Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Stewart (Stuart) dynasty, which was to rule Scotland and, in time, the rest of Britain,
until 1707.
The Renaissance
James IV (r 1488-1513) married the daughter of Henry VII of England, the first of the
Tudor monarchs, thereby linking the two royal families through 'the Marriage of the
Thistle and the Rose.' This didn't prevent the French from persuading James to go to war
with his in-laws, and he was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, along with 10,000 of
his subjects. Renaissance ideas, in particular Scottish poetry and architecture flourished
during James IV's reign.
Mary, Queen of Scots & the Reformation
In 1542 King James V, childless, lay on his deathbed broken-hearted, it is said, after his
defeat by the English at Solway Moss. Then news came that his wife had given birth to a
baby girl. Fearing the end of the Stewart dynasty, and recalling its origin through Robert
the Bruce's daughter, James sighed, 'It cam' wi' a lass, and it will gang wi' a lass.' He
died shortly thereafter, leaving his week-old daughter, Mary, to inherit the throne as
Queen of Scots.
She was sent to France when she was young
and Scotland was ruled by regents, who rejec-
ted overtures from Henry VIII of England ur-
ging them to wed the infant queen to his son.
Furious Henry sent his armies to take ven-
geance on the Scots. The 'Rough Wooing', as
it was called, failed to win hearts and minds
and in 1558 Mary was married to the French dauphin and became queen of France as well
as Scotland.
While Mary was in France, being raised as a Roman Catholic, the Reformation tore
through Scotland, to where, following the death of her sickly husband, the 18-year-old re-
turned in 1561. She was formally welcomed to her capital city and held a famous audien-
ce with John Knox. The great reformer harangued the young queen and she later agreed to
protect the budding Protestant Church in Scotland while continuing to practise as a Cath-
olic privately.
She married Lord Darnley in the Chapel Royal at Holyrood and gave birth to a son
(later James VI) in 1565. Any domestic bliss was short-lived and, in a scarcely believable
train of events, Darnley was involved in the murder of Mary's Italian secretary Rizzio (ru-
A well-presented and easily absorbed introduction
to Scottish history can be found at
www.bbc.co.uk/
history/scot
tishhistory. The accompanying images
of historical sites help bring it to life.
