Finally caught up.... This all so interesting, I'm happy to see Sebastian and Marguerite happy, as well as the survival of the Valois... Hopefully Mary can hold onto Scotland, but one never knows.. The situation in England looks interesting, especially with the rumors that Elizabeth may leave England to young Edward...
Audentes Fortuna Iuvat: A Timeline
- Thread starter pandizzy
- Start date
Chapter Twelve - Scottish Civil War
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray
James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, was born in 1531 on an unknown date as the bastard son of King James V of Scotland and Lady Margaret Erskine. His mother was the King’s favorite mistress, and he was the most famous of James V’s illegitimate children and may have been his father’s favorite son. On 31 August 1536, he received a royal charter granting the lands of Tantallon and others. James was appointed Prior of St Andrews, Fife, in his childhood in 1538, and received the Earldom of Moray from his half-sister in 1562. As such, Moray was one of the most important nobles in Scotland and one of Mary’s chief advisors before the War for the Brides.
Being a protestant, the Earl of Moray was preferred by his other half-brothers, most of whom had followed ecclesiastical careers in the catholic church. Robert Stewart, another bastard son of James V, remained loyal towards Mary and, because of this, was awarded the title of 1st Earl of Orkney in its second creation in 1573.
Despite his bastard status, James was considered a possible heir for Mary before the birth of her two children, since, for a time, there was a possibility that his parents may marry, thereby legitimizing him. Although Margaret Erskine had married Robert Douglas in 1527, James V may have considered arranging their divorce and marrying his mistress. Shortly before his marriage contract to Madeleine of Valois was finalized, in 1536, either James or one of his advisors sought the advice of the Pope, who refused to believe this possibility. His father subsequently married Princess Madeleine of France and when she died, Marie de Guise, who was Queen Mary’s mother.
As such, he was declared King James VI of Scotland by the confederate lords, who testified that his father entered a written promise to marry Lady Margaret ‘when she became available to him’, which would only come in 1547 when Robert Douglas died at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh. Arguments were made that because of this so called “evidence”, Mary Stuart was a bastard with no rights to the throne, although it didn’t effectively legitimize James either. James V died in 1542, five years before his mistress’ widowhood, meaning that the Earl of Moray’s parents were never officially married. This fact was mostly left ignored by the confederates, who strove more to depose Mary than to install James on the throne.
In mid-1573, forces led by the confederate lords laid siege to Holyrood Castle, Mary’s main residence. They cut supply lines and prevented anyone from leaving, including servants, hoping to drive Mary’s followers against her. Terms for surrender were sent under a white flag, which included Mary Stuart abdicating in the name of “James Stewart, the heir” without specifying exactly which James and the transfer of guardianship of both children to the Earl of Moray. Despite this, letters show that neither the Earl of Bothwell or the Earl of Argyll intended to let Mary, Queen of Scots leave the premises alive.
With her forces still not gathered, Mary Stuart had no way of fighting back against her besiegers. Any raids against their camps could very well worsen their situation and without any form of communicating with the outside, there was nothing that could say how long the situation would last. As such, the food was rationed, with even the Queen eating nothing more than what was necessary. The available men were put to work by making sure the castle could withstand an attempt at breaking in, while the women spent their time working in the kitchens, the salons, and in the chapel, praying for help.
As if knowing her hopeless situation, Mary wrote her will in August 1573, declaring her heir as her son, James Stuart, Duke of Rothesay and Albany, Earl of Moss. To Mary Margaret, the Queen left most of her jewels, as well as the rights to receive income from the cities of Perth, Inverness, and Stirling, a choice later reneged in Mary’s final will. She also refused to accept her brother as a possible regent, stating that she intended for her other brother, the Earl of Orkney, to be awarded the children’s guardianship as well as the regency.
Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney.
Robert Stewart had gone to Orkney in early 1573 to survey his new lands and gather an army to protect his sister’s rights. It’s unknown if he ever heard about his role in Mary’s will of 1573, and letters sent by him to her son later in their lives never mentioned the possibility of it. Despite this, after hearing about the siege, Robert rallied three thousand men to defend his sister, although they were not enough to fight against the ten thousand stationed outside of Holyrood’s walls.
Robert rode to Holyrood anyway, hoping to inspire more men to gather up arms against the ‘usurping rebels’. Another thousand joined his march during the journey from Orkney to Edinburgh where, two miles outside of Holyrood, Robert’s army met with the seven thousand men sent by King Philip II of Spain.
These Spanish soldiers had landed in Aberdeen two months before the start of the siege and were led by Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, the heir to the Duke of Alba. A known general, Fadrique was fighting in the Spanish Netherlands when he was ordered by Philip to go to Scotland. Even though Philip had no reason to intercede in the Scottish civil war, his daughter, Catalina Micaela, called Catherine Michelle, was promised in marriage to James Stuart, Mary’s son. Philip sent the troops to guarantee his daughter’s future in the British Isles.
When the two armies met, the Earl of Orkney and Toledo had difficulty communicating due to language barriers, although this was quickly alleviated by the use of a translater. Two days later, they would ride the remaining two miles together, where the loyalists and the rebels finally took to battle after almost a year and a half of cold war.
The Battle of Holyrood started on 7 September 1573 and lasted for two days. Despite its ocean climate, it hadn’t rained for an entire week, and the ground was firm under the soldier’s boots. The ten thousand rebels met with the eleven thousand loyalists under three flanks, each led by one of the confederate lords.
When it became clear that a possible end was coming, the five hundred men trapped inside the castle walls left to fight as well. Despite their significant valor, they were severely weakened by almost two months of malnourishment, and three hundred died before the first day, with another one hundred and fifty dying on the second day. For their bravery, the remaining fifty were knighted by Queen Mary.
Due to its close numbers, there was no clear winner for many hours. It has been speculated that two thousand to four thousand men died during these two days, although the number could have been as high as seven thousand. Common legend would later state ghosts of the departed roam the castle lands, calling out for either the Kings James or Philip or Queen Mary, showcasing the divided loyalties of the combatants.
In the end, the Earl of Bothwell was captured while the Earl of Argyll was killed. Since Archibald Campbell, the 5th Earl, died without male issue, his title was inherited by his half-brother, Colin. Historians have said that the seven thousand Spaniards were instrumental to the victory of Queen Mary’s forces, since they fought in a way unknown to the Scottish, allowing for easier kills.
With their high ground, Queen Mary left the Holyrood Castle for the first time in two months on 10 September, where she made a speech thanking those who had rescued her while calling for prayers towards the dead. More importantly, she met with James Hepburn to discuss an end to the war.
Although records show that James Hepburn was willing to negotiate, and even called for his fellow confederates to surrender, since their armies were either depleted or demoralized, it all changed with the return of the Earl of Moray to Scotland in November of 1573.
Absent from both the Siege of Holyrood and its following battle, James Stewart had traveled to England in January 1573 where he met with Queen Elizabeth I. After kneeling in front of the English Queen and kissing her ring, James called her ‘the most gracious sovereign there has ever been’. He remained in Elizabeth’s court for most of 1573, with some thinking he intended to woo the Virgin Queen in a possible marriage agreement where she would lend her forces to the protestant side of the Scottish civil war. James was a widower after his wife, Agnes Keith, died giving birth to their third daughter Margaret in 1569 and free to marry Elizabeth.
Elizabeth gave James 100p and a thousand men to his cause, perhaps due to their close relationship. Even though most expected him to quickly travel to Scotland to help the Siege, James Stewart surprised all when he, instead, traveled to Yorkshire.
There, the Earl of Moray invaded Temple Newsam, the residence of Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox, and kidnapped a three-year-old girl most thought to be called Isabella Albany, though she was really Princess Mary Margaret of Scotland. It’s unknown how James learned about Mary Margaret’s disguise, perhaps due to a spy he had in Mary Stuart’s household. Many assume that he and Mary Fleming were lovers or allies since she was the only person recorded to have known about Princess Mary Margaret’s location, even though others must have been told, but this has never been proven.
Regardless of how James Stewart knew, he now had one of the heirs to the throne under his control and strove to act before announcing ‘Isabella’s true identity. Since he had no son, James convinced the child on 29 September to sign her name on a piece of paper where he would later add a binding promise of marriage between him and her. After this, James finally traveled to Scotland, sending Mary Margaret to his home in Moray as ‘Our dear Countess’, since a written promise of marriage was as legal as a ceremony itself.
With the heir apparent to the throne under control, Mary Stuart may have thought a complete surrender to be a sure thing. Because of James’s interference, news of the invasion of Newsam was never sent to her, and she didn’t know what happened until the beginning of the peace talks.
When presented with Mary Margaret’s favorite doll, given to the princess by her mother when she left for England, Mary Stuart fainted. The Queen of Scotland had been a devoted and caring mother, no doubt wishing to emulate her own mother, whom she had loved very much. The children received much attention and love from their single surviving parent, with James later in life referring to her ‘as the best mother the Lord could have ever given me.’ Because of this, knowing that her daughter was forced into a promise of marriage was extremely stressful for Mary Stuart. Although Robert Stewart wished to arrest the Earl of Moray there and then and take Mary Margaret back from her captors, he was prevented to do so by the Queen.
The Scottish Peace by Joseph Severn
With both sides holding significant leverage over the other, peace talks lasted for weeks, with no apparent end. After the return of Spanish troops to continental Europe in December 1573, there were some who thought that the rebels would once again rise up against Mary, but this never happened. The Duke of Rothesay had already been called from his own hiding under Mary Beaton, and, reportedly, asked for his sister the moment he set foot in Holyrood. At the celebrations of the new year, Mary and James Moray sat together, side by side, without speaking to each other.
A peace treaty was revealed in February 1574, three years after the beginning of the war, signed by Mary Stuart and James Moray both, who was now seen as the leader of the protestant party. In it, it was agreed that:
- If she chose to remarry, the queen’s next husband would be Scottish-born;
- The Earl of Moray was accepted as a possible heir to the throne, although he would remain a bastard;
- The Earl of Moray was awarded the title of Duke of Albany for himself and his heirs, a title traditionally held by the second son of the Scottish monarch;
- The Earl of Moray’s betrothal to Princess Mary Margaret was accepted;
- The queen could continue ruling until the natural end of her life;
- The queen’s children would be raised learning both Catholic and Protestant rites, being allowed to choose their religion later in life;
- The twenty-five Scottish rebels, including Colin Campbell, would have to pay taxes to the crown and were no longer allowed to train their own men;
- Princess Mary Margaret was to be returned to her mother’s custody but would be married to her half-uncle when she turned fourteen, from whence she’d live with him;
- Prince James, Duke of Rothesay, was accepted by the rebels as heir-apparent to the Scottish crown, regardless of his religion;
- The twenty-five Scottish peers would respect Prince James’ betrothal to Infanta Catalina;
- The eldest daughter of Prince James and Infanta Catalina would wed a Scottish noble, although not a direct descendant of the twenty-six Scottish lords;
- The queen would respect the decisions of the Scottish parliament, especially in regards to the treatment of religion.
With peace finally achieved and her daughter returned to her, Queen Mary Stuart lived through the year of 1574 in relative happiness, although she would never speak to her half-brother and future son-in-law, James Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, again.
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Okay this was a fascinating chapter. The treaty is complex, and I'm sure has loop holes.... Mary Margaret's youth is an easy one to exploit if Mary ever wants to get her daughter out of the Albany match, for one - but I look forward to seeing more of Scotland over the years.
If I was the Earl of Moray, I'd be on my knees praying to outlive my sister - no way Mary lets him slide on this as soon as the tables turn in her favour. Can't wait to see what happens!
Very interesting, especially with how James weaseled his way out of defeat... It sure would be a shame if the bastard tripped down the stairs, or was killed by "bandits"... King Phillip may even arrange to get rid of him, so he is not a threat to his daughter when she becomes Queen...
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I still don't know what I'm going to do with Moray, because my plans for Scotland only go this far, then there's a blank until the arrival of Catherine Michelle in the mids 1580s. I know neither Mary nor her son will be pleased with this match, and will try to stop it, but to do so, would mean breaking the peace treaty and lose some of that nice noble taxes they got. We will see, of course, but I still need to do some thinking before I have any plans in regards to Moray and Mary Margaret.
Moray need to die BEFORE Mary Margaret reached the age for marrying. Is not so complicated...
Yes, I know, but people would notice if the person Mary hated the most in the world suddenly died under suspicious circumstances, and James is very powerful in Scotland
Then maybe he doesn't die under suspicious circumstances. Maybe he dies in a joust or something. In a noticeable way.
Of King Phillip, he ran afoul, so he ended up with a blade through the jowls...
There, I even did some poetry...
There, I even did some poetry...
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It's great
I just haven't got a clear image in my head yet, so I still need to have some ideas before I can be sure of what I want to happen with Moray (although I can tell everyone that I DON'T like this engagement. It was a very troubling idea for myself, and writing it was so taxing that I often stood up and walked away from the computer to hug and kiss my baby nephew before returning.)True, but King Phillip could probably lend Mary enough support to prop her up... Unless of course, he is occupied elsewhere....
And of course we've got Protestant Queen Elizabeth who is much close and can respond much faster.
Very true.. In any case it'll be interesting to see how this goes..