved on war,
became impatient to wipe out the stain inflicted on the
national honour, and he determined instantly to lead
his army in person against England.
This was a fatal resolve, and appeared full of rash-
ness and dano'er to his wisest councillors, who did not
scruple to advise him to protract hostilities. The queen
earnestly besought him to spare her the unnatural
spectacle of seeing her husband arrayed in mortal con-
test against her brother ; and when open remonstrance
produced no effect, other methods were employed to
work upon the superstition which formed so marked a
feature in the royal mind. At Linlithgow, a few days
before he set out for his army, whilst attending vespers
in the church of St Michael, adjacent to his palace, a
venerable stranger of a stately appearance entered the
aisle where the king knelt ; his head was uncovered,
his hair, parted over his forehead, flowed down his
shoulders, his robe was blue, tied round his loins with
a linen girdle, and there was an air of majesty about
him, which inspired the beholders with awe. Nor was
this feelino: decreased when the unknown visitant
walked up to the king, and leaning over the reading
56 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513
desk where he knelt, thus addressed him : " Sir, I am
sent to warn thee not to proceed in thy present under-
taking — for if thou dost, it shall not fare well either
with thyself or those who go with thee. Further it
hath been enjoined me to bid thee shun the familiar
society and counsels of women, lest they occasion thy
disgrace and destruction." The boldness of these words,
which were pronounced audibly, seemed to excite the
indignation neither of the king nor those around him.
All were struck with superstitious dread, whilst the
fisfure, usinsr neither salutation nor reverence, retreated
and vanished amongst the crowd. Whither he went,
or how he disappeared no one, when the first feelings
of astonishment had subsided, could tell, and although
the strictest inquiry was made, all remained a mystery.
Sir David Lindsay and Sir James Inglis, w^ho belonged
to the household of the young prince, stood close beside
the king when the stranger appeared, and it was from
Lindsay that Buchanan received the story.* The
most probable conjecture seems to be, that it was a
stratagem of the queen, of which it is likely the mon-
arch had some suspicion, for it produced no change in
his purpose, and the denunciation of the danger of
female influence was disregarded.
On arriving at head- quarters, James was flattered
with the evidence he had before him of the aflfectionate
loyalty of his subjects. The war was unpopular with
the nobles, yet such was the strength with which the
lowland counties had mustered, and the readiness with
wdiich the remotest districts had sent their vassals,
that he saw himself at the head of a noble army, ad-
mirably equipt, and furnished with a train of artillery
superior to that which had been brought into the field
* Buchanan, xiii. 31. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 96.
1513. JAMES IV. 67
by any former monarch of Scotland. Leaving his capi-
tal, and apparently without having formed any definite
plan of operations, the monarch entered Enoland on the
twenty-second of August ; encamping that night on
the banks of the river Till, a tributary stream to the
Tweed.* Here he seems to have remained inactive for
two days ; and, on the twenty-fourth, with the view of
encouraging his army, he passed an act, that the heirs of
all who fell in the present campaign, should not be sub-
ject to the common feudal fines, but should be free from
the burdens of " ward, relief or marriage," without
regard to age.*]* The proclamation is dated at Twisel-
haugh and from this place he moved down the side of
the Tweed, and invested the castle of Norham, which
surrendered after a siege of a week. He then proceeded
up the Tweed to Wark, of which he made himself
master with equal ease; and advancing for a few miles,
delayed some precious days before the towers of Etal
and Ford — enterprises unworthy of his arms, and more
befitting the raid of a border free-booter, than the
eff'orts of a royal army. At Ford, which was stormed
and razed, J Lady Heron, a beautiful and artful w^oman,
the wife of Sir William Heron, who was still a prisoner
in Scotland, became James's captive ; and the king,
ever the slave of beauty, is said to have resigned him-
self to her influence, which she employed to retard his
military operations. Time was thus given for the
English army to assemble. Had Douglas or Randolph
commanded the host, they would have scoured and laid
waste the whole of the north of England within the
period that the monarch had already wasted ; but
* Lord Herbert's Life of Henry the Eighth, Kennet, vol. ii. p. 18. Hall
says the army amounted to a hundred thousau 1 men.
+ Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. li. p. 278.
X Weber's Flodden Field, p. 186", 187.
58 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
James's military experience did not go beyond the ac-
complishments of a tournament; and although aware,
that his army was encamped in a barren country, where
they must soon become distressed, he idled away his
days, till the opportunity was past.
Whilst such was the course pursued by the king,
the Earl of Surrey, concentrating the strength of the
northern counties, soon raised an army of twenty-six
thousand men ; and marching through Durham, re-
ceived there the sacred banner of St Cuthbert. He
Mas soon after joined by Lord Dacre, Sir William
Bulmer, Sir Marmaduke Constable, and other northern
barons ; and on proceeding to Alnwick, was met by
his son. Lord Thomas Howard, who, on the death of
his brother Sir Edward, had succeeded him in the office
of Lord Hi^h-admiral of Enoland, with a reinforcement
of five thousand men.* On advancino- with this united
force, Surrey despatched Rouge Croix herald to carry
his challenoe to the Kino; of Scots, which was couched
in the usual stately terms of feudal defiance. It re-
proached him with having broken his faith and league,
which had been solemnly pledged to the King of
England, in thus invading his dominions, — and oft'ered
him battle on the succeeding Friday, if he would be
content to remain so long in England and accept it.
Lord Thomas Howard, added a message, informing the
king, that as high-admiral, and one who had borne a
personal share in the action against Andrew Barton,
he was now ready to justify the death of that pirate,
for which purpose he would lead the vanguard, where
his enemies, from whom he expected as little mercy as
he meant to grant them, would be sure to find him.
* Stow says five thousand. Lord Herbert, one thousand, Kennet, vol. ii.
p. 18.
1513. JAMES IV. 59
To this challenge, James instantly replied that "he
desired nothing more earnestly than the encounter, and
would abide the battle on the day appointed." As
to the accusation of broken honour, which had been
brouo'ht against him, he desired his herald to carry a
broad denial of the statement. " Our bond and pro-
mise,"" he observed, " was to remain true to our royal
brother, so long as he maintained his faith with us.
This he was the first to break; we have desired redress,
and have been denied it ; we have warned him of our
intended hostility, — a courtesy which he has refused to
us; and this is our just quarrel, which, with the grace
of God, we shall defend.'"* These mutual messages
passed on the fourth of September ; and on the day
appointed, Surrey advanced against the enemy. By
this time, however, the distress for provisions, the
incessant rains, and the obstinacy of the kins: in wastino;
upon his pleasures, and his observation of the punctilios
of chivalry, the hours which might have been spent in
active warfare, had created dissatisfaction in the sol-
diers, many of whom deserted, with the booty they had
already collected, so that in a short time the army was
much diminished in numbers. To accept the challenge
of his adversary, and permit him to appoint a day for
the encounter, was contrary to the advice of his best
councillors ; and he might have recollected, that in
circumstances almost similar, two great masters in war,
Douglas and Randolph, had treated a parallel proposal
of Edward the Third with a sarcastic refusal. He had
the sagacity, however to change his first encampment
for a stronger position on the hill of Flodden, one of
the last and lowest eminences which detach themselves
from the range of the Cheviots ; a ground skilfully
chosen, inaccessible on both flanks, and defended in
60 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
front by the river Till, a deep sluggi&h stream, which
wound between the armies.
On advancing and reconnoitering the spot, Surrey,
who despaired of being able to attack the Scots without
exposing himself to the probability of defeat, again
sent a herald, to request the king to descend from the
eminence into the plain. He complained somewhat
unreasonably, that James had "*putte himself into a
ground more like a fortress or a camp, than any indif-
ferent field for battle to be taxed ;" and hoping to work
on the chivalrous spirit of the monarch, hinted that
" such conduct did not sound to his honour f"* but
James would not even admit the messenger into his
presence. So far all had succeeded, and nothing was
required on the part of the king but patience. He had
chosen an impregnable position, had fulfilled his agree-
ment by abiding the attack of the enemy ; and such
was the distress of Surrey ""s army in a wasted country,
that to keep it longer together was impossible. He
attempted, therefore, a decisive measure, which would
have appeared desperate unless he had reckoned upon
the carelessness and inexperience of his opponent.
Passing the Till on the eighth of September, he pro-
ceeded along some rugged grounds on its east side to
Barmoor Wood, about two miles distant from the Scot-
tish position, where he encamped for the night. His
march was concealed from the enemy by an eminence on
the east of Ford ; but that the manoeuvre was executed
without observation, or interruption, evinced a shame-
ful negligence in the Scottish commanders. Early on
the morning of the ninth, he marched from Barmoor
Wood, in a north westerly direction ; and then turning
* Letter of Surrey ; puhlislied by Ellis, vol, i. p. 8G, 87 ; dated at " Wool-
erhaugh, the 7th day of Sept., at iive of the clock in tlie afternoon."
1513. JAMES IV. 61
suddenly to the eastward, crossed the Till with his
vanguard and artillery, which was commanded by Lord
Howard, at Twisel bridge, not far from the confluence
of the Till and the Tweed, — whilst the rear division,
under Surrey in person, passed the river at a ford,
about a mile higher up.
Whilst these movements were taking place, with a
slowness which afforded ample opportunity for a suc-
cessful attack, the Scottish king remained unaccount-
ably passive. His veteran officers remonstrated. They
showed him that if he advanced against Surrey, when
the enemy were defiling over the bridge with their
vanguard separated from the rear, there was every
chance of destroying them in detail, and gaining an
easy victory. The Earl of Angus, whose age and ex-
perience gave great weight to his advice, implored him
either to assault the English, or to change his position
by a retreat, ere it was too late ; but his prudent coun-
sel was only received by a cruel taunt, — "Angus,"*'' said
the king, " if you are afraid, you may go home ;" a
reproach which the spirit of the old baron could not
brook. Bursting into tears, he turned mournfully
away, observing, that his former life might have spared
him such a rebuke from the lips of his sovereign.
" My age,"*** said he, " renders my body of no service,
and my counsel is despised ; but I leave my two sons,
and the vassals of Douglas in the field: may the result
be glorious, and Angus's foreboding unfounded!" The
army of Surrey was still marching across the bridge,
when Borthwick the master of the artillery, fell on his
knees before the king, and earnestly solicited permis-
sion to bring his guns to bear upon the columns, which
might be then done with the most destructive eflect ;
but James commanded him to desist on peril of his
62 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
head, declaring, thcat he would meet his antagonist on
equal terms in a plain field, and scorned to avail him-
self of such an advantage. The counsel of Huntley
was equally ineffectual ; the remonstrance of Lord
Lindsay of the Byres, a rough warrior, was received
hy James with such vehement indignation, that he
threatened on his return to hang him up at his own
gate. Time ran on amidst these useless altercations,
and the opportunity was soon irrecoverable. The last
divisions of Surrey^s force had disentangled themselves
from the narrow bridge ; the rear had passed the ford ;
and the earl, marshalling his army with the leisure
which his enemy allowed him, placed his entire line
between James and his own country. He was thus
enabled, by an easy and gradual ascent, which led to
Flodden, to march upon the rear of the enemy ; and
without losing: his advantas'e for a moment, he ad-
vanced as^ainst them in full arrav, his armv beins:
divided into two battles, and each battle having two
wind's.* On becomino; aware of this, the kin<x imme-
diately set fire to the temporary huts and booths of
his encampment, and descended the hill, with the ob-
ject of occupying the eminence on which the village of
Brankston is built. His army was divided into five
battles, some of which had assumed the form of squares,
some of wedges ; and all were drawn up in line, about a
bow-shot distance from each other.-f- Their march was
conducted in complete silence; and the clouds of smoke
which arose from the burning camp, being driven in
the face of tlie enemy, mutually concealed the armies;
so that when the breeze freshened, and the misty cur-
* Original Document in State-paper Office, entitled " Articles of the
Bataill, betwixt the Kpig of Scottis, and the Erie of Surrey, in Brankston
Field, the 9th day of September."
"t* (jrazette of the Battle in the Herald''s Office. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 456.
1513. JAMES IV. 63
tain was withdrawn, the two hosts discovered that thej
were within a quarter of a mile of each other. The
arrangsment of both armies was simple. The van of
the English, which consisted of ten thousand men,
divided into a centre and two wings, was led by Lord
Thomas Howard ; the rioht wino; beino^ intrusted to
his brother Sir Edmund, and the left to Sir Marma-
duke Constable. In the main centre of his host, Surrey
"^
himself commanded : the char^je of the rear was o-iven
to Sir Edward Stanley ; and a strong body of horse,
under Lord Dacre, formed a reserve. Upon the part
of the Scots, the Earls of Home and Huntley led the
vanguard or advance ; the king, the centre, and the
Earls of Lennox and Argyle, the rear ; near wdiich was
the reserve, consisting of the flower of the Lothians,
commanded by the Earl of Bothwell. The battle com-
menced at four in the afternoon by a furious charge of
Huntley and Home upon the portion of the English
vanguard under Sir Edmund Howard; which, after
some resistance, was thrown into confusion, and totally
routed. Howard''s banner was beaten down ; and he
himself escaped with difficulty, falling back on his
brother, the admiraPs division. That commander,
dreading the consequences of the defeat, instantly des-
patched a messenger to his father. Lord Surrey,
entreating him to extend his line with all speed, and
strengthen the van by drawing up a part of the centre
on its left. The manoeuvre was judicious, but it w^ould
have required too long a time to execute it ; and at
this critical moment, Lord Dacre galloped forward with
his cavalry, to the support of the vanguard.* Nothing
could have been more timely than this assistance ; he
not only checked the career of the Scottish earls, but,
* Letter of Lord Dacre, in Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 460.
64 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
being seconded by the intrepid attack of the admiral,
drove back the division of Huntley with great slaugh-
ter, whilst Home''s men, who were chiefly borderers,
imagining they had already gained the victory, began
to disperse and pillage. Dacre and the admiral then
turned their attack against another portion of the
Scottish vanguard, led by the Earls of Crawford and
Montrose, who met them with levelled spears, and
resolutely withstood the charge. Whilst such was the
state of things on the right, a desperate contest was
carried on between James and the Earl of Surrey in
the centre. In his ardour, however, the king forgot
that the duties of a commander were distinct from the
indiscriminate valour of a knight ; he placed himself
in the front of his lances and billmen, surrounded by
his nobles, who, whilst they pitied the gallant weakness
of such conduct, disdained to leave their sovereign un-
supported.* The first consequence of this was so
furious a charge upon the English centre, that its
ranks were broken ; and for a while the standard of
the Earl of Surrey was in danger ; but by this time,
Lord Dacre and the admiral had been successful in
defeating the division led by Crawford and Montrose;
and wheelins: towards the left, thev turned their whole
strenoth aiiainst the flank of the Scottish centre, which
wavered under the shock, till the Earl of Bothwell
came up with the reserve, and restored the day in this
quarter. On the right, the divisions led by the Earls
of Lennox and Argyle were composed chiefly of the
highlanders and islemen ; the Campbells, Macleans,
Macleods, and other hardy clans, who were dreadfully
galled by the discharge of the English archers. Un-
able to reach the enemy with their broad-swords and
* Hall, p. 5C2.
1513. JAMES IV. 65
axes, which formed their only weapons, and at no time
very amenable to discipline, their squadrons began to
run fiercely forward, eager for closer fight and thought-
less of the fatal consequences of breaking their array.*
It was to little purpose that La IMotte and the French
officers who were with him attempted by entreaties
and blows to restrain them ; thev neither understood
their lansiuaire nor cared for their violence, but threw
themselves sword in hand upon the English. They
found, however, an enemy in Sir Edward Stanley
whose coolness was not to be surprised in this manner.
The squares of English pikemen stood to their ground;
and althou2:h for a moment the shock of the moun-
taineers was terrible, its force once sustained became
spent with its own violence, and nothing remained
but a disorganization so complete that to recover their
ranks was impossible. The consequence was a total
rout of the right wing of the Scots, accompanied by a
dreadful slaughter, in which, amid other brave men,
the Earls of Lennox and Aro-yle were slain. Yet,
notwithstanding this defeat on the right, the centre
under the king still maintained an obstinate and dubi-
ous conflict with the Earl of Surrey. The determined
personal valour of James, imprudent as it was, had the
efi'ect of rousing to a pitch of desperate courage the
meanest of the private soldiers, and the ground becom-
ing soft and slippery from blood, they pulled off their
boots and shoes, and secured a firmer footino; bv fiaht-
ing Id their hose. No quarter was given on either
side; and the combatants were disputing every inch
of ground, when Stanley, without losing his time in
pursuit of the highlanders, drew back his division
and impetuously charged the rear of the Scottish
* Buchanan, xiii. 38.
VOL. V. E
66 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1518.
centre. It was now late in the evening, and this
movement was decisive. Pressed on the flank by
Dacre and the admiral, opposed in front by Surrey,
and now attacked in the rear by Stanley, the king's
battle fought with fearful odds against it ; yet James
continued by his voice and his gestures to animate his
soldiers, and the contest was still uncertain when ho
fell pierced with an arrow, and mortally wounded in
the head by a bill, within a few paces from the English
earl, his antao^onist. The death of their sovereifrn
seemed only to animate the fury of the Scottish nobles,
who threw themselves into a circle round the body and
defended it till darkness separated the combatants.
At this time Surrey was uncertain of the result of the
battle, the remains of the enemy''s centre still held the
field. Home with his borderers hovered on the left, and
the commander wisely allowed neither pursuit nor
j)lunder, but drew off his men and kept a strict watch
during the night. When the morning broke, the
Scottish artillerv were seen standins: deserted on the
side of the hill, their defenders had disappeared, and
the earl ordered thanks to be given for a victory which
was no longer doubtful. He then created forty knights
on the field, and permitted Lord Dacre to follow the
retreat ; yet, even after all this, a body of the Scots
appeared unbroken upon a hill, and were about to
charge the lord admiral, when they were compelled to
leave their position by a discharge of the English ord-
nance.* The soldiers then ransacked the camp and
seized the artillery which had been abandoned. It
consisted of seventeen cannon of various shapes and
dimensions, amongst which were six guns admirable
for their fabric and beauty, named by the latq monarch
* Hall, in Weber's Flodden Field, p. 3G4.
1513. JAMES IV. 67
the Six Sisters, which Surrey boasted were longer and
larger than any in the arsenal of the King of England.
The loss of the Scots in this fatal battle amounted to
about ten thousand men.* Of these a great proportion
were of high rank ; the remainder being composed of
the gentry, the farmers, and landed yeomanry who
disdained to fly when their -sovereign and his nobles
lay stretched in heaps around them. Amongst the
slain were thirteen earls — Crawford, Montrose, Hunt-
ley, Lennox, Argyle, Errol, Atliole, Morton, Casillis,
Bothwell, Rothes, Caithness, and Glencairn, the king''s
natural son the archbishop of St Andrew'*s who had
been educated abroad by Erasmus, the bishops of
Caithness and the Isles, the Abbots of Inchafiray and
Kilwinning, and the Dean of Glasgow. To these w^e
must add fifteen lords and chiefs of clans : amongst
whom were Sir Duncan Campbell of Glenurcha, Lauch-
lan Maclean of Dowart, Campbell of Lawers, and five
peers'* eldest sons, besides La Motte the French am-
bassador, and the secretary of the king. The names
of the gentry who fell are too numerous for recapitu-
lation, since there were few families of note in Scotland
which did not lose one relative or another, whilst some
houses had to weep the death of all. It is from this
cause that the sensations of sorrow and national la-
mentation occasioned by the defeat were peculiarly
poignant and lasting ; so that to this day few Scots-
men can hear the name of Flodden, without a shudder
of gloomy regret. The body of James was found on
the morrow amongst the thickest of the slain, and re-
cognised by Lord Dacre, although much disfigured by
wounds. It was carried to Berwick and ultimately
* Original Gazette of the battle preserved in the Herald's Office, London.
Apud Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 45(j.
G8 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
interred at RicnmonJ.* In Scotland, however, the
affection of the people for their monarch led them to
disbelieve the account of his death; it was well known
that several of his nobles had worn in the battle a dress
similar to tnc king''s ; and to this we may })robably
trace a report that James had been seen alive after his
defeat. Many long- and fondly believed that, in com-
pletion of a religious vow, he had travelled to Jerusa-
lem, and would return to claim the crown. "f*
The causes which led to this defeat are of easy de-
tection, and must be traced chiefly to the king himself.
His obstinacy rendered him deaf to the advice of his
officers, and his ignorance of war made his individual
judgment the most dangerous guide. The days which
he wasted in the siege of Norham and Etal, or squan-
dered at Ford, gave his enemy time to concentrate his
army, and, when the hosts were in sight of each other,
he committed another error in permitting Surrey to
dictate to him the terms on which they were to engage.
A third blunder was the nesjlect of attacking: the Enfr-
lish m crossing the river, and his obstinacy in not
employing his artillery, which might have broken and
destroyed the enemy in detail, and rendered their
defeat when in confusion comparatively easy. Last
of all, James\s thoughtlessness in the battle was as
conspicuous as his want of judgment before it. When
Surrey, mindful of his duty, kept himself as much as
possible out of the deadly brunt of the conflict, and
* Weever's Funeral Monuments, p. 181.
"j- Godwin in his Annals, p. ■22, mentions, " That when James's hofly was
found, his neck was opened in the middle with a wide wound, his left hand,
almost cut off in two places, did scarce hang to his arm, and the archers
had shot him in many places of his body." The sword and dagper of the
unfortunate monarch are to be seen at this day preserved in the College of
Arms in London, and have been engraved by the late Mr Weber as a fron-
ti5piece to the battle of " Flodden Field," an ancient poem published hj
that author.
1513. JAMES IV. 69
was able to watch its progress and to give each division
his prompt assistance, the Scottish monarch acted the
part of Richard or Amadis, more solicitous for the
display of his individual bravery and prowess, than
anxious for the defeat of the enemy. It was a gallant
but a fatal weakness, which cannot be sufficiently con-
demned ; dearl}^ expiated, indeed, by the death of the
unfortunate prince himself, whose fate, some may think,
ought to defend him from such severity of censure ;
but when we consider the flood of noble and of honest
blood which was poured out at Flodden, and the long
train of national misfortunes which this disaster en-
tailed upon the country, it is right that the miseries
of unnecessary warfare, and the folly of a thirst for
individual glory, should be pointed out for the admoni-
tion of future a2,es.
The character of this monarch may be sufficiently
understood by the history which has been given of his
reign ; and it is pleasing, in running over its most
prominent features, to exchange censure for applause.
His energ3% firmness, and indefatigable activity in the
administration of justice; his zeal forthe encouragement
of the useful arts ; his introduction of the machinery of
law and justice into the northern districts and the domi-
nions of the Isles: his encoura2:ement of the commerce
and the agriculture of the country; his construction of
a naval power ; his provision for increasing the means
of national defence by casting artillery, building forts,
and opening by his fleet a communication with the
remotest parts of his kingdom, were all worthy of high
praise : whilst his kindness of heart, and accessibility
to the lowest classes of his subjects, rendered him de-
servedly beloved. His weaknesses were, a too anxious
desire for popularity, an extravagant love of amusement,
70 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
and a criminal profusion of expenditure upon pleasures
which diminished his respectability in the eyes of his
subjects, and injured them by the contagion of bad
example. He was slain in the forty-second year of his
age, leaving an only son, an infant, who succeeded him
by the title of James the Fifth. His natural children
by various mothers of nohle blood as well as of homely
lineasfe were numerous, and some of them who have
hitherto escaped the research of the antiquary may be
traced in the manuscript records of the high-treasurer.
1513.
JAMES V.
71
England.
Henrj VIII.
CITAP, II.
JAMES THE FIFTH.
1513—1524.
C0NTE3IP0RARY SOVEREIGNS.
France.
Lewis XII.
Francis I.
Germany.
Maximilian I.
Charles V.
Spain.
Philip I.
Charles V.
Popes.
Leo. X.
Adrian VI.
Clement VIL
The news of the discomfiture of the Scottish army at
Flodden spread through the land with a rapidity of
terror and sorrow proportionate to the greatness of the
defeat, and the alarming condition into which it in-
stantly brought the country. The wail of private grief,
from the hall to the cottage, was loud and universal.
In the capital were to be heard the shrieks of women
who ran distractedly through the streets bewailing the
husbands, the sons, or the brothers, Avho had fallen,
clasping their infants to their bosoms, and anticipating
in tears the comino; desolation of their country. In the
provinces, as the gloomy tidings rolled on, the same
scenes were repeated ; and had Surrey been inclined, or
in a condition to pursue his victory, the consequences
of the universal panic were much to be dreaded ; but
the very imminency of the public danger was salutary
in checking this violent outburst of sorrow in the capi-
tal. During the absence of the chief magistrates who
had joined the army with the king, the merchants to
72 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
whom their authority liad been deputed, exhibited a
line example of lirmness and presence of mind. They
issued a proclamation which was well adapted to restore
order and resolution. It took notice of the rumour
touching: their beloved monarch and his armv, which
had reached the city, dwelt on its uncertainty, and
abstained from the mention of death or defeat; it com-
manded the whole body of the townsmen to arm them-
selves at the sound of the common bell, for the defence
of the city. It enjoined, under the penalty of banish-
ment, that no females should be seen crying or wailing
in the streets, and concluded by recommending all
women of the better sort to repair to the churches,
and there offer up their petitions to the God of battles,
for their sovereij^n lord and his host, with those of
their fellow citizens who served therein.*
It was soon discovered that, for the moment at least,
Surrey had suffered so severely that he did not find
himself strong enough to prosecute the victory, and
an interval of deliberation was thus permitted to the
country. Early in October, a parliament assembled
at Perth, which from the death of the flower of the
nobility at Flodden, consisted chiefly of the clergy.f
It proceeded first to the coronation of the infant king,
which was performed at Scone with the usual solemnity,
but amid the tears, instead of the rejoicings of the
people. Its attention was then directed to the condi-
tion of the country ; but its deliberations were hurried,
and unfortunately no satisfactory record of them re-
mains. Contrary to the customary law, the regency
was committed to the queen-mother, from a feeling of
* Hailes' Remarks on the History of Scotland, chap. viii.
+ Dacre to the Bishop of Durham, 29th Oct. Brit. Mus. Caligula, B. iii.
11, quoted in Pinlfvton, vol. ii. p. 112.
1513. JAMES V. 73
affectionate respect to the late king. The castle of
Stirling, with the custody of the infant monarch, was
intrusted to Lord Borthwick;* and it was determined,
till more protracted leisure for consultation had been
given and a fuller parliament assembled, that the queen
should use the counsel of Beaton archbishop of Glas-
gow, with the Earls of Huntley and Angus. It ap-
pears, however, that there was a party in Scotland
which looked with anxiety on the measure of commit-
im<y- the chief situation in the ^-overnment to a female,
whose near connexion with England rendered it pos-
sible that she mio-ht act under foreio-n influence : and
a secret message was despatched by their leaders to the
Duke of Albany, in France — a nobleman, who, in the
event of the death of the young king, was the next heir
to the throne, requesting him to repair to Scotland and
assume the office of res^ent, which of rioht belonoed
to his rank.-f*
In the meantime the apprehensions of the country
were quieted by the intelligence that Surrey had dis-
banded his host — a proceeding to which that able
commander was reduced not only by the loss which
he had sustained, but by the impossibility of supporting
an invading army without the co-operation of a fleet.
It was probably on his own responsibility that Howard
thus acted, for, on receiving accounts of the victory,
whilst still in France, Henry appears to have been
solicitous to follow up his advantage, and transmitted
orders to Lord Dacre of tlie north, warden of the
eastern marches, and Lord Darcy, directing them to
make three principal incursions into Scotland. These
orders were partially obeyed, and in various insulated
* Dacre to the King's Highness.— Ilarbottle, 13 Nov. Cal. B. vi. 38, d.
+ Lesley, Baunatyne edit. p. 97. Piukerton, vol. ii. p. 112.
74- HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513.
inroads much devastation was committed by the Eng-
lisli ; but the retaliation of Home the warden of tho
Scottish marches, was equally prompt and destructive,
wliilst the only consequences from such mutual hosti-
lities, were to protract the chances of peace by the
exacerbation of national animosity.
The condition of the country, meanwhile, .was
alarming, and when men began to recover from the
first impulses of grief, and to consider calmly the most
probable schemes for the preservation of order, under
the shock which it had received, the prospect on every
side appeared almost hopeless. The dignified clergy,
undoubtedly the ablest and best educated class in Scot-
land, from whose ranks the state had been accustomed
to look for its wisest councillors, were divided into
feuds amongst themselves^ occasioned by the vacant
benefices. The Archbishop of St Andrew"'s, the Pre-
lates of Caithness and the Isles, with other ecclesiastical
dignitaries, had fallen in the field of Flodden, and
the intrigues of the various claimants distracted the
church and the council. There were evils also to be
dreaded from the character and the youth of the queen-
mother. Margaret had been married at fourteen, and
was now only twenty-four : her talents were of so high
an order that they drew forth the unbiassed encomium
of Surrey, Dacre, and Wolsey ; but there were some
traits in her disposition which remind us of her brother,
Henry the Eighth. Her resentments were hasty,
her firmness sometimes degenerated into obstinacy,
her passions were often too strong for her better judg-
ment; her beauty, vivacity, and high accomplishments,
were fitted to delight and adorn a court, but imparted
an early devotion to pleasure, too much encouraged by
the example of the late king ; and which his sudden
1513. JAMES V. 75
and unhappy fate rather checked than eradicated. For
a while, however, the excess of grief, and her situation,
which promised an increase to the royal family, kept
her in retirement, and rendered her an object of deep
interest to the people.
The Duke of Albany had now received the invitation
from the lords of his party ; and unable instantly to
obey it in person, he sent over the Sieur D"'Arsie de
la Bastie,* the same accomplished knight whom we
have seen a favourite of James the Fourth, and who
was already personally known to many of the Scottish
nobles. Along with him came the Earl of Arran, who,
since the unfortunate result of his naval expedition,
by which the late king had been so deeply incensed,
appears to have remained in France, in command of
that portion of the fleet which was the property of the
crown ; the remainder, consisting of merchant vessels
commissioned by government, having probably long
ago dispersed on private adventure. He was cousin-
german to Albany : the former being the son of Mary,
sister to James the Third ; the latter of Alexander,
the brother of that prince, whose treason, as we have
seen, against the government in 1 482, did not scruple
to aim at the crown, and even to brand the reianino;
monarch with illeoitimacv. Arran still bore the title
of high-admiral, and brought to Scotland a few ships,
the three largest vessels having been left behind in
France. His high birth and near relationship to the
royal family impressed him with the idea that his
interference would be respected; but his abilities were
of an inferior order, and he found many proud nobles
ready to dispute his authority. Amongst these, the
principal were Home the chamberlain ; the Earl of
* Lesley, p. 97.
76 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1514.
Angus, the recent death of whose father and grand-
father had placed liini, when still a young man, at the
liead of the potent house of Douglas ; and the Earls of
Huntley and Crawford, who were the most influential
lords in the north. Between Home and Angus, a
deadly feud existed — the lesser nobles and gentry in
the south joining themselves to one side or the other,
as seemed most agreeable to their individual interests;
whilst in Athole, and other northern districts, bands of
robbers openly traversed the country ; and on the
Borders, the dignities and revenues of the church, and
the benefices of the inferior clergy, became the subjects
of violent and successful spoliation.*
In the midst of these scenes of public disorder, re-
peated attempts were made to assemble the parliament ;
but the selfishness of private ambition, and the confusion
of contradictory councils, distracted the deliberations
of the national council; and the patriotic wisdom of the
venerable Elphinston in vain attempted to compose
their difFerences.^f It was, however, determined that
for the immediate repressing of the disturbances, the
Earl of Crawford should be appointed chief justice to
the north of the Forth, and Home to the same office
in the south; whilst, in contemplation of the continu-
ance of the war with England, an attempt was made
to derive assistance from the courts of Denmark and
France. To the sovereigns of both these countries
Scotland had been profuse of her assistance in troops
and in money : the insurrection of the Norwegians
against the Danish monarch had been put down by her
instrumentality; and the war with England, which had
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. J 20.
f Dacre to the King, 1 0th Marcl -, Caligiila, B. vi, 48. quoted in Pinkerton,
vol. ii. p. 219.
1514. JAMES V. 77
cost the country so dear, had been undertaken at the
instigation of France ; yet from neither the one nor the
other did the Scots, in their day of calamity, receive
anything more substantial than promises. The pre-
sent pohcy of Lewis tlie Twelfth, who had been reduced
to extremity by the league formed against him, ren-
dered this monarch solicitous for peace with England,
and fearful of any step w^hich might exasperate its
sovereign. He not only, therefore, refused all active
assistance, but ungenerously threw difficulties in the
way of Albany''s departure, pretending that he could
not dispense with the services of so valuable a subject:
a mortifying lesson to Scotland upon the folly of her
foreign alliances, but of which she had not yet the
wisdom to make the proper use.
In the midst of this disturbance at home, and dis-
appointment abroad, the queen-mother was delivered
of a son, who was named Alexander, and created Duke
of E-oss ; whilst a parliament, which met immediately
after her recovery, confirmed her in the regency, and
appointed " three wise lords," whose names do not
appear, to have the keeping of the young king and
his brother.* Yet, in spite of every endeavour to
allay them, the disorders of the country continued ;
and whilst the queen corresponded with her brother,
lamenting the selfish ambition and fierce independence
of Home, who arrogated to himself an almost royal
authority, that monarch ungenerously abused her in-
formation, by directing his wardens of the Border to
repeat their inroads, and carry havoc and w^ar into the
defenceless country. It was a miserable feature of
feudal Scotland (it may be said, indeed, of feudal
Europe) that a woman of any wealth or rank, who was
* Margaret to Dacre, Caligula, B. vi. 78.
78 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 151-1-.
JcprivcJ of the protection of a husband or father,
became an object of attack, Hable to be invaded in her
castle and carried oft' by some of those remorseless
barons, who, in the prosecution of their daring ends,
little recked the means they used. The greater the
prize, the more certain and alarming was the danger ;
and as the possession of the person of the infant mon-
arch gave to any faction which obtained it the chief
influence in the government, we may easily understand
that the queen-mother, surrounded by a fierce and
ambitious nobility, for the suppression of whose lawless
proceedings the authority with which she had been
intrusted was insufficient, soon began to long for some
more powerful protector. That Margaret, therefore,
should have thought of a second marriage was by no
means extraordinary ; but when it was declared that,
without any previous consultation with her council,
she had suddenly given her hand to the Earl of Angus,
her best friends regretted her choice. It was evidently
a match not so much of policy, as of passion, for Angus
is described by the sagacious Dacre as "childish young,
and attended by no wise councillors ;''"' but his person
and countenance were beautiful, his accomplishments
showy and attractive, whilst his power, as the head of
the house of Douglas, was equal, if not superior, to
that of any baron in the kingdom. The queen herself
was still in the bloom of her youthful charms ; and
when her affections fixed upon Angus, she only waited
for her recovery from childbirth, to hurry into mar-
riage with a precipitancy which was scarcely decorous,
and certainly unwise. By the terms of the royal will,
it at once put an end to her regency ; and although
Angus flattered himself that his new title, as husband
of the queen, would confer upon him the tutelage of
1514. JAMES V. 79
the infant sovereign, he was met hy an opposition far
more powerful than he anticipated.
The peace between France and England was now
concluded ; and although Scotland was embraced in
the treaty at the desire of Lewis, the cold and cautious
terms in which that country was mentioned, might have
convinced her rulers of the folly which had squandered
so much treasure, and sacrificed so much national pro-
sperity, for a sovereign whose gratitude lasted no longer
than his necessity. It was stated that if, upon noti-
fication of the peace, the Scots were desirous of being
included, there should be no objection urged to their
wishes ;* but if, after intimation of these terms, which
was to be made before the fifteenth of September, any
invasions took place on the Borders, the clause compre-
hending that country was to be of no effect. No invasion
of any note did take place, but minor inroads on both
sides disturbed, as usual, the peace of the marches ;
and the difficulty of adjusting these in the courts of the
wardens, with the desire to postpone all leading mea-
sures till the arrival of Albany, occasioned a delay of
eight months before Scotland acceded to the treaty.
One of the immediate effects of the imprudent mar-
riage of the queen seems to have been, the separation
of the nobility and the country into two great factions,
which took the names of the English and French
parties. At the head of the former were Angus and the
queen; indeed, if we except the great power and widely
ramifvins: vassalag-e of the House of Douo'las, there
were few other permanent sources of strength on which
they could build their hopes. The latter, the French
faction, embraced almost the whole nobility, and was
supported by the sympathies of the people. The fatal
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. pp. 121, 122.
80 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1514.
defeat at Flodden was yet fresh in their memory, and
revenge, a natural feeling, to which the principles of
the feudal system added intensity, prompted them to
fruitless desires for a continuance of the war; a jealousy
of the interference of Henry, a certainty that the queen-
mother had entered into an intimate correspondence
with this monarch, consulting him upon those public
measures which ought to have been regulated by the
council and the parliament, and a recollection of the
intolerable domination, once exercised b}'' the House
of Douglas, all united to increase the numbers of the
French faction, and to cause a universal desire for the
arrival of the Duke of Albany. Nor could this event
be much longer delayed. Lewis had now no pretext
for his detention; the peace with England was con-
cluded, the sentence of forfeiture, which had excluded
the duke from the enjoyment of his rank and estates
in Scotland was removed, and the condition of the
country called loudly for some change.
At this crisis, by the death of the venerable and patri-
otic Elphinston bishop of Aberdeen, was removed the
only man who seemed to possess authority in the state,
an occurrence which increased the struir^les of ecclesi-
astical ambition.* It was the intention of the queen to
have appointed Elphinston to the archbishopric of St
Andrews, but on his death she nominated to that see the
celebrated Gawin Douglas, her husband\s uncle, — a man
whose genius, had this been the only requisite for the
important dignity, was calculated to bestow distinction
upon any situation. Hepburn, however. Prior of St
Andre\v''s, a churchman of a turbulent and factious char-
acter, had interest enough with the chapter to secure his
own election; whilst Forman bishop of Moray, the per-
* Lesley, p. 100.
1515. JAMES V. 81
sonal favourite of the late king, whose foreign negotia-
tions and immense wealth, gave him great influence at the
court of Rome, was appointed to fill the vacant see by
a papal bull, which he for a while did not dare to pro-
mulgate. An indecent spectacle was thus exhibited,
which could not fail to lower the church in the eyes of
the people : the servants of Douglas, supported by his
nephew and the queen, had seized the archiepiscopal
palace, but were attacked by Hepburn, who carried the
fortress, and kept possession of it, although threatened
by Ano'us with a sieo:e. Forman, however, had the
address to secure the interest of Home the cham-
berlain, and a treaty havino; been entered into, in
which money was the chief peacemaker, it was agreed,
that Hepburn should surrender the castle, on condition
of retaining the revenues which he had already col-
lected, and receiving for his nephew the rich priory of
Coldingham.*
These ecclesiastical commotions, however, were sur-
passed in intensity by the feuds amongst the nobles,
who traversed the country at the head of laro'e bodies
of their armed vassals, and waged private war against
each other with a ferocity which defied all interference.
The Earl of Arran, encouraged by the protracted delay
of Albany, aspired to the regency ; and being joined
by the Earls of Lennox and Glencairn, declared war
against Angus, who narrowly escaped falling into an
ambuscade which was laid for his destruction. The
castle of Dumbarton w^as seized by Lennox ; and
Erskine the governor, who held it for the queen, was
expelled from his place. Dunbar, the most important
fortress in the kingdom, was delivered to the French
knignt, de la Bastie, who claimed it as that part of
* Lesley, p. 101.
VOL. V. F
82 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1515.
the earldom of March which belonged to his master,
Albany. Beaton archbishop of Glasgow, a prelate
of a selfish and intriguing temper, keenly supported
the interests of the French party ; whilst the Earl of
Huntley, one of the most powerful barons in the north,
threw his influence into the scale of the queen and
Angus, which was supported also by Lord Drummond
and the Earl jMarshal.*
Under this miserable state of things, Henry the
Eighth, by means of his able minister. Lord Dacre,
who entertained many Scottish spies in his pay, kept
up a regular correspondence with the queen, and availed
himself of their confusion, to acquire a paramount
influence over the affairs of the country. He even
carried his intrigues so far as to make a secret proposal
to Margaret for her immediate flight with the infant
monarch and his brother into England, a scheme which
amounted to nothino: less than treason : the a2:ents in
this plot were Williamson, one of the creatures of
Dacre, an English ecclesiastic resident in Scotland,
and Sir James Ingiis the secretary of the queen.
Margaret, in reply, regretted that she was not a private
woman, able to fly with her children from the land
where she was so unhappy, but a queen, who was
narrowly watched ; whilst any failure in such an at-
tempt might have cost her servants their heads, and
herself her liberty. It is, perhaps, not extraordinary,
that such a scheme should be regarded with no very
strong feeling of revolt by the youthful queen, to
whom Henry artfully held out the inducement of her
son being declared heir-apparent to the English throne.
But that Angus, and his uncle Douglas should have
* Grig. Letter, quoted bv Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 126, Sir James Ingiis to
Williamson, ■22(1 Jan. lalo. Caligula, B. i. 22; also B. vi. 114. Adam
Williamson to the Bishop of DunkelcL
1515. JAMES V. 83
entertained the proposal, that they should rather have
declined it as dangerous and not strictly honest, than
cast it from them as an insult to their feelino^s of na-
tional honour and individual integrity, presents the
principles of these eminent persons in no favourable
light. Meanwhile, although baffled in the perpetration
of this project, the intrigues of Dacre contributed
greatly to strengthen the English faction, and Home,
whose formidable power and daring character rendered
his accession no light matter, embraced the party of
the queen.
Albany, who had long delayed his voyage, now
began to think in earnest of repairing to Scotland.
The death of Lewis the Twelfth, which had been fol-
lowed by the accession of Francis the First, was ac-
companied by no material change in the policy of his
kingdom towards her ancient ally ; and an embassy
was despatched to induce the Scottish government to
delay no longer accepting those terms by which they
were comprehended in the peace between France and
England. In a letter from the Council of State, this
request was complied with, on the ground, that al-
though not so far weakened by their recent disaster,
as to doubt they should be soon able to requite their
enemies; yet, for the love they bore to France, and
their zeal for the crusade against the infidels, which
was then in agitation, they would be sorry that Scot-
land should oppose itself to a general peace.*
Scarce had Le Vaire and Villebresme, the French
ambassadors, received this favourable answer, when,
on the eighteenth of May, the Duke of Albany, with a
squadron of eight ships, came to anchorat Dumbarton.-f-
* Rymer, vol. xiii. p. 509.
+ These vessels aj^pear to have been the remains of that fleet which James
84? HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1515
His arrival had been anxiously expected, he landed
amidst the unaffected joy of all who desired the re-
establishment of good government in the country;
and he was soon after installed in the office of Regent ;*
but the task of restoring order, was one of no easy
execution ; and even to a statesman of far superior
talents, some of tlie difficulties wdiich presented them-
selves would have been almost insurmountable. The
intrigues of Henry the Eighth, conducted with much
skill and judgment by Lord Dacre, had separated from
his party some of the most potent of the nobility, who
at a former period anxiously requested his presence ;
and many good men, who anxiously desired a continu-
ance of peace, and deplored the calamities which an
unnecessary war had already entailed upon the country,
dreading the politics of Albany, which soon disclosed
an unreasonable animosity to England, threw their
influence into the faction which opposed him : others,
indeed, resented the interference of England in the
Scottish councils, deeming it impolitic and unnatural,
that the monarch who had slain the father, and shed
with unexampled profusion the noblest blood in the
land, should be selected as the favoured counsellor
of the infant successor and his widowed mother. To
assert their independence as a kingdom, and to cherish
a hope of revenge, were the principles which actuated
no inconsiderable party ; nor is it to be doubted, that
amongst the great body of the people these feelings
were regarded wdth applause. Of this numerous class
the new regent might have easily secured the support,
had despatched, under the Earl of Arran, to the assistance of the French
monarch, and whose building and outfit had cost the country so large a sum.
Lesley, p. lU"2.
* He was made Regent on the 10th July. Dacre to the Council. Calig.
B. ii. 341. Kirkoswald, 1st August.
1515. JAMES V. 85
had he not alienated them by a too servile devotion to
France ; whilst the English party brought forward
very plausible arguments to show the danger of in-
trusting the government of the kingdom, or the custody
of the sovereign and his brother, to one so circum-
stanced as Albany. From his father, who had trai-
torously attempted to seize the crown, and to brand
the royal family with the stain of illegitimacy, he was
not likely, they said, to imbibe very loyal ideas ;
whilst the late instance in England, of the crimes of
Richard the Third, would not fail to suggest a lesson
of successful usurpation and murder to a Scottish
usurper, between whom and his title to the throne
there stood only the slender lives of two infants. Even
setting aside these weighty considerations, they con-
tended, that he evinced nothino- of the feelings or
national independence of a Scotsman. He was ignorant
of the constitution, of the language, of the manners of
the country : his loyalty to the French kino-, whom
he constantly styled his master; his ties to that king-
dom, where his life had been spent, his honours won,
and his chief estates were situated; his descent from
a French mother, and marriage with the Countess of
Auvergne, w^ere all enumerated, and with much plau-
sibility, as circumstances which incapacitated him from
feelino* that ardent and exclusive interest in Scotland
which ought to be found in him to whom the regency
was committed. When to all this it is added, that
Albany was passionate in his temper, and sometimes
capricious and wavering in his policy, it was not ex-
pected that his government would be attended with
much success.
Yet these prognostications were not verified, and
his first measures contradicted such surmises by the
86 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1515.
steady determination which tliey evinced to put down
the Englisli party, and to curb the insolence of power
w^hich had been shown by the supporters of Angus
and the queen. Lord Drummond, grandfiither to
Angus, and constable of Stirling castle, was committed
prisoner to the castle of Blackness, for an insult offered
to Lion herald in the queen"'s presence.* Soon after,
Gawin Douglas, the talented and learned bishop of
Dunkeld and uncle to Angus, was shut up in the sea
tower of St Andrew's, on a charo^e of having: illeirallv
procured his nomination to that see by the influence of
Henry the Eighth Avith the papal court : it was in vain
that the queen implored, even with tears, the pardon
and delivery of her councillors, — the first, recommend-
ed by his venerable age, and steady attachment to the
royal family, the other by his distinguished talents.
Albany was unmoved; and the supporters of the queen,
with the exception of Home and Angus, shrunk from
an alliance which exposed them to so severe a reckon-
ing.f
But the most important affair, and one which re-
quired immediate attention, was the custody of the
young monarch and his brother. These princes were
still under the charge of their mother, the queen-dow^-
ager. The negotiations, however, into which she had
entered with Henry the Eighth, and in the course of
which Williamson and Dacre had almost prevailed on
her to deliver the royal children to England, proved
clearly that since her new connexion wdth Angus, she
was unworthy to remain their protector. The regent,
therefore, wisely judged that no time ought to be lost
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 284. Calig, B. vi. 105,
Remembrance of an Informacion by me, Margaret, Quene of Scots,
"t Queen Margaret's Remembrance. Calig. B. vi. 105.
1515. JAMES V. 87
in removing them from her charge ; and for this pur-
pose, a parliament was assembled at Edinburgh. The
measures which were adopted, appear to have been
framed with as much attention to the feelings of the
mother, as was compatible with the security of the
princes. Eight lords were nominated by the parlia-
ment, out of which number four were to be chosen bv
lot ; and from these Margaret was to select three, to
whose custody the king and his brother were to be
committed. This having been done, the three peers
proceeded to the castle of Edinburgh, where the com-
mands of the parliament were to be carried into effect:
but nothing was farther than obedience from the mind
of the queen. When the nobles approached, the gates
of the fortress were thrown open, disclosing to the po-
pulace, who rent the air with their acclamations, their
royal mistress standing at the entrance, with the king
at her side, his hand locked in hers, and a nurse be-
hind, who held his infant brother in her arms.* The
sight was imposing; nor was its effect diminished,
when, with an air of dignity, and a voice, whose full
tones all could distinctly hear, she bade them stand
and declare their errand. On their answer, that thev
came in the name of the parliament, to receive from
her their sovereign and his brother, the princess com-
manded the warder to drop the portcullis, and that
massive iron barrier havins: instantly descended be-
tween her and the astonished deleoates, she thus ad-
dressed them : — " I hold this castle bv the aift of mv
late husband, your sovereign, who also intrusted to me
the keeping and government of my children, nor shall
I yield them to any person whatsoever ; but I respect
* Dacre to the Council. Caligula, B. ii. 341 ; an interesting original let-
ter, first opened by the research of Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 1 37.
88 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1515
the parllaincnt, and require a respite of six days to con-
sider their mandate." Alarmed for tlie consequences
of this refusal, which, if persevered in, amounted to
treason, Angus, who stood beside the queen, entreated
her to obey the order of the parliament, and took a
notarial instrument on the spot, that he had consented
to the surrender of the children ; but Margaret was
iirm, and the peers retired to acquaint the regent with
their ill success.*
Meanwhile, their mother removed them from Edin-
burgh castle, which she dreaded could not be defended
against the forces of the parliament, to Stirling, a city
more completely devoted to her interest. She then
transmitted her final answer to the regent : it proposed,
that the children should be committed to the custody
of Angus, Home, the Earl Marshal, and Lauder of the
Bass, — all of them, with the exception of the Marshal,
devoted to her interest, and in intimate correspondence
with England."!* This evasion, which was nothing
more than a reiteration of her refusal to obey the
orders of parliament, rendered it necessary for Albany
to adopt decisive measures. He accordingly collected
an armed force, summoned all the lords, on their alle-
giance, to lend their assistance in enforcing the orders
of the supreme council of the nation; directed Ruthven
and Borthwick to blockade the castle of Stirling, so
that no provisions should be permitted to enter ; and
commanded Home, who was then provost of Edinburgh,
to arrest Sir George DouMas, the brother of Angus,
that peer being himself in the Mearns; whilst his uncle
held Douglas castle. Home indignantly refused, and,
under cover of night, fled to Newark, a Border tower
upon the Yarrow; whilst Angus, who had received
* Caligula, B. ii. 341, b. 2. + Ibid.
1515. JAMES V. 89
orders to join the host at the head of his vassals, kept
himself within his strength, in his own country, and
concentrated his power for the storm which he saw
approaching.
A proclamation was now issued against such persons
as illesrallv retained the castle of Stirlino-; and Albany,
at the head of seven thousand men, and attended bv
all the peers, except Home and Angus, marched against
that fortress, and summoned it to an immediate sur-
render. Resistance was hopeless; and the queen had
already carried her obstinacy beyond all prudent
bounds; her party, which chiefly consisted of friends
retained in her service by the money of England, de-
serted her when the danger became imminent ; and
requesting an interview with the regent, she delivered
the keys of the castle to the infant monarch, who placed
them in the hand of Albany, and only added her hope,
that the royal children, herself and Angus, would be
treated with favour. The answer of the regent assured
the princess, that to herself and his infant sovereign,
he was animated by no feelings but those of devoted
loyalty ; but for Angus, whose opposition to the will
of parliament, and dangerous correspondence with
England, amounted, he declared, to treason, he would
promise nothing, so long as he and his followers were
banded together in open rebellion.* The king and
his infant brother were then committed to the custody
of the Earl Marshal, (a nobleman, w^ho had been no-
minated on a former occasion by the royal mother her-
self,) along with the Lords Fleming and Borthwick,
whose fidelity to the crown was unsuspected. John
Erskine was appointed governor of the fortress ; a
* Dacre to the Council, Harbottle, 7th August. Caligula, B. ii. 3G9. Diur-
nal of Occurents, p. G.
90 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1515.
guard of seven hundred soldiers left in it ; and the
queen conducted with every mark of respect to
Edinburgh, where she took up her residence in the
castle. The Earl of Home, on being informed of this
decided success, no longer hesitated to throw himself
into the arms of England; and in a private conference
with Dacre, concerted measures of resistance and re-
venge. To this meeting Angus was not admitted, by
the sagacity of the English warden; his youth, and
versatility of purpose being dreaded; but Home con-
tinued to work on the husband of the queen, and the
streno'th of Teviotdale was raised to resist the alle2;ed
tyranny of the regent, and avert the destruction which
hung over the English party in Scotland.*
In this emergenc}'', the conduct of Albany was
marked by prudence and decision ; he summoned the
force of the kingdom; but, before proceeding to hosti-
lities, transmitted a message to the queen, in which
he expressed his earnest desire for a pacification, and
proposed articles of agreement, which were more fa-
vourable than the conduct of her party deserved. He
engaged to support her and her husband in all their
just and equitable actions ; to put her in full posses-
sion of her jointure lands, and maintain her in tlie
state and dignity befitting her rank ; under the condi-
tion that she should accede to the wishes of the parlia-
ment, co-operate in those measures which were esteemed
best for the security and independence of the state,
and renounce all secret connexion with other realms,
especially with England. When Henry's schemes
for the removal of the kinjx and his brother, and the
intrigues by which Dacre contrived to defeat every
attempt to reduce the country to order and good
* Dacre to the Council. Caligula, B. ii. 369,
1515. JAMES V. 91
government are taken into view, these proposals appear
wise and conciliatory. Yet such was the unhappy
infatuation of the queen, that she rejected them with-
out hesitation ; and to make a merit of her firmness,
transmitted them privately to Dacre.* To Home
the chamberlain, Albany was less lenient : he insisted
that he should leave Scotland ; and the haughty chief
at once justified the severity by addressing a message
to the English w^arden, in which he requested the as-
sistance of an English army, and held out the induce-
ment to Henry, that the country lay open to invasion.
The crisis, he said, only required immediate activity
and vigour, by which the monarch might destroy his
enemies, and new model the government according to
his interest and wishes. ■)* These offers were strongly
seconded by Dacre, who advised an invasion ; whilst
the chamberlain, assured of the support of England,
assembled a powerful force, and commenced the war
by retaking the castle of Home, which had been seized
by the regent ; and securing the strong tower of Bla-
cater, situated on the Borders, within five miles of
Berwick. J To this safe-hold, the queen, who had
continued her secret correspondence with Henry, now
resolved to retire, finding herself, as she represented,
in a sort of captivity at Edinburgh, whilst her friends
were imprisoned, and her resources impoverished by
the injustice of the regent. Dacre had recommended
Blacater from its proximity to England, and the faci-
lity she would enjoy of support and communication
with her royal brother, — shrewdly observing, also,
that, being within the Scottish Borders, her enemies
* Caligula, B. vi. 83, 84.
"t Caligula, B. ii. 186, Lord Home to Dacre, Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 145.
J Franklin to the Bishop of Durham, Norham, 2i)th August. Caligula,
B. iii. 133.
92 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1515.
could not callcge that she had forfeited lier riglits by
desertini:: the country. She accordingly found means
to join Lord Home, who, at the head of an escort of
forty soldiers, conveyed her in safety to Blacater, from
whence, if danger became imminent, she could secure
a rapid and easy retreat into England.*
Nothing could be more imprudent than such a pro-
ceeding. Henry, although professing peace, was at
this moment the worst enemy of Scotland. Having
been baffled in his attempt to get the young king into
his hands, it became his object to increase the neces-
sary evils of a minority, by thwarting every measure
which promised to restore tranquillity to that country.
By means of his indefatigable agent, Lord Dacre, he
had not only corrupted some of its leading nobility, but
so successfullv fomented dissensions amon^-st them, that
everv effort of the reijent to re-establish the control of
the laws, was rendered abortive by the prevalence of
private war. To league herself, therefore, with Eng-
land, against tlie independence of that country, of which
her son was sovereign, whilst Albany, with much ear-
nestness and sincerity, offered her a complete restora-
tion to all those rights and revenues, as queen-dowager,
which she had not forfeited by her marriage, was an
excess of blindness and pertinacity, difficult to be under-
stood, and which drew after it the most calamitous
consequences.
The conduct of Albany had been marked hitherto
by a laudable union of firmness and moderation ; and
so completely was it seconded by the approval of the
nobles and the clergy, that, although on other points
at variance amongst themselves, all appear to have
* Credence to Lord Dacre and Thomas Magnus, by the Queen of Scots.
Caligula, B. vi. fJ5.
1515. JAMES V. 93
united in support of his determination to enforce obe-
dience to the parliament, and restore some degree of
stability to the government. He found little difficulty,
therefore, in raising an army of forty thousand men :
but anxious that his intentions should be clearly
understood ; that none should mistake his resolution
to reduce an internal rebellion, which was headed by
disaffected subjects, for the desire of foreign war ; he
despatched Sir William Scott, and Sir Robert Lauder,
to meet Henry's commissioners, Dacre and Dr Mag-
nus ; and to labour for the satisfactory adjustment of
all disputes upon the Borders. At the same time,
John Duplanis, a French envoy, was commissioned to
renew the terms for an agreement, which had been for-
merly oft'ered to the queen, and wdiich this ill-advised
princess once more indignantly repelled.
The regent instantly advanced to the Borders, where
it was expected the Earl of Home would be able to make
some serious resistance ; but the power of this dreaded
chief melted away before the formidable array of Al-
bany : he was taken prisoner; committed to the charge
of the Earl of Arran ; found means to seduce his keeper,
not only to favour, but to accompany his escape ; and
fled to England, whither he was soon after followed by
the queen and Angus.* No step could have been
adopted more favourable to the intrigues of Henry ;
and the fugitives were received by Lord Dacre with
open arms. The queen, shortly before this, had ad-
dressed a letter to Albany, in which, she attempted a
vindication of her conduct ; necessity had compelled
her, she asserted, to forsake her country, not without
fears for her life ; she protested against the conduct of
* Dacre and Dr Magnus to Henry the Eighth, Harbottle. 18th October.
Caligula, B. vi. 110.
94} HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1515.
the regent, and claimed as a right conferred on her by
the will of the late king, her husband, (a deed which
had received the papal confirmation,) the government
of tlie kingdom, and the tutelage of the infant mon-
arch.* The first pretence was ridiculous ; for since
his arrival in Scotland, Margaret, had been treated by
Albany with invariable respect. To the second request,
the council of Scotland returned the answer, that by
her second marriage, Margaret, according to the terms
of the royal will, had forfeited all right to the tutelage
of her son ; whilst the disposal of the government could
neither be aflected by the will of a deceased monarch,
nor the sanction of a living pope, but belonged to the
three Estates, who had conferred it upon the Duke of
Albany. -f-
That nobleman, notwithstanding the infatuation of
the mother of his sovereign, was still anxious to make
a last effort for a compromise ; he addressed two let-
ters to her on the same day : the first a manifesto from
the council; the other, a private communication, writ-
ten with his own hand. The terms of both were mo-
derate, and even indulgent. The council implored her
to awake to her duty ; declared their aversion to all
rigorous measures ; besought her to come back amongst
them ; and, as an inducement, promised that she should
enjoy the disposal of all benefices within her dowry
lands, a benefice to her late councillor, Gawin Douglas;
and lastly, the guardianship of her children, if she
would solemnly promise, that they should not be car-
ried out of the kingdom. These proposals the queen
imprudently rejected; for what reasons, does not
* Caligula, B. vi. 119. The Queen of Scots to the Duke of Albany, 10th
October. Harl)ottle.
t Council of Scotland, 13th Oct. 1515. Caligula, B. vi. 120. "Madame,
we commend our humyie service to your grace."
1515. JAMES V. 95
clearly appear. An acute historian* pronounces them
too specious to be honest ; but Albany's whole conduct
shows them to have been sincere, although Margaret,
acting under the influence of Angus, Home, and Arran,
had been taught to regard them with suspicion. Im-
mediate acceptance of them was indeed impossible, for
within eight days after she had taken refuge in Eng-
land the queen bore a daughter to Angus, the lady
Maro-aret Douolas, the future mother of the weak and
unfortunate Darnley ; at the same time her husband
entered into a private bond with Home and Arran, by
which they engaged for themselves, their vassals, and
supporters, to resist the regent, and to deliver their
infant sovereign from the suspected guardianship, in
which he was held by those w^ho then ruled in Scot-
land. This asrreement, which was dated fifteenth of
October, 1515, although it bears no express reference
to England, appears to have been concluded under the
direction of Lord Dacre."f*
Nothing now remained for Albany, but to exercise
with firmness the authority which had been committed
to him; yet, although the conduct of those who leagued
themselves against the government compelled him to
measures of just severity, he evinced an anxiety for
conciliation. The flioht of Arran rendered it necessary
O t/
for him to seize the castles of a rebel ; but when, at
Hamilton, his mother presented herself before the
regent, and passionately interceded for her son, he re-
ceived the matron, who was a daughter of James the
Second, with the respect due to her royal descent, and
assured her of forgiveness, could she prevail on him to
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 151.
+ Caligula, 13. vi.}24. Copie of the Bande made betwixt the Erles of Angus
and Arran, and the Chamberlane of Scotland. Coldstream, 15th October, 1515.
96 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1515.
return to his allegiance ; nor was he forgetful of liis
promise, for Arran, a nohlenian of a weak and vacillat-
ing, though ambitious character, renounced the league
with Angus as precipitately as he had embraced it, and
was immediately received into favour. At this mo-
ment the Duke of Ross, the infant brother of the king,
was seized with one of the diseases incident to his early
years, and died at Stirling ; a circumstance which it
was to be expected would not be lost upon the queen,
who instantly fulminated against Albany an accusation
of poison. So atrocious a charge fell innoxious upon
the upright character of the regent, who, although the
nearest heir to the crown, had felt enough of its thorns
to make him rather dread than desire the kingdom ;
and the future conduct of Angus and Home, from
whose faction the calumny proceeded, demonstrates its
falsehood. Yet the enmity of Gawin Douglas the
accomplished bishop of Dunkeld, did not hesitate, in
1522, to repeat the story.
These events were follow^ed by a renewal of the alli-
ance with France ; and to evince that the governor
was animated by a sincere desire for that tranquillity
which could alone afford him leisure to compose the
troubles of the country, Duplanis the French ambas-
sador, and Dunbar archdean of St Andrew's, were
sent to meet the English commissioners at Coldini!;ham
for the negotiation of a peace between the two countries.
At this moment Henry earnestly desired such an
event ; the success of Francis the First, at the battle
of Marignano, had given to this prince the whole
Milanese, and roused the jealousy of Wolsey, who now
directing, but with no profound policy, the councils
of England, prevailed on his master and the emperor
to enter into a league for the expulsion of the French
1515. JAMES V 97
from Italy. It was necessary, therefore, to be secure
on the side of Scotland ; and although a general peace
could not be then concluded, the truce between the
kingdoms was renewed.* Home and Angus, whose
conduct had been dictated by the selfishness of disap-
pointed ambition, were awakened by these prudent
measures to the desperate state of their affairs ; and
soon after, withdrawing themselves from the queen,
who lay dangerously ill at Morpeth, they retired into
Scotland, where, restored once more to their hereditary
possessions, they for a time abstained from all opposi-
tion to the government. The facility with which these
nobles appear to have procured their pardon, was in
the regent perhaps more generous than prudent; but
it evinces the sincerity of his desire for the welfare of
the country, and seems completely to refute those
charges of insatiate avarice, and profuse dissipation
raised against him by the malice of his enemies, and
too hastily retailed by a historian of this period.-f*
For the conduct of Home, the queen found some ex-
cuse, but to be thus deserted at her utmost need by a
husband for whom she had sacrificed her royal pomp
and power, was an ungrateful return for her love,
which Margaret's proud spirit never forgave. She
waited only for her recovery to fl}^ to the English
court, where she loaded Albany and Angus with re-
proaches, imploring her royal brother to interfere for
the preservation of her son, and her restoration to
those rights which in truth had been forfeited solely
by her own imprudence.
* Rymer, vol, xiii. p. 549.
+ Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 155, -who -without considering its suspicious tenor,
gives implicit belief to the Memorial of Gawin Douglas, Cal. B. iii. p. '609,
and to the " Vv^rongs " of the c[ueen, Cal. B. ii. p. 21 1 : an original signed
by " Margaret."
VOL. V. .^
98 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1516.
Nor ^Yas Henry deaf to her entreaties ; overlooking
the conciliatory principles which marked the govern-
ment of Albany, and which, in spite of the bribery and
intrigues of Dacre, had received the support of the
people, this monarch directed a letter to the three
Estates, in which, in no measured terms, he called upon
them not only to remove that nobleman from the re-
gency and the care of the king''s person, but to expel
him from the kingdom ; upon the ground that, as the
nearest heir to the throne, he was the most suspicious
person to whom so sacred a charge could be committed.
To this extraordinary epistle, which was laid before
them in a parliament assembled at Edinburgh, on the
first of July, 1516, the Estates returned a decided an-
swer. They reminded Henry that the Duke of Albany
w^as governor by their own deliberate choice, expressed
in a general council of the nation held immediately
after the coronation of their youthful sovereign. He
had undertaken, they said, this high and responsible
office, which, by the canon law belonged to him as
nearest relative to the infant king, not from his own
wishes, but at their earnest request. He had left the
service of France, and his estates and honours in that
country with reluctance ; he had fulfilled its duties
with much taknt and integrity ; and they declared
that, so essential did they consider his remaining at
the head of affairs to the national happiness, that, were
he willing, they would not permit him to escape his
duties or to leave the country. With regard to the
anxiety expressed for the safety of the infant monarch,
they observed that it appeared wholly misplaced in the
present instance, as the person of the sovereign was
intrusted to the keeping of the same lords to who&e
care he had been committed by his mother the queen*
1516. JAMES V. 99
^Yllilst they concluded with great firmness and dignity,
bv assurins: the En2:lish monarch, that it was their
determination to resist with their lives every attempt
to disturb the peace of the realm, or endanger the se-
curity of the present government.*
This spirited epistle might have convinced Henry
of the folly of his ambition to become the chief ruler
in the kingdom of his nephew ; but although the
haughtiness with which he had disclosed his intentions
had for the moment defeated his design, and united
against him the discordant elements of the Scottish
aristocracy, it was not long before the intrigues of his
minister. Lord Dacre, succeeded in creating distrustand
disturbance, and once more reinstating in its strength
the Enoiish faction in Scotland. The means and assents
by which this was effected were as base as they were
successful. From an original letter of the warden him-
self, addressed to Wolsey, we learn that he had in his
pay four hundred Scots, whose chief employment was
to distract the government of Albany by exciting
popular tumults, encouraging private quarrels, and
rekindling the jealousy of the higher nobles. " I labour
and study all I can," says he, " to make division and
debate, to the intent that, if the duke will not apply
himself, that then debate may grow that it shall be
impossible for him to do justice ; and for that intended
purpose I have the master of Kilmaurs kept in my
house secretly, which is one of the greatest parties in
Scotland. * * And also (he adds) I have secret mes-
sa2:es from the Earl of An^us and others, * * and also
four hundred outlawes, and giveth them rewards, that
burnetii and destroy eth daily in Scotland, all being
Scotsmen that should be under the obedience of Scot-
* Rymer Foedera, vol. xiii. p. 550.
100 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1516.
land/''* Such was the commencement by Dacre of
that shameful system for the fostering of internal com-
motions, by the agency of spies and the distribution
of bribes amongst the nobles, which was continued by
Sir Ralph Saddler, and afterwards brought to perfec-
tion by Lord Burleigh under Elizabeth. It is to this
cause, and not, as has generally been believed, to any
fault or gross mismanagement upon the part of the
regent, that we must ascribe the misery of the country.
Albany was supported by the affection and confidence
of the middle classes, and the great body of the nation;
but their influence was counteracted, and his efl'orts
completely paralyzed, by the selfish rapacity of the
clergy, and the insolent ambition of the aristocracy. -f-
Scarcely had Arran returned to his allegiance, when
he entered into a new combination with Lennox, Glen-
cairn, Mure of Caldwell, and other barons, with the
apparent object of wresting from the regent that share
in the government to which he not unjustly deemed
himself entitled, by his afiinity to the royal family,
but for which his vacillating character totally incapaci-
tated him. The rebellion at first assumed a serious
aspect : the castle of Glasgow, belonging to Beaton
archbishop of that see, and which was important from
its being the depot of the king's artillery, was stormed
and plundered by Mure, who enriched himself by the
spoil and retained it for Arran ; J but the promptitude
and energy of Albany, who instantly assembled an
* Letter— Dacre to Wolsey, 23d August, 1516. Caligula, B. i, 150,
puVilished by Sir Henry Ellis, in his valuable Collection of Letters, vol. i.
p. 131, tirst series.
+ To this observation there were a few exceptions, hut these had little
influence where the majority were corrupted.
X Mure of Caldwell had married Lady Janet Stewart, sister to the Earl
of Lennox. — !MS. document, in possession of William Mure, Esq., of Cald-
well.
1516. JAMES V. 101
army and marched to the spot, overawed the conspira-
tors and compelled them to submit to terms. The
fortress was surrendered. Beaton the primate employed
his influence to obtain the pardon of Arran with his
associate earls ; and Albany, who often erred on the
side of leniency, once more received them to the peace
of the king; whilst Mure, an able and turbulent baron,
who w^as nearly connected with Lennox, profiting by
the commotion, continued to excite disturbances in the
west country.
It had been under the condition of his renouncing
all secret intercourse with Henry the Eighth, and
residing peaceably on his estates, that Albany had
extended foroiveness to Home. But it soon became
apparent that the attempt to secure his adherence to
the government was hopeless. His correspondence
with Dacre was renewed ; bands of hired marauders
known to be followers of the Scottish earl, and in the
pay of England, broke across the marches, and ravaged
the country with unexampled boldness and ferocity.
Murders, rapine, fire-raising, and every species of out-
rage, threatened the total dissolution of society; and it
became necessary either to vindicate the laws by an
example of instantaneous severity, or weakly to aban-
don the government to the anarchy by which it was
invaded. Under these circumstances. Home and his
brother, either trusting to Albany's ignorance of their
correspondence, or in veigled by his promises, imprudent -
ly visited the court, and were instantly apprehended.
Much obscurity hangs over the trial which followed;
and if we may believe some of our historians, the charge
of havino^ excited the late commotions against the re-
gent, was mingled with a more atrocious accusation of
being accessary to the defeat at Flodden, and the death
102 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1516
of tlie late king. That tliis last imputation was un-
founded, seems to be proved bj sufficient evidence ;
but the truth of the first was notorious, and could be
established by a multiplicity of witnesses. The lord
chamberlain was accordino-ly found iruiltv: a2:ainst his
brother the same sentence was pronounced ; and both
were executed without delay, their heads being after-
wards exposed above the Tolbooth or public prison
of the capital.* Ker of Fernyhirst, one of their chief
followers and a baron of great power on the marches,
was also tried and condemned, but respited by the
regent, who instantly led a powerful force to Jedburgh,
and, by a judicious severity, reduced the unquiet dis-
tricts on the Border to a state of temporary repose.
The office of chamberlain was bestowed upon Lord
Fleming, a nobleman of tried fidelity, whilst the French
knight, De la Bastie, who was much in the confidence
of the regent, and possessed of equal courage and ex-
perience, became warden of the east Borders ; an ap-
pointment deeply resented by the friends of Home, wlio
secretly meditated, and at length accomplished a cruel
revenge.
On his return to Edinburgh, Albany assembled the
parliament. Its principal business was the disposal of a
singular claim presented by his step-brother Alexander
Stewart, which, had it been supported by the three
Estates, must have excluded him from the regency.
Stewart was the eldest son of Alexander duke of
Albany, the regent''s father, by his first marriage with
a daughter of the Earl of Orkney; but it was now de-
clared that this marriage had been pronounced unlawful
by a vote of a former parliament, and on this ground
* Lesley, Hist. Bannatyne edit. p. 107. The Chamberlain sufferetl on the
eighth, and his brother on the ninth of October, 1516,
1516. JAMES V. 103
the title of Albany, the eldest son by a second marriage
was confirmed as the second person in the realm, and
nearest heir to the crown.* Not long after, Francis de
Bordeaux, ambassador from the court of France, arrived
in Scotland ; and the expectations of the regent and
the parliament were sanguine as to the assistance about
to be derived from this country against the continued
efi'orts of Henry the Eighth. It was soon, however,
discovered that the policy of that kingdom towards
Scotland had undergone a considerable change. The
treaty of Noyon, concluded on the 26th of August,
1516, between Francis the First and the King of Spain,
had secured to the former monarch his conquests in
Italy : the emperor Maximilian, after an ineffectual
attempt to wrest from him the Duchy of Milan, had
been compelled to retire and accede to its provisions;
whilst to France the single difficulty remained of con-
ciliating the enmity of Henry the Eighth. It is this
object which explains the coldness of Francis to his
ancient allies, the Scots. They had claimed a restitu-
tion of the county of Xaintonge, originally assigned
by Charles the Seventh to James the First in 1428 ;
but their demand was evaded ; they had requested the
aid of France asrainst Enoland ; it was not only re-
fused, but an advice added, recommending the regent
to conclude a peace with that country upon the first
occasion which ofi'ered; nay, not content with this
startling dereliction of those principles upon the per-
manence of which Albany had too securely rested, the
French monarch refused to ratify the alliance between
France and Scotland, which had been renewed by
his ambassador Duplanis, and the Scottish council of
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 283. Keith's Catalogue
of Bishops, p. 88. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 101.
104) HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 15] 6.
regency, within a year after the death of James the
Fourth.
We are not to wonder that such conduct increased,
in no small degree, the difficulties which already em-
barrassed the re2:ent. His conduct in his liio'h office had
been marked by ability and disinterestedness. He had
maintained the independence of Scotland by resisting
the rude dictation of Henry ; but he showed every
desire to cultivate peace with England upon a fair basis :
he had punished, with a severity to which he was com-
pelled by their frequent repetition, the treasons of
Home, and the excesses of the Borders ; he had shown
the utmost anxiety to recall the queen-mother to her
country and her duties, provided such an event could
be accomplished without endangering the safety of
the young monarch ; and the confidence in his admi-
nistration which was expressed by parliament, had
given a decided refutation to the injurious attacks of his
enemies. But these enemies were still powerful : the
money of England and the intrigues of Dacre con-
tinued to seduce many venal persons amongst the
Scottish nobles : their vassals were encouraged to
weaken the government by spoliations, private feuds,
and every species of unlicensed oppression ; whilst
every attempt to introduce into the great body of the
aristocracy a principle of cordial union which might at
once secure the integrity of the country, and promote
their own interests, was broken by the selfishness and
rapacity of their leaders. Under such disheartening
circumstances, the regent had looked to the support
of France, as a counterpoise to the concealed attacks
of England; but this was now about to be withdrawn ;*
and, in the parliament which assembled in November,
♦ Epistolae Reg. Scot. vol. i. p. 243, 248.
1516. JAMES V. 105
1516, to deliberate upon the communication of the
French ambassador, Albany, with much earnestness,
requested permission of the three Estates, to revisit
France for a short period.
From all who were interested in the welfare of the
country, this proposal met with a vigorous opposition.
They contended, and with plausibility, that the absence
of the governor would be the signal for the return of
the anarchy and confusion which had preceded his
arrival, and that, having accepted the regency under an
act of the three Estates which declared him the near-
est heir to the throne, it was his duty to remain in
the country, to share the labour and responsibility of
that station : they hinted that, should he now leave
Scotland, his return to the office of regent could not,
and perhaps ought not to be guaranteed to him ; and
they anticipated the renunciation of the alliance with
France, and the certain triumph of the English fac-
tion.* In such predictions there was much wisdom ;
yet Albany, who was intent on revisiting his foreign
estates, a proceeding to which he was invited by a pri-
vate message brought by La Fayette from the French
kino;, at leno-th extorted an unwillino^ consent from the
parliament. His leave of absence, however, extended
only to four months, and in this interval, the manage-
ment of the government was intrusted to a council of
regency consisting of the prelates of St Andrew''s and
Glasgow, with the Earls of Huntley, Argyle, Angus,
and Arran. The young king was brought to Edin-
burgh castle, and intrusted to the keeping of Lord
Erskine and the Earl Marshal. Prior to his departure,
the Bishop of Dunkeld and Panter the secretary were
* Caligula, B. vi, 133. " Clarencieux," to " My Lord Cardinal ; dated
Alawick," 31st Nov.
106 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1516.
despatched on an embassy to tlie French court ; and
he himself, eager to revisit the hmd which was endeared
to him by all the recollections of his former life, em-
barked at Dumbarton on the seventh of June.*
Some time before this it had been arranged in par-
liament that the queen-mother should be permitted to
revisit Scotland, under the condition that she should
abstain from all interference wdtli the authority of
Albany ; and this princess, whose intrigues and am-
bition had occasioned so much distress to the country,
the moment she heard of the arrival of the governor
in France, set out for the Scottish capital, accompanied
by a slender train, more befitting her misfortunes than
her rank. At Lamberton Kirk, the same familiar spot
where, fourteen years before, she had been received by
the Scottish nobles, the blooming bride of her sovereign,
she was met by Angus, Morton, and De la Bastie ;
but on her arrival in Edinburgh, was not permitted
to visit her son the king. It was soon after understood,
that the plague had made its appearance in the capital,
and his guardians took the precaution of removing the
young monarch to Craigmillar, where, relaxing in their
rigour, his mother was indulged with occasional inter-
views: but a report having arisen that a secret project
had been formed for his being carried into England, (an
attempt which the former conduct of the queen rendered
it exceedingly likely would be repeated,) it was thought
proper once more to restore him to the security of his
original residence. "f*
To ensure, if possible, the continuance of quiet to
the country during his absence, Albany had carried
along with him, as hostages, the eldest sons of many
* Lesley, p. 109. Caligula, B. vi. 1C7.
i- Lesley, Hist. p. 109.
1517. JAMES V. 107
of the noblest families, whilst he had connniLted the
principal command upon the Borders, at all times the
most distracted and lawless portion of the country, to
the chivalrous and polished De la Bastie, whose talents
in the field and in the cabinet were still higher than his
accomplishments in the lists. The title of lieutenant,
or deputy of the governor, was likewise conferred on
him, and he was intrusted with the invidious and
delicate task of transmittino: to the absent recent re-
ports upon the conduct of the Scottish Border chiefs.
The friends and vassals of the Earl of Home, men
familiar with blood, and who esteemed reven^re a sacred
duty, had never foro;iven Albany the execution of this
powerful and popular rebel, and they now determined,
the moment an occasion offered, that De la Bastie, the
deputy of the governor, should suffer for the crime of
his master. Nor was this opportunity long of occur-
ring : keeping his state as warden in the fortress of
Dunbar, La Bastie exerted himself with indefatigable
diligence in repressing disorder. On the first intelli-
gence of any commotion, he was instantly in person
on the spot ; and it was out of this fearless activity
that his enemies contrived his ruin. A plot to entrap
him was laid by Home of Wedderburn, and other
Border chiefs ; and, to draw their unsuspecting victim
into it, they pretended to besiege the tower of Langton.*
On receiving: intelliirence of this outra^-e, De la Bastie,
with some French knights in his train, galloped towards
the scene of commotion, and ere he was aware, found
himself surrounded by the unrelenting borderers.
Conscious of the cruel fate which awaited him, he
* I have heard that there is a curious MS. history of the family of Wed-
derburn, at Wedderburn-house, which gives some minute and interesting
particulars regarding the murder of De la Bastie. He was slain by John
and Patrick ilome, younger brothers of the Laird of Wedderburn.
108 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1517.
pushed his horse to speed and, from the extraordinary
fleetness of the animal, had nearly escaped, when his
ignorance of the country unfortunately led him into a
marsh. Every eflfort entangled him more deeply ; it
was in vain that he struggled to extricate himself —
in vain that he besought his merciless pursuers, as
they valued their honour as knights, to spare his life
and accept his submission : the only reply was, insult
and mockery; and, throwing themselves upon him, he
was cruelly murdered. The ferocious Lord of Wedder-
burn, exulting in the complete though tardy vengeance,
cut off his head, tied it by its long and plaited tresses
to his saddle-bow, and, galloping into the town of
Dunse, affixed the ghastly trophy on the market cross.
He then threw himself into his castle, where, for a
season, he defied the utmost efforts of the laws.*
The death of La Bastie was a serious blow to the
maintenance of the authority of Albany ; but, although
unable instantly to arrest the perpetrators, the regents
exerted themselves with considerable vioour. It was
suspected that Angus, or at least his brother Sir George
Douglas, had been involved in the guilt of the Homes,
and on this ground Arran, the next in po^ver amongst
the nobles, was appointed warden of the marches.
Without delay he seized Douglas and his accomplice
Mark Ker : measures also were taken for the trial of
the Homes, whose escape might have produced the
worst consequences ; and a parliament having assem-
bled at Edinburgh on the nineteenth of February,
sentence of forfeiture was passed against all concerned
in the assassination of La Bastie. The more difficult
task remained in the apprehension of the culprits; but
Arran having assembled a powerful force, accompanied
* Lesley, p. 110. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 170.
1517-18. JAMES V. 109
by the king's artillery, an arm of war which the nation
owed to the late monarch, marched against the insur-
gents. Ere he had advanced many miles, however,
the rebels besought his mercy. The keys of the castle
of Home were delivered to him at Lauder, the forti-
fied houses of Langton and Wedderburn thrown open,
and the warden, with perhaps too great a leniency,
extended even to the principal murderers a pardon.
The four months' absence permitted by the parlia-
ment to Albany had now expired: but they had been
passed in such unquietness, and the collision of oppo-
site factions had so much increased, that he preferred
the security and comfort of France to the precarious
and thankless power of the regency, and wrote earnestly
to the queen-mother, recommending her, if she could
obtain the concurrence of the nobles, to resume her
former station as head of the government.* But
Margaret, with female weakness, insisted that her
husband Angus, to whom she had been lately recon-
ciled, should be nominated regent ; a proposal which
the Earl of Arran, and the whole body of the Scottish
nobles who had experienced his insolence and weakness,
resolutely opposed. The chief power, therefore, con-
tinued in the hands of the regency, and a renewal of
the truce with England,"!* gave some leisure to attend
to the healing of the wounds which still deeply rankled
in the country. Of these one of the chief was to be
found in the condition of the Isles, where the rude in-
habitants had lately signalized themselves by unusual
violence and disorder. Under the latter ^^ears of the
reign of James the Fourth, these districts had been
unusually tranquil. It had not been the sole policy of
* Caligula, B. i. p. 247. Margaret to Lord Dacre, Lithgow, IStli Oct,
+ Rymer, Foedera, vol. x'ii, p. 599.
110 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1513-17.
that monarch to overawe the seditious by the severity
of his measures : he had endeavoured to humanize them
by education, and to introduce a knowledge of the laws,
and a respect for their sanctions ; not through the
suspected medium of lowlanders, but by supporting
highland scholars at the universities, and afterwards
encouragin2: them to reside permanently within the
bounds of the Isles. It was as an additional means for
the accomplishment of this enlightened purpose, that
this monarch was ever anxious to get into his power
the sons of the highland chiefs, whom he educated at
court ; hoping thus to attach them to his service, and
to employ them afterwards as useful instruments in
the civilisation of their country. With this view he
had secured, in some of his northern expeditions, the
youthful sons of Sir Alexander Macdonald of Loch-
alsh ; and the eldest of these became a favourite of the
monarch. He restored part of his paternal estate;
conferred on him the distinction of knighthood ; and
permitted him frequently to visit the Isles.* Upon
the death of this sovereign it was soon discovered that
these favours had been thrown away, for scarcely had
the chieftains escaped from the carnage at Flodden and
returned home, when a rebellion was secretly organized,
of which the object was to restore the ancient princi-
pality of the Isles in the person of Sir Alexander Mac-
donald of Lochalsh. At the head of this insurrection
was Maclean of Dowart, commonly called Lauchlan
Cattanach. and ^lacleod of Dunvegan, who seized the
castles of Carnelreigh and Dunskaich, and threatened
with the extremity of fire and sword all who resisted
the authority of the new Lord of the Isles. It needed
* Gregory's Hist, of the "West Highlands and Isles, p. 1 06. He was known
in the highlands by the name of Donald Galda, or Donald the Foreigner.
1513-17. JAMES V. Ill
not this fresh source of disorganization to weaken the
administration of Albany: and although a commission
to put down the insurrection was early given to the
Earl of Argyle, and his efforts were seconded by the
exertions of Mackenzie of Kintail, Ewen Alanson, and
Monro of Foulis, the rebellion a^'ainst the srovernment
spread through Lochaber and western Ross. ^lany
of the most powerful families, especially those of Mac-
lean and Macleod, with the clan Ian Mhor of Isla, per-
sisted in their resolution to establish an independent
sovereignty ; and it was not till after a considerable
interval of tumult and predatory warfare, that the ex-
ertions of Aro-yle succeeded in reducins^the in3ur2:ents,
who were treated with uncommon leniency. Under
assurances of safety, the principal leaders repaired to
court, and the chief of Lochalsh procured for himself
and his followers favourable terms of reconciliation.*
Scarce, however, had he returned to his remote domin-
ions, when, owing to a feud which he had long main-
tained against Mac-Ian of Ardnamurchan, the flames
of civil discord were again kindled in the Isles, and
the ferocity of private warfare soon assumed the more
serious shape of rebellion against the state. Ample
powers were again granted to Argyle, as lieutenant-
general over the Isles ; and Maclean of Dowart, lately
the chief supporter of Sir Donald, having procured a
remission for all the crimes committed by himself and
his adherents during the insurrection, not only deserted
his cause, but engaged in hostilities against him with
a violence which declared that nothing but the utter
destruction of the "wicked blood of the Isles" would
restore tranquillity to the government of his sovereign,
or security to the inhabitants of these remote districts.
* Gregory's History of the West Highlands, p. 114-117.
112 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1518-19.
There seems reason to believe, however, that the ex-
tensive power granted by the council to Argyle and
INlaclean, was more nominal than real ; for although
broken in his strength, the indefatigable claimant of
the throne of the Isles remained unsubdued ; and
having united his forces to those of the Macleods and
Alexander of Isla, he was strong; enouoh to attack and
entirely defeat his mortal enemy Mac-Ian, at Craig-
anairgid, in Morvern. Mac-Ian himself, with his two
•sons, were amongst the slain : the ferocious islanders,
who had a heavy arrear of blood to settle with this
powerful chief, exulted in the ample vengeance by
which he had been overtaken ; and the consequences
of this victory might have proved serious, had not the
rebellion been brought to an unexpected close by the
death of Sir Donald of Lochalsh, who left no descend-
ants to dispute the claims of the throne to the lordship
of the Isles. From this period till the assumption of
the supreme power by James the Fifth, the principality
of the Isles remained in comparative tranquillity, owing
principally to the exertions of the Earl of Argyle,
whose activity and loyalty are, perhaps, to be traced
as much to his ambition of family aggrandizement, as
to any higher patriotic motive.
Although tranquillity was thus restored in these
remote districts, the country continued disturbed.
Much of the disorder was to be traced to the violence
and ambition of Angus, whose feudal power was too
great for a subject, and whose disappointment in being
refused the regency, delighted to vent itself in an open
defiance of the laws. For a while his reconciliation
with the queen, to whom, as the mother of their so-
vereign, the nation still looked with affection, imparted
a weight to his faction, which rendered him a formid-
1518. JAMES V. 113
able opponent to the regency ; but the fickleness of his
attachment, his propensity to low pleasures, and the
discovery of a mistress whom he had carried off from
her friends and secluded in Douglasdale, once more
rekindled the resentment of the proud princess whom
he had deserted, and an open rupture took place. She
assumed a high tone, violently upbraided him for his
inconstancy, reminded him that with misplaced affec-
tion she had even pawned her jewels to support him in
his difiiculties, and concluded by expressing her deter-
mination to sue for a divorce.*
As soon as this resolution, in which the queen was
supported by the most powerful of the nobles, became
known in England, Henry, who foresaw in its being
carried into effect a death-blow to his influence in
Scotland, opposed it with his characteristic impetuosity.
He despatched Chatsworth, a friar who filled the office
of minister-general of the Observantines in England,
with letters to his sister, and enjoined him at the same
time, to remonstrate against the divorce ; a commission
which he fulfilled with much violence, declaring that
the measure was illeo:al, that she was labourino; under
some damnable delusion ; and insinuating in no mea-
sured terms, that a strict examination of her own con-
duct might provoke from Angus a counter charge of
adultery. It is easy to see in all this a proof that
Henry considered Angus as the head of the English
faction, and that the queen, with the principal nobles,
Arran, Argyle, Lennox, Fleming, and Maxwell, had
become aware of the importance of a more cordial union
against the intrigue and domination of England. Such,
however, was the effect of this remonstrance, that Mar-
garet, if not convinced, was intimidated; and, against
* Caligula, B. i. 275. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 173.
VOL. V. H
114 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1518.
the advice of her councillors, a reconciliation took place
between her and Angus, which was as insincere as it
was precipitate.*
From these domestic dissensions the attention of the
regency was drawn to a mission from Christiern the
Second, the Danii^h king, who earnestly petitioned from
his Scottish allies a subsidy of a thousand highland
soldiersi* to assist him in his Norwegian wars. With
more wisdom, however, than their late regent, the
three Estates eluded the request, on the ground that
from the uncertain dispositions of England, they could
reckon little on the continuance of peace at home, and
that the internal state of their own country could
not at present spare its defenders. A few years after
this, however, the reiterated requests of the Danish
monarch were met by the grant of a small body of
troops under the command of Stewart of Ardgowan, J
but the tyranny of Christiern, and the piracies of the
Danish privateers upon the fleets of their merchant-
men, effectually cooled the zeal of their allies, and no
further auxiliaries appear to have left the country to
the assistance of the unpopular monarch.
On his return to France, Albany carried with him
an authority from the parliament to superintend the
foreign affairs of Scotland ; and it is to his credit that,
in the disposal of benefices, at that period one of the
most lucrative sources of peculation, his applications
to the pope were, without exception, in favour of
natives, — a circumstance which affords a satisfactory
answer to the accusations which his enemies have
brought against him of a blameable love of money, and
* Caligula, B. ii. 333. Dacre to W^olsey, Harbottle, 2-2d Oct. Caligula,
B. vi. ].'/4. Chats-worth to the Queen.
t " Mille Silvestres Scotos." Epistola? Regum Scot. vol. i. p. 302,
^ Epistolae Reg, Scot. voL i. pp. 317, 'oi'6.
1519. JAMES V. 115
a want of national feeling. The continued change in
the policy of the French king now caused the renewal
of the peacewith England; and Francis having included
his allies, the Scots, in the treaty,* provided they
agreed to its terms, La Fayette and Cordelle, arrived
as ambassadors in England, from whence, in company
of Clarencieux herald, they proceeded into Scotland.
It was now found that without a parliament the powers
of the council of regency were insufficient to conclude
this transaction ; and the three Estates having assem-
bled, the French ambassador intimated in no unequi-
vocal terms, that if this treaty were rejected, in which
his master considered the prosperity of his kingdom
to be involved, his northern allies must no longer look
for the support of France — a consideration of such
weight that it was not judged prudent to delay its ac-
ceptance ;•!* and the prolongation of the truce between
England and Scotland to the thirtieth November, 1520,
was proclaimed at Stirling in presence of the regents
and the French and English ambassadors.
To these wise proceedings the only opposition which
was offered came from the Earl of Ang-us. As this
haughty noble, whose great estates and numerous vas-
salry rendered him at all times formidable, increased
in years, his character, throwins: off the excesses of
youth, discovered a power and talent for which his
opponents were not prepared, and his ambition, which
had hitherto only given occasional distress, became
systematically dangerous to the government. His
faction was numerous; embracing the Earls of Craw-
ford and Errol, the Lord Glammis, the prelates of St
Andrew's, Aberdeen, Orkney, and Dunblane, with
* Rymer, Foedera, vol. xiii. p. 627. October 2, 1518.
+ Margaret to Wolsey, Stirling, 26th Dec. Caligula, B. vi. 270. Pinkerton,
vol. ii. p. 1 78, gives the substance of the queen's letter, but misdates it Dec. 1 7-
116 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1519.
many other dignitaries and partisans. On the arrival
of the French ambassadors at the capital, he had made
an ineffectual effort to intrude into the place of Arran,
and undertake the management of the treaty ; but this
being peremptorily declined, he intercepted them on
their return to England at the head of a formidable
array of his vassals, and rudely upbraided them for
their alleged contempt of his authority.*
In the capital his intrigues amongst the citizens
were more successful, and led to sanfruinarv results.
Arran had been chosen provost of Edinburgh, — a
situation which was at this period an object of contest
amongst the highest nobles, and he confidently looked
to his re-election. But on repairing from Dalkeith,
where the court was then held, to the metropolis, he
found the gates shut against him, and Archibald
Douglas, the uncle of Angus, installed in the civic
chair."!* The partisans of the lieutenant-general, the
title now given to Arran, attempted to force their en-
trance, but were repulsed with bloodshed; andGawin,
a carpenter, the friend of Angus and the principal
leader of the tumult, was slain by Sir James Hamilton,
commonly called the bastard of Arran. About the
same time, Home of Wedderburn, whose wife was the
sister of Am^us, and whose hands had been recently
stained by the blood of De la Bastie, added the guilt
of sacrilege to murder by assassinating the Prior of
Coldingham with six of his family, and thus making
way for the intrusion of William Douglas, the brother
of Angus, who instantly seized the priory. When such
were the steps of ecclesiastical promotion, and such the
character of the dignitaries who ascended them, we are
* Lesley, Bannatyne edit. p. 114 21 Cali^a, B. ii. 264. Dacre to
Wolsey, lOth Dec. 'Harbottle.
■f Dacre to Wolsey, 10th Dec. Ibid.
1520. JAMES V. 117
scarcely to wonder that respect for the hierarchy did
not form a feature in the a2:e. But to this censure it
must be allowed that there were eminent exceptions ;
and a remarkable one is to be found in the learned,
pious, and venerable Dunbar bishop of Aberdeen, who,
living himself in primitive simplicity, refused to expend
the minutest portion of his revenues upon his personal
wants, and entirely devoted them to works of public
utility and extensive charity.*
Amid much intestine commotion, Arran and the
lords of the regency vainly attempted to exercise their
precarious authority, and it would be fruitless to enu-
merate the individual excesses w^hich were constantly
occurring in a country torn by contending factions, and
oToauina' under the miseries incident to a feudal mino-
rity . But, upon the meeting of aparliament which had
been summoned for the healing of these disturbances,
a scene occurred which is too characteristic to be
omitted. The capital, where the Estates were to as-
semble, had been partially abandoned by the partisans
of Angus, who retained as a body-guard only four
hundred spearmen; w^hilst, in consequence of a recom-
mendation transmitted by Albany the late regent,
which wisely directed that, for the public peace, no
person of the name of Hamilton or Douglas should be
chosen provost, Archibald Douglas had resigned that
dignity, and Robert Logan had been elected in his
place. The party of Angus were thus greatly weak-
ened in the city, and Arran the governor mustered in
such strength, that his friends, of whom Beaton the
archbishop of Glasgow and chancellor of the kingdom,
was the principal, deemed that the opportunity of re-
ducing the overgrown power of Angus was too favour-
* Lesley, History, p. 112,
118 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1520.
able to be ne^^^lected. For the discussion of their desi^^ns
a council of the principal leaders was held in the church
of the Black Friars, where Gawin Douglas, the cele-
brated Bishop of Dunkeld, appeared as a peacemaker
between the contendino; frictions. Addrcssina; himself
to Beaton the primate, who wore a coat of mail under
his linen rocquet, he earnestly remonstrated against
their intention of arresting Angus, and so warmly
urged his entreaty, that Beaton, suddenly striking his
hand on his breast, declared on his conscience that
they had no hostile intentions, or at least that he was
ignorant of their existence. "Alas, my lord," said
Douglas, as the steel plates of Beaton's armour rung
to the blow, " I perceive your conscience clatters.""
The spirited appeal of Douglas, however, had nearly
succeeded, and Sir Patrick Hamilton, the brother of
the governor, had agreed to become umpire, when
Hamilton of Finnart, a man distinguished for his
ferocity, upbraided him with cowardice in declining the
combat ; and pointed to the spearmen of Angus, who,
being joined by a band of borderers under Home of
Weddcrburn, had arrayed themselves in a formidable
phalanx upon the causeway. It was a reproach which
the proud spirit of Hamilton could not bear. " Bastard
smaik!^''* said he, " I shall fight this day where thou
darest not be seen." Upon which he rushed into the
street, followed by a few of his retainers, and threw
himself sword in hand upon the ranks of the spearmen,
whilst Angus pressing forward, slew him on the spot,
and fiercely assaulted his followers, most of whom fell
pierced by the long pikes of the borderers : all forbear-
ance was now at an end ; and the conflict becoming
general, the party of Arran, after a fierce resistance,
* Smaik ; a silly mean fellow.
1520. JAMES V. 119
were entirely routed, the chief himself being chased
out of the city, and Beaton compelled to fly for safety
behind the high altar of the church of the Dominican
convent.* Even this sanctuary was not enough to
screen him from the ferocity of the soldiers, who tore
off his rocquet and would have slain him on the spot,
but for the timely interference of his rival prelate, the
Bishop of Dunkeld.
Angus now remained master of the capital, and for
some months appears to have ruled its proceedings
with a boldness which defied the authority of the go-
vernor and the restraint of the laws. The heads of
Home and his brother, which, since their execution, had
remained exposed on the front of the public prison,
were removed, masses said for their souls, and their
obsequies celebrated with great solemnity.-f- A sudden
attempt was soon after made to seize the governor and
the chancellor, who, with some of their party, had de-
termined to meet at Stirling, but receiving intelligence
of their danger, they hastily dispersed; and Angus,
whose private affairs required his presence in the exten-
sive district which owned his authority, by retiring
thither gave a temporary respite to the country.
It was still the interest of Francis the First to cul-
tivate the amity of England. His influence with
Wolsey had already procured the restitution of Tour-
nay, and his hopes were high that the more important
city of Calais might, ere long, be restored to France — a
])olicy which afi'ords a key to his transactions with
Scotland. Stuart lord of Aubigny, and Duplanis were
* " Considering that tli' Erie of Anguisse slew Sir Patrick Hamilton,
brother to the said Erie of Arayn (with) his own hand, intending also to
have killed him if he could." Letter, Wolsey to the Duke of Norfolk,
Caligula, B. i. 326, 327.
+ Lesley, Hist. p. IIG- Lindsr.y, Hist. pp. 120, 121. Buchanan, xiv. 12
120 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1520.
despatched as his ambassadors to that country, and tlic
advice which, by their master's orders they tendered
to the Scottish Estates, was strikingly at variance with
the former policy of France, and the feelings of a great
proportion of the Scottish nobles. The necessity of
maintaining peace with England, the prolongation of
the truce, and the evil consequences which would result
from the return of Albany, were earnestly insisted on.
It was added that Francis could never consent to his
leavins: France, and once more rekindlino; with all their
ancient intensity, the flames of internal discord in
Scotland, whilst no effort was left untried by the am-
bassadors to reconcile the differences between the
French and English parties, and to re-establish the
peace of the country.* To effect this, however, exceeded
the skill of these French diplomatists. The hatred of
the queen-dowager to her husband Angus, was now too
deep to admit even the semblance of a reconciliation;
her temper, which partook of her brother's violence,
resented his imperious mandates ; and as Dacre and
Wolsey, who regarded Angus as the pillar of the Eng-
lish interest, began to treat her with coldness, Margaret,
not unnaturall}^, was induced to look to France, in
whose policy towards England a very sudden revolu-
tion now took place, in consequence of the election of
Charles the Fifth to the imperial throne. The political
treachery of Wolsey, wdiose personal ambition had be-
come incompatible with the continuance of his devotion
to Francis, is well known to the student of European
history; and one of its immediate effects was the re-
conciliation of Albany and the queen-dowager, who, by
a letter under her own hand, entreated his return to
* Caligula, B. vi. 140. Instructions a Mon^, Robert Estuard, Seigneur
D'Aubigny.
1521. JAMES V. 121
Scotland,* anticipating, by a union of their parties,
the complete submission of the kingdom to their au-
thority. It was even rumoured that Albany had
employed his interest at the papal court to procure the
queen''s divorce from Angus, with the design of offer-
ing her his hand; whilst a still more ridiculous report
was circulated, of which it is difficult to trace the origin,
that the young king had been conveyed to England,
and that the boy to whom royal honours were then
paid in Stirling was a plebeian child, which had been
substituted in his place.
In the meantime, Angus, whose nomination as one
of the regents gave him a title to interfere in the
government, effectually counteracted the superior au-
thority of Arran ; and, strong in his partisans and
vassals, he gained a weight in the councils of govern-
ment, which was maintained with much arrogance.
All things, therefore, seemed to urge upon the queen's
party the necessity of immediate action ; and as the
open accession of Henry the Eighth to the interests
of the emperor, by dissolving the ties between that
monarch and the French king, had removed every
impediment to the departure of Albany, this nobleman
set sail from France, and arrived in Scotland on the
nineteenth of November, disembarking from the Gare-
loch in Lennox; from thence he proceeded to Stirling, -j-
where he was immediately joined by the queen, and
welcomed by that princess, whose affections were as
violent as her resentments, with an indiscreet fami-
liarity, which gave rise to reports injurious to her
honour. Lord Dacre, in a letter to his sovereign,
represents her as closeted with Albany, not only during
* Caligiila, B. ii. 195. Margaret to Dacre.
y Caligula, B. vi. 204, dorso. Instructions and Commission for my Lord
of Dunkeld.
122 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND, 1521.
the day, but the greater part of the night, and careless
of all appearances ; whilst he refers his majesty to the
Bishop of Dunkeld, then at the English court, for a
confirmation of the intimacy which existed between
them.* Whatever truth we are to attach to these
accusations, to which the character of the queen gives
some countenance, the immediate effects of Albany''s
arrival were highly important. It was an event which
reunited the discordant factions, and gave the promise
of something like a settled government. The nobility
crowded to the palace to welcome his arrival, and he
soon after entered the capital, accompanied by the queen
and the chancellor, and with such a show of strength
that the party of Angus precipitately deserted the
city ; he then proceeded to the castle, where he was
admitted to an interview with the vouno- kino^, on
which occasion the captain delivered the keys of the
fortress into his hands ; these, the regent with much
devotion, laid at the feet of the queen-dowager, and she
again presented them to Albany, intimating, that she
considered him the person to whose tried fidelity tlio
custodv of the monarch ou2:ht to be intrusted. +
Albany, thus once more reinstated, after an interval
of five years, in the precarious honour of the regency,
summoned a parliament to meet within a short period
at Edinburgh, and fulminated a citation against the
Douglases to appear in that assembly, and reply to the
weighty charges to be brought against them ; but al-
though determined to put down with a firm hand these
enemies of the state, the regent was anxious for peace
with England. The principles of his government, of
which the venality of the Scottish nobles, and the
* Caligula, B. vi. 204, 205, dorso.
f Instructions. Angus to Dunkeld. Caligula, B. vi. 204. Pinkerton,
voL iL p. 188.
1521. JAMES V. 123
intrigues of Dacre the minister of Henry, alone pre-
vented the development, were, to maintain the ancient
independence of Scotland, and, whilst he dismissed all
dreams of conquest or glorv, to resist that secret in-
fluence, by which the English monarch, for his own
ambitious designs, sought to govern a kingdom, in
whose administration he had no title to interfere. The
means by which he sought to accomplish these ends
were, to reunite the discordant elements of the Scottish
aristocracy, to persuade the queen-mother that her in-
terest and those of her son the king were one and the
same, and to open immediately a diplomatic correspon-
dence with En oland, inwhichhe trusted to convince that
power of the uprightness and sincerity of his intentions.
But the difficulties which presented themselves, even
on the threshold of his schemes, were great. Dacre,
one of the most crafty diplomatists in the political
school of Henry the Eighth, had no mtentions of re-
nouncing the hold he had so long maintained for his
master over the Scottish affairs ; he reckoned with
confidence on the impetuous temper and capricious
affections of the queen-dowager, he was familiar with
the venality of the nobles, and he knew that the means
he possessed of disturbing the government were many
and powerful.* He therefore entered into a corre-
spondence with Albany and the queen, v/ith confident
anticipations of success ; but for the moment he was
* In a letter from Wolsey to Henry, November, 1521, the secret and in-
sidious policy of Henry towards Scotland, is strikingly laid down, '• Never-
theless, to cause him not only to take a more vigilant eye to the demeanour
of the Scots, as well within Scotland as without, and to be more diligent,
hereafter, in writing to your grace and me, but also favourably to entertain
the Homes and other rebels, after his accustumable manner, so that they
may continue the divisions and sedition in Scotland, whereby the said Duke
of Albany may, at his coming hither, be put in danger ; and though some
money be employed for the entertainment of the said Homes and rebels,it will
quit the cost at length." — State Papers, published by Government, p. 91.
124 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1521.
disappointed; he had not reckoned on the strength
of their united parties, and, baffled in his efforts, his
anger vented itself in accusations of the grossest and
darkest nature aijainst the governor. In the letters
addressed to his royal master and to Wolsey, he re-
presented the regent"'s intimacy with the queen as
scandalous and adulterous; it was reported, he said, tliat
they had endeavoured, by a high bribe, and in contem-
plation of their marriage, to induce Angus to consent to
a divorce ; that Albany evidently looked to the throne ;
and that some men did not scruple to affirm that the
life of the young monarch was in danger. It may be
conjectured, that, although Dacre repeats these as the
rumours which had begun to circulate amongst the
people, he was himself the principal author from whom
they emanated.
Such were the secret practices by which this busy
political agent, and the creatures whom, on another
occasion, he mentions as being in his pay, endeavoured
to bring into disrepute the government of Albany; but
for the present they were too gross to be successful.
The only portion of truth which was to be found in
them related probably to the governor'*s intrigue with
the queen, which the licentious manners of the times,
and the well-known gallantries of that princess, ren-
dered by no means an improbable event. That Albany
had any design of marriage, that he was ambitious
of the royal power, or that he contemplated the atro-
cious crime by wdiich he must have ascended the throne,
are calumnies refuted by the whole tenor of his former
and subsequent life.
The best practical answer, indeed, to these imputa-
tions was the success and popularity of his government.
Angus, whose power had been too intolerable for the
1521 JAMES V. 125
councl of reo'encv, with his adherents, Home and
Somerville, were compelled to fly for security to the
kirk of Steyle, a retreat whose obscurity denotes the
contempt into which they had fallen. From this place
they engaged in a negotiation with Henry, which was
managed by the celebrated Douglas bishop of Dun-
keld, a keen and unscrupulous partisan of his nephew
Angus.* This prelate was empowered to visit Dacre
on his journey to England, and afterwards, in a per-
sonal interview with Henry, to explain to that monarch
the political state of Scotland, and the alleged excesses
of the re2:ent. These, there is reason to believe, he
had every disposition to exaggerate ; and in consulting
the original papers which he has left, and the diploma-
tic correspondence of Lord Dacre, the historian who is
anxious to arrive at the truth, must recollect that he
is perusing the evidence of partisans who were entirely
devoted to the English interest, and whose object it
was to reduce the country under the complete control
of the English monarch. It is, therefore, with some
distrust that we must listen to the accusation brought
against the regent of a profligate venality in the dis-
posal of ecclesiastical patronage, when we recollect his
different conduct at a time when his actions could be
closely watched, and the temptation was, perhaps,
greater. To Dacre, Albany strongly remonstrated
* "The Instructions and Commission for my Lord of Dunkeld to beshewen
to the king's grace of England" is a curious document. It is preserved in
the British Museum [Caligula, B. vi. 204.], and commences with the fol-
lowing startling accusation : " Item first, ye shall shaw how the Duk of
Albany is com to Skotland, and throw his pretended title that he has to the
crown, it is presumed, he havand the kepand of the king our soveran lord,
j:ur nephew, and the reull of his realme and subjects, [there] is grete sus-
picion and danger of his person ; wherefore, without hasty assistance, and
help of the king's grace of England, it is thought to us that our soverain lord
forsaid stands in gret jeapardie of his life."- — See also the valuable volume
of State Papers published bv Government, Part i. pp. 17, 18. Wolsey ta
Henry VIII. July, 1521. '
126 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1521.
against the Infractions of the truce, and the encourage-
ment held out by Henry to those rebellious chiefs iu
Scotland, who had been cited to answer for their trea-
sons before the great council of the nation; whilst the
Eno-lish warden, wiLhholdin2: from Albany his title of
regent, and addressing him simply as one of the council,
retorted a complaint against the conduct of Lord Max-
well, who had refused to proclaim the peace, and per-
mitted an invasion of the English Borders. There can
be no doubt that the accusations on both sides were
well founded, as, in these times, from the ferocious
habits of the borderers, nothing could be more difficult
than to enforce the observation of a truce ; but the
regent, who seems to have been sincere in his desire
of peace, promised immediate redress, whilst Dacre,
although he recommended his master the kinir to
abstain from any abrupt declaration of war, craftily
suggested a plan by which, through pensions granted
to the Enalish northern lords on condition of their
invading the Scottish Borders, he might distress the
country even more than by avowed hostilities.* He
excited the animosity of the English king at the same
time by informing him that, to the prejudice of the
title of his royal nephew, the regent had assumed the
style of majesty ; and he insinuated, from some ex-
pressions which had been used by the Scottish governor,
that his zeal in the office of lord warden miiiht not
improbably expose him to attempts against his life.i"
In the meantime, the Bishop of Dunkeld proceeded on
his secret mission to Henry, and the strength of Albany
became so great, that, after an ineffectual endeavour
to abide the tempest which awaited them, Angus and
Lis partisans deemed it prudent to escape into England.
* Caligula, B. vi. 205, 206. f Pinkerton, vd. ii. p. 190.
1522. JAMES V. 127
It is unfortunate that the principal original records
which remain of these troubled times, and from which
we must extract the history of the second regency of
Albany, are so completely the composition of partisans,
and so contradictory of each other, that to arrive at
the truth is a matter of no little difficulty. But in
examining the impetuous measures adopted by Henry,
the violent accusations against the government of
Albany which proceeded from Dacre and the Bishop of
Dunkeld, and the animated, though partial, defence of
his and her own conduct, which is given by the queen,
it is clear, I think, that the views presented of the
character of the regent by Pinkerton, and some later
writers, are unjust and erroneous.
Soon after the flight of Angus, his uncle the Bishop
of Dunkeld, addressed a memorial to the English king,
in which he bitterly arraigned the conduct of the regent,
accusing him of reiterated acts of peculation, and al-
leging, that his avarice had proceeded so far as to have
converted the royal robes and tapestries into dresses
for his pages ; the young king, he affirmed, was kept
in a state not only of durance, but of want ; the for-
tresses of the kingdom were garrisoned by Frenchmen;
the ecclesiastical benefices shamelessly trafficked for
gold; and the crown lands dilapidated by an usurper,
who, he maintained, had no title to the regency — it
having been expressly declared by the Parliament,
that should Albany remain more than four months in
France, he should forfeit that high office. Margaret,
on the other hand, despatched an envoy to her brother,
to whom she gave full instructions, written with her
own hand, in which she contradicted, in the most pointed
terms, the distorted representations of the Bishop of
Dunkeld. She described the conduct of the regenc as
128 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. L522.
respectful and loyal ; lie had in nothing interfered, she
said, with the custody of the king her son, who, by
the permission of the lords whom the parliament had
appointed his guardians, resided with herself in the castle
of Edinburirh. She entreated Henry not to listen to
the scandal which had l)een raised against her by a
traitorous and unworthy prelate, who had forfeited his
bishopric, of which the governor had given her the
disposal ; and she besought her brother not to imitate,
in his present answer, the sternness of a former mes-
sage, but to give a favourable audience to her envoy,
and a friendly construction to her remonstrances.*
Nothing, however, could be farther from the mind
of this monarch, who, giving himself up completely to
the selfish policy of Wolsey, had resolved upon a war
both with France and Scotland : he denounced his
sister as the paramour of the governor, declared that
he would listen to no terms until he had expelled this
usurper from Scotland ; accused him of having stolen
out of France, in defiance of the oath of the French
king, w^hich guaranteed his remaining in that country;
he despatched Clarencieux herald with a severe repri-
mand to the queen, and addressed, at thesame moment,
a message to the Scottish Estates, which gave them
no choice but the dismissal of Albany, or immediate
hostilities with England. To this haughty communi-
cation the Scottish parliament replied with firmness
and dignity. They derided the fears expressed by
Henry for the safety of his nephew the king, and the
honour of his sister, as idle, entreating him to refuse
* Caligula, B. vi. 208. Gth January, 1.521-2. An original in the queen's
hand. " And further, says Margaret, ye shall assure his grace, in my name,
of my lord governor, that his mind is aluterlie to haif peace, and for the weill
of this realme, without ony uther thought or regard, and his coming here,
is alanarlie to kepe his aith and promise, and for na other causs. And with-
out his coming it had been imjjossibil to me to baf bidden in this realme."
1522. JAMES V. 129
all credit to the report of such Scottish fugitives as
abused his confidence ; they reminded him that Albany
had been invited by themselves to assume the regency ;
that he had conducted himself in this office with all
honourand ability, as clearly appeared by his discovering
and defeating the iniquitous designs of those traitors who
had conspired to seize their youthful king, and transport
liim out of the realm ; and they declared, that however
solicitous for peace, they would never so far forget
themselves or their duty to their sovereign, as to re-
move that governor whom they had chosen, and once
more abandon the commonwealth to those miserable
intestine divisions to which it had been exposed during
his absence. Here it is our pleasure, said they, that
he shall remain, during the minority of our sovereign,
nor shall he be permitted or enjoined to depart from
this realm, at the request of your grace, or any other
sovereign prince whatever. And if, they concluded,
"for this cause we should happen to be invaded, what
may we do but trust that God will espouse our just
quarrel, and demean ourselves as our ancestors have
done before us, who, in ancient times, were constreyned
to fight for the conservation of this realm, and that
with good success and honour."*
Meanwhile, Angus, a fugitive on the English Bor-
ders, yet little trusted by Henry, grew impatient of
his obscurity and inaction ; and although still un-
reconciled to his wife, so far prevailed on her latent
affection, as to induce her to intercede on his behalf
with Albany, who, on the condition that he and his
brother Geor2:e DouHas, should retire into a voluntary
exile, consented that the process of treason and for-
feiture should not be carried into execution against
* Rymer, Foedera, vol. xiii, pp. 761, 763.
VOL. V. I
1.30 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1522.
him. He accordingly passed into France where he
appears to have devoted himself to such studies as
rendered him, on his return, a more formidable op-
ponent than he had ever yet been.*
Whilst the Estates replied in this spirited manner
to the proposal of Henry, neither they nor the governor
could shut their eyes to the injurious consequences of
a war with England. Repose and good government
were the only means by which their country, worn out
by long intestine commotions, could revive ; they
w^ere, indeed, once more the allies of France, and the
French monarch, against whom the emperor and Henry
had now declared war, was anxious by every method,
to employ their arms in his favour ; but their eyes
were now open to the sudden changes which w^re per-
petually taking place in European politics, and they
had not forgotten the facility with which, on a late
occasion, Francis had abandoned their interests when
they became incompatible with his own views of ambi-
tion. It was determined, therefore, to assemble an
army, but to act on the defensive, and to make the
best provision for the preservation of peace, by assum-
ing the attitude of war.
To these calm and wise counsels, the violent conduct
of Henry offered a striking contrast. He published
a sentence of confiscation and banishment ajxainst all
French and Scottish subjects, who were resident in
England, and insisted that the Scots should be driven
from his dominions on foot, with a white cross affixed
to their upper garments. He commanded the Earl of
Shrewsbury to raise the power of the northern counties;
and this leader suddenly penetrating as far as Kelso,
gave that beautiful district to the flames, but was re-
* Lesley, p. 117. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 201.
j.522. JAMES V. LSI
pulsed with considerable loss, by the borderers of Merse
and Teviotdale. About the same time an English
squadron appeared in the Forth, and, after ravaging
the coast, returned without opposition to the Thames ;
a proof, that during this calamitous minority, the
naval enterprise of the Scots had declined. It was
impossible, however, that these outrages, which might
be only preludes to more serious hostilities, should be
overlooked ; and Albany having assembled a parlia-
ment at Edinburofh, it was resolved that w^ar should
be instantly declared against England. The young
king, now in his eleventh year, was removed from the
capital to Stirling castle, Lord Erskine, a peer of tried
fidelity, being appointed his sole governor ; and letters
were issued for the array of the whole feudal force of
the kingdom. At this moment, whether induced by
the promises of Dacre, or actuated by that capricious
mutability in her aft'ection, which Margaret seems to
have possessed in common with her brother Henry,
the queen suddenly cooled in her attachment to the
interests of the regent, and betrayed the whole secrets
of his policy to the English warden ; becoming an
earnest advocate for peace, and intriguing with the
chiefs and nobles to support her views.
It was now the period which had been appointed for
the muster of the Scottish host, and Albany, at the
head of a numerous and well appointed army, eighty
thousand strono-, and with a formidable train of
artillery, advanced towards the English Borders, and
encamped at Annan. Neither party, however, were
sincere or earnest in their desire of war. Henry wished
to avoid it, from his anxiety to concentrate his undi-
vided strength against France ; the Scottish governor,
from a conviction that a war of aggression, although
132 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1522.
favourable to the interests of Francis, was an idle
expenditure of the public strength and the public
money. On commencing hostilities, therefore, both
belligerents appear to have mutually intimated the
condition on which they considered that the war might
be speedily concluded. Henry had so far altered his
tone as to insist simply on the stipulation that the
King of Scots should be placed in the hands of faithful
iruardians, without addino; a word resfardinix the neces-
sity of Albany''s departure from the realm ; whilst the
regent declared that he was ready to stay the march
of his army, under the single condition that France
should be included in the treaty to be negotiated by the
belligerents. The Scottish force, however, advanced
to Carlisle ; and as the flower of the Ens-lish armv
was with their sovereign in France, an universal panic
seized the northern counties, which seems to have
communicated itself to the desponding despatches of
^yolsey; but Dacre, who knew from the queen-dowager
the aversion of the leaders to the war, and the pacific
desires of the regent, immediately opened a correspon-
dence with the governor, and, by a course of able
negotiations, succeeded in prevailing upon him to agree
to an abstinence of hostilities for a month, for the
purpose of sending ambassadors into England. He
then disbanded his army, without striking any blow
of consequence.* It has been the fashion of the Scot-
tish historians to arraign the conduct of Albany on this
occasion, as singularly pusillanimous and inglorious :
but a little reflection will convince us, that the accusa-
tion is unfounded. It had been the advice of Bruce, a
master in the art of Scottish war, from whose judgment
* Lesley, Bannatyne edit. p. 123. State Papers, p. 107. "Wolsey to Henry
the Eighth.
1522. JAMES V. 133
few will be ready to appeal, that, in maintaining their
independence, the Scots should abstain from any
lengthened or protracted expedition against England;
that thev should content themselves with harassing-
the enemy by light predatory inroads, and never risk a
pitched battle, which, considering the inferior resources
of the country, might, even in the event of a victory,
be ultimately fatal. By this counsel the regent was
now wisely guided ; and it ought not to be forgotten,
that the obstinate neglect of it, in opposition to the re-
monstrances of some of James's ablest commanders, had
brought on the defeat of Flodden, and the subsequent
calamities of the country. Dacre and Shrewsbury
were indeed unprepared to meet the Scots with a force
at all equal to that which they led against him ; and
had they been combating, as in the days of Bruce, for
their national existence, it might have been a question,
whether they ought not to have taken advantage of
the opportunity, by wasting the country, in a rapid in-
road; but now the circumstances were entirely changed.
Albany, the queen, and the Scottish nobles, were all
equally desirous of peace. Aware of the folly of sacri-
ficing their country to the ambition of France, the
peers had declared to Dacre, that " for no love, favour,
or fair promises of the French king, would they in any
wise attempt war against England, or invade that
country:* nothing but Henry's command that they
should dismiss the resent from the countrv, and sub-
mit to his dictation, having compelled them to take
arms." From this demand he now departed. Dacre,
in an altered tone, only stipulated that measures should
be taken for the security of the young king ; he pro-
* Caligula, B. vi. 256, dorso. Instructions by the king's iighness to
Clarencieux kins' at arms.
134 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1522.
iiiised an immediate truce, and to stay the advance
of the English army ; to command a cessation of all
hostilities on the Borders, and to procure a safe conduct
for the Scottish ambassadors to the court of England.
It would have been unwise to have sacrificed such
favourable terms to any idle ambition of conquest or
invasion; and the writers who have accused the regent
on this occasion, of weakness and infatuation, must
have given an imperfect examination to the peculiar
and trying circumstances in which he was placed :
whilst it appears, however, that the conduct of Albany
was undeserving the severity of the censure with which
it has been visited, it is not to be denied that Lord
Dacre acted throughout with great political ability.
I have delayed thus far in examining the conduct of
the regent, because our more ancient historians have
attributed the sudden peace to dissensions in the
Scottish host, whilst Pinkerton, and those who have
followed his steps, trace it solely to the pusillanimity
of Albany, both opinions being founded, as it appears
to me, on erroneous grounds.
On the dismissal of his army, Albany returned to
the capital, and resumed the anxious labours of his
regency: the queen, at the same time, with charac-
teristic caprice, continued her private correspondence
with Dacre, betraying the secrets of the governor, and
thus enabling him to defeat his measures by sowing
dissensions amongst the nobles ; whilst the negotiations
for continuance of the truce were brought to an abrupt
termination by Henry ""s decided refusal to include
France within its provisions. Nothing, indeed, could
be more irksome or complicated than the duties which
on every side pressed upon the govern ^r. His engage-
ments to France prompted him to hostilities with
1522. JAMES V. 135
England ; his own opinion, and his attachment to his
nephew the king, convinced him that peace was to be
preferred, for the best interests of the kingdom com-
mitted to his care : he had none beside him upon whom
he could place implicit reliance in the discussion of
state affairs, or the execution of his designs. Many
of the nobles were corrupted by the money of England :
if he attempted to punish or detect them, they rebelled ;
if he shut his eyes to their excesses, his induls^ence was
t.' ' o
interpreted into weakness ; and the queen-dowager, by
the junction of whose party with his own he had so
lately succeeded in putting his enemies to a precipi-
tate flight, was not to be trusted for a moment.
It was, perhaps, the difficulties of his situation, and
the impossibility of reconciling these various parties
and interests, which now induced him to meditate a
visit to France for the purpose of a conference with
Francis the First, in which he was no doubt solicitous
to vindicate what must have appeared to that monarch
the culpability of his late inaction. About the same
time the Earl of Shrewsbury, whose age incapacitated
him for the activity of a military command, was re-
moved, and Surrey, a nobleman of great vigour and
ability, appointed chief warden of the Borders; whilst
the Marquis of Dorset, and the experienced Dacre,
acted under him as wardens of the east and west
marches.* The governor now appointed a council of
regency, which consisted of the Archbishop of Glasgow
chancellor, with the Earls of Huntley, Arran, and
Argyle, to whom he added GresoUes, a French knight,
much in his confidence; he bound them by oath to
attempt nothing which should weaken his authority.-[-
* Lesley, p. 123.
"t Caligula, B. ii. 327. Dacre to Wolsey. " The same lordes are bodely
lo() HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1522.
and promising to return within ten months, under the
penalty of forfeiting his regency, he sailed for France,
ulicre he was received by the king with much respect
and kindness.
During his absence, the war, notwithstanding the
assurances of Dacre, and the promises of Henry to
preserve peace, continued to rage with undiminished
violence on the Borders. The conduct of the English
monarch, indeed, must have appeared intolerable to
every one who contrasted it with his hollow professions
of love to the person and government of his nephew.*
Dorset, the warden of the east marches, with Sir
William Bulmer, and Sir Anthony Darcy, made an
incursion into Teviotdale, and sweeping through the
country, left its villages in flames, and robbed it of its
agricultural wealth. Surrey, who commanded a force
of ten thousand men, broke into the Merse, reduced its
places of strength, and afterwards assaulted Jedburgh,
which he burnt to the ijround, destrovino;, with sacri-
legions barbarity, its ancient and beautiful monastery:
Dacre reduced the castle of Fernyhirst, took prisoner
the celebrated Dand Ker, a Border chief of great mi-
litary skill, and afterwards led his host against Kelso,
which, with the adjacent villages, he entirely sacked
and depopulated. Yet Henry had but lately declared,
by Clarencieux, whom, on the retirement of Albany,
he had despatched into Scotland, that he considered
swome, and oblisshed to do nothing contrary to the said duke's oflfice of tu-
tory unto his retourne." — .^Ist Oct. 1522, at Harl)ottle.
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 212. State Papers, p. 11.5. ""Wherefore, my lords,
the king's highness, my sovereign lord, bering tender zele to the good of
peax, and specially with his dercst nephew, and the Queen of Skotland hath
.«ent me to know whether ye persever and continew in your vertuous intente
and mynde towards the establissment of good peax hetwix both the realms."
Instructions to Clarencieux, an original corrected by the cardinal. Caligula,
B. vi. 254. Ibid. 261.
J 523. JAMES V. 137
the war unnatural, and was earnestly desirous to live
at peace wdth his royal nephew.
It was scarcely to be expected, that the intimation
of such violent proceedings should not have incensed
Albany; and, although out of the kingdom, and aware
of the difficulty of persuading its divided nobility to
any union, he determined to make a last effort to repel
the insult offered to his government, and save the
kingdom from being alternately wasted as a rebellious
district, or administered as a province of England.*
To this he was the more inclined, as the extreme
cruelty with which the country had been wasted, had,
for the moment, roused the resentment of the nobles;
and anxious to profit by these feelings, the governor
returned to Scotland with a fleet of eighty-seven small
vessels and a force of four thousand foot, to which were
added five hundred men-at-arms, a thousand hagbut-
teers, six hundred horse, of which one hundred were
barbed, and a fine park of artillery. -[- It was reported,
he was to be followed by an illustrious pretender to
the crown of England, Richard de la Pole. His claim
as a descendant of a sister of Edward the Fourth, had
been supported by Francis the First, and it was now,
with the vain object of disturbing the government of
England, espoused by Albany, t
On his arrival, the condition in which the regent
found his affairs was far from encouraoino-. His for-
mer ally, the queen-dowager, had completely embraced
the English interest, and was eagerly engaged in a
negotiation with Dacre and Surrey, which threatened
to change the whole aspect of affairs. It was proposed,
* Letter of Wolsey to Sampson and Jerningham, 31st August, 1523, ia
App. to Fiddes' Life of Wolsey, p. 137.
t Caligula, B. iii. 51]. Copy of the Lord Ogle's letter.
+ Carte, vol. iii. p. 55. State Papers, 122-125.
188 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1523.
with the object of flattering the princess, that her son,
the young king, should solemnly assume the supreme
power, whilst she, at the head of a council, should con-
duct the government; and the correspondence upon
this subject, although at this moment not conducted
to a favourable termination, was not long after resumed
with complete success. When Albany looked to the
nobles, he discovered, that although willing to assemble
an army for the defence of the Borders, they were
totally averse to an invasion upon a great scale, or to
a war of continued aggression, in which they argued,
that for the sole object of obliging France, they could
gain nothing, and might hazard all ; whilst, on turning
to Surrey, the English Commander, he found him with
peace, indeed, upon his lips, yet, by his whole conduct,
showing a determination for immediate war. We know,
by a letter of this stern leader to Wolsey, that he had
resolved to conduct such an invasion as should lay
waste the Scottish Border to the breadth of twelve
miles, and reduce it for ever after to the state of an
uninhabited desert.*
To these difficulties, which pressed him on every side,
must be added the circumstance, that the regent had
little experience in the peculiar system of Scottish war,
but had been trained in the militarv school of Italv ;
t/ «^
and that any designs which he attempted to form for
the conduct of the campaign, were communicated to
Surrey by the queen, whose conduct had made her
contemptible in the eyes of both parties. With such
complicated embarrassments, ultimate success could
scarcely be expected; but, for the moment, Albany,
whose coff'ers had been recently filled, and were liber-
ally opened, found the venality of the Scottish nobles
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 217. Caligula, B. vi. 318-320.
1523. JAMES V. 139
a sure ground to work upon ; and even the queen, who
at first had thouo'hts of retreatino; to Enf]:land, was so
dazzled by his presents, and won by his courtesies, that
her allegiance to that country began to waver; nor did
she scruple to inform the Earl of Surrey, that Henry
must remit more money, else she might be induced to
join the French interest.*
It was of material consequence to the regent that
hostilities should instantly commence, as the foreign
auxiliaries were maintained at a great expense, and
the dispositions of the nobility were not to be trusted
for any length of time. A parliament was assembled
without delay; a proclamation issued for an array of
the whole force of the kingdom on the twentieth of
October; whilst Albany, surrounded by the principal
nobles, made an imposing display of his foreign troops,
exercised his park of artillery, harangued the peers
upon the still unavenged defeat of Flodden, and joy-
fully received their assurances of attachment to his
service, many falling on their knees, and with earnest
protestations, declaring their readiness to obey his
orders. "I* Nothing, however, was farther from their
intention; their secret determination, as the result
soon showed, was to decline a battle and not advance
a step into England; whilst these hollow professions
were merely used to secure the pensions which they
were then receiving from France. For the selfish-
ness and venality of such conduct, little excuse can be
pleaded; and it is unfortunately too frequently to be
found in the preceding and subsequent history of the
Scottish aristocracy.
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 223. Caligiila, B. vi. 380, The Queen of Scots
to Surrey.
■\ Caligula, B. iii. 57. Sir William Eure to Surrey. Bedelston, 19tii Oct.
Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 224.
140 HISTORY CF SCOTLAND. 1523.
Meanwhile, all looked fair for the moment. On
the day appointed, the army mustered in considerable
strength on the Borough-Muir, near Edinburgh.
Argyle, indeed, delayed at Glasgow, for the purpose
of asscmblinf]^ the hiolilanders and islesmen ; the mas-
ter of Forbes did not hesitate to speak openly against
the expedition ; and Huntley, one of the most powerful
of the peers, excused himself by feigning indisposi-
tion ; yet a respectable force assembled, amounting, in
effective numbers, to about forty thousand men, not
including camp followers, which, on such occasions,
were always numerous. With this army, Albany ad-
vanced towards the Borders ; whilst symptoms of an
early wdnter darkened around him, and his march was
impeded by dragging his train of artillery through the
rude and heavy roads of a country totally dissimilar
from that in which they had been accustomed to act.
The Scottish soldiers, and their leaders, became jeal-
ous of the foreign auxiliaries, who required much at-
tendance and consumed the best of everything ; whilst
the towns and burghs complained of the necessity im-
posed on them to furnish transports for their baggage.
Owing to these causes, the march was slow, and indi-
cations of disorganization early began to exhibit them-
selves.
Meanwhile, tidings arrived, that Surrey had as-
sembled his host, which out-numbered Albany by a
thousand men ; whilst the confidence they expressed
in their leader ; and the unanimity and discipline by
which they were animated, offered a striking contrast
to their enemies. The whole army was eager to en-
gage in hostilities ; but, till Albany commenced an
oflensive war, it was reported, that Henry's orders
confined their commander to defensive operations.
1523. JAMES V. 141
This last rumour appears to have revived amongst the
Scottish peers their former indisposition to invade
Eno-land, and su2:2:ested the notion that the war mi^ht
be yet avoided. It happened that the celebrated
Buchanan was at this moment a volunteer in the
army; and the account of such an eye-witness is
highly valuable. On arriving at Melrose, where a
wooden brido-e was then thrown across the Tweed,
murmurs of discontent began to break forth, which
all the entreaties and remonstrances of Albany could
not remove ; and these gathering force, soon proceeded
to an open refusal to advance. It was with the great-
est difficulty, that the regent, putting himself at their
head, prevailed upon part of the van of the army to
cross the bridge ; the rearward obstinately refused to
follow ;* and soon after, the divisions which had pass-
ed over, turned their backs, and returned to the Scot-
tish side. To struo^o-le ao-ainst such a determination
was impossible ; and Albany, disgusted and incensed
with the treachery of men whose solemn promises were
so easily forgotten, adopted perhaps the only other
alternative; and encamping on the left bank of the
Tweed, laid sieoje to Wark castle with his foreign
troops and artillery. The description given by Bu-
chanan of this Border fortress, is valuable, as, with
little variation, it presents an accurate picture of the
Scoto-Norman castles of this period. It consisted of
a high tower placed within an inner court, and sur-
rounded by a double wall. The outer wall enclosed a
large space, within which the country people in time
of war sought refuge with their cattle ; whilst the in-
ner embraced a narrower portion, and was defended by
a fosse and flanking towers. With their character-
* Buchanan''s Hist, of Scotland, B. xiv. c. xxii.
142 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1523.
istic spirit, and ready valour, the Frencli easily carried
the first court ; but the EnMish settin^:: fire to the
booths, in which they had stowed their farm produce,
smoked the enemy out of the ground they had gained.
The artiller}^ then began to batter the inner wall, and
effected a breach, through which the men-at-arms
charged with great fury ; and had they received sup-
port from the Scots, there is little doubt the fortress
would have been stormed ; but, on elFectino; a lodgment
within the court, so destructiv^e a fire was poured in
upon them from the ramparts, shot holes, and narrow
windows of the great tower, which was still entire, that
it was difficult for such a handful of men to maintain
their ground ; the assault, nevertheless, was continued
till night ; and when darkness compelled them to desist,
it was proposed to renew it next day.* But it was
now the fourth of November, the winter had set in,
and a night of incessant snow and rain so flooded the
river, that all retreat was threat efied to be cut off.
The assaulting party, therefore, recrossed the Tweed
with the utmost speed, leaving three hundred slain,
of which the greater number were Frenchmen, and
once more joined the main body of the army.-|-
AVhile these events occurred, Surrey w^as at Holy
Island ; and, on hearing of the attack on Wark castle,
he issued orders for his army to rendezvous at Barm ore
Wood, within a few miles of Wark. The news of his
speedy approach confirmed the Scottish nobles in iheir
determination not to risk a battle. So completely had
the majority of them been corrupted by the money and
intrigues of Dacre and the queen-dowager, that Albany
did not venture to place them in the front ; but, on his
* Caligula, B. vi. 304-306. Surrey to tlie king.
•j* Buchanan, Book xiv. c. xxi. xxii. Lesley, Bannatyne edit. p. 125.
1523. JAMES V. 143
march, formed his vanguard of the French auxiliaries ;
a proceeding rendered the more necessary by the dis-
covery of some secret machinations amongst the peers
for delivering him, if he persisted in urging hostilities,
into the hands of the enemy.* To attempt to en-
counter Surrey with his foreign auxiliaries alone, would
have been the extremity of rashness, and to abide the
advance of the English Earl with an army which re-
fused to fight, must have exposed him to discomfiture
and dishonour: under such circumstances, the regent,
whose personal courage and military experience had
been often tried on greater fields, adopted, or rather had
forced upon him, the only feasible plan which remained.
At the head of his artillery and foreign auxiliaries, the
single portion of the army which had behaved with
spirit, he retreated to Eccles, a monastery, six miles
distant from Wark ; and, little able or anxious to con-
ceal his contempt for those nobles, who, almost in the
presence of the enemy, had acted with so much faith-
lessness and pusillanimity, he permitted them to break
up and disperse amid a tempest of snow, — carrying to
their homes the first intelligence of their own dishon-
our.*]* Such was the result of that remarkable expedi-
tion which a historian, whose opinion has been formed
upon imperfect evidence, has erroneously represented
as reflecting the utmost disgrace upon the courage and
conduct of Albany. When carefully examined, we
must arrive at an opposite conclusion. The retreat of
Albany is only one other amongst many facts, which
establish the venality and selfishness of the feudal
* Caligula, B. i. 281. Queen Margaret to Surrey, Stirling, 14th Novem-
ber, 1523.
•f Buchanan, B. xiv. c. xxii. p. 228. Ellis's Letters, vol. i. First Series,
p. 234. Lord Surrey iniulges in somewhat unnecessary triumph on Albany^s
cowardice and fear in this retreat — as if a general could fight when his otfi-
cers and soldiers are ii: mutiny.
144 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1523.
aristocracy of Scotland, and tlie readiness with which
they consented, for their own private ends, to sacrifice
their individual honour, and the welfare of the country;
nor, in this point of view is it unimportant to attend
to some remarkable expressions of Surrey, which occur
in a letter addressed to his soverei<^n. They furnish
not only an instructive commentary on Henry''s alleged
anxiety for the welfare of the kingdom of his nephew,
but demonstrate the folly of tliose ideas, which, it is
probable, guided some of the Scottish leaders ; that an
abstinence from hostilities upon their part would be
attended by a corresponding moderation on the side of
Surrey. That earl observes, that in this expedition, he
had so much despoiled the south of Scotland, that seven
years would not repair the damage;* whilst he estimates
the English losses sustained by the presence of Albany's
army at ten pounds.
On his return to the capital, the governor assembled
a parliament, of which the proceedings were distracted
by mutual accusations and complaints. The peers
accused the regent of squandering the public treasure,
although the greater part of the money which he had
brought from France had found its way in the shape
of pensions into their own coffers, or had been neces-
sarily laid out in the support of the foreign auxiliaries.
They insisted on dismissing the French troops, whose
fjxrther residence was expensive ; and, notwithstanding
the inclement season of the year, compelled them to
embark ; an ungenerous proceeding, which led to the
wreck of the transports on the shores of the Western
Isles, and the loss of great part of their crews. i* To
* And hath made suche waste and spoil in his o^vn countre, that they
shall not recover these seven years. Surrey to Henry the Eighth. Belford.
Caligula, B. vi. p. 306.
t Caligula, B. i. 5. Dacre to "Wolsey. Morpeth, 28th January.
1523. JAMES V. 145
Albany, such conduct was mortifying in the extreme;
it convinced him, that every effort must fail to persuade
such men to adopt the only line of conduct which w^as
likely to render the government respected, and to free
the country from the dictation of England. He de-
termined, therefore, once more, to retire to France ;
and, in a conference with the nobility, requested three
months leave, in which he might visit that kingdom,
and discover what further assistance might be expected
from the French king, in carrying on the w^ar with
England. His demand, after much opposition, was
granted under the condition, that if he did not return
on the thirty- first of August, the league with France,
and his own regency should be considered at an end:*
but the various advices and injunctions to which he
desired their attention in his absence, were received
with much distrust ; the queen-mother declaring, that
if he left the kingdom, she must needs act for herself ;
and the barons replying in nearly the same terms. A
loan of forty thousand crowns was positively refused
him ; and the lords consented with an ill grace to the
high and confidential office of treasurer being given,
during his absence, -f- to Gresolles, the same knight
who had been added to the council of regency in 1522.
These arrangements being completed, and having pre-
vailed on the parliament to intrust the keeping of the
king's person to the Lords Cassillis, Fleming, Borth-
wick, and Erskine, he took an affectionate leave of his
youthful sovereign, and sailed for the continent, com-
mitting^ the chief manasrement of affairs to the chan-
cellor, with the Bishop of Aberdeen, and the Earls of
* Ellis's Letters, vol. i. p. 247, First Series.
t Lord Dacre to Cardinal Wolsey. 31st May, 1524. Ellis's Letters, vol.
i. p. 240, First Series.
VOL. V. K
146 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1523.
Huntley and Argylc* On quitting the kingdom,
Albany asserted that his absence would not exceed
three months; but it is probable, that his repeated
reverses in a thankless office had totally disgusted him,
both with Scotland and the regency; and that, when
he embarked, it was with the resolution, which he ful-
filled, of never returning to that country.
* Lesley, p. 128.
152i. JAMES V 147
CHAP. Ill
JAMES THE FIFTH.
1524—1528.
CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS.
England. ■ i France. I Germany. I Spain. i Popes.
Henry VIII. | Francis I. I Charles V. I Charles V. | Clement VII.
For the last two years, the Earl of Angus, who had
formerly shown himself so cordial a friend of England,
had resided in France, whence Henry the Eighth, de-
sirous of employing him in his designs for embroiling
the government of Albany, had secretly called him into
his dominions. It was now esteemed the moment
when his presence in Scotland might once more rein-
state the English faction, which had been long gaining
strength, in undisputed power; and the earl, whose
foreign residence had increased his experience and
talent, but not improved his patriotic feelings, at once
lent himself to the projects of Henry. During his
banishment, he had corresponded with that monarch;
although an exile, he had made himself master of the
political divisions and intrigues by which the kingdom
was distracted; and having agreed upon his plan of
operations, he accelerated his preparations for his re-
turn to his native country. Before, however, this
project could be put into execution, the departure of
the regent had given rise to a revolution, which, for a
MS HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1524.
season, totally changed the aspect of public affairs. In
this, the chief actors were Margaret the queen-dowager,
and the Earl of Arran ; whilst its sudden and startling
success seems to prove, that the project had been gra-
dually matured, and only waited for the departure of
Albany to bring it into effect. The young king had
now entered his thirteenth year, and already gave pro-
mise of that vigour of character, which afterwards dis-
tinfjuished him. His mother, no lons^er controlled bv
the presence of a superior, determined to place him
upon the throne; a scheme, which, by the assistance
of England, she trusted, might be easily accomplished;
whilst Henry was ready to lend himself to the design,
from the persuasion that the royal power, though
ostensibly in the king, would be truly in the hands of
a council overruled by England. Surrey, therefore,
remained in the north, to overawe any opposition, by
the terror of an immediate invasion; and Margaret,
having gained to her interest the peers to whom the
person of the sovereign had been intrusted, suddenly
left the palace of Stirling, and accompanied by her son
and a small retinue, proceeded to Edinburgh, which
she entered, amid the joyful acclamations of the popu-
lace. The procession, which, besides the queen-mother
and her train, consisted of the Earls of Arran, Lennox,
Crawford, and others of the nobility, moved on to the
palace of Holyrood, where a council was held, the king
declared of age, and proclamations instantly issued in
his name. He then formally assumed the government ;
the peers tendered their oaths of allegiance ; and many,
as well of the spiritual as temporal estate, entered into
a solemn agreement, by wdiich they abjured the en-
gagements which had been made to Albany, declared
his regency at an end, and promised faithfully to main-
1524. JAMES V. 149
tain the supreme authority of their sovereign against
all who might dare to question it.*
Against this extraordinary act, of which the real
object on the part of Henry could not be concealed,
and over w^hich the capricious character of the queen,
alternately swayed by the most violent resentments or
partialities, threw much suspicion, the only dissentient
voices w^ere those of the Bishops of St Andrew's and
Aberdeen. They contended that to confer the supreme
power upon a boy of twelve years old was ridiculous ;
that to remove him from the governors to whom his
education had been intrusted, and plunge him at once
in his tender years into the flatteries and vices of a
court, must be certain ruin; and they reminded the
nobles of their promises so lately pledged to the Duke
of Albany, to whom the regency at this moment un-
questionably belonged. For this bold and honest
conduct they were by the queen'^s party immediately
committed to prison ; nor could the offer from Wolsey
of a cardinaPs hat induce Beaton to renounce his pro-
mises to Albany, or become the tool of England. -|-
The news of the success of this revolution, which in
its rapidity had anticipated the wishes of Henry, was
received with the utmost satisfaction in England. | A
guard of two hundred men-at-arms was immediately
sent by that monarch at the queen's request, for the
security of the person of the young king ; whilst, as a
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 238. Lesley, p. 129. Caligula, B. vi. 378. Pro-
fession of obedience by the Lords of Scotland. Edinburgh, 31st July, 1524.
+ Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 241. Caligula, B. vi. 353. Wolsey to the Duke
of Norfolk. Hampton Court, August 19, 1524.
+ State Papers, p. 150. The letter written to Henry in the name of the
young king, informing him of his assumption of the government, was sent
by Patrick Sinclair, whom Wolsey denominates a right trusty servant of
James ; and at the same time describes as a spy of Dr Magnus, and a con-
stant friend of England. Such was the character of this revolution. George
Shaw, another personal servant of James, was a spy of Norfolk. — Norfolk
to Wolsey, 19th September, 1524. Caligula, B. vi. 362, dorso.
150 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1524.
token of liis complete approwil of her conduct, and
an earnest of future favours, Margaret received a pre-
sent of two hundred marks, and Arran a hundred
pounds. In return she earnestly remonstrated against
Henry ""s permitting the return of Angus into Scotland,
not without a threat that, should her request be over-
looked, she would find another support than that of
England. She demanded, at the same time, a pension
and the order of the garter for Arran, and declared
that without greater supplies it w^ould be impossible
for her to defray the charges of the government.
In the meantime a full account of these changes was
transmitted by Gresolles, the captain of Dunbar, to
the Duke of Albany, and a truce having been concluded
for three months with England, it w^as determined that
Dr Magnus, a person of great acuteness and diplomatic
experience, should proceed as ambassador to Scotland.
He was accompanied by Roger Ratcliffe, a gentleman
of the privy chamber, whose agreeable and polished
manners would, it was expected, have a favourable in-
fluence on the young king.
In the midst of these transactions, the sincerity of
the queen became suspected. Her late demands were
considered too peremptory and covetous, and the coun-
tenance shown to Angus at the English court, in no
small degree alienated her affections from her brother;
nor was her personal conduct free from blame. With
a volatility in her passions which defied the voice of
reproof, or the restraints of decency, she had now be-
come enamoured of Henry Stewart, the second son of
Lord Evandale, and in the ardour of her new passion,
raised him to the responsible office of treasurer. The
people had hitherto regarded her with respect, but
they no longer restrained their murmurs: Lennox and
151k JAMES V. 151
Glencairn, who had warmlj supported her in the late
revolution, left the capital in disgust ; and Arran, who
had never ceased to look to the regency of Scotland as
his right, and in whose character there was a strange
mixture of weakness and ambition, though he still acted
along with her, held himself in readiness to support
any party which promised to forward his own views.
Whilst this earl and the queen continued to receive
the money of England for the support of the guards,
and the maintenance of their private state, they deemed
it prudent to open a negotiation with Francis the First,
then engaged in preparations for his fatal expedition
into Italy. That monarch received their envoy with
distinction : professed his anxiety to maintain the an-
cient alliance between the kingdoms: reminded them
of the intended marriage between the Scottish king
and his daughter, and declared, that Angus having
secretly escaped from his dominions, without asking
his permission or that of Albany, was undoubtedly
animated by hostile intentions, and ought to be treated
as a fugitive and a rebel.* He addressed also a letter to
the queen, in which he besought her to adopt such mea-
sures as must secure the true interests of her son. But
Margaret's blinded attachment to Henry Stewart, upon
whose youth she had now bestowed the high office of
chancellor, and Arran's devotion to his own interests,
effectually estranged from both the attachment of the
nobles, who found themselves excluded from all influ-
ence in the government. They, indeed, as well as the
queen, were in the pay of England ; and to such a
degree of organization had the system of bribery and
private information been carried, that whilst the Duke
of Norfolk maintained his spies even in the palace of
* Caligula, B. vi. 411. Instructions a Tainbassadeur du Roy d'Escosse,
152 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. ]524.
the king, the original correspondence of the period pre-
sents us with the exact pensions allowed to the Scot-
tish adherents of the English court, from the queen
and Arran to the lowest a^-ent of this venal associa-
tion.* Amongst the principal were Arran, Lennox,
and the Master of Kilmaurs, afterwards Earl of Glen-
cairn, a nobleman who thus early began to make a pro-
fitable trade of his attachment to England. The fac-
tion, however, contained within itself the seeds of its
disunion ; for whilst the queen and Arran dreaded the
power of Angus, and warmly remonstrated against his
return, the peers of the party who found themselves
neglected in the administration, looked to this event
as the most probable means of recovering the import-
ance which they had lost. It was in this state of things
that Wolsey, who began to find that Margaret and
Arran would not be sufficiently subservient to Eng-
land, entered into a secret agreement with Angus,-|- in
which that peer, on condition of his being permitted to
enter Scotland, stipulated to support the English in-
terest in that country and the government of James,
equally against the open hostility of Albany, and the
intrigues of the faction of the queen, which, from the
venality and insolence of its measures, seemed to be
rapidly hastening its ruin. An attempt was first made
to reconcile Margaret to her husband, which completely
failed; and symptoms appearing of a coalition between
the party of Albany, and that of Arran and the queen,
Angus was no longer detained by Henry; but, after
an exile of two years, with increased ambition and ex-
alted hopes, he returned to his native country. At
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 246. Caligula, B. i. 70. Robert Lord to the Lord
Cardinal. Ibid. 222.
+ Caligula, B. vi. 305. Articles of Agreement, dated October 4, 1524 ;
Bigne*! by Angus, and his brother George Douglas.
1524. JAMES V. 153
the same time, the English ambassadors, Dr Maguus
and Ratcliffe, arrived at the capital ; and a complicated
scene of intrigue and diplomacy commenced, into the
minuter features of which it would be tedious to enter.
The scene which presented itself was indeed pitiable.
It exhibited a minor sovereign deserted by those who
owed him allegiance and support, whilst his kingdom
was left a prey to the rapacity of interested councillors,
and exposed to the attacks of a powerful neighbour,
whose object it was to destroy its separate existence, and
reduce it to the condition of a dependent province.
When we look more narrowly into its condition, we
find that three great parties or factions at this moment
distracted the minority of James. The first was that
of Albany the late regent, supported by the influence
of France, and conducted, during his absence, by the
talents and vigour of the chancellor Beaton : of the
second the leaders were, the Earl of Arran, and the
queen-mother, in whom the present power of the state
resided, and who possessed the custody of the king's
person : wdiilst at the head of the third was Angus,
who had sold himself to the English government. The
secret treaty, how^ever, between this peer and Henry,
was unknown in Scotland ; and so great was the afi"ec-
tion of the people for the house of Douglas, with whose
history they associated so much chivalrous enterprise
and national glory, that on his arrival in his native
country, he was received by all ranks with joy and en-
thusiasm. Meanwhile Wolsey's jealousy of the Queen
of Scots became confirmed, when he found that the
Bishop of Aberdeen and the chancellor Beaton were
set at liberty, and perceived the party of Albany once
more rising into a dangerous importance.
Such was the state of affairs on the arrival of Angus
15-i HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1524
in Scotland, and his improvement in judgment was seen
by the moderation of his first measures. He addressed
to the queen a submissive letter, professing his attach-
ment to his sovereign, and his anxiety to do him service;
he abstained from showing himself at court ; and,
although able to command an army of vassals, he tra-
velled with a modest retinue of forty horse, in obedience
to an order of the government. These quiet courses,
however, produced no effect on Margaret, whose ancient
love to Angus had long before this turned into deter-
mined hatred, whilst with a contempt of all decency,
she made no secret of her passion for Henry Stewart,
intrusting to his weak and inexperienced hands tho
chief guidance of affairs. Magnus, the English ambas-
sador, attempted, but with equal want of success, to
effect a reconciliation between her and her husband.
The continuance of the pensions, the support of the
English guard of honour, the present of a considerable
sum for the exigencies of the moment, and lastly the
promise of a matrimonial alliance between her son and
the princess Mary, were artfully held out as induce-
ments to consent to a pacification and to abandon her
opposition to Angus. Margaret was immoveable, and,
avowing her venality, she did not scruple to assign as
her chief motive, that in the event of a treaty of peace
with England, the kingdom, by which we may under-
stand herself and Arran, would lose the annual remit-
tance of Francis, which amounted to forty thousand
francs.* Thus thwarted in his application to the queen,
Magnus, who, in the complicated parties and interests
by which he was surrounded, required the exertion of
his whole diplomatic talents, began to sound the peers,
* Caligula, B. i. 285-290, inclusive. The Queen of Scots to the Duke of
Norfolk. Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 248.
1524. JAMES V. 155
and not only found that there was no insurmountable
impediment to the reconciliation of Angus and Arran,
but that even Beaton the chancellor, the leader of the
party of Albany, evinced, though we may suspect his
sincerity, no unfavourable disposition to England.*
The late regent's continued absence in France, and the
vanity of expecting any active co-operation from the
French monarch, then occupied with his campaign in
Italy, had greatly weakened the influence of Albany,
and the great body of the nobility detested the govern-
ment of the queen. It was determined, therefore, that
a sudden blow should be struck, which might at once
punish her obstinacy, and ensure the pre-eminence of
the English interest.
A parliament having assembled at Edinburgh, the
distracted condition of the government, and the ex-
pediency of an immediate embassy to England pre-
paratory to a general peace, came before the three
Estates. In one measure all parties seemed to agree.
Albany"'s regency, in consequence of his continued
absence, was declared at an end, and a committee of
regency appointed. It consisted of the chancellor
Beaton, the Bishop of Aberdeen, and the Earls of
Arran and Argyle, whilst, apparently to lull the sus-
picions of the queen, she was declared chief in this
* Caligula, B. vi. 333. Dr Magnus and Roger Ratcliffe to Wolsey. Edin-
burgh, 15th November. In this letter there is a fine description of James
v. when a boy of thirteen : — " The quenes saide grace hath had vs furth to
solace with the kingges grace here, at Leeth and in the feildes, and to see his
saide grace stirre his horses, and renne with a spere amongges other his
lordes and seruauntes at a gloove, and also by the quenes procuring we haue
seen his saide grace vse hym selff otherAvise pleasauntly booth in slugging
and daunsing, and shewing familiaritye amongges his lordes. All whiche
his princely actes and doingges be soe excellent for his age not yet of xiii.
yeres till Eister next, that in our oppynnyons it is not possible thay shulde
be amended. And myche moore it is to our comforte to see and conceiue
that in personnage, favor, and countenaunce,and in all other his procedingges,
his grace resembleth veray myche to the kingges highnes [Henry VIII.] our
raaister."'
156 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1524.
council. Such was the state of matters, and the parlia-
ment had now sat for a week, when, on the twenty-third
of November, before daylight, an alarm was heard at
the walls of the capital, and a party of armed men,
fixing their scaling-ladders on the parapet, made good
their entrance into the town, after which, with shouts
and acclamations, they opened the gates to their com-
panions. It was now discovered that this force, which
amounted only to four hundred men, was led by the
Earls of Angus and Lennox ; Scott of Buccleugh, the
Master of Kilmaurs, and other chiefs, had joined them ;
and as daylight broke they advanced fearlessly to the
cross, and proclaimed that they came as faithful sub-
jects to the king's grace ; they next proceeded to the
council of regency which had assembled in great alarm,
and repeating the same assurance, declared that the
young king was in the hands of evil-disposed persons,
who were compassing their ruin and that of the whole
nobility; wherefore they required them to assume the
custody of their monarch, and exercise the chief rule
in the government.* During these proceedings the
castle, which was in the hands of the queen's party,
began to open its fire upon the town with the object
of expelling Angus ; and in the midst of the thunder
of its artillery, and the shouts of the infuriated parti-
sans, a deputation, consisting of the Bishop of Aberdeen,
the Abbot of Cambuskenneth, and Magnus the English
ambassador, hurried to the palace, where they found
the queen, and some lords of her party, denouncing
vengeance against Angus, and mustering a force of
five hundred men with which they proposed to assault
him. On their arrival Margaret consented to receive
* Magnus and Roger Ratcllffe to the Lord Cardinal. Edinburgh 26th
Nov. Cal. B. i. 121. Lesley, p. 131.
1525. JAMES V. 157
the bishop and his associate, but she peremptorily
ordered Ma2:niis to beo-one to his lodo;inf>;, and abstain
from interfering in Scottish affairs — a mandate which
that cautious civilian did not think it prudent to disobey.
Meanwhile the fire of the fortress continued, and the
peaceful citizens fell victims to the unprincipled efforts
of two hostile factions. The conduct of Angus, how-
ever, was pacific; his followers abstained from plunder;
no blood was shed, although they met with various
peers with whom they were at deadly feud ; and upon
a proclamation, commanding him, in the king''s name,
to leave the city, he retired to Dalkeith towards dusk.
After dark the queen, taking with her the young king,
proceeded by torch-light to the castle, and dismissing
all the lords, except Moray, who was devoted to the
French interest, shut herself up in the fortress, and
meditated some determined measures against her ene-
mies.* Although there is no decisive evidence of the
fact, there appears a strong presumption that this
attack upon the queen was preconcerted by English
influence, and probably not wholly unexpected by
Beaton the chancellor. Magnus, indeed, in writing
to the cardinal represents it as unlooked for by all
parties, but there exists a letter from the Earl of E-othes
which seems to throw a doubt upon the sincerity of his
ignorance. -f* It was probably a contrivance of the
chancellor to try the strength and judgment of Angus,
* The letter above quoted, in which Magnus and Ratcliffe give an account
of this affair, is interesting and curious. " The queen's grace taking with
her the young king, her sonne, departed in the evening by torchlight from
the abbey to the castell, and ther contynueth, all the lordes being also departed
from hence, but only the Erie of Murray fully of the Frenche Faction, and
newly comen into favor with the queen's said grace ; and as we her, the
said erle, and one that was the Duke of Albany's secretary, begyne to com-
pass and practyse newe thynges as muche to the daunger of the said younge
kinge as was at the Duk of Albany's being here." Calig. B. i. p. 121, dorso.
+ Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 254. Caligula, B. i. 81.
158 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1525.
and its consequences were important, for it led to a
coalition between this potent prelate, generally esteemed
the richest subject in Scotland, and the Douglases,
whose extensive possessions and vassalage placed them
at the head of the Scottish aristocracy.
Alarmed at so sudden a turn of affairs, the queen
and Arran hastened to appease Henry by an embassy,
of which the purpose was to treat of an immediate
pacification, upon the basis of the proposed marriage
between the young king and the princess Mary.* As a
further means of accomplishing this, Marchmont herald
was despatched to France, with the announcement that
the regency of Albany had been formally declared at an
end, and a remonstrance was addressed to Francis against
the injuriousconsequences which too steady an attention
to his interests had brought upon the commerce of Scot-
land. ■[* These measures, if adopted some time before
this, might have been attended with the recovery of her
influence by the queen ; but they came too late ; their
sincerity was suspected; and although Margaret con-
tinued to retain possession of the king's person, whom she
kept in the castle of Edinburgh, the Earl of Angus and
the chancellor Beaton already wielded an equal if not a
superior authority, and had succeeded in attaching to
themselves not only the great majority of the nobility,
but the affections of the citizens ; they were supported
also by the English influence; and it became at length
evident to the haughty spirit of the queen, that to
save the total wreck of her power in Scotland, she must
consent to a reconciliation with her husband, and a
division of the power which she had abused, with those
who were entitled to a share in the government.
The situation of the country, which was the theatre
* Calig. B. vl 191, dorso. f Epistolae Reg. Scot. i. 351-356.
1525. JAMES V. 159
of constant rapine and assassination, called loudly for
a settled administration ; the nation were disgusted
with the sio'ht of two factions who fulminated against
each other accusations of treachery and rebellion. Such
was the prodigality of the queen, who squandered the
royal revenues upon her pleasures, that when the Eng-
lish monarch withdrew the pensions which had hitherto
supported her administration, and recalled the guard
which waited on the sovereign, the necessities of the
state became urgent, and the palace and the court were
left in poverty. Under such circumstances, it was
absolutely necessary that some decisive step should be
adopted by Angus and the chancellor, and, in a meet-
ing of the principal lords of their party, held at St
Andrew's, a declaration was drawn up which called
upon all who were interested in the good of the com-
mon weal to interfere for the establishment of its inde-
pendence and that of the young king. They represented
the sovereign as imprisoned by an iniquitous faction
in an unhealthy fortress, exposed to the unwholesome
exhalations of the lake by which it was surrounded,
and incurrino- additional dano;er from the reiterated
commotions of the capital.* They protested that no
letters or orders of the king ought to be obeyed until
promulgated by a council chosen by the parliament,
and they summoned a convention of the three Estates
to meet on the sixth of February, at Stirling.
These were bold measures ; but the queen determined
to make yet one effort for the confusion of her enemies.
* Caligula, B. vi. 394, Articles concluded between my Lord Cardinal's
Grace and the Earl of Anguish. '2oth. January, 1524, i. e. 15'24-5. It
commences thus ; — " AYe dou you to witt, that for as mekill as it is under-
standin be the Weill avisit lordis of oure soveran lordis counsaill, they seand
daily slaughteris, murtharis, reiffis, theftis, depredationis, and heavy at-
temptates that ar daily and hourly committit within this realme in fait of
justice, our soveran lord beand of less age, &c."
160 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1525.
She appealed to England, flattered Henry by a pretend-
ed acquiescence in his designs, urged the accomplishment
of the marriage between her son and the princess, and
earnestly requested the advance of the Duke of Norfolk
with ten thousand men to the Borders ; she next as-
sembled the few peers who remained with her in the
castle, expatiated on the arrogance of their opponents,
and implored them to raise their followers, and give
battle to the enemy; but Henry suspected her sincerity,
the peers dreaded the insolence of her new favourite,
Henry Stewart ; and she discovered, with the deepest
mortification, that from neither could she expect any-
thing like cordial support. She submitted, therefore,
to the necessity of the case, and agreed to a conditional
reconciliation with her husband,* the terms which she
was permitted to dictate being more favourable than
from her dependent situation might have been expected.
Her first stipulation evinced the inveteracy of her feel-
ings against Angus, who, upon pain of treason, she
insisted should not assume any matrimonial rights,
either over her person or her estate ; the king, her
son, she agreed to remove from the castle to a more
salubrious and accessible residence in the palace of
Holyrood; the custody of his person was to be intrusted
to a council of peers nominated by the parliament, and
over which the queen was to preside;*)* the patronage
of all the hi^'hest ecclesiastical benefices was to belonsj
to a committee of the nobles, amongst whom Margaret
was to be chief, whilst all below the value of a thousand
pounds were to be placed at her sole disposal. Upon
these conditions the pacification between the two parties
was concluded, and Angus, supported by the chancellor
* Magnus to Wolsey. Edinburgh, 22d Feb. 1524-5. Caligula, B. ii. 59
-61. Lesley, p. 132.
+ Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 289. 22d Feb. 1524-5.
1525. JAMES V. 161
Beaton, who was now the most influential man in
Scotland, resumed his authority in the state.
Magnus, the acute minister of Henry, had from the
first suspected the sincerity of the queen, and within
a short period her duplicity was completely detected.*
The very day on w4iich the agreement with the peers
and her husband was concluded, she opened a secret
negotiation with Albany, acknowledged his authority as
regent, professed a devotion to the interests of France,
denounced as ignominious the idea of a peace with
England, declared that she would leave Scotland sooner
than consent to a sincere reconciliation with Angus, and
eagerly requested the interest of Francis and Albany
to accelerate at the Roman court her process of divorce.
For such conduct, which presented a lamentable union
of falsehood and selfishness, no apology can be offered ;
and it is satisfactory to find that it met with its reward
in almost immediate exposure and disappointment.
Her letters were intercepted and transmitted to Eng-
land, and the French monarch long before they could
have reached him was defeated and made prisoner in
the battle of Pavia."f*
A minute account of the continued plots and in-
trigues which for some time occupied the adverse fac-
tions would be equally tedious and uninstructive.
Nothing could be more unhappy than the condition
of Scotland, torn by domestic dissension, exposed to
the miseries of feudal anarchy, with a nobility divided
amongst themselves, and pa^rtly in the pay of a foreign
power; a minor monarch whose education was neglected,
and his caprices or prepossessions indulged that he
might be subservient to his interested guardians, a
* Caligula, B. ii. 61.
f Calig. B. vi. 416. A pacquet of letters sent from the Duke of Albany
to his factor at Rome intercepted within the Duchy of Milan.
VOL. V. L
162 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1525.
clergy, am )iigst wliom the cliief prelates were devoted
to their worldly interests, and a people who, whilst
they groaned under such manifold oppressions, were
yet prevented by the complicated fetters of the feudal
system from exerting their energies to obtain redress.
All was dark and gloomy, the proposal of a lengthened
peace with England, and a marriage between the king
and the Princess Mary, appeared to be the single means
which promised to secure anything like tranquillity ;
and this measure, if guarded so as to prevent a too
exclusive exertion of foreign influence, might have
been attended with the happiest results; yet such was
the infatuation of the queen-mother, that she gave the
match her determined opposition, and, by her in-
fluence with her son, implanted an aversion to it in
his vouthful mind.
It was not to be expected that the characteristic
impetuosity and haughtiness of Henry should brook
such conduct, and he addressed to his sister a letter so
replete with reproaches, that, on perusing it, she burst
into tears, and bitterly complained that the style of
the kins: was more fit for some vulfrar railer, than to
be employed by a monarch to a noble lady.* Yet
terrified by its violence, and convinced that her parti-
sans were graduall}'' dropping away, she replied in a
submissive tone. So deep, indeed, were her suspicions
of Angus, and the chancellor, with, whom she had
lately entered into an agreement, that she refused to
trust her person in the capital, where her presence in
a parliament was necessary as president of the Council
of State; and as the recent truce with England could
not be proclaimed without her ratification, the country
was on the point of being exposed to the ravages ot
♦ Calig. B. vii. 3. Letter -^f Magnus to Wolsey, Edinburgh, 31st March.
1525. JAMES V. 165
Border war. It was therefore determined, that the
deed should be efF^ctual without this solemnity, and
irritated by this last indignity, she attempted a secret
negotiation with the queen-mother of France, who,
upon the captivity of her son in the battle of Pavia,
had succeeded to the regency. Even this resource
failed her, for by this time Wolsey had quarrelled with
the emperor, and according to those selfish views, by
which his public policy was often directed, had pre-
vailed upon his royal master to conclude a treaty with
France ; a death-blow to the hopes of the Scottish
queen, and the prospects of the French faction. In
the proceedings of the same parliament, there occurs
a strong indication of the increase of the principles of
the Reformation ; and we learn the important fact,
that the books of Luther had made their way into
Scotland, and excited the jealousy of the church. It
was enacted, that no merchants or foreigners should
dare to bring into the realm, which had hitherto firmly
persevered in the holy faith, any such treatises on pain
of imprisonment, and the forfeiture of their ships and
cargoes ; and it was enjoined, that all persons, who
publicly professed such doctrines, should be liable to
the same penalties.*
An embassy now proceeded to England, a truce
of three ^^ears was concluded ; and wdiilst the queen-
mother retained merely a nominal authorit}^, the whole
of the real power of the state gradually centred in
Angus and the chancellor. A feeble attempt was
indeed made by Arran, to prevent by force the rati-
fication of the truce; and for a moment the appearance
of a body of five thousand men, which advanced to
Linlithgow, threatened to plunge the country into war;
* Acts of the Parliaiaent of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 295.
164 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1525.
but the storm was dissipated by the promptitude of
Douglas. Taking the king along with him, and sup-
ported by the terror of the royal name, he instantly
marched against the rebels, who, without attempting
to oppose him, precipitately retreated and dispersed.*
At this moment the country, so long distracted by
the miseries of Border war and internal anarchy, en-
joyed something like a prospect of tranquillity. A
pacification of three years had been concluded with
England ;-f and this was an important step towards
the marriage which had been lately contemplated
between the young king and the Princess Mary. The
alliance between England and France had destroyed,
for the moment, the French party in Scotland, and
removed that fertile source of misery which arose to
that country out of the hostilities of these great rivals;
the anxiety of Henry to accomplish a reconciliation
between Angus and his sister the queen was sincere ;
and if Margaret had consented to a sacrifice of her
private feelings it would have probably been attended
with the best effects. Magnus, whose prolonged resi-
dence in the capital as the envoy of England was
disliked by the people, had, by his departure, removed
this cause of enmity ; and the able Lord Dacre, whose
intrigues for so many years had sown disunion and
treachery amongst the nobles, and defeated every ex-
ertion of the well-affected to promote peace and good
government, was removed by death from the stormy
element in which he had presided.^
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 271. Lesley, 133.
+ Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 296, 297.
+ This able and busy lord, whose MS. correspondence, first opened by the
acute Pinkerton, presents the most interesting materials for the history of
this period, is entitled to the equivocal merit of being the inventor of that
policy which was afterwards carried to perfection by the sagacious Burleigh
under Elizabeth: the policy of strengthening the government of his sovereign
by the organized system of corruption, bribery, and dissensions, which he
1525. JAMES V. 165
Everything, therefore, seemed to promise repose ;
but this fair prospect was defeated by the obstinacy
of the queen-mother, and the towering ambition of
Douglas. Blinded by her attachment to Stewart,
Margaret would not for a moment listen to the pro-
posal of a reunion with her husband; and he, who
desired it not from any affection, but with the motive
of possessing himself of her large estates, renounced
all desire of reconciliation the moment he discovered
that the council would withhold their consent from such
a project. The divorce accordingly was pronounced
with that mischievous facility, which marked the pros-
titution of the ecclesiastical law ; and scarcely was the
sentence passed, when Margaret precipitately wedded
her paramour, Henry Stewart, who disdained to ask
the consent of the kino;, or to communicate the event
to his chief ministers. Incensed at this presumption
in an untitled subject, the Lords of the Council, in
the name of the kino- sent Lord Erskine with a small
military force to Stirling, wdiere the queen resided ;
and the princess was compelled to deliver up her hus-
band, who submitted to the ignomin}'' of a temporar^^
imprisonment.*
Hitherto, the great object of Angus had been to
accomplish a reconciliation with the queen, and, pos-
sessing her influence and estates, with the custody of
the king''s person, he thus hoped to engross the supreme
power. This scheme was now at an end, and its
discomfiture drove him upon new and more violent
courses. His authority in the capital, and throughout
encouraged in the sister kingdom ; lie died 25tli Oct. 15'25. Pinkerton informs
us, the estates of Dacre afterwards passed by marriage to the Howards earls
of Carlisle. It is possible, therefore, that, in the papers of that noble house,
there may be some of Lord Dacre's manuscripts.
* Lesley, p. 133. Caligula, B. vii. 29. Sir William Dacre to Wolsey,
2d April, 1525.
166 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1525.
tlic whole of the south of Scotland was immense ; since
the marriage of the queen, he had effected a union with
Arran and his adherents, — a party which, in feudal
dignity and vassalage, was scarcely inferior to Iiis
own ; he was warden of the marches, an office of great
authority ; and his place as one of the Council of State
gave him, according to the act of a recent parliament,
a command over the person of the young king, which
he had employed with great success to win his boyish
affections. The party of Albany had gradually dis-
appeared ; the queen, since her marriage, had fallen
into contempt : Lennox, one of the most powerful of
the peers, had become a firm ally of Angus ; and
nothing but the authority of the Secret Council, which
resided chiefly in the chancellor Beaton, stood between
the earl and the entire command of the state. In
these circumstances, an artful stroke of Douglas'*s
enabled him at once to reach the summit of his ambi-
tion.
The king had now completed his fourteenth year, a
period, when, by the law of the country, his majority as
an independent sovereign commenced. The event took
place in April, and between this period and the month
of June Angus appears to have matured his plans. On
the thirteenth of that month, a parliament assembled
at Edinburgh, and an ordinance was suddenly passed,
which declared that the minority of the sovereiirn was at
an end; that the royal prerogative now rested solely in
the hands of the king, who had assumed the government
of the realm, and that all other authority which had
been delegated to any person whatever was annulled;*
a measure against which, as it was founded apparently
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 301. C-awford's Officers
of StaTe, pp. ()7, (i8.
1525. JAMES V. 167
on the most substantial legal grounds, neither the
chancellor, nor the Secret Council could protest, but
which in one moment destroyed their power. But
although the statute which gave the powers of the
government to the Secret Council was annulled, the
act of the three Estates, which intrusted the keeping
of the king's person to certain peers in rotation,
remained in force, — of these Angus was one; and this
crafty statesman had taken care to convene the parlia-
ment at the precise time, when, by a former act, it
belonged to himself and the Archbishop of Glasgow to
assume the guardianship of the king, so that this new
resolution of the three Estates evidently placed the
supreme power in the hands of him who had the custody
of the sovereign. It was an able stroke of policy, but
it could not have occurred under any other than a
feudal o-overnment.
To masque this usurpation, a new Secret Council was
appointed, consisting chiefly of the friends of Angus,
and including the Archbishop of Glasgow, the Prelates
of Aberdeen and Galloway, the Earls of Argyle, Mor-
ton, Lennox, and Glencairn, with the Lord Maxwell,
whose advice, it was declared, his grace the sovereign
will use for the welfare of the realm ; but it was shortly
perceived, that their authority centred in Angus alone,
and that it was to be wielded with no mild or impartial
sway. One of their first acts was to grant a remission
to themselves for all crimes, robberies, or treasons,
committed by them during the last nineteen years ;*
and within a few months there was not an office of
trust or emolument in the kingdom, which was not
filled by a Douglas, or by a creature of that house :
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p, 307. This remission the
Douglases aftenvards pleaded in 1528. Acts of Parliamer*-, vol. ii. p. 323.
168 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1526.
Archibald Douglas of Kilspindy was made high-trea-
Burer ; Erskine of Halton, secretary; Cricliton abbot
of Holyrood, a man wholly devoted to the interests of
Angus, privy-seal ; and to crown the whole, the earl
sent a peremptory message to Beaton, requiring him
to resign the great seal, which this prelate not daring
to disobey, he, without delay installed himself in the
office of chancellor.
The ancient tyranny of the house of Douglas now
once more shot up into a strength which rivalled or
rather usurped the royal power; the Borders became
the scene of tumult and confusion, and the insolence of
the numerous vassals of this great family was intolera-
ble. Murders, spoliations, and crimes of varied enormity
were committed with impunity. The arm of the law,
paralysed by the power of an unprincipled faction, did
not dare to arrest the guilty ; the sources of justice
were corrupted, ecclesiastical dignities of high and
sacred character became the prey of daring intruders,
or were openly sold to the highest bidder, and the young
monarch, who was watched with the utmost jealousy
and rigour, began to sigh over a captivity, of which he
could not look for a speedy termination.
Such excesses at length roused the indignation of
the kingdom; and Lennox, one of the most honest of
the peers, secretly seceded from Angus. It was now
the middle of summer, and as the Armstrongs had
broken out into their usual excesses on the Borders,
Angus, with the young king in his company, conducted
an expedition against them, which was attended with
slight success. Before this, however, James had con-
trived to transmit a secret messao^e to Lennox and the
laird of Buccleugh, a potent vassal of that house, which
complained bitterly of the durance in which he was held
1526. JAMES V. 169
by the Douglases ; and as the royal cavalcade was re-
turning by Melrose to Edin'burgh, Walter Scott of
Buccleugh suddenly appeared on a neighbouring height,
and, at the head of a thousand men, threw himself be-
tween Angus and the route to the capital.* Douglas
instantly sent a messenger, who commanded the Border
chief, in the royal name, to dismiss his followers ; but
Scott bluntly answered, that he knew the king''s mind
better than the proudest baron amongst them, and
meant to keep his ground, and do obeisance to his
sovereign, who had honoured the Borders with his
presence. ■[" The answer was meant and accepted as
a defiance, and Angus instantly commanded his fol-
lowers to dismount; his brother George, with the Earls
of Maxwell and Lennox, forming a guard round the
young king, retired to a little hillock in the neigh-
bourhood, whilst the earl, with Fleming, Home, and
Ker of Cessford, proceeded with levelled spears, and
at a rapid pace, against Buccleugh, who also awaited
them on foot. His chief followers, however, were out-
lawed men of the Borders, whose array offered a feeble
resistance to the determined charge of the armed knights
belonging to Angus; the conflict, accordingly, was
short, eighty of the party of Buccleugh were slain, the
chief was compelled to retire, and, on the side of the
Douglases, the only material loss was the death of Ker
of Cessford, a brave baron, who was lamented by both
parties.j:
Not long after this, another and more determined
effort to rescue the king from his ignominious thraldom
was made by Lennox, who, it was privately suspected.
had encouraged the attempt of Buccleugh. Having
* Lesley, p. 134.
t Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 330. X Ibid. p. 312.
170 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1526.
lea2:uo(l liinisolf with the cliancellor and the queen, this
nobleman advanced to Stirling at the head of an anny
of ten thousand men, whilst, with the hope of concili-
ating his hostility, the Douglases despatched against
him his uncle Arran, who commanded a superior force.
The mission, however, was vain: Lennox declared,
that he would enter the capital, and rescue his sovereign,
or die in the attempt. Arran instantly despatched a
messenger to Angus, then at Edinburgh; who, com-
manding the trumpets to sound, displayed the royal
banner, and, unable to restrain his impatience, pushed
on towards Linlithgow, leaving the king to follow,
under the charge of his brother. Sir George Douglas.
It was on this occasion that a slight circumstance
occurred which produced afterwards important effects,
and marked the ferocious manners of the times. The
young monarch, who was fond of Lennox, and knew
that he had taken arms from affection to his person,
advanced slowly and unwillingly, and was bitterly re-
proached for his delay by Douglas. On reaching
Corstorphine, the distant sound of the artillery an-
nounced the commencement of the battle, and his con-
ductor urging speed, broke into passionate and brutal
menaces. " Think not," said he, " that in any event
you shall escape ns — for even were our enemies to gain
the day, rather than surrender your person, w'e should
tear it into pieces;" a threat which made an indelible
impression on the royal mind, and was never forgiven.*
Meanwhile the action had commenced ; and Arran hav-
ing, with considerable military skill, seized the bridge
across the river Avon, about a mile to the west of Lin-
lithgow, Lennox found himself compelled to attempt a
passage at a difficult ford, opposite the nunnery of
* Buchanan, xiv. 28.
1526. JAMES V. 171
Manuel; an enterprise by which his soldiers were thrown
into disorder, and exposed to a severe fire from the
enemy. Yet they made good their passage, and some
squadrons, as they pressed up the opposite bank, at-
tacked the army of Arran with great gallantry; but
their array had been broken, they found it impossible
to form, and were already giving way, when the terrible
shoiit of " Douglas," rose from the advancing party of
Angus, and the rout became complete.* Lennox him-
self fell amongst the foremost ranks, and Arran, a man
of a o-entle and affectionate nature, was found kneelinsr
beside the bleeding body of his uncle, which he had
covered with his cloak, and passionately exclaiming
that the victory had been dearly purchased by the death
of the wisest and bravest knight in Scotland. -f* The
triumph of Angus was great; his power was consoli-
dated by the total failure of the coalition against it,
and the chains of the young king appeared more firmly
riveted than ever.
It was hardly to be expected that the Douglases
would use their success with moderation, or neglect
the opportunity it offered to destroy effectually the
power of their enemies. They accordingly made a
rapid march to Stirling, with the intention of seizing
the queen and the chancellor ; but both had fled, and
Beaton found the pursuit so hot, that he was compelled
for some time to assume the disguise of a shepherd, and
to conceal himself in the mountains till the alarm was
over.J The distress of the young king was great on
hearing of the death of Lennox, and it rose to a feeling
of the deepest resentment, when he discovered that
after he had surrendered, he was murdered in cold
blood by Hamilton the bastard of Arran, a ferocious
* Lesley, p. 13G. f Lindsay, 215. X Ibid. 217.
172 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1526.
partisan of Angus. On hearing that the day was going
against him, James had sent forward Sir Andrew
Wood, with earnest entreaties that his life mi2:ht be
spared, but, in the rejoicings for their victory, his hu-
manity was treated with derision by the Douglases,
wliose triumph soon afterseemed complete, when Henry
the Eighth despatched his letters to offer them his
congratulations on their late successes, with his best
advice for the education of his nephew, and the entire
destruction of their enemies.*
Upon this last point Angus scarcely needed instruc-
tion ; and having convoked a parliament, he proceeded,
with no gentle hand, to the work of spoliation and
vengeance. It was first declared, that his and Arran''s
proceedings in the late rebellion of Lennox, were under-
taken for the Sfood of the kinp', and the safetv of the
commonwealth ; and this act was followed by the for-
feiture of the estates of the insurgent lords. To Arran
were presented the lands of Cassillis and Evandale ; to
Sir George Douglas the estate of Stirling of Keir, who
had been slain ; whilst Angus took for himself the
ample principality of Lord Lindsay, and the lands of
all the eastern and northern barons who had supported
Lennox. To the queen-mother, for whom the king
had become a suppliant, he behaved wdth moderation.
She was invited to the capital, welcomed on her ap-
proach by her son, who met her with a numerous reti-
nue, permitted to converse with him familiarly, and
received with courtesy by Angus, a conduct adopted
out of respect to Henry the Eighth, and which showed
that her power was at an end ; Beaton the chancellor
had, in the meantime, by large gifts and the sacrifice
of the abbey of Kilwinning, made his peace with his
* Caligula, B. vii. 67, ^^. Sir Thomas More to Wolsey, 21st Sept.
1527. JAMES V. 173
enemies, and counted himself happy in being permitted
to retire from court ; whilst Arran, the successful col-
league of Angus, becoming a prey to the most gloomy
remorse for the death of Lennox, shut himself up in one
of his castles, and declined all interference in matters of
state. The government was thus abandoned to an
undivided despotism, and the tyranny of the house of
Douglas became every day more intolerable to the
nation. To bear the name was esteemed sufficient to
cover the most atrocious crime, even in the streets of
the capital ; and, during the sitting of parliament, a
baron who had murdered his opponent on the threshold
of the principal church, was permitted to walk openly
abroad, solely because he was a Douglas ; and no one,
by his arrestment, dared to incur the vengeance of its
chief.*
There were men, however, bred in these iron times,
and nursed in that enthusiastic attachment to their
chief, created by the feudal principle, who despised all
danger, in the desire of fulfilling their duty. Of this
an event, which now occurred, strikingly demonstrated
the truth. A groom of Lennox, having arrived in the
capital, whether by accident or intention does not ap-
pear, met a fellow-servant in the street, and eagerly
demanded if he had seen Hamilton the bastard of
Arran ? "I have, and but a short time since," was
the reply. " What !" said he, " and wert thou so
ungrateful a recreant to thy murdered lord, as to per-
mit him to live ? — begone ! thou art unworthy of so
noble a master." With these words this daring man
sought the palace, where a numerous body of the re-
* Caligula, B. vi. 420. Sir C. Dacre to Lord William Dacre, Dec. 2,
1526, The murderer mentioned in the text was the Laird of Lochinvar,
who had slain the Laird of Bondhy at St Giles' kirk door. " As for th'ord"
ring of God's justice there is noon done in all Scotland."
174 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1527.
tainers of Douglas were mustering for a projected ex-
pedition to the Borders. Singling out Hamilton from
amongst them, he watched him till he left the assembly,
and springing upon him as he entered a dark passage,
repeatedly buried his dagger in his bosom, leaving him
stretched, with six wounds, apparently lifeless upon
the ground. As the cry of blood arose, he darted into
the midst of the crowd, and might have eluded pursuit
but for an order which commanded the palace gates to
be closed, and all within the court to draw up against
its walls. This scrutiny instantly led to the seizure
of the assassin, who was discovered, according to the
strong expression of the Scottish law, " Red hand,""
with the marks of recent blood upon his dagger and
his person.* On hearing that Hamilton was likely
to survive, he bitterly upbraided himself for the failure
of his purpose, and when, in the tortures which preceded
his execution, his right hand was amputated, observed,
that it merited such a fate, not for its crime, but for
its failure. Such were the tempers and the principles
which grew out of the feudal system.
To atone for the injustice of his usurpation, Angus,
during his progress to the Borders, assumed a severity
which constrained the Armstrongs and their lawless
adherents to renounce, for a season, their ferocious
habits, and to give hostages for their future obedience
to the government. He next proceeded to appease a
deadly feud which had broken out between the families
of Lesley and Forbes, and whose ramifications of pri-
vate vengeance, extending through the districts of
Mar, Garioch, and Aberdeen, plunged the country in
blood. -f*
The highlands, remote from the seat of government,
* Lesley, p 139. Buchanan, xiv. c. 31. + Lesley, p. 136.
1527. JAMES V. 175
and completely neglected since the defeat at Flodden,
had gradually relapsed into a state of almost irretrieva-
ble disoraanizatiou. Where the law was not totally
forgotten, it was perverted to the worst purposes of
rapine and injustice ; its processes were employed to
screen the spoliator and the murderer; crimes which
mingled in their character the ferocity of a savage with
the polished cunning of a refined age were perpetrated
with impunity ; and the venal government of Angus
neo;lected the outraoes which they found it lucrative
to countenance and almost impossible to repress.
Matters at last proceeded to such an extremity, that
the alternative of immediate interference, or the entire
separation of the remoter northern counties from the
government was presented. Lachlan Macintosh, chief
of the noted clan Chattan, was murdered by ^lalcolm-
son, his near relative, for no other reason than that
he had endeavoured to restrain the excesses of his re-
tainers.* The assassin escaping, buried himself in an
island of the lake of Rothiemurchy ; but his retreat
was invaded, and he fell a victim to the vengeance of
the clansmen. The infant son of the chief was delivered
to the keeping of the Earl of Moray; and Hector his
bastard brother, succeeded to the temporary command
of the clan, till the majority of his nephew. Scarcely
had he assumed this dignity, when he sent Moray a
peremptory order to deliver up the infant, and, on his
refusal, mercilessly ravaged his lands, sacked the town
of Dvke, which belonged to him, and stormed and
razed to the ground his castle of Tarnaway. Nor was
this enough : the young heir of Macintosh had been
committed to the care of the Ogilvies, Moray's near
kinsmen ; and, to revenge this imaginary insult, the
* Lesley, p. 137.
176 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528.
ferocious mountaineer appeared before tlio castle of
Pettie, belonging to Ogilvy of Durness, and, carrying
it by assault, murdered twenty-four of their house.
But the triumph was brief; for when Hector was about
to continue his outrages, Moray, who had procured
a royal commission, rapidly assembled an army, and
suddenly invading the Macintoshes, defeated them with
the utmost slaughter. Two hundred of the principal
delinquents were made prisoners, and led to instant
execution ; but the chief himself escaped ; and such
was the fidelity of his clansmen, that neither rewards
nor tortures could induce them to disclose the place of
his retreat. His brother, however, was seized and
hanged, whilst Hector, flying to the capital, obtained
the royal mercy only to fall a victim to the dagger of
a monk at St Andrew"'s, whose history and motive are
alike unknown.* Amid these dark and sanguinary
scenes, the government of Angus continued firm, being
strengthened by the friendship of England, to whose
interests he cordially attached himself, and by the
apparent accession of the chancellor Beaton. The
great wealth of this crafty prelate, and the liberality
with which it was distributed to the Douglases, ob-
tained for him a ready oblivion of his former opposi-
tion ; and, although Sir George Douglas warned his
brother of the dano-erous desiirns which midit be in
o o o
agitation under the pretended reconciliation, Angus,
who was inferior to his rival in a talent for intrigue,
derided his suspicion.
The reconciliation of the archbishop to his powerful
rivals, and his readmission to a share in the govern-
ment, were signalized by a lamentable event, — the
arraignment and death of Patrick Hamilton abbot of
* Lesley, p. 1 38.
1528. JAMES V. 177
Feme, the earliest, and, in some respects, the most
eminent of the Scottish reformers. This youthful
sufferer was the son of Sir Patrick Hamilton of Kincavil,
and Catherine Stewart, a daughter of the Duke of
Albany. Educated at St Andrew's, in what was then
esteemed the too liberal philosophy of John Mair,
the master of Knox and Buchanan, he early distin-
guished himself by a freedom of mind, which detected
and despised the tenets of the schoolmen. He after-
wards imbibed, probably from the treatises of Luther,
a predilection for the new doctrines ; and, being sum-
moned before an ecclesiastical council, he preferred at
that time, when his faith was still unsettled, an escape
to the continent to the dangerous glory of defending
his opinions. At Wittemberg, he sought and obtained
the friendship of Luther and Melancthon ; they re-
commended him to the care of Lambert, the head of the
university of Marpurg, and by this learned scholar
Hamilton became fully instructed in the reformed
opinions. No sooner did a full conviction of the errors
of the church of Rome take possession of his mind,
than a change seemed to be wrought in his character ;
he that before had been sceptical and timid, became
courageous, almost to rashness; and, resisting the tears
and entreaties of his affectionate master, declared his
resolution of returning to Scotland, and preaching the
faith in his native country.* He embarked, arrived
in 1527 at St Andrew's, publicly addressed the people,
and, after a brief and zealous career, was arrested by
the ecclesiastical arm, and thrown into prison. His
youth, (he was then only twenty-eight,) his talents, his
amiable and gentle manners, interested all in his favour;
and many attempts were made to induce him to retract
* Spottiswood, pp. 62, 63. Knox, pp. 7, 8.
VOL. V. M
178 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528.
his opinions, or, at least, to cease to disturb the tran-
quillity of the church by their promulgation to the
people. But all was in vain : he considered this tran-
quillity not the stillness of peace, but the sleep of
ignorance ; he defended his doctrines with such ear-
nestness and acquaintance with scripture, that Aless,
a Catholic priest, who had visited him in his cell with
a desire to shake his resolution, became himself a con-
vert to the captive, and he was at last condemned as
an obstinate heretic, and led to the stake. On the
scaffold, he turned affectionately to his servant, who
had long attended him, and, taking off his gown, coat,
and cap, bade him receive all the worldly goods now
left him to bestow, and with them the example of his
death. " What I am about to suffer, my dear friend,"
said he, " appears fearful and bitter to the flesh ; but,
remember, it is the entrance to everlasting life, which
none shall possess who deny their Lord."* In the
midst of his torments, which, from the awkwardness of
the executioner, were protracted and excruciating, he
ceased not to exhort those who stood near, exhibiting
a meekness and unaffected courage, which made a deep
impression. Lifting up his eyes to Heaven, he ex-
claimed, " How long, O God ! shall darkness cover this
kingdom ? How long wilt thou suffer this tyranny of
men V and when death at last came to his relief, he
expired with these blessed words upon his lips, " Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit." f The leading doctrines
of Hamilton were explained by himself in a small
Latin treatise, which has been translated by Fox, and
incorporated in his Book of Martyrs. It contains a
* There is some reason to believe that a scheme for his rescue had been
organized by Andrew Duncan of Airdrie, in Fife, one of his most attached
followers, but it was discovered and defeated.
f Biographia Brit. Art. Duncan. Kippis' editioiv.
1528. JAMES V. 179
clear exposition of the manner in which a sinner is
justified before God, through faith in Jesus Christ,
and a beautiful commentary on some of the principal
Christian graces. Although occasionally quaint and
obscure, it proves that the mind of this good man was
in advance of his age, at least in Scotland.*
It was now two years since Angus had obtained the
supreme power. During this time, the despotism of
the house of Douglas had been complete ; and the
history of the country presented the picture of a cap-
tive monarch,-|- a subservient and degraded nobility,
and a people groaning under oppression, yet bound
by the ties of the miserable system under which they
lived to the service of their oppressors. To use the
strong and familiar language of an ancient historian,
" the Douglases would frequently take a progress to
punish thieves and traitors, yet none were found great-
er than in their own company;''"' and an attempt made
at this time, by the arch-plunderer himself, to obtain
possession of the queen's dowry lands, so alarmed Mar-
garet and her husband, that, giving way to terror, they
suddenly threw themselves into the castle of Edin-
burgh. But Douglas, taking the young monarch in
his company, and summoning the lieges to muster
under the royal standard, laid siege to the fortress ;
and Maro;aret althouo-h she knew that her son was an
unwilling enemy, and weary of his fetters, did not
dare to disobey his summons. Falling on her knees
* Knox, p. 8, Glasgow edition.
+ In Caligula, B. ii. 118, Aug. 30th, 1527, is a letter from Magnus to
Wolsey, which shows that James had ineffectually remonstrated to Henry
VIII. against the thraldom in which he was held by Angus. " This daye,""
says Magnus, "passed from hence a chaplaine of the Bishoppe of St Andrew's,
wyth a letter addressed from the younge kyng of Scottes to the kinge's
hieness, a copy whereof I send ; mencioning, among other thj-nges, that the
said yong king, contrary his will and mynd, is kept in thraldom and cap-
tivitie with Archibald erle of Anguisshe."
180 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528.
before tlio king, she presented the keys of the fortress,
and implored pardon for herself and her husband,
^vhilst Angus, in the insolence of uncontrollable do-
minion, smiled at her constrained submission, and
ordered Henry Stewart to a temporary imprisonment.*
The secret history of this enormous power on the one
hand, and implicit obedience on the other, is to be found
in the fact, that the Douglases were masters of the
king's person ; they compelled the young monarch to
affix his signature to any deeds which they chose to
offer him. Angus was chancellor, and the great seal
at his command ; his uncle was treasurer, and the
revenues, as well as the law of the country, with its
terrible processes of treason and forfeiture, were com-
pletely under his control. So long as James remained
a captive, all this powerful machinery was theirs, and
their authority, which it supported, could not be shaken ;
but as soon as the king became free, the tyrannical
system was undermined in its foundation and certain
to disappear.
The moment destined for the liberation of the mon-
arch and the country was now at hand ; nor can it be
doubted that James, who had completed his sixteenth
year, and began to develop a character of great vigour
and capacity, was the chief contriver of the plot for his
freedom. Beaton, the ex-chancellor and his assistant in
his schemes, having given a magnificent entertainment
to the young king and the Douglases in his palace of
St Andrew''s, so completely succeeded in blinding the
eyes of Angus, that the conspiracy for his destruction
was matured when he deemed himself most secure.+
* Lesley, p. 140.
+ Caligula, B, iii. 13G. By a letter of Thomas Loggen, one of Magnus's
spies, to that ambassador, it appears that the Douglases had detected Beaton
secretly writing to the pope, representing his services, and requesting a car-
1528. JAMES V. 181
James prevailed first on his mother, whom it was not
deemed prudent to intrust with the secret, to exchange
with him her castle of Stirling for the lands of Methven,
to be given with the dignity of peer to her husband ;
and having placed this fortress in the hands of a cap-
tain on whose fidelity he could rely, he induced Angus,
under some plausible pretext, to permit him to remove
to his palace of Falkland, within a moderate distance
from St Andrew's.* It was here easy for him to com-
municate with Beaton, and nothing remained but to
seize a favourable moment for the execution of their
design : nor was this long of presenting itself. Lulled
into security by the late defeat of the queen, and the
well-feio^ned indifference of the chancellor, the Dou-
glases had for a while intermitted their rigid watch
over the king. Angus had passed to Lothian, on his
private affairs; Archibald his uncle, to Dundee; and
Sir George Douglas, the master of the royal household,
having entered into some transactions with Beaton
regarding their mutual estates, had been induced by
that prelate to leave the palace for a brief season, and
to visit him at St Andrew"'s ; only Douglas of Park-
head, captain of the royal guard, was left with the
young monarch, who instantly took his measures for
escape. Calling Balfour of Ferny, the keeper of Falk-
land forest, and chamberlain of Fife, he issued orders
for a hunting party next morning, commanding him
to warn the tenantry, and assemble the best dogs in
the neighbourhood; he then took supper, went early
to bed, under pretence of being obliged to rise next
morning before daybreak, and dismissed the captain of
dinal's hat. It is singular this did not make Angus more cautious. Lindsay
p. 206.
* Caligula, B, vii. 73. Credence gevin by the Queene of Scotts to Wal-
ter Taite.
182 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528.
his guard, who, without suspicion, left the royal apart-
ment. When all was quiet in the palace, James started
from his couch, disguised himself as a yeoman of the
guard, stole to the stable, attended by two faithful ser-
vants, and, throwing himself upon a fleet horse, reached
Stirling before sunrise. On passing the bridge, then
secured by a gate and tower, he commanded it to be
shut, and kept so at the peril of the warden's life ; and
then, proceeding to the castle, the governor, in a tumult
of deli<rht to behold his sovereic^n free, knelt down, and
tendered his homage as he presented the keys of the
fortress, amid the shouts and rejoicings of the garrison.
Worn out with anxiety and travel, James now snatched
a few hours of sleep; and couriers having been de-
spatched in the interval, he awoke to see himself sur-
rounded by his nobles, and felt, for the first time in
his life, that he was a free monarch.* His first act
w^as to summon a council, and issue a proclamation
that no lord or follower of the house of Douo-las should
dare to approach within six miles of the court, under
pain of treason, — a step, strongly indicating that vigour
and judgment which marked his future administration.
The meeting was attended by the Earls of Arran,
Arg3^1e, Eglinton, and Moray, with the Lords Evan-
dale, Sinclair, Maxwell, and Montgomery.i*
Meanwhile, all this had passed with such speed and
secrecy, that the Douglases still believed the king safe
* Lindsay, Hist. pp. 218, 2L9. Lesley, p. 140. Caligula, B. vii. 73. Cre-
dence of the Queen of Scots to Walter Tait.
i- In an unpublished letter of Angus to Dr Magnus, (March 15, 1527,)
Caligula, B, i. 105, the vigilance of that peer is strongly marked. In ex-
cusing himself for not keeping his appointment, he says, " Thyrdly, as the
caiss stands, I dar not a ventur to depairt fra the keping of the kingis per-
son, for danger that way appears ; for all the lords ar departit of toun, nane
uther lords remayning with his grace as now, hot my lord of Glasgow, Leve-
nax, and I ; and as I belief the kingis grace of Ingland nor ze suld l)e easie,
yat I depairt fra the keping cf my said soveran's person, in this t}Tiie of
necessitie, sic perell appearing and brekis throu thir lait novellis."
1528. JAMES V. 183
in tlie palace of Falkland; and so secure did they
esteem themselves, that Sir George Douglas, the mas-
ter of the household, arriving late in the evening, and
hearing that James had retired for the night, made no
further inquiries, but sought his own chamber. A loud
and early knocking awoke him ; and Carmichael, the
bailie of Abernethy, rushing in, demanded if he had
lately seen the king. " His grace," said Douglas, " is
yet in bed." " No, no," cried Carmichael ; "ye are all
deceived and betrayed ; the king has passed the bridge
of Stirling." Sir George now flew to the royal apart-
ment, found it locked, burst open the door with his foot,
and, to his consternation, found that the report was true.
The royal vestments, which had been thrown off for
the friendly disguise, lay upon the unoccupied couch;
and Douglas, awakening to the full extent of the
calamity, stood, for an instant, rooted to the ground,
in an agony of rage and disappointment. To raise the
cry of treason, and to summon Angus and his uncle,
was the work of a few minutes ; within a few hours
Ano'us himself and Archibald Dou^^las arrived in
breathless haste, and without farther delay, the three
lords, accompanied by a slender retinue, set out for
Stirling. Before they had proceeded any distance,
they were met by the herald, intrusted with the royal
proclamation ; and this officer reining up his horse,
boldly read the act, which prohibited their approach
to court under the pain of treason. For a moment they
hesitated : the hereditary and haughty fearlessness of
their house impelled them to proceed ; but the terror
of the royal name arrested their steps ; and the same
weapons which they had found invincible in their own
grasp were now employed against themselves. All
the penalties of treason, the loss of their property, the
184 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528.
desertion of their vassals, the forfeiture of their lives,
rose in fearful array before them ; and, with impreca-
tions against their own carelessness and folly, they
turned their horses heads, and slowly rode back to
Linlithgow.*
o
* Buchanan, xiv. 33. In Mr Pitcairn's valuable collection of Criminal
Trials, to which, in the course of my historical investigations, I have been
under repeated obligations, there occurs (vol. i. p. 188) an incidental notice,
from which we may pretty nearly Hx the hitherto uncertain date of the king's
escape. Pinkerton (vol. ii. p. 291) assumes it to have taken place in July.
This, however is undoubtedly incorrect ; for we find, on December 1st, 1528,
the Lady Glammis was summoned to answer before parliament for the as-
sistance afforded the Earl of Angus, in convocating the lieges for eight days
immediately preceding June 1, to invade the king's person. This brings the
date of the escape to the 22d or 23d of May.
1528.
JAMES V.
185
CHAP. IT.
JAMES THE FIFTH.
1528—1542.
CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS.
England.
Henry VIII,
France.
Francis I.
Germany.
Charles V.
Spain.
Charles V.
Popes.
Clement VII.
Paul 111.
James the Fifth, who by this sudden revolution had
been delivered from the thraldom of a successful fac-
tion, and invested with the supreme power, was still a
youth in his seventeenth year. Even as a boy, he
appeared to the discriminating eye of Magnus, Henry's
ambassador at the Scottish court, to be brave, manly,
impatient of being treated as a child, and possessed of
good natural talents. As he grew up, the Douglases
neglected his education, and perverted his disposition
by injudicious indulgences. They detected in him a
strong propensity to pleasure, which they basely en-
couraged, under the idea that his mind, becoming
enervated b}^ indolence and sensuality, would resign
itself to the captivity in which they meant him to re-
main; but they were not aware of the strength of the
character with which they had to deal. It did not,
indeed, escape the pollution of such degrading culture ;
but it survived it. There was a mental vigour about
the young king, and a strength of natural talent, which
developed itself under the most unfavourable circum-
186 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528.
stances : he had early felt, with indignation, the cap-
tivity to ^vhich he was doomed, by the ambition of
Angus ; but he saw, for some time, no prospect of
redress, and he insensibly acquired, by the necessity of
liis situation, a degree of patience and self-command,
which are rarely found at his years. Under the re-
straint in which he was kept, the better parts of his
nature had, for a while, little opportunity to display
themselves. But the plot for his escape, and which
appears to have been principally his own contrivance,
having succeeded, he became at once a free monarch,
and his true character, to the delight of the nation,
was found to be marked by some of the highest quali-
ties which could adorn a sovereign. He possessed a
strict love of justice, an unwearied application in re-
moving the grievances and promoting the real interests
of his people, and a generosity and warmth of temper,
which prompted him, on all occasions, to espouse with
enthusiasm the cause of the oppressed. A stranger to
pride, easy of access, and fond of mingling familiarly
with all classes of his subjects, he seems to have gained
their affections l)y relying on them, and was rewarded
by an appellation, of which he was not unjustly proud,
" the Kins: of the Commons."'''
With regard to the principles which guided his future
policy, they arose naturally out of the circumstances
in which his mind had been nurtured. The sternest
feelino's asfainst the Douo;lases, to whose ambition he
had been made a sacrifice, were mingled with a deter-
mination to recover those rights of the crown, which
had been forgotten or neglected during his minority,
and to repress the power of an overgrown and venal
aristocracy. Towards his uncle, Henry the Eighth,
he could not possibly experience any other sentiments
1528. JAMES V. 187
than those of indignation and suspicion. This mon-
arch, through the exertions of his able minister, Lord
Dacre, had introduced into Scotland a secret system
of corruption, by which the nobles had become the
pensioned agents of the English government, which
maintained innumerable informers in the court and
throughout the country, and excited such ceaseless
commotions and private wars, that every effort for
the maintenance of order and good government was
defeated. In his uncle, James had latterly seen
nothing but a determination to support his enemies
the Douglases, with the object of degrading Scotland
from its rank as an independent kingdom, and, by their
aid, administering it according to his pleasure. To
destroy this system of foreign dictation, which, since
the defeat at Flodden, had been gradually assuming a
more serious aspect, was one great object of the king;
and whilst such a design rendered his policy inimical
to England, it naturally disposed him to cultivate the
most friendly relations with France.
To the success of these designs, however, great ob-
stacles presented themselves ; which, although for the
moment overlooked by the sanguine mind of the king,
soon compelled him to act with moderation. Henry
the Eighth, and Francis the First, were now bound
together by a strict league, of which the great object
was, to humble the power of the Emperor Charles the
Fifth ; and the French monarch received with coldness
every advance which endangered a union on Avhich
the success of his political schemes so mainly depended,
Nur was it long of occurring to the Scottish king, that,
with a divided nobility and his finances impoverished
by the havoc made in the royal revenues during his
minority, it would be wise to pause before he permitted
188 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528.
his individual resentment to hurry the nation into a
war; and that, in the meantime, it should be his first
object to secure his recent elevation by the immediate
proscription of his enemies.
He accordingly proceeded from Stirling to Edin-
burgh, where a proclamation was issued, prohibiting
any Douglas, on pain of death, from remaining in the
capital, and making it treason to hold intercourse with
Angus or his adherents. It was resolved that a par-
liament should meet in the beginning of September ;
the important office of chancellor was bestowed by the
king upon his preceptor, Gawin Dunbar archbishop
of Glas2:ow: Cairncross abbot of Holyrood was made
treasurer ; the bishop of Dunkeld privy-seal ; * the
command of the capital, with the office of provost,
intrusted to Lord Maxwell ; and Patrick Sinclair was
despatched to the English court with a message to
Henry, informing him of the change which had taken
place, and the assumption of the supreme power by
the young monarch. *|* During the rapid adoption of
these measures, the terror of some sudden attempt by
the Douo;lases had not subsided. Each ni2;ht the
palace was strictly watched by the loyal peers and
their armed followers, who now formed the court; and
James himself, clothed in complete mail, took his turn
in commanding the guard. After a few days, the king
removed to Stirling, and the nobles dispersed to their
estates, with a promise to attend the ensuing parlia-
ment in great force. Meanwhile, the Earl of Angus
had shut himself up in Tantallon, whilst his brother
* Pollock MS. entitled a Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 1 1, edited
by the Bannatyne Club.
+ State Papers, Henry VIII. p. 282. James's confidence was ill bestowed
ou Sinclair, who (State Papers, p. 150) was, in 1524, in the pay of the Eng-
lish government.
1528. JAMES V. 189
Sir George Douglas, and Archibald the late treasurer,
after a feeble attempt to make a diversion in his favour,
were attacked by Maxwell, and driven from the capital.
The measures which James contemplated against these
powerful delinquents were not at first so severe as
have been generally represented by our historians.
Incensed, as he must have been, by the long and
ignominious durance in which he had been kept, the
young monarch did not instantly adopt that stern and
unforgiving policy, to which he was afterwards driven
by the Douglases themselves. The Earl of Angus was
commanded to keep himself beyond the waters of Spey,
and to surrender his brother Sir George Douglas, and
his uncle Archibald Douglas of Kilspindy, as hostages
for his answering to the summons of treason, which
was directed to be raised against him.* Both orders
he haughtily disobeyed; he mustered his vassals, for-
tified his castles, and provoked, instead of conciliating,
the royal resentment. Such conduct was attended
with the effects which might have been anticipated.
On the second of September, the parliament assem-
bled, and an act of attainder was passed against the
Douglases,"!* who justified the severity, by convoking
their followers, and razing to the ground the villages
of Cranston and Oowsland.J The lands of the arch-
offender Ano'us, were divided bv James amona'st those
followers, to whose support he had probably been
indebted for the success of the late revolution, Argyle,
Arran, Bothwell, Buccleugh, Maxwell, and Hamilton
the bastard of Arran ; whilst to himself the kino; re-
served the castle of Tantallon, a place whose great
strength rendered it dangerous in the hands of a sub-
* Acts of tlie Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 322-323. f Ibid. p. 324.
X Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 11.
190 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528.
ject. All this was easy, as the parliament consisted
of such peers and prelates as were devoted to the king;
but to carry the sentence into execution was a less
practicable matter, and so formidable was the power
of Angus, that, for a season, he completely defied the
royal wrath. In vain did the young king, in person,
and at the head of a force of eight thousand men,
commence the siege of Douglas castle; admonished by
the strength of the fortifications, and the injury to the
harvest which must follow a protracted attempt, he
was obliged to disband his army, and submit to the
insult of having two villages, near his palace of Stir-
ling, sacked and given to the flames, by a party of
the Douglases ; who, in allusion to his late escape,
remarked, that the lioht mioht be useful to their sove-
reiiin, if he chose as^ain to travel before sunrise. An
equally abortive display was soon after made before
Cpldingham, in which the royal forces were totally
dispersed; and, in a third attempt to reduce Tantallon,
the monarch, although supported by a force of twelve
thousand men, was not only compelled to raise the
siege, but endured the mortification of having his train
of artillery attacked and captured, after an obstinate
action, by Angus in person.* It was on this occasion
that the king, whose indignation was increased by the
death of Falconar, the captain of his guard, and the
best naval officer in the kingdom, burst into the bitter-
est reproaches against Angus, and is said to have
declared, with an oath, that so long as he lived, no
Douglas should find a resting-place in Scotland. At
length, after repeated failures, and a refusal on the part
of Bothwell to lead the army against the formidable
rebel, the task of his expulsion from Coldingham was
* Lesley, pp. 140, 141. Piukerton, vol. ii. p. 301.
1528. JAMES V. 191
committed to Argyle, who, with the assistance of the
Homes, compelled him to fly into England, an asylum
from which he was not destined to return, till after the
death of James.
Under other circumstances than those in which the
English monarch was now placed, the presence at his
court of so formidable a person as Angus might have
led Henry to an espousal of his quarrel, and have de-
feated any proposals for a pacification ; but the present
relations of this prince with the continent, and his
strict coalition with Francis the First against the
emperor, made him solicitous for tranquillity on the
side of Scotland; he contented himself, therefore, with
an earnest request for the restoration of the rebel peer,
and when this was peremptorily refused by James,
abstained from interrupting the negotiations by any
cavil or reiteration. The Scottish king, on the other
hand, professed his obligations to Henry for many
favours conferred during his minority, a sentiment for
which we can scarcely give him the credit of sincerity ;
and having despatched his commissioners to meet with
Magnus and Sir Thomas Tempest, the English am-
bassadors, at Berwick, a pacification of five years was
concluded between the two countries, and ratified on
the fourteenth of December, 1528. To Angus was
granted a remission of the sentence of death, and a
consent. that he might remain in England; but the
forfeiture of his estates was sternly enforced, and
Tantallon, with the other castles belonging to the
Douglases, delivered into the hands of the king.
Having settled this important matter, and secured
himself on the side of England, James directed his
attention to the state of the Borders,* where the dis-
* In the State-paper oflBce, is an original letter of James to Henry, dated
192 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528-
orders incident to a minority had increased to a degree
which threatened the total dismemberment of these
districts. Such excesses were mainly to be attributed
to Angus, the late warden of the marches, who had
secured the friendship of the Border chiefs, by over-
looking their oftences, whilst he had bound them to
his interests by those feudal covenants, named " bands
of manrent,"*"** which formed one of the darkest features
of the times, compelling the parties to defend each
other a2:ainst the effects of their mutual trans2:ressions.
The task, therefore, of introducing order and respect
for leiral restraints amonixst the fierce inhabitants of
the marches, was one of extreme difficulty. The prin-
cipal thieves were the Border barons themselves, some
of whom maintained a feudal state almost royal ; whilst
their castles, often impregnable from the strength of their
natural and artificial defences, defied every attempt to
reduce or to storm them.
The energy of the young monarch overcame these
difficulties. Having assembled his parliament at Edin-
burgh, and ascertained his own strength, he represented
to the three Estates the impossibility of maintaining
the laws, when many of the highest nobles declined
or dreaded the task of enforcing their obedience, and
others were notorious for their violation of them. A
at Jedburgh, 23d July, written on his progress to the Borders. " And at
this t}Tiie," says he, " we ar in travaile towart oure bordouris, to put gude
ordoure and rewle upon thame, and to stanche the thyftes and rubbary's
committit be theiffis and tratouris upon the samyn. And as our besynes
takis effect, we sail advertise zou,"
* " And howbeit, the said Erie [Angus] beand our chancellare, wardane
of our est and middil marches, and lieutenant of the samyne, procurit divers
radis to be maid upon the brokin men of our realme ; he usit our autorite,
not against yame, hot against our baronis and uthers our lieges, yat wald not
enter in bands of manrent to him, to be sa stark of power, that we suld not
be habil to reign as his prince, or liaif dominatioun aboun hym or our lieges."
MS. Caligula, B. ii. •2"24. Articles and Credence to be shown to Patrick
Sinclair, July 13, 1528. Signed by James the Fifth.
1528. JAMES V. "i93
strong example of rigour was, he said, absolutely re-
quired ; and this remark was instantly followed by the
arrest of the Earl of Bothwell lord of Teviotdale:
Home, Maxwell, Ker of Fernyhirst, Mark Ker, with
the barons of Buccleugli, Polwarth, and Johnston
shared his imprisonment ;* and having thus secured
some of the greatest offenders, the king placed himself
at the head of a force of eight thousand men, and tra-
versed the disturbed districts with unexpected strength
and celerity. Guided by some of the borderers, who
thus secured a pardon, he penetrated into the inmost
recesses of Eskdale and Teviotdale, and seized Cockburn
of Henderland and Scott of Tushylaw before the gates
of their own castles. Both were led to almost instant
execution ; and by a sanguinary example of justice,
long remembered on the marches, the famous free-
booter, Johnnie Armstrong, was hanged, with forty-
eight of his retainers, on the trees of a little grove,
where they had too boldly presented themselves to en-
treat the royal pardon. The fate of this renowned thief,
who levied his tribute, or black mail, for many miles
within the English Borders, has been commemorated in
many of the rude ballads of these poetic districts ; and if
we may believe their descriptions, he presented him self to
theking, with a train of horsemen, whose splendid equip-
ments almost put to shame the retinue of his prince. *h
This partial restoration of tranquillity was followed
by the news of a formidable but abortive attempt to se-
parate the Orkneys from the dominion of the crown.
The author of the rebellion, whose ambition soared to
the height of an independent prince, was the Earl of
Caithness ; but his .career was brief and unfortunate,
the majority of the natives of the islands were steady
* Lesley, pp. 141, 142. f Lesley, pp. 142, 143. Lindsay, p. 22G.
VOL. V. N
194 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1528.
in their loyalty, and in a naval battle, James Sinclair
the governor, encountered the insurgents, defeated and
slew their leader, with five hundred men, and, making
captives of the rest, reduced these remote districts to
a state of peace.* But whilst tranquillity was restored
in this quarter of his dominions, the condition of the
Isles became a subject of serious alarm. The causes
of these renewed disturbances are not to be traced, as
in the former rebellion, to any design in the islesmen,
to establish a separate and independent principality
under a prince of their own election; and it is probable
that the imprisonment of Donald of Sleat, in the castle
of Edinburo'h, extinixuished for a season all ambition
of this sort. The sources of disaffection originated in
a fierce family feud, which had broken out between the
Macleans of Dowart and the Earl of Argyle, who,
holding the high office of governor of the Isles, was
frequently tempted to represent any attack upon him-
self or his adherents as a rebellion a2:ainst the autho-
rity of the sovereign. A daughter of the earl, Lady
Elizabeth Campbell, had been given in marriage to
Maclean of Dowart, and the union proving unhappy,
the ferocious chief exposed her upon a desolate rock
near the isle of Lismore, which, at high water, was
covered by the sea. From this dreadful situation
she was rescued by a passing fishing-boat ; and, not
long after. Sir John Campbell of Calder avenged the
wrongs of his house by assassinating Maclean, whom
he stabbed in his bed, although the highland chief had
procured letters of protection and believed himself se-
cure."I* Other causes of jealousy increased the mutual
* Lesley, p. 141.
h This murder Ly Sir John Campbell is alluded to in strong terms in an
interesting document, preserved in the State-paper Office, dated August,
1545, entitled, " Articles proposed by the Commissioners of the Lord oi the
1528. JAMES V. 195
exasperation ; the Macleans, strengthened by their
union with the clan Ian Mhor, and led by Alexander
of Isla, defied the authority of Argyle, and carried fire
and sword through the extensive principality of the
Campbells; whilst they, on the other hand, retaliated
with equal ferocity, and the isles of Mull and Tiree,
with the wide district of Morvern, were abandoned to
indiscriminate plunder.
Such was the state of things, in these remote dis-
tricts, during the years 1528 and 1529 ; about which
time Argyle earnestly appealed to the council, and,
describing the deplorable condition of the country,
demanded more extensive powers to enable him to
reduce it under the dominion of the law. But the
sagacity of James suspected the representations of this
powerful noble ; and, whilst he determined to levy a
force sufiicient to overawe the disaffected districts, and,
if necessary, to lead it against the Isles in person, he
endeavoured to avert hostilities, by offering pardon to
any of the island chiefs who would repair to court and
renew their alleoiance to their sovereign. These con-
ciliatory measures were attended with success. Nine
of the principal islesmen,with Hector Maclean of Dow-
aj't, availed themselves of the royal safe-conduct, and
Isles to the Pri\'y-counci], as the hasis of an agreement to he entered into
between Henry the Eighth and him for the service of his troops." The
passage is curions, as evincing the enmity of the islemen to Scotland :
Quhairfor, your Lordships sail considder we have beyne auld enemys to the
realme of Scotland, and quhen they had peasche with ye kings hienis, thei
hanged, hedit, presoned, and destroied many of our kyn, friendis, and for-
hearis, as testihes he our Master, th' Erie of Ross, now the king's grace's
subject, ye quhilk hath lyin in presoun afoir he was borne of his moder, and
is not releiffit with their will, hot now laitlie be ye grace of God. In lyke-
wise, the Lord Maclanis fader, was cruellie murdressit, under traist, in his
bed, in the toun of Edinbruch, be Sir John Campbell of Calder, brudir to
th' Erll of Argyle. The capitane of Clanranald, this last zeir ago, in his
defens, slew the Lord Lovett, his son-in-law, his three brethren, with xiii
scoir of men ; and many uther crewell slachter, burnying, and herschip that
hath beyu betwix us and the saidis Scottis, the quhilk war lang to wryte.
196 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1529.
personally tendered their submission ; whilst, soon after,
Alexander of Isla repaired to the palace of Stirling,
and in an interview with the monarch, expressed his
contrition for his offences, and was received into favour.
He promised to enforce the collection of the royal rents
upon the crown lands of the Isles; to support the dignity
and respect the revenues of the church ; and to main-
tain the authority of the laws, and the inviolability of
private property. Under these conditions the monarch
reinstated the island lord and his vassals in the lands
which they had forfeited by their rebellion.*
In the late negotiations, Henry the Eighth had
alluded to his wishes for a matrimonial alliance with
Scotland,"!* and his ally Francis the First, whose
interests at this time were inseparable from those of
England, was disposed to promote the scheme. To
Charles the Fifth, however, their great rival, whose
policy was more profound than that of his opponents,
any match between James and a daughter of England,
was full of annoyance ; and he exerted every effort to
prevent it. He proposed successively to the youthful
monarch his sister the queen of Hungary, and his niece
the daughter of Christiern king of Denmark ; and so
intent was he upon the last-mentioned union, that an
envoy was despatched to Scotland, who held out as
a dower the whole principality of Norway. But the
offer of an offensive and defensive league wuth so remote
a power as Austria was coldly received by James and
his parliament ; whilst the preservation of peace with
England, and his desire to maintain the alliance with
* These particulars I derive from Mr Gregory's interesting work, History
of the Western Highlands and Isles, pp. 132, 133, 136.
T Caligula, B. vii. 121. Copy of a letter from Magnus to Sir Adam
Qtterburn, December 5, 1528.
1531. JAMES V. 197
France, inclined him to lend a more favourable ear to
the now reiterated proposals of Henry.
In the meantime, his attention was wisely directed
to the best measures for promoting the security and
happiness of his kingdom, still distracted by the un-
bridled licentiousness of feudal manners. Blacater, the
baron of Tulliallan, with some ferocious accomplices,
among whom was a priest named Lothian, having
assassinated Sir James Inglis abbot of Culross, was
seized and led to instant execution; w^iilst the priest,
after being degraded and placed without the pale of the
ecclesiastical law, was beheaded.* To secure the com-
mercial alliance between Scotland and the Netherlands
was his next object; and for this purpose, Sir David
Lindsay of the Mount, — a name dear to the Scottish
Muses — and Campbell of Lundy, were sent on an em-
bassy to Brussels, at that moment the residence of the
emperor, who received them with a distinction propor-
tioned to his earnest desire to secure the friendship of
their young master. The commercial treaty, for one
hundred years, originally concluded by James the First,
between his dominions and the Netherlands, now about
to expire, was wisely renewed for another century.-f-
But it was in vain that the kino^ streno^thened his
alliances abroad, and personally exerted himself at
home, whilst a large proportion of his nobles thwarted
every measure for the public weal. Spoilt by the license
and impunity which they had enjoyed under the mis-
rule of Angus, and trammelled by bands of manrent
amongst themselves, or with that powerful baron, they
either refused to execute the commands of the sovereii^n,
or received them only to disobey, when removed out of
* Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 1 3.
•j- Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 310.
11)8 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1531
the reach of the royal displeasure; and in this manner
the laws, which had heen promulgated by the wisdom
of the privy-council or parliament, became little else
than a dead letter. Against this abuse, James was
compelled to adopt decided measures. The Earl of
Argyle was thrown into prison; Crawford, on some
charges wdiich cannot be ascertained, lost the greater
part of his estates : the dislike to the house of Douglas,
and the determination to resist every proposal for
their return, assumed a sterner form in the royal mind;
and the Earl of Moray, Lord Maxwell, and Sir James
Hamilton, who had shared for a while the intimacy and
confidence of their sovereign, found themselv^es treated
with coldness and disregard.* On the other hand,
many of the clergy w^ere highly esteemed, and promoted
to the principal offices in the government; nor are we
to wonder at the preference evinced by the monarch,
when it is considered, that in learning, talents, and
acquaintance with the management of public affairs, the
superiority of the spiritual over the temporal estate
was decided.
It was probably by the advice of Dunbar the arch-
bishop of Glasgow, who had been his preceptor, and
now held the office of chancellor, that the king at this
time instituted the College of Justice, a new court, of
which the first idea is generally said to have been sug-
gested by the Parliament of Paris. Much delay,
confusion, and partiality accompanied those heritable
jurisdictions, by which each feudal baron enjoyed the
right of holding his own court ; and although an appeal
lay to the king and the privy-council, the remedy by
the poorer litigant was unattainable, and by the richer
* Caligula, B. v. 216. Communicacions had between th' Erie of North*
uraberland and th' Erie Bothwell, December 21, 1531.
1532. JAMES V. 199
tedious and expensive. In a parliament, therefore,
which was held at Edinburgh, (May 17, 1532,) the
College of Justice was instituted, which consisted of
fourteen Judges, — one half selected from the spiritual,
and the other from the temporal estate, — over whom
was placed a President, who was always to be a clergy-
man. The great object of this new court was to remove
the means of oppression out of the hands of the aristo-
cracy ; but, as it was provided, that the chancellor
might preside when he pleased, and that, on any occa-
sion of consequence or difficulty, the king might send
three or four members of his privy-council to influence
the deliberations, and give their votes; it was evident
that the subject was only freed from one grievance, to
be exposed to the possibility of another, — less, indeed,
in extent, but scarcely more endurable when it occur-
red.* It is an observation of Buchanan, that the new
judges, at their first meetings, devised many excellent
plans for the equal administration of justice, but dis-
appointed the nation by their future conduct, especially
in their attempts to prevent any encroachments upon
their authority, by the provisions of the parliament.
We must not forget, however, that, as he approaches
the period of the Reformation, impartiality is not the
first virtue of this eminent man : that the circumstance
of one half of the court being chosen from the spiritual
estate had an effect in retarding the progress of the
reformed opinions cannot be doubted.
All Europe was now at peace; the treaties of Barce-
lona and Cambrai had for a season settled the elements
of war and ambition. Charles was reconciled to the
Pope, and on friendly terms with his rival Francis ;
AVhilst Henry the Eighth, under the influence of his
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 335, 336.
200 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1532.
passion for Anne Boleyn, was about to pursue his di-
vorce, and become the advocate of that great religious
reformation, in the history of which we must be care-
ful to distinguish the baseness of some of its instruments,
from that portion of the truth which it restored and
established. It was in the meantime the effect of all
these events to give a continuance of peace to Scotland;
but the intrigues of the Earl of Bothwell, who had
traitorously allied himself with England ;* the restless
ambition of Angus, whose services against his native
country had also been purchased by Henry ;-I- and the
spirit of war and plunder which was fomented in unex-
tinguishable strength upon the Borders, combined to
distract the kin<rdom, and defeat the wisest efforts for
* In the State-paper Office, Border Correspondence, is an interesting and
curious original MS. letter, dated Newcastle, 27th December, 1531, from the
Earl of Northumberland to the king, giving a full account of a conference
with the Earl of Bothwell. Bothwell first declared the occasion and ground
of his displeasure towards the King of Scots, — namely, " the giving of his
lands to the Carres of Teviotdale ; the keeping him half a year in prison, and
seeking to apprehend him and his colleagues, that he might lead them to
execution." The letter continues thus, — " and touching the second article
in your most gracious lettres, as to know what he could do for revenging of
his displeasure, or releving of his hart and stomach against the Skottes kyng,
the said er!e doth securely promise, your bigness being his good and gracious
prince and helpyng him to his right, * * * i\^^i j^g should not only
serve your most noble grace in your wars against Skotland trewly with a
thousand gentlemen, and sex thousand commons, but also becomes your
higness's time subject and liegeman. Thyrdly, to know what lykelihood
of good effect shall ensue ; hereof the said erle doth say, rememberins^ the
banyshment of the Erie of Anguisse, the wrongfull disinherityn^of the Erie
of Crawford, the sore imprisonment of the Erie of Argyle, the litill estima-
cyon of the Erie Murray and the Lord Maxwell, the simple regarding of
Sir James Hamilton for his good and paynfuU services, he puts no doubt
with his oAvn power and the Erie of Anguisse's, seeing all their nobles hartes
afore expressed: be withdrawen from the king of Skottes, to crown t/our grace
in the toune of KJ inhiirg within brief ti/me.''''
+ Caligula, B. v. 21 (j. The object of Bothwell, as it appears by the ori-
ginal agreement, was to seek Henry's assistance, " that, by his grace, the
realme of Skotland sal be brocht into gud stait agayn, and not the nobles
thereof be kept down as they are in thralldom, but to be set up as theyhaif
bene before," 21st December, 1.5.'>1. Angus bound himself, as we learn by
a copy of the original writing between him and Henry, Caligula, B. i. 129,
to " mak unto us the othe of allegiawnce, and recognif e us as supreme Lorde
of Scotland, and as Lis prince and soveraigne."
1532. JAMES V. 201
the preservation of tranquillity. Mutual inroads took
place, in which the banished Douglases and Sir An-
thony Darcy distinguished themselves by the extent
and cruelty of their ravages; whilst it was deemed
expedient by James to divide the whole body of the
fighting men in Scotland into four parts, to each of
which, in rotation, the defence of the marches was in-
trusted under the command of Moray, now reconciled
to the king, and created lieutenant of the kingdom.
This measure appears to have been attended with happy
effects; and at the same time, the Scottish monarch
evinced his power of distressing the government of
Henry, should he persist in encouraging his rebel
subjects, by raising a body of seven thousand high-
landers, under the leading of Mac-Ian, to assist O'Don-
nel the Irish chief, in his attempts to shake off the
English yoke. It appears from a letter of the Earl of
Northumberland to Henry the Eighth, that the Earl
of Argyle, about the same time, had been deprived of
the chief command in the Isles, which was conferred
upon Mac-Ian; a circumstance which had completely
alienated the former potent chief, and disposed him,
with the whole strength of his vassals and retainers,
to throw himself into the arms of Enoland. But this
dangerous discontentment was not confined to Argyle;
it was shared, in all its bitterness, by the Earl of Craw-
ford, whose authority in the same remote districts had
been plucked from his grasp, and placed in the hands of
Mac-Ian.* Neither was James absolutely secure of
the support of the clergy: they viewed with jealousy
* Caligula, B. i. 129. " The king of Skottis hath plucked from the Erie
of Argile, and from his heires for ever; the rule of all the oute Isles, and
given the same to Mackayne and his heires for ever ; and also taken from the
Erie Crawford such lands as he had ther, and given the same to the said
Mackayne: the whiche hath engendered a grete hatrit in the said Erie's
harte against the said Skottis king."
202 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1532.
an attempt to raise from their dioceses a tax of ten thou-
sand crowns, within the period of a single year; and
so effectiially addressed themselves to the Pope, that a
bull was obtained, which limited the sum, and extended
the period for its contribution.
The mutual hostilities upon the Borders, had now
continued with immitigable rancour for more than a
3^ear, each sovereign professing his anxiety for peace ;
yet unwilling, when provoked by aggression, to deny
himself the triumph of revenge, and the consolation of
plunder. The flames of towns and villages, the destruc-
tion of the labour of the husbandman, and of the enter-
prise and industry of the merchant ; the embittering of
the spirit of national animosity, and the corruption of
the aristocracy of the country, by the money and in-
trigues of England — all these pernicious consequences
were produced by the protraction of the war, which,
although no open declaration had been made by either
monarch, continued to desolate the country. It was
in vain that Francis the First despatched his ambas-
sador to the Scottish court, w^ith the object of medi-
ating between the two countries, whose interests were
now connected with his own. James upbraided him,
and not without justice, with his readiness to forget
the alliance between their two kingdoms, and to sacri-
fice the welfare of Scotland to the ambition of Henry
his new ally. The negotiation was thus defeated, but
again Francis made the attempt : Beauvois, a second
ambassador, arrived at the Scottish court ; and the
monarch relaxed so far in his opposition, that he con-
sented to a conference for a truce, which, although it
had been stipulated to commence early in June, was
protracted by the mutual disputes and jealousies of the
contracting parties till near the winter.
] 532. JAMES V. 203
In the meantime, the king resolved to set out on a
summer progress through his dominions, in the course
of which an entertainment was given to the yet youth-
ful monarch by the Earl of Athole, which is strikingly
illustrative of the times. This potent highland chief-
tain, who perhaps indulged in the hope of succeeding
to a portion of the power so lately wrested from Argyle,
received his sovereign at his residence in Athole, with
a ma2:nificence which rivalled the creations of romance.
A rural palace, curiously framed of green timber, was
raised in a meadow, defended at each ano;le bv a hisfh
tower, hung in its various chambers with tapestry of
vsilk and gold, lighted by windows of stained glass, and
surrounded by a moat, in the manner of a feudal fort-
ress. In this fairy mansion, the king was lodged more
sumptuously than in any of his own palaces ; he slept
on the softest down ; listened to the sweetest music ;
saw the fountains around him, flowing with muscadel
and hippocras ; angled for the most delicate fish which
gleamed in the little streams and lakes in the meadow,
or pursued the pastime of the chase, amid woods and
mountains, which abounded with every species of game.
The queen-mother accompanied her son ; and an ambas-
sador from the papal court having arrived shortly be-
fore, was invited to join in the royal progress. The
splendour, profusion, and delicacy of this feudal enter-
tainment, given by those whom he had been accustomed
to consider barbarians, appeared almost miraculous,
even to the warmth of an Italian imagination ; and his
astonishment was not diminished, when Athole, at the
departure of the royal cavalcade, declared that the palace
which had given delight to his sovereign should never be
profaned by a subject, and commanded the whole fabric,
with its innumerable luxuries, to be given to the flamos.
204 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1533.
Altliougli provoked by the continuance of the Border
inrocads, wliich were carried on with the connivance of
the English monarch, at the moment he professed an
anxiety for peace, James wisely suppressed his resent-
ment, and contented himself with a temperate remon-
strance. His situation, indeed, owing to the continued
intrigues of the adherents of the house of Douglas, and
the secret support they received from England,* was
perilous and harassing ; and whatever might be his
individual feelings, it became evident that peace with
that country must be secured, even at some sacrifice.
The Bishop of Aberdeen and Sir Adam Otterburn
were accordingly despatched to the English court with
full powers ; and having met with the English com-
missioners, the Secretary Cromwell and Dr Fox, a
pacification was concluded, which was to last during
the lives of the two monarchs, and to continue for a
year after the death of him who first deceased. It
appears that the Douglases, since their forfeiture, had
gained possession of a fortalice, called Edrington castle,
which James, who was jealous of their retaining even
the smallest property within his dominions, insisted
should be restored. On this condition he agreed that
Angus, Sir George Douglas his brother, and Archibald
his uncle, might remain unmolested in England, sup-
ported by Henry as his subjects, — provided, according
to the Border laws, reparation was made for any en-
terprise which either he or they might conduct against
Scotland. The treaty was concluded on the twelfth
of May, 1534, and soon after ratified with circumstances
* In the State-paper OfFice is a letter from James to Henry, dated 18th
March, 1533-4, in which he complains, that since the departure of his am-
bassador towards England, an incursion had heen made by some borderers
under Sir R. Fenwick into Teviotdale, •which had done more damagt than
any raid during the war.
15S4!. JAMES V. 205
of much solemnity and rejoicing by both monarchs.*
The young king was soon after flattered by the arrival
of Lord William Howard, with the Order of the Garter
from England ; whilst Francis the First requested his
acceptance of that of St Michael ; and the Emperor
Charles the Fifth transmitted the Golden Fleece,*!* by
his ambassador Godeschalco.
James was now in his twenty-second year, and his
marriage was earnestly desired by his subjects. His
fearlessness in his constant efforts to suppress in person
the disturbances which agitated his kingdom exposed
him to constant danger ; he would often, with no greater
force than his own retinue, attack and apprehend the
fiercest banditti; riding by night through solitary and
remote parts of his dominions; invading them in their
fastnesses, and sharing in peril and privations with the
meanest of his followers. Nor was he content with
this nobler imitation of his father, but he unhappily
inherited from him his propensity to low intrigue, and
often exposed his life to the attacks of the robber or
the assassin in his nocturnal visits to his mistresses.
It was observed that the Hamiltons, who, next to the
Duke of Albany, (now an elderly man without chil-
dren,) had the nearest claim to the throne, looked upon
this courasfe and recklessness of the kin<2: with a satis-
faction which was scarcely concealed ; and Buchanan
has even stated, although upon no certain evidence,
that they had made attempts against his life. With
some probability, therefore, of success, the Spanish am-
bassador, in the name of his master, proposed a matri-
* Rymer, vol. xiv. p. 480-537.
+ Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 19. In the State-paper Office is
an original letter from William bishop of Aberdeen to Secretary Cromwell,
dated 8th July, 15o4, promising that the king his master will soon send his
proxy to be installed Knight of the Garter.
ii06 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1534.
moiiial alliance Avitli his niece, the Princess Mary of
Portuiral; but the Scottish kinj; evaded the offer, and
dismissed him with general expressions of esteem. He
regretted at the same time the continued hostility
between his uncle and the emperor, expressed his
sorrow for the violent measure of Iiis double divorce
from Queen Catherine and the papal see, and declared
his own determination to support the religion of his
fathers, and to resist the enemies of the church.*
This resolution he soon after fulfilled, by encouraging
a renewed persecution of the reformers. An ecclesias-
tical court was held in the abbey of Holy rood ; Hay
bishop of Ross presided as commissioner for the car-
dinal; and the king, completely clothed in scarlet, the
judicial costume of the time, took his seat upon the
bench, and gave unwonted solemnity to the unholy
tribunal. Before it many were cited to answer for
their alleged heretical opinions ; some recanted and
publicly abjured their errors ; others, amongst whom
were the brother and sister of Patrick Hamilton, who
had sacrificed his life for his opinions, fled from the
country and took refuge in England ; but David Strai-
ton, and Norman Gourlay a priest, appeared before the
judges and boldly defended their faith. Straiten was
a gentlemen of good family, brother to the baron of
Laurieston. He had engaged in a quarrel with the
Bishop of Moray on the subject of his tithes ; and
in a fit of indignation, had commanded his servants,
when challenged by the collectors, to throw every tenth
fish they caught into the sea, bidding them seek their
tax where he found the stock. From these violent
courses he had softened down into a more quiet inquiry
into the grounds of the right claimed by churchmen ;
* Maitland, vol. ii. p. 809.
1584. JAMES V. 207
and frequenting much the company of Erskine of Dun,
one of the earliest and most eminent of the reformers,
became at length a sincere convert to their doctrines.
It is related, that listening to the Scriptures, which
was read to him by the Laird of Laurieston, he
came upon that passage where our Saviour declares he
will deny before his Father and the holy angels any
one who hath denied him before men : upon which he
was deeply moved, and falling down on his knees, im-
plored God, that, although he had been a great sinner,
he would never permit him, from the fear of any bodily
torment to deny Him or his truth.* And the trial
soon came and was most courageously encountered.
Death, in one of its most terrible forms was before him;
he was earnestly exhorted to escape by abjuring his
belief ; but he steadily refused to purchase his pardon
by retracting a single tenet, and encouraged his fellow
sufferer Gourlay in the same resolution. Both were
burnt on the 27th of August, 1534<.*f- It was during
this persecution that some men, who afterwards became
active instruments in the Reformation, but whose minds
were then in a state of inquiry and transition, consulted
their safety by flight. Of these the most noted were,
Alexander Aless, a canon of St Andrew''s, who became
the friend of Melancthon and Cranmer, and professor
of divinity in the University of Leipsic ; and John
Macbee, better known by his classical surname Mac-
habseus, the favourite of Christiern king of Denmark,
and one of the translators of the Danish Bible. J
* MS. Calderwood, quoted in Pitcairn''s Criminal Trials, vol. i. p. 210*,
211*. Spottiswood''s Church History, p. G6.
f The place of execution was the Rood or Cross of Greenside, on the
Calton-hill, Edinburgh.
+ Gerdes' Hist. Evangelii Renovati, vol. iii. p. 417. M'Crie's Appendix
to Life of Knox, vol. i. p. 357. M' Bee's true name, as shown by Dr M'Crie,
on the authority of Gerdes and Vinding, was M' Alpine, a singular transfor-
mation.
208 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1535.
It was now one great object of Henry to induce his
n3phew to imitate his example by shaking off the yoke
of Rome, and establishing the Reformation in his do-
minions. To this end he made an earnest proposal
for a marriasje between James and his daii2:hter the
Princess ^lary; he despatched successively Dr Barlow
his chaplain, and Lord William Howard, into Scotland,
with the suggestion that a conference should take place
at York, between himself and the Scottish king;* and
he endeavoured to open James''s eyes to the crimes and
usurpations of the hierarchy of the church of Rome.
But it was the frequent fault of the English monarch
that he defeated many a wise purpose by the impetu-
osity w'ith which he attempted to carry it forward;
and, in this instance, the keenness of Barlow, and the
haufrhtiness of Howard, were ill calculated to manaire
so delicate a ne^rotiation. James actin": by the advice
of his privy-council, who were mostly ecclesiastics, and
are described by Barlow as " the Pope"'s pestilent crea-
tures, and very limbs of the devil," refused to accept
the treatise entitled " The Doctrine of a Christian
Man," which had been sent him by his uncle. The
conference, to which, through the influence of the
queen-dowager, the king had at first consented, was
indefinitely postponed ;■[- and the feelings of the sove-
reifrn and his counsellors reirardino: the marriag-e with
an English princess, were soon plainly expressed by
the despatch of an embassy to France for the purpose
of concluding a matrimonial alliance with that crown.
The death of Clement the Seventh, which took place
* It appears, from a copy of Henry's instructions to Lord William Howard,
preserved in the State-paper Office, he not only proposes a conference at
York, but suggests that James should afterwards accompany him to Calais,
where they would meet the French king.
*j- MS. Letter in State-paper Office. Queen Margaret to Henrj' the Eighth,
dated 12th December, 15c!5.
:i5o5. JAMES V. 209
in the autumn of this year, was followed, as is well
known, by the most decided measures upon the part
of Henry the Eighth. The confirmation of his supre-
macy as head of the church by the English parliament,
the declared legality of the divorce, and the legitimacy
of the children of Anne Boleyn, with the cruel impri-
sonment and subsequent execution of Fisher and More,
convinced the new pontiff Paul the Third, that he had
for ever lost the English monarch. It only remained
for him to adopt every method for the preservation
of the spiritual allegiance of his remaining children.
Amongst other missions he despatched his legate An-
tonio Campeggio into Scotland, with instructions to
use every effort for the confirmation of James in his
attachment to the popedom, whilst he trusted that the
marria2:e of the second son of Francis the First to the
Pope's niece Catherine de Medici, would have the effect
of enlistins: the whole interest of this monarch a^rainst
the dissemination of the Lutheran opinions in his
dominions. To James, Campeggio addressed an exposi-
tion of the scandalous conduct of the Enoiish kins: in
making his religious scruples, and his separation from
the church of Rome, a cloak for the gratification of his
lust and ambition ; he drew a flattering contrast between
the tyranny and hypocrisy which had guided his con-
duct, and the attachment of his youthful nephew of
Scotland to the holy see, addressing him by that title
of Defender of the Faith,* which had been unworthily
bestowed upon its worst enemy ; and he laid at his
feet a cap and sword which had been consecrated by
the Pope upon the anniversary of the Nativity. We
are to measure the effects of such gifts by the feelings
* It appears, by a letter in the State-paper OflBce, that Henry remonstrated
against this title being given to James.
VOL. V. n
210 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1535.
of the times, and there can be little doubt that their
influence was considerable ; but a permission from his
holiness to levy an additional contribution upon his
clergy, was, in the present distressed state of the royal
linances, not the least efficacious of his arguments.
In the meantime the Scottish ambassadors in France
liad concluded a marriage between their sovereign and
!Marie de Bourbon, daughter of the Duke of Vendosme;
whilst Henry, jealous of the late papal embassy, and
aware that such a union must confirm the attachment
of his nephew to the Roman see, encouraged the dis-
contents amongst the Scottish nobility, promoted the
intrio'ues of the Doufrlases for their restoration to their
native country, and even succeeded in corrupting the
fidelity of James"'s ambassador. Sir Adam Otterburn,
who was afterwards imprisoned for a secret negotiation,
with the partisans of Angus.*
A parliament w^as held this summer (June eighth,
1535) in which, amid much that is uninteresting to
the historian, there are found some provisions worthy
of attention. It was made imperative on the Border
barons and gentlemen, to restore something like secu-
rity to their disturbed districts, by rebuilding the
towers and peels wdiich had been razed during the
late wars ; weapon-schawings, or armed musters, were
enforced ; and the importation of arms, harness, and
warlike ammunition was encouraged. The act passed
in a late parliament against the importation of the
* In the State-paper Office is a Letter from Otterburn to Cromwell, dated
18th of October, (probably of the year L5o5,) in which he regi-ets that he
was not able, from illness, to pay more attention to the English ambassadors;
and states, that although they could not agree touching the authority of the
Pope, he would use every effort to preserve the amity between the two
kingdoms. The practices of Otterburn, and his secret correspondence with
the English, had been of long duration. He seems to have been one of those
busy intriguers who, in the minority of James, made a gain of giving secret
information to England.
1535. JAMES V. 211
works of " the great heretic, Luther," with his disciples
or followers, was repeated ; and the discussion of his
opinions, except with the object of proving their false-
hood, was sternly prohibited, whilst all persons having
any such works in their possession were commanded
to deliver them up to their Ordinary within forty days,
under the penalty of confiscation and imprisonment.
It is evident that the late cruel exhibitions had only
fostered the principles which they were meant to era-
dicate. One other act relating to the burghs, in that
dark age the little nurseries of industry and freedom, is
striking, and must have had important consequences.
It appears that a practice had crept in of electing the
feudal barons in the neighbourhood to the offices in
the magistracy of the burgh; and the effects, as might
have been anticipated, were highly injurious. Instead
of industrious citizens occupied in their respective
trades, and adding by their success to the wealth, the
tranquillity, and the general civilisation of the country,
the provost, and aldermen or bailies, were idle, fac-
tious, and tyrannical ; domineering over the industrious
burgesses, and consuming their substance. To remedy
this, it was provided that no man hereafter should be
chosen to fill any office in the magistracy of the burgh,
but such as were themselves honest and substantial
burgesses; a wise enactment, which, if carried strictly
into execution, must have been attended with the best
effects.*
The continued war between Francis and the emperor,
made it expedient for the former monarch to keep on
good terms with Henry ; and so effectually was the
English interest exerted, both at the court of France
and of Scotland, in creatine^ obstacles to the kino-'s
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. S49.
212 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1536.
marriage, that James secretly determined to leave his
dominions in disguise, and overrule every objection in
a personal interview with his intended fatlier-in-law :
a romantic and somewhat imprudent resolution, in
which, liowever, it is not improbable that he may have
been encouraged by some of his confidential advisers
amongst the clergy. The vessel in which he embarked
with his slender retinue encountered a severe gale; and
the monarch, wlio had fallen asleep from fatigue, found
liimself, on awakening, once more close to the coasts of
Scotland ; a result which some of our historians have
ascribed to the jealousy of his companion Sir James
Hamilton ; who, during the slumber of his master,
seized the helm, and put about the ship. It is well
known that the Hamiltons, from their hopes of suc-
cession to the crown, were opposed to the marriage ;
yet it may be questioned whether they would thus
publicly expose their ambition.
But the king was not to be so easily deterred from
his design ; and his project of a voyage in disguise
having failed, he determined to execute his purpose
with suitable deliberation and masfnificence. A re-
gency was appointed, which consisted of Beaton the
archbishop of St Andrew's, Dunbar archbishop of
Glasgow the chancellor, the earls of Eglinton, Mon-
trose, and Huntley, with the Lord Maxwell ; and the
king, having first paid his devotions at the shrine
dedicated to our Lady of Loretto near Musselburgh,
and off'ered his prayers for a happy voyage, sailed from
Leitli with a squadron of seven vessels, accompanied by
a splendid suite of his spiritual and temporal nobility.
A fair wind brought them on the tenth day to Dieppe;
and Francis, whose hopes were at this moment highly
elated by his successes against the emperor, immediate-
1,536. JAMES V. 213
ly invited the royal visiter to Paris, and despatched
the dauphin to conduct him thither. James's first
desire, however, was to see his affianced bride ; and,
repairing in disguise to the palace of the Duke de
Vendosme, he was recognised as he mingled with the
gay crowds that peopled its halls, by his likeness to a
miniature portrait which he had sent her from Scotland.
Marie de Bourbon is said to have been deeply capti-
vated by the noble mien and gallant accomplishments
of her intended husband ; but the impression was not
mutual : and whether from the ambition of a higher
alliance, or the fickleness of youthful afi'ection, James
transferred his love from the Lady of Vendosme, to the
Princess Magdalen, the only daughter of Francis, a
beautiful girl of sixteen, but over whose features con-
sumption had already thrown a melancholy langour,
which was in vain pointed out to the king by the
warning voice of his counsellors. It is said by the
French historians, that the princess had fallen in love
wdth the Scottish monarch at first sight; and although
her father earnestly and afiectionately dissuaded the
match, on account of her extreme delicacy of constitu-
tion. James would hear of no delav, and on new-year's
day the marriage was celebrated with much pomp in
the church of Notre-Dame. The Kings of France and
Navarre, and many illustrious foreigners surrounded
the altar ; and Rome, as if to confirm and flatter its
youthful champion, lent a peculiar solemnity to the
ceremony by the presence of seven cardinals. Feasts,
masques, tournaments, and all the accompaniments of
feudal joy and magnificence succeeded; nor was it till
the spring that the king thought of his departure with
his youthful queen.
An application had been made by Francis to Henry,
214 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1536.
that the royal couple should be allowed to pass through
England, but it was refused. The secret reasons of
this ungracious proceeding, which appear in a minute
of the privy-council, were tlic discontent felt by the
English monarch at the refusal of his request for the
pardon of Angus, and a desire to avoid the expense of
receiving his royal nephew with the honours due to his
rank. Compelled to return by sea, James embarked
at Dieppe, and arrived with his ^^outhful bride at Leith
on the nineteenth of May. On descending from the
ship, ^Magdalen knelt upon the beach, and taking up
some portion of the sand, kissed it with deep emotion,
whilst she implored a blessing upon her new country,
and her beloved husband : an affecting incident, when
viewed in connexion with her rapid and early fate.
Meanwhile nothing could exceed the joy of the people
at the return of their prince ; and the graceful and
elegant festivals of France were succeeded by the ruder,
but not less cordial, pageants of his own kingdom.
James had remained in Paris for nearly nine months :
an interval of no little importance when we consider
the great changes which were so suddenly to succeed
his arrival in his dominions. The causes of these
events which have hitherto escaped the notice of our
historians, are well worthy of investigation. Of these
the first seems to be the remarkable influence which
Francis acquired over the mind of his son-in-law ; an
influence which, notwithstanding the peace then nomi-
nally existing between Henry and the French monarch,
was unquestionably employed in exciting him against
England. The progress of the reformed opinions in
France;, the violence and selfishness of Henry, and the
dictatorial tone which he was accustomed to infuse
into his negotiations, although for the time it did not
1537. JAMES V. 215
produce an actual broach between the two monarchs,
coukl not fail to alienate so high-minded a prince as
Francis. The Pope, whose existence seemed to hang
on. the result, intermitted no effort to terminate the
disputes between the French king and the emperor,
projecting a coalition against Henry as the common
enemy of Christendom. He had so far succeeded in
1537, as to accomplish a truce concluded at Nice be-
tween these two great potentates, which was extended
in the following year to a pacification of ten years.
From this time the cordiality between Francis and
Henry was completely at an end, whilst the Pope did
not despair to bring about a combination which should
make the royal innovator tremble for his boasted supre-
macy, and even for his throne. It was with this object
that James was flattered by every argument which
could have w^eight in a young and ardent mind, to
induce him to unite himself cordially in the league.
On the other hand the conduct of Henry during the
absence of the Scottish king was little calculated to
allay the feelings of irritation and resentment which
already existed between them. Sir Ralph Sadler, a
minister of great ability, had been sent into Scotland,
to complete the system of secret influence and intelli-
gence introduced and long acted on by Lord Dacre.
He was instructed to gain an influence over the nobility,
to attach to his interest the queen-mother, and to sound
the inclinations of the people on the subject of peace
or war — an adoption of the reformed opinions, or a
maintenance of the ancient religion. The Douglases
were still maintained with high favour and generous
allowances in England ; their power, although nomi-
nally extinct, was still far from being destroyed ; their
spies penetnted into every quarter, followed the king
21() HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1537-
to France, and gave information of his most private
motions;* their feudal covenants and bands of manrent
still existed and bound many of the most potent nobi-
lity to their interest, whilst the vigour of the king's
government, and lii.s preference of the clergy to the
temporal lords, disgusted these proud chiefs, and dis-
posed them to hope for a recovery of their influence
from any change which might take place.
All these circumstances were well known to the Scot-
tish king, and a more prospective policy might perhaps
have dictated a reconciliation with the Douolases as
the likeliest means of accomplishing his great design
for the maintenance of the Catholic religion, and the
humbling the power of England : but the tyranny of
this haughty house, and the injuries which they had
accumulated upon him, were yet fresh in his memory.
He had determined that so long as he lived, no Douglas
should ever return to Scotland : he underrated, pro-
bably, the power possessed by a feudal nobility ; and
beino- naturallv endowed with uncommon vio-our and
resolution of mind, determined to attempt the execu-
tion of his plans, not only without their support, but
in the face of their utmost endeavours against him.
We may thus discern the state of parties at the return
of James to his dominions. On the one hand is seen
Henry the Eighth, the great foe to the supremacy of
the see of Rome, supported in Scotland not only by
the still formidable power and unceasing intrigues of
the Douglases, but by a large proportion of the nobles,
and the talents of his sister the queen-mother. On
the other hand, we perceive the King of Scotland,
backed by the united talent, zeal, and wealth of the
* Letter of Penman to Sir G. Douglas. Calig. B. iii. 293. Paris, 29th
October, 1536.
1538. JAMES V. 217
Catholic clergy, the loyalty of some of the most potent
peers, the cordial co-operation of France, the approval
of the emperor, the affection of the great body of his
people, upon whom the doctrines of Luther had not as
yet made any very general impression, and the cordial
support of the papal see. The progress of events will
strongly develop the operation and collision of these
various parties and interests. We shall be enabled to
observe the slow but uninterrupted progress towards
the reception of the great principles of the Reformation,
and, amid much individual error and suflering, to mark
the sublime manner in which the wrath and the sin of
man are compelled to work out the predetermined pur-
poses of a most wise and holy God.
To resume the current of events : the monarch had
scarcely settled in his dominions, and entered upon
the administration of the government, when his youth-
ful and beautiful queen sunk under the disease which
had so strono-lv indicated itself before her marrias^e ;
and, to the deep sorrow of her husband and the wdiole
nation, expired on the seventh of July. The mind of the
sovereign although clouded for a season by the calamity,
soon shook off the enervating influence of grief, and
James demonstrated the firmness of purpose with
which he had adopted his plans, in the decided step
which he took within a few months after this sad event.
David Beaton bishop of Mirepoix, and afterwards the
celebrated cardinal, was sent on a matrimonial embassy
to France, accompanied by Lord Maxwell and the Mas-
ter of Glencairn, where, with the least possible delay, he
concluded the espousals between Mary of Guise, the
widow of the Duke of Longueville, and his royal master.
Nor was the full year of grief allowed to elapse before
the princess arrived, and the king celebrated his second
218 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1538.
marriage in tlie cathedral church at St Andrew"'s.* The
ties which attached him to France were thus doubly
strengthened, and the consequences of this union with
the house of Guise may be long detected in those clouds
of dark and complicated misfortune which were now
slowly gathering around the country.
In the interval between the death of IMasfdalen and
the union with Mary of Guise, the life of the monarch
had been twice menaced by secret conspiracy ; and
there seems to be little doubt, that both plots are to
be traced to the widely spreading intrigues of the
house of Douglas ; nay, there is a strong presumption
that they were directly connected with each other.
The first plot, and that which seems to have attracted
least notice, was headed by the Master of Forbes, a fierce
and turbulent chief, distin2:uished, under the irovern-
ment of Albany, for his murder of Seton of Meldrum,
and his subserviency to the schemes of England. This
person was tried, condemned, and executed on the
same day ; but unfortunately, in the absence of all
authentic records, it is difficult to detect the particulars
of the conspiracy. Having married a sister of the Earl
of Angus, he was naturally a partisan of the Douglases;
and, upon their fall from power, and subsequent
banishment from Scotland, he appears to have vigor-
ously exerted himself in those scenes of private coalition
and open violence by which their friends attempted to
promote their interests and accelerate their return.
For the same reason he had been a decided enemy of
* Henry the Eighth, as it appears by the Ambassade de M, Chatillon,
Lettres Dec. 10 and 11, had become, by the report of Mr Wallop, one of
his agents, enamoured of the same lady, chiefly on account of her large and
comely size. He demanded her of Francis, and took the refusal violently
amiss, although it was stated to him that the contract of marriage between
this princess and James the Fifth had been solemnly concluded. — Carte's
History, vol. iii. p. 152.
1538. JAMES V. 219
Albany during liis government, and the refusal of the
Scottish lords encamped at Wark to lead their vassals
against England, was mainly ascribed to his conduct
and counsel ; a proceeding which was, in the eye of
law, an act of treason, as Albany was then regent by
the appointment of the three Estates. There is no
evidence that any notice was taken of this at the
time, but as early as the king'*s journey to France, in
June, 1536, Forbes had been accused by Huntley of a
design to shoot the king as he passed through his
burgh of Aberdeen, and of conspiring the destruction
of a part of the army of Scotland, — charges upon which
both himself and his father. Lord Forbes, were then
imprisoned ; nor did the trial take place till upwards of
fourteen months after. The meagre details of our early
criminal records, unfortunately, do not permit us to
ascertain the nature of the proofs against him. He
was found guilty by a jury, against whom Calderwood
has brought an unsupported assertion that they were
corrupted by Huntley,* but, as far as can be discovered,
the accusation seems unjust : no bias or partiality can
be traced to any of the jurymen ; no previous animosity
can be established against Huntley, but rather the
contrary ;-)- and the leniency of James, in the speedy
liberation of Lord Forbes, in admitting the brother of
the criminal to an office in his household, and abstain-
ing from the forfeiture of his estates, proved the absence
of everything like vindictive feeling. All men re-
joiced at the acquittal of the father, and some doubted
whether the crime for which he suffered was brought
home to the son, but none lamented the fate of one
already stained by murder and spoliation of a very
* Calderwood Hist, MS. quoted in Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, p. 103.
+ Pitcairn''s Collection of Criminal Trials, p. 183-187 inclusive.
220 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1538.
atrocious description.* Over tlic story of assassinat-
ing the king, the obscurity is so deep, that all efforts
to reach its truth, or even its circumstances, are
baffled ; but of the refusal to invade England, and
the endeavour to compass the destruction and dishon-
our of the Scottish army, there can be little doubt
that Forbes was guilty in common with many other
peers. Nor is it to be forgotten, that Albany, on his
return from this unfortunate expedition, accused the
Scottish nobles, not only of retiring in the face of
the enemy, but of entertaining a secret design of
delivering him to the English. i* It is not improbable
that the secret reason for the long delay of the trial,
is to be found in the anxiety of the king to obtain
from Albany, who was then in France, decisive evidence
ao-ainst the criminal.
The other conspiracy, of which the guilt was more
certain, and in its character more dreadful, excited a
deeper interest and sympath}^ from the sex and beauty
of the accused. Janet Douglas, the sister of the
banished Angus, had married Lord Glammis, and,
after his death, took to her second husband, a gentle-
man named Campbell of Skipnish. Her son. Lord
Glammis, was in his sixteenth year, and she a youth-
ful matron, in the maturity of her beauty, mingled
little with the court since the calamity of her house.
A w^eek had scarcely passed since James had paid the
last rites to his beloved queen, and the mind of the
monarch was still absorbed in the bitterness of recent
grief, when, to the astonishment of all men, this noble
* Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i. pp. 183, 187. See Letter B, in Illus-
trations, on the trial of Lady Glammis.
+ Caligula, B. i. 281. Letter of Queen Margaret to Surrey, " Bot he
thynketh na schame of it, for he makyth hys excuse that the lords wold
not pass in Ingland with hym ; also that my lord of Aren, and my lord of
Lenos, wyth other lordys, he sayth, that they wold haf seld hym in Ingland."
1538. JAMES V. 221
matron, only two days after the execution of the Master
of Forbes, was publicly arraigned of conspiring the
king'^s death by poison, pronounced guilty and con-
demned to be burnt.* She suffered her dreadful fate
with the hereditary courage of her house ; and the
sympathy of the people, ever readily awakened, and
unenlightened by any knowledge of the evidence
brought against her, too hastily pronounced her inno-
cent, ascribing her condemnation to James"'s inveterate
hostility to the Douglases. Her son, Lord Glammis,
a youth in his sixteenth year, was convicted, upon his
own confession, that he knew and had concealed the
conspiracy ; but the monarch commiserated his youth,
and the sentence of death was changed into imprison-
ment ; Archibald Campbell of Skipnish, her husband,
having been shut up in the castle of Edinburgh, in
attempting to escape, perished miserably by being
dashed to pieces on the rocks ; John Lyon, an ac-
complice, was tried and hanged ; whilst Makke, by
whom the poison had been prepared, and from whom
it was purchased, escaped with the loss of his ears, and
banishment."!* It must be confessed, that the circum-
stances of this remarkable tragedy are involved in much
obscurity ; but an examination of the evidence which
has been lately published, leaves upon the mind little
doubt of her guilt. J
* The Master of Forbes was tried, condemned and executed on the 14th
of July ; Lady Glammis was tried, condemned, and executed on the 17th of
the same month. — Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i. pp. 184, 190. Lord
Glammis was tried and found guilty on the 10th July. His confession was
probably employed as evidence against his mother.
+ Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, vol. i. pp, 199, 202, 203. John Lyon •y/as
found guilty, at the same time, of an attempt to poison the Earl of Rothes ;
the families of Rothes and Glammis were connected. The mother of John,
sixth Lord Glammis, (Lady Glammis's husband,) was Elizabeth Grey. On
the death of her first husband, John, fourth Lord Glammis, she married
Alexander, third Earl of Huntlev ; and, on his death, she married George
earl of Rothes.— Douglas, vol. ii. pp. 429, 563. Vol. i. p. 646, 668.
+ See, in the Illustrations, a note on the conspiracy of the Lady Glammis.
2*J2 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1538.
Although James supported his clergy in their per-
secution of the Protestant doctrines, which were now
rapidly gaining ground in the country, it was not so
much with the zeal of a bigot as with the views of a
politician. That he was not indisposed to a moderate
Reformation of the abuses in the Catholic church, is
evident, from the liberality with which he permitted
the exhibition of the dramatic satire of Lindsay, and
the severity of his censures upon the excesses of some
of the prelates ; but his determination to humble the
power of the nobles, to destroy the secret influence of
England, and to reign a free monarch over an inde-
pendent kingdom, was, he thought, to be best accom-
plished by the assistance of the great body of the clergy,
whose talents, wealth, and influence formed the only
eff'ectual counterpoise to the weight of the temporal
peers. The impetuosity of the character of Henry,
and the haughtiness with which he dictated his com-
mands, alienated from him the mind of his nephew,
and disposed him to listen with greater favour to the
proposals of Francis, and the wishes of the house of
Guise. The state of England also encouraged him to
hope, that the king would be soon too much engrossed
with his domestic afi'airs, to find leisure for a continu-
ance of his intri2:ues with Scotland. The discontents
amongst his Catholic subjects had become so deep and
general, that within no very long period three insur-
rections had broken out in different parts of the coun-
try; various prophecies, songs, and libellous rhymes,
which spoke openly of the accession of the Scottish
That this unfortunate lady, by her secret practices >yith the Earl of Angus
and the Douglases, had brought herself ■within the statute which made such
intercourse treason, is certain ; but her participation in any conspiracy against
the king, has been much questioned, as it appears to me, on insufficient
grounds.
1 538. JAMES V. 223
monarch to the English throne, began to be circulated
amongst the people ; and numerous parties of disaf-
fected Catholics, intimidated by the violence of Henry,
took refuge in the sister kingdom. James, indeed, in
his intercourse with the English council, not only pro-
fessed his contempt for such " fantastic prophecies,"
but ordered that all who possessed copies of them
should instantly, under the penalty of death and con-
fiscation, commit them to the flames ;* yet, so far as
they indicated the unpopularity of the king, it may be
conjectured that he regarded them with satisfaction.
Another event, which happened about this time, was
attended with important consequences. James Beaton
archbishop of St Andrew''s, who had long exercised a
commandino; influence over the affairs of the kino-dom,
died in the autumn of the year 1539, and w^as succeeded
in the primacy by his nephew, Cardinal Beaton, a man
far superior in talent, and still more devotedly attached
to the interests of the church from which he derived
his exaltation. It was Beaton who had neirotiated the
second marriage of the king with Mary of Guise ; and
such was the high opinion which his royal master en-
tertained of his abilities in the manas^ement of state
affairs, that he appears soon to have selected him as his
principal adviser in the accomplishment of those great
schemes which now occupied his mind.
Beaton"*s accession to the supreme ecclesiastical
authority, was marked by a renewed persecution of
the reformers. It was a remarkable circumstance, that
however corrupt may have been the higher orders of
the Roman Catholic church at this period in Scotland,
* Caligula, B. i. 295. James in an original Letter to the Bishop of Lan-
deth (Landaff), dated 5th of February, in the thirty-sixth year of his reign,
informs him that he suspects such ballads are the composition either of
Henry's own subjects, or of Scottish rebels residing in England.
224 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1559.
the great majority of converts to the principles of the
Reformation were to be found amongst the orders of
the inferior clergy. This was shown in the present
persecution. Keillor, a black friar; Dean Thomas
Forret, vicar of Dollar, and a canon regular of the
monastery of StColm''s Inch; Simpson, a priest; John
Beveridge, also a black friar; and Forrester, a notary
in Stirling, were summoned to appear before a council
held by Cardinal Beaton, and William Chisholme the
Bishop of Dunblane. It gives us a low opinion of the
purity of the ecclesiastical judges before whom these
early disciples of the Reformation were called, when
we find the bench filled by Beaton and Chisholme, the
first notorious for his gallantry and licentiousness, the
second commemorated by Keith as the father of three
natural children, for whom he provided portions by
alienating the patrimony of his bishopric*
Friar Keillor had roused the indignation of the
church by the composition of one of those plays, or
dramatic " m^^steries," common in such times, in
which, under the character of the chief priests and
Pharisees who condemned our Saviour, he had satirized
the prelates who persecuted his true disciples. Against
Forret, who owed his conversion to the perusal of a
volume of St Augustine, a more singular charge was
preferred, if we may believe the ecclesiastical historian.
He was accused of preaching to his parishioners, a
duty then invariably abandoned to the orders of friars;
and of exposing the mysteries of Scripture to the vul-
gar in their own tongue. It was on this occasion that
Crichton bishop of Dunkeld, a prelate more celebrated
for his generous style of living and magnificent hospi-
tality, than for any learned or theological endowments,
* Keith's Catalogue, p. 105.
1539. JAMES V. 225
undertook to remonstrate with the vicar, observing,
with much simplicity, that it was too much to preach
every Sunday, as it might lead the people to think that
the prelates ought to preach also : " Nevertheless,"
contmued he, " when thou findest any good epistle or
gospel which sets forth the liberty of the Holy Church,
thou mayst read it to thy flock." The vicar replied to
this, that he had carefully read through both the Old
and New Testament, and in its whole compass had not
found one evil epistle or gospel ; but if his lordship
would point them out, he would be sedulous in avoid-
ing them. " Nay, brother Thomas, my joy, that I
cannot do," said the bishop, smiling ; " for I am con-
tented with my breviary and pontifical, and know-
neither the Old or New Testament; and yet thou seest
I have come on indifferently well : but take my advice,
leave these fancies, else thou mayst repent when it is
too late."* It was likewise objected to Forret, upon
his trial, that he had taught his parishioners the Lord's
Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Creed in the
vulgar tongue ; that he had questioned the right of
taking tithes, and had restored them to the poorer
members of his flock. His defence, which he ground-
ed on Scripture, wa,s received with insult ; his Bible
plucked from his hand by Lauder, who denounced as
heretical the conclusions he had drawn from it, and
himself and his companions condemned to the stake.
The sentence was executed on the Castle-hill of Edin-
burgh, on the thirty-first February, 15S8-9."[* But
such cruel exhibitions were not confined to the capital.
In the same year, Kennedy, a youth of eighteen years
of age, and Russel, a grey friar, were found guilty of
■• MS. Calderw'ood, Pitcaim, vol. i. p. 212*.
•f Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 23.
VOL. V.
226 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1539.
heresy, and burnt at Glasgow; Arclibisliop Dunbar
having, it is said, in vain, interceded with the cardinal
to spare their lives. Kennedy is described by Knox
as one who possessed a fine genius for Scottish poetry;
and it is not improbable he ma}^ like Lindsay and
Dunbar, have distinguished himself by some of those
satirical effusions against the higher clergy, which it is
well known were not the least efficient weapons in pre-
paring the way for the Reformation. But the prospect
of so cruel a death shook his resolution, and it was ex-
pected he was about to recant, when the exhortations
of Russel, a meek but courageous partisan of the new
doctrines, produced a sudden change. Falling on his
knees, he blessed the goodness and mercy of God, which
had saved him from impending destruction, and break-
ing out into an ecstacy of triumph, declared he now
coveted death, and would readily endure the utmost
tortures they could inflict. " IN'ow," said Russel, fix-
ing his eyes on the prelates who presided ; " now is
your hour, and the power of darkness ; ye now sit in
judgment, whilst we stand before you falsely accused
and most wrongfully condemned. But the day is
coming when we shall have our innocence declared, and
ye shall discover your blindness — meanwhile proceed,
and fill up the measure of your iniquities."*
The effect of these inhuman executions was highly
favourable to the principles of the Reformation, a cir-
cumstance to which the eyes of the clergy, and of the
monarch who lent them his sanction, w^ere completely
blinded ; and it is extraordinary they should not have
perceived that they operated against them in another
way by compelling many of the persecuted families to
embrace the interests of the Douglases.
* MS. Calderw-ood, Pitcaim's Criminal Trials, vol. i, p. 216.
15S9. JAMES V. 227
The continued and mutual inroads upon the Borders
now called loudly for redress, and Henry, having de-
spatched the Duke of Norfolk, his lieutenant in the
north, to punish the malefactors, the Scottish king, in
a letter addressed to that nobleman, not only expressed
his satisfaction with this appointment, but his readi-
ness to deliver into his hands all English subjects who
had fled into Scotland.* The presence of the English
earl in the disturbed districts was soon after followed
by the mission of Sir Ralph Sadler to the Scottish
court, an event accelerated by the intelligence which
Henry had received of the coalition between Francis
the First and the emperor, and by his anxiety to pre-
vent his nephew from joining the confederacy against
him. Of Sadler''s reception and negotiation we fortu-
nately possess an authentic account, and it throws a
clear light upon the state of parties in Scotland.
His instructions directed him to discover, if possible,
James"'s real intentions with regard to the league by
the emperor and Francis against England ; to ascertain
in what manner the monarch was aflected towards the
reformed opinions, and by an exposure of the tyranny
of the papal power, the scandalous lives of the majority
of the clergy, and the enormous wealth which had been
engrossed by the church, to awaken the royal mind to
the necessity and the advantage of a suppression of the
monasteries, and a rupture with the supreme pontiff".
To accomplish this more eff'ectually, the ambassador
carried with him certain letters of Cardinal Beaton,
addressed to Rome, wiiich had accidentally fallen into
Henry's hands, and the contents of which it was ex-
pected would awaken the jealousy of his master, and
lead to the disgrace of the cardinal ; whilst Sadlei
* Original letter in the State-paper Office.
228 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 153[).
was to renew the proposal for a personal conference
between the two princes, and to hold out to his ambi-
tion the hope of his succession to tlie crown of England,
in the event of the death of Henrj''s infant and only
son, Prince Edward.*
On his arrival in Scotland, the ambassador was
welcomed with cordiality, and although he failed in
the main purpose of his mission, his reception indicated
a desire upon the part of James to preserve the most
amicable relations with England. This prince declared,
and apparently with sincerity, that if Henry ""s conduct
corresponded to his professions, nothing should induce
him to join in any hostile coalition with Charles or
Francis, but he steadily refused to imitate his example
in throwinij off his allef]^iance to the head of the church,
dissolving the monasteries, or abjuring the religion of
his fathers. As to the letters of the cardinal, the king
remarked that he had already seen them, and he smiled
with polite contempt when Sadler attributed to Beaton
a scheme for the usurping the government of his realm,
and placing it in the hands of the Pope. He admitted,
at the same time, the profligacy of some of his clergy,
and declared with an oath that he would compel them
to lead a life more suitable to their profession ; but he
pronounced a merited eulogium on their superior know-
ledge and talents, their loyalty to the government, and
their readiness to assist him in his difficulties. When
pressed upon the point of a conference, he dexterously
waved the subject, and, without giving a refusal, de-
clared his wish that his allv the Kins: of France
should be present on the occasion, a condition upon
* It gives us a mean opinion of the wisdom of the English monarch, to
find Sadler instructed to remonstrate with James, upon his unkingly mode
of increasing his revenue, by his keeping vast flocks of sheep, and busying
himself in other agricultural pursuits.
1540. JAMES V. 22.9
which Sadler had received no instructions. On the
whole the conference between James and the ambas-
sador placed in a favourable light the prudence and
good sense of the Scottish monarch, under circum-
stances which required the exertion of these qualities
in no common deirree.*
He now meditated an important enterprise, and only
awaited the confinement of the queen to carry it into
effect. -[* The remoter portions of his kingdom, the
northern counties, and the Western and Orkney islands
had, as we have already seen, been grievously neglected
during his minority; they had been torn by the con-
tentions of hostile clans ; and their condition, owing to
the incursions of the petty chiefs and pirate adventurers
who infested these seas, was deplorable. This the
monarch now resolved to redress, by a voyage conducted
in person, and fitted out upon a scale which had not
before been attempted by any of his predecessors. A
fleet of twelve ships was assembled, amply furnished
with artillery, provided for a lengthened voyage, and
commanded by the most skilful mariners in his domin-
ions. Of these, six ships were appropriated to the king,
three were victuallers, and the remaining three carried
separately the cardinal, the Earl of Huntley, and the
Earl of Arran. J Beaton conducted a force of five hun-
dred men from Fife and Angus ; Huntley and Arran
brought with them a thousand, and this little army
was strengthened by the royal suite, and many barons
and gentlemen who swelled the train of their prince, or
* Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. pp. 29, 30.
"Y Caligula, B. iii. 219. "Albeit it is said the k}Tige of Scottis causes the
schippys to be furnj'sched and in a redines, and after the queene be delivered he
willgohymself." J. Thompson to SirThomas Wharton, Carlisle, May 4, 1540.
X Ther be preparyt in all twelf shyppys, whereof thre as is aforesaid for
the cardinall and the two erlys, and thre other shy pis for vj-talis only, and six
for the kyngand hys trayne, * * the said ships ar all well ordanansyd." Edward
Aglionby to Sir Thomas Wharton, Carlisle, May 4, 1540. Caligula, B. iii. 217.
280 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1540.
followed on this distant enterprise tlie banner of their
chiefs. It was one laudable object of the king in his
voyage, to complete an accurate nautical survey of the
northern coasts and isles, for which purpose he carried
with him Alexander Lindsay, a skilful pilot and hy-
drographer, whose charts and observations remain to
the present day.* But his principal design was to
overawe the rebellious chiefs, to enforce obedience to
the laws, and to reduce within the limits of order and
good government a portion of his dominions, which,
for the last thirty years, had repeatedly refused to ac-
knowledge their dependence upon the Scottish crown.
On the 22d of May, to the great joy of the monarch
and his people, the queen presented them with a prince,
and James, whose preparations were complete, hoisted
the royal flag on board the admiral's ship, and favoured
with a serene heaven and a favourable breeze, conducted
his fleet along the populous coasts of Fife, Angus, and
Buchan, till he doubled the promontory of Kennedar.-f-
He next visited the wild shores of Caithness, and
crossing the Pentland Firth was gratified on reaching
the Orkneys by finding these islands in a state of
greater improvement and civilisation than he had ven-
tured to expect. Doubling cape Wrath the royal
squadron steered for the Lewis, Harris, and the isles
of North and South Uist; they next crossed over to
Skye, made a descent upon Glenelg, Moidart and
Ardnamurchan, circumnavigated Mull, visited Coll and
Tiree, swept along the romantic coast of Argyle, and
passing the promontory of Kentire, delayed awhile on
the shores of Arran, and cast anchor beside the richer
and more verdant fields of Bute. Throughout the whole
progress, the voyage did not exhibit exclusively the
* Harleian MSS. 399G. f Probably Kinnaird's Head is here meant.
1540. JAMES V. 231
stern aspect of a military expedition, but mingled the
delight of the chase, of which James was passionately
fond, with the graver cares and labours of the monarch
and the legislator. The rude natives of these savage
and distant regions flocked to the shore to gaze on the
unusual apparition, as the fleet swept past their pro-
montories ; and the mountain and island lords crowd-
ed round the royal pavilion which was pitched upon
the beach, to deprecate resentment and profiler their
allegiance. The force which was aboard appears to
have been amply sufficient to secure a prompt submis-
sion upon the part of those fierce chieftains who had
hitherto bid defiance to all regular government, and
James, who dreaded lest the departure of the fleet
should be a signal for a return to their former courses,
insisted that many of them should accompany him to
the capital, and remain there as hostages for the peace-
able deportment of their followers.* Some of the most
refractory were even thrown into irons and confined
on board the ships, whilst others were treated with a
kindness which soon substituted the ties of afiectionate
allegiance for those of compulsion and terror.-f- On
reachino; Dumbarton, the kino- considered his labours
at an end, and giving orders for the fleet to proceed by
their former course to Leith, travelled to court, only to
become exposed to the renewed enmity of his nobles.
Another conspiracy, the third within the last three
* Lesley, p. 157. Maitland, vol. ii. p. 814.
+ The names of the chiefs seized by James in this expedition may he inter-
esting to some of my readers. In Sutherland, Donald Mackay of Strathnaver ;
in the Lewis, Roderick ISIacleod and his principal kinsmen ; in the west of
Skye, Alexander Macleod of Dun vegan, or of Harris ; in the north of Skj-e at
Trouterness, John Moydertach captain of clan Ranald, Alexander of Crlen-
garrie, and others who were chieftains of " MacConeyllis kin," by which we
must understand relatives of the late Donald Gruamach of Sleat, who was
understood to have the hereditary claim to the lordship of the isles ; in Kin-
ta,il, John Mackenzie chief of that clan ; Kentire and Knapdale, Hector Mac-
lean of Dowart and James Macconnel of Isla.
2o'2 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1540.
years, was discovered, and its author, Sir James Hamil-
ton, arrested and brought to trial on a charge of treason*
This baron, who has been already mentioned as notorious
for his cruelty in an age not fastidious in this respect,
was the illegitimate son of the Earl of Arran, and had
acquired over the early youth of the king an influence,
from which his more advanced judgment recoiled.
Such, however, was his power and wealth, that it was
dangerous to attempt anything against him, and as he
was a zealous and bigoted supporter of the ancient re-
ligion, he could reckon on the friendship of the clergy.
His temper was passionate in the extreme, and during
the king's minority had often hurried him into excesses,
which, under a government where the law was not a
dead letter, might have cost him his head ; but he had
hitherto escaped, and latterly had even experienced the
king's favour. Such was the state of things, when the
monarch, who had left the capital to pass over to Fife,
was hurriedly accosted by a stranger, who demanded a
speedy and secret audience, as the business on which
he had been sent was of immediate moment, and
touched the kinj^'s life. James listened to the storv,
and taking a ring from his finger, sent it by the in-
former to Learmont master of the household, and
Kirkaldy the treasurer, commanding them to inves-
tigate the matter and act according to their judgment
of its truth and importance.* He then pursued his
journey, and soon after received intelligence that
Hamilton was arrested. It was found that his accuser
was James Hamilton of Kincavil, sherifi" of Linlithgow,
and brother to the early reformer Patrick Hamilton,
in whose miserable death Sir James had taken an active
part. The crime of which he was arraigned was of old
standing, though now revealed for the first time. It
* Drummond, 1 1 0. Maitland, 825.
154:0. JAMES V. 233
was asserted that Hamilton, along with Archibald
Douglas of Kilspindy, Robert Leslie, and James Dou-
glas of Parkhead, had in the year 1528, conspired to
slay the king, having communicated their project to
the Earl of Ano-us and his brother Sir Georsre Doufrlas,
who encouraged the atrocious design.* Some authors
have asserted that the intention of Hamilton was to
murder James by breaking into the royal bed-chamber, -|-
but in the want of all contemporary record of the trial,
it is only known that he was found guilty and instantly
executed. His innocence he is said to have affirmed to
the last, J but no one lamented the death of a tyrannical
baron, whose hands were stained by much innocent and
unavenged blood; and the fate of the brave and vir-
tuous Lennox who had been murdered by him after
giving up his sword, was still fresh in the recollection
of the people.
After the execution, the monarch is represented by
some of our historians as having become a stranger to
his former pleasures, and a victim to the most gloomy
suspicions; his court, the retreat of elegant enjoyment,
was for a while transformed into the solitary residence
of an anchorite or a misanthropist, and awakening to
the conviction that he was hated by his nobility, many
of whom had retired to their castles alarmed at the
fate of Hamilton, he be<2;an to fear that he had eno-ao-ed
in a strusraie to which he mio;ht fall a victim. For a
while the thought preyed upon his peace, and disturbed
his imagination. His sleep became disturbed by fright-
ful visions ; at one time he would leap out of his bed,
and, calling for lights, command his attendants to take
away the frightful spectacle wdiich stood at his pillow,
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 423,
+ Anderson, MS. History, in Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, p. 229,
X Lesley, p. 158.
231 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1540.
and assumed the form of his Justiciar fvho cursed the
hour he had entered his service ; at another his cham-
berlain was awakened by groans in the royal apartment,
and entering, found the king sitting up in bed, trans-
fixed with terror, and declarinir tliat ho had been visited
by the bastard of Arran, who brandished a naked sword,
and threatened to lop oft' both his arms, affirming that
he would return, after a short season, and be more fully
revenged.* These stories, whether we believe or reject
them, were undoubtedly so far founded in truth, that
the king became deeply engrossed and agitated by the
difficulties of his situation, and it is no unusual thing
to find the visions of the night borrowing their gloomy
and fantastic pictures from the business of the day ;
but James's mind, however paralyzed for the moment,
was composed of too strong materials to be shaken by
such ideal terrors, and as it recovered its strength he
soon resumed his wonted activity.
A parliament wdiich assembled in the month of
December, and a second meeting of the three Estates
convoked in the succeeding March, deliberated upon
some subjects of great importance. To preserve the
peace with England, to support the church, now hourly
becoming more alarmed by the acknowledged progress
of the reformed opinions, to strengthen the authority
of the crown, and humble the power of the nobles were
at this moment the leading features of the policy adopted
by the Scottish monarch : and easy as it is to detect
his errors when we look back at the past, illuminated
by the light of nearly three centuries of increasing
knowledge, it would scarcely be just to condemn that
conduct which sought to maintain the independence of
the kingdom, and the religion of his fathers against
* Drummond, 111.
] 540. JAMES V. 2S5
what lie esteemed the attacks of heresy and revolution.
AVhen in France, in 1537, James had published at
Rouen a revocation of all the grants of lands, which
during his minority had been alienated from the crown,
and he now followed this up by a measure, upon the
strict justice of which the want of contemporary evidence
precludes us from deciding. This was an act of an-
nexation to the crown of all the isles north and south
of the two Kentires, commonly called the Hebrides.
That these districts had been the scenes of constant
treason and open defiance of the laws, must be acknow-
ledged, and at this moment James retained in various
prisons many of their chiefs whose lives had been par-
doned on their surrender of their persons during his
late expedition to his insular dominions. But whether
it was just or prudent to adopt so violent a measure
as to annex the whole of the isles to the crown as for-
feited lands may be doubted. To these also were added
the Orkney and Shetland isles, the seat of the rebellion
of the Earl of Caithness, with the Lordships of Douglas,
Bonkill, Preston, Tantallon, Crawford-Lindsay, Craw-
ford-John, Bothwell, Jedburgh forest, and the superi-
ority of the county or earldom of Angus. But this
was not all; Glammis with its dependencies, Liddes-
dale, the property of Bothwell, who was attached to
the Douglases, and Evandale the estate of Sir James
Hamilton, increased the growing power of the crown,
and even the best disposed among the nobility trembled
for themselves when they observed the unrelenting
rigour of the monarch and the rapid process of the law.
Having thus strengthened his hands by this large ac-
cession of influence, James attempted to conciliate the
uneasy feelings of the aristocracy by a general act of
amnesty for all crimes and treasons committed up to
236 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1540.
the day of its publication ; but unfortunately its healing
effects were defeated by the clause which excepted the
banished Earl of Angus, his brother Sir George Dou-
glas, and the whole body of their adherents. Nor was
the sternness of re^al legislation confined to the hated
Douglases. The Catholic clergy, whose councils were
gradually gaining influence in the bosom of the monarch,
procured the passing of many severe statutes against
heresy. To argue against the supreme authority, or
to question the spiritual infallibility of the Pope, was
made a capital offence; no person even suspected of
entertaining heretical opinions was to be admitted to
any office in the government, whilst those who had fled
from judicial examination were to be held as confessed,
and sentence passed against them. All private meetings
or conventicles, where religious subjects were debated,
were declared illegal, rewards were promised to those
who revealed where they were held ; and such was the
jealousy with which the church provided against the
contamination of its ancient doctrines, that no Catholic
was to be permitted to converse with any one who had
at any time embraced heretical opinions, although he
had repented of his apostacy and received absolution
for his errors. It is more pleasing to notice that in
the same parliament, the strongest exhortations were
given to churchmen, both of high and low degree, to
reform their lives and conversation, whilst the contempt
with which the services of reli2:ion had been latelv
regarded was traced directly to the dishonesty and
misrule of the clergy, proceeding from their ignorance
in divine and human learning and the licentiousness
of their manners. For the more general dissemination
of the knowledge of the laws amongst the inferior judges
and the great body of the people, the acts of parliament
1540. JAMES V. 237
were ordered to be printed from an authentic copy at-
tested by the sign-manual of the clerk register ; and
an act passed at the same time against the casting
down of the images of the saints, informs us that the
spirit of demolition, which afterwards gathered such
strength, had already directed itself with an unhappy
narrowness of mind against the sacred edifices of the
country.*
Other enactments in a wiser spirit provided for the
more universal and impartial administration of justice
by the sheriffs and temporal judges throughout the
realm. The abilities of deputies or inferior judges,
the education and election of notaries, and the ratifica-
tion of the late institution of the College of Justice,
form the subjects of some important changes ; various
minute re2:ulations were introduced concernino- the
domestic manufactures and foreign commerce of the
country, and to defend the kingdom against any sudden
project for its invasion (a measure which the violent
temper of Henry rendered by no means improbable)
the strictest orders were given for the observance of
the stated military musters, and the arming of all
classes of the community. It was declared that the
army of Scotland should fight on foot, that the yeomen
who brought horses with them should only use them
for carria2:es or bao:2:ao:e wao:2:ons, and that none should
be permitted to be mounted in the host except earls,
barons, and great landed proprietors. Such leaders
were directed to be armed in white harness, light or
heavy according to their pleasure, and with the weapons
becoming their rank ; whilst all persons whose fortune
was below a hundred pounds of yearly rent, were to
have a jack, or a halkrick,"!- or brigantine, and gloves of
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 370. + A Corslet.
238 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1540.
plate, with pesane and gorget ; no weapons being ad-
mitted by the muster officer, except spears, pikes of six
ells length, Leith axes, halberds, hand-bows and arrows,
cross-bows, culverins, and two-handed swords.
Such in 1540 were the arms of the Scottish host;*
and these cares for the increase of the military strenij-th
of his dominions were succeeded on the part of the
king by more decided demonstrations. A proclamation
was read in the capital, and forwarded to every part
of the country, by which all persons between sixteen
and sixty years of age, were commanded to be ready
on a warning of twenty-four hours to join the royal
banner, armed at all points ; and a train of sixteen
great, and sixty lesser cannon was ordered to be fitted
out, to take the field within twenty days after Easter.
It may be doubted, however, whether such symptoms
of impending hostility were not rather preventive than
preparatory of war. The individual feelings of the
sovereign at this moment appear to have been in favour
of a reform in the church, a measure almost synony-
mous with a peace with England; he not only permitted,
but encouraged and sanctioned by his presence, the
celebrated play of Lindsay, which, under the name of
a satire on the three Estates, embodied a bitter attack
upon the Catholic clergy ; he remonstrated with the
prelates on the scandalous lives of some of their body;
and if we may give full credit to the representations of
the Duke of Norfolk, -f who repeated the information
of an eye-witness, he began to look with a covetous
longing upon the immense revenues, and meditated,
at least so the clergy dreaded, the appropriation of a
portion of the possessions of the church. Yet the same
* Acts of Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 3G2.
t Norfolk to Lord Privy Seal, 2<ith March, 1543. Caligula, B. vii, 2»28.
1541. JAMES V. 239
authority pronounces him a decided enemy to the power
and interference of England in the internal administra-
tion of his kingdom ; and the queen, whose influence
over her husband was increased at this time by the
birth of another prince, was a devoted adherent of
Rome. To counteract the disposition of the sovereign
towards the Reformation, the areat reliance of Beaton
and the prelates was in the prospect of a war with
England; for the attainment of this object no industry
and no intrigues w^re omitted, no sacrifice considered
too dear ; and it unfortunately happened, that the
violence of Henry the Eighth, with the unrelenting-
enmity of the Scottish monarch against the Douglases,
and that large portion of the nobility connected with
them by alliance or by interest, presented them with
materials of mutual proA^ocation, of which they well
knew how to avail themselves.
In the midst of these transactions the queen-mother
was taken ill at INIethven, the castle of her husband,
and died after a varied and turbulent life, durino- the
latter years of which she had lost all influence in the
affairs of the kingdom. Great violence of temper, a
devotedness to her pleasures, and a disregard of public
opinion, were qualities in w^hicli she strongly resem-
bled her brother, Henry the Eighth; and after the
attempt to accomplish a divorce from Methven, her
third husband, w^hich for the sake of decency was
quashed by her son, she appears to have been neglected
by all parties. Her talents, had they not been enslaved
to her caprice and passion, were of a high order, as is
amply proved by that large and curious collection of
her original letters preserved in our national archives ; *
but the influence she exerted during the minority of
* In the State-paper Office and the British Museum.
240 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1541.
licr son was mlscliievous, and her individual character
such as could not loner command either affection or
respect. She was interred with much solemnity and
magnificence in the church of the Carthusians, at
Perth, in the tomb of its founder, James the First.
The decease of the queen Avas followed by an event
which plunged the court and the people into sincere
grief. Arthur duke of Albany, the infant prince
whose birth had lately given such joy to his royal
parents, was suddenly cut off at Stirling by some in-
fantine disease; and scarcely had he ceased to breathe,
when Prince James, the eldest born, and heir to the
throne, was attacked with a similar malady, which
defied all human skill, and hurried him within a brief
j)eriod to share the grave of his brother.* It was a
blow which fell heavily upon the affections of the mon-
arch; and, in a political point of view, its consequences
were equally distressing; it shook the security of a
sovereign, who was at variance with his nobility, and
whose throne needed, on that account, the support
communicated by the certainty of succession ; but
James never permitted his cares and duties to be long
interrupted by an excessive indulgence in sorrow, and
he wisely sought for alleviation in an attention to those
peaceful arts, which were intimately connected with the
welfare of his kingdom. From France and Flanders,
from Spain and Holland, he invited the most skilful
artisans, in those various branches of manufacture and
industry, wherein they excelled his subjects, inducing
them by pensions to settle in the country ; he improved
the small native breed of the Scottish horses by im-
portations from Denmark and Sweden ;•[- and anxious
* Pinkerton, ii. 371.
+ Epistoke Regum Scotonim, vol. ii. p. 3G : — " Catapliractos aliquot e
regno tuo desideramus.'"
1541. JAMES V. 241
for the encouragement of useful learning, he visited the
University of Aberdeen in company with his queen
and his court, listened to the classic declamations of
the students, and enjoyed the dramatic entertainments
which were recited, during a residence of fifteen days,
in this infant seat of the Scottish Muses. On his
return, a mission of Campbell of Lundy to the Nether-
lands, for the redress of some grievances connected with
the fisheries, and an embassy of Beaton, and Panter
the secretary of the king, to Rome, evinced that the
royal mind had recovered its wonted strength and
activity. The avowed object of the cardinal w^as to
procure his nomination as papal legate within the
dominions of his master; but there can be little doubt,
that his secret instructions, which unfortunately have
not been preserved, embraced a more important design.
The extirpation of heresy from Scotland, and the re-
establishment of the Catholic faith in the dominions
of Henry the Eighth, by a coalition between Francis,
James, the emperor, and the papal see, formed, it is
probable, the main purpose of Beaton's visit. Events,
however, were now in progress, which counteracted his
best-laid schemes ; and the rupture which soon after
took place between Francis and the emperor, for the
present dissolved the meditated confederacy.
It was this moment which the Eno-lish monarch
selected for a second embassy of Sadler to the court
of his nephew ; and, had Henry's instructions to his
ambassador been less violent, a favourable impression
might have been made ; but James, who never forgot his
station as an independent prince, was not to be threat-
ened into a compliance with a line of policy, which, if
suggested in a tone of conciliation, his judgment might
perhaps have approved ; and if the English ambassador
VOL. V. Q
242 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1541.
besought liini not to " be as bruto as a stockc,"" or to
suffer the practices of juggling prelates to lead him by
the nose, and impose a yoke upon his shoulders, the
spirit of the prince must have been roused by the
insolence of such language to a deeper resentment than
he had yet felt against his uncle.* Yet, although
inimical to the purposes of the embassy, the request
of Henry, that James should meet him in a conference
to be held on the Borders, was received with a less
niad'ked opposition ; and before the departure of Sadler,
the monarch appears to have given a reluctant assent
to the interview. ■)- It, however, most inopportunely
happened, that at this time the English borderers, not
only with the approval, but under the guidance of the
wardens, renewed, with every circumstance of cruelty
and havoc, their invasions of the Scottish territory ;
and the kinsr, diso-usted with such contradiccion and
duplicity, presented a remonstrance, in which he not
only demanded redress, but declined the promised in-
terview till it should be obtained. J Meanwhile, Henry
proceeded to York, in the autumn of the year 1541,
and for six days held his court in that city, in hourly
expectation of the arrival of his nephew ; but he looked
for him in vain, and in deep indignation retraced his
steps to his capital. To act on the resentment of the
moment, and to permit the impatience of personal
revenge to dictate the course of his policy, was the
frequent failing of this monarch ; and there can be
no doubt, that from the instant he found himself
* Pinkerton, vol. ii. p. 374, Caligula, B. i. 57.
+ Copy of Articles delivered by the Bishops of Aberdeen and Orkney,
December, 1.54], promising that James would meet Henry at York on 15th
January next. State-paper Office.
J Paper in State-paper Office, December, 1541. Articles delivered by
the King of Scots to the Bishops of Orkney and Aberdeen, and Mr Thomas
Bellenden, relative to the depredations by the English borderers.
1542. JAMES V. 243
disappointed of the intended interview at York, war
with Scotland was resolved on. Instructions were
despatched to Sir Robert Bow^s, to levy soldiers and
put the east and middle marches in a state of defence;
an array was ordered to be raised for immediate service
in the north ; the fortifications of Berwick were in-
spected; and the monarch, having determined to revive
the idle and exploded claim of superiority, issued his
commands to the Archbishop of York, requesting him
to make a search into the most ancient records and
muniments within his diocese, so as to ascertain his
title to the kingdom of Scotland.*
Some circumstances, however, for a short season
delayed, although they could not prevent, an open
rupture. James, from a deference to the opinion of
his ecclesiastical councillors, had disappointed Henry of
the intended interview at York ; but he despatched an
ambassador, who was commissioned to express his regret
on the occasion, in terms of respect, and conciliation ;
whilst Beaton's devices beins: somewhat thwarted by
the renewal of the quarrel between Francis and the
emperor, this ambitious minister required an interval
to examine his ground, and alter his mode of attack.
An event, however, which occurred about this time,
was improved by the cardinal and the clergy, to bring
about the desired war. The kino- had lons^ maintained
an intercourse in Ireland, not only with his Scottish
subjects, who possessed a considerable portion of the
island, but with many of the principal chiefs, in whose
eyes the English monarch was a heretic and a tyrant.
Hitherto, Henry ''s predecessors and himself had been
contented to call themselves lords of that country ;
* State-paper Office. Letter from Privy Council of England, April 28th
1542, and Bir Thomas Wriotheslej to Sir Kobert Bowes, July 28th, 1542.
244 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1542.
but, in a parliament of tliis year, lie had assumed the
more august style of Kiufj of Ireland* — a proceedin;^
so ill-received by its native chiefs, that they sent a
deputation to the Scottish court, inviting its monarch
to accept their homage, and making a proffer of the
crown, which had already, in ancient times, although
for a brief period, been placed upon the head of a Scottish
prince. •[* It is not probable, that the offer was ever
viewed by James in a serious light ; yet, the assump-
tion of the title of Defender of the Faith, with which
the Pope had condescended to flatter him, the gracious
reception given to the Irish chiefs, and the warlike
preparations which could not be concealed, excited the
jealousy, and increased the resentment of the English
king to so high a pitch, that it was evident war could
not be long averted.
Under such circumstances, nothins^ seemed wantin^j
but a slight spark to ignite the mass which had been
accumulating for many years ; and this was soon
furnished by the restless borderers. Upon whose
side hostilities began seems uncertain ; the Scottish
monarch in one of his letters, insisted, that before his
subjects retaliated, they had been provoked by two
English invasions ; whilst the manifesto of Henry
broadly imputed the first aggression to his nephew.
Mutual incursions were probably succeeded by a mu-
tual wish to throw the odium of an infraction of the
peace upon each other ; and, at the moment when Sir
James Learmont had proceeded with a message of re-
gret and conciliation to the English court, Sir James
Bowes, captain of Norliam, and warden of the east
marches, broke across the Border ; and, with a body
of three thousand horse, penetrated into Teviotdale.
* Lesley, p. 160. f Maitland, vol. ii. 826.
1542. JAMES V. 245
He was accompanied by the banished Earl of Angus,
Sir George Douglas, and a large body of their retainers;
but the Earl of Huntley encountered him with a strong
force at Hadden-Rig, and, with the assistance of Lord
Home, who joined the host with four hundred lancers,
obtained a complete victory. Six hundred prisoners
of note fell into the hands of the enemy, amongst w^hom
were the lord warden himself, and his brother. Angus
was nearly taken, but slew his assailant with his dag-
ger, and saved himself by flight.*
Open and determined war appeared now inevitable;
and Henry, having sent orders to the Duke of Norfolk
to levy a force of forty thousand men, this able leader,
who had obtained from his master the name of the
Scourge of the Scots, proceeded by rapid marches to-
wards York. Along with him, each leading their
respective divisions, came the Earls of Southampton,
Shrewsbury, Derby, Cumberland, Rutland, and Hert-
ford, with Angus, and some of his Scottish adherents:
but on their march, they were arrested by a deputation
of commissioners, instructed by James to make a final
effort for averting a war. Whether the Scottish king
was sincere in this, or merely used it as an expedient
to gain time, does not appear ; but, as the season was
far advanced, even a short delay was important; and,
in all probability, he had become convinced of the fatal
effects which the dissatisfaction of his nobility with his
late measures might produce upon the issue of the cam-
paign. He accordingly prevailed on Norfolk to halt
at York, and amused him for a considerable period with
proposals for a truce, and a personal interview, which
had long been the great object of the English king.
It was now, however, too late ; the conferences
* Maitland, vol. ii. p. 831. Lesley, p. 162.
246 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1542.
conducted to no satisfactory conclusion ; and ITcnry,
issuing imperative orders to his lieutenant to advance
into Scotland, published at the same moment a mani-
festo, in which he stated his reasons for ensrauinir iu
Avar : his nephew, he affirmed, supported some of his
chief rebels within his dominions ; his subjects had
invaded England when a treaty of peace was in the
course of negotiation ; he was refused the possession
of some districts, to which he affirmed he had estab-
lished an unquestionable title ; and James had lastly
disappointed him of the promised interview at York.
These trifling causes of quarrel were followed up by a
revival of the claim of superiority over Scotland, and
a tedious enumeration of the false and exploded grounds
upon which it was maintained.
The winter had now commenced ; yet Norfolk, aware
of the impetuosity of his master's temper, penetrated
into Scotland; and finding no resistance, gave many
of the irrano-es and villasres on the banks of the Tweed
to the flames ; whilst James, becoming more aware of
the secret indisposition of his nobles to a contest with
England, once more despatched Learmont and the
Bishop of Orkney to request a conference, and carry
proposals of peace.* All negotiation, however, was in
vain ; and commanding a force under Huntley, Home,
and Seton, to watch the operations of Norfolk, the
Scottish kin<r himself assembled his main armv, con-
sisting of thirty thousand men, on the Borough-Muir,
near Edinbul-gh.-f- But, though strong in numbers
and equipment, this great feudal array was weakened
bv various causes. It was led by those nobles who had
ren:arded the late conduct of the kin": with sentiments
of disapproval, and even of indignation. Many of them
* Lesley, p. 16L + Herbert, in Kennet, vol. ii. p. 232.
1542. JAMES V. 247
favoured the doctrines of the Reformation; some from
a conscientious conviction of their truth, others from
an envious eye to those possessions of the church,
which, under the dissolution of the English relisrious
houses they had seen hecome the prey of their brethren
in England; many dreaded the severity of the new
laws of treason, and trembled for their estates, when
they considered they might be thus rendered responsi-
ble for the misdeeds of their deceased predecessors ;
others were tied by bands of manrent to the interests
of the Douglases ; and a few, who were loyal to the
king, were yet anxious to adopt every honourable
means of averting; a war, from which thev contended
nothing could be expected, even should they be victori-
ous, but an increase of those difficulties which per-
plexed the councils of the government. It appears also
to have been a rule amongst these feudal barons, which,
if not strictly a part of the military law, had been
establisl^ed by custom, that they were not bound to
act offensively within the territories of a foreign state,
although their feudal tenure compelled them, under
the penalty of forfeiture, to obey the royal command
in repelling an enemy who had crossed the Borders,
and encamped within the kingdom.
Such were the sentiments of the Scottish nobles
when James lay with his army on Fala Muir, a plain
near the western termination of the Lammermuir hills ;
and intelligence was suddenly brought to the host, that
Norfolk, compelled l)y the approach of winter and the
failure of his supplies, had recrossed the Border, and
was in full retreat. It was now the end of November;
and such was the scarcity of provisions produced by
the recent devastation of the English, that having
consumed the allowances which they brought alonj^
248 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1542.
with them, the Scottish army began to be severely
distressed.* Yet the opportunity for retaliation ap-
peared too favourable to be lost, and the monarch
eagerly proposed an invasion of England, when he was
met with a haui::htv and unanimous refusal. The crisis
recalls to our minds the circumstances in which James
the Third was placed at Lauder Bridge ; and it is even
insinuated by some of our historians, that the nobles,
who had been long secretly dissatisfied with the con-
duct of the king, meditated a repetition of the ferocious
scenes which then occurred ; but they had to do with
a more determined opponent, and contented themselves
by a steady refusal, alleging as their reason, the ad-
vanced period of the year, and the impossibility of
supporting so large a force. Yet this was enough to
arouse to the highest pitch the indignation of the king;
he alternately threatened and remonstrated ; he im-
plored them, as they valued their honour as knights,
or esteemed their allegiance as subjects, to accompany
him against the enemy; he upbraided them as cowards
and poltroons, who permitted Norfolk to burn their
villages, and plunder their granges under their eyes,
without darino^ to retaliate. But all was in vain : the
leaders were immoveable ; the feudal feeling of loyalty
to their prince, and revenge against their enemies,
seemed to be extino-uished by a determination to seize
the opportunity to show their own strength, and use
it for the redress of their grievances ; and the king,
overwhelmed with disappointment and chagrin, dis-
banded the army and returned to his capital. *[-
Yet, although thus abandoned by a great majority
of his nobles, the monarch was not without some sup-
* Letter from the Duke of Norfolk to the PriNy Council, dated 3d Nov,
1542. State-paper Office, B. C,
t John Car to My Lord of Norfolk, 1st Nov. 1542, State-paper Office.
1542. JAMES V. 249
porters amongst them ; the opulent body of the clergy
were unanimous in his favour, and a few peers making
an effort to recall their brethren to their duty, resolved
to muster the army for a second time. Under what it
was hoped would be more favourable auspices. For
this purpose, Lord Maxwell offered his services, and a
force of ten thousand men having been assembled with
great expedition and secrecy, it was determined to
break into Enoiand bv the western marches ; whilst
the monarch, with the sanguine and energetic temper
by which he was distinguished, shook off" the anguish
which preyed on his mind, and eagerly awaited at
Caerlaverock, the result of the invasion. He had
given secret orders, that his favourite, Oliver Sinclair,
should take the command of the little army, so soon
as it reached the Esk ; and scarcely had the soldiers en-
camped on English ground, when a halt was ordered;
and this minion of the king, as he is termed in a con-
temporary document, was raised on a platform, sup-
ported on the shoulders of the troops, whilst the royal
commission appointing him generalissimo was read
aloud by a herald. The intelligence was received
with murmurs of disapprobation : many of the ancient
nobility declared they could not serve without degra-
dation under such a leader; their clansmen and re-
tainers adopted their feelings ; and whilst Maxwell,
and a few of the most lo3^al peers, attempted to over-
come their antipathy, the whole army became agitated
with the discussion, presenting the spectacle of a dis-
orderly mob tossed by conflicting sentiments and ready
to fall to pieces on the slightest alarm. It was at this
crisis that Dacre and Musorave, two Eno'lish leaders,
advanced to reconnoitre, at the head of three hundred
horse ; and approaching the Scottish camp, became
250 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1542.
sensible of its situation : nor did tliey delay a moment
to seize the opportunity, but charged at full speed with
levelled lances, and in a compact body. In the panic
of the moment, they were believed to be the advance
of a larger force ; and such was the effect of the sur-
prise, that the rout was instantaneous and decisive.
Ten thousand Scottish troops tied at the siglit of three
hundred English cavalry, with scarce a momentary
resistance; and a thousand prisoners fell into the
hands of the enemy, amongst whom were the Earls of
Cassillis andGlencairn, the Lords Somerville, Maxwell.
Gray, Oliphant, and Fleming, the blasters of Erskine
and Rothes, and Home of Ay ton.*
The intelligence of this second calamity fell like a
thunderbolt upon the king ; he had awaited at Caer-
laverock, in the most eager expectation, the first intel-
ligence from the army ; he trusted, that the success
of the invasion would wipe away, in some degree, the
dishonour of the retreat from Fala ; and he anticipated,
with sanguine hope and resolution the renewal of the
war, and a restoration of the feelino:s of cordialitv and
attachment between himself and his barons. In an
instant every prospect of this kind was blasted ; and
in the first agony of the moment, he embraced an idea
which overthrew the balance of his mind, and plunged
him into despair: he became convinced, that his nobi-
lity had entered into a conspiracy to betray him to
England, to sacrifice their own honour, and the inde-
pendence of the kingdom, to the determination to gra-
tify their revenge against the crown, and their personal
hatred to himself. -f" At Fala, they had disgraced him
by an open contempt of his command ; at Solway,
* Hall, p. 856. Maitland, vol. ii. p. 833. Lodge's Illustrations, vol. i, p.
44-54, inclusive. 2d edit,
f Lesley, p. 10'5.
154:2. JAMES V. 251
they had followed up the blow by an act which exposed
themselves, their sovereign, and the Scottish name, to
ridicule and contempt. James had often borne mis-
fortune ; but his mind was too proud and impatient to
endure dishonour, or to digest the anguish of reiterated
disappointment ; and, although in the vigour of his
strength and the flower of his age, with a constitution
unimpaired and almost unvisited by disease, he sunk
under this calamity, and seems truly to have died of
a broken heart. From the moment the intelligence
reached him, he shut himself up in his palace at Falk-
land, and relapsed into a state of the deepest gloom and
despondency ; he would sit for hours without speaking
a word, brooding over his disgrace ; or would awake
from his lethargy, only to strike his hand on his heart,
and make a convulsive efibrt, as if he w^ould tear from
his breast the load of despair which oppressed it.
Exhausted by the violence of the exertion, he would
then drop his arms by his side, and sink into a state
of hopeless and silent melancholy. This could not
last : it was soon discovered that a slow fever preyed
upon his frame ; and having its seat in the misery of
a wounded spirit, no remedy could be effectual. When
in this state, intelligence was brought him, that his
queen had given birth to a daughter.* At another time
it would have been happy news ; but now, it seemed
to the poor monarch, the last drop of bitterness which
was reserved for him. Both his sons were dead. Had
this child been a boy, a ray of hope, he seemed to feel,
mio'ht vet have visited his heart ; he received the mes-
senger and was informed of the event without -welcome,
or almost recognition ; but wandering back in his
thoughts to the time, when the daughter of Bruce
* Mary queen of Scots -was born at Linlithgow on the 7th Dec. 1542.
252 HISTORY OF Scotland. 1542.
brought to his ancestor the dowry of the kingdom, ob-
served, with melancholy emphasis, " It came with a
lass, and it will pass with a lass.""* A few of his most
favoured friends and councillors stood round his couch ;
the monarch stretched out his hand for them to kiss ;
and reixardius: them for some moments with a look of
great sweetness and placidity, turned himself upon
the pillow and expired."]* He died (13th December,
15 42. J) in the thirty-first year of his age, and the
twenty-ninth of his reign ; leaving an only daughter,
Mary, an infant of six days old, who succeeded to
the crown ; and amongst other natural children, a son
James, afterwards the famous Regent Moray. There
were some striking points of similarity between the
character and destiny of this prince, and his great
ancestor, James the First. To the long captivity of
the one, we find a parallel in the protracted minority
of the other ; whilst, in both, we may discover, that
vigour, talent, and energetic resolution to support the
prerogative against the attacks of their nobility, to
which we can trace the assassination of the first, and
the premature death of the fifth James. Both were
accomplished princes, and exhibited in a rude and bar-
barous age, a remarkable example of literary and poeti-
cal talent ; whilst they excelled in all those athletic
and military exercises, which were then considered the
only proper objects of aristocratic ambition.
* A lass ; a girl, or young maiden.
+ Lesley, pp. 165, 10'6. Drummond, p. 114. Maitland, vol ii. p. o34,
Lindsay, pp. 176, 177.
X Keith, p. 22.
1542. MARY. 253
CHAP. Y.
MARY.
1542—1546.
CONTEMPORARY SOVEREIGNS.
England. \ France. I Gainany. I Spain. i Popes.
Henry VIII. I Francis I. I Charles V. I Charles V. | Paul III.
The total rout of the Scottish army at the Solway
Moss, and the death of James the Fifth within a fort-
night after that event, produced the most important
changes in the policy of both kingdoms. To Henry
the Eighth, and that powerful faction of the Douglases,
which, even in banishment, had continued to exert, by
its secret friends, a decided influence in Scottish affairs,
the death of the king was a subject of fervent congra-
tulation. The English monarch immediately embraced,
with the enthusiasm belonging to his character, the
design of marrying his son, the Prince of AVales, to
the infant Mary, hoping by this means to unite the
two kingdoms, which had so long been the enemies of
each other, into one powerful monarchy in the persons
of their descendants. The Earl of Angus, and the
Douglases, after a banishment of fifteen years, joyfully
contemplated the prospect of a return to their native
country; they had become subjects of the English
monarch, had largely shared his bounty and protection ;
and Henry determined to put their gratitude to the
254 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1542.
test by claimiiijx their assistance in fonvardins: his
great scheme of procuring the Princess Mary for his
son, and incorporating the kingdom of Scotland into
the English monarchy; but, in the prosecution of this
design, the king employed other agents. On their first
arrival in London the Scottish prisoners, "svlio were
taken at the Solway ^loss, found themselves treated
with great severity; they were paraded through the
streets of the metropolis, conducted to the Tower, and
watched with much jealousy; but, as soon as the in-
telli^'ence arrived of the death of their master the kins:,
an immediate and favourable chan2:e in their condition
took place. Their high rank and influence in Scot-
land convinced Henry, that they might be useful, and
even necessary agents to him in the accomplishment of
his designs ; the rigour of their confinement was ac-
cordingly relaxed ; and they now experienced not only
kindness, but were entertained with hopes of a speedy
return to their country, on condition that they for-
warded the desio'ns of the En^-lish kins:. Sir George
Douglas, the brother of Ano;us, who had shared his
long banishment, and was much in the confidence of
Henry, appears to have been intrusted with the prin-
cipal share in negotiating the marriage. His talents
for the management of political afiairs were superior
to those of his brother the earl, over whose mind he
possessed great influence ; and if we may believe the ex-
pressions which he employed in his correspondence with
Henry, he appears to have forgotten his allegiance to
his natural prince in the humility of his homage, and
the warmth of his devotion to the English monarch.*
* Original letter of Sir G. Douglas, in State-paper Office, dated January
10, 1542-3, to Lord Lisle the English warden: — "j'ff it pleases God that I
continewe witlie lyff and helthe, I shall do my soverand lord and maister gud
servyce be the helpe of God ; andyff I dey, I shall depart his trewe servand."
1542. MARY. 255
The project of a marriage between young Edward
and the Scottish queen was in itself so plausible, and,
if concluded upon an equitable basis and with a just
attention to the mutual rights and independence of
each country, appeared so likely to be attended with
the happiest results, that it required little argument to
recommend it to the Scottish prisoners, even had they
not seen in it the only road by which they were to escape
from their captivity; but whilst all can understand
their readiness to promote a matrimonial alliance, and
a perpetual union between the two kingdoms, had
Henry confined his views to such a general design, the
conduct pursued by that monarch, and the conditions
which he oflfered were such as no man of independent
and patriotic feelings could, without ignominy, have
embraced. He insisted, that they should acknowledge
him as lord superior of the kingdom of Scotland, that
the prisoners should exert their influence to procure
for him the government of the kingdom, and the im-
mediate resignation of all its fortresses into liis hands ;
that they should use their utmost efforts to have the
infant queen delivered into his power, to be kept in
England ;* and, in the event of such demands being
refused by the parliament of Scotland, he stipulated
that their whole feudal strength was to be employed
in co-operating with his army, and completing the
conquest of the country. Nor did the English mon-
arch content himself with the bare promise of his pri-
soners to fulfil his wishes : the affair was transacted
with much rigour and solemnity. A bond or obliga-
tion was drawn up, which engrossed these stipulations.
To this they were required to subscribe their names,
and confirm it by their oath ; they wqre to leave their
* Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. pp. 69, 74, 75, 81.
256 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1542.
eldest sons, or nearest relatives, in their place as pledges
for their fidelity ; should they fail in accomplishing
the wishes of the king, they were to return to their
prisons in England, on his so requiring it ; or, if lie
judged it more profitable for the accomplishment of
his design, they were to remain in Scotland and assist
him in the war.* The bond, in short, contained
terms which virtually annihilated the existence of
Scotland as a separate kingdom ; and sad as is the fate
of the captive, I am not prepared to admit that the
Scottish prisoners were placed in a situation which
called for hesitation. They were called upon to choose
whether they were to preserve unsullied their indivi-
dual honour, and maintain their national independence,
by remaining in prison, and braving a captivity which
the cruelty of Henry might render perpetual ; or
whether they were to return dishonoured to their
country, bound by the most solemn obli^i^ation to em-
ploy their strength in reducing it to the condition of
a province of England. Under such circumstances the
citizen of a free country ought to have felt that he had
only one resolution to adopt ; and it is with sorrow it
must be declared, this resolution was not the one era-
braced by the Scottish nobles. Unable to endure the
thoughts of remaining in England, the Earls of Glen-
cairn and Cassillis, with the Lords Maxwell, Somer-
ville, and Oliphant, agreed to the conditions upon
which Henry permitted them to revisit their country;
subscribed the bond, by which, to use the words of the
governor Arran, they were tied in fetters to England;
confirmed it with their oath ; and having left hostages
in the hands of that monarch, prepared to set out on
their return. "f On their arrival, they cautiously ab-
* Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. p. 97. t Maitland, vol. ii. p. 838.
1542. MARY 257
stained from revealing the full extent of their obliga-
tion, and spoke in general terms upon the advantages
to be derived from the marriage with England. At
the same time it is not to be forgotten, injustice to the
Scottish aristocracy, that whilst its leading members
did not scruple to sign this unworthy agreement, the
majority of the prisoners taken at the Solway remained
in captivity in England. It cannot, however, be
affirmed, with certainty, that to them Henry had pre-
sented the same temptation which overcame the virtue
of their more wealthy and influential brethren. I have
been thus minute in describing the transaction which
took place between the English monarch and his
prisoners, because it was afterwards attended with
important consequences, and has not been noticed by
any former historian with either the care or the full
reprobation which it deserves.
Whilst such was the policy adopted by Henry, the
sudden death of James the Fifth gave rise to a very
opposite course of events in Scotland ; it left that
country once more exposed to all the evils of a mino-
rity, and divided by two great parties : Of these, the
first, and that which had hitherto been the strongest,
was the body of the Catholic clergy, at the head of
which stood the cardinal Beaton, a man possessed cer-
tainly of high talents, and far superior in habits of
business, acquaintance with human character, and the
energetic pursuit of his purposes, to his opponents, —
but profligate in his private conduct, insatiable in his
love of power, and attached to the Roman Catholic
faith with a devotedness which, without any breach
of charity, we may pronounce as much the ofispring
of ambition, as the result of conviction. Of this fac-
tion the guiding principles were a determined opposi-
VOL. V. R
253 HISTORY OF Scotland. 1542.
tion to the progress of the E.eformntion, and a devotion
to the papal see, — friendship with France, hostiHty to
England ; and a resolution, which all must applaud,
of preserving the ancient independence of their coun-
try. To them the late king, more from political
motives than anything like personal bigotry, had lent
the important strength of the royal favour and coun-
tenance.
In the ranks of the opposite faction were found a
considerable portion of the nobility, of whom many of
the leadins: chiefs favoured the doctrines of the Refer-
mation, w^hilst all had viewed with alarm the late severe
measures of the king. They were led by the Earl of
Arran: a man of an amiable disposition, but indolent
in his habits, and unhappily of that undecided temper
which unfitted him to act with energy and success in
times of so much confusion and difficulty. His bias
to the reformed opinions was well known, and his royal
rank, as nearest in succession to the crown, compelled
him to assume an authority from which his natural
character was inclined to shrink. It was to this party,
whose weight was now to be increased by the accession
of An<yus and the Douo-lases, that Henry looked for
his principal supporters ; and considering the promises
which he had received from the prisoners taken at the
Solway ^loss, he entertained little doubt of carrying
his project in the Scottish parliament.
With regard to the great body of the people, of which
we must remember that the middle and commercial
classes alone possessed any influence in the govern-
ment, they appear to have been animated at this time
by somewhat discordant feelings. Many favoured the
principles of the Reformation ; and so far as these were
concerned, gave a negative support to Henry by their
1542. MARY. 259
hostility to the cardinal and his party; but their sense
of national independence, and their jealousy of Eng-
land as the ancient enemy of their country, was a deep-
seated feeling, which was ready to erect itself into active
opposition on the slightest assumption of superiority
bv the rival kinodom. The conviction of this ouoht
to have put Henry on his guard ; but it was the fre-
quent misfortune of this monarch, to lose his highest
advantages by the arrogance and violence with which
he pursued them.
Immediately after the death of the king, the cardinal
produced a paper which he declared to be the will of the
late monarch. It is asserted by most of our historians,
and the story was confirmed by the positive testimony
of the Earl of Arran,* that this was a forged instru-
ment procured by guiding the king''s hand upon the
paper when he was in his last extremity, and utterly
insensible to its contents. It is certain that it ap-
pointed Beaton guardian to the infant queen, and chief
governor of the realm, with the assistance of a council
composed of the Earls of Argyle, Huntley, and Moray,
all of whom were devoted to his service ; and without
giving his opponents time or opportunity to examine
its provisions, or ascertain its authenticity, the cardi-
nal had himself proclaimed regent, and hastened to
assume the active management of the state. But his
power, though great, was not sufficient to support him
for above a few days in so bold a usurpation : the no-
bility assembled, and Arran, rousing himself from his
constitutional indolence, claimed the office of regent,
insisting that by law it belonged to him as next heir
to the crown ;-f the pretended will he described as a
* Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. p. 138.
+ Knox, History, p. '65. Letter, State-paper Office, January 10, 1542-3.
260 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1542.
forged document, to which no faith was to be attached,
and, notwithstanding the utmost efforts of the cardinal,
his claim was universally admitted. He was chosen
governor, and solemnly installed in his office on the
twenty-second of December, 1542. Arrangements
were then made for the maintenance of the household
of the young queen, and her mother the queen-dowager,
whilst it was determined that the Earl of Ansrus. and
the Douo'lases, who had been doomed to so Ions: a
banishment in England, should be restored to their
possessions, and admitted to that share in the govern-
ment which belono;ed to their hisrh rank. A remark-
able circumstance increased the power and popularity
of Arran, and the dread with which the country re-
garded the cardinal. Upon the king"'s person at the
time of his death was found a secret scroll, containing
the names of above three hundred and sixty of the no-
bility and gentry who were suspected of entertaining
heretical opinions, and whose estates on this ground
were recommended to be confiscated for the support of
the king.* This private list, it was affirmed, had been
furnished by Beaton, immediately after the refusal of
the army to invade England, and although James re-
jected on a former occasion, all such proposals, as a base
project of the clergy to sow dissensions between him-
self and his nobles, it was suspected that his resolution
had, after the rout of the Solway, given way to the
entreaties of the cardinal. At the head of these names
stood Arran; and it may easily be believed, that with
Sir George Douglas to Lord Lisle, informing him he had received a safe
conduct from the Earl of Arran, calling himself governor, and proposed
setting out that night for Edinhurgh. Also Letter, State-paper Ofhce, from
the Earls of Cassillis and Glencairn, with the Lords Fleming and Maxwell,
to Henry the Eighth, dated 19th of January, 1542-3, Carlisle. On the 20th
of January they are to set out for Scotland.
* Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. p. 94,
1542. MARY. 261
those of the common people who favoured the Refor-
mation, and the nobles who were enemies to the church
of Rome, such a discovery produced a community of
interests and an inveteracy of feehng which added no
little strength to the party of the governor.
Although defeated in his first attempt to seize on
the supreme power, Beaton was not discouraged. He
despatched messengers to France, representing to the
house of Guise the crisis to which affairs had arrived
in Scotland, the extreme danger attending a union
between the Prince of Wales and their infant queen,
the peril which threatened the church, and the necessity
of an immediate supply of money, arms, and soldiers,
to enable him to maintain the struggle against his op-
ponents:* he worked upon the fears of those whom
he knew to be sincere lovers of their country, by assur-
ino; them that the marriao'e which was now talked of
so lightly, was nothing less than a project for the
entire destruction of Scotland as an independent king-
dom ; and he procured the support of the middle and
commercial classes by reminding them of the unpro-
voked seizure of their merchantmen by Henry, during
a time of peace ; declaiming against the injustice which
prompted that prince still to detain their vessels and
enrich himself with their cargoes. All these means
were not without effect ; and it began to be suspected
that, notwithstanding his first repulse, the simplicity
and indolence of Arran would not long be able to hold
its ground against the energy of so talented and daring
an enemy as the cardinal.
Such appears to have been the state of parties when
the Scottish prisoners, the Earls of Cassillis and Glen-
cairn, with the Lords Fleming, Maxwell, SomerviUe,
* Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. p. 138.
262 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1542.
and Oliphant, took their departure from London.
They were preceded in their journey by Animus and Sir
George Douglas, who left the English court ten days
before them, and posted down to Edinburgh for the
purpose of conducting the first and most delicate part
of the negotiation regarding the marriage. On their
arrival a council was held by the governor, in which
the projected matrimonial alliance between the king-
doms was discussed in a general manner, and received
with that favourable consideration with which at first
sight all were disposed to regard it. It is here neces-
sary to keep in mind that Sir George Douglas, who
was the main agent of the English monarch in this
negotiation, had three great objects in view, all of
which he seems to have pursued with a prudence and
diplomatic craft which prove him to have been no
mean adept in the management of state intrigue. The
reversal of his own and his brother"'s treason, and
their restoration to their estates, was to be his first
step ; the procuring the consent of the Scottish parlia-
ment to the marriage, the second ; and the last and
most important of all, the obtaining the delivery to
Henry of the person of the infant queen, the surrender
of the fortresses of the kingdom, and the consent of
the three Estates to have the country placed under
the government of England. It is certain, from the
authentic correspondence which yet remains, that Dou-
glas and some of the Scottish prisoners had promised
the Enolish kins: their utmost endeavours to attain
all these objects, the last of which amounted to an act
of treason ; but they were compelled to proceed with
great wariness. They knew well that the first men-
tion of such ignominious conditions would rouse the
country and the parliament to a determined opposi-
1542-3. MARY. 263
tion,* and that all who would have welcomed upon fair
terms the prospect of a matrimonal union between the
kins^doms, would yet have scorned to purchase it at
the price of their independence. It became necessary,
therefore, to feel their way and commence with caution,
so that, at the council which w^as held immediately
after their return to Edinburgh, no whisper of such
ultimate designs was suffered to escape them.
All their efforts, however, could not prevent the car-
dinal from becoming acquainted w^ith their intrigues,
and the use which he made of this knowledo:e in
strengthening his party convinced them that, if so
active an enemy were left at large, they could hardly
hope for success ; a secret resolution was, therefore,
formed, and executed with that daring promptitude
which so often leads to success. Beaton, w4iose cor-
respondence with France was construed into treason,
was suddenly arrested [twentieth January, 1542-3],
and, before he had time to summon his friends, or
protest against such injustice, hurried to the castle of
Blackness, and committed to the custody of Lord
Seton.-[- Having thus boldly begun, proclamation was
made, that every man, under pain of treason, should
resist the landing of any army from France ; a suspi-
cion having arisen, that a fleet which had been seen
* See the Letter in the State-paper Office. Lord Lisle to the Duke of
Suffolk, dated Berwick, 2d of February, 1542-3. " I asked him whether
he had begun to practice with his frindes, touchyng the king's majesty's pur-
pose. He said it was not tjTne yet, for altho he and his broder had manye
frindes, he durst not move the matter as yet to none of them ; for if he
shuld, he is sure they wolde starte from them, everie man."
■f Keith, p. 27. Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 26. Sadler's State Papers, vol.
i. pp. 137, 138. MS. letter in State-paper OfBce, Sir Thomas Wharton to
the Duke of Suffolk, February 2, 1542-3 : " My said servant sheweth the
ordre of the takyng of the cardinal, much after the form as I have •wryttyn.
He saith he hard the proclamation made after the same at the cross in Edin-
burgh, by the governor and the noblemen with him, that his takyng was for
certain treasons agaynst the realm, and not for any takyng away the funds
of the churche."
264 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
off Holy Island was a squadron led by the Duke of
Guise, for the invasion of Scotland. It soon appeared,
however, to be some Scottish ships of war, with nine-
teen English prizes, which they afterwards brought
safely into harbour. A parliament was appointed to
be held on the twelfth of March for the discussion of
the proposed alliance with England, and the condem-
nation of the cardinal; whilst it was proposed that
Henry should immediately grant an abstinence of war,
and a safe conduct to the Scottish ambassadors, who
were to conclude a perpetual peace between the two
realms.
The seizure of the cardinal, however, was attended
w^ith effects which his opponents had not anticipated.
The public services of religion were suspended ; the
priests refused to administer the sacraments of baptism
and burial ; the churches were closed : a universal
gloom overspread the countenances of the people ; and
the country presented the melancholy appearance of a
land excommunicated for some awful crime. The days,
indeed, were past, when the full terrors of such a state
of spiritual proscription could be felt, yet the Catholic
party were still strong in Scotland ; they loudly ex-
claimed against their opponents for so daring an act
of sacrilege and injustice; and the people began, in
some degree, to identify the cause of Beaton with the
independence of the country, exclaiming against the
Douglases and the Scottish prisoners as the pensioners
of England.* It was suspected, that more was con-
cealed under the proposed marriage and alliance with
* Letter, State-paper Office, Sir Thomas "Wharton to the Duke of Suffolk,
Carlisle, February 2, 1542-3. See also an important letter. Lord Lisle to
the Duke of Suffolk, dated February 1, 1542-3, at Berwick : — "And con-
sideryng this busynes that is uppon the takying of the cardinall, whiche, at
this present, is at such a staye, that they can cause no priest within Scotland
to saye masse syn3 the cardinall was taken, neyder to cxysten or burye."
1543. MARY. 265
England than the friends of Henry dared as yet avow ;
cabals were formed amongst the nobles ; and the Ej^rls
of Huntley, Bothwell, and Moray, offering themselves
as surety for the appearance of the cardinal to answer
the charges against him, imperiously demanded that
he should be set at liberty. The refusal of this request
by the governor and the Douglases convinced their
opponents that their suspicions were not without
foundation; Argyle, one of the ablest and most power-
ful amongst the barons, retired to his own country,
with the object of mustering his strength, and provid-
ing for the storm which he saw approaching ; whilst
the mutual jealousies and animosities amongst those
left behind gathered strength so rapidly, that it seemed
probable they must lead to some alarming civil com-
motion.*
This fatal result was likely to be hastened by the
conduct of the English kino;-. Incensed to the utmost
degree against the cardinal, whom the Pope had recent-
ly appointed Legate a latere in Scotland, he insisted on
his being delivered into his hands to be imprisoned in
England. -f He pressed the Earl of Angus and his
Scottish prisoners to fulfil their promises regarding the
surrender of the fortresses, and was highly dissatisfied
when he found his orders not likely to be obeyed. In
an interview between Sir George Douglas, and Lord
Lisle the English warden, which took place at Ber-
* Letter, ut supra. Sir Thomas Wharton to the Duke of Suffolk. State-
paper Office.
'\ Letter, State-paper Office, Lord Lisle to Duke of Suffolk, February 2,
1542-3. " I asked hym whether his broder and he wold deliver the cardy-
nal to the king's majesty — if his highness to have hym. Whereat he
(Sir George Douglas) studied a lyttel, and said that if they shulde do soo,
they (should be) mistraisted as of England's partie, but that he suld be as
Burely kept as if he were in England, for neyther governor nor any oder in
Scotland shall have hym out of their handes." The letter having suffered
much by damp is difficult to decipher.
266 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
wick,* the Scottish baron endeavoured to convince him
of the imprudence of thus attempting to precipitate so
delicate an affair. He assured him that if the king
were content to proceed with caution, he had little
doubt of accomplishing his utmost wishes, but that at
present the delivery of the cardinal, or the slightest
attempt to seize the fortresses, would lead to certain
failure. In the meantime he promised that Beaton,
against whose talent and intrigue they could never be
too much on their guard, should be as safely kept with
them as he could be in England ; and as the report still
continued that the Duke of Guise was about to visit
Scotland,*!* he agreed, at the suggestion of Lord Lisle,
to alter their first resolution, which had been to grant
this prince an interview, and to adopt the safer plan
of interdictinof him or his attendants from landinsf in
any of the harbours of the kingdom. Convinced, or
at least assuming the appearance of being satisfied by
such representations, Henry consented to the prolon-
gation of the abstinence of war till the month of June, J
and awaited, with as much patience as he could com-
mand, the meeting of the Scottish parliament. In the
meantime he sent orders to Sir Ralph Sadler to repair
instantly as his ambassador to Edinburgh, and he de-
termined to keep a jealous watch on the proceedings of
France, as it was now confidently asserted that the
Duke of Guise and the Earl of Lennox had fitted out
* Letter, State-paper OflBce, Lord Lisle to the Duke of Suffolk quoted
above, February 2, 1542-3.
f Letter, State-paper Office, the Duke of Suffolk and council of the north
to the privy-council, advising them of the appearance of a large fleet off Holy
Island, supposed to be the Duke de Guise's squadron, dated at Newcastle,
3d February, 1542-3.
ij: Original agreement of abstinence of war, signed by James earl of Arran
as governor of Scotland (State-paper Office) dated February 20, ] 542-3, in
the name of Mary queen of Scotland ; also, copy Agreement for Cessation
of Hostilities on the part of Henry the Eighth.
154.3. MARY. 267
an expedition against Scotland in some of the ports of
Normandy .*
Shortly before the meeting of parliament, an attempt
was made by the Catholic party to counteract the in-
trigues of the English faction, which had now gained
a complete command over the governor. The Earls of
Huntley, Moray, Bothwell, and Argyle, supported by
a powerful body of the barons and landed gentry, and
a numerous concourse of bishops and abbots, assembled
at Perth, avowing their determination to resist the
measures of the governor and the Douglases. They
despatched Reid the bishop of Orkney, a prelate of
primitive simplicity and integrity, with certain pro-
posals to their opponents. Of these, the first insisted
that the cardinal should be set at liberty, and that the
Xew Testament should not be read in the vulgar tongue
by the people ; they demanded, at the same time, that
the Scottish ambassadors who had been named by
Henry should not be intrusted with the negotiation
of the marria^re, but others chosen in their stead, and
they asserted their right to be consulted by the gover-
nor in all aftairs of importance. It was not to be ex-
pected that Arran or his haughty councillors should
for a moment listen to such a message. It was received
with a scornful and positive refusal ; and scarce had
its authors time to recover from their disappointment,
when they saw a herald-at-arms enter their assembly,
who, in the name of the governor, and under the pain
of treason, charged them to disperse their convocation
and return to their duty and allegiance. Nor did they
dare to disobey the summons. The penalties of treason
* Privy-council of England to the Duke of Suffolk, March 13, 1542-3.
State-paper OtEce. Kaxl of Arran to the Duke of Suffolk, March 8, 1542-3.
State-paper Office.
268 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
to which they knew their rivals in power would not be
loath to subject them, were of too serious a kind to be
despised, and after a brief deliberation, they determined
to adopt the safest course. On the day previous to the
meeting of the three Estates, the Earl of Huntley
sent in his adherence to the governor, and under an
assurance of safety repaired to the capital to give his
presence in the parliament ; his example was followed
by all the clergy assembled at Perth, as well as by the
Earls of Moray and Bothwell ; whilst Argyle, prevented
by sickness from repairing to the parliament in person,
sent his procuratory and his two uncles to plead his
apology. They had evidently miscalculated their
strength, and observing the number and the vigour of
their opponents, deemed it prudent not to push matters
to extremity, trusting by their influence in the great
council of the nation, to neutralize the obsequious
spirit of the English faction, and if they consented to
the marriage, to fetter it at least with such conditions
as should ensure the independence of their country;
nor were they disappointed in their endeavours.*
* These important particulars of the meeting held at Perth by the rival
lords previous to the parliament are new to Scottish history. They are col-
lected from an original letter preserved in the State-paper OtKce, dated March
16, 1542-3, addressed by the Earl of Angus and his brother Sir George
Douglas to Lord Lisle. It will be published in its entire state in the volume
of Scottish correspondence during the reign of Henry the Eighth, which is
about to be printed by Government ; in the meantime a short extract may
not be uninteresting to the reader: — "The Parliament began the 12th of
March, and the ouke before, thare convenit in the toune of Perth th' Erles
of Huntley, Ergj'le, Murray, and Boithwell, with ane gret noumer of
bishoppis and abbotis, baronis, and knightis, and so the forsaidis lordis sent
the Bischop of Orkney, and Sir John Campbell of Caldour, knycht, uncle
to the Erie of Ergyle, with certane artiklis to my lord governour and coun-
sale being with him. Ane of the principale artiklis was to put the cardiual
to liberte, and ane other was that the New Testament shuld not go abroide.
The third article was that the governour shuld be usit and counsalit be thame
in all th' aflFaires. The forde was that the ambassiatouris that ar contenit
in the saulfconduct come fro the kingis majeste, that thai walde not be con-
tentit that thai shuld pas in England, but walde have others of thare chesing.
My lord governour, with avise of us and of his counsale, maid thame ane
final answer. That he wuld grant them no such imreasonable desires ; and
1543. MARY. 269
On the twelfth of March, the parliament assembled,
and its proceedings were marked by a firmness and pru-
dence, which was little agreeable to the impetuous
desires of the English king. After the important preli-
minaries had been gone through of confirming the choice
of Arran as governor of the realm and tutor to the young
queen, on the ground of his being next in succession to
the crown, the Archbishop of Glasgow, then chancellor,
brought forward the proposals of Henry regarding the
treaty of peace, and marriage of his son the Prince of
Wales with their infant sovereign ; whilst he exhibited
the instructions which were to be delivered to their am-
bassadors, who, it was agreed, should immediately
proceed to England for the negotiation of this alliance.
These, however, were widely different from what Henry
had expected. The parliament refused to deliver the
queen till she had attained the full age of ten years ;
incontinent after the departure of the said bishop and knycht we sent one
heralde of armes unto the saidis lordis at Perth, chargeing thame under the
payne of trayson to cum and serue the governour, for the welth of the realme,
according to their dewty and allegiance. Thir forsaid lordis pretendit to
have made one partie if thai had bene able, and my lord governour and we
agane preparit ourselves with all the gentilmen and ser\"yngmen that langit
unto us to ane gud no^vmer^ and ane weel favorit cumpany purposing to
proceed in our parliament in despjrte of all thame wald say the contrarie.
And than the saidis lordis seeing this, that thai mycht not mak thare partye
gud, th' Erie of Huntlie sent unto the governour and to us saying that he
wald com, and do his dewtie to the governour, and mouche the rather for
our cause, considering the proximite of blude that was betwix us. And so
be our advise the governour was contentit to give him assurance to com and
serve him in the said parlement, and so the said erle came in on Sunday,
the 11th Marche ; and on Monday the 12th of the same the erle of Murray
sent and desyrit he mycht cum and serve the governour, and we acceptit him
in lyk maner ; and upon Twysday th' erle Boithwell sent to us ane letter
and desyrit us that he mycht cum and serve the governour in this present
parliament, and we movit the same to the governour, and he being contentit
thairwith the said Erie Boithwell com in on Weddynsday, the 14th of this
month. And all the clergy boith bischoppis and abbotis com into the said
parliament upon Sounday, the 11th hereof, and all the greater men of Scot-
land, convenet to the said parliament boith spirituale and temporall, except
the Erie of Ergyle allauerly, who is sore sick, and sent his procurator witt
his two uncles to mak his excuse the 15th of Marche. * * * It has bene
the moist substanciall parliament that ever was sene in Scotland in ony
mannis rememberance, and best furnist with all the three estatis."
270 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
they declined to surrender any of the fortresses of the
kinodom: and the whole deliberations were conducted
with a jealous attention to the preservation of the
liberties of Scotland as a separate and independent
kinodom. That realm was to retain its name, its
laws, its ancient courts, officers, and immunities. It
was stipulated that, even after the marriage was con-
cluded, whether there was issue or not, the kingdom
of Scotland should continue to be governed by a native
ruler; and the proviso was subjoined, that in the event
of the failure of the heirs of such marriage, the nearest
lawful successor should immediately succeed to the
crown, without question or difficulty.* Under such
restrictions the proposal of a matrimonial alliance was
welcomed as likely to produce the most favourable
effects on the mutual prosperity of both kingdoms;
and Balnaves the secretary. Sir James Learmont the
treasurer, with Sir William Hamilton of Sanquhar,
were chosen as ambassadors to the court of England.
The parliament then proceeded to reverse the attain-
der of Angus and the Douglases, restoring them to
their estates and their honours; they selected the Earls
Marshal and Montrose, with the Lords Erskine, Ruth-
ven, Lindsay, Livingston, and Seton, to be keepers of
the queen's person ; they appointed the governor a
council, which was far too numerous to be efficient ;
and they determined that, for the present, the young
queen should hold her court, under the eye of her
mother the queen-dowager, at the palace of Linlithgow.
Parliament was then prorogued to the seventeenth of
March, whilst the committee, known by the name of
the Lords of the Articles, continued their sittings for
the introduction of such statutes as were esteemed
* Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pj). 411, 412, 413.
1543. MARY. * 271
beneficial to the general interests of the kingdom.
Amongst these one provision stands pre-eminent for
its important effects in spreading the light of truth,
and accelerating the progress of the Reformation.
Lord ^laxwell when a prisoner in England, had be-
come a convert to its doctrines, and proposed that all
might have liberty to read the Bible in an approved
Scots or English translation, provided none disputed
on the controverted opinions. Against this the Arch-
bishop of Glasgow solemnly protested for himself and
the ecclesiastical estate in parliament till the matter
should be debated in a provincial council ; but the pro-
position obtained the consent of the Lords of the
Articles, and was publicly ratified by the governor.
Arran, indeed, was at this time esteemed, to use the
words of Knox, one of the most fervent Protestants
in Europe. He entertained in his service two cele-
brated preachers. Friar Williams and John Rough,
who inveighed with much severity against the corrup-
tions of the Romish church ; and under his protection
the Holy Scriptures began to be studied very generally
throughout the country.
Sadler, the English ambassador, now arrived in
Edinburgh, and with great diplomatic ability earnestly
laboured to obtain more favourable terms. No effort
was left untried to shake the resolution and corrupt
the integrity of the governor : his fears were attempted
to be roused bv threats of war; his ambition was
worked on by the promise of a marriage between his
son and the Princess Elizabeth of England ; but, al-
though indolent and timid as a politician, Arran
possessed a high sense of honour, and no persuasions
could induce him to depart from the resolution of the
three Estates. Nor was Sadler more successful with
272 HISTORY OF Scotland. 1543.
others to whom he applied. In a letter to the king,
written a short time after the prorogation of the par-
liament, he lamented that his utmost endeavours were
insufficient to brino; them to consent to the wishes of
his master. They would rather, he assured Henry,
suffer any extremity than come to the obedience and
subjection of England, being determined to have their
realm free and to retain their ancient laws and customs ;
yet he acknowledged that the nobles and the whole
temporality desired the marriage, and were anxious to
remain at peace, whilst he expressed an opinion that
this event would be followed by a renunciation of their
alliance with France, and might possibly, in the pro-
gress of time, induce them to fall to the obedience and
devotion of England. In the same despatch, however,
the enmity of the churchmen to the marriage and
union with England is represented as deep and uni-
versal.*
The haughty temper of the English monarch was
irritated by the opposition to his favourite scheme, and
the measures which he adopted were violent and im-
politic. He upbraided Angus, Glencairn, and the rest
of his prisoners with a breach of their promises ; he
assured them that he had no intention to recede from
even the smallest portion of his demands, and that, if
necessary, he W'Ould by force compel the Scots to de-
liver to him their infant queen, in which case they must
prepare themselves either to return to their imprison-
ment in England, or assist him, according to their
solemn agreement, in the conquest of the country ; but
* Sir R. Sadler to one of the council of the north, dated 27th March,
1543. — State-paper Office. " In myn opinion they had lever suffre ex-
tremytee than com to the obediens and subjection of England — they wool
have their own realm free and live within themselves after their own lawes
and custumes."
154.'5. MARY. 273
an event which soon after occurred, convinced him that
it was easier to form than to realize such intentions.
Beaton, who since his imprisonment had not ceased to
keep up a communication with his party, contrived
suddenly, and somewhat mysteriously, to recover his
liberty. He had been delivered by Arran into the
custody of Lord Seton, a near relative of the Hamil-
tohs, but a nobleman distinguished for his hereditary
loyalty and his attachment to the Catholic faith. This
peer, if we may believe the asseverations of the governor,
under pretence of inducing Beaton to deliver up his
castle of St Andrew''s, permitted the cardinal to remove
from Blackness to this fortress. Thither he was ac-
companied by Seton, but with so small a force that the
prelate, instead of a captive remained master in his own
palace; and as no attempt was made to punish or even
to examine his keeper, it is difficult to resist the infer-
ence that Arran was secretly not displeased at his
escape.* Hamilton abbot of Paisley, the natural
brother of the governor, and an ecclesiastic of con-
siderable political ability, had returned from France a
short time previous to the enlargement of Beaton,-|-
and was probably concerned in the plot which led to
his liberation. It is at least certain that he soon exer-
cised a considerable influence over the vacillating mind
of the governor, and the cardinal endeavoured through
his means to promote a coalition between their parties.
He declared himself anxious, by every lawful means,
to support the government, repelled with indignation
the assertion that he had entered into any treasonable
correspondence with France, and declared himself ready
at any time to surrender his person for the trial of lis
* Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. p. 1 37.
+ Ibid. vol. i. p. 117.
VOL. V,
274 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
innocency .* He even despatched his chaplain to Sadler
the Enghish ambassador, with the objoct of removing
from the mind of his master the King of England, the
violent prejudices which had been conceived against
him. None, he affirmed, was more ready than himself
to acknowledge the beneficial efi'ects which must result
from a union between the two kingdoms ; to accomplish
which he would serve the English monarch as sincerely
as any of his supporters, with this only difference, that
he would fulfil his duty to the country of which he was
a subject, and anxiously provide for the preservation
of its freedom and independence. *[- It is difficult to
estimate the exact proportion of sincerity which entered
into these professions, but the last condition was di-
rectly opposed to the imperious projects of Henry, who
imagined the time had arrived when Scotland was
for ever to be incorporated with the English monarchy.
He rejected them accordingly with ill-advised precipi-
tation; and both parties became aware that, unless some
unforeseen changes took place, all hope of an amicable
issue was at an end.
In the meantime the Scottish ambassadors arrived
at the English court, and on being admitted to their
audience, explained to the monarch the conditions upon
which the parliament were ready to give their consent
to a marriage. J Henry declared himself deeply dis-
satisfied ; he first insisted on the immediate delivery
of the infant queen, but afterwards relaxed so far in
his requisitions as to consent she should remain in her
own kingdom, till she had completed the age of two
years ; he talked idly of his right, as lord superior to
* Sadler, vol. i. p. 131.
+ Sadler's State Papers, pp. 131, 133.
t They set off from Edinburgh on the 23d of March, 1 542-3. Sadler,
vol. i. p. 90.
1543. MARY. 275
the realm of Scotland,* and in virtue of this, contended
that the o^overnment of that kino-dom ouo^ht to be re-
signed into his hands without question or delay. Such
demands the Scottish ambassadors resisted with firm-
ness, and in a subsequent meeting with the English
commissioners to confer upon the marriage, they did
not conceal their opinion that the first notice of such
terms would render any treaty between the two coun-
tries completely impracticable. Nor were they deceived
in their expectations : the extraordinary demands of
Henry were received in Scotland with a universal burst
of indignation ; and the anticipations of the Douglases
and their faction, who had in vain besought him to
unveil his designs more cautiously, were completely
fulfilled. Even the o-overnor, who was described bv
Sir George Douglas to Sadler as a very gentle creature,
resented, with becoming spirit, the indignity with which
he had been treated; and Beaton gained from the vio-
lence and indiscretion of his adversary a strength and
popularity which some months before he had in vain
attempted to acquire by his own efi"orts.
The cardinal was not slow in availins; himself of this
advantage. Some time previous to this the Earl of
Lennox had returned to Scotland by the advice of the
cardinal, and with the concurrence of Francis the First,
in whose Italian wars he had received his education.-f-
The object of Beaton was to render Arran subservient
to his designs, by raising a rival to him in the Earl of
Lennox. The near relationship between this young
noble and the royal family, and a report which was
* It is to be regretted that there should be a revival of this question in
the present day ; but to those who feel any interest in the controversy, I
•would recommend the able " Vindication of the Independance of Scotland,"
by i\Ir Allen. The meeting between Henry and the Scottish commissioners
probably took place some time about the 10th or I'Jth of April.
i" Lesley, p. 173. Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 27.
276 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
circulated at this time that the late kin^:, in the event
of his dying without children, had selected him as his
successor in the throne, excited the jealousy and ap-
preliensions of the governor. Beaton, on the other
hand, did not scruple to encourage the ambition of
Lennox by holding out the hope of a marriage with
the queen-dowager; and it was even hinted by the
clergy, that in consequence of some informality in the
divorce between the father of Arran and his second
wife, the governor, who was the issue of a third mar-
riage, had no legitimate title either to his paternal
property, or to the high office which he held. Could
this have been made out, Lennox was unquestionably
not only the next heir to these immense estates, but
possessed on the same grounds, a preferable claim to the
regency ; and it is easy to understand how all these con-
currinor circumstances must have shaken the resolution
of Arran, and rendered Lennox a formidable instrument
in the hands of so artful a politician as the cardinal.*
These, however, were far from the only means which
he employed. He had early opened a negotiation with
France ; and Francis the First, aware of the import-
ance of preserving his amicable relations with Scotland,
etnpowered Lennox to promise assistance, both in arms
and money, to the party opposed to Henry. He took
every opportunity of enlisting upon his side the affec-
tions and the prejudices of the middle and the lower
classes of the people ; promulgating, through the med-
ium of the clergy, the insolent demands of the English
monarch, and exciting their resentment against those
persons amongst the nobility, whom he justly repre-
sented as having sold to Henry their services against
their native country.
* Maitland, vol. ii. p. 842.
1543. MARY. 277
TIi^ consequences of all this were soon apparent, and
appeared to promise the cardinal a speedy triumph over
his enemies. Arran the governor, in whose vacillating
character there was a strong love of popularity, became
alienated from the English party; he declared openly
that he would sooner abide the extremity of war than
consent to the demands of Henry; and, equally irre-
solute in his religion as in his politics, dismissed Friar
Williams and John Rough his two Protestant chap-
lains, whom, till then, he had retained in his family.*
The people, also, were now so universally opposed to
the renunciation of the amity with France, that
Glencairn and Cassillis did not hesitate to inform the
English ambassador, they would sooner die than agree
to this condition. Such, indeed, was the exacerbation
of national feeling upon the subject, that Sadler could
not venture abroad without being exposed to insult ;
whilst the peers who were in the interest of Henry,
complained to the ambassador, that their devotion to
England rendered them the objects of universal hatred
and contempt. -f-
To counteract, if possible, this state of things, which
seemed to threaten the total wreck of his favourite
schemes, Henry was prevailed upon by Sir George
Douglas, who privately visited him in England, to relax
in the rigour of his demands. By his advice, the im-
mediate delivery of the infant queen, the surrender of the
fortresses, and the resignation of the government into
the hands of the English sovereign, were abandoned
as hopeless and extravagant conditions, the mention of
which had already materially injured his cause ; and
the artful envoy returned to Scotland with proposals
for the conclusion of the peace and marriage upon a
* Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. p. 158. f Ibid. p. 165.
278 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
more equitable basis.* He was instructed, algo, to
flatter the vanity of the governor, by renewing, on the
part of Henry, his former proposal of a marriage between
the Princess Elizabeth and Arran''s eldest son ; and so
successfully did he labour, that, in a convention of the
nobility held in April, which, however, was principally
composed of those peers and their adherents who were
in the interest of England, it was resolved to despatch
Sir George Douglas and the Earl of Glencairn, as
assistants to the ambassadors already there, in the
negotiation of the treaty of marriage and alliance,
which had been so abruptly broken off by the violence
and arrogance of Henry.
In the meantime, the opposite party were not idle,
and the talents of the cardinal were exerted airainst the
faction of Henry with formidable success. Lennox,
who, till this time, had wavered, went over to Beaton ;
and, being admitted to an audience by the governor,
delivered a flattering message from the French king,
containing expressions of the warmest friendship, pro-
mising immediate assistance in troops and money,
should England attempt an invasion, and declaring
his resolution to preserve the ancient league between
the two kingdoms, as the firmest basis of their mutual
prosperity.-]- This proposal Arran, for the present,
evaded by a general answer ; but the cardinal, the
queen-dowager, and their friends, did not lose the
opportunity. They entered into a negotiation with
France, in which it was agreed that a force of two
* In the State-paper Office are preserved two original documents, contain-
ing the instructions given to Sir George Douglas. One of them dated May 1,
1543, is a short paper in the handwriting of Secretary Wriothesley. It is
thus entitled : " The he th' articles which be thought so reasonable, that if
the ambassadors of Scotland will not agree to them, then it shall be mete
the king's majestie folowe out his purpose by force."
f Sadler, vol. i. p. 1 (jo.
1543. MARY. 279
thousand men, under the command of Montgomerie
Sieiir de Lorges, an officer of high military reputation,
should be sent to Scotland ; they encouraged their
friends and adherents, by the hopes of powerful sub-
sidies, to assemble their forces, garrison their castles,
and keep themselves in readiness for the impending
struggle ; whilst Grimani, the papal legate, with the
still formidable "weapons of ecclesiastical anathemas
and processes of excommunication, was invited to ac-
celerate his journey into Scotland. A convention of
the clergy, at the same time, assembled at St Andrew's,
in which the probability of a war with England was
discussed, and a resolution carried to ascertain and
levy, without delay, the sum required in such an exi-
gency. The assembly was pervaded with the utmost
unanimity and enthusiasm; the cause which they were
called upon to support was represented as not only that
of the church, but of their ancient freedom and na-
tional independence; the hearts of the people, and the
patriotic feelings of the great majority of the nobility,
responded to the sentiments which were uttered ; and
the clergy declared their readiness, not only to sacrifice
their whole private fortunes, but to melt down the
church plate, and, were it necessary, themselves fight
in the quarrel.*
In the midst of all this opposition, the diplomatic
talents of Sir George Douglas were unremittingly ex-
erted to overcome the complicated difficulties which
stood in the way of a general conciliation ; and having
returned from Enoland with the ultimate resolutions
of Henry, they were agreed to by the governor and
a majority of the nobility, in a convention held at
Edinburo-h in the beoinnino- of June.+ Satisfied with
* Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. p. 204. + Ibid. pp. 212, 213.
280 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
tliis approval, although the absence of the car linal,
and many of the most influential peers, might have
assured him that it would afterwards be questioned, he
returned with expedition to England, and, along with
the Earl of Glencairn and the Scottish ambassadors,
Learmont, Hamilton, and Balnav^es, met the commis-
sioners of the sister country at Greenwich, where
the treaties of pacification and marriage were finally
arranged on the first of Julv.* The terms were cer-
tainly far more favourable than those which had been
at first proposed by the English monarch. It was
agreed that a marriage should take place between the
Prince of Wales and Mary queen of Scots, as soon
as that princess had reached majority, and that an
inviolable peace should subsist between the kingdoms
during the lives of these two royal persons, which was
to continue for a year after the death of the first who
should pay the debt of nature. Till she had completed
her tenth year, the young Mary was to remain in
Scotland under the care of the guardians appointed
by the parliament; Henry being permitted to send
thither an English nobleman, with his wife and atten-
dants, to form part of the household of the princess.
Within a month after she entered her eleventh year, the
Estates of Scotland solemnly promised to deliver their
princess at Berwick to the commissioners appointed
to receive her ; and as hostages for the fulfilment of
this condition, two earls and four barons were to be
sent forthwith to England. It was carefully provided
that, even if the queen should have issue by the prince,
the kinodom of Scotland should retain its name, and
be governed by its ancient laws. It had been earnestly
desired that the treaty should include a positi^ e abro-
* Rynier, Fcedera, vol. xiv. p. 78G-791.
1543. MARY. 281
gation of the long-established league between France
and Scotland ; but instead of being " friends to friends,
and enemies to enemies," the utmost that could be
procured was the insertion of a clause, by which it
was au'reed, that neither should afford assistance to
any foreign aggressor, notwithstanding any former
stipulation upon this subject.
It is apparent that, in this treaty, Henry abandoned
the most obnoxious part of his demands; and had the
Eno'lish monarch, and the Scottish nobles who were
in his interest, acted with good faith, little ground of
objection to the proposed marriage and pacification
could have been left to their opponents. But, whilst
such were all the articles which openly appeared, a
private transaction, or '-'•secret device^'''' as it is termed
in the original papers which now, for the first time,
reveal its existence, was entered into between Henry
and his partisans. Maxwell, Glencairn, Angus, and the
rest, which was at once of a very unjustifiable descrip-
tion, and calculated to exasperate their adversaries in a
high degree. An agreement appears to have been drawn
up by the English commissioners, for the signature of
the Scottish peers and barons taken at the Solway, by
which they once more tied themselves to his service;
and, forgetting their allegiance to their natural prince,
promised, in the event of any commotion in Scotland, to
adhere solely to the interest of the English monarch,
''50 that he should attain all the things then pacted and
covenanted, or, at the least, the dominion on this side
the Firth."* In the same treaty the precise sums of
* The proof of this transaction is to be found in a paper preserved in the
State-pap<er Office, and dated July 1, 1.543, entitled, "Copy of the Secret
Devise." It contains this passage : — " Fourthly, if ther happen any division
or trouble to arise in Scotland, by practice of the cardinal, kyrkmen, France,
or otherwise, I shall sticke and adhere only to the king's majesty's service,
as Lis highness maye assuredly atteyne these things noe pacted ai icovenanted.
282 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
ransom to be exacted from the Scottish prisoners taken
at the Solway were fixed by the commissioners ; but,
before they were permitted to avail themselves of this
means for the recovery of their liberty, it appears to
have been a condition, that they should sign this
agreement which has been above described. In the
meantime, the negotiations having been concluded,
peace was soon afterwards proclaimed between the two
countries, and the ambassadors returned to Edinburgh
with the hope that the treaties would immediately be
ratified by the governor and the parliament.
To their mortification, however, they discovered that,
in theinterval of their absence, Beaton, who had, in all
probability, obtained information of this second com-
bination of Henry and his Scottish prisoners against
the independence of the country, had succeeded in
consolidating a formidable opposition. The English
monarch had at this moment resolved on a war with
France ; and any delay in the proposed alliance wdth
Scotland inflamed the haughty impatience of his tem-
per. His resentment against the cardinal, with whose
practices Sadler his ambassador did not fail to acquaint
him, now rose to a high pitch, and he repeatedly urged
the governor and his partisans to seize and imprison
the prelate. Such, however, were the vigilance and
ability of this ener2:etic ecclesiastic, that he not onlv
escaped the snares, but for a while defeated the utmost
efforts of his enemies; and many of the nobles, becom-
or, at the least, the domynion on this side the Freythe." This explains an
obscure passage in Sadler's State Papers, vol. i. p. 237, " The said Earl of
Angus hath subscribed the articles of the devise which your majesty sent unto
me with your last letters, and the Lord Maxwell telleth me, that, as soon
as he received the like articles from your majesty, by his son, he forthwith
subscribed the same. The rest I have not yet spoken with because they be
not here, but as soon as I can I shall not fail to accomplish that part accord-
ing to your gracious commandment."
1543. MARY. 283
ins; aware of the plots which were in agitation for the
subjugation of Scotland, eagerly joined his party, and
prepared by arms to assert their freedom. With this
object the cardinal and the Earl of Huntley concen-
trated their forces in the north, Argyle and Lennox
in the west, whilst Bothwell, Home, and the Laird
of Buccleugh, mustered their feudal array upon the
Borders.* They declared that they were compelled
to adopt these measures for the protection of the faith
and holy church, and the defence of the independence
of the realm, which had been sold to Henry by Arran,
whom they stigmatized as a heretic and an Engiish-
man.-[* So far as it concerned the preservation of what
they believed the only true faith, their opposition was
defeated ; whilst the great cause of the Reformation,
gaining ground by slow degrees, was destined to be
ultimately triumphant. But it is not to be denied
that their accusations regarding the sacrifice of the
liberty of the country by its weak governor, were
founded in justice. We know from the high authority
of Sadler the Eno-lish ambassador, that Arran boasted
of his English descent ; that he eagerly received the
money sent him by Henry, and professed his anxiety
for the accomplishment of all his desires. Nor was
this all : he entertained, though he did not accept, a
proposal of the English monarch to make him King
of Scotland beyond the Firth ; and he proposed that,
in the event of the cardinal becoming too powerful for
him, an army should be sent to invade the country, with
which he and his friends might effectually co-operate,
alleging that, by this means, although forsaken by their
countrymen, he doubted not that the whole realm might
be forcibly reduced under the subjection of England, ij:
* Sadler, vol. i. p. 2c^6. f Ibid. pp. 233, 234. + Ibid. pp. 216, 253, 256.
2Si HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
It is not matter of surprise, therefore, that Beaton,
as soon as he became aware of this disposition, of the
urgent desire of Henry for the seizure of his person,
and of the still more dansjerous intrio^ues of the Scot-
tish prisoners for the subjugation of the realm, should
have exerted every effort to defeat their intentions.
So bitter and indignant indeed were his feelings,
that, if we may believe an extraordinary story which
is found in a letter of the Duke of Suffolk to Sir R.
Sadler, the cardinal had challenged Sir Ralph Eure
warden of the marches, to a personal combat, on some
ground of quarrel which does not appear. The chal-
lenge was communicated to Henry, who, considering
it in a serious light, intimated his wishes that Eure
should fight w^itli Beaton in Edinburgh. The whole
matter evinces the credulity of the English ambassador
and his royal master, for we cannot believe that the
prelate could have contemplated so disgraceful an ad-
venture ; and the conjecture of Suffolk, that it originated
in the insolence of a moss-trooper, whom he characterizes
as one of the strongest Border-thieves m Scotland, is
probably not far from the truth.*
During these transactions the young queen remained
in the palace of Linlithgow, under the nominal charge
of the queen-dowager, but so strictly guarded by the
governor and the Hamiltons, that her residence w^as
little else than an honourable imprisonment. To obtain
* Letter in State-paper Office, Duke of Suffolk and the Bishop of Durham
to Sir Kalph Sadler, July 15, 1543: — " For we cannot thinke the cardinal
volde be so madde as to provoke and challenge any man that vrolde fighte
w ith him in the quarrell, or that he intends to tight, onelesse he shall thinke
himselfetobefarre the stronger partie, and yet then we thinke he wolde stands
alouff and look on rather than to come himselfe among knocks. We thinke
rather this bragge is made by Clement Crosier, himselfe being one of the
strongest thieves in Scotland, to stirre besynes and to lett the good peax,
than that the cardinall was so madde to bydde him meddle in any such
matter." Also letter in State-paper Office, July '20, 154;>, Duke of Suffolk
ana tne Privy-council to Lord Parr, touching the challenge.
1543. MARY. 285
possession of her person was now the first object of tlie
cardiuaFs party ; and, whether by the connivance of
her immediate guardians, or from some relaxation in the
vigilance of Arran, they at last succeeded. Marching
from Stirling at the head of a force of ten thousand
men, Lennox, Huntley, and Argyle proceeded towards
the capital, and were joined at Leith by Bothwell, with
the Kers and the Scotts, forming a combined army,
which Arran and the Douglases did not find themselves
able to resist. After an ineffectual attempt to temporise,
which was defeated by the energy of his opponents, the
governor consented to surrender his royal charge ; and
the infant queen, with the queen-dowager, who secretly
rejoiced at the change, were conducted by Lennox in
triumph to Stirling.*
To Beaton this w^as an important accession of strength ;
and having so far succeeded in weakening his adversaries,
he laboured to detach the governor from England, by
holding out the prospect of a marriage between his son
and the young Mary. Arran however resisted, or
suspected the splendid bribe ; and, in a convention of
the nobles which was held on the twenty-fifth of August,
in the abbey church of Holyrood, the treaties with
England w^ere ratified with solemn pomp, the governor
swearing to their observance at the altar. •[* To this
transaction, however, the cardinal and the powerful
nobles with whom he acted were no parties. Not long
before, they had remonstrated in strong terms against
the mode of government pursued by Arran ; they com-
* Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p, 28. A valuable volume lately
printed by the Bannatyne Club, from which the erroneous chronology of our
general historians of this period maj' be sometimes corrected. It contains
the best account of this transaction, the delivery of the queen, upon which
Buchanan, Lesley, Maitland, and other historians, are obscure and ;oatra-
dictory.
t Sadler, vol. i. p. 270, August 25, 1343.
286 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
plained that, in the weightiest affairs of the realm, he
was guided by the advice of a particular faction, ex-
cluding from liis councils many of the highest nobles ;
and they warned him that, as long as this course was
adopted, they would not consider themselves bound by
their partial deliberations.* They insisted that the
ratification of the treaties had been carried by private
means, unauthorized by the authority of parliament,
contrary to the opinion of a majority of the nobles, and
to the wishes of the great body of the people ; nor did
they omit any method by which they might render
Arran suspected and unpopular.
These devices began soon to produce the desired
effect ; and this was accelerated by one of those rash
measures into which Henry was so frequently hurried
by the impetuosity of his temper. Soon after the pro-
clamation of peace, the Scottish merchants, who then
carried on a lucrative foreign commerce, had despatched
a fleet of merchantmen, wdiich sought shelter from a
storm in an English port. Here they deemed them-
selves secure ; but, to their astonishment, they were
detained, and, under the pretext that they were carrying
provisions into France, their cargoes were confiscated ;
a proceeding which so highly irritated the populace of
Edinburgh, that they surrounded the house of the
English ambassador, and threatened his life, in case
their ships were not restored. -f*
This last act of injustice and spoliation was attri-
buted to the governor, who was known to be in the
interest of Henry; and he began to feel that his sub-
* Sadler, vol. i. p. 2.51.
+ In the State-paper OfBce is a draft of a letter, dated 9th of September
1543, from the English king, in the handwriting of W'riothesley secretary of
state, threatening the magistrates of Edinburgh, to whom it is addressed,
with punishment, if they maltreated his ambassador in consequence of the
seizure of the ships.
.1543 MARY. 287
serviency had made him odious to all respectable classes
in the community, and to dread, when it was almost
too late, that he had engaged in a desperate enterprise.
His friends, Angus, Cassillis, and Glencairn, with other
barons attached to England, proposed to assemble their
forces, and prepare for immediate war; the time, they
basely declared, was come, when Henry must send a
main army into Scotland, with which they might co-
operate in his conquest of the realm ; * and such was
the exasperation of the two factions, that, in the opinion
of the English ambassador, a hostile collision was im-
possible to be avoided. It was averted, however, by a
revolution as sudden as it was extraordinary. On the
twenty-eighth of August, the governor, in an interview
with Sir Ralph Sadler, expressed an entire devotedness
to Henry, declaring that no prince alive should have
his heart and service, but the English monarch. On
the third of September, before a week had elapsed, he
met the cardinal at Callander House, the seat of lord
Livingston ; all causes of animosity were removed ;
and a complete reconciliation with the prelate took
place. Beaton, who, a few days before had declined
any conference, alleging that his life was in danger,
rode amicably with him to Stirling, and soon acquired
so complete a command over his pliant character, that
he publicly abjured his religion in the Franciscan con-
vent of that city, received absolution for his having
wandered from the Catholic faith,"!- renounced the trea-
ties with England, and delivered his eldest son to the
cardinal as a pledge of his sincerity. Such was the
* As this expression, " tlie conquest of the realm," coming from Scottish
nohles, against their country, may seem unnaturally strong, it is right to
ohserve, that the words are not the author's hut their o-\vn, as reported by
the English ambassadors. — Sadler, vol. i. pp. 257, 281.
+ MS. Letter in the Hamilton Papers, Lord William Parr to the Duke of
Suffolk, September 13, 1543, quoted in Chalmers' Life of Mary, vol. ii. p. 404.
288 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
conclusion of tliis remarkable coalition : its causes are
of more difficult discovery ; but are probably to be
traced to the secret influence of the Abbot of Paisley,
bastard brother of Arran, and a zealous adherent of
the cardinal, who had lately arrived from France. This
able ecclesiastic is said to have secretly persuaded the
governor, that, by his friendship with England, and
his renunciation of the papal supremacy, he was under-
mining his own title to the government and to his
paternal estates, which rested on a divorce, dependent
for its validity on the maintenance of the authority of
the Holy See. Arran, at no time distinguished by
much penetration or resolution, took the alarm, and,
believing it his only security, consented to a union
with Beaton, whom he never afterw^ards deserted.*
Encouraged by this success, the cardinal and the
governor earnestly laboured to bring over to their party
the Earl of Angus and his associates. They entreated
them to attend the approaching coronation of the young
queen ; to assist, by their presence and experience, in
the parliament, and thus to restore unity to the com-
monwealth; but this proud and selfish potentate and
his confederates only replied by sullenly retiring to
Douglas castle, where they assembled their forces, and
drew up a bond or covenant, by w^hich they agreed to
employ their utmost united strength in fulfilling their
engagements to the English king.-|- This paper, as an
evidence of their sincerity, they intrusted to Lord
Somerville, who agreed to deliver it to Henr}^ and to
concert measures for the extirpation of their enemies.
In the meantime, the ceremony of the coronation took
place at Stirling ; a nev/ council was appointed ; the
governor took an oath, that he would administer the
* Sadler, vol. i. pp. 282, 283. f Ibid. p. 288.
1543. MARY. 289
affairs of the kingdom b}^ their advice ; and it was re-
solved that a convention should be shortly held at
Edinburgh, in which all disputes with England, rela-
tive to the non-performance of the treaties, might be
calmly discussed, and, if possible, equitably adjusted.
From the temper, however, in which Henry received
the intelligence of this great change in Scotland, little
calmness on his side could be expected. In a paroxysm
of indignation he despatched a herald into that coun-
try, denouncing war if the treaties were not imme-
diately fulfilled.* He addressed a letter to the
magistrates of Edinburgh, threatening them with
severe retribution, should they permit the populace to
offer violence to his ambassador ; he commanded his
warden Sir Thomas Wharton, to liberate the chiefs
of the Armstrongs, who were then his prisoners, on
condition of their directing the fury of their Border
war as^ainst the estates of those Scottish lords who
opposed him ; and he determined on the invasion of
Scotland with an overwhelming force, as soon as he
could muster his power, and make arrangements for
its subsistence.*!-
In the late transactions the Earl of Lennox had
acted a conspicuous part, and his high birth and power-
ful connexions were of essential service to the cardinal ;
but, having gained the governor Beaton, with less than
his usual foresight, began to look coldly on him ; and
Lennox, whose conduct was solely regulated by consi-
derations of interest, deserted the cause which he had
hitherto supported, and threw himself into the arms
of England. J This defection was attended with seri-
* Credence of the English herald sent into Scotland. State-paper Office,
September, 1543.
+ Duke of Suffolk to Lord Parr. Damton, September 10, 1543 ; and
sama to same, September 11, 1543. State-paper Office.
t Sadler, vol. i. p. 299.
VOL. V. T
290 IIISTOllY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
ous results. To Lennox liad hitherto been committed
the negotiations with France, and, in consequence of
liis advice, a French ambassador, the Sieur de laBrosse,
was despatched to Scotland, accompanied by a small
fleet, bearing military stores, fifty pieces of artillery,
and ten thousand crowns,* to be distributed amongst
the friends of the cardinal. Ignorant of the sudden
change in the politics of the Scottish earl, the squadron
anchored off Dumbarton, the town and fortress of which
were entirely in his power; and Lennox, hurrying
thither with Glencairn, one of the ablest and least
scrupulous partisans of Henry, received the gold, se-
cured it in the c?.stle, and left the ambassador to find
out his mistake when it was irremediable.
But, although mortified by this untoward event, the
arrival of the French fleet brought fresh hope and re-
newed strength to the cardinal and the queen-dowager.
Along with La Brosse came a papal legate, Grimani,
patriarch of Aquileia, commissioned to take cognizance
of the heretical opinions which had infected the Scot-
tish church, and to confirm the governor in his adher-.
ence to the Catholic religion. He remained durins;
the winter in Scotland, entertained by the court and
the nobles with much hospitality and barbaric pomp ;
and in the spring he returned to the continent, bearing
with him a favourable impression of this remote king-
dom. Another object of the patriarch w^as, to advise
the renewal of the league with France ; nor could any
measure be more agreeable to the body of the people.
They were aware of the determination of Henry to in-
vade and attempt the conquest of the country ; they
were incensed to the highest degree by the detention
of thsir ships ; the rekindling of the war upon the
* Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 28.
1543. MARY. 291
Borders had recalled all their martial propensities ;
and Sadler, soon after the arrival of the French fleet,
informed his royal master, that such had been the effect
of the promises and pensions of the ambassador, who
had been received with great distinction at court, that
the whole realm was entirely in the French interest.
According to the representations of this able minister,
the people of Scotland could not conceal from them-
selves that France required nothing but friendship, and
had always assisted them at their utmost need, in their
efforts to maintain the honour and liberty of the coun-
try; whilst England sought to bring them into sub-
jection, and asserted a superiority, which, he added,
from their heart they so universally detested and ab-
horred, that unless by open force, it was vain to look
for their consent.*
To this last fatal appeal matters appeared to be nov*^
rapidly approaching. Henry, irritated by the defeat
of his favourite schemes, rose in his unreasonable de-
mands in proportion to the opposition he experienced.
Denouncing vengeance against the devoted country,
he informed Angus and his faction, that the time was
passed when he was willing to accept the treaties, and
that nothing now would satisfy him but the possession
of the person of the young queen, the seizure of his arch-
enemy the cardinal, the removal of the governor, and
the delivery into his hands of the principal fortresses
of the kingdom. His wisest councillors, however, dis-
suaded him from immediate invasion ; to the cardinal
and the governor, some time was also required for the
assembling of their forces ; and thus an interval of
brief and insincere negotiation preceded the breaking
out of hostilities.
* Sadler, vol. i. p. 326. October 30, 1543.
292 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543.
It was at this time that Sadler the ambassador was
instructed to propose to the Scottish merchants, whosi
ships had been unjustly detained, the restitution of
their property, under the condition that they would
assist the English monarch in the execution of his pro-
jects against the independence of their country. These
brave and honest men, however, spurned at the pro-
posal, with which they declared themselves greatly
offended ; affirming, that they would not only lose
their goods and ships without farther suit or petition,
but would willingly forfeit their lives, rather than agree
to a condition which would make them traitors to their
native land: a memorable contrast to the late conduct
of the nobility, and a proof that the spirit of national
independence, which, in Scotland, had long been a
stranger to many of the proudest in the aristocracy,
still resided in healthy vigour in the untainted bosoms
of the commons.*
Where such principles animated the body of the
people, it was no easy matter for Henry to succeed ;
and the exasperation of the nation was increased by
the seizure of the Lords Somerville and Maxwell, the
principal agents of Angus in conducting his intrigues
with England. Upon the person of Somerville was
found the bond signed at Douglas, along with letters
which disclosed the plans of the party; and as it was
evident they were ready to assist Henry in the entire
subjugation of the country, their opponents abandoned
all measures of conciliation, and resolved to proceed
with the utmost severity against the Douglases and
their party. Maxwell and Somerville were imprisoned ;
the governor and the cardinal determined to assemble
a parliament early in December ; and, as the inter-
* Sadler, vol. i. p. 324.
1543. MARY. 293
cepted packet contained ample evidence of treason, it
was agreed that its first business should be the im-
peachment and forfeiture of Angus and his adherents.
Alarmed at such a design, these barons assembled
their forces, with the idea that they would be strong
enouo'h to brino' about a revolution before the meetino;
of the Estates ; but in this they were disappointed.
TJie governor, acting by the advice of Beaton, at once
resolved on war, seized Dalkeith and Pinkie, two of
the chief houses of the Douglases, and sent a herald
to Tantallon, where Sadler had taken refuge, com-
mandins: Ang-us to dismiss from his castle one whom
thev could no lono-er reo'ard as the ambassador of En^]:-
land, considering his false practices with the nobility
in this time of war.*
Meanwhile the parliament assembled, to which the
full attendance of the three Estates, the presence of the
papal legate, and the grave and weighty subjects to be
debated, gave unusual solemnity. The first step taken
by the cardinal convinced all that the day of weak and
vacillating councils was past. A summons of treason
was prepared against the Earl of Angus, and those of
his party who had signed the bond in Douglas castle;
and the treaties of peace and marriage lately concluded
with Henry the Eighth, were declared at an end, in
consequence of the unjust conduct of the English mon-
arch in seizing the Scottish ships,"[" and refusing to
ratify the peace, although it had been confirmed by
the oath and seal of the re2:ent of the kino-dom. The
French ambassadors, de la Brosse and Mesnaige, were
then introduced, and delivered the message of their
* Letter, Earl of Arran to Earl of Angus, November 17, 1543. State-
paper Office. Proclamation of Arran as governor, State-j^aper Office, Nov.
20, 1543.
"t Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 30.
294; HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543
royal master : they represented Francis as anxious for
the renewal of the alliance hetween the two countries,
and declared he had empowered them to tender his
immediate assistance in the defence of the liberty of
the realm and its youthful queen, against the unwar-
ranted designs ofEno'land. This offer was cnthusias-
tically accepted ; the cardinal and a select council were
directed to revise and renew the treaties which had so
long united the realms of France and Scotland ; Secre-
tary Panter, and Campbell of Lundy, proceeded on
a mission to the French court ; and a kinsman of the
regent was despatched to solicit the assistance of Den-
mark. Envoys at the same time were sent to the court
of the emperor and the Duke of Bavaria, conveying
the intelligence of the war with England, and request-
ing them, on this ground, to abstain from all further
molestation of the Scottish commerce. Hamilton abbot
of Paisley, whose exertions had been of essential ser-
vice to the government, Avas rewarded by the office of
treasurer, from which Sir William Kirkaldy of Grange,
a keen supporter of England, was ejected ; whilst the
cardinal was promoted to the dignity of chancellor, in
the room of Dunbar archbishop of Glasgow.*
During the period that Arran the governor professed
the reformed opinions, and maintained in his family
the two friars, Williams and Rough, many who had
before embraced their doctrines in secret were encour-
aa'ed to declare openly their animosity to the Churcli
of Rome, and the necessity of a thorough reformation;
the study of the Holy Scriptures had been authorized
by the parliament ; books which treated of true as dis-
tinguished from corrupt religion were imported from
England, and, although little relished by the nobility,
* Maitland, vol. ii. p. 854.
1543. MARY. 295
as we learn from Sadler, were, in all probability, bighly
welcome to the middle and lower classes of the people.
Bv such methods the seeds of reformation were very
generally disseminated throughout the country. Six-
teen years had now elapsed since the cruel burning of
Hamilton ; but the courage with which Russel and
Kennedy had defended their principles at the stake,
was still fresh in the recollection of the people ; and
although inimical to the designs of Glencairn, Somer-
ville, ^laxwell, and the Protestant lords, for the sub-
jection of the country under the dominion of England,
they were disposed to listen with a favourable ear to
their denunciations of the corruptions of the church.
Arran, however, in renouncing the ties which had
bound him to Henry, had, as we have seen, at the
same time abjured his former convictions, and being
again received into the bosom of the church, was in-
duced by Beaton to renew the persecution of the re-
formers. In the parliament which annulled the treaties
with England, an act was passed, declaring that com-
plaints were daily made to the governor against the
heretics, who began more and more to multiply in the
realm, disseminating opinions contrary to the true
faith ; and all prelates were enjoined to make inquisi-
tion witliin their dioceses for such persons, and to pro-
ceed against them according to the laws of holy church.
The expectation, however, of an immediate invasion by
England protracted, for a short season, the execution of
this cruel decree ; and the dissensions which followed
between the governor and the Douglases, the leaders of
the English or Protestant party, gave a breathing time
to the sincere disciples of the Reformation.
Into any minute detail of those intrigues which
occupied the interval between the meeting of parlia-
296 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543-4.
merit and the commencement of the war, it would be
tedious to enter. The picture which they present of
the meanness and dishonesty of the English part}^ who
liave reaped in the pages of some of our historians so
high a meed of praise, as the advocates of the Protes-
tant doctrines, is very striking. To escape the sentence
of forfeiture to which their repeated treasons had ex-
posed them, the Earls of Lennox, Angus, Cassillis, and
Glencairn, who had lately bound themselves by a writ-
ten covenant to the service of the King of England,
did not hesitate to transmit to Arran a similar bond
or agreement, conceived in equally solemn terms, by
which they stipulated for " themselves and all others
their complices and partakers, to remain true, faithful,
and obedient servants to their sovereign lady and her
authority, to assist the lord governor for defence of the
realm against their old enemies of England, to support
the liberties of holy church, and to maintain the true
Christian faith.""* To this treaty with the governor,
An<Tus irave in his adherence on the thirteenth of
January, and to their faithful performance of its con-
ditions, his ])rother, Sir George Douglas, and Glen-
cairn'*s eldest son, the Master of Kilmaurs, surrendered
themselves as pledges ; yet two months did not expire
before we find Angus once more addressing a letter to
Henry, assuring him of his inviolable fidelity, whilst,
at the same time, the nobles, who had so lately bound
themselves to Arran and the cardinal, despatched a
messenger to court, with an earnest request that the
English monarch would accelerate his preparations for
tlie invasion of the country, transmitting minute in-
* Agreements (January 13 and 14, 1543-4) entered into by the Earls of
Cassillis, Angus, Lennox, and Glencairn, with the Earl of Arran, governor
of Scotland. MS. copy, State-paper Office.
1543-4. MARY. 297
structions regarding the conduct of the enterprise.* A
main army, they advised, should proceed by land ; a
strong fleet, with an additional force on board, was to
be despatched by sea ; whilst it would be of service, it
was observed, to send ten or twelve ships to the west
sea, to produce a diversion in the Earl of Argyle'*s
country, — an advice in which we may probably detect
the selfish policy of Glencairn, his rival, and personal
enemy. A stratagem of the same kind had already
been attended with success, when, at the suggestion of
the same baron, the highland chiefs shut up in the
castles of Edinburgh and Dunbar were let loose by the
governor Arran, under the condition that they would
direct their fury against the country of Argyle.*[*
Henry, with much earnestness, was urged to attempt
this before the expected aid could arrive from France ;
and we shall soon perceive that, on some points, their
instructions were faithfully followed. J
In the meantime, all things succeeding to his wishes
in the civil affairs of the government, Beaton found
leisure to make an ecclesiastical progress to Perth,
where the reformed opinions were openly professed by
some of the citizens, and, on his arrival, he commenced
his proceedings with a ferocity of persecution, which
* Letter, Angus to Henry, 5tli of March, 1543-4, State-paper Office. Also
Earl of Hertford to the kinsr, March 8, 1548-4, State-paper Office.
f Sadler, vol. i. pp. 267-275. Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii.
p. 450.
Ij: The ahove particulars, which are new to this obscure portion of our
history, are derived from authentic letters preserved in the State-paper
Office. In one of these, from the Earl of Hertford to the king, dated March
8, 1543-4, is this passage: " The cheif cause of his [the messenger spoken of
in the text] repayr nowe to your majesty is, to accelerate your royal army
and power into Scotland, which all your majesties friends there do specially
desire." The letter proceeds to state, that those noblemen, who were the
king's friends, directed Henry " to send a majoie armey by land, and a con-
venyant armey by sea, to repayre to Leith, and bring victuals for the land
armey, and to send ten or twelve ships into the west sey to do some annoy-
ance to the Erie of Argj-le." Also Letter, March 5, 1543-4, Erie of Angus
to Henry the Eighth, State-paper Office.
298 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1543-4.
ultimately defeated its object. Four men, Lamb,
Anderson, llanald, and Hunter, were convicted of
heresy, on the information of Spence, a friar. The
crime of Lamb was his interrupting this ecclesiastic
during a sermon, and his denying, that prayer to
tlie saints was a necessary means of salvation ; his
three associates were accused of treatino- with ianomi-
nious ridicule an imasje of St Francis, and of breakins:
their fast during Lent. A poor woman, also, the
wife of one of these sufferers, was dragged before the
inquisitorial tribunal on a charge, that, during her
labour, she had refused to pray to the virgin, declaring
she would direct her prayers to God alone, in the name
of Christ ; and, notwithstanding the utmost interces-
sion made to spare their lives, all suffered death. The
men were hanged ; and much impression was made on
the people by the last words of Lamb, who, in strong
lan^-uao'e warned them ao:ainst the abominations of
popery, and its voluptuous supporters, — a denunciation
to which the well-known profligacy of the cardinal gave
no little force ; yet the chief sympathy was excited by
the fate of the unfortunate woman. She entreated, as
a last request, to be allowed to die with her husband ;
but this was denied, and, according to a savage dis-
tinction in the executions of these times, she was con-
demned to be drowned. " It matters not, dear partner,"
said she, " we have lived together many happy days,
but this ought to be the most joyful of them all, when
we are about to have joy for ever ; therefore I will not
bid you good night, for ere the night shall close we
shall be united in the kingdom of heaven." She then
gave the little infant, who still hung upon her breast,
to the attendants, held out her hands to be bound by
the executioners, saw without any change of counte-
1544. MARY. 299
nance her feet secured in the same manner, and was
cast into a deep pool of water, where her suS'erings
were ended in a moment. Such atrocious and short-
sighted cruelty only strengthened the convictions which
they were intended to extinguish.*
Henry was now busy with the organization of his
projected invasion. It was the advice of the Earl of
Hertford that the array should first make themselves
masters of Leith, and, fortifying that sea-port, proceed
to ravage the country and burn the capital, whilst the
fleet kept possession of the Forth, and co-operated in
the destruction of the coast and shipping; but, fortu-
nately for the Scots, a more rapid, though less fatal,
mode of operations was chosen by the privy council.
In the interval of preparation, the monarch, whose
passions were now excited to the utmost pitch against
the cardinal, to whom he justly ascribed the total failure
of his schemes, lent himself to a conspiracy, the object
of which was the apprehension or assassination of his
powerful enemy. The history of this plot presents an
extraordinary picture of the times, and demands more
than common attention. On the seventeenth of April,
Crichton laird of Brunston, who, since the coalition
between Beaton and the governor, had been employed by
Sadler the ambassador as a spy upon their movements,
despatched to the Earl of Hertford, then at Newcastle, a
Scottish gentleman named Wishart, who communicated
to Hertford the particulars of the intended plot. He
stated that Kirkaldy the laird of Grange, the Master
of Rothes, eldest son to the earl of that name, and
John Chart eris, were willing to apprehend or slay the
cardinal, if assured of proper support from England.
Wishart, who brought this ofier, was instantly de-
* Spottiswood's History, p. 75,
iJOO HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1544'.
spatched by post to the English court, and, in a personal
interview with the king, informed him of the services
which Kirkaldy and Rothes were ready to perform.
Henry received the letters of Brunston, and listened
to the report of his messenger with much satisfaction,
approved of the plot, and, in the event of its being
successful, promised the conspirators his royal protec-
tion, should they be constrained to take refuge in his
dominions.* But Beaton had either received secret
information of the project for his destruction, or the
design was, for the present, interrupted by some unfore-
seen occurrence. Succeeding events, however, demon-
strated that it was delayed only, not abandoned, and
that the same unscrupulous agents who now intrigued
with the English monarch were at last induced by
Henry to accomplish their atrocious purpose.
It was now the end of April, and having concentrated
his naval and military power, the English king at last
let loose his vengeance on the devoted country. On
the first of May, a fleet of two hundred sail, under
the command of Lord Lisle high-admiral of England,
appeared in the Firth, and the citizens, after anxiously
gazing for a short time at the unusual spectacle, on a
nearer inspection found their worst fears realized, by
discovering the royal flag of England streaming from
the mast head of the admiral. For such a surprisal
it seems extraordinary that the governor was unpre-
pared, although Henry's intentions must have been
well known. A very inferior force might have suc-
cessfully attacked the English in their disembarkation,
but the opportunity was lost ; four days were allowed
* Letter, Grig. Earl of Hertford and Council of the North to the king —
in possession of his Grace the Duke of Hamilton: the original draft, with
many corrections, is in the State-paper Office. See Illustrations, Remarks
on the Assassination of Cardinal Beaton.
1544. MARY. 301
Hertford, who landed his army and his artillery at his
leisure; and it was not till he was advancing from
Granton craig to Leith, that Arran and the cardinal, at
the head of a force hastily levied, and consisting chiefly
of their personal adherents, threw themselves between
the enemy and this place as if they meant to dispute
the passage. They w^re immediately repulsed, how-
ever, by the superior force of Hertford, and Leith was
given up to the plunder of the army without a struggle.
Although deserted by the governor, the inhabitants of
Edinburgh flew to arms, and, mustering under the
command of Otterburn of Reidhall, the provost of the
city, barricaded the gates, and determined to defend
themselves. Otterburn, however, w^as first despatched
to the English camp, and, in an interview with Hert-
ford, remonstrated against such unlooked-for hostilities,
and proposed an amicable adjustment of all difi'erences.
It was answered by the English earl that he came as
a soldier not an ambassador; that his commission com-
manded him to ravage the country with fire and sword ;
nor could he withdraw his army under any other con-
dition than the delivery of the young queen into the
hands of his master. Such a message was received
with much indignation by the citizens. They declared
they would rather submit to the last extremities than
purchase safety by so ignominious a course, and pre-
pared to sustain the onset of the enemy, when they
were deserted by their chief magistrate, who either
dreaded so unequal a contest, or had been brought
over to the English party.* Upon this they retreated
into the city, chose a new provost, completed their
* Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 31. Otterburn had been long a secret tamperer
with England in the minority of James the Fifth, and during the reign of
that monarch.
S02 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1544.
temporary ramparts, and for a while not only sustamed
the assault of Hertford, but ultimately compelled him
to retire to Leith for the purpose of bringing up his
battering ordnance. But a contest so unequal could
not last. Arran, Huntley, Argyle, and the cardinal,
had retreated to Linlithgow; and to have attempted
to defend the gates against the heavy ordnance, without
hopes of assistance, would have been folly. During
the night, therefore, the citizens, removing with them
all their transportable wealth, silently abandoned the
town; but Hamilton of Stenhouse resolutely defended
the castle; and Hertford, after an unavailing attempt
to construct a battery, which was dismounted by the
superior fire of the garrison, was compelled to raise the
siege, and content himself by giving the city to the
flames. Its conflagration lasted for three days ; and
the English army, having been reinforced by four thou-
sand Border horse under Lord Eure, employed them-
selves in ravaging and plundering the adjacent country
with an unsparing cruelty, which they knew would be
acceptable to their master the king, and which was
not soon forgotten by the inhabitants.
It was now the fifteenth of May, and the governor
havino- assembled an army, and liberated the Earl of
Angus and his brother George Douglas, in the hope
that all party difterences might be forgotten* in a
determination to repel the common enemy, was rapidly
advancing to give them battle, when Lord Lisle, setting
fire to Leith, reimbarked a portion of the army, and
instantly set sail, leaving the remainder of the host to
return by land under Hertford. Before weighing
* So innate was Georee Douglas's disposition to intrigue, that soon after
his liberation, he had a private interview in Leith with the Earl of Hertford,
and save him advice concerning the conduct of the expedition. Acts of the
Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 451,
1544. MARY. 503
anchor, the English admiral seized two large Scottish
ships, the Salamander and the Unicorn, and destroyed
by fire all the smaller craft which lay in the harbour ;
nor did he omit to plunder of its maritime wealth every
creek or harbour, which lay within reach, as he sailed
along the coast. The land army was equally remorse-
less in its retreat. Seton, Haddington, Dunbar, and
Renton, were successively given to the flames ; and thus
ended an expedition as cruel as it was impolitic, which
only increased in the Scots the virulence of the national
antipathy, and rendered more distant any prospect of
a cordial union between the two kino-doms.
Henry, as it is well observed by Lord Herbert, had
done too much for a suitor, and too little for a conqueror.
In the violence of his resentment, he had given orders
that no protection should be afforded to the estates even
of his Scottish friends, and the lands of the Dous^lases
were wasted as mercilessly as those of their enemies.
The effects of this short-sighted policy were soon seen
in the splitting of that Anglo-Scottish party, which
had so long supported the interests of the English mon-
arch. Angus, George Douglas, and their numerous
and powerful adherents, joined the cardinal, and the
only friends left to England were the Earls of Lennox
and Glencairn ; the first, a small acquisition, a man
of weak, selfish, and versatile character; but the other,
one of the ablest and most powerful barons in Scotland,
whose son, the Master of Kilmaurs, from his spirit and
military experience, was well fitted to execute the plans
which the judgment of the father had matured. Such,
indeed, was the great power and influence of Glencairn
in the west of Scotland, that, in the event of a former
invasion contemplated by Henry in 1543, he undertook
to convey his army from Carlisle to Glasgow, without
SOJj HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1544.
stroke or cliallen2:c;* aud so faitliful liad lie remained
to these principles, that only a few days after the
retreat of Hertford, wo find him engaged in a negotia-
tion which, considerinii: the cruel rava2:es then inflicted
by the English army, reflects little credit on his love
of country. On the seventeenth of May, at Carlisle, an
agreement was concluded between Glencairn, Lennox,
and Henry the Eighth, by which that monarch con-
sented to settle an ample pension on the former, and
his son the Master of Kilmaurs, whilst to Lennox a
more splendid reward was promised in the government
of Scotland, and the hand of Lady Margaret Douglas,
his niece. Upon their side, the Scottish barons ac-
knowledged Henry as Protector of the realm of Scotland,
— a title which, considering his late invasion, almost
sounds ironical ; and they engaged to use their utmost
eflbrts to become masters of the person of the young
queen, and dehver her into his hands, along with the
principal fortresses in the country. Lennox agreed to
the surrender of Dumbarton, with the isle and castle
of Bute. In conclusion, both earls stipulated that
they would serve the English monarch against France,
and all nations and persons, for such wages as his other
subjects, no reservation being added of their allegiance
to their natural prince, which, by the treaty, they
virtually renounced. -[• In this base agreement, one
redeeming article was included, by which Glencairn
and Lennox undertook to cause the word of God to
be truly taught in their territories ; the Bible is de-
scribed by them as the only foundation from which all
truth and honour proceedeth ; but it appears not to
have sujicested itself to these Scottish barons, that the
* Sadler, vol. i. p. 156.
t Ryraer, Foedera, vol. xv. p. 23-26, inclusive ; and p. 29-32.
i54k MARY. S05
seizure of their lawful sovereign, and the betrayal of
the liberty of their country, were scarcely reconcileable
with the sacred standard to which they appealed.
From Carlisle, where he had concluded the negotia-
tion, Glencairn hurried to his own country to assemble
his vassals, whilst Lennox collected his strength at
Dumbarton ; but, as if to punish their desertion of
their country, everything went against them. Arran,
whose measures, now directed by the cardinal, were
marked by unusual promptitude, lost not a moment
in marching; a2:ainst them at the head of a thousand
men, and advancino; to Glas2:ow, was boldlv confronted
by Glencairn, with five hundred spearmen on a wide
common beside the city. The parties engaged under
feeling's of unusual obstinacv, and in the battle the un-
relenting features of civil strife appeared with all their
native ferocity ; but Glencairn was at last defeated
with great slaughter, his second son being slain, with
many others of his party, while the rest were dispersed
or made prisoners.* The governor immediately oc-
cupied the city, which he gave up to plunder, the chief
magistrate havins: sided with his adversary. Glencairn
fled almost alone to Dumbarton, and Lennox, having
delivered the castle into his hands, instantly took ship
for Eno'land, where he was soon after united to the
Lady Margaret Douglas. His favourable reception
at the English court, and his unnatural conduct to
his country, were fatal to his illustrious brother the Lord
Aubigny, in France, whom Francis the First, suspect-
ing his fidelity, apparently on no good grounds, deprived
of his high offices, and threw into prison.
Henry's aff"airs in Scotland, so far as they depended
on the faction which had hitherto supported him,
* Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 32.
VOL. V. U
'S06 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1544.
appeared at this crisis to be desperate ; and a general
council being summoned to meet at Stirling, on the
tliird of June,* it was attended by the whole body of the
nobility, with the exception of Lennox and Glencairn.
A favourable opportunity was now afforded for the
union of all parties in support of the independence of
the realm. The insincerity of Henry ""s professions
was demonstrated by the cruel ravages with which his
late invasion had been accompanied ; a feeling of deep
indignation had arisen in the breasts of many of his
former adherents; and all classes recoiled from a union
which they were called upon to celebrate amid the
flames of their capital, and the murder of its citizens.
But it was the misfortune of the Scottish aristocracy,
that when immediate danger was past, it was perpetu-
ally disunited by the spirit of selfishness and ambition.
Of the nobles, a large majority had become disgusted
with the weakness and vacillation of the government
of Arran ; and they now proposed that the regency
should be conferred on the queen-mother, from whose
energy they anticipated a happier result, and more
determined measures against England. -f" It is probable
that the Earl of Angus and his brother were chiefly
implicated in this new movement, which is unknown
to our general historians, and involved in much obscu-
rity. It is certain, however, that a coalition took place
between the Catholic and Protestant parties ; that, in
* Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 32.
+ Agreement of the principal Scots nobility to support the authority of the
queen-mother as Regent of Scotland, against the Earl of Arran, declared by
this instrument to be deprivedof his office, dated June (no day) 1544. State-
paper Office — (see also Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. o3.) The agree-
ment is not an original paper, but an authentic copy ; transmitted, probably,
by some of the spies in Henry's interest at the Scottish couit. It is signed
by the Earls of Angus, Bothwell, Montrose, Lord Sinclair, Robert Maxwell,
Larl of Huntley, Cassillis, Marshal, Lord Somerville, George Douglas, Earl
of Moray, Argyle, Errol, Lords Erskine, St John, ^Malcolm lord chamber-
lain, Hew lord Lovat, and Sir John Campbell of Cawdor, knight.
1544. MARY. 307
a convention, they declared the governor deprived of
his authority, proclaimed the queen- dowager regent in
his stead, appointed a new privy council, and conferred
upon the Earl of Angus the office of lieutenant-general
of the kingdom.
This state of things could not long continue, and
only brought increasing troubles to the country, which
continued to be distracted by intestine dissensions, and
foreign war. Arran, still supported by the cardinal
and a small party of the nobility, persevered in exercis-
ing his authority as governor, and the queen-dowager
began to dread that all her endeavours would prove
insufficient to keep her partisans together. In the
Highlands and Isles, the presence of Huntley and
Argyle was required to repress a rebellion of the clans,
encouraged, in all probability, by the intrigues of
England, which frequently adopted this policy to
weaken her enemy. The disturbance was speedily
repressed, yet not without much bloodshed being mixed
up with those private feuds which prevailed in these
savage districts. In a ferocious contest at Inverlochy,
between the Erasers, led by the Lord Lovat and his
son, with a more numerous body of the Macdonalds,
the combatants, stripping to their shirts on account of
the extreme heat of the weather, fought rather for ex-
termination than victorv ; two survivors beino; left on
one side, and four on the other.* During these san-
guinary contests in the remote Highlands, an equally
disgraceful spectacle was exhibited at Perth, where a
claim for the office of Provost was decided by arms,
between Lord Ruthven on the one side, supported by
a numerous train of his vassals, and Lord Gray, with
Norman Leslt^y master of Kotlies, and Charteris of
* Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. ^4.
SOS HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1544.
Kinfauns, on tlic other. During: his late ecclesiastical
progress to Perth, the cardinal, who suspected Ruth-
ven of leaning to the reformed opinions, had deprived
him of his oflice of provost, and directed the citizens
to elect Charteris : a crafty device, as was believed, to
sow dissension between his rivals in power, it being
notorious that the Lords Gray and Ruthven, with the
Earl of Rothes and his adherents, had been hitherto
unanimous in their opposition to Beaton. Nor was
he unsuccessful : Ruthven, supported by the townsmen
and merchants, in those days trained to arms, resented
the affront, and held his place by force, whilst Char-
teris, reinforced by Gray, Glammis, and Norman Lesley,
broke into the town ; and both parties meeting on the
narrow bridge over the Tay, fought with sanguinary
obstinacy till the victory declared for Ruthven ; sixty
of his opponents being left dead on the pavement, and
the rest compelled to fly from the city.*
It was now time for the Earl of Lennox to perform
his enirafrements to Henry; and, having: sailed from
Bristol with a squadron of ten ships and a small force
of hagbutteers, archers, and pikemen, he arrived on
the coast of Scotland, attacked and plundered the isle
of Arran, and, sailing to Bute, occupied the island, and
its castle of Rothesay, with little difficulty. These ac-
quisitions, according to agreement, were delivered to
Sir Rise Mansell and Richard Broke, who accompanied
the expedition, and took formal possession of them in
behalf of the King of England.-f* He next directed
his course to Dumbarton castle, a fortress, of which,
* Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 34.
•j" Instructions to Sir Rise Mansell, and Richard Broke. State-paper
Office, August, lo44. In the same repository is a Letter from Lennox to
the Privy Council, dated West Chester, 8th ot August, 1544. He was then
going by land to Beaumaris, to join his ship, which had sailed the day be-
iore, and intended to proceed with all diligence ou his expedition.
1544. MARY. S09
as the key of the west of Scotland, Henry had long,
but in vain, sought the possession. It was the pro-
perty of Lennox, and being commanded by Stirling
of Glorat, one of his retainers, to whom he had in-
trusted it on his departure for England, he did not
doubt for a moment that it would be surrendered. In
this, however, he was disappointed : Stirling received
and recognised him as his master, but the brave baron
did not forget his higher allegiance to his sovereign.
The first mention of his giving up the castle to Henry
was received with a burst of generous indignation ; the
garrison taking the alarm, rose in arms ; and Lennox,
with his English friends, becoming alarmed for their
safety, were glad to make a precipitate retreat to their
ships.
In the meantime the Earl of Argyle, with a consi-
derable force, had occupied Dunoon, a strong castle
situated on the narrow strait between Argyle and
Renfrew, whilst George Douglas, with four thousand
men had entered Dumbarton. The squadron there-
fore deemed it prudent to fall down the Clyde ; and
being fired on in passing Dunoon, Lennox, in the
chivalrous spirit of the times, accepted the defiance,
and, landing under cover of a fire from his own ships,
attacked the highlanders, whom he dispersed with
considerable slau2:hter. He next invaded Kentire,
plundered the adjacent coasts of Kyle and Carrick, and
returning to Bristol, despatched Sir Peter Mewtas to
inform King Henry, then at Boulogne, of the termi-
nation of an expedition which had failed in its principal
purpose — the seizure of Dumbarton ; and only rendered
more distant the prospect of peace between the coun-
tries.* Much indignation was expressed by Lennox
* We know from the Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 35, that Len-
nox arrived at Dumbarton on the 10th of August.
olO HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1544.
and the English ministers, against the Earl of Glen-
cairn, and his son the Master of Kihnaurs, whose
services had been so lately purchased, and so soon
withdrawn. Wriothesley the chancellor, inveighed
against " the old fox and his cub,"*' who had imposed
on the simplicity of Lennox ; and although both the
father and son had written to excuse their proceedings,
their falsehood was apparent, and their apology little
re2:arded.*
During the continuance of this expedition, Sir Ralph
Eure, Sir Brian Layton, and Sir Richard Bowes,
ravas'ed the Scottish Borders with merciless barbarity,
and organizing a system of rapine and devastation
against those districts where the Scots were most de-
fenceless, reduced the country almost to a desert. + It
could scarcely indeed be otherwise, considering the
perseverance of the Border inroads, and the distracted
state of public affairs produced by the continued dis-
sensions between the parties of the governor and the
queen-dowager. Men neither knew whom to obey,
nor where to look for protection. In the beginning of
November, the regent held a parliament in which
Angus and his brother were charged with treason, and
all the heavy feudal penalties of banishment and for-
feiture threatened to be enforced against them. On
the thirteenth of the same month, the three Estates
assembled at Stirling in obedience to the summons of
* State Papers of Henry the Eighth, published by Government, p. 769.
+ Of these inroads, a brief contemporary abstract has been preserved in
Haynes"'s State Papers, (p. 43-55 inclusive,) a bloody ledger, as it has been
rightly denominated, which, with all the formality of a business account,
contains the successive inroads, burnings, and spoliations from July till
November. By this it appears, that of towns, by which we must understand
small villages, towers, farm offices, parish churches, and fortilied dwelling-
houses, were burnt, 1 92 ; and that the plunder amounted, in cattle, to
lOjijJi'J ; in sheep, to 12,492 ; in nags, geldings, and foals, to 1496 ; whilst
the small number of those slain or made prisoners, evinces the little resis-
tance encountered, and the defenceless state of the countiy.
1544. MARY. 311
the queen, who at the same time issued a proclamation
discharging all classes of the people from their allegi-
ance to the pretended regent.* In this state of things
the talents of the cardinal were again employed in
ne2:otiatin2: an a^'reement between the rival factions,
which, although insincere, had a brief success. Peace
seemed to be restored, and Arran, eager to avenge the
late outra2:es, advanced at the head of seven thousand
men to the Borders, and laid siege to Coldingbam, then
held by the enemy. But scarce had they planted
their artillery, when their proceedings became again
weakened by suspicion and treason. It was discovered
that the Douglases continued their correspondence with
Eno-land : the inferior leaders dreadino- the result,
began to disperse in disorder ; the governor became
alarmed for his personal safety, and two thousand
English defeated and chased off the field a Scottish
army more than triple their number. In this dis-
graceful rout, Angus, who had the conduct of the van-
guard with Glencairn, Oassillis, Lord Somerville, and
the sheriff of Ayr, opposed no resistance to the enemy;
whilst Bothwell, who brought up the rear, in vain at-
tempted to rally, and was at last compelled to join in
the flight. f
The failure of this last expedition was wholly to be
ascribed to the intrigues of the Douglases, who, with
their associates, Glencairn and Cassillis, were now play-
ing a desperate game. A sentence of treason hung
over their heads in Scotland ; in England, Henry
* Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 36 ; — corroborated in its dates by
the Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 445, 446, 447. It is
worthy of notice, that these rival parliaments which are new to Scottish
history are aloi.e mentioned in the Uiurnal of Occurrents.
+ The cannon, however, were carried off, as is asserted, by the exertions
of the Douglases. Their general conduct in the expedition renders the fact
extremely doubtful.
312 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 154-4.
regarded their conduct with so much suspicion, tliat in
the late expedition of Hertford, no protection had been
oranted to their estates and vassals. They were now,
therefore, in a position as precarious as it was discredit-
able; likely to lose the confidence of both governments;
exposed to the chance of banislnnent from their own
countrv, and to be cut off from a retreat into Eno;land.
Under these circumstances they adopted that middle
course which is not uncommon to men Ions: eno-aijedin
political intrigue ; and, more studious for the posses-
sion of power, than the preservation of character,
they determined to break wholly with neither party.
George Douglas, brother of Angus, a man of great
ability, and little scrupulous as to means, continued
his correspondence with the English king, and betrayed
to him the secrets of the government. Angus, on the
other hand, deceived Arran and the queen- dowager into
the belief that they had completely repented of their
former tergiversation, and convinced of the injustice of
Henry ""s demands, were prepared cordially to co-operate
in the defence of the country.*
By this pretended coalition, they gained an impor-
tant end. In a parliament held at Edinburgh in the
beginning of December, which was attended by the
whole body of the nobility, the earl and his brother
Sir George being personally present, were absolved
from the charge of treason, and declared innocent of
the crimes which had been alleged against them.
Glencairn, Cassillis, and Sir Hugh Campbell sheriff of
* Our general historians, Buchanan, Lesley, and Maitland, not aware of
the double part acted by the Douglases, have represented this coalition as
sincere. Not so, however, the Diurnal of Occuneiits, p. o\\, which gives the
only accurate account of the siege of Coldingham, and the dispersion of the
army. As to Buchanan, his narrative on this part of our history is so
comj)lete]y at variance with the truth, that it is little else than a classical
romance.
154! k MARY. SI.*i
Ayr, obtained at the same time a remission for all
treasons committed bv them, in return for the cfood
service done, or to be done to the realm, although it
does not clearly appear what services could be meant.*
An attempt was made to raise, by a land tax, a sum
of money for the support of a thousand horsemen, to
be placed for the defence of the Borders under the Earl
of Angus, which completely failed. The barons of
Lothian declined either to pay the money or to serve
under a leader whose honesty they doubted ; and so
universal was the suspicion of the treachery of the
Douglases, that when the regent repaired to Lauder,
and issued his command for the immediate muster of
the whole force of the realm, the country, throughout
its various districts, refused to rise in arms. The com-
mons dreaded a repetition of the flight from Colding-
ham, and the barons adopted the expedient of entering
into covenants with each other for their mutual defence
against the continued inroads of the English. -[-
Of all this, the effects were deplorable. During the
contest for the regency, the Border barons, whose duty
it was to defend these districts, remained inactive ;
many Border clans, at all times somewhat precarious
in their allegiance, entered into the service of England,
and assumed the red cross, as a bad^re of their deser-
tion ; others were compelled to purchase protection ;
whilst the Eno-lish wardens insulted over the countrv,
and became so confident in their superiority, that they
contemplated its entire conquest even to the Forth, as
a matter of no difficult attainment.
With these proud hopes. Sir Ralph Euro, and Sir
Brian Layton, repaired to court ; and in an interview
with the king, explained to him a scheme for this
* Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland, p. 36. i" Ib'.d. p. 37.
o]4 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1544.
purpose, which, as a means of punisliiiig tlie alleged
perfidy of the Scots, met with his entire approval. As
a reward for the uninterrupted success with which their
various inroads had been attended, Eure obtained, it
is said, a royal grant of all the country he should con-
quer in the JNIcrse, Teviotdale, and Lauderdale, districts
of which a great part formed the hereditary property
of the Earls of Douglas. The insolence of so premature
an appropriation of his paternal estates, incensed Angus
far more than the indignity offered to his country; and
he is said to have sworn a great oath, that if Ralph
Eure dared to act upon the grant, he would write his
sasine or instrument of possession on his skin wit!
sharp pens and bloody ink. The English baron, how-
ever, was not of a temper to be deterred by threats,
and soon after repaired to the Borders with a force of
five thousand men: consistino; of foreicrn mercenaries,
English archers, and a body of six hundred Border
Scots, who wore the red cross above their armour.
With these they had recommenced their inroads, in
which they even exceeded their former barbarity; they
burnt the Tower of Broomhouse, and in it its lady, a
noble and a2:ed matron, with her whole familv. Thev
penetrated to Melrose, which they left completely
spoiled and in ruins; not sparing its venerable abbey,
the burial place of the Earls of Douglas, whose tombs
they ransacked and defaced with wanton sacrilege.
Deeply enraged at this new insult, Angus collected
his vassals, and, joining the governor, advanced to
Melrose ; but they were surprised by a sudden attack
of the English, and driven from their position with
considerable slaughter. The cause of this new disaster
is ascribed by an ancient chronicle, apparently a con-
temporary document, to the secret information furnish ed
1544. MARY. 315
to the enemy by George Douglas ; and it is certain,
that he was then in communication both with Sir Ralph
Euro and his royal master ; but the sincerity of his
brother tlie earl upon this occasion is not to be doubted ;
he acted in the true spirit of a feudal baron. The love
of revenge, the desire to retaliate the insult offered to
his house, burned inextinguishably strong in a bosom,
which, for many years, had been a stranger to the love
of his country; and Douglas, true only to himself, ap-
peared for the moment to be true to Scotland. With these
bitter feelings he saw the English once more plunder
Melrose, and commence their retreat to Jedburah;
whilst he and Arran, with a far inferior force, could
only hang upon their rear and watch their motions.
On reaching the Teviot, Eure, confident in his supe-
riorstrength, which was more than five to one, encamped
on a level moor or common above the villafre of An cram :
whilst the Scots fell back to a neighbouring eminence,
and hesitated whether, with so great a disparity, they
should risk a battle. At this moment they were joined
by Norman Lesley master of Rothes, at the head of
twelve hundred lances ; and soon after, AValter Scott
the veteran Laird of Buccleugh, came up at full speed,
with the news that his followers were within an hour"'s
march.* It was resolved, with these reinforcements,
to give battle to the enemy, who, during all this time,
eagerly watched their motions ; but, by the advice of
Buccleuoh Arran abandoned the heioht which he oc-
cupied, and drew up in a level plain behind it, named
Peniel Heugh, where they were entirely concealed from
the English; they then dismounted, and sent the horses
with the camp boys to an eminence beyond the plain.
These dispositions were intended to betray the English
* Maitland, vol. ii. p. 8GI.
316 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 154-i.
into the idea that thiC Scottish army was in flight; and
they succeeded. Rendered careless and confident by
their long career of success, and anticipating a repeti-
tion of the combat at Coldingham, Sir Brian Layton,
and Sir Robert Bowes, pushed on with the advance ;
whilst Sir Ralph Eure followed at full speed with the
main battle, consisting of a thousand spears, with an
equal number of archers and hagbutteers on each wing.
The rapidity of their movement necessarily threw their
ranks into some disorder ; the horses were blown by
their gallop up the hill ; the infantry were breathless
from ea^-erness to arrive on the same around with
their companions; and in this state, having surmounted
the eminence, they discovered, to their astonishment,
instead of an enemy in flight, the compact serried pha-
lanx of the Scots within a short distance of their own
army. At this moment, a heron, disturbed by the
troops, sprung from the adjacent marsh, and soared
away over the heads of the combatants. " Oh !" said
Angus, "that I had here my white goss-hawk: we
should then all ' yoke"** at once." To have halted,
with the hope of restoring order to their ranks would
have been fatal; and Eure, relying on his superiority,
charged bravely and without delay. But the advantage
of infantry over cavalry, of which the main body of the
English was composed, never more strikingly evinced
itself. The Scottish spears, an ell longer than the Eng-
lish, repulsed the van under Layton and Bowes, and
pushed it back in confusion on the main battle, which,
in its turn, was thrown upon the rearward. All was
soon in confusion; and no efforts of their gallant leaders
could prevent an entire rout. The setting sun shone
full in the faces of the English ; and their euemv had
* To yoke — to set to — buckling closely together.
1544. MARY. 317
also the advantas^e of the wind, which blew the smoke
of the harquebusses upon the columns of their adver-
saries and blinded them. On the first symptoms of
flight, the six hundred Scottish borderers, who were in
the service of Henry, throwing away their red crosses,
joined their countrymen, and with the merciless spirit
common to renegades, made a pitiless slaughter of
their former friends. The neighbouring peasantry,
who, from terror of the English, had not en2:a2,ed
in the battle, rose upon the flying enemy ; and such
was the deep desire of vengeance produced by the late
ravages, that even the women took part in the pursuit,
and callina* out to their husbands and relatives to
" remember Broomhouse," encoura2:ed them in the
work of retribution. On the Enirlish side the loss was
great, eight hundred being slain, and a thousand made
prisoners ; but that which afl'orded most satisfaction
to the enemy was the discovery, amon2:st the dead
bodies, of Eure and Layton, the leaders who, for the
last six months, had signalized themselves by such
unexampled and cruel ravages. Amongst the captives
were many knights and gentlemen; and the governor,
having first seized the camp equipage which was left
in Melrose, advanced to Coldino-ham, which the enemv
evacuated; he thenmarchedto Jedburgh, and recovered
from the English, not only the town, but the greater
part of the Borders, which they had lately considered
a conquered territory, making proclamation that all
who had been compelled to accept assurance from Eno--
land, and assume the red cross, should, on returning to
their alles^iance, have a full indemnity.
On receiving news of this defeat, Henry expressed
deep indignation against Angus, whom he accused of
ingratitude, and threatened with the extremity of his
:]18 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1544.
resentment. Doufilas"'s answer was characteristic ; —
"■ What," said he, " is our brotlier-in-law offended,
because, like a good Scotsman, I have avenged upon
Ralph Eure the defaced tombs of my ancestors? they
were better men than he, and I ought to have done no
less ; and will he take my life for that? Little knows
King Henry the skirts of Kernetablc ; I can keep
mvself there a^^ainst all his Enolish host."*
By this success, confidence was restored to the people,
whose hearts had sunk under the unresisted ravao-es
of the English ; whilst new strength was given to the
party of the governor and the cardinal. It happened
also, that, at this moment, they confidently expected
the support of their continental allies. Francis the
First, irritated by the late invasion of Henry, and
the loss of Boulogne, was resolved to exert his utmost
efforts against England; he had detached the emperor
from his alliance with that country, and now made
preparations for its invasion by a powerful fleet; whilst
he determined to send an auxiliary force into Scotland
to make a diversion in that quarter.
Of such resolutions, early advice was sent from
France to Arran ; and the English monarch, having
become acquainted with these hostile intentions by a
secret despatch from George Douglas, began seriously
to dread the consequences of raising so many enemies
asfainst him, and to be convinced that his conduct
towards Scotland had been inconsistent and impolitic.
He was assured by Douglas, that so far from gaining
his object, or promoting the treaties of peace and mar-
* Godscroft's ITistorj' of the House and Race of Douglas, vol. ii. p. 123.
As a biographer, Hume of Godscrolt not unfrequently gives us characteristic
traits, which I borrow from his pages when they bear the marks of truth.
As an authentic historian, no one who has compared his rambling eulogistic
etory with contemporary documents, will venture to ^uote Lim.
1545. MARY. 319
riage, the rigorous measures which some reported ho
intended to use, would drive the people to despair.*
These remonstrances produced some effect, Henry pre-
vailed on himself to try conciliation ; and intrusted
the Earl of Cassillis, one of his Solway prisoners, who
had been long attached to the interests of England, with
the management of the negotiation. This nobleman
repaired to the English court, February twenty-eighth,
1545; and having received his instructions, returned,
after a short absence to Scotland. To prevail upon
the Earls of Glencairn, Marshal, and the Douglases,
who professed never to have left the allegiance to the
English king, to renew their active efforts in his service,
was no difficult task ; and the Earl of Angus, as a proof
of his sincerity, resigned his office of lieutenant under
Arran ; but the governor, and the cardinal, were more
difficult to manage. Huntle}'', Argyle, and the queen-
dowager, were absent ; it was necessary they should
be first consulted ; and a convention of the nobility
w^as appointed to be held on the fifteenth of April,
for the purpose of deliberating on Henry ""s offers, and
giving his envoy a final answer. In the meantime,
the wardens were commanded to abstain from all hos-
tilities ; whilst, by the advice of Cassillis, the English
monarch prepared his force for the invasion of the
country, should matters not proceed according to his
expectation. An army of thirty thousand men, under
the command of the Earl of Hertford, was directed to
be levied on the Borders; and Sir Ralph Sadler, whose
acquaintance with Scotland had well fitted him for the
* Original Letter, Sir George Douglas to tlie king, from Lauder, February
25, 1544-5. Douglas asks Henry's pardon if he had ofiended him, states his
great losses by the last invasion of the English army, and assures him, that
the rigorous measures, -which it was reported he intended to use towards
Scotland, would be the means of driving the people to desperation. State-
paper Ottice.
320 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545
office, was appointed trcasurcr-at-war, and political
airent.*
On the seventeenth of April, the convention was
held at Edinburgh; Cassillis presented himself as the
envoy of Henry, and acquainted the nobles, that if
they consented to the treaties of peace and marriage,
he was empowered to assure them that the king would
forget wliat had passed ; and forbear to avenge the in-
juries which he had received."!* It was the infirmity
of this prince, that even in his efforts at conciliation, he
assumed a tone of pride and superiority wliicli defeated
his object. The injuries which he had received were
little, in comparison with those which he had recently
inflicted, and his power of avenging them was at best
problematical. The influence too of the party of the
governor and the cardinal, was every day increasing ;
certain intelli2:ence of the embarkation of the auxiliaries
had been received from France : from Denmark thev
expected a fleet of merchantmen, laden with provisions ;
a friendly negotiation had been opened with the em-
peror ; and new importance had been conferred on
Beaton by his receiving from Rome the dignity of
Legate a latere in Scotland. | All these circumstances
gave confidence to the political friends of the cardinal ;
whilst Henry's late invasion, and subsequent inroads,
had created distrust and aversion, even in many of
his former supporters. The consequence of this was
natural, — almost inevitable ; the negotiation of Cas-
sillis entirely failed ; the influence of Beaton carried
* Diurnal of Occiirrents in Scotland, p. 38.
t Letter from the Privy Council to the Earl of Cassillis, in answer to his
letter in cipher of 'lH April, — communicating the king's directions, April
10, 1.545. State-paper Office.
X Letter, Lord-lieutenant and Council of the North to the King, May 1,
154,5^ — stating that a Hull vessel had captured a Dutch ship lad', n with pro-
visions for the Scots ; and that, in one of the chests was found a commission
from the Pope, appointing Beaton legate a latere in Scotland.
1545. MARY. 321
everything before it in the convention ; the treaties of
peace and marriage were declared at an end ; and it was
resolved cordially to embrace the assistance of France.*
The earl instantly informed Henry of the complete
defeat of his negotiation ; and, in the letter which
conveyed the intelligence, advised the immediate in-
vasion of Scotland with a strong force.
Mortified to be thus repulsed, Henry ""s animosity
asrainst Beaton became more vehement than before.
To his energy and political talent he justly ascribed
his defeat ; and whilst he urged his preparations for
war, he encouraired the Earl of Cassillis in oro;anizincr
a conspiracy for his assassination. The plot is entirely
unknown, either to our Scottish or English historians;
and now, after the lapse of nearly three centuries, has
been discovered in the secret correspondence of the
State-paper Ofiice. It appears that Cassillis had ad-
dressed a letter to Sadler, in which he made an offer
•' for the killing of the cardinal, if his majesty would
have it done, and promise, when it was done, a reward.**"*
Sadler showed the letter to the Earl of Hertford and
the Council of the North, and by them it was trans-
mitted to the king.-[- Cassillis's associates, to whom
he had communicated his purpose, were the Earls of
Angus, Glencairn, Marshal, and Sir George Douglas ;
and these persons requested that Forster, an English
prisoner of some note, who could visit Scotland with-
* Letter in cipher, with the original decipher, Cassillis to Henry the
Eighth, April 20, 1545. State-paper Office.
i' Privy- council to the Earl of Hertford, dated Green"wich, May 30, 1545,
— relative to the proposition of the Earl of Cassillis, for the assassination of
Cardinal Beaton. MS. State-paper Office. Also, letter from the Council of
the North to the King's Majesty, May "^1, 1545. MS. State-paper Office.
By the letter of 30th May, quoted above, it appears that the first resolution
of the associated earls was to send a conhdential envoy to meet and commu-
nicate with Sir Ralph Sadler at Alnwick. As to this purpose, however,
they changed their mind, probably from the fear of incurring suspicion, and
requested that Forster should be sent.
VOL. V. X
322 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
out suspicion, should be sent to EJinburgli to commu-
nicate witli them on the desi<::n for cuttin^• off Beaton.
Hertford accordingly consulted the privy-council upon
his Majesty''s wishes in this affair, requiring to be in-
formed whether Cassillis"'s plan for the assassination of
his powerful enemy was agreeable to the king, and
whether Forster should be despatched into Scotland.
Henry, conveying his wishes through the privy-council,
replied, that he desired Forster to set off immediately;
to the other part of the query, touching the assassina-
tion of the cardinal, the answer of the privy-council
was in these words : — " His majesty hath willed us to
signify unto your lordship, that his highness reputing
the fact not meet to be set forward expressly by his
majesty, will not seem to have to do in it, and yet not
misliking the offer, thinketh good, that Mr Sadler, to
whom that letter was addressed, should write to the
earl of the receipt of his letter containing such an offer,
which he thinketh not convenient to be communicated
to the king's majesty. Marry, to write to him what
he thinketh of the matter ; he shall say, that if he
were in the Earl of Cassillis's place, and were as able
to do his majesty good service there, as he knoweth
him to be, and thinketh a right good will in him to do
it, he would surely do what he could for the execution
of it, believing verily to do thereby not only an accept-
able service to the king''s majesty, but, also a special
benefit to the realm of Scotland, and would trust verily
the king's majesty would consider his service in the
same ; as you doubt not of his accustomed goodness to
those which serve him, but he would do the same to
him."'* In this reply there was some address ; Henry
* Lords of the Privy-council to Hertford, May 30, 15-45. State-paper
Office.
1 rA5. MARY. 323
preserved, as he imagined, his regal dignity ; and whilst
he affected ignorance of the atrocious design, encour-
aged its execution, and shifted the whole responsibility
upon his obsequious agents. On both points, the king's
commands were obeyed ; Sadler wrote to Cassillis, in
the indirect manner which had been pointed out ; and
Forster, in compliance with the wishes of the conspira-
tors, was sent into Scotland, and had an interview with
Angus, Cassillis, and Sir George Douglas; the sub-
stance of which he has given in an interesting report
which is still preserved.* It is evident, from this
paper, that both Angus and Cassillis were deterred from
committino- themselves on such delicate oround as the
proposed murder of the cardinal, by the cautious nature
of Sadler''s letter to Cassillis, who, in obedience to the
royal orders, had recommended the assassination of the
prelate, as if from himself; and had affirmed, though
falsely, that he had not communicated the project to
the king. These two earls, therefore, said not a word
to the envoy on the subject ; although Cassillis, on his
departure intrusted him with a letter in cipher for
Sadler. Sir George Douglas, however, w^as less timor-
ous, and sent by Forster a message to the Earl of
Hertford in very explicit terms : — " He willed me/'
says the envoy, " to tell my lord-lieutenant, that if
the king would have the cardinal dead ; if his grace
would promise a good reward for the doing thereof, so
that the reward were known what it should be. the
country being lawless as it is, he thinketh that that
adventure would be proved ; for he saith, the common
saying is, the cardinal is the only occasion of the war.
* The Discourse of Thomas Forster, gentleman, being sent into Scotland
by my Lord-lieutenant, to speak to the Earls of Cassillis, Glencairn, Angus,
Marshal, and George Douglas, being returned "with the same to Da'nton,
the 4th July, 1545. MS. State-paper Office.
S24 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
ami is smally beloved in Scotland ; and then, if he
were dead, by that means how that reward should be
paid." Such was the simple proposal of Sir George
Douglas, for the removal of his arch-enemy ; but, al-
though the English king had no objection to give the
utmost secret encouragement to the conspiracy, he
hesitated to offer such an outrage to the common feel-
ings of Christendom, as to set a price upon the head
of the cardinal, and to offer a reward and indemnity to
those who should slay him. For the moment, there-
fore, the scheme seemed to be abandoned by the earls,
but it was only to be afterwards resumed by Brunston.*
* In the light which it throws upon the intrigues of the Douglases and
the state of parties in Scotland, the report of Forster is a paper of great his-
torical value. It will be published in its entire state in the forthcoming
volume of the State Papers ; but an analysis of it, with a few brief extracts,
may be interesting to the reader. It thus opens : — " The said Thomas For-
ster sayth, that according to my Lord-lieutenant's commandment, he enter-
ed Scotland at Wark, and so passed to his taker's house in Scotland, as tho
he had repayred for his entree to save his lande, and declaring to his taker
that he had occasion to speke with George Douglas, his taker was contented,
according to the custome there, that he shuld go at his pleasure ; whereupon
he came to Dalkeith to George Douglas, and showed him th' occasion of his
hither corayng to speak to him and th' Erll aforesaid, with message from my
Lord-lieutenant and Master Sadleyr, who willed him to go to Douglas,
where he would cause th' Erlls of Cassillis and Anguisse to mete hym, for
he said he could not get them to Dalkeith without gret suspition. And
hereupon, he sayth, that going towards Douglas he met th' Erll of Anguisse
at Dumfries, where, as he was hunting, he gave him welcome, saying he
would give him hawkes and dogges, and caused him to pass the time with
him that night ; and on the morrowe brought hym with him to Douglas, and
that afternoon sent for th' Erll of Cassillis, who, ryding all night, came
thither the next day yerly in the mornyng, whereupon he and th' Erll of
Anguisse went into a chamber together, and called the said Forster unto them,
who then declared the occasion of his comyng, by whom he was sent, and
the full of his instructions. As to the first article, they answered that they
were glad he was come, and was welcome to them." To the second article,
they say they indeed wanted Forster to come ; and in reply to the question,
how Henry's godly purpose for the peace and marriage may best be furthered,
Cassillis answers that he is still the same true man to Henry as he was at
his parting with his majesty. Angus equally promised his cordial assistance,
and declared he would either rjo to the field or statj at home, as Henry judged
it best, and would maintain, in the face of all Scotland, that the peace and
the marriage were for the good of the realme of Scotland. Forster then
desired them to state to him such matters as they had intended to com-
municate by the gentleman that should have met Mr Sadler at Alnwick ;
upon which they brielly answered, that " the effect of that matter was none
1545. MARY. 825
In the midst of these machinations for the removal
of his enemies, and preparations for open war, impor-
tant events had taken place in Scotland. Early in May
a French fleet, having on board a body of three thou-
sand infantry, and five hundred horse under the com-
mand of the Sieur Lorges de Montgomerie, arrived off
the west coast ; but recollecting the device lately prac-
tised on their countrymen by the Earl of Lennox, this
experienced officer was cautious of committing himself
by landing, till informed of the exact state of the
other than they had already declared ;" but Cassillis added, " that such other
matters as should be at the convencion lie ivoidd write it in ci/pTier, and send
it to Mr Sadleyr," and so departed from them ; and returning again to Dal-
keith unto George Douglas, he said he declared to the said George all his con-
ference with the foresaid Erls, requiring him to show him his opinion therein.
Douglas promises to do so after the convention. Forster goes on to state,
that Douglas went then to the convention, where he tarried seven days. On
the return of Douglas from this convention, Forster asked the news, and
what he would do for the king's Majesty's advancement and godly affairs?
Douglas answers, " that he will stand to it in all his power," the rather that
he himself was one of them that " procured and promised the same, and that
ther was never an honest man in Scotland that would be against that pro-
mise, for it was the doinge of all the nobles of Scotland, and the Governor's
part was therein as deep as the rest of them." — Another thing agreed on at
the convention was, that " they would raise an army against the xxviiith of
July, and to have them upon Roslin Moor, three miles from Dalkeith, with
a month's victuall, and so passing to invade England; by which tyme he
saith the said Lorges Montgomerie hath undertaken on the French king's
behalf, that th' army out of France by sea shall be ready to ayde them at
their handes, or els at that time should invade in some other place of Eng-
land. The said George Douglas told him also, that if my Lord-lieutenant
thought mete th' army of Scotland were stayed, that then it should be well
done to send some ships with diligence with three or four thousand men to
ayde the gentlemen of the Isles, which would stay at home th' Erlls of
Huntley and Argyle, and by that meanes he thinks it would stop the rest of
th' army from coming forward ; and if it is not so, then to prepare a great
power of England to come to the Borders against that time, which must
come very strongly, for all the Lords and power of Scotland, as he sayth,
will be wholly there, as they have promised : and by reason of th' encour-
agement of the Frenchmen and the fair largesses, that the French king hath
promised them by Lorges Montgomerie, they are fully bent to fight as he
sayth. But he saith, tho' that he must needs be also there with them, he
will do them no good, but will do all that he caij to stop them ; and sayth,
that if they may be stopped since they have made so gret braggis and avant
to Lorges Montgomerie, it wold, as he thinketh, put away all the Commons'
hearts from them."*
* "Tiie old spelling is not uniformly followed in the copy of this note.
526 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
country. Bein^: assured, however, tliat the French
politics were still predominant, they disembarked at
Dumbarton, and were received with much distinction;
nor did the enthusiasm diminish when it was found
they had brought a considerable sum of money for the
emergencies of the war, a body-guard of a hundred
archers to wait on the governor''s person, and the in-
siofnia of the Order of St Michael for Ano'us.* This
favourable news the cardinal did not fail immediately
to disseminate among his partisans; and a convention
of the nobility being soon after held at Stirling, it was
resolved, that the league with France should be main-
tained, and hostilities immediately commenced against
England ; but, with a great portion of the nobility
these declarations were insincere. At this very mo-
ment Cassillis v/as organizing his conspiracy for cutting
off the cardinal ; whilst his associates, Angus, Glen-
cairn, and Sir George Douglas, had assured Forster, the
English envoy, of their entire devotedness to his master.
When the governor, therefore, assembled the Scottish
host, on the ninth of August, it was strong in appa-
rent numbers, but weakened by treason and suspicion.
From a force of thirty thousand men, wdth the veteran
infantry of France, and a fine body of cavalry, includ-
ing eighty barbed horse, something important was ex-
pected ; and the people, whose feelings were strongly
excited against England, looked with eager anxiety to
the result ; but they were miserably disappointed.
The vanguard of the army was commanded by Angus ;
under him were the lords in the English interest, with
the minor barons who followed them ; and their indis-
position to hostilities completely shackled the eflforts
* Intelligence by the Lord Wharton'sespiels, sent to the Earl of Hertford,
June 11, 1545. State-paper Office.
1545. MARY. 327
of the remainder of the army. England was indeed
invaded, but the operations were feeble and disunited :
Hertford had made excellent dispositions for the de-
fence of the Borders by his foreign mercenaries ; the
Spanish and Italian troops repelled the Scots with
great gallantry ; the preparations of many months led
only to the sack of a few obscure villages, and the cap-
ture of some Border strengths ; and, after two days,
the army of Scotland returned, to use the words of an
ancient and authentic chronicle, — " through the deceit
of Georo-e Dous^las and the vano^uard."*
It was on the thirteenth of August that this disas-
trous retreat took place, and, three days after, the
Scottish lords in the interest of England addressed
from Melrose a letter to Henry, in which they claimed
credit for the total failure of the invasion, and advised
the immediate advance of the Earl of Hertford, with
an overwhelming force into the heart of the country,
so well provided as to remain there for a lengthened
period. They recommended him at the same time to
march during the present harvest, and to publish a
proclamation, declaring that he came not to hurt the
realm or any subject in it who would assist in promot-
ing the peace and marriage between the two countries.
The letter is a remarkable one, and affords a melan-
choly proof of the true character of the men, who, by
our historians, are imagined to have, at that moment,
entirely deserted the service of England."|*
* Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 40.
f State-paper OtKce, Letter, Hertford, Bishop of Durham, and Sir R.
Sadler to the king, enclosing the letter from the Scottish earls, August 2.5,
1545. The passage explaining the cause of the failure of the last invasion is
curious, and completely corroborates the statement of the Diurnal of Occur-
rents quoted in the text, vrhich statement is not to be found in any of our
Scottish historians. " Further as to this last journey of ours, it was advised
by the queen, cardinal, and this French captain Lorges Montgomerie.
Huntly fortified this armye at his power ; notwithstanding, all that they
828 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
The Earl of Hertford was sufficiently eager to obey
these instructions, although to support a main army
for any long period, and to follow the course pointed
out by the Anglo-Scottish faction, required greater
resources than Henry could command, and was not
agreeable to the impetuous spirit of the monarch.
Preparations had been already made for the intended
invasion, not only by land, but for a naval descent on
the west coast. Negotiations were opened, through
the Earl of Lennox, with Donald lord of the Isles and
Earl of Ross ; and this petty prince, with eighteen of
his barons, disclaiming, in proud language, all alle-
giance to Scotland, of which realm he described himself
and his progenitors as the " auld enemies," entered
willinirlv into the service of the Enirlish monarch, and
bound themselves to assist Lennox with a force of eight
thousand men.* Henry, who had been instructed by
Glencairn and Douglas in the important policy of
devised was stopped by us that are the king's friends." If the reader will
take the trouble to turn to Maitland, vol. ii. pp. 8(11, 862 ; or Lesley, pp.
456, 457 ; or Ridpath's Border History, p. BB'I; or Buchanan, book xv. c.
28, he will discover how much the history of this important period has been
mistaken and perverted. It was, perhaps, the discrepancy between the
Diurnal of Occurrents and these writers which misled its editor into the
idea that its first portion was composed from tradition and other imper-
fect sources. Yet it is the Diurnal which is right, whilst they are in the
wrong.
* Original Commission, 28th July, 1545, apud Ellencarne, from Donald
lord of the Isles, and the Barons and Council of the Isles, to Rory Macalister
bishop elect of the Isles, and Patrick Maclane, to enter into a treaty with
Matthew earl of Lennox, The document (State-paper OHice) is a diplomatic
curiosity ; not one of the highland chieftains, eighteen in number, being able
to write his name. To the celtic antiquary and genealogist, whose feet do
not usually rest on such certain ground, it may be interesting to give the
names. They are, Hector INlaclane lord of Doward ; JolmeMacallister capitane
of Clanrana'ld ; Rorye Macleod of Lewis ; Alexander Macleod of Dumbeg-
gane ; Murdoch Maclane of Lochl)uy ; Angus Maconnill, brudir germane
to James Maconnill ; Alane Maclane of Turloske, brudcr germane to the
Lord Maclane ; Archibald Maconnill capitane of Clan Houston ; Alexander
Mackeyn of Ardnamurcbane ; Jhone Maclane of Coll ; Gilliganan Macncill
of Barray ; Ewin Macinnon of Straguhordill ; Jhone I\Iacquorre of UJway ;
Thom Maclane of Ardgour ; Alexander Ranaldsoun of Glengarrie ; Angus
Ranaldsoun of Knwdort ; Donald Maclane of Keugarrloch.
1545. MARY. 829
keeping Argyle and Huntley in their own country by
a diversion in the Isles, warmly welcomed the offers
of the ocean prince, appointed him an annual pension,
and encouraged him to assemble his forces. On the
eighteenth of August, only a few days after the retreat
of the governor, the Lord of the Isles passed over to
Knockfergus in Ireland, with a fleet of a hundred and
eighty galleys, and having on board a force of four
thousand men. Thev are described in the oris^inal
despatch, from the Irish Privy-council giving Henry
notice of their arrival, as *' very tall men, clothed for
the most part in habergeons of mail, armed with long-
swords and long bows, but with few guns."* To co-
operate with the islesmen, Henry commanded the Earl
of Ormond to raise a body of two thousand kerns and
galloglasses, and appointed the Earl of Lennox to the
chief command in the expedition ; but at this moment
Hertford, now ready to invade Scotland, requested the
presence of the Scottish earl in his camp, and the
western invasion was postponed till the termination of
the campaign. -f-
On the fifth of September, the English commander
assembled his army, and, having previously sent word
to Oassillis, Glencairn, and the two Douglases, that
he expected they would join him with their vassals,
he advanced to Alnwick, from which, rapidly pushina*
throuo'h Northumberland, he crossed the Border and
encamped before Kelso. The town, which was an open
one, he occupied with ease ; but the abbey held out, and
the Spanish mercenaries who assaulted it were repulsed
* Letter, Irish Correspondence, State-paper Office, Privy-council to the
King, August 12 and 13, 1545.
+ August 23, 1545, Privy-council to Earl of Hertford ; and August 27,
1 545, Earl of Hertford and his Council to Secretary Paget. State-paper
Office.
330 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
by the garrison, composed partly of monks. Hertford,
however, brought up his ordnance, and a breach being
effected, the church was carried, the steeple stormed,
and its defenders put to the sword. In the meantime
his friends, the Scottish earls, evaded his proposal of
joining the army, and informed him by a secret mes-
senger who brought a letter in cipher, that they could
not without danger assemble their forces till acquainted
more minutely with his plans.* No line of conduct
could have been adopted more discreditable to them-
selves or more unhappy in its consequences to the
people. Had they been bold and consistent in their
adherence to England, their extensive estates would
have been exempted from plunder, and the peasantry
would have escaped through the desertion of their
lords; but their present conduct, whilst it brought all
the evils, shared in none of the advantages of treachery,
and only provoked Hertford to a more cruel and san-
guinary retaliation. The lands of the potent house
of Douglas lay principally in the districts now invaded.
Melrose and Dryburgh were successively given to the
flames ; the villages, castles, and farm granges of the
adjacent country razed and plundered; and the miser-
able inhabitants suffered the utmost extremities of war,
of which it would be painful to recapitulate the common
tale of havoc and desolation ; Jedburgh was burnt, and
fourteen villages in the neighbourhood. Hertford, in
a despatch to Henry, exultingly informed him it was
the opinion of the Border gentlemen, so much damage
had not been done in Scotland by fire for the last hun-
dred years. Nay, so excessive was the cruelty, that
* Original in cipher, State-paper Office, with the deciphered copy in the
handwriting of Sir R. Sadler, then with the army, September 9, 1545, at
Irvine. From the Earls of Angus, Cassillis, and S. r George Douglas, to
Hertford.
1545. MARY. SSI
it shocked even the English borderers ; and as they
evinced a disposition to be lenient, an advanced guard
of a hundred Irish was appointed to burn and spoil
the villages in a more complete manner.*
Durino- these diso-ustins: scenes the Scots were in-
active. The experience of the last invasion had con-
vinced the governor and the cardinal that Angus and
his associates were more likely to betray than defend
the country. Huntley and Argyle, dreading the medi-
tated attack of Lennox and the Lord of the Isles on
the west coast, were detained in their own country,
and after one abortive attempt to promote union, and
resume hostilities, Arran appears to have abandoned
the task in despair. Ten thousand men who were with
difficulty assembled, entered England near Norham,
burnt a single village, and through the counsel of the
Earl of Angus, on the first appearance of resistance,
dispersed, and returned home."f*
The army of Hertford began now to suffer want in
a country which they had reduced to a desert; and it
was thought expedient to retreat. After reconnoitring
Hume castle, which was found too strong to be carried
by assault, the English commander swept in desolating
progress through the Merse, burnt the towns and
villages, razed the forts and peels, and, returning to
Horton on the twenty-third of September, dismissed
his forces — ^placing his Italian and Spanish mercenaries
in garrisons on the Borders.]: It appears from an
original document, that during this inroad, which only
lasted fifteen days, the destruction was dreadful, and
* Letter, Earl of Hertford and his Council to the King, Warkworth,
September 18, State-paper Office.
+ Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 40, corroborated by Orig. .letter of Hertford
and his Council, Sept. 18, 1545, State-paper Office.
+ Earl of Hertford and Council to the King, Horton, Sept. 23, 1545, State-
paper Office.
832 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
sufficiently accounts for the deep and exasperated
feelings of the Scottish people. The English burnt
seven monasteries and relic^ious houses, sixteen castles
and towns, five market towns, two hundred and forty-
three villages, thirteen mills, and three hospitals.*
Such were the arguments by which Henry endea-
voured to persuade his neighbours, that he was soli-
citous for a peaceful matrimonial union between the
two countries. During the invasion a characteristic
trait of the English monarch occurred. Some French
soldiers in the service of the Scots deserted to Hertford,
and the earl requested the king"'s advice whether they
were to be received or trusted. His majesty, through
his privy-council, replied that it w^as scarcely good
policy to give credit to any men of that nation with
whom he had mortal w^ar, unless they would evince
their sincerity by some previous exploit. He recom-
mended Hertford, therefore, if any greater number of
Frenchmen offered themselves, to " advise them first
to some notable damage or displeasure to the enemy f
and he particularised the " trapping or killing the
cardinal, Lorges, the governor, or some other man
of estimation, whereby it can appear that they bear
hearty good will to serve, which thing" continues the
king, " if they shall have done, your lordship may pro-
mise them not only to accept the service, but also to
give them such reward as they shall have good cause
to be therewith right well contented.""*|*
After the retreat of Hertford, the governor held a
parliament at Stirling, in which the Earl of Lennox and
his brother the Bishop of Caithness were declared guilty
* Statement of fortresses, to^vns, &c., burnt and destroyed during the ex-
pedition, State-paper Office.
+ Original Draft, in Secretary Petre's handwriting, Privy-council to Earl
of Hertford, September D, 1 545, State-paper Otiice.
1545. MARY. 8S3
of treason. The last meeting of the three Estates had
not been numerous, this was crowded by the nobles, and
it was sarcastically said they came for land,* expecting
a share in the division of the large estates of Lennox
now forfeited to the crown. Argyle, whose services
had been conspicuous, amid the desertion of the country
by other noble houses, was rewarded with the largest
share, whilst Huntley, another firm adherent of the
government, received for his brother the bishoprick of
Caithness, and a portion of the property of Lennox for
himself. •[* It was determined, at the same parliament,
that a force of a thousand men should be maintained
for the defence of the marches, to be placed under the
command of the bravest and most experienced Border
barons ; and a tax of sixteen thousand pounds was
directed to be levied on the three Estates for their sup-
port, whilst an additional body of a thousand men was
raised at the expense of France. J The cardinal, it was
reported, meant to pass over to France with Lorges
the French commander, with the purpose of subsidising
a much larger force for the continuance of the war,
whilst he laboured to induce the queen-mother, with
the young queen, to reside in his castle of St Andrew's ;
gaining the governor Arran to his views upon this
point by tempting him with the splendid prize already
offered to his ambition, the marriage of the young queen
to his eldest son.
This intelligence was communicated to Henry bv a
letter in cipher from his active and unscrupulous cor-
respondent the Laird of Brunston, (in a letter sent
* Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 40.
f Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, vol. ii. pp. 458, 459. Diurnal of
Occurrents, p. 41. Keith's Catalogue, p. 128.
X Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 41. The tax was to be raised conform to the
Auld Taxations. * * Ilk pund land of auld extent eight shillings. Acts of
Parliament, vol. ii. p. AGO.
834 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 154.5.
fromOrmiston House, sixth October;) and in the same
despatch he alluded darkly to his hopes that the in-
tended journey of the cardinal to France would be cut
short, assuring his royal employer that at no time
were there more gentlemen desirous of doino-him 2:ood
service than at that moment.* He intimated, in a
subsequent letter to Lord Hertford, his wish to have
a private meeting with some one of the lords of the
Privy-council; entreated that it might be kept secret,
as a discovery miii'ht cost him both life and heritaire;
informed him that all his friends were j'eady whenever
it pleased the king to command them ; but stated, that
his majesty must be plain with them what he would
have them to do, and explicit as to what they were to
trust to on his part. In a letter of the same date from
Brunston to the king, he requested a private interview
with Sir R. Sadler at Berwick, reiterated his injunction
of secrecy, as his communications might affect his life,
and promised to communicate such things as should
be greatly to the advancing of his majesty"'s affairs. "t*
It seems probable from these expressions that the plot
for the assassination of the cardinal had been resumed,
and as Brunston directed the king to send his answer
to Coldino'ham, then beloncjinf]: to Sir Georo^e Douglas,
we may presume that Angus, Cassillis, and the Scottish
earls were acquainted with these proceedings. Unfor-
tunately at this moment those invaluable documents,
the letters in the State-paper Office, break ofFabruptl}^
perhaps we may add suspiciously : there is a hiatus
from October to March twenty-seventh, an interval of
* Letter in cipher, Laird of Brunston to the king's majesty, enclosed in
a letter from the Earl of Hertford to Secretary Paget, October 20, 1 545,
State-paper Office. See extract in the Illustrations to this volume, p. 380-7.
+ Letter in cipher, with contemporary decipher, Brunston to the king,
Calder, October 20, 1545, State-paper Office. See extract in the Illustra-
tions, p. 388.
1545. MARY. 835
five months; and we are compelled to trace the ravelled
history of this obscure but interesting period with
such inferior guidance as is attainable elsewhere.
The intelligence lately received, that Beaton medi-
tated a journey to France, and that the nobles had
consented to the marriage of the young queen to the
son of the governor, stimulated the English monarch
to fresli exertions. Caerlaverock, Lochmaben, and
Thrave, three castles of first rate strength and impor-
tance, were the property of his prisoner Lord jNIaxwell.
To get possession of these, and garrison them as rally-
ing points for his adherents, and to carry into execution
the invasion of the west of Scotland by Lennox and
the Lord of the Isles, were the two projects which
en2:a2:ed Henrv"*s attention. Lord Maxwell, like his
other brethren, had been at first kindly treated by the
king on the condition of furthering his projects ; but
his conduct was suspicious and vacillating ; he possessed
not the greatness of mind to remain in durance and
continue faithful to his country, whilst he hesitated to
devote himself exclusively to England. Threatened
with being remanded to the Tower as a punishment
for his repeated deceit, he was reduced to despair,
offered to serve under Hertford with a red cross on his
armour to show that he was a true Englishman, and
at last purchased his return to Scotland at the price of
the delivery of Caerlaverock.* But misfortune pur-
sued him : early in November the governor and the
cardinal attacked and stormed this fortress, whilst
Lochmaben and Thrave, held by his sons, experienced
a similar fate; and Maxwell himself, being taken with
his English confederates, was imprisoned in Dumfries.
* Earl of Hertford, Bishop of Durham, and Sir R. Sadler to Secretary
Paget, July 29, 1545, State-paper Office. Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 41.
836 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
For this disappointment Henry comforted himself
with the hopes of success in the projected expedition
against the west of Scotland. Tliis prince, however,
was either too precipitate or too dilatory.
Donald lord of the Isles, who in August had passed
over to Ireland with a potent fleet, in vain expected
the arrival of Lennox, then absent with the English
army in Scotland; and after a sojourn of some months
returned to find an obscure grave in his own dominions.
He bequeathed, however, his affection to the English
king, and the more substantial hope of inheriting his
pension, to his successor in the sovereignty of the Isles,
James Macconnell lord of Dunyveg; and Lennox
having received information from Glencairn that the
time was favourable for the recovery of the castle of
Dumbarton, passed rapidly over to Ireland, opened a
communication with the new Lord of the Isles, de-
spatched his brother to practice on the fidelity of the
constable, and taking the command of a body of two
thousand men which had been levied by the Earl of
Ormond, sailed from Dublin on the seventeenth of
November, with a formidable squadron.* Such an
armament, according to the opinion expressed by the
Irish Privy-council, had not left Ireland for the last
two hundred years. "I*
Yet, so great was the activity of Arran and the
cardinal, that all these high hopes and preparations
were destined to prove abortive. It appears that the
arrival of Lennox's brother the Bishop of Caithness,
and the admission of this prelate into the castle, had
* " The 1 7th this present month of November, the Earl of Lennox, together
with th' Erie of Ormond, toke their journey out of your porte of Dublin,
accompanied with 2,000 men." Letter, Privy-cQuncil of Ireland to the king,
19th November, 1545, Siate-paper Office.
+ Orig. Letter, Irish Privy-council to the King, 19th November, 1545,
State-paper OfiSce.
1545. MARY. So7
alarmed them. Stirling of Glorat the constable, re-
ceived Caithness with distinction ; yet, as he had already
refused to deliver the fortress to Lennox, he now de-
clared that he would hold it out against all till his
mistress the queen was of age to demand it for herself.
It was closely besieged by Arran, Huntley, and Argyle;
but having defied their utmost efforts, the cardinal and
Huntley, who knew that the resolution of Scottish barons
in that age was sooner moved by interest than by force,
began to tamper with the ex-bishop and the constable,
and succeeded in corrupting them. Caithness, bribed
by the promise of his restoration to the see he had lost,
proved false to his brother; and Stirling, for a high
reward, was induced to deliver the fortress, in that age
deemed impregnable, into the hands of the governor.*
Henry ""s last hope was thus destroyed, and the arma-
ment of Lennox and Ormond, probably informed on
their passage of the disastrous result, does not appear
to have even attempted a descent. Whether it retraced
its course to Dublin, or, as on a former occasion, steered
for Bristol, is not easily discoverable. It is, indeed, a
curious illustration of the imperfection and carelessness
of our general historians both English and Scottish,
that in neither the one nor the other do w^e find the
slightest notice of a maritime expedition, which, by the
letters of the Privy-council, seems in its outfit to have
exhausted the exchequer and military resources of
Ireland.
In his first invasion of Scotland, Lennox had lost
the pow^erful assistance of the Islesmen by his delay ; in
this last expedition he was deprived of it by precipita-
tion. Had he waited for the arrival in Ireland of his
envoy Colquhoun, whom he had sent to the Isles, he
* Lesley, Hist. p. 457.
VOL. V. Y
ooS HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
might have met with better success. James Maccon-
nell, now Lord of the Isles, inherited all the animosity
of his predecessor against Scotland ; and, as soon as the
unsettled state of his remote dominions permitted,
opened a negotiation with the English monarch, and
entered warmly into his views. He proposed to Henry
that Lennox should be sent with an army to the Isle
of Sanda beside Kentire, where he promised to join
him with the whole strength of his kinsmen and allies;
with Alane Maclane of Gigha, his cousin, the Clanran-
ald, Clancameron, Clankayn, and his own surname or
clan both north and south.* To these offers of this
potent insular prince, the reply of Henry does not
appear. They did not reach him, indeed, till the
fifteenth February, 1545-6, and before he had time to
open a negotiation it is probable that the attention of
the monarch was en2:rossed bv the extraordinary events
which took place in Scotland.
To explain these, it will be necessary to look back
for a few moments to the progress of the reformed
opinions in that country. Notwithstanding the utmost
exertions of the cardinal, and the check which they
had received from the apostacy of the governor, the
doctrines of the Reformation had continued, since the
last cruel executions at Perth, to make a very perceptible
progress. By many of those nobles, whom we have
found in secret communication with England, they
were openly professed ; the Earls of Cassillis, Glen-
cairn, and Marshal ; the Lords Maxwell and Somer-
ville; Crichton laird of Brunston, with whose intrigues
vve are familiar; Cockburn of Ormiston, Sandilands
of Calder, Douglas of Lang-Niddry, and many other
* Pri\'}--council of Ireland to the Privy-council of England, IGth February,
i546, with the Lord of the Isles' letter enclosed. State-paper Office.
J 545. MARY. 339
barons and gentlemen declared their conviction of their
truth, condenined with just indignation the zeal which
had kindled the flames of persecution in the country,
and found an argument for the matrimonial alliance
with England, in the support it must give to those who
earnestly desired to see a purer faith and a more primi-
tive worship established in Scotland. This forms the
best ground for their apology in their intrigues with
Henry, and their designs for the subjection of the
country to England; although it is not to be concealed,
that in their secret correspondence with the English
monarch, the establishment of true relioion is rarelv
alluded to as a motive of action.
In those early days of the Reformed Church its
sincere converts had arisen, with few exceptions, amongst
the religious orders themselves, or from the middle and
lower classes of the people, men not wholly illiterate,
as they have been unjustly represented, but who were
led to the study of the Scriptures by their love of the
truth; and over whose motives no suspicion of selfish-
ness or of interest can be thrown. When such persons
were dra2:2:ed before the ecclesiastical tribunals, and
refused to purchase their lives at the price of a recan-
tation, the spectacle exhibited by their death compelled
even the most indifferent spectator to some inquiry ;
and these inquiries led, in many cases, to conviction and
conversion. Neither, during the whole of the period
of which we now speak, were men exposed to such
severities of persecution : Arran himself, the governor
of the kingdom, was at one time a convert ; and so long
as he continued the profession of the reformed opinions,
the Scriptures, under the authority of parliament,
were openly read, the new doctrines preached by Rough
and Williams within his household, and the books of
S40 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
tlio most eminent reformers allowed to bo imported into
tlie country. His return, however, to the Roman
Catholic church, produced a melancholy chani^e ; and
the influence acquired over his mind by Hamilton the
abbot of Paisley, had the worst effects upon the infant
Reformation. His preachers, as we have seen, were
dismissed; the professors of the new opinions discoun-
tenanced and persecuted ; the cardinal and his party
artfully represented all innovators-in religion as enemies
to their country — an argument, to which the conduct
of the Earls of Cassillis, Glencairn, and the Douglases,
gave much force; it was deemed impossible that a man
should be at the same time a friend to the independence
of Scotland, and a friend to the independence of the
liuman mind ; the spirit of inquiry which had begun
was suddenly put down, and the people were compelled
once more to submit themselves to those blind guides,
who were often remarkable for little else than their
ignorance and licentiousness. The Catholic church
in Scotland had, indeed, in former times, been distin-
guished by some men who combined profound learn-
ing with a primitive simplicity of faith ; even in
this age it could boast of its scholars and poets.; but
at the period of which we now speak, its character for
sanctity of manners, ecclesiastical learning, or zeal for
the instruction of the people in the word of life, did not
rank high ; and the example of its head and ruler,
Beaton, a prelate stained by open profligacy, and re-
markable for nothing but his abilities as a statesman
and politician, was fitted to produce the worst effects
upon the great body of the inferior clergy.
Such was the state of things when, in July, 1543,
George Wishart, commonly known by the name of the
Martyr, returned to Scotland, in the company of
1545. MARY. 341
those commissioners, whom we have seen despatched
for the negotiation of the marriage treaty with Eng-
land.* Of his early history little is known with cer-
tainty : it is probable, that he was the son of James
Wishart of Pittarro, justice-clerk to James the Fifth;
and as he was patronised in youth l)y John Erskine of
Dun, well known as one of the earliest enemies of the
Roman Catholic church, to him he may have owed his
instructions in the principles of the Reformation.
Erskine was provost of Montrose ; and here Wishart
first became known as master of a school, w^here he
evinced his zeal and learning, by an attempt to instruct
his pUpils in Greek, as the original language of the New
Testament. This exposed him to persecution ; he fled
to England, preached at Bristol against the offering of
praj^ers to the Virgin ; and being condemned for that
alleged heresy, openly recanted his opinions, and burnt
his fao-ofot in the church of St Nicholas in that citv.
This happened in 1538 ; his history, during the three
following years, is little known ; but we again find him
in England, and at Cambridge, in 1543. There his
character was marked by a devotion slightly tinged
with ascetism, but deep and sincere; by his ample
charities to the poor, his meekness to his brethren and
pupils, and the universality of his learning. On the
other hand, to such as despised his instructions, there
was about him a zeal and severity of reproof, which
irritated the wicked, and sometimes even exposed his
life to danger. Such, at least, is the description given
of him by an afi*ectionate pupil, who had spent a year
* This date of his arrival is important, as it marks the commencement of
his preaching, and has heen mistaken by Knox, and all our ecclesiastical
historians. All are agreed that Wishart arrived with the commissioners,
and they certainly arrived in the interval between the 1 6th and the 31st of
July, 1543. This may he seen by comparing Sadler, vol. i. p. 235, withpp
242, 243-245.
;U2 HISTORY of Scotland. 1545.
under his tuition ; and it is confirmed by Knox, his
early disciple.
It may easily be imagined, that the appearance at
this time of such a man in Scotland was calculated to
produce important effects. On liis return, his chief
supporters were the Earls of Cassillis and Glencairn,
the Earl Marshal, Sir George Douglas, and the Lairds
of Brunston, Ormiston, and Calder. Protected by
their presence and influence, he preached in the towns
of Montrose, Dundee, Perth, and Ayr, inveighing
against the errors of popery, and the profligacy of the
churchmen, with a severity and eloquence which made
frequent converts, and led in some cases to acts of po-
pular violence. At Dundee, the houses of the Black
and Gray Friars were destroyed;* similar attacks
were attempted, but suppressed in the capital ; and,
when a regard for the preservation of peace and order
induced the civil authorities to interfere, Wishart did
not hesitate to threaten them with those denunciations
of coming vengeance, by some writers pronounced pro-
phetic ; but for which there is no evidence that their
author claimed this distinction. He enjoyed, it is to
be remembered, the confidential intimacy, nay, we have
reason to believe, that his councils influenced the con-
duct of Cassillis, Glencairn, Brunston, and the party
which were now the advisers of Henry's intended hos-
tilities: a circumstance which will perfectly account
for the obscure warnings of the preacher without en-
dowing him with inspiration. "f*
* Hamilton Papers quoted by Chalmers, Life of Mary, vol. ii. p. 403.
+ It was a little belorc the 4th. of fc'eptemher, 1543, that the riots took
place at Dundee ; and, though Knox does not give the date, ve may presume,
with a near approach to certainty, that it was at this time Wishart was
interdicted from preaching in that city. Now, a week only before this,
Cassillis, Glencairn, Angus, and Maxwell, with all their adherents, were
mustering their forces for a great efibrt, and had advised Henry the Eighth
1545. MARY. 343
From the time of his arrival in the summer, 1543,
for more than two years Wishart appears to have re-
mained in Scotland, protected by the barons who were
then in the interest of Henry, and who favoured the
doctrines of the Reformation. Of his personal history
during this period, little is known. He continued his
denunciations of the Koman Catholic superstitions,
and inveighed with so much eloquence against the
corrupt lives of the churchmen, that, incurring the
extreme odium of Beaton, he is said to have twice
escaped the plots which this unscrupulous prelate had
laid for his life.* It was during this interval, as we
have already seen, that Henry the Eighth encouraged
the conspiracy of Brunston, Cassillis, Glencairn, and
others, to assassinate his enemy the cardinal : of the
existence of the plots against his life, Beaton was, to
a certain degree, aware; and, looking with suspicion on
Wishart, not only as a disseminator of forbidden doc-
trines, but the friend of his most mortal enemies, he ear-
nestly laboured to apprehend him. Of all this the re-
former was so well advised from the spies of the English
party, that he repeatedly alluded to his approaching fate.
Yet, for a considerable time, he escaped every effort
made against him — nor was this surprising: when
he preached, it was surrounded by mail-clad barons,
and their armed retainers : since the time his life had
been attempted, a two-handed sword w^as carried before
him by some tried follower, and he himself, though
to send a main army into Scotland, Sadler, vol. i. p. 278-280 ; -whilst the
Laird of Brunston, Wishart 's great friend and protector, was to he sent on
a mission to that monarch from the governor. The preacher thus lived in
the intimacy of those who knew that a visitation of tire and sword was al-
ready determined on Scotland ; and he naturally, perhaps justifiably, availed
himself of that knowledge to make a salutary impression on his hearers.
* It ought to he stated, that, in support of this assertion, we have no evi-
dence from original or contemporary letters.
344 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
generally meek and humble, showed occasional out-
breakings of a courage and fire, which marked the
education of a feudal aire.
o
At length his anticipations were accomplished.
Beinjr at Dundee, he received a messasfe from the Earl
of Cassillis and the irentlemen of Kvle and Cunninir-
ham, requesting him to meet them in Edinburgh, where
thev intended to make interest that he should have a
public disputation with the bishops. Wishart, obey-
ing the summons, travelled to the capital, but his
friends not having met him as they promised, he kept
himself concealed for some days. He could not, how-
ever, restrain his desire to address the people ; and
being protected by the barons of Lothian, many of
whom had then embraced the reformed opinions, he
preached publicly at Leith, and afterwards at Inveresk,
where Sir George Douglas declared his approbation of
the doctrine, and his resolution to defend the person of
the teacher. It was at this time, also, that John Knox,
already in middle life, became deepl}^ affected by his in-
structions, and eagerly attached himself to his society.*
During these transactions, the governor and the
cardinal arrived in Edinburgh ; and Wishart's friends,
Crichton of Brunston, and Cockburn of Ormiston.
considering his residence at Leith unsafe, removed him
to West Lothian, where he remained concealed, in ex-
pectation of the arrival of Cassillis. •(* It is possible
that the reformer was ignorant of the true character
of Brunston, — a dark and busy intriguer, who. for
more than two years, had been organizing a conspiracy
for the assassination of the cardinal. But if Wishart
knew nothing of this, Beaton, as we have seen, was
* Knox's History, p. 52.
+ Spottiswood's History, pp. 76, 77, 78. M'Crie's Life of Knox, vol. i. p.
42-78.
1545. MARY. 845
aware of the escapes he had made, and the snares still
preparing against him ; and when he heard that the
preacher was in the neighbourhood, living under the
protection of Brunston, waiting for the arrival of Cas-
sillis, who had also offered to assassinate him, and
about to hold a meetins; with his enemies at Edinbur^'h,
we are not to be surprised that he determined on his
instant apprehension. That the reformer was aware
of his dano-er is certain, for he alluded to it : Cassillis
had failed to meet him ; the power of his enemies was
increasing ; his congregations began to fall away, yet
he resolved, amid all discouragements, once more to
address the people, and, in his last and most remark-
able sermon, delivered at Haddington, alluded to the
miseries about to fall upon the country. He then took
a solemn farewell of his audience, and set out for the
house of Ormiston, accompanied by Brunston, Sandi-
lands of Calder, and Cockburn of Ormiston. At this
moment Knox pressed to his side, and eagerly desired
to accompany him, offering to bear the two-handed
sword, as he was wont ; but Wishart affectionately
dismissed him. " Nay," said he, " return to your
pupils : one is sufficient for a sacrifice." At Ormiston
that night he appeared unusually cheerful, addressed
the friends assembled round him after supper, taking
for his subject the death of God's children, and, after
having sung a psalm, retired to rest. At midnight the
house was surrounded by a party of soldiers ; a loud
voice from without, which was immediately recognised
as that of the Earl of Bothwell, summoned its inmates
to surrender ; and Wishart, awakening with the clang
of arms in the court, at once apprehended the cause,
and resolved to submit.* Resistance, indeed, would
* Knox's History, pp. 53, 54.
o'lG HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1545.
have been hopeless : the cardimil, by whom Bothwell
had been sent, was within a mile, at the head of five
hundred men; and Wishart, after an assurance that his
life and person should be safe, surrendered himself to his
captors. He was instantly carried to Elphinston, where
Beaton lay, who, finding that one victim only was taken,
sent with the utmost expedition to seize his companions.
In the confusion, Brunston escaped to the neighbouring
woods, whilst Cockburn and Sandilands were appre-
hended, and shut up in the castle of Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, Bothwell carried his prisoner to Hailes,
his own residence, and, for some time, appeared re-
solved to keep his promise : but, at last, the incessant
importunity of Beaton, and the expectation of a high
reward, got the better of his resolution, and the mean
and mercenary baron delivered his victim into the
hands of the cardinal.*
Having secured him, Beaton was not of a temper to
hesitate in his measures, or adopt a middle course. He
summoned a council of the bishops and dignified clergy
to meet at St Andrew\s ; requested the governor to
nominate a judge whose presence might give a civil
sanction to their proceedings ; and, being refused by
the timidity or humanity of Arran, determined to
proceed on his own authority."]" The alleged heretic was
immediately arraigned before the spiritual tribunal,
and defended his opinions meekly but firmly, and with
a profound knowledge of Scripture. He appealed to
the word of God as the sole rule by which he was
guided in the doctrines he had taught the people ; as
he was ready to admit all its precepts, so was he bound,
he declared, to refuse and deny everything which it
* Spottiswood's Histon', p. 79.
f Lesley, p. 191. Knox's History, p. 55-56.
1546. MARY. 347
condemned, whilst he deemed of little consequence such
pjints as it left m obscurity. He maintained his right
to preach, notwithstanding his excommunication by
the church, and contended that any man, with fervent
faith, and a sufficient knowledge of Scripture, might
be a teacher of the word of life. He declared the in-
sufficiency of outward ceremonies to salvation when
the heart was unaffected, derided auricular confession,
and admitted only such sacraments as were recorded
in Scripture. Of fasting he warmly approved ; up-
held the Loi'd's Supper as a divine and comfortable
institution ; maintained the necessity of our fully
understanding the vows taken for us in our baptism ;
condemned the invocation of saints, and the doctrine
of purgatory as unscriptural ; and asserted his belief,
that, immediately after death, the soul would pass into
a state of immortal life and unfading: felicity. Whilst
he defended his own creed, supporting it by a constant
reference to Scripture, he did not hesitate to stigma-
tize the doctrine of his opponents in unmeasured terms;
pronouncing it "pestilential, blasphemous, and abomin-
able, not proceeding from the inspiration of God, but
the suo-crestions of the devil." The result of all this
was easy to be anticipated ; Wishart was found guilty
of heresy, and sentenced to be burned. The trial took
place at St Andrew's ; and no time was lost in carry-
ing the sentence into effect.*
On the twenty-eighth of March, he was led from the
prison, with a rope about his neck, and a large chain
round his middle, to the place of execution, in front of
the castle, which was the archiepiscopal palace of the
cardinal. Here a scaffold had been raised, with a high
Btake firmly fixed in the midst of it. Around it were
* Knox's History, pp. h^^^^ inclusive.
o
48 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1546.
piled bundles of dry faggots; beside them stood an iron
grate containing the lire, and near it the solitary figure
of the executioner. Nor did it escape the observation
of the dense and melancholy crowd which had assem-
bled, that the guns of the fortress were brought to bear
directly on the platform, whilst the gunners stood with
their matches beside them ; — a jealous precaution, sug-
gested, perhaps, by the attempt of Duncan to deliver
the reformer Hamilton, and which rendered all idea of
rescue in this case perfectly hopeless. On arriving at
the place, Wishart beheld these horrid preparations,
which brought before him the agony he was to suffer,
with an unmoved countenance ; mounted the scaffold
firmly, and addressed a short speech to the people, in
which he exhorted them not to be offended at the word
of God, by the sight of the torments which it seemed to
have brought upon its preacher, but to love it, and
suffer patiently for it any persecution which the sin of
unbelievinjx men mi2:ht suggest.* He declared that.
he freely forgave all his enemies, not excepting the
judges who had unjustly condemned him. The exe-
cutioner came up to him at this moment, fell on his
knees, and beo'^-ed his foroiveness with much earnest-
ness, as he was not guilty of his death : " Most will-
ingly do I tender it," said Wishart, and kissed him —
*' Now be of good courage, my heart, and do thine
office ; thou hast received a token that I forgive thee.""
He then knelt down and prayed audibly: — '' O thou
Saviour of the world, have mercy on me ; Father of
Heaven, into thy hands I commit my spirit."'"' Having
thrice repeated these words, he arose from his knees,
and declared, without any perceptible emotion, that he
was ready. The hooks were then fixed in the iron
* Knox, p. 64. Spottiswood, p. 82.
1546. MARY. 849
chain which was girt round his loins ; and being raised
on the iribbet, and the fa!]:i2:ots kindled, he was first
strangled by the rope, which was pulled tightly round
his neck, and then consumed to ashes.*
It was impossible for the people to behold unmoved
so cruel an execution. It was remembered also, that
the governor had refused his concurrence, — that the
sanction of the civil authority had been withheld;
and the fate of Wishart was pronounced unjust and
illegal. That many of his opinions were such as the
Church deemed heretical could not be denied; but
men had now begun to appeal to the word of God, as
the test of the truth; and to be subjected to such in-
human torments for the declaration of precepts believed
to be founded on the Bible, was esteemed monstrous.
The courage, meekness, and patience with which the
reformer had borne his sufferings, produced a deep
effect, and the invariable results of persecution were
soon discernible in a spirit of increasing investigation.
a revulsion from the tyranny of power, and a steady
progress in the new opinions.
But amid lamentations for their favourite preacher,
deeper feelings were mingled ; whispers of revenge began
to circulate amongst the people ; hints w^ere thrown
out that God would not Ions: suffer such crueltv to 2:0
unpunished; and, in those days of ignorance, when a
stern fanaticism was mingled in the same minds with
the darkness and cruelty of a feudal age, an opinion
began to be entertained, that the example of the Old
Testament heroes, in cutting off a determined persecu-
tor, was not unworthy of imitation. Such sentiments
were not lost upon those men, who, under the influence
of far baser motives, had, as we have seen, already
* Knox's History, p. 68-G9. Spottiswood's History, pp. 81, 82.
350 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. J 546.
organized a conspiracy for the assassination of the
cardinal. Cassillis, Glencairn, Sir George Douglas,
Cricliton of Brunston, with the Laird of Grange and
the Master of Rothes, had heen prevented by various
causes from accomplishing their purpose; the difficulty
of binding Henry the Eighth to a direct promise of
reward, and the discernment of Beaton, who, although
he could not wholly discover, detected the working of
some dark purpose against his life, had interrupted and
balked the authors of the plot ; and they hailed the
feelings excited by the fate of Wishart, as a new means
placed in their hands for the accelerating the catas-
trophe which they so ardently desired.
With the people Beaton had formerly been popular,
as the determined enemy of England ; but they now
openly inveighed against his cruelty. John Lesley,
brother of the Earl of Rothes, did not hesitate to de-
clare, in public, that he would have blood for blood ;
and his nephew Norman Lesley, with Kirkaldy of
Grange, had entered into a close correspondence with
England.* With these, others of inferior name, but
of higher honesty, were associated ; and it cannot be
doubted, that some men, w-ho, before the death of
Wishart, would have spurned at any proposal of an
association with persons whose motives were so mer-
cenary, were induced, after that event, to applaud, and
even to join in their attempt. Of all these circumstances,
Brunston and his friends were not slow to avail them-
selves: nor are we to forget, that if their minds had
been already made up on the necessity of ridding them-
selves of the cardinal, the desire of avenging the fate
of their friend must have whetted their slumbering
purpose to new activity.
* Knox's History, p. 70. Spottiswood's History, p. 82,
1546. MARY. 351
It is probable that Beaton, naturally presumptuous,
disregarded any open threats, as the ebullition of im-
potent resentment ; the voice of his flatterers amongst
the clergy declared, that his salutary severity had
saved the Church ; he was strong in the alliance of
France; the schemes of the English faction had latterly
been unsuccessful ; and it is said, that, adopting a prac-
tice common in that ao'e, he had streno-thened himself
by procuring bonds of manrent from Norman Lesley,
and many of the most powerful nobles. Soon after
the death of Wishart, he took a progress into Angus,
and was present at the marriage of one of his natural
daughters, Maro'aret Bethune, to David Lindsavmaster
of Crawford, which was celebrated with great magnifi-
cence at Finhaven castle, the prelate bestowing upon
the bride a dowry little inferior to that of a princess.*
AVhen absent on this festive occasion, intelligence
was brought, that Henry the Eighth was urging
forward his preparations for a new invasion ; and he
hurried to Fife, with the object of fortifying his castle
of St Andrew's, which he dreaded might be made a
principal point of attack, and of procuring the barons
whose estates wx re contiguous to the coast, to strengthen
it against the enemy. In the last invasion, the country,
without a blow, had been abandoned to indiscriminate
devastation ; and having resolved to prevent a repetition
of such disgrace, he summoned a meeting of the neigh-
bouring: jrentrv to consult on the best means for the
defence of the kingdom.
In the midst of these exertions, he seems to have
forirotten the secret enemies by whom he was surrounded,
whilst they continued more warily than before to hold
correspondence with England. In his last letters, the
* Knox's History, p. 70.
352 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1546.
Laird of Brunston, whose mortal enmity to Beaton
has been amply shown, complained to Lord Wharton,
that the King of England was neither sufficiently
definite in his commands, nor explicit in his promises
of reward ; but he expressed, at the same time, the
readiness of his friends to serve the king, liis wish to
have a meetinor with Lord Wharton in the most secret
manner, as a discovery might cost him both life and
heritage, and his fervent expectation, that although
Beaton now intended a voyasje to France it would be
cut short.* There seems, however, reason to believe,
that, although the designs for the assassination of the
prelate had been long maturing, and were thus gradually
gathering round him, a private quarrel between him
and Norman Lesley, precipitated their accomplishment.
This young baron, known by the name of the Master
of Rothes, had resigned to Beaton, on the promise of
a valuable equivalent, the estate of Easter Wemyss in
Fife.-f* In the meeting at St Andrew's, he claimed
the stipulated reward, and receiving what he deemed
an equivocal reply, remonstrated with freedom ; warm
words followed : the cardinal complained of insulted
dignity; and Norman, answering with scorn, departed
in deep wrath. Repairing to his uncle, John Lesley, he
complained of the injury he had sustained, and both
were of opinion, that after what had passed delay would
be dangerous. Messages were accordingly sent to the
Laird of Grange, and others whose readiness to join
in the attempt had, we may presume, been already
* At this moment (20th October, 1545) our best guides, the State Papers,
unfortunately fail us, and the rest of the history of Beaton's death is to be
gathered from less authentic sources. That these friends of Brunston, so
willing to obey the commands of Henry, were the same men who had formerly
offered, through Brunston, to slay the cardinal, there seems little reason to
doubt.
t Spottiswood's History, p. 82.
1546. MARY. 353
ascertained ; and it was determined, that the murder
should be committed without delay.
On the evening of the twenty-eighth of May, Norman
Lesley came, with only five followers, to St Andrew's,
and rode, without exciting suspicion, to his usual inn.
William Kirkaldy of Grange was there already ; and
they were soon joined by John Lesley, who took the
precaution of entering the town after nightfall, as his
appearance, from his known enmity to Beaton, might
have raised alarm. Next morning, at daybreak, the
conspirators assembled in small detached knots, in the
vicinity of the castle ; and the porter having lowered
the drawbridge to admit the masons employed in the
new works, Norman Lesley and three men with him
passed the gates, and inquired if the cardinal was yet
awake ? This was done without suspicion ; and as
they were occupied in conversation, James Melville,
Kirkaldy of Grange, and their followers, entered un-
noticed: but, on perceiving John Lesley, who followed,
the porter instantly suspected treason; and springing
to the drawbridge, had unloosed its iron fastening,
when the conspirator Lesley anticipated his purpose
by leaping across the gap. To despatch him with their
daggers, cast the body into the fosse, and seize the keys
of the castle, employed but a few minutes ; and all was
done with such silence as well as rapidit}'-, that no
alarm had been given. With equal quietness the
workmen who laboured on the ramparts were led to
the gate and dismissed; Kirkaldy, who was acquainted
with the castle, then took his station at a private pos-
tern, through which alone any escape could be made ;
and the rest of the conspirators going successively to
the apartments of the different gentlemen who formed
the prelate's household, awoke them, and threatening
VOL. V. Z
So 4} HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 1546.
instant death, if they spoke, led them, one by one, to
the outer wicket, and dismissed them unhurt. In this
manner a hundred workmen and fifty household ser-
vants were disposed of by a handful of men, who,
closing the gates, and dropping the portcullis, were
complete masters of the castle.* Meanwhile Beaton,
the unfortunate victim, against whom all this hazard
had been encountered, was still asleep; but awakening
and hearing an unusual bustle, he threw on a night-
gown, and drawing up the window of his bedchamber,
inquired what it meant. Being answered that Norman
L.esley had taken the castle, he rushed to the private
postern ; but, seeing it already guarded, returned
speedily to his apartment, seized his sword, and, with
the assistance of his page, barricaded the door on the
inside with his heaviest furniture. John Lesley now
coming up, demanded admittance. "Who are youT"*
said the cardinal. "My name,*" he replied, "is Les-
ley." " Is it Norman?" asked the unhappy man,
remembering probably the bond of manrent ; "I must
have Norman ; he is my friend." " Nay, I am not
Norman," answered the ruffian, " but John, and with
me ye must be contented ;" upon which he called for
fire, and was about to apply it to the door, when it was
unlocked from within. The conspirators now rushed
in ; and Lesley and Carmichael throwing themselves
furiously upon their victim, who earnestly implored
mercy, stabbed him repeatedly. But Melville, a milder
fanatic, who professed to murder, not from passion, but
religious duty, reproved their violence : " This judg-
ment of God," said he, " ought to be executed with
gravity, although in secret ;" and presenting the point
* Knox's History, p. 71-72. Letter, James Lindsay to Lord Wharton.
— State-paper Office. — See Illustrations to this vol. pp. 390. 391. — Remarks
on the Murder of Beaton.
1546. MARY. 355
of his sword to the bleeding prelate, he called on him
to repent of his wicked courses, and especially of the
death of the holy Wishart, to avenge whose innocent
blood they were now sent by God. "Remember," said
he, '• that the mortal stroke I am now about to deal,
is not the mercenary blow of a hired assassin, but the
just vengeance which hath fallen on an obstinate and
cruel enemy of Christ and the Holy Gospel." On his
saying this, he repeatedly passed his sword through
the body of his unresisting victim, who sunk down
from the chair to which he had retreated, and instantly
expired.*
The alarm had now risen in the town ; the common
bell was rung ; and the citizens, with their provost,
running in confused crowds to the side of the fosse,
demanded admittance, crying out, that they must in-
stantly speak with my lord cardinal. They were an-
swered from the battlements that it would be better
for them to disperse, as he whom they called for could
not come to them, and would not trouble the world any
longer. This, however, only irritated them the more,
and being urgent that they would speak with him,
Norman Lesley reproved them as unreasonable fools,
who desired an audience of a dead man ; and dragging
the body to the spot, hung it by a sheet over the wall,
naked, ghastly, and bleeding from its recent wounds.
" There," said he, " there is your god ; and now that
ye are satisfied, get you home to your houses," a com-
mand which the people instantly obeyed.-f*
Thus perished Cardinal David Beaton, the most
powerful opponent of the reformed religion in Scotland,
by an act which some authors, even in the present
* Knox's History, p. 71-72. Lesley, p. 191.
f Spottiswood's History, p. 83.
S^6 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. 154().
(lay, liave scrupled to call murder. To these writers
the secret and loiig-continucd correspondence of the
conspirators with England was unknown : a circum-
stance, perhaps, to be regretted, as it would have spared
some idle and angry reasoning. By its disclosure we
have been enabled to trace the secret history of these
iniquitous times, and it may now be pronounced, with-
out fear of contradiction, that the assassination of
Beaton was no sudden event, arising simply out of
indianation for the fate of Wishart; but an act of Ions:
projected murder, encouraged, if not originated, by the
English monarch ; and, so far as the principal conspi-
rators were concerned, committed from private and
mercenary considerations.
NOTES AND ILT^USTRATIONS.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Letter A.
Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland*
Authenticity of the First Part of this Worh.
The frequent references in the text to the first part of this work,
as an original and valuable authority, renders it necessary to explain
the reasons which have led the author to form a different opinion of
its authenticity from that given by its learned editor. In the Prefa-
tory Notice to the volume, there is this sentence, " to those who are
at all acquainted with the minute details of Scottish history in the
sixteenth century, a very slight perusal of the work will suggest, that
in its different parts it is of very unequal value. From the era of the
battle of Flodden, and the death of King James the Fourth, in the
year 1513, at which it commences, doAvn to the termination of the
government of the Earl of Arran in 1553, its details, comparatively
meagre and occasionally inaccurate, are obviously not recorded by a
contemporary chronicler, but must have been derived from tradition
and other imperfect sources. Yet, even in this first and least valu-
able portion of the work, will be found many minute facts and notices
that would be vainly looked for in the ordinary histories of the reign
of King James the Fifth, and the first ten years of the reign of Queen
Mary."f In pronouncing this first portion of the Diurnal of Occur-
rents the work, not of a contemporary chronicler, but of some subse-
* rublished by the Bannatyne Club. + Preface, p. t.
o60 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
queut writer, deriving his materials from tradition, and other imper-
fect sources, the editor appears to me to have fallen into an error,
which could scarcely have been avoided by one who compared the
Diurnal of Occurrents with our earlier historians, Lesley and Buchan-
an, or even with the later volumes of Maitland. It not only is con-
tradicted by them in some important particulars, but it contains
events, and these not minute, but grave and material facts, which
are not to be found in either of these authors. These events, how-
ever, can be proved to have occurred by evidence, of which the authen-
ticity is unimpeachable; and it is the discovery of their perfect truth
which has induced me to consider the greater portion of the first part
of the Chronicle, entitled the " Diurnal of Occurrents in Scotland,"
as the work of a contemporary, who wrote from his own knowledge,
and not a compilation from traditionary sources. I say the gi-eater
portion, because such a character belongs not to the whole of the
first part; and it seems probable that this valuable original matter
has fallen into the hands of some later and ignorant compiler, who,
preserving the purer ore, has in some places mixed it up with erro-
neous additions of his own.
To support these conclusions, let me give some proofs; the years
1543, 1544, occurring in the Regency of Arran, form an obscure era
in our history; and did we possess no other guides than the common
historians, Lesley, Buchanan, or Maitland, we should be left in a
maze of confusion and contradiction. The revolutions in state affairs
are so sudden and so frequent during this period; the changes in the
i)olitics and the conduct of the different factions so rapid and so ap-
parently contradictory; that without some more authentic assistants,
the task of unravelling or explaining them would be hopeless. It is
upon this period that the original correspondence in the State-paper
OfSce throws a flood of clear and useful light, introducing us to the
actors in these changes, not through any second-hand or suspected
sources, but by supplying us with their original letters to Henry the
Eighth, and his ministers. Now, to come from this observation to
the work entitled the Diurnal of Occurrents. When it is found that
it, and it only, contains various facts, demonstrated by these original
letters to be true, and which sometimes are not mentioned, some-
times are positively contradicted by our general historians ; such a
circumstance must create a strong presumption in favour of its value
and authenticity; that a work, which stands this severe test, should
have been, not a contemporary, but a later production, compiled from
tradition, and imperfect sources, seems to me nearly impossible.
To take an example from the period already mentioned. In the
year 1544, in the Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 33, we find this passage : —
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 361
— " Upon the thrid day of Junii, thare was ane general counsall
haldin at Stirling, quhairat was all the nobelles of Scotland, excep-
tand the Erie of Lennox and Glencairn ; quhair the governor was
dischargit of his auctorite ; and maid proclamation through the realm,
that nane obeyit him as governor ; and als thair thei chesit thrie erlis,
thrie lords, thrie bishops, thrie abbotes to be the secreit counsale ;
quhilk lastet not lang, for everie lord ded for his awin particular pro-
fit, and tuk na heid of the commonweill ; but tholet the Inglismen,
and theivis to overrin this realm." In the same chronicle, p. 34, is
this sentence, — " Upon the last day of Julii, thare was ane Parliament
sould have been halden in Edinburgh ; and the governor, with his
complices furneist the town, and held it, becaus he gat word the
queenis grace drowarie was cummit out of Striveling to the Parlia-
ment ; becaus thai yet being in hir company was full of dissait, sho
past to Stirling with meikle ordinance and swa the Parliament was
stayit." Again, in the same chronicle, p. 36, we find this passage, —
" Upon the 5th day, (1544,) the governor held ane parliament in
Edinburgh. — Upon the 12th of November, the queen's grace dro wrier
[dowager] held ane parliament in Striveling, and thereafter the par-
ties suld have met, and stayet in hope of aggreance, and the cardinal
raid betwix them, quha come to Edinburgh and tuke the governor to
Stirling with him, quhair gude aggreance was made to be bund to
hir grace, and twentee four Lordis counsall." It will be at once per-
ceived, that these passages embody the history of an important re-
volution, which, for nearly six months changed the whole face of
affairs in Scotland. In May 1544, Arran was the unchallenged gover-
nor of the kingdom ; in June, the queen-dowager arose against him,
was joined by the whole body of the peers excepting Lennox and
Glencairn, held a general council at Stirling, in which he was dis-
charged from his office, made proclamation through the realm, that
none should obey him, and appointed a new secret council for the
management of the affairs of the state. In July, as is shown by the
second extract, an attempt was made by Arran, who still claimed the
name and authority of governor to hold a parliament in Edinburgh ;
but the queen-dowager advanced with great force to the city ; the
governor fortified it against her ; she retreated to Stirling, and the
parliament was delayed. Three months after this, in the beginning
of November, Arran, the governor, assembled a parliament at Edin-
burgh ; the queen issued writs for a rival parliament, to be held on
the 12th of the same month at Stirling; and the cardinal dreading
the effects of this miserable disunion, acted as a peace-maker between
the two parties, and at length brought them to an agreement.
Now, of these very important events, no notice whatever was to be
3G2 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
found in our general historians ; nay, the tenor of their narratives
seemed to contradict them ; the question, therefore, at once came to
the credibility of the Diurnal of Occurrents. In this dilemma I was
delighted (the reader, who knows the satisfaction of resting, in re-
searches of this nature, upon an authentic document, will pardon the
warmth of the expression) to meet with the following paper in the
State-paper Office, which, it will be seen, completely corroborated the
assertion of the Diurnal as to the deprivation of the governor. It is
dated June 1544, and entitled "Copy. — Agreement of the principal
Scots nobility, to support the authority of the queen-mother as regent
of Scotland against the Earl of Arran, declared by this instrument
to be deprived of his office." This valuable paper in its entire state,
will be given in the forthcoming volume of State Papers relative
to Scotland, published by government. In the meantime, the follow-
ing extract will be sufficient for my purpose. After stating the fact
of a convention having been held at Stirling on the 3d of June ; it pro-
ceeds thus to describe their deliberations and proceedings. " After
long and mature consultacion had, in the said matiers, by the space
of iii. or iv. dales contynuall, fynally [they] fand that oou great part
why inobedience hath ben within this realme, sithins the king's grace's,
and that other inconveniences which have happened, was, and is in my
lord governor, and his counsaile, that was chosen to have ben with
him for the time : and for remedye herof in times commyng, and that
perfit obedience male be to our soverain ladle's aucthorite, [that] unite,
concorde,and amitee male be hadd among all our soverain ladie's lieges,
and speciallie among the great men; and that they maie convent at
all times to give their counsaile in all matiers concernyng the queue's
grace our soverain ladye, and her realme ; and that justice maie be
doon and executed among the lieges therof; and that resistance
maie be made to our ennymies : They all, without variaunce, con-
sulted and deliberated, that the queue's grace, our soverain ladye's
mother, shulde be egall with him therintill ; and that oon gi-eat coun-
saile, adjoyned with my lord governor in the using of th' aucthoritie
of governement in all times comyng, shulde be chosen, of xvi. persones
— xii. of them the greatest erles and temporal lords of the realme,
and iv. spiritual men, as in the deliveraunce mad therupon the vi.th
daie of the saide monith of Junii, is at more length conteyned. The
whiche deliveraunce and counsaile was shewen and declared to my
lorde Governor, before the queue's grace and the whole lords, the
saide vi.th daie of Junii. And the lords who devised the same, praied
my lord governor that he wold consent therto, both for his owne
weale and for the weale of our soverain ladye the quene, and of the
whole realme, for divers causes and respects particularly appointed
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 363
and declared ; and specially, because the quene's grace our soverain
ladle's mother is a noble ladye of highe linage and bludde, of great
wisedome, and haile of lief, having the king of Ffrance, and the
greattest nobles of that realme, and others about hyr, tendre kyns-
men and friends, who will be the more readye to supporte the realme
for defense of the same if hyr grace be well favoured and honored
by the nobles therof, and holden in honor and dignitie; and also,
because the whole nobles have theire special confidence in hyr grace,
and doo think them sure to convene in any place where hyr grace is
present. My lord Governor tuke to be advised while the morue at
even, viz. the vii.th daie of the saide monith, and then to give the
answer. Attour, that same daie incontinent the saide deliveraunce
and consultacion was shewen to the remanent of the lords, both pre-
lates, erles, lords, barons, and other noble men of the realme person-
allie present, who being all singularlie asked of theire opinion,
declared, ilk man for himselfe, that the saide deliveraunce and con-
sultacion was good and for the common weale of this realme : and
therfore affirmed the same. The which vii.th daie being bepast, and
noon answer made nor sent by my lorde Governor on the premises,
and aftre diverse messages sent to him of the lords of Counsaile,
and nothing reaported again but vayne delaies : The lords of Coun-
saile, upon the ix.th daie of the saide moneth, directed furth our sove-
rain ladle's (letres) to require my saide lorde Governor to compare
in the said Graye firers place of Strlvellng, where the said convenclon
is holden, upon the x.th dale of the said moneth, to accept and consent
to the saide ordlnaunce and articles, and to concurre with the
quene's grace in th' administration of the governement with th' ad-
vise and counsaile of the lords; with certification, that if he faileth it,
the lords wolde determyn him to be suspended from th' adminlstra-
clon of his offices, and wolde provide ho we the same shulde be
used in time to coom while further remeadie weare founde therto, as
in the saide letres directed theruponmore fully is conteyned. At the
which x.th daie of Junii the lords convented in the fratre of the said
graie fireers, and there consulted upon the matlers concerning the
commonwealefande,and away ted upon the comingof my lord governor,
and upon his answer, for a x houres before noon while xil howers was
stryken. And he neither compared by himself, nor sent his answer
to accept and consent to the said ordinaunces and statutes there.
Than the lords gave theire decrete, decerning my lord Governor to be
suspended, and suspending him from th'' administration of his offices,
while further remeadye weare funde therfor. And because of the
urgent necesslte of the realme, and Invading of the same by our old
ennymies of England, and for the furthe setting of our soverain
.364 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
ladie's diicthorite, and perfit obedience to be had therto, unitie con-
cord to be had among all them of this realme both great and smale
without th' administration of the governement weare put in soom
persones hands most convenient therfor, the saide lords, without vari-
aunce,have thought noo other persone more convenient therto nor the
queue's grace our soverain ladie's mother, for the good and urgent
causes before expressed. And therfore have chosen hyr grace to use
and minister in the saide office of governement, with th' advise of the
lords of counsaile conforme to the acts and ordinaunces made ther-
upon of before, while further remedye be made herto. And hyr
grace hath accept the same in and upon hyr to be used with th'
advise of the saide lords as said is. And bicause hir grace can not
doo the same without she be starklie mainteyned and defended
therintyll. Therefore we archbishopps, bishopps, erles, lords, barons,
abbotts, and others noble men whose names herafter subscribed, doo
bynd and oblige us, and promitt by the faithes in our bodies, and
have gyven our aithes herupon, that we shall maintein and defende
the queue's grace our soverain ladie's mother in the using and
administracion of th' office of governement and th' aucthorite in
all things. And we shall gyve unto hyr our best counsaile in all
things. And shall resist with our bodies and friends and our hole
substance to all them that will impugue or comen in the contrarie
therof undre the payne of perjurie and infamye. And also ilk oon
of us shall tak afalde part with others, without excus or fenzeing in
this matier and defense therof. Undre the paine aforsaide.
" Gawen of Glasgow.
Patrick Morvinen.
Willm of Dumblane.
Ro. Orchaden : Epis.
T. Commendator of Driburt,
De. de Cuper, V. de Culros.
Archbald Erie of Anguss.
Erie Bothwile.
Willm Erie of Montross.
Willm Lord Sanchar.
Robart Maxwell.
George Erie of Huntlie.
G. Erie of Caslis.
Erie of Merschell.
John Erie of Mentieth.
Hew lord Somerwell.
George Duglass.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. S65
Erie of Murray.
Archd Erie of Argile.
George Erie of Erroll.
John lord Erskin.
Willin lord of Sauct John.
Malcum lorde chalmerlaue.
Hew lord Lovett.
Schir John Campbell of Cawder, Kgt.*
This extract settles the point as to correctness of the Diurnal in
its narrative of the revolution of the 3d of June. Next came the
question regarding the rival parliaments, the meeting of the three
Estates at Edinburgh, by summons of the governor, on the 5th of No-
vember, and the meeting of the parliament at Stirling, by summons
of the queen-regent, on the 12th of the same month: upon this point
the correspondence in the State-paper Office was silent; but fortu-
nately the evidence of the Acts of the Scottish parliament establishes
the accuracy of the facts stated in the Diurnal of Occurrents. In
the second volume of the Acts, p. 445, we find that the governor
Arran held a parliament at Edinburgh on the 6th of November; and
one of the acts then passed by the three Estates is thus entitled, —
" Deliverance annulling ane Proclamation be the Queen's Moder, and
certain Lordis, of ane pretendit parliament, and of certane other pre-
tendit actis." In turning to the act we find the whole narrative of
the Diurnal thus fully corroborated. It states, that " the queen
mother (I use the modern spelling) to our sovereign lady, with a part
of lords and others our sovereign lady's lieges, ill-advised, has caused
proclaim a pretended parliament to be held at the burgh of Stirling,
the 12th day of November, instant, with continuation of days, with-
out any sufficient authority;" after this preamble, the decision of the
three Estates is thus given, — " the whole three Estates of parlia-
ment, with the votes of many others, nobles, barons, and gentlemen,
being present, has declared, and declares the said pretended parlia-
ment to be held at Stirling, as said is, and the pretended summons
raised against my lord Governor, in their manner, to have been and
to be, from the beginning, of none avail, force, nor efiect. And such
like all pretended acts maid at Stirling regarding the suspending of
my lord Governor from the administration of his said office, and dis-
charging him of his auctority in their manner." The evidence con-
tained in this statute so clearly proves the accuracy of the Diurnal
of Occurrents, that upon this point any other remark would be super-
fluous.
* In the State-paper Office ; now published for the first time.
366 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
A second proof of the authenticity of the same work is to be found
in the accuracy of the account there given of the intrigues of the
Douglases and their treasonable correspondence with England, at a
time "when our general historians know nothing of any such matters,
Here the Diurnal of Occurrents maintains its character for truth,
when examined by the severest of all tests, the original correspon-
dence of the principal actors in the events. Of this I shall give a
striking example. In the Diurnal, pp. 39, 40, is an account of that
abortive invasion of the governor, (August 10, 1545,) in which he
broke into England with an army of thirty thousand men, and again
on the third day thereafter, the 13th of August, was compelled to
return home. Now, on this occasion, the Diurnal ascribes the failure
of the expedition, and the retreat and dispersion of the army, to the
deceit and treachery of George Douglas and his party.* The disper-
sion of the Scottish army is thus mentioned, p. 39 : — " Upon the nynt
[ninth] day of August, the governor with his company made their
musters on Fawnrig Mure to the number of 30,000 men by [besides]
the Frenchmen whilk [which] were 3000. And the same day at
even they passed in England, and burnt Cornwall and Tilmouth,
Edderslie, Brankston, with sendrie othere towns thereabouts, and
there did no other thing to their lak and dishonour." " Upon the
tenth day of August, the said Scottis was pairted [divided] in three
battles [battalia], in the vanguard the Earl of Angus, Marshall,
Errol, Glencairn, and Cassillis, Lords Gray, Glammes, and Yester; in
the rereward Erles Huntly, Bothwell, Lords Ruthven, Drummond,
Borthwick, Fleming, Home ; in the middle ward the Governor, with
the body of the realme and Frenchmen, with twa wings, the ane
[one] Lord Seton, the Laird of Bass, and many other gentlemen, the
other the Laird of Buccleugh, with all Liddesdale and Teviotdale;
and on this order they raid [rode] in England, and burnt Tweesdale,
Grendonrig, the great tower, Newbigging, and Dudie, with the towers
thereof; and there was on the Pethrig of Englishmen 6000 [had] the
Scots followed with speed, they had vanquished all the said English-
men. Upon the 13th day of August, the Scottish men come hame,
* The retreat from Coldingham is ascribed to the same cause, " On the
morne [morrow] the Scots without any skaith [harm] fled misorderlie.
The Inglishmen persevand this, twa thousand of thame foUowit the chase
to Cockburne quha durst not bide [stay] a strike. Of this host the Erie
Angus had the wangaird [vanguard], there was with him the Erles of Cas-
sillis, Glencairne, the Lords Somerville, Yester, the sheriff of A}t quha
[who] did but feebly; in the rear was the Earl of Bothwell quha baid
[abided] stiffly quhill [until] he might no more. George Douglas bad the
wyte [blame] hereof, for he said the Englishmen were ten thousand men,
lyin within the said town : the invention [artifice] was saissit on chance by
the Erie of Bothwell.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 367
through the deceit of George Dcuglas, and the vanguard, who would
not pass again through his tyisting."
Such is the history of this remarkable invasion given in the Diur-
nal, and to this narrative the same observation may be applied which
was already made regarding the revolution in 1544, namely, that
such an explanation of the cause of its failure is new to Scottish his-
tory and to be found in the Diurnal alone. We find no mention of
any such thing in Lesley, Maitland, or Buchanan. How, then, are
we to discover the truth upon this subject? Simply by going to the
letters of the actors themselves, which describe these events, and are
fortunately accessible. In the State-paper Office we find an original
despatch from the Earl of Hertford, and the Council of the north to
Henry the Eighth, in which, after detailing the plan of his proposed
invasion, he encloses a letter in cipher which he had received from
George Douglas and the Earls of Angus, Cassillis, and Marshal. It
may be well to give Hertford's description of the mode in which this
letter was conveyed to him, as it contains a curious illustration of
the extreme caution with which this secret correspondence between
Henry the Eighth and the Douglases was carried on. " After this
device of the said proclamation, one Thomas Forster, who was of late,
by your majestie's commandment, at the desire of the Earls of Angus
and Cassillis, George Douglas and others, sent to them into Scotland,
came hither to me the said earl, and showed me a letter sent to him
from one Sym Penango, servant to George Douglas, of such effect as
four majesty may perceive by the same letter here inclosed; upon the
sight whereof I willed the said Thomas Forster to go and speke with
the said Penango according to his desire, with whom he hath been at
the place appoynted between them, where he received of the said Pe-
nango a letter in cipher, sent him from George Douglas, which we have
deciphered, and send both the cipher and the decipher to your majesty
herewith." * The letter here described not only establishes the fact of
the general treasonable correspondence between Henry and the Earls
of Angus, Cassillis, Marshal, George Douglas, and others, which is
mentioned in the " Diurnal," but contains this remarkable passage
relative to the expedition of Arran into England, on the 9th of August,
and his return home on the 1 3th of the same month, which, in the
same work, is ascribed to the deceit of George Douglas and the van-
guard. " Further, as to this last journey of ours, it was advised by
the queen, cardinal, and this French Capitaine Lorges Montgomery.
Huntly fortified this army at his power. Notwithstanding, at short,
all that they devised was stopped by us that are the king's friends.
* Grig, State-paper Office ; not before published.
368 HISTORY OF Scotland.
Tlieir whole intent was to have besieged the king's houses, unto the
time tliey had gotten bargain, but all uas itopt, whereof they stood
nothing content"* Now, looking to the passage above in the Diurnal,
we find it there asserted that the expedition was ruined " thro the
deceit of George Douglas and the vanguard." We know, from the
same work, that in the vanguard were the Earls of Angus, Cassillis,
and Marshal, with others. The journey or invasion took place on
the 10th of August, the retreat on the 13th, and here on the 25th of
the same month, we have a letter from George Douglas, and the Earls
of Angus, Cassillis, and Marshal, in which they declare to the Earl
of Hertford, that the whole expedition was stopped by them, and
claim credit for it with the English king. This coincidence offers a
fine example of the corroboration of an ancient chronicle by the ori-
ginal correspondence of the times ; and the learned editor of the
Diurnal will readily allow, that a work thus corroborated could not
have been compiled from traditional and imperfect sources, but must
have been the production, not only of a contemporary writer, but of
one minutely and accurately informed in the history of the times. It
is for this reason I have quoted it as an original authority, and
have preferred any information it communicates to the vague, loose,"
and imaginary details of the general historians of this period. Other
instances might be given of the accuracy of the first part of the Diurnal
when checked by the correspondence of the times, but my limits will
not permit me. That there are occasional errors in the narrative is
not to be disputed; but they may be chiefly traced, I think, to the
ignorance or carelessness of the transcribers of the manuscript.
Letter B, page 221.
Conspiracy of Lady Glammis.
That a noble matron, in the prime of life, and of great beauty,
should be tried, condemned, and burnt, for an attempt to compass the
king's death by poison, and should also have the crime of witchcraft
imputed to her by most of our historians, is an appalling event. lu
the absence of direct proof, Mr Pitcairn, in his notes upon the trial
of Lady Glammis, has adopted the story told by Buchanan, book xiv.
c. 54, and repeated by all following writers, with the exception of
Pinkerton ; he pronounces her innocent of the crimes laid to her
charge, and a victim of James's implacable hatred to the house of
Douglas. The examination of the curious evidence which he has
* Original, State-paper Office ; not before published.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. S69
published has led me to form a different opinion. As to her being
justly found guilty of treason, in assisting the Earl of Angus and
George Douglas, in their attempts to " invade " the king's person,
and re-establish their authority in Scotland, there seems to be no
question. It was natural she should support her brothers ; and had
her offences been confined to this, although the act was undoubtedly
treason, it is probable the sentence of death would have been ex-
changed for banishment or imprisonment. But a little investigation
will convince us, I think, that the king was not so unjust and
implacable as has been imagined, nor the lady the injured and inno-
cent woman she has been represented. Let us look a little into her
life.
She married, probably about the year 1521, John, sixth Lord
Glammis. He died on the 8th of August, 1528, in his thirty-seventh
year; and, about four months after his death, (Dec. 1, 1528,) Lady
Glammis was summoned, with Patrick Hume of Blacater, Hugh Ken-
nedy of Girvanmains, and Patrick Charteris, to answer before parlia-
ment for having given assistance to the Earl of Angus in convocating
the king's lieges for the invasion of his majesty's person.* These
men were all bold and active partisans of the Douglases. On Sep-
tember 20, 1529, we find that Lady Glammis and Patrick Charteris
of Cuthelgurdy, a person who, in the interval, had been indicted to
stand his trial for fire-raising and cow-lifting ;i^ obtained a letter of
license to pass to parts beyond sea, on their pilgrimage, and other
lawful business.^ Whether Patrick and the lady had gone upon
their pilgrimage, does not appear, but she did not interrupt her poli-
tical intrigues, and seems to have been again not only summoned, but
found guilty of treason; for, on July 1, 1531, we find that Gavin
Hamilton got a gift from the crown of the escheat of all the goods
heritable and moveable, of Janet lady Glammis, which had been for-
feited on account of her intercommuning with our sovereign lord's
rebels, or for any other crimes.§
At this time she appears to have fled from justice, and we lose
sight of her for some time ; but, on 31st January, 1532, a far darker
crime than caballing with rebels, or associating with fire-raisers, was
laid to her charge. She was summoned to stand her trial at the
Justice Ayre of Forfar, for the poisoning her husband Lord Glammis.
The crimes of poisoning and witchcraft were then very commonly asso-
ciated, as may be seen from many interesting trials in Mr Pitcairn's
Collections. The great dealers in poisons were witches, and the po-
* Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 188. + Ibid. vol. i. p. 141.
Z Ibid. vol. i. p. 244. § Ibid. vol. i. p. 24G.
VOL. V. 2 A
370 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
tency of their drugs was thought to be increased by the chairas and
incantations with which they were concocted : hence probably the
malafavia against Lady Glammis, as a witch or sorceress. But how-
ever this may be, it is certain that, on February 2, and February 26,
1532, Lord Ruthven, Lord Oliphant, with the Lairds of Ardoch,
Moucrieff, Tullibardine, and a great many other barons, to the num-
ber of twenty-eight, were fined for not appearing to pass upon the
Lady Glammis' jury :* and the imperfect and mutilated state of the
criminal records of this period, unfortunately, leaves us in the dark
as to the future proceedings upon this trial. The probability seems
to be, that she was either acquitted, or the charge dropt from want
of evidence. If innocent, she was certainly most unfortunate ; for,
on the 17th of July, 1537, she was, for the fourth time, brought to
trial, found guilty of having been art and part in the conspiring the
death of the king by poison, and also for her having treasonably as-
sisted Archibald earl of Angus and George Douglas his brother,
who were traitors and rebels. For this crime she was condemned
to be burned at the stake, the common mode of death, as Mr Pit-
cairn informs us, for all females of rank in cases of treason and mur-
der, and from which he plausibly conjectures, that the vulgar opinion
of her having been burnt for a witch may have partly arisen. Her
son Lord Glammis, then only sixteen years old, her husband Archi-
bald Campbell, a priest, and a barber named John Lyon, were tried
along with her. The witnesses, as was usual in this cruel age, being
examined under the rack, or pynebauJcis, Lord Glammis, on his own
confession, was found guilty of concealing the conspiracy, and im-
prisoned till the death of James the Fifth, when he was restored to
his estates and honours, upon the ground, that, in the fear of his life,
and having the rack before his eyes, he had made a false confession.^
The long extracts given by Mr Pitcairn, from the histories of Scott,
(not Sir Walter Scott,) Lesley, Hume of Godscroft,and the Genealogy of
the house of Drummond, seem to me scarcely worthy of the place he
has assigned them,J and cannot be quoted as authentic evidence.
Scott's story is a mere repetition of Buchanan's, with some ludicrous
additions of his own — as, where he tells us, Archibald Campbell, the
husband of Lady Glammis, commanded the third regiment in the
king's army. Lesley falls into blunders which Mr Pitcairn has de-
tected ; Sir James Balfour repeats them ; and as for David Hume of
Godscroft, none acquainted with his history Avill trust him, when he
stands unsupported by other evidence. The only authentic, and, as
* Pitcairn's Trials, vol. i. p. 158. t Ibid. vol. '. p. 327.
J Ibid. vol. i. p. 244.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 371
I believe, contemporary account of the trials of the Master of Forbes
and Lady Glammis, is to be found in the following passage from
the Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 22. " In this menetyme, the Master
of Forbes was accusit of tressone by the Laird of Lenturk, and
was put in ward in the castell of Edinburgh. In the said moneth
of Julii, the Lady Glammis, sister to Archibald earl of Angus,
was accusit for tressonne ; her husband, Archibald Campbell of
Skepnische ; her son, the Lord Glammis, of sixteen yeares of age ;
ane harbour John Lyon, and ane priest, all accusit in the tol-
booth of Edinburgh. The said lady was condamnit to be brynt
quhell deid: scho deet; and her husband, sone, and the rest, ordanyt
to remain in prisone in the castell of Edinburgh forsaid.* — Upon the
1 3th day of July, the Master of Forbes was convicted for tressonne,
and drawin, hangit, and heidit."
That there is any ground on which we may conclude, that unprin-
cipled witnesses were brought forward to give false testimony, upon
which the jury were compelled to convict her, I cannot admit ; still
less do I perceive the proceedings to have been characterized by any
savage traces of unmanly revenge upon the part of the king. On the
other hand, it appears clear, that at tliis time the Douglases, whose
last hope of restoration had been destroyed, began to embrace despe-
rate designs. " The letters of Penman, their secret agent," says
Pinkerton (vol. ii. p. 350,) " to Sir George Douglas, his employer,
betray a malice, and designs the most horrid." " The king is crazed,
and ill spoken of by his people." " He has beggared all Scotland."
" All are weary of him."' — " James shall do the commandment of the
Douglases, God willing " — " All hate him and say he must go down "
— " His glass will soon run out." These diabolical expressions against
a prince in the vigour of early life, what can they insinuate but poison
or the dagger ? Could they be addressed to a person who did not seal
them with approbation ? And could a more fit or secret agent than
a sister be employed to promote the interests of her family at any
risk?" If the reader will turn to Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, p. 190,
and read the names of the jurymen who gave the verdict against her,
he will scarcely admit the idea of her being innocent; and it is worthy
of notice, that instead of having the least appearance of its being a
packed jury, some of the leading men amongst them were friends and
* We may infer, I think, from the omission of any notice of the horrid fate
of the husband of Lady Glammis, who, some time after his imprisonment,
was dashed to pieces on the rocks in attempting to escape from the castle of
Edinburgh, that the Diurnal was written at the very time of his trial. It is
hardly possible, if it had been a subsequent compilation, that this circum-
stance, which appears in all our historians, would have been omitted. That
the author was a Roman Catholic appears from a passage in p. 19.
372 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
near connexions of the Douglases. Jolin earl of Athole, one of the
jury, married Janet, a sister of that Master of Forbes who suffered
for treason at the same time as Lady Glammis, and who was a sup-
porter of the Douglases. — (Douglas' Peerage, p. 141, vol. i.) Robert
lord Maxwell, another of the jury, it is well known, was intimately
connected with the Douglases. He married a daughter of Douglas
of Drumlanrig, (Douglas, vol. ii. p. 317,) and his daughter, Margaret
Maxwell, was afterwards married to Archibald earl of Angus, brother
to Lady Glammis. William master of Glencairn, a third juryman,
was also nearly related to the Douglases, and constantly of their party.
His mother was j\Iarjory, a daughter of Archibald, fifth Earl of Angus,
a sister of Gawin Douglas, the celebrated translator of Virgil, and a
grand-aunt of the Earl of Angus, and of Lady Glammis. Gilbert
earl of Cassillis, another of the jurymen, and the pupil of Buchanan,
was also a firm partisan of the Douglases. Are we to believe that
tliese men violated their oaths, and found guilty, upon false evidence,
an innocent and noble lady, in whose favour they must have felt a
strong bias ?
Piukerton, whilst he defends James on good grounds, too rashly
pronounces the cases of the Master of Forbes and of Lady Glammis
to have had no connexion with each other. There is, I think, a strong
presumption to the contrary. The similarity in the charges against
them, the circumstance that both were apprehended, tried, and exe-
cuted within two days of each other — the Master of Forbes on Saturday
the 14th of July, and Lady Glammis on Tuesday the 17th ; and the
fact that the object of both appears to have been to procure the re-
storation of the Douglases by compassing the death of the king, are
striking circumstances, and look as if both plots had been coined in
the same mint. The revealer of the conspiracy of Forbes was, as we
learn from the extract from the Diurnal of Occurrents, the Laird of
Lenturk ; and this gentleman, we find from Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 200,
was Thomas Strachan. His son John Strachan, was accused as being
a participator in the Master of Forbes's treason, and it is worthy of
notice, that David Strachan, probably of the same family, was one of
those apprehended at the same time that Lord Glammis the son, and
Home of Wedderburn the brother-in-law of Lady Glammis, were
imprisoned.* David Strachan, whose piteous petition for liberation
has been given by Pitcairn, p. 206, vol. i., is nowhere mentioned as
having been concerned in the treason of the Lord Forbes. The pre-
sumption seems to be, that he was imprisoned for his participation in
Lady Glammis's plot, and this seems in some degree to connect the
* Sir Thomas Clififord's Letter, quoted by Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 198.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 373
two conspiracies. But all this is conjectural.* It was not till the
22 J of August, about five weeks after Lady Glammis had suffered, that
John Lyon, her accomplice, was tried and found guilty of imagining
and conspiring the king's death by poison ; and of using the same
poison for the destruction of the Earl of Rothes ; whilst on the same
day, Alexander Makke, who had sold the poison, knowing from Lyon
for what purpose it was bought, was also tried and convicted. Lyon
was beheaded : and Makke, had his ears cut off and was banished by
a singular sentence from all parts of Scots land, except the county of
Aberdeen. f Mr Pitcairn has drawn an inference for the innocence
of Lady Glammis, from the fact that a number of Lords and inferior
barons suffered themselves to be fined rather than act as jurymen
against her. This, however, one of his most noted cases shows to be
no proof. The ^Master of Forbes confessed on the scaffold that he was
guilty of the murder of Seton of Meldrum; yet when tried on the 27th
of August, 1530, Gordon of Achindown, Lyon of Colmelegy, and fifteen
other barons and landed gentlemen, were fined for not appearing to
pass on his assize. A refusal of this kind was in fact a proof of the
power, not of the innocence, of the party accused. In concluding this
note, I may mention that Lord Glammis had made himself obnoxious
to the Douglases, and may t-herefore have incurred the resentment
of his high-spirited and determined consort, by refusing to join them
with his vassals on the noted occasion, when they proceeded against
the Border thieves, taking the young king along with them — (Pitcairn,
vol. i. p. 136.) It was on this occasion that Scott of Buccleugh un-
successfully attempted to rescue his sovereign from the captivity in
which he was held.
Letter C, p. 65.
Battle of Flodclen.
It is difficult, from the conflicting accounts of historians, to arrive
at the numbers of each army in the battle of Flodden ; and even more
difficult to estimate the loss on both sides. That nearly a hundred
thousand souls mustered on the Borough-muir is extremely probable ;
but it is to be recollected, that of these a great many were wagon-
ers, sutlers, servants, and camp-followers ; that the presence of the
* Pitcairn, vol. i. p. 2n2*--:03*,
+ John Strachan and Donald Mackay, were accomplices with the Master
of Forbes, in the murder of Seton of Meldrum. Pitcairn's Criminal Trials,
vol. i. p. 1.50-175. Alexander Makke (Makay) and David Strachan were
accomplices with Lady Glammis in her attempt to poison the king.
S74! HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
king and the whole body of the nobles inferred the attendance of more
than the usual number of servants ; and that, owing to the delay in
active operations, and the scarcity of provisions, the army was dimi-
nished by desertion previous to the battle. When this is considered,
the estimate of thirty-five or forty thousand men — the latter number
is that of Dr Lingard — is probably pretty near the truth. On the side
of the English, it is certain from the English contemporary account
of the battle, that Surrey's army was, at the lowest computation,
twenty-six thousand strong ; and it is by no means improbable that
this was rather a low estimate.* The battle began between four and
five in the afternoon of the 5th of September, and continued, accord-
ing to an+ authentic contemporary chronicle, " within night," that is
some time after nightfall ; all accounts agreeing that the combatants
were only separated by darkness. It is a mistake in Lingard, there-
fore, to tell us it was decided in something more than an hour. From
half-past four on the 5th of September, till after nightfall, will give a
continuance to the combat of at least three hours. As to the loss
sustained, the common estimate of ten thousand Scots is probably
under the truth. After giving the names of the nobles and chiefs who
were slain, the ancient chronicle already quoted observes, that over
and above the said persons, eleven or twelve thousand of the Scots
who were slain were viewed by my Lord Dacre,+ and on the inscrip-
tion on Surrey's monument at Thetford, the number is seventeen
thousand. § But whilst this last, which may be considered an eulogis-
tic estimate, is yet perhaps not very far from the truth, it is evident
that there is an endeavour on the part of the English historians to
conceal their own loss, when they state it at fifteen hundred men.
Holinshed, who gives this, admits that the " victory was dearly bought
on the side of the English," and when it is considered that it was a
fair stand up fight, which lasted with the utmost obstinacy for three
hours — that no pursuit took place till next day — and that no quarter
was given on either side, the assertion that only fifteen hundred Eng-
lish were slain, cannot be believed. In noticing the very few Scottish
prisoners taken, the ancient English account of the battle observes.
" many other Scottish prisoners could and might have been taken, but
■* The rare contemporary tract reprinted by my friend Mr Pitcairn, and
entitled, " Batayie of Floddon-felde, called Brainston Moore," thuf com-
mences : — " The maner of th' advauncyng of my lord of Surrey, treoourier
and marshall of Englande, and levetenente generall of the north, parties of
the same, with xxvi M. towards the kynge of Scotts and his armye, veweJ
and nombred to an hundreds tbousande men at the leest.''
t Ibid. p. 12.
X Batayie of Brainston Moore, p. 1 1 .
§ Ridpath's Border History, p. 491.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. S75
they were so vengeable and cruel in their fighting, that when English-
men had the better of them, they would not save them, though it were
that diverse Scottes offered great sumes of money for their lives."*
Lord Thomas Howard, indeed, in his message to the king, had de-
clared, that as he expected no quarter himself, he would give none :
and this fierce resolution of the English admiral was probably ren-
dered more intense in its operation by the silence of the Scottish king,
who replied Avith courtesy to the cartel of Surrey, but did not conde-
scend to send Howard an answer. With the exception of the high-
landers and islesmen, the Scots preserved good discipline. Their
army, when first seen by Howard, was drawn up in five divisions :
some in the form of squares, others in that of wedges, and they de-
scended the hill on foot in good order,after the manner of the Germans,
in perfect silence.'h Every man for the most part, was armed with a
keen and sharp spear, five yards in length, and a target which he held
before him. When their spears failed, they fought with great sharp
swords, making little or no noise. The old account of the battle ex-
pressly states that few were slain by arrows, as the rain had damaged
the Euglish bows, but that most fell by the bills of the Englishmen :
and yet the armorial device given as an augmentation to his arms to
Surrey in commemoration of his victory — a demi-lion gules, transfixed
with an arrow — seems to contradict this ; whilst the impatience of the
highlanders, under Huntley and Lennox, has always been ascribed t^
the deadly discharge of the English bowmen. The English artillery
were well served, and did considerable execution ; whilst the Scot-
tish guns, injudiciously placed, and ill-directed, fired over the heads
of the enemy ; a blunder probably to be ascribed to the obstinacy of
the king, who would not suffer them to play upon the English columns
when they were passing the river. James thus lost the great advan-
tage which might have been derived from the acknowledged excel-
lence in the make and calibre of the Scottish ordnance.
As the battle of Flodden is of much importance in tracing the mili-
tary history of the country, I may notice an inaccuracy of Hume,
which to the general student might seem of little importance, but to
the military reader it will not appear so. This historian informs us^I
that Surrey, finding that the river Till prevented his attack, made a
* Batayle of Brainston Moore, p. 12.
+ Original Gazette of the Battle of Flodden, MS. in herald's ofBce, printed
by Pinkerton. — Appendix to 2d vol. No. X. — La battaile dud : Roy D'Es-
cosse estoit divisee en cinq: battailles, Et chacun battaille loing I'un de
Tautre environ un trait d'arc * * partie d'Eulx Estorent en quadrans, et
autres en maniere de pointe.
:^ Hume's History, p. 292.
376 UISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
feint by marching to Berwick, as if he meant to enter Scotland ; up-
on which James descended from his encampment, having fired his
huts. " On this Surrey," says he, " took advantage of the smoke,
and passed the river with his army, rendering a battle inevitable, for
which both sides prepared with tranquillity and order." This, any
one who will study the battle as it is given in this history, from con-
temporary records, will discover to be a misapprehension of the fact.
HISTORICAL REMARKS
ON THE
ASSASSINATION OF CARDINAL BEATON.
The assassination of Cardinal Beaton is an event which has been
viewed under very different aspects by different parties. The exul-
tation and unseasonable pleasantry with which Knox relates the
murder are partly to be ascribed to the savage times in which he
was bred, and to the natural temper of this singular man, which was
strongly tinctured with a love of the humorous. That he considered
the deed as not only justifiable but almost praiseworthy, is evident
from the whole tone of his narrative. This mode of writing naturally
roused to the highest pitch the indignation of the Roman Catholic
party ; it was received with equal reprobation by the more moderate
Protestants ; whilst the covenanters, driven by the harsh persecution
of the government to acts similar in their manner of perpetration,
although dictated by higher and less selfish motives, eagerly defend-
ed a proceeding, which seemed to justify their own. The consequence
of this has been, that much vituperation and inconclusive argument
were elicited, nor have these angry indications completely subsided
in the present day. Such feelings are particularly unpropitious to
the investigation of historical truth; and setting them aside entirely,
I proceed more fully than was permitted me in the text, to investi-
gate this subject and to present my readers with some extracts from
those original papers and letters which throw new light upon it, and
have hitherto remained unknown.
Dr Mackenzie, in his Lives of Scottish Writers (vol.iii. p. 23\ early
observed that the assassination of Beaton had been planned in Eng-
land, and to corroborate his opinion published from a document, which
he affirmed he had seen in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates,
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 377
an extract from the letter of the Earl of Hertford, dated 17th April,
1544, and quoted in my text. When Keith published his history (in
1734) this letter could not be found, and, although he gives it from
Mackenzie's work, he declines pronouncing any opinion, aware of that
author's great inaccuracy. When Robertson, in 1759, published his
History of Scotland, he considered the subject so obscure that he
satisfied himself with expressing a suspicion that there existed a cor-
respondence between the murderers of Cardinal Beaton and Henry
the Eighth ; and many years after, when Dr Cook gave to the world
his History of the Reformation, he got rid of the difficulties attending
the question in too summary a manner, by doubting whether such a
letter was ever written, or such a person as Wishart, mentioned as
the agent of the conspiracy, ever came to the Earl of Hertford, or was
sent by him to Henry the Eighth. " The letter," says he, " is entitled
to no credit. It was not found by one of our most accurate inquirers
into points of history, where the writer who quotes it asserts it may
be seen ; and what is completely decisive, it was said to have been
written two years before the cardinal's death, and could, therefore,
have no relation to a conspiracy, which it is apparent was not in ex-
istence, till within a very short time of its being carried into execu-
tion." In a short historical disquisition appended to an early work,
(Life of Sir Thomas Craig, published in 1823,) I pointed out the errors
contained in this passage and established the authenticity of the let-
ter quoted by Mackenzie, by referring to a direct answer to it which
occurred in the collection of original letters and papers published by
Haynes, vol. i. p. 34. The fact of the existence of a conspiracy for
the assassination of Beaton which was fostered in England, and car-
ried on by Brunston and Wishart was thus fixed beyond question.
To crown the whole, it turned out, that after an interval of many years
Dr Robertson had discovered in the MS. collection of the Duke of
Hamilton, and had published in the latest edition of his history, the
original of the letter quoted by Mackenzie. Thus far had the truth
been ascertained, when I was last year permitted by Lord Melbourne
to have a full examination of the Scottish correspondence in the
State-paper Office, an event which, at the risk of exciting a smile in
some of my readers, I must consider as one of the most pleasurable
in my literary life. This examination is at present only in progress,
but the documents I have there found have already enabled me to
trace my way through some of the most obscure portions of our na-
tional history ; and one of these relates to the English conspiracies
for the assassination of Cardinal Beaton. I proceed now to point out
the singular letters which illustrate the progress of the conspiracy.
It may first, however, be proper to remark that Henry's antipathy
378 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
to Beaton was early excited, and soon assumed a violent form. On
hearing that the cardinal had procured his removal from Lord Seton'a
house, where he was kept in custody, to St Andrew's, the king (not
aware that the crafty prelate had by this step completely recovered
his liberty) proposed to Sir George Douglas, through Sadler his am-
bassador, that he should be brought to England and there kept in
sure custody. This was on the 30th March, 1543. (Sadler's State
Papers, vol. i. pp. 104, 106.) A similar proposal for the apprehension
of the cardinal was made on the 21st June, 1543, (Sadler, vol. i. p.
221,) which was reiterated in strong terms to Arran the governor by
the English monarch on the 4th of August, (Sadler vol. i. p. 249 ;) and
it appears that Beaton had received warning of these hostile inten-
tions, for, on the 28th of August, 1543, he refused to leave his castle
of St Andrew's for the purpose of meeting with Arran the governor,
alleging that he was afraid of his life. (Sadler, vol. i. p. 278.) On
the 5th of October, the lords of Henry's party expressed an earnest
wish that the cardinal were in the king's majesty's hands so that he
might never more trouble the realm of Scotland. (Sadler, vol. i.p.312.)
This rooted enmity to the cardinal, in the mind of Henry, was well
known to Crichton, the Laird of Brunston, a man in whose character
we recognise the ferocity and familiarity with blood which marks
the feudal times in which he lived, the cunning and duplicity which
is the growth of a more civilized era, and this united to a fanatical
spirit which perhaps deceived him into the belief that he was a sincere
friend of truth. Busy, unscrupulous, and active, this pliant intriguer
insinuated himself into the confidence of all parties, and seems to have
been willing at various times to desert all, till the money of England
fixed him by the powerful chain of self-interest in the service of Henry
the Eighth. We first meet with him as a familiar and confidential
servant of Cardinal Beaton, intrusted with secret letters from that
dignitary to Rome (10th December, 1539. Sadler, vol. i. p. 25,) which
were intercepted by Henry the Eighth. He next attached himself to
Arran the governor, who thought him worthy to be trusted in diplo-
matic missions to France and England, (Sadler, vol. i. pp. 186, 280 ;)
and it would seem that on the 28th of August, 1543, Sadler had not
much intimacy with him, as he denominates him " a gentleman called
the Laird of Brunston." In a few months, however, Brunston had
deserted Arran, and so completely gained the confidence both of
Sadler and his royal master, that we find him furnishing secret intel-
ligence to the ambassador, and honoured by a letter from the king.
(Sadler, vol. i. pp. 332, 338, 339, 342.) On the 16th of November,
1543, Brunston thus writes in a letter to Sadler * * "I pray your
lordship that I may bs excused to the king's majesty, and to thank
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. S79
his highness on my behalf of his gentle letter, which it hath pleased
his highness to send to me, the contents whereof I shall not fail to
fulfill, so far as God will give me grace." Sadler, vol. i. p. 342.
Nearly five months after this, on the 17th of April, 1544, the Laird
of Brunston engaged in that secret correspondence with Henry the
Eighth, in which, on certain conditions, he offered to procure the
assassination of Beaton.* As the purport of both letters has been
* His grace the Duke of Hamilton, many years ago, politely permitted
me to copy the original of the letter from the Earl of Hertford, which is in
his possession. — " Please it your highness to understand, that this daye
arryved here with me the Erll of Hertford, a Scotishman called Wyshert,
and brought me a letter from the Larde of Brunstone, which I sende your
highness herewith ; and, according to his request, have taken order for the
repayre of the said Wysshertto your majestie by poste, bothe for the delyvire
of suche letters as he hathe to your majestie from the said Brunstone, and
also for the declaracion of his credence, which, as I can perceyve by him,
consisteth in two poyntes ; one is that the Larde of Graunge, late thresaurer
of Scotlande, the mr of Rothes, th' Erl of Rothis eldest son, and John Char-
ters, wolde attempt eyther t' apprehend or slee the cardynall at some tyme
when he shall passe thoroughe the Fyf laude, as he doth sundrye times to
Sanct Andrewes ; and in case they can soapprehende hym, Avill delyver him
unto your majestie, which attemptat, he saythe, they wolde enterpryse if
tliey knew your majestie's pleasure therein, and what supportacion and
mayntenance your majestie wolde minister unto them efter th' execution of
the same, in case they suld be persewed afterwards be any of their enemyes ;
the other is, that in cace your maj, wolde grant unto them a convenient
enterteynement for to kepe 15 or 16 men in wages for a moneth or two, they,
joyning with the power of th' Erl Marshall, the said Erl of Rothes, the
Larde of Calder, and others of the Lords Greys' friends, will tak upon them
at such tyme as your maj. armey sail be in Scotlande, to destroy the abbev
and town of Arbroyth, being the cardynal's and all th' other bishops and
abbots houses and countreys on that syde the water thei-^aboute, and appre-
hend all those whiche they save be the principall impugnators of the amyte
between England and Scotland, for the whiche they suld have a good oppor-
tunytie, as they saye, when the power of the said bishops and abbote shall
resort toward Edinburgh to resist your maj estye's armye. And for th' exe-
cution of these thinges,the said Wyshert saith that the sayde Erll Marshall
and others above named, will capitulate with your majestie in wrytino- under
their handes and scales afore they shall desyre any suplye of money at your
majes. handes. This is the effect of his credence with other sundrie adver-
tisements of the great contencion and division that is at this present within
the realme of Scotlande, which we doubt not he Avill declare unto vour ma-
jestie at good length.
" Also, I ,the said Erll of Hertford, have receyved this daye, certain letters
from the Lorde Wharton, and Sir Robert Bowes, with the copies of suche
letters as were wryten by the Erll of Gleucairne's sone, and Bishop the Erl
of Lennox's secretary, to be sent into Scotland to the same erlles, which
copies the said Lord Wharton and Bowes atteyned to such meynes as sail ap-
pear unto your majestie by the said letters, whiche, with the said copies,
we send also to your highnes here inclosed ; together with certain other
letters, whiche arryved here also this day from the Lord , conteyning
certain exploytes done in Scotlande.
" Fynally— the Lorde Wm. Howard being at Tynemont, sent a letter to
oSO HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
fully stated in the text, I shall not recapitulate it, but merely observe
that, in the plot devised by Brunston, and proposed to be executed
by Kirkaldy of Grange and the Master of Rothes, the conspirators
do not appear to have acted from religious, or I should rather say
fanatical, motives. No allusion to such is to be found in the corre-
spondence. Their vievrs seem to have been purely selfish and mer-
cenary. The " feat," however, against the cardinal, for some cause
not easily discoverable, was not at this time carried into execution,
and the conspiracy slept for nearly a year, when it was again revived
by the Earl of Cassillis, the pupil of Buchanan, the convert of Cran-
mer,* and a nobleman who, in their ignorance of his true character,
has been highly lauded by some of our historians. This baron, who
proved himself one of Henry's most active instruments, was employed
by this monarch in April, 1545, in a negotiation regarding the mar-
riage and the peace, of which an account has been given in the text.
Previous to this diplomatic mission, he repaired to the English court
from Scotland, and having received his instructions from Henry in
person, returned to manage the business in the Scottish parliament.
In the State-paper Office there is an original letter, dated April 2,
1545, entirely in cipher, with a contemporary deciphered copy, from
the Earl of Cassillis to the king, in which he states that he had a
conference with the governor and the cardinal on the subject of his
mission, but they would come to no conclusion till the arrival of the
queen and the Earls of Argyle and Huntley ; and adds that a con-
vention had been summoned for the 15th to determine on his ofiers.
On the 20th of April, Cassillis again addressed a letter in cipher to
the king, in which he informed him of the total failure of his negoti-
ation, the triumph of the party of the cardinal and the governor, and
the rejection of peace with England. On the 18th of May, 1545, Sir
R. Sadler, and the Council of the North, wrote to the king, transmit-
ting a letter in cipher, which the Earl of Cassillis had addressed to
Sadler. That the reader may understand the purport of Sadler's letter,
I give an extract from it. — " Please your royal Majesty to receive
herewith, such letters as we have received from the Lord Wharton,
me, the said Erll of Hertford, whereby it appeareth that certain of the shippis
victuallers are arrivid, and some of theym report that yesterday morning
they sawe my Lord Admyrall, west of the Heete on see horde Hull, makyng
hitherwarde, so that the wind contynuing as it is, they will be at Teynemouth
this night or to-morrawe with the grace of God, who preserve your royall
majestie in your most pr}'nceley estat, most felycitously to endure unto your
highnes. — Newcastel, the xvii of April.
" Your Majestie's humble subjects, and most hounden servants,
" E. Hertford, Cuth. Durcsme.
" Robert Landaffe, Kaf JSadleyr.'"
* Douglas' Peerage, vol. i. pp. 3oO, 331.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. S81
■with others in cipher addressed unto us with the same from the Ear]
of Cassillis ; whereof one of them is a letter to the same Erie from
the Erie Marshall, as your Majesty shall perceyve, which we have
deciphered, and sende herewith unto your Majesty, both the cipher,
and the same deciphered accordingly. And when it may appear unto
your highuessby the said Earle of Cassillis' lettres, amongst other things,
that he intendeth to procure one to be sent to me, Sir Rafe Sadleyr,
as sone as is possible, for him to speke with th' Erie of Anguisse and
George Douglas, for such purposes as your highness has appoynted
with the saide Earl of Cassillis. I, the said Sir Rafe Sadleyr, shall
not faile, as soon as I shall heare of the comyng of such a one as they
will sende, to repayre to Alnewyke, there to commune with him ac-
cording to such instructions as I lately received from the lords of his
majesty's council in that behalf, and touching such matter as the said
Erie of Cassillis now hath written of to your Highness, wherein he
seemeth desirous to know your Majesty's pleasure by me, I shall be
ready to say and do as it shall please your Highness to command me
in that part or anie other, according to my most bounden dutie." The
rest of this letter is unimportant. From the above extract it is, how-
ever, evident that the king had communicated certain purposes to
Cassillis ; that Cassillis, having first consulted with the Earl of Angus
and Sir George Douglas, was to send a secret messenger to Alnw^ick,
to commune with Sir Ralph Sadler touching such purposes ; that Sir
Ralph had already received from the Privy-council instructions regard-
ing this intended communication ; that Cassillis had moreover written
to the king upon another private matter, in which he wished to know
the royal pleasure through Sir Ralph, and that this statesman only
waited to hear his majesty's opinion, that he might communicate it
to the Scottish earl. The importance of this minute analysis will
immediately appear.
It is unfortunate that the letter in cipher from the Earl of Cassillis to
the king, mentioned in t'he above despatch, is not to be found in the
State-paper Office ; but on the 21st of May, 1545, there is a letter
from the Council of the North to the king, informing his majesty that
the Scottish barons, Angus, Cassillis, Glencairn, Marshal, and Sir
George Douglas, had declined, as they at first intended, sending an
agent to Alnwick, to confer with Sir Ralph Sadler ; and thought it
better that a confidential messenger should be sent iuto Scotland to
deliberate with them. This letter from the Council of the North to
the king, is autograph of Sir Ralph Sadler. It contains this passage —
" And whereas I, the said Sir Rafe, was advertised from the lords of
your jnajestie's council, that your highness' pleasure was I should
repayre to Alnwi :k, to meet there with a gentleman that should be
382 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
ecut from the Erles of Anguisse, Cassillis, Glencairn, Marsliall, and
George Douglas and others, for such purposes as I was also tlien
advertised from my said lords of his majestie's council, for the whiche
joruey I have been in a readiness, according to your most gracious
pleasure ; it shall now appear to your highness, by the said Erie of
Cassillis' lettres, that they have chaunged that purpose, and would
have me send a gentlemen to them with such instructions, and in such
sorte, as your majestie shall perceive by the said Erie of Cassillis'
lettres." This letter from the Earl of Cassillis to Sir Ralph Sadler,
alluded to above as having been transmitted to the king, is not to be
found in the State-paper Office, but its purport clearly appears from
a letter of the English Privy-council, dated May 30, 1545. The im-
portance of this document induces me to give an extract. It shows,
I think, that although they contain no direct mention of it, the former
letters of the 18th and 21st of May, related to the designs against
Beaton's life, and it reveals for the first time a plot that has remained
hidden for nearly three centuries. The despatch is in the hand-writing
of ]Mr Secretary Paget, except the last sentence, which is autograph
of Wriothesley, then chancellor. It is addressed to the Earl of Hert-
ford. " After our most harty commendations unto your good lordship,
it may like the same to understand that the king's majesty, having
of late seen certain lettres sent from th' Erie of Cassillis unto Mr
Saddleyr, the same containing an offer for the kylling of the cardinal
if his inajesty wold hate it done, and wold promise, when it were done,
a reicard; the other excusing the change of their purpose for sending
of one from them, to meet with IVIr Saddleyr upon the Borders, and
requiring John Forster (who, they say, being prisonir, may come well
without suspition) should be sent to commune with them, and to as
well signify unto them the king's majestie's pleasure towards them,
as to hear again what they would do for their parts : To the first point
his majestie hath willed us to signify unto your lordschip, that his
highness, reputing the fact not mete to he set foricard expressly by his
majesty, will not seem to hate to do in it; and yet, not mislikiiuj the offer,
thinketh good that Mr Saddleyr, toAvhom that letter was addressed,
should write to th' Erie of the receipt of his letter, conteyning such
an offer which he thinketh not convenient to be communicated to the
king's majesty ; marry, to write to him what he thinketh of the matter,
he shall say, that if he were in th' Erie of Cassillis' place, and were
as able to do his majesty good service there as he knoweth him to
be, and thinketh a right good will in him to do it, he would surely do
what he could for th' execution of it, believing verily to do thereby
not only an acceptable service to the king's majesty, but also a special
benefit to the realrae of Scotland, and would trust verily the king's
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 883
majesty would consider his service in the same ; as you doubt not of
accustomed goodness to them which serve him, but he would do the
same to him."* The remaining portion of this letter, which is an
original, and signed by seven privy-councillors, relates to the sending
Forster into Scotland, and to other matters, not important to be noticed.
To go on unravelling these dark designs, it next appears, by a
letter from the Council of the North to the king, dated June 3, 1545,
that Forster had been sent for, to be despatched forthwith into Scot-
land, and, upon his arrival, Sadler informs his majesty, " that he will
write to the Earl of Cassillis, according to the directions contained in
the last letterfrom the Privy-council." Hitherto the conspiracy of tlie
Earl of Cassillis for the assassination of Beaton does not seem to be
connected in any way with the former plot of Brunston, Wishart,
Kirkaldy of Grange, and Norman Lesley ; but the above letter con-
tains a sentence from which a strong presumption arises, that the
conspiracy of Cassillis was merely a revival of that of Brunston. "Also,
here arrived presentlie a lettre in cipher from the Laird of Brunstone,
which we have caused to be deciphered herewith to your majesty."
Here the despatch of the Privy-council, which was sent, concludes
with the usual prayer for the royal health ; but in the scroll of that
despatch, which is autograph of Sir Ralph Sadler, after the words
"your majestie," the following sentence succeeds: "And this day
Sir Thomas Holcroft showed us a cipher, which was devised betwix
him and the said Brunston, when Brunston departed last from the
court, upon the perusing of which cipher Ave fynd it to be the very
same that is betwix your majesty and th' Erie of Cassillis, as youi
majestie shall perceive upon the sight of it which we send here in-
closed, so that it appeareth to us that both the Erie of Cassillis and
Brunston" — here this additional sentence, which is scored through,
breaks off abruptly ; but it is evident, I think, the Privy-council in-
tended to observe, that it appeared to them that Brunston and Cassillis
were in close communication with each other upon the point touching
the murder of the cardinal, and, when we weigh all the circumstances,
it is difficult to resist the same conclusion. Brunston formerly had sub-
mitted to Henry a plot for the assassination of Beaton ; Brunston was
an intimate friend and supporter of the party with whom Cassillis
acted ; Brunston had lately been at court, and had arranged a cipher
for a secret correspondence with Sir Thomas Holcroft : at the mo-
ment when Cassillis again proposes to Henry the assassination of the
prelate, a letter in cipher is sent from Brunston to the Council of the
North, and instantly transmitted to the king ; and lastly, Brunston and
* Grig. State-paper OffiQe, ujver before published.
r>
84 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
Cassillis are found using the same cipher. Every circumstance shows
a unity of schemes, and an intimacy of communication, from which
we may infer, I think, that the second conspiracy of Cassillis was
merely a revival or continuation of the first by Brunston. The king,
however, as we have seen, did not choose to give direct encouragement
to the proposal of Cassillis, That noble person was informed by Sadler
that he had iwt communicated his design to the monarch, (which was
untrue ;) and Cassillis, although willing to commit murder upon a
written order from the king, did not choose to peril himself in any
such business upon the bare recommendation of Sir Ralph Sadler. He
did not even venture to reply to Sadler's letter upon this delicate
point ; and, in the succeeding interview which took place between
him and Forster the English agent, at Douglas, in June, he appears
carefully to have avoided any allusion to the subject. The proposal
of Sir George Douglas to this envoy, that Henry " if he would have
the cardinal dead should promise a good reward for the doing thereof,"
has been noticed in the body of this history, but Forster (July 4, 1545)
returned without having had any communication with Cassillis upon
the subject.
The Laird of Brunston, however, was resolved that the proposal for
removing their great enemy should not so easily drop ; and on the 12th
of July wc find, by the following extract from a letter of the Council of
the North to the Privy-council, that this busy intriguer had renewed
to the king and to his council the atrocious proposal : — " After our
most hartie commendations, yesterday arrived here lettres in cypher
to the king's majesty from the Larde of Brunston, and also to me.
Sir Rafe Sadleyr, which we have deciphered and sende herewith, both
the cipher and the same deciphered, unto you, which we praye you to
declare and showe unto the king's majestic. And forasmuch as the
said Brunston doth partly in his said letters [touch] the matter which
concerneth the kylling of the cardinal, because, as we perceyve by
such letters, as I, th' Erll of Hertford, have received from the
Lordes, you, and others of the counsaill, his majestic will not seeme to
have to do in that matter, but referreth the same to the handeliug of
me. Sir Rafe Sadleyr: I, therefore, have taken occasion upon the said
Brunston's letters to write my mind to him in that matter, in such
sorte as you shall perceyve by the copie of my lettre to the said Brun-
ston, which you shall receyve herewith."*
Sadler goes on to state, that he had written before this upon the
same matter of the killing of the cardinal to the Earl of Cassillis, but
* Oiig., State-paper Office, never before published. Since this note was
written tlie letter has been printed in the Collection of State Papers published
by Government, vol. v. part iv. p. 470#
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 385
since then had received no answer. The rest of his letter is of little
interest ; but the enclosure, entitled the " Copie of Sir Rafe Sadleyr's
Lettres to the Larde of Brunston," which is wholly in Sir Ralph's
own hand, is too important and curious to be omitted. It commences
thus, " After my right hartie commendations, I have received your
lettres by Robert Lyster, this bearar, with also your lettres addressed
to the king's majestic, which shall be depesched hens to his highness
with such spede as appertayneth. In one parte of your said lettres,
I note chieflie, that certayn gentlemen, being your friends, have offred
for a small soume of money, to take hym oute of the waye, that hath
been the hole impediment and lett to all good purposes there, so that
they might be sure to have the king's majestic their good lorde ; and
that his majestic woolde rewarde them for the same. Of this I judge
that you mean the cardinal!, whome I knowe to be so much blynded
to his own affection to France, that, to please the same he seeth not,
but utterlie contempnyth all thinges tending to the weale, and benefite
of his owne countrey ; and, iudede, hitherto, he hath been the onelie
cause and worker of all your myschief ; and will, if he continewe, be
undoubtedlie the utter ruyne and confusion of the same. Wherefore
I am of your opinion, and as you wryte thinke it to be acceptable service
to God to take him oute of the waye, whiche, in suche sorte dothe not
onelie as much as in him is to obscure the glorie of God, but also to
confound the commonweale of his owne countrey. And albeit, the
king's majestic, whose gracious nature and goodnes I knowe, wool not,
J am sure, have to do ne meddle with this matier touching your said
cardynall, for soundrie considerations; yet, if you could so worke the
matier with these gentlemen your freends, which have made that offer,
that it maye take effect, you shall undoubtedly doo therein good ser-
vice, both to God and his majestic, and a singular benefit to your
countrey. Wherefore, lyke as if I were in your place, it shulde be the
first thing I woolde earnestlie attempt, thinking therby for the respect
aforesaide chieflie to please God, and to do good to my countrey."
Sadler goes on to state, that if Brunston and his friends put the matter
in execution, he knows so well the king's goodness and liberality, that
they may assure themselves of a reward; and he adds this remarkable
sentence, " And if the execution of this matier doo rest onelie uppon
the rewarde of the king's majestic to such as shall be the executors
of the same, I pray you advertyse me what rewarde they do requyre,
and if it be not unreasonable, because I have been in your countrey,
for the Christen zeal that I have to the commonweale of the same, I
will undertake it shall be payed immediatlie upon the act executed,
though I doo myselfe beare the charge of the same, whiche I woolde
thinke well imployed. * * * * Thus I write to you mine owne
VOL. V. 2 B
o86 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
phantasie and mynde in this matier, as one that woolde be glad to
give you such advise, as wherby you shulde doo that service to God,
the kinge's majestie, and your owne natyve couutrey, as might also
be to your owne profett, and good fame."*
The Laird of Brunston, however, and the friends with whom he
acted, although willing for a small reward to slay the cardinal, proved
as cautious and crafty as the Earl of Cassillis, and did not choose to
undertake the murder without a direct communication with the king's
majesty ; they had determined to have the royal warrant and writ
for their reward and their security ; and on hearing that Sadler had
not imparted their offer to the king, but only encouraged them out
of his Christian zeal, and of his own phantasie, they, for the present
dropt their atrocious project. This letter of Sadler's was dated 4th
of July, 1545 ; and for nearly three months, we can trace nothing of
the plot against the cardinal. How the interval was occupied, is shown
in this history. The invasion of Hertford, and the many miserable
scenes which it brought in its train, gave ample employment to all
parties in Scotland. Beaton, however, was still able to thwart the
schemes of Henry; and that monarch evinced the continuance of his
mortal enmity against the prelate, by recommending the Earl of
Hertford to advise the French deserters to show their desire to be
of service, by trapping or killing the cardinal, Lorges, or the governor.
This was on the 9th of September, 1545, and, on the sixth of October,
about a month after, we find pretty strong evidence, that the plot for
the assassination of Beaton had been resumed by Brunston: — at this
time, the following letter in cipher was sent by that busy intriguer to
Henry the Eighth.
"My deuty usit to your most excellent majeste ; it will plese zour
highnes, yat at yis last convention the Earl of Lennox is forfaltit, his
brother the bischoip, and the Larde of Tulibam, continewit to the
nixt meeting betuyx yis and Chrismes. As to other gret actis ya
haif none. Yai haif providit one thowsand horsmen to ly on the
Bordouris, five hundreth of the Mers, and other five hundreth of
Tevidail such as hes no other thing to leif by.
" Morovir, yt wil lyk zour majeste, yat I am suirly advertesed by
one yat knowith yt, wich ys one suir frend of myn, yat the cardinal
passis to France with the French king's leutenant, who, as I beleif
taryis for nothing but for his shippis, the which are sent for alrady.
The said cardinal entendis (yf his devising tak effect) to bring us gret
support in the foir yere ; but I hoip to God hisjornay shall he shortit
to his displeseur. He ys laborand to haif the yong queen to remane
* Original, State-paper Office, never before published. Since printed in
the State Papers published by government, vol. v. part iv. p. 470.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 387
in his castel of Sanctandros, and causis the governor to beleif yat yt
is for his eflfect to keip hir to his sone ; and the queen-mother makis
hir angrye withal, but I belief she dissembles. Thair is no other
thingis for the present worthye your majeste's knowledge ; and as
otheris occurris, your majeste shal be advertest wyth such diligence
as I may; alwayis assuring your highnes yat yair wes netir mo gentil
men desyrous to serte your majeste to the avansing of your majestes
godlye entent, nor yair is now," This letter is dated " at Ormistouu
yis saxt day of October," be him yat is desirous to do your highnes
service at the uttermost of his power — Bronstoun." *
After this letter, dated the 6th of October, there is no further cor-
respondence between Brunston and the English government, till the
20th of the same month. We then, however, find the following letter,
addressed by that person to the Earl of Hertford. " This present
shall be to let your lordship wit, that sins the writting of my last
letres, I talked at length with Sir George Douglas, who hath shewed
me aunswer to the last letre that I send to your L. * that the hole
lords hath agreed to the marriage of the young queue to the governor's
Sonne with their seales and hand writtis,' and that he as yet hath
stopped the Earl of Anguisse, with the rest of his friends, notwith-
standing the diligent pursuit of the governor and his friends ; which
they seke both with great and fayer promises, and other wayes,
threteninges of the hole authoritye to cum in their contrary, which
may not be resisted by them; nevertheless, I am suir that Sir George
Douglas will staye th' Erie of Anguisse and all others his freindes,
unto such time as he maye knowe the king's majestie's pleasur ; and
if the king's majestie will mak them snch support that they may mak
their party good in the contrary of the governour and authoritye, to
the avauncing of the king's majestie's affayres, they will * * themselves
and their frieudes, and weir all their lyves or everything promised to
the king's majestie be not kept ; and in lik manner I shall cause all
the gentlemen that your L. knoweth, my friends, to be readye as it
shall please the king's majesty to command them * * to assist to
such as ar moost to the avauncing of his majestie's affaires, as they
have at all tymes been hitherto, hut his majestie must be plain with
them, both what his majesty would have them to do, and in like manner
what they shall lippenf to of his majesty, which matier, with maney
* Original, State-paper Office, not before published. The Earl of Hertford
in his letter ti ansmits the cipher as from the Laird of Ormiston : on decipher-
ing, it appears to be from Brunston. This letter was deciphered by Mr
Robert Lemon of the State-paper Office, a gentleman to whose skill in the
knowledge of ancient manuscripts I have been often indebted.
't' Lippen to ; trust to.
S88 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
other matiers, I would gladly your L. knewe for the avauncing of his
majestie's affayres which wer tool ong to writ. Wherefore I have writ-
ten, as your L. may see, to the king's majesty desyring to speke with one
of his majestie's counsaill, but in special with yr L. for the declaring
of such things as I think gretely to the avauncyng of his majestie's
affaires, at the castle of Berwyk, wher, be suche daye as shall be ap-
poynted me, God willing, I shall meet your L, iti secret manner, gering
me advertisement tlire or four before the tyme of meeting, which I
pray your L. in the most secret manner, for it standeth me beth in life
and heretage if it he knoicen ; at the whiche meeting I shall bring Sir
G. Douglas' mind, with the rest of my friends, remitting all other things
uuto the tyme I have knowledge from your lordshipp, which I would
were the soonest it was possible, as your L. loveth the welfare of the
king's maj. affayres. This twenty of Octr. at Calder."*
The remainder of the letter is unimportant, but from its contents,
and judging by the following extract from Brunston's letter to the king,
we may presume that the business in which he and the gentlemen, his
friends, offered their services to Henry, was of the most treasonable
description.
" My duty used to your most princelie maj., it may pleis yr maj.
that consyderiug the present estait of my cuntrey, and knowing the
minds of one great part of the baronnis and noblemen thereof, the
desyer to do your M. semce in all that lyeth in my power, as I am
raoch bounden, and so moch the more that your majeste intendeth
nothing but the wealth and benefit of my cuntrey, and that your ma-
jesty shall know I have not forgotten the gret liberalitye and gen-
tlenes that both I and divers of the gentlemen, my ft-iends, tlirough me,
hath found with yr M., (who shall all be any as I am one redy to serve
yr M. at our powers,) moveth me for the declaracion of such things
as I think gretly to th' avauncing of your majesties affayres, to be
■desyrous to speke with one of your majesties counsayl, and rather with
Mr Sadleyr, nor with any other, becaus he is both neir to these parts,
and best knoweth my cuntrey ; who if it pleis your !M. to sende to the
castel of Berwyck, becaus it is unable to me to cum furth within the
cuntrey unknowin, and at sueh day as shal be appoynted me, I shall
(God willing) not fayle to mete him at the said town or castle, ichich
I would were as secret as were possible, for if it were cum to knowledge,
it is the losing to me both of life and heritage; albeit I never knew one
that lost for the servyng of yr majestie, which, as knoweth God, I am
willing to do, being suir your majesty will both acknowledge me and
others my friends, such as I have had grit relief of in the serv^-ng of
* Original, State-paper OfBce, not before published.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 389
your majestie with the nombre of yr majestie's servands and friends.
All such things as I both knowe and may leme with the mynds of
such as I tak to be yr majestie's friends, I shall show at length to Mr
Sadleyr, at such tyme as it shall pleas yr majy. that I meet him.
Ther is non other thing for the present worthy your majestie's know-
ledge. Pray the eternal God to have your M. in his most blessed
keeping. At Calder, this twenty of Octr. by your majestie's as-
sured humble servitor," " BRorMSiox."
" Hast the aunswer of these agayn to Coldingham." *
These last letters from the Laird of Brunston to Hertford and the
king must be considered in connexion with what has already been
proved against him. We have found him offering, on 17th April,
1544, through "W'ishart, and by the assistance of his friends Kirkaldy
of Grange and the Master of Rothes, to apprehend or slay the cardi-
nal. We find him, on the 2d April, 1545, connected in the most
intimate manner with the Earl of Cassillis at the moment this noble-
man renewed in his own person the proposal for the assassination of
the cardinal. We find him again, on the 12th July, 1545, sending a
letter in cipher to the king, in which he renews the offer that certain
gentlemen, his friends, were willing for a small sum of money to take
the cardinal out of the way ; and now, when in these letters we find
liim, on October 6, darkly alluding to his hopes that the cardinal's
meditated journey to France will be cut short to his displeasure, and
on the 26th of the same month, arranging a secret interview with
Sadler at Berwick, which, were it discovered, might affect his life, and
at the same moment declaring that the gentlemen, his friends, were ready
to obey his majesty's commands — but that the king must be plain with
them, as to what he wishes them to do, and also how far they are to
depend on his majesty's support ; it is difficult, I think, to resist the
conclusion, that this last correspondence, as weU as the former, re-
garded a fourth offer for the assassination of the prelate, and that the
anxiety of Brunston and the gentlemen, his friends, to know Henry's
wishes, and what support they were to expect from him, arose out of
the indirect and crafty manner in which this monarch, whilst he
covertly encouraged the plot, insisted on making Sadler the ostensible
agent in the nefarious transaction. At this critical moment, when
Brunston, in his letter of the 20th of October, presses the king to be
plain, the letters in the State-paper Office relative to the intrigue? of
this busy baron suddenly break off. Between the 20th of October
and the 31st, 1545, occur a few unimportant letters, and from that
* Original, State-paper Office, not before published.
'SOO HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
(late to 27th March, 1546, a period of nearly five months, there is a
tantalising hiatus. If I may be allowed a conjecture, I would account
for it in this way : Henry the Eighth was, as we see, very anxious not
to appear directly in the matter, but the conspirators, Brunston's
friends, would not act unless he dealt plainly with them ; they would
not take the indirect encouragement to commit the murder which
Sadler gave as coming solely from himself; they wished to have the
king's hand and writ to plead in their defence, and produce as their
warrant for protection and remuneration, after the deed was perpe-
trated. I imagine the king was driven to give this, but the corre-
spondence for this reason was destroyed ; hence this hiatus at this
most critical moment. There are no letters to be found from March
27 to May 29, which throw the slightest light upon the conspiracy
against Beaton, and on the morning of that last-mentioned day the
unfortunate man was murdered ; the principal assassins being Kirkaldy
of Grange, and Norman Lesley the Master of Rothes — the very men
who two years before had offered, through the medium of Brunston,
to apprehend or slay him as he passed through Fife. One thing to
be regretted in the disappearance of all letters relative to the murder
after the 20th of October is the want of evidence to show any recent
communication between Brunston and the assassins of the cardinal ;
but the inference I think is scarcely to be resisted, that this daring
and unscrupulous intriguer was as intimately implicated in the last as
in the first conspiracy.
At the moment of their committing the murder. Grange, Lesley,
and others of the principal conspirators, were in the receipt of pensions
from Henry the Eighth, and were described by that monarch as his
friends and supporters ;* and it is not unimportant to observe that,"
soon after the assassination, the Laird of Brunston was indicted on a
charge of treason, although the process against him was afterwards
withdrawn.
I shall conclude these historical remarks with the following inter-
esting extract from the letter of a Scottish spy of Lord Wharton's,
named James Lindsay, sending to that nobleman the first intelligence
of the murder. It is one of three letters, all on the same subject, sent
by Lord Wharton to the Privy-council of England.
" Syr, to advertise zou, this satterday betwix v hours and vi in the
mornyng the cardynal is slane in the castle of St. Andrewe's, be
Normond Leslie, in yis maner : At the cumyng in of ye masonis and
warkmen in ye place to the wark, Normond Leslie and thre wyth
him enteret, and after hym James Melwin and thre men with him,
* Chalmers's Life of Mary, vol. iii. p. 340,
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 891
and fenzit themselves to have spokin with the cardinal; and after yame
came the zoung laird of Grange, and viii men with hym all in geir,
quhilk the porter stoppit to lat in quhill ane of them strak him with
ane knyiff and kest him in the hous. Incontynent they shot furth all
the warkmen and closet the zet, syne sought the chalmer and shot
furth all ye howsald men as thai gat thame mastrit. Ye cardinale
herand ye dyn in his chalmer come furth, was passand to the blocke-
hous head to heir quhat it was ; Normond Leslie and his cumpanye
met him in the torn pyk [off] and slew him ; and after ya have de-
possest the place of all therein till, excep ye governor's sone, his priest
and servand, and ye cardinal's chalmer child, ye common bell of ye
toun rang, ye provest and town gadert to ye uoumer of thre or fou"r
hundreth men, and come to ye castell, quhill Normond Leslie and his
cumpanye come to ye wall heid and sperit quhat they desyrit to se,
ane deid man. Incontynent ya brot ye cardinal deid to the wall heid
in ane payr of shetis, and hang hym our ye wall be the tane arm and
the tane fute, so bad ye pepill se yer thar God. This Johne of Douglas
of Edinburt, Hew Douglas, Ayr, shaw me, and master Johne Douglas,
quhilk was in Sanct Andrews and saw ye sam wyt yar ene. * *
" Wryten this Satterday at midnyt, zour servand,
" James Lyndsay." *
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
FROM THE HAMILTON MANl5sCRIPTS.
Since this volume passed through the press, I have seen, by the
politeness of Mr James Chalmers, a Catalogue of the Hamilton Papers
which belonged to his late uncle, the learned and indefatigable author
of Caledonia. These papers are in the possession of his Grace the
Duke of Hamilton. The catalogue is a voluminous one, and contains
occasional extracts from the letters and documents which it describes.
Of these the most valuable relate to the regency of the Earl of Arran
and the minority of Mary ; and it was gratifying to find that they
not only confirmed, but greatly strengthened the views which I have
* Original, State- paper Office, not before published.
3,92 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
given of that important period. Thus, with regard to the scheme of
Henry for the entire subjection of Scotland under his dominion, and
the mercenary manner in which the Scottish prisoners entered into
his views, we have ample information in the following description of
the contents of volume iv. of the Hamilton Papers.
Volume iv. commences with December, 1542, and ends with January
and February, 1542-3. It contains, amongst other occurrences,
Henry's instructions to Sir Richard Southwell for conferring with the
Earls of Bothwell and Angus, and also with the Scots prisoners, in
order to engage them in his designs of subduing Scotland to himself,
by possessing him of the government for the present, assuring the
succession to him in case of the young queen's death, and granting
him the tutelage of her person in the meantime, with the capital for-
tresses, and places of strength which he sought to have delivered into
his power, together with the cardinal and another, i. e. the Lord
Regent, whom he looked on as his most dangerous opponents. In a
minute addressed to Lord Viscount Lisle, January, 8, 1542-3, Henry
writes, " We have already given you advertisement how we have dis-
missed from hence the noblemen and others of Scotland our prisoners,
and what the same have promised unto us." In what manner these
promises were made appears from this extract from the catalogue.
Henry's articles with the Earl of Angus, then an exile in England
for promoting the enterprise — his open articles, as he calls them, —
subscribed by the Scottish prisoners and Earl Bothwell, and his secret
articles, subscribed by ten of these prisoners, the fittest as he thought,
to be trusted ; namely, the Earls of Cassillis and Glencairn; the Lords
Maxwell, Fleming, Somerville, and Gray ; and by Robert Erskine,
Oliver Sinclair, the Laird of Kerse, and John Ross of Craigy. Again,
in Henry's instructions to Sir Ralph Sadler, in vol. v. of the Hamil-
ton Papers, the English monarch states that Sir George Douglas had
undertaken not only by promise, but by oaih and bond to perform
greater services than any of the rest. The treasonable extent of the
engagements of the Earl of Angus and Sir George Douglas to Henry
appear from a minute of the king to the Duke of Suffolk, dated No-
vember 12, 1543, in which that nobleman is directed to expostulate
with Sir George Douglas regarding a fresh demand for money from
England. " They have not stiked," says the English monarch, " to
take upon them to set the crown of Scotland upon our head. Where
has now become all their force and courage * * what meant they to
take upon so great maistry and to be able to perform in deed so little?"
Under the date of December, 1543, we find a minute of a letter from
the Duke of Suffolk to Henry's pensioners in Scotland with an account
of the sums of money which had been distributed to them, viz : — ■
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. S9o
STERLING.
To the Earl of Angus, 200 £
of Glencairn, 200 marks
of Cassillis, 200 marks
To the Master of Maxwell, 100 £
To the Sheriff of Air, 100 £
To the Laird of Drumlanryk, 100 £
To the Earl of Marshall, John Charters, the Lord Gray's
friends in the North, 300 marks
To Sir George Douglas and his friends in Lothian and
Merse, . . . • • • • • 200 £
In the midst of so much venality and desertion on the part of the
Scottish barons, it is pleasing to find an exception in the Earl qf
Argyle, who resisted more splendid offers than were made to any of
the rest. This is shown by a minute of the Privy-council of England
to the Duke of Suffolk, preserved amongst the Hamilton Papers, by
which it appears that the Laird of Drumlanrig, and the Sheriff of
Ayr (Campbell of Loudon,) had laboured to promote king Henry's de-
signs, at some charge to themselves ; and that, in satisfaction of that
charge, they had received for the present five hundred crowns each,
with the promise of a pension when the good fruits of their service
should deserve it, particularly when they should accomplish the treaty
which they had begun with the Earl of Argyle, to make him a convert
to Henry. To induce his compliance, they were to make him a pro-
mise of one thousand crowns in hand, and a yearly pension of one
thousand more ; but if he would not comply, they were to " threaten
him with the wild Irish, whom Henry was to hound, and to ruin both
him and his country." It is shown in this history, that Argyle re-
sisted the overtures of Henry, and that the wild Irish and men of the
Isles were accordingly " hounded " upon him.
Cruelty and Impolicy of Henry the Eighth towards Scotland.
The savage temper of Henry the Eighth nowhere more strongly
appears than in the directions which, on the 10th of April, 1543-4,
he transmitted through a despatch of the Privy-council to the Earl of
Hertford. After observing that the grand attempt on Scotland was
delayed for a season, they command him, in the meantime, to make
an inroad into Scotland, " there to put all to fire and sword, to burn
Edinburgh town, and to raze and deface it, when you have sacked it,
and gotten what you can out of it, as that it may remain for ever a
perpetual memory of the vengeance of God lighted upon it, for their
394} HISTORY OF SCOTLAND.
falsehood and disloyalty. Do ^vhat you can," continue they, " out of
hand, and, without long tarrying, to beat down and overthrow the
castle, sack Holyrood-house, and as many towns and villages about
Edinburgh as ye conveniently can ; sack Leith, and bum and subvert
it, and all the rest, putting) man, woman, and child, to fire and sword,
without exception, when any resistance shall be made against you ;
and this done, pass over to the Fife land, and extend like extremities
and destructions in all to^vns and villages whereunto ye may reach
conveniently, not forgetting, amongst all the rest, so to spoil and turn
upside down the cardinal's town of St Andrew's, as the upper stone
may he the nether, and not one stick standby another, ftparm*; no crea-
ture alite within the same, specially such as either in friendship or
blood be allied to the cardinal." " This journey," the despatch goes
on to state, " shall succeed most to his majesty's honour."*
* From the MS. Catalogue of the Hamilton Papers, pp. 44, 45.
END OF VOLUME FIFTH.
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