Aftermath of the Storm
Aftermath of the Storm
Remainder of July 1570
Scotland
-- The dawn of 17 July in the Year of Our Lord 1570 saw a city that was recovering from three acts of arson, one of which spread out of control and was only contained by backbreaking work on the part of the city guard and ordinary residents of the city of Stirling, pitching in with water-buckets, evacuating families out of the burning buildings, tending to the wounded, and recovering the dead.
It would eventually be officially reported that 22 people died in the fires that night, the unusually high number was due to the homes that burned having large families residing in them, and the fact that the targeted homes were sealed up by the men working for Earl Huntley, trapping the residents inside the flames.
The two Lairds who led the arson attacks, Buccleuch and Ferniehurst, in Buccleuch's case he was found unconscious in the streets, having been struck with a paving stone during the fight outside of John Knox's home, he never woke up and died within a week. Ferniehurst would go into hiding, and in Scotland that would mean finding the man would be very difficult, though he would eventually surface under very interesting circumstances.
A magnificent funeral was held for the victims, all of whom were treated as Protestant martyrs, chief among them was John Knox himself, and yes this was a violation of Knox's opposition to funerals and memorial services for the dead, but that latter tidbit didn't matter.
Knox's two surviving daughters became temporary wards of the King until he could find a suitable permanent caretaker for the girls.
-- Of Stirling Castle itself, the assassination attempt on King Matthew's life was a failure, he wasn't even scratched, however one guard died defending his King.
Of the assassins themselves, Claud Hamilton had been injured and was being questioned, the blood loss, the injury, and the 'questioning' would kill him in a matter of days. George Gordon, Earl of Huntley found himself being contained in a filthy dungeon cell for a few days, only being dragged out for interrogation while the King gathered some of the peers for a quick trial, the trial itself was a mere formality. The other surviving killer, the thug hired from the continent was a fellow named Johann of Münster had been tortured for all the information in his head before being executed in a most brutal fashion.
George Gordon didn't bother with a defense, he used the 'trial' as an excuse to promote the Marian cause, calling King Matthew 'the Great Usurper' and accused him of murdering James VI to take the throne, infamously saying "That Usurping bastard stepped on the wee Prince's [James's] corpse to take the throne."
It mattered not, George Gordon was quickly found guilty of attempted Regicide, and a slew of other charges, the punishment was of course death, and his titles and lands forfeit.
Gordon's execution, like the unfortunate German fellow he had hired, was executed by hanging, drawing, and quartering. An execution technique that had been devised in England and imported to Scotland in the last century, reserved for the most severe forms of treason, Regicide being one of them.
Just like at the trial, once the former Earl of Huntley was before the crowd prior to his death, he tried to rally support for 'Good Queen Mary' but was silenced by the executioner before his tortuous death commenced.
-- During all of this, John Hamilton, who was on his father's estates, holding them in the name of Mary of Scots, and keeping an eye on his older catatonic brother 'Mad Jimmy' learned of the death of his brother. It was obvious that the Marian cause had been dealt a serious blow, plus his younger brother's involvement guaranteed that the Usurper would now commit resources to seizing the Hamilton lands and capturing the remaining members of the family.
John noted that his sisters had all been married off and should be safe from reprisal, himself on the other hand...
The answer was obvious, if he stayed in Scotland, he was a dead man and the line of the Earls of Arran would ultimately die with him.
By the time the Kings Men captured Brodick Castle, the family's main seat, John Hamilton was nowhere to be found, having fled for the continent. His brother 'Mad Jimmy' was discovered to have died, supposedly in his sleep a few days prior to his brother's departure, along with as many valuables as John could take.
There was evidence to suggest that John had suffocated his brother with a pillow prior to fleeing, the servants reported that John had ordered them all out of 'Mad Jimmy's' chambers a few hours before the man was discovered dead in his bed. However nothing was ever proven, and John denied the allegations until his death, claiming them fabrications created out of 'the Usurper's devilish imagination'.
-- All in all, these should have been good times for King Matthew I. However as July began to end and August began, while word that Elizabeth was finally sending relief forces reached him as the final preparations for the coronation at Scone were finished. The other piece of news drained all joy from Matthew's heart.
England
-- The reports from Scotland about the failed assassination attempt were met with relief on the part of Queen Margaret and her son, Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, and public celebratory sermons thorough the Kingdom. The growing 'Puritan' movement was particularly emotional in it's outpouring of grief at the murder of John Knox, and in such a cowardly fashion as well.
The French became even more firm in their negotiations with the Scottish delegation for a marriage between Charles and Margaret Valois, despite rumors that the Holy Roman Emperor had sent his own proposal for a match between his heir and the girl.
As for Queen Elizabeth herself, she had a brief period of self-doubt. She privately noted in a letter to Sir William Cecil that she wondered if God was trying to tell her something. Thankfully for Matthew's cause, Cecil was able to convince her that the plot's failure was a sign of God's favor to Matthew Stewart, and not Mary of Scots.
Thus the army being gathered in Northern England received it's official orders, they were to enter Scotland and help pacify that troubled realm on the behalf of 'England's dearest friend and ally, King Matthew I of Scotland'.
By the beginning of August, an army estimated at 10,000 strong began their campaign in Scotland, their first main destination, the city of Glasgow.
However even as Francis, Duke of Alençon was forced to go back to France to take care of business on his estates, with a firm promise to return to England as soon as possible to continue to woo 'Her most gracious and wonderful Majesty, the most beautiful woman in all Christendom', much to the Queen's public pleasure at the promise and leaving the Earl of Leicester perturbed.
Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay began to complain of stomach pains, by the beginning of August he was vomiting and suffering from severe diarrhea, though his exact illness was difficult to determine. While his mother publicly claimed it was just food poisoning from some tainted meat, some worried it was something much more severe, and Charles Stewart was not as robust as his elder brother had been.
As the month of August began in England, a few began to wonder if Matthew's line would die out without an heir...
Remainder of July 1570
Scotland
-- The dawn of 17 July in the Year of Our Lord 1570 saw a city that was recovering from three acts of arson, one of which spread out of control and was only contained by backbreaking work on the part of the city guard and ordinary residents of the city of Stirling, pitching in with water-buckets, evacuating families out of the burning buildings, tending to the wounded, and recovering the dead.
It would eventually be officially reported that 22 people died in the fires that night, the unusually high number was due to the homes that burned having large families residing in them, and the fact that the targeted homes were sealed up by the men working for Earl Huntley, trapping the residents inside the flames.
The two Lairds who led the arson attacks, Buccleuch and Ferniehurst, in Buccleuch's case he was found unconscious in the streets, having been struck with a paving stone during the fight outside of John Knox's home, he never woke up and died within a week. Ferniehurst would go into hiding, and in Scotland that would mean finding the man would be very difficult, though he would eventually surface under very interesting circumstances.
A magnificent funeral was held for the victims, all of whom were treated as Protestant martyrs, chief among them was John Knox himself, and yes this was a violation of Knox's opposition to funerals and memorial services for the dead, but that latter tidbit didn't matter.
Knox's two surviving daughters became temporary wards of the King until he could find a suitable permanent caretaker for the girls.
-- Of Stirling Castle itself, the assassination attempt on King Matthew's life was a failure, he wasn't even scratched, however one guard died defending his King.
Of the assassins themselves, Claud Hamilton had been injured and was being questioned, the blood loss, the injury, and the 'questioning' would kill him in a matter of days. George Gordon, Earl of Huntley found himself being contained in a filthy dungeon cell for a few days, only being dragged out for interrogation while the King gathered some of the peers for a quick trial, the trial itself was a mere formality. The other surviving killer, the thug hired from the continent was a fellow named Johann of Münster had been tortured for all the information in his head before being executed in a most brutal fashion.
George Gordon didn't bother with a defense, he used the 'trial' as an excuse to promote the Marian cause, calling King Matthew 'the Great Usurper' and accused him of murdering James VI to take the throne, infamously saying "That Usurping bastard stepped on the wee Prince's [James's] corpse to take the throne."
It mattered not, George Gordon was quickly found guilty of attempted Regicide, and a slew of other charges, the punishment was of course death, and his titles and lands forfeit.
Gordon's execution, like the unfortunate German fellow he had hired, was executed by hanging, drawing, and quartering. An execution technique that had been devised in England and imported to Scotland in the last century, reserved for the most severe forms of treason, Regicide being one of them.
Just like at the trial, once the former Earl of Huntley was before the crowd prior to his death, he tried to rally support for 'Good Queen Mary' but was silenced by the executioner before his tortuous death commenced.
-- During all of this, John Hamilton, who was on his father's estates, holding them in the name of Mary of Scots, and keeping an eye on his older catatonic brother 'Mad Jimmy' learned of the death of his brother. It was obvious that the Marian cause had been dealt a serious blow, plus his younger brother's involvement guaranteed that the Usurper would now commit resources to seizing the Hamilton lands and capturing the remaining members of the family.
John noted that his sisters had all been married off and should be safe from reprisal, himself on the other hand...
The answer was obvious, if he stayed in Scotland, he was a dead man and the line of the Earls of Arran would ultimately die with him.
By the time the Kings Men captured Brodick Castle, the family's main seat, John Hamilton was nowhere to be found, having fled for the continent. His brother 'Mad Jimmy' was discovered to have died, supposedly in his sleep a few days prior to his brother's departure, along with as many valuables as John could take.
There was evidence to suggest that John had suffocated his brother with a pillow prior to fleeing, the servants reported that John had ordered them all out of 'Mad Jimmy's' chambers a few hours before the man was discovered dead in his bed. However nothing was ever proven, and John denied the allegations until his death, claiming them fabrications created out of 'the Usurper's devilish imagination'.
-- All in all, these should have been good times for King Matthew I. However as July began to end and August began, while word that Elizabeth was finally sending relief forces reached him as the final preparations for the coronation at Scone were finished. The other piece of news drained all joy from Matthew's heart.
England
-- The reports from Scotland about the failed assassination attempt were met with relief on the part of Queen Margaret and her son, Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, and public celebratory sermons thorough the Kingdom. The growing 'Puritan' movement was particularly emotional in it's outpouring of grief at the murder of John Knox, and in such a cowardly fashion as well.
The French became even more firm in their negotiations with the Scottish delegation for a marriage between Charles and Margaret Valois, despite rumors that the Holy Roman Emperor had sent his own proposal for a match between his heir and the girl.
As for Queen Elizabeth herself, she had a brief period of self-doubt. She privately noted in a letter to Sir William Cecil that she wondered if God was trying to tell her something. Thankfully for Matthew's cause, Cecil was able to convince her that the plot's failure was a sign of God's favor to Matthew Stewart, and not Mary of Scots.
Thus the army being gathered in Northern England received it's official orders, they were to enter Scotland and help pacify that troubled realm on the behalf of 'England's dearest friend and ally, King Matthew I of Scotland'.
By the beginning of August, an army estimated at 10,000 strong began their campaign in Scotland, their first main destination, the city of Glasgow.
However even as Francis, Duke of Alençon was forced to go back to France to take care of business on his estates, with a firm promise to return to England as soon as possible to continue to woo 'Her most gracious and wonderful Majesty, the most beautiful woman in all Christendom', much to the Queen's public pleasure at the promise and leaving the Earl of Leicester perturbed.
Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay began to complain of stomach pains, by the beginning of August he was vomiting and suffering from severe diarrhea, though his exact illness was difficult to determine. While his mother publicly claimed it was just food poisoning from some tainted meat, some worried it was something much more severe, and Charles Stewart was not as robust as his elder brother had been.
As the month of August began in England, a few began to wonder if Matthew's line would die out without an heir...
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