The blue lion - is Chelsea FC's lion linked to the Percy or Robert the Bruce blue lion?

* * *

Chelsea Football Club have a blue lion -

is there a link to the Percy or Robert the Bruce

blue lion?

* * *

(quotes)

Chelsea F.C.

Their traditional crest is a ceremonial blue lion holding a staff;

(quotes)

Chelsea F.C.

Their traditional crest is a ceremonial blue lion holding a staff;

a modified version of this was adopted in 2005.[4]

* * *

In 1953, Chelsea's crest was changed to an upright blue lion looking backwards and holding a staff, which was to endure for the next three decades.

This crest was based on elements in the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea [26]

with the "lion rampant regardant" taken from the arms of then club president Viscount Chelsea

and the staff from the Abbots of Westminster, former Lords of the Manor of Chelsea. It also featured three red roses, to represent England, and two footballs. This was the first club badge to appear on shirts, since the policy of putting the crest on the shirts was only adopted in the early 1960s.[25]

In 1986, with new owners now at the club, Chelsea's crest was changed again as part of another attempt to modernise.[25] The new badge featured a more naturalistic non-heraldic lion, yellow and not blue. It lasted for the next 19 years, with some modifications such as the use of different colours.

With new ownership, and the club's centenary approaching, combined with demands from fans for the club's traditional badge to be restored, it was decided that the crest should be changed again in 2004. The new crest was officially adopted for the start of the 2005-06 season and marks

a return to the older design of the blue heraldic lion holding a staff.[4] As with previous crests, this one has appeared in various colours, including white and gold.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_F.C.

* * *




1953 image not copyrighted to club


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chelsea%27s_old_badge.jpg




* * *

"Why Hotspur .....?"

The real name of Harry Hotspur (best known from Shakespeare's "Henry IV") was Sir Henry Percy. Sir Harry, as he was better known, gained the nickname Hotspur because he fearlessly led his troops as they rode into battle.

He was the teenage son of the Earl of Northumberland. The Northumberland (or Percy) family was the most powerful in England. They came to own land in north London, including what was to become Northumberland Park.

Originally a cricket club organized by a church minister to keep local schoolboys occupied, one of their earliest HQs was the YMCA at the park's Percy House, with the Northumberland Arms pub being utilized for changing rooms as football became the group's main pursuit.

Their first treasurer L R Casey had an older brother who, well versed in Tottenham area history, suggested "Hotspur" as the name of the club. It was subsequently discovered that there was a London Hotspur also in existence, so Tottenham was added as a prefix.

By the way, Harry Hotspur died leading rebel forces against Henry IV at the Battle of Shrewsbury (1403).

-- Thanks to Steve Marson for the original background for this historical segment.

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit; and, upon this charge
Cry "God for Harry! England and Saint George!"


http://www.thequake.com/caats.html


* * *

Warkworth

* * *

Warkworth is a village in the county of Northumberland. It is probably best known for its well-preserved medieval castle, church and hermitage.

Warkworth is situated in a loop of the River Coquet, about 1 mile from the Northumberland coast.
It is 30 miles north of Newcastle, and about 40 miles south of the Scottish border. An ancient bridge of two arches crosses the river at Warkworth, with a fortified gateway on the road mounting to the castle


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warkworth%2C_Northumberland

* * *



In 1332 the Percys gained Warkworth, and it became their favourite residence.

* * *

(picture (view in distance) by Gail Johnson at flickr)

* * *

Isleworth

* * *

The River Crane flows into the Thames to the south of Isleworth Ait. The Crane's distributary, the Duke of Northumberland's River, also flows into the Thames to the west of Isleworth Ait.



History

A riverside settlement on the Middlesex bank of the River Thames, Isleworth was well established by the time of the Norman Conquest in the 11th century. Excavations around the eastern end of Syon Park Estate unearthed evidence of Romano-British settlement.

The earliest form of the name is Gislhaesuuyrth, meaning Gilhere's settlement. Isleworth's southern part is known as 'Old Isleworth', while its northern part, bordering on Osterley, is known as 'Spring Grove'.

From the Norman Conquest until 1227 the Norman family of St Valeri held the manor of Isleworth. The family gave the manor to the Abbey of St Valeri which stood at the mouth of the Somme, Picardy. Henry III seized the Isleworth and other property of the St Valeri family and gave the manor to his brother, the Earl of Cornwall, who built a new manor house.

In 1431 a monastery was built on the site of the present Syon Park, and Henry V granted the nuns from the Bridgettine order land on the banks of the Thames where they built their first house in 1415.


(quotes, from)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isleworth

* * *

Carew Castle

* * *

The magnificent Carew Castle has a history spanning 2000 years. Set in a stunning location, overlooking a 23 acre millpond, the castle displays the development from a Norman fortification to an Elizabethan country house. The site incorporates an impressive 11th century Celtic Cross, the only restored Tidal Mill in Wales, a medieval bridge and a picnic area all linked by a delightful mile roundwalk.

http://www.carewcastle.com/

Carew Castle is justly celebrated as one of the most magnificent castles of south Wales. Its position is low-lying, but still prominent in the flat land around the tidal reaches of the Carew river. The castle stands at the end of a ridge at a strategically excellent site commanding a crossing point of the then-still navigable river.

King and Perks 1962; Official Guidebook

http://www.castlewales.com/carew.html

Carew Castle is an interesting blend of the strong defences of a medieval fortress and the grandeur of a Tudor mansion house, attractively located next to the Carew River, dammed in the 16th century to form a mill pond.

Gerald de Windsor, sheriff of Pembroke Castle during royal ownership in the early 1100's, gained the land at Carew as part of a dowry on his marriage to Helen Nest, the daughter of the late Welsh king, Rhys ap Tewdwr. All that remains from the castle that he built at Carew is a wall from a tower that is now incorporated into part of the East Range. Gerald's descendants adopted 'de Carew' as their family name.

http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/wales/carew/carew.php

* * *

picture by sarahfelicity at flickr

* * *

Warcop

* * *

Warcop is on the east side of the River Eden, where two rivulets meet. There is a 16th century bridge over the river.

"Coppe" means "the top of a hill".


The Warcop family held the manor, with a manor house, Warcop Tower, from the time of King John.


Over the centuries it belonged to a number of other families.

The 12th century Norman church is of red sandstone, added to and restored over the centuries.

It is a cruciform church with a south aisle and transept.

Inside are 15th century roof beams, a 13th century piscina and a 17th century porch.
Once a tower housed bells. At one time the church belonged to Shap Abbey.

Around Warcop the hills are scattered with prehistoric cairns, stones and Roman remains.
Castle Hill, a large fortress, once covered an acre.

* * *

List of seats and/or estates, of the Percy family

* * *

Percy family, Dukes of Northumberland

List of seats and/or estates:

Launceston, Cornwall

Newport, Cornwall

Allerdale, Cumberland

Cockermouth, Cumberland

Egremont, Cumberland

Bere Alston, Devon

Slapton, Devon

Werrington, Devon

Haselbury Bryan, Dorset

Darlington, Durham

Somerhill Park, Kent

Burwell, Lincolnshire

Claxby, Lincolnshire

Garthorpe, Lincolnshire

Northumberland House, London

East Bedfont, Middlesex

Hatton, Middlesex

Isleworth, Middlesex

Syon House, Middlesex

Tottenham, Middlesex

Westminster, Middlesex

Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire

Alnmouth, Northumberland

Alnwick, Northumberland

Prudhoe, Northumberland

Rothbury, Northumberland

Tynemouth, Northumberland

Warkworth, Northumberland

Cary Fitzpaine, Somerset

Isle Abbots, Somerset

Stogursey, Somerset

Albury, Surrey

Haldersh, Surrey

Weston Gumshalve, Surrey

Petworth, Sussex

Heversham, Westmorland

Warcop, Westmorland

Marlborough, Wiltshire

Pewsey, Wiltshire

Trowbridge, Wiltshire

Airmyn, Yorkshire

Catton, Yorkshire

Leconfield, Yorkshire

Pocklington, Yorkshire

Snape, Yorkshire

Spofforth, Yorkshire

Stanwick, Yorkshire

Tadcaster, Yorkshire

Topcliffe, Yorkshire

Wressell, Yorkshire

Laugharne, Carmarthenshire

Striguil, Monmouthshire

Carew Castle, Pembrokeshire


http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/feseats.asp?FER=F10786

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/fedocs.asp?FER=F10786

* * *

Tottenham - history, and arms

* * *

History

There has been a settlement at Tottenham, for over a thousand years.

It grew up along the old Roman Road, Ermine Street,
and between High Cross and Tottenham Hale, today's Monument Way.

Toteham as it was then known was mentioned in the Domesday Book[1].

* * *

From the Tudor period onwards Tottenham became a popular recreation
and leisure destination for wealthy Londoners.

Henry VIII is known to have visited Bruce Castle and also hunted in Tottenham Wood.

* * *


Bruce Castle, Lordship Lane - Now a Local History Museum, and Grade 1 listed,

it was Tottenham's Manor House, and dates from the 16th century,
with alterations by subsequent occupants.

It was given the name 'Bruce Castle' during the 17th century by the 2nd Lord Coleraine, who was Lord of the manor at the time.

He named it after 'Robert the Bruce', whose family had been Lord of the Manor during the medieval period.

* * *

High Cross - Erected sometime between 1600-1609 on the site of an earlier Christian cross, although there is some speculation that the first structure on the site was a Roman Beacon or Marker, situated on a low summit on Ermine Street. Tottenham High Cross is often mistakenly thought to be an Eleanor cross.

* * *

Tottenham Wood - was an ancient woodland area that covered most of the present Wood Green.

* * *

(quotes, from)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tottenham

* * *

picture is "the arms of Tottenham"

* * *

Bruce Castle

* * *

Bruce Castle



Bruce Castle is a 16th century manor house
in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London, UK.
It was built by Sir William Compton.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Castle

* * *

Bruce Castle,
Tottenham, Haringey, London.
22 November 2005. Photographer: Fin Fahey

Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/

* * *

Harry Hotspur and the Percy lions - Tottenham Hotspur football club

* * *

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is an English professional football club, which plays in the Premier League. The club is also commonly referred to simply as Tottenham or Spurs, while their own fans also refer to them as the Lilywhites because of their traditional white shirts. Its home ground is White Hart Lane, Tottenham, London.

In 1882 the
Hotspur Football Club was formed by boys from a local grammar school
and Hotspur Cricket Club.

It is thought that the name Hotspur was associated with Sir Henry Percy (Sir Harry Hotspur)
who lived locally in the 14th century.

The team later became Tottenham Hotspur to distinguish itself from another team called London Hotspur.

* * *


Club crest


Since the 1901 FA Cup final the Tottenham Hotspur crest has featured a cockerel.

Harry Hotspur (from whom the club is said to take its name) was famed for his riding spurs
and fighting cocks were fitted with spurs which can be seen in the crests.[7]

Between 1956 and 2006 the Spurs used a coat of arms featuring a number of landmarks
and associations linked to local area.

The lions flanking the shield came from the Northumberland family's arms.
They owned large areas of Tottenham
and Sir Henry Percy (Harry Hotspur) was a family member.

The castle alludes to Bruce Castle located 400 yards from the ground and which now houses a museum.
The trees are those of Seven Sisters which were planted at Page Green by the Seven Sisters of Tottenham
and after whom a Tube station and main road were named.
The arms featured the Latin motto "Audere Est Facere".

In 1983 to overcome unauthorised "pirate" merchandising the club's badge was altered
by adding the two red lions as heraldic and the motto scroll.

To rebrand and modernise the club's image, in 2006 both this club badge and the coat of arms gave way to a professionally-designed logo/emblem

(quotes, from)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tottenham_Hotspur_F.C.

* * *

Welsh ruin

* * *

picture by

Stuart Yeates at flickr

* * *

Welsh women, 100 years ago

* * *

picture by

Matthew Gidley at flickr

* * *

Welsh woman, 100 years ago

* * *

picture by

Matthew Gidley at flickr

* * *

Welsh dragon flag

* * *

picture by

worldmegan


at flickr

* * *

driving through Wales

* * *

driving through wales

* * *



picture by gogo et chunk at flickr

* * *

Welsh dragons and daffodils

* * *

pictures by

*.Laura.* (daffodils)

and World of Oddy at flickr

* * *

An idea about the 1595 portraits

* * *

It may be that the portraits of Eleanor and Henry

were a commemoration of their sadness

at the 10th anniversary

of the death of their father.

* * *

from a newsgroup post by Lyra

(quote)


"fatally shot in mysterious circumstances" (suicide or murder?)

at the Tower of London on 21 June 1585.

^^^^^

The near midsummer date
links, maybe, with the flowers in the grass.

^^^^^

There is a picture of Henry's sister, Eleanor, in 1595,

looking very sad,

and with a "black armband" made of jet [?]

and pearls (for tears?)



* * *

I think Lyra is likely to be right, here.

* * *

Y Gododdin

* * *

Y Gododdin -

ancient Welsh poem

* * *

Page from the Book of Aneurin , c. 1275. From the 1908 facsimile edition by J Gwenogvryn Evans

* * *

Welsh flag

Welsh flag

more of the Welsh ancestry...

* * *

William HERBERT (1st Earl of Pembroke)

Born: 1423, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Acceded: 1468, created by Edward IV

Died: 27 Jul 1469, Banbury, Oxfordshire / Northamptonshire, England

Buried: Tintern Abbey

Notes: Knight of the Garter. Leading Yorkist in War of Roses. Captured by Lancastrians and beheaded 1469 at Banbury.

Father: William Ap THOMAS HERBERT (Sir Knight)

Mother: Gladys GAM

Married: Anne DEVEREUX (Countess Pembroke) about 1440, Hereford, Herefordshire, England

Children:

1. Maud HERBERT (Countess Northumberland)

and other children

* * *

William Ap THOMAS HERBERT (Sir Knight)

Born: about 1398 / 1401, Raglan, Usk, Monmouthshire, England

Acceded: Raglan Castle

Died: 1446

Buried: Priory Church, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, England

Notes: knighted 1415 - built Raglan Castle, Gwent, SE Wales, 1430.

Father: Thomas Ap Guillem HERBERT

Mother: Maud MORLEY

* * *

Thomas Ap Guillem HERBERT

Born: about 1362, Perth-Hir, Monmouthshire, Wales / ABT 1372, Wernddu, Monmouthshire, England

Died: 4 Jul 1438
Notes: The Complete Peerage vol.X,p.400,note b.

Father: Guillem Ap JENKEN

Mother: Gwenlian Verch HOWEL

* * *

Guillem Ap JENKEN

Born: about 1330, Perthyr, Rockfield
Died: about 1377, Perth Hir, Monmouthshire, England

Father: Jenkin Ap ADAM (Lord of Gwarindee)

Mother: Gwenlian Verch ARON

* * *

Jenkin Ap ADAM (Lord of Gwarindee)

Father: Adam Ap HERBERT

Mother: Christian Verch GWARYDDU

Married: Gwenlian Verch ARON (daughter of Aaron Ap Rhys and Gwenllian Verch Griffith)

Children:

1. Guillem Ap JENKEN

* * *

Henry is of Welsh descent...

* * *

There is Welsh blood in the Percy

family,

from the marriage of

Maud Herbert,

to

Henry Percy the 4th Earl.

* * *

Maud HERBERT (Countess Northumberland)

Born: 1448, Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Died: 27 Jul 1485/1495

Buried: Beverley Minster

* * *

Father: William HERBERT (1st Earl of Pembroke)

Mother: Anne DEVEREUX (Countess Pembroke)

* * *

Married: Henry PERCY (4th Earl of Northumberland) about 1473/1476

* * *

Henry's mother

* * *

Catherine NEVILLE (Countess Northumberland)

Born: 1546, Snape Hall, Snape, Yorkshire, England

Died: 28 Oct 1596

Buried: Saint Paul's Chapel, Westminster Abbey, London, Middlesex, England

Father: John NEVILLE (4th Baron Latimer)

Mother: Lucy SOMERSET (Baroness Latimer)

Married: Henry PERCY (8th Earl of Northumberland) 28 Jan 1562

Children:

1. Henry PERCY (9th Earl of Northumberland)

and other children too

* * *

why were they unhappy...?

* * *

Their mother, Catherine (nee) Neville,

died on 28 Oct 1596.

* * *

Kit Marlowe died (or disappeared)

on May 30, 1593.

* * *

Had Eleanor already married,

although only 12...

and was not happy?

* * *

Eleanor looks sad too...

* * *

Is the same sadness shown in both

sister and brother?

* * *

Eleanor again...

Henry's sister Eleanor, a picture from 1595

and the next picture...

A closer look at one of the pictures...

Interpreting the picture...

* * *

Note the black clothes, and the black hat...

typical dress of Puritans...

was Henry ever a Puritan? - it doesn't seem likely...

* * *

so, is it due to a death in family or among friends?

* * *

in one picture, is he holding a handkerchief -

sign of tears?

or is it a crumpled letter?

* * *

is the book a poetry book?

* * *

Is Henry sad or grieving in the two pictures...

* * *

Is Henry sad or grieving? ...

The paintings are from circa 1595...

may it be the death of his mother in 1596?

Or, the death (or disappearance) of Kit Marlowe -

Christopher Marlowe - in 1593...

* * *

Penelope and Dorothy Devereux

Dorothy Devereux - 2

* * *

When Henry was imprisoned in the Tower, for allegedly
conspiring in the Gunpowder plot,

Dorothy is said to have confronted Sir Robert Cecil (Secretary of State)
in the palace gardens,
demanding to have her husband released
in a
torrent of words,
reportedly going on to rail at the King himself.

* * *

Cecil made a complaint to Henry about her.


* * *

Dorothy Devereux

* * *

Henry's marriage was not very happy.

* * *

His wife, Dorothy Devereux,
was known for wilfulness and sharp words.

They were estranged and temporarily reconciled.

* * *

Her brother and sister were the Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux,
executed for rebellion against the Queen,

and Penelope Devereux, married to Lord Rich, and later Lord Mountjoy,
and likely to be the "Stella" of the poems
"Astrophil and Stella".


* * *

Henry as a warrior

* * *

Henry had gone to war at the siege of Ostend with Sir Francis de Vere and other lords.

He didn't take part in suppressing border warfare on his Northumbrian estates.

He collected books on militaria and wrote on the arts of war himself.

* * *

He invented an an elaborate board game which he called 'art militaire'.

It was played on an inlaid table with 460 toy soldiers.

* * *

Mary's story - 12

* * *

Historical biography and analysis

* Mary Queen of Scots(2006) by Retha Warnicke, ISBN 0-415-29183-6
* Queen of Scots by Rosalind K. Marshall, ISBN 1-873644-95-7
* Mary Queen of Scots by Antonia Fraser, ISBN 0-385-31129-X
* "Mary, Queen of Scots, and the Babington conspiracy", by David Alan Johnson, Military Heritage, August 2005, no. 1, Volume 7, ISSN 1524-8666
* "Mary Queen of Scots and the French Connection", History Today, 54, 7 (July 2004), pp. 37-43, by Alexander Wilkinson
* Elizabeth and Mary by Jane Dunn
* Queen of Scots: the true life of Mary Stuart (New York, 2004) by John Guy, ISBN 0618254110
* Mary Queen of Scots and French Public Opinion, 1542-1600 (Palgrave, 2005) by Alexander Wilkinson, ISBN 1-4039-2039-7 (hdbk)
* Mary Queen of Scots: A Study in Failure (London, 1988) by Jenny Wormald, ISBN 0-540-01131-2
* Mary Queen of Scots and the Murder of Darnley by Alison Weir
* The "Rough Wooings": Mary, Queen of Scots 1542-1551 (East Linton 2000) Marcus Merriman, ISBN 1-86232-090-X

Popular fiction and drama

* Mary, Queen of Scots by Sally Stepanek (young adult fiction)
* Mary Stuart, a play by Friedrich Schiller
* Wallenstein and Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller
* Mary of Scotland, a play by Maxwell Anderson
* The Queen's Own Fool by Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris
* Immortal Queen by Elizabeth Byrd
* Shadow Queen, a supernatural novel by Tony Gibbs
* The Marchman; Warden of the Queen's March; The Queen's Grace by Nigel Tranter
* Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George
* Court of Shadows by Cynthia Morgan, a suspense novel
* Fatal Majesty by Reay Tannahill
* Mary, Queen of Scots: A Queen without a country by Kathryn Lasky
* Many plays and films on Elizabeth I (eg Elizabeth I) also feature Mary
* Gunpowder, Treason & Plot Television Mini series (2004) depicting the turbulent reigns of Scottish monarchs Mary, Queen of Scots and her son King James VI of Scotland who became King James I of England and foiled the Gunpowder Plot. Directed by Gillies MacKinnon.

See also

* Rising of the North
* Act Anent the demission of the Crown in favour of our Sovereign Lord, and his Majesty’s Coronation 1567
* List of famous tall women

References

1. ^ Mary Stuart by Stefan Zweig
2. ^ For a modern discussion of this see the essay in, "Death, the Scaffold and the Stage…" in "Christopher Marlowe and English Renaissance Culture", by Darryll Grantley, Ashgate Publishing (May 25, 1999).
3. ^ GUY, John. My Heart is My Own, 2005.

External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Mary I of Scotland

* Mary's biography at the UK government's official website
* Marie Stuart Society of Scotland
* An ancestor chart of her; not necessarily reliable
* A transcription of The Casket Letters
* The New Student's Reference Work/Mary Queen of Scots
* Mary Stuart Portraits

Mary I of Scotland
House of Stuart
Born: December 8, 1542
Died: February 8, 1587
Preceded by
James V Queen of Scotland
December 14, 1542–July 24, 1567 Succeeded by
James VI
Preceded by
Catherine de' Medici Dauphine of France
April 24, 1558–July 10, 1559 Succeeded by
Maria Anna of Bavaria
Queen of France
July 10, 1559–December 5, 1560 Succeeded by
Elisabeth of Austria

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_Scotland"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots

* * *

Mary's story - 11

* * *


In popular culture


Films

* The two classic film biographies of Mary (neither of them so faithful to history as to get in the way of the story) are the 1936 Mary of Scotland starring Katharine Hepburn and Fredric March and the 1971 Mary, Queen of Scots starring Vanessa Redgrave and Nigel Davenport. One of the most significant inaccuracies in the Redgrave film is a scene in which Mary and her cousin Elizabeth I secretly met on horseback; in all their lives, the English and Scots queens never once met in person. It was announced in May 2007 that Scarlett Johansson will star in the title role of "Mary, Queen of Scots" which will be directed by John Curran.

Television

* In the BBC TV production Elizabeth R, Mary was played by Vivian Pickles. This is considered by some to be the most historically accurate portrayal of Mary during her captivity in England.
* In the ITV miniseries, Elizabeth I, the first two-hour segment partly centers around the conflict between Mary and Queen Elizabeth. Mary is portrayed by actress Barbara Flynn.
* In the 2004 BBC mini-series Gunpowder, Treason & Plot, Mary was played by French actress Clémence Poésy.


Theatre

* Mary also inspired the opera Maria Stuarda by Donizetti and the play Maria Stuart by Friedrich Schiller (a production of which opened in London's West End in 2005). The film Mary of Scotland is based on the hit Broadway play by Maxwell Anderson.

* Sarah Miles portrayed Mary Queen of Scots on Broadway and the West End in the play Vivat! Vivat! Regina! (1971) written by her husband Robert Bolt

* Martha Graham choreographed and directed the modern dance titled "Episodes" (1985) that premiered at Lincoln Centre, New York, the dance featured Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I resolving their dynastic issues over a game of tennis.

* Janet McTeer starred in the revival of the Schiller play Mary Stuart at the Apollo Theatre, London in 2005.

Poetry

In Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky's 20 sonnets to Mary Stuart (in Russian) the poet addresses her as an interlocutor.

Fiction

* Mary's story has been the subject of a number of novels, including: Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles: A Novel by Margaret George; Royal Road to Fotheringhay: The Story of Mary, Queen of Scots by Jean Plaidy; Fatal Majesty (2000) by Reay Tannahill. Mary features importantly in The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett, and in La Princesse de Clèves, set during her younger years in France.

* Author Sandra Davidson's historical romance novel ROSEFIRE includes a subplot of Mary, Queen of Scots

* In children's literature, novels on Mary, Queen of Scots include: Queen's Own Fool: A Novel of Mary Queen of Scots by Jane Yolen, The Lady of Fire and Tears by Terry Deary, and from the Royal Diaries series from Scholastic, Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without a Country, France, 1553 by Kathryn Lasky.

Music

* American progressive metal band Dream Theater uses a variation of the mark of Mary, Queen of Scots, as their trademark "Majesty" symbol.

* The song "Sad Song" by Lou Reed, featured in the 1973 album Berlin, references Mary in its initial verses.

Staring at my picture book
She looks like Mary, Queen of Scots
She seemed very regal to me
Just goes to show how wrong you can be

* The song "To France" by Mike Oldfield, featured in the 1984 album Discovery, references Mary in its chorus.

Never going to get to France.
Mary, Queen of Chance, will they find you?
Never going to get to France.
Could a new romance ever bind you?

* The song "Fotheringay" by The Fairport Convention, featured in the 1969 album What We Did on Our Holidays, is the story of Mary's last days in the prison of Fotheringhay Castle.

Her days of precious freedom, forfeited long before
To live such fruitless years behind a guarded door
But those days will last no more
Tomorrow, at this hour, she will be far away
Much farther than these islands, for the lonely Fotheringay


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots


* * *

Mary's story - 10

* * *


Historical legacy

Although the Casket Letters were accepted by the inquiry as genuine after a study of the handwriting, and of the information contained therein, and were generally held to be certain proof of guilt if authentic, the inquiry reached the conclusion that nothing was proven. From the start, this could have been predicted as the only conclusion that would satisfy Elizabeth. James MacKay comments that one of the stranger 'trials' in legal history ended with no finding of guilt with the result that the accusers went home to Scotland and the accused remained detained in 'protective custody'.

It is impossible now to prove the case either way. Without the Casket Letters, there would have been no case against Mary, and with hindsight it is difficult to say that any of the major parties involved considered the truth to be a priority. However, it is notable that Lady Antonia Fraser, James MacKay, and John Guy who have written well-respected biographies of Mary come to the same conclusion that they were forged. Guy has actually examined the Elizabethan transcripts of the letters rather than relying upon later printed copies.[3] He points out that the letters are disjointed. He also draws attention to the fact that the French version of one of the letters is bad in its use of language and grammar. Mary was an educated woman who could read, write, and speak French fluently. The construction of one of the letters in French has mistakes that a woman with her understanding would not make.

Another point made by these commentators is that the Casket Letters did not appear until the Conference of York. Mary had been forced to abdicate in 1567 and held captive for the best part of a year in Scotland. No reference can be found to the letters being used as evidence against Mary during this period. There was every reason for these letters to be made public to support her imprisonment and forced abdication. The originals disappeared after the Conference of York, thus adding to the sense that the letters were probably forged.

Though Mary Stuart has not been canonised by the Catholic Church, many consider her a martyr, and there are relics of her. Her prayer book was long shown in France. Her apologist published, in an English journal, a sonnet which Mary was said to have composed, written with her own hand in this book. A celebrated German actress, Mrs. Hendel-Schutz, who excited admiration by her attitudes, and performed Friedrich Schiller's "Maria" with great applause in several German cities, affirmed that a cross which she wore on her neck was the very same that once belonged to the unfortunate queen.

Relics of this description have never yet been subjected to the proof of their authenticity.







Mary's personal breviary, which she took with her to the scaffold, is preserved in the Russian National Library of St. Petersburg.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots

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Mary's story - 9 - Trial and execution

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Trial and execution

Mary was put on trial for treason by a court of about 40 noblemen, including Catholics, after being implicated in the Babington Plot and after having allegedly sanctioned the attempted assassination of Elizabeth. Mary denied the accusation and was spirited in her defence. One of her more memorable comments from her trial was "Remember Gentlemen the Theatre of history is wider than the Realm of England". She drew attention to the fact that she was denied the opportunity of reviewing the evidence or her papers that had been removed from her, that she had been denied access to legal counsel and that she had never been an English subject and thus could not be convicted of treason. The extent to which the plot was created by Sir Francis Walsingham and the English Secret Services will always remain open to conjecture.

In a trial presided over by England's Attorney General Sir John Popham, (later Lord Chief Justice), Mary was ultimately convicted of treason, and was sentenced to beheading at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire on February 8, 1587. She had spent the last hours of her life in prayer and also writing letters and her will. She expressed a request that her servants should be released. She also requested that she should be buried in France.

The government was eager to quash any attempts to obtain relics.

Her rosary beads and Prayer Book were the few items carried to her execution that can be considered to have survived.

In response to Mary's death, the Spanish Armada sailed to England to depose Elizabeth, but it lost a considerable number of ships in the Battle of Gravelines and ultimately retreated without touching English soil.

Mary's body was embalmed and left unburied at her place of execution for a year after her death. Her remains were placed in a secure lead coffin (thought to be further signs of fear of relic hunting). She was initially buried at Peterborough Cathedral in 1588, but her body was exhumed in 1612 when her son, King James I of England,
ordered she be reinterred in Westminster Abbey.









It remains there, along with at least 40 other descendants, in a chapel on the other side of the Abbey from the grave of her cousin Elizabeth. In the 1800s her tomb and that of Elizabeth I were opened to try to ascertain where James I was buried; he was ultimately found buried with Henry VII.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots

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picture of Westminster Abbey by Christine (bpc) at flickr



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Mary's story - 8

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The inquiry hinged on the "Casket Letters"

— eight letters purportedly from Mary to Bothwell,

reported by James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton to have been found in Edinburgh in a silver box engraved with an F (supposedly for Francis II), along with a number of other documents, including the Mary/Bothwell marriage certificate.

The authenticity of the Casket Letters has been the source of much controversy among historians. The originals have since been lost, and the copies available in various collections do not form a complete set. Mary argued that her handwriting was not difficult to imitate, and it has frequently been suggested either that the letters are complete forgeries, that incriminating passages were inserted before the inquiry, or that the letters were written to Bothwell by some other person. Comparisons of writing style have often concluded that they were not Mary's work. It would have required a skilled forger to produce this series of delicate poems in French, dedicated to a loved one (presumed to be Bothwell)[1]

Elizabeth considered Mary's designs on the English throne to be a serious threat, and so eighteen years of confinement followed, much of it in Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor in the custody of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and his redoubtable wife Bess of Hardwick. Bothwell was imprisoned in Denmark, became insane, and died in 1578, still in prison. In 1580 Mary's confinement was transferred to Sir Amias Paulet, and she was under his care for the rest of her life.

However, in 1570, Elizabeth was persuaded by representatives of Charles IX of France to promise to help Mary regain her throne. As a pre-condition, she demanded the ratification of the Treaty of Edinburgh, something Mary would still not agree to. Nevertheless, William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, continued negotiations with Mary on Elizabeth's behalf.

The Ridolfi Plot, which attempted to unite Mary and the Duke of Norfolk in marriage, caused Elizabeth to reconsider. With the queen's encouragement, Parliament introduced a bill in 1572 barring Mary from the throne. Elizabeth unexpectedly refused to give it the royal assent. The furthest she ever went was in 1584, when she introduced a document (the "Bond of Association") aimed at preventing any would-be successor from profiting from her murder. It was not legally binding, but was signed by thousands, including Mary herself.

Mary eventually became a liability that Elizabeth could no longer tolerate. Elizabeth did ask Mary's final custodian, Amias Paulet, if he would contrive some accident to remove Mary. He refused on the grounds that he would not allow such "a stain on his posterity." Mary was implicated in several plots to assassinate Elizabeth, raise the Catholic North of England, and put herself on the throne, possibly with French or Spanish help. The major plot for the political takeover was the Babington Plot, but some of Mary's supporters believed it and other plots to be either fictitious or undertaken without Mary's knowledge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots

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Mary's story - 7

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Abdication and imprisonment

On April 24 Mary visited her son at Stirling for the last time. On her way back to Edinburgh Mary was abducted, willingly or not, by Bothwell and his men and taken to Dunbar Castle where she was raped by Bothwell and became pregnant with twins, which she later miscarried while imprisoned. On May 6 they returned to Edinburgh and on May 15, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Mary and Bothwell were married according to Protestant rites.

The Scottish nobility turned against Mary and Bothwell and raised an army against them. Mary and Bothwell confronted the Lords at Carberry Hill on June 15, but there was no battle as Mary agreed to follow the Lords on condition that they let Bothwell go. However, the Lords broke their promise, and took Mary to Edinburgh and imprisoned her in Loch Leven Castle, situated on an island in the middle of Loch Leven. Between July 18 and July 24, 1567, Mary miscarried twins. On July 24, 1567, she was also forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in favour of her

On May 2, 1568, Mary escaped from Loch Leven and once again managed to raise a small army. After her army's defeat at the Battle of Langside on May 13, she fled to England. When Mary entered England on May 19, she was imprisoned by Elizabeth's officers at Carlisle. During her imprisonment, she famously had the phrase En ma Fin gît mon Commencement ("In my end is my beginning") embroidered on her cloth of estate.

After some wrangling over the question of whether Mary should be tried for the murder of Darnley, Elizabeth ordered an inquiry instead of a trial, which was held in York between October 1568 and January 1569. The inquiry was politically influenced, but Elizabeth did not wish to convict Mary of murder.

Mary refused to acknowledge the power of any court to try her since she was an anointed Queen, and the man ultimately in charge of the prosecution, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, was ruling Scotland in Mary's absence. His chief motive was to keep Mary out of Scotland and her supporters under control. Mary was not permitted to see them or to speak in her own defence at the tribunal. She refused to offer a written defence unless Elizabeth would guarantee a verdict of not guilty, which Elizabeth would not do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots

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Mary's story - 6

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Marriage to Darnley

At the Palace of Holyroodhouse on July 29, 1565,
Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, her first cousin.

The union infuriated Elizabeth, who felt she should have been asked permission for the marriage to even take place, as Darnley was an English subject. Elizabeth also felt threatened by the marriage, because both Mary and Darnley were claimants to the English throne, as Darnley and Mary were descendants of Margaret Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII. Their children would inherit both parents' claims, and thus, be next in line to the English throne.

This marriage, to a leading Catholic, precipitated Mary's half-brother, the Earl of Moray, to join with other Protestant Lords in open rebellion. Mary set out for Stirling on August 26, 1565 to confront them, and returned to Edinburgh the following month to raise more troops. Moray and the rebellious lords were routed and fled into exile, the decisive military action becoming known as the Chaseabout Raid.

Before long, Mary became pregnant. Darnley became arrogant and demanded power commensurate with his courtesy title of "King", and on one occasion Darnley attacked Mary and unsuccessfully attempted to cause her to miscarry their unborn child. Darnley was jealous of Mary's friendship with her private secretary, David Riccio, and, in March 1566 Darnley allegedly entered into a secret conspiracy with the nobles who had rebelled against Mary in the Chaseabout Raid. On March 9 a group of the lords, accompanied by Darnley, murdered Riccio in front of Mary while the two were in conference at Holyrood Palace. Darnley changed sides again and betrayed the lords, but the murder was the catalyst for the breakdown of their marriage.


Following the birth of their son, James, in 1566, a plot was hatched to remove Darnley, who was already ill (possibly suffering from syphilis). He was recuperating in a house in Edinburgh where Mary visited him frequently, so that it appeared a reconciliation was in prospect. In February 1567, an explosion occurred in the house at Kirk o'Field, and Darnley was found dead in the garden, apparently of strangulation. This event, which should have been Mary's salvation, only harmed her reputation. James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, an adventurer who would become her third husband, was generally believed to be guilty of the assassination, and was brought before a mock trial but acquitted. Mary attempted to regain support among her Lords while Bothwell got some of them to sign the Ainslie Tavern Bond, in which they agreed to support his claims to marry Mary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots

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Mary's story - 5

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Religious divide


Mary returned to Scotland soon after her husband's death and arrived in Leith on August 19, 1561. Despite her talents, Mary's upbringing had not given her the judgment to cope with the dangerous and complex political situation in the Scotland of the time.

Mary, being a devout Roman Catholic, was regarded with suspicion by many of her subjects as well as by Elizabeth, who was her father's cousin and the monarch of the neighbouring Protestant country. Scotland was torn between Catholic and Protestant factions, and Mary's illegitimate half-brother, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, was a leader of the Protestant faction. The Protestant reformer John Knox also preached against Mary, condemning her for hearing Mass, dancing, dressing too elaborately, and many other things, real and imagined

To the disappointment of the Catholic party, however, Mary did not hasten to take up the Catholic cause. She tolerated the newly-established Protestant ascendancy, and kept James Stewart as her chief advisor. In this, she may have had to acknowledge her lack of effective military power in the face of the Protestant Lords. She joined with James in the destruction of Scotland's leading Catholic magnate, Lord Huntly, in 1562.

Mary was also having second thoughts about the wisdom of having crossed Elizabeth, and she attempted to make up the breach by inviting Elizabeth to visit Scotland. Elizabeth refused, and the bad blood remained between them. Mary then sent William Maitland of Lethington as an ambassador to the English court to put the case for Mary as a potential heir to the throne. Elizabeth's response is said to have included the words "As for the title of my crown, for my time I think she will not attain it." However, Mary, in her own letter to her maternal uncle Francis, Duke of Guise, reports other things that Maitland told her, including Elizabeth's supposed statement that, "I for my part know none better, nor that my self would prefer to her." Elizabeth was mindful of the role Parliament would have to play in the matter.

In December 1561 arrangements were made for the two queens to meet, this time in England. The meeting had been fixed for York "or another town" in August or September 1562, but Elizabeth sent Sir Henry Sidney to cancel in July because of the Civil War in France. In 1563, Elizabeth made another attempt to neutralise Mary by suggesting she marry Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (Henry Sidney's brother-in-law), whom Elizabeth trusted and thought she could control. Dudley, being a Protestant, would have solved a double problem for Elizabeth. She sent an ambassador to tell Mary that, if she would marry someone (as yet unnamed) of Elizabeth's choosing, Elizabeth would "proceed to the inquisition of her right and title to be our next cousin and heir". This proposal was rejected.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots


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Mary's story - 4

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Claim to the English throne

Under the ordinary laws of succession, Mary was next in line to the English throne after her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, who was childless. In the eyes of many Catholics Elizabeth was illegitimate, making Mary the true heir.

The anti-Catholic Act of Settlement was not passed until 1701, but the last will and testament of Henry VIII had excluded the Stuarts from succeeding to the English throne. Mary's troubles were still further increased by the Huguenot rising in France, called le tumulte d'Amboise (March 6–March 17, 1560), making it impossible for the French to succour Mary's side in Scotland. The question of the succession was therefore a real one.

François died on December 5, 1560. Mary's mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici, became regent for the late king's brother Charles IX, who inherited the French throne. Under the terms of the Treaty of Edinburgh, signed by Mary's representatives on July 6, 1560 following the death of Marie of Guise, France undertook to withdraw troops from Scotland and recognise Elizabeth's right to rule England. The seventeen-year-old Mary, still in France, refused to ratify the treaty.

Ancestors

Mary I of Scotland's ancestors in three generations

Mary I of Scotland	Father: James V of Scotland	Paternal Grandfather: James IV of Scotland	Paternal Great-grandfather: James III of Scotland
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Margaret of Denmark
		Paternal Grandmother: Margaret Tudor	Paternal Great-grandfather: Henry VII of England
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Elizabeth of York
	Mother: Marie de Guise	Maternal Grandfather: Claude, Duke of Guise	Maternal Great-grandfather: René II, Duke of Lorraine
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Phillipa of Guelders
		Maternal Grandmother: Antoinette de Bourbon	Maternal Great-grandfather: François, Count of Vendôme
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Marie de Luxembourg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots

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Mary's story - 3

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The "rough wooing"

The Treaties of Greenwich fell apart soon after Mary's coronation. The betrothal did not sit well with the Scots, especially since Henry VIII suspiciously tried to change the agreement so that he could possess Mary years before the marriage was to take place. He also wanted them to break their traditional alliance with France. Fearing an uprising among the people, the Scottish Parliament broke off the treaty and the engagement at the end of the year.

Henry VIII then began his "rough wooing" designed to impose the marriage to his son on Mary. This consisted of a series of raids on Scottish territory and other military actions. It lasted until June 1551, costing over half a million pounds and many lives. In May of 1544, the English Earl of Hertford (later created Duke of Somerset by Edward VI) arrived in the Firth of Forth hoping to capture the city of Edinburgh and kidnap Mary, but Marie de Guise hid her in the secret chambers of Stirling Castle.

On September 10, 1547, known as "Black Saturday", the Scots suffered a bitter defeat at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh. Marie de Guise, fearful for her daughter, sent her temporarily to Inchmahome Priory, and turned to the French ambassador Monsieur D'Oysel.

The French, remaining true to the Auld Alliance, came to the aid of the Scots. The new French King, Henri II, was now proposing to unite France and Scotland by marrying the little Queen to his newborn son, the Dauphin François. This seemed to Marie to be the only sensible solution to her troubles. In February 1548, hearing that the English were on their way back, Marie moved Mary to Dumbarton Castle. The English left a trail of devastation behind once more and seized the strategically located town of Haddington. By June, the much awaited French help had arrived. On July 7, the French Marriage Treaty was signed at a nunnery near Haddington.

Childhood in France

With her marriage agreement in place, five-year-old Mary was sent to France in 1548 to spend the next ten years at the French court. Henri II had offered to guard her and raise her. On August 7, 1548, the French fleet sent by Henry II sailed back to France from Dumbarton carrying the five-year-old Queen of Scotland on board. She was accompanied by her own little court consisting of two lords, two half brothers, and the "four Marys", four little girls her own age, all named Mary, and the daughters of some of the noblest families in Scotland: Beaton, Seton, Fleming, and Livingston.

Vivacious, pretty, and clever (according to contemporary accounts), Mary had a promising childhood. While in the French court, she was a favourite. She received the best available education, and at the end of her studies, she had mastered French, Latin, Greek, Spanish, and Italian in addition to her native Scots. She also learned how to play two instruments and learned prose, poetry, horsemanship, falconry, and needlework.










On April 24, 1558 she married the Dauphin François at Notre Dame de Paris. When Henri II died on July 10, 1559, Mary became Queen Consort of France; her husband became François II of France.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots

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Mary's story - 2 - Heritage, birth, and coronation

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Heritage, birth, and coronation

During the 14th century reign of Robert II of Scotland, it had been confirmed that the Scottish Crown would only be inherited by males in the line of Robert's children—all sons—who were listed in that parliamentary Act. Females and female lines could inherit only after extinction of male lines.

Mary ascended to the throne because, with the death of James V, there were no remaining direct male descendants of Robert II of unquestionably legitimate origins (John Stewart, Duke of Albany, a direct descendant of Robert II, would probably have succeeded James V had he not died in 1536). c

Mary Stuart was the first member of the royal House of Stuart to use the Gallicised spelling Stuart, rather than the earlier Stewart. (Mary adopted the French spelling Stuart during her time in France, and she and her descendants continued to use it.)

Princess Mary Stuart was born at Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow, West Lothian, on December 7 or December 8, 1542 to King James V of Scotland and his French wife, Marie de Guise. In Falkland Palace, Fife, her father heard of the birth and prophesied, "The devil go with it! It came with a lass, it will pass with a lass!" James truly believed that Mary's birth marked the end of the Stuarts' reign over Scotland. Instead, through Mary's son, it was the beginning of their reign over both the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England.

The six-day-old Mary became Queen of Scotland when her father died at the age of thirty, probably from cholera, although his contemporaries believed his death to have been caused by grief over the Scots' loss to the English at the Battle of Solway Moss. James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran was the next in line for the throne after Mary; he acted as regent for Mary until 1554, when he was succeeded by the Queen's mother, who continued as regent until her death in 1560.

In July 1543, when Mary was six months old, the Treaties of Greenwich promised Mary to be married to Edward, son of King Henry VIII of England in 1552, and for their heirs to inherit the Kingdoms of Scotland and England. Mary's mother was strongly opposed to the proposition, and she hid with Mary two months later in Stirling Castle, where preparations were made for Mary's coronation.

When Mary was only nine months old she was crowned Queen of Scotland in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle on September 9, 1543. Because the Queen was an infant and the ceremony unique, Mary's coronation was the talk of Europe. Mary was dressed in heavy regal robes in miniature. A crimson velvet mantle, with a train furred with ermine, was fastened around her tiny neck. A jeweled satin gown, with long hanging sleeves, enveloped the infant, who could sit up but not walk. She was carried by Lord Livingston in solemn procession to the Chapel Royal. Inside, Lord Livingston brought Mary forward to the altar, put her gently in the throne set up there, and stood by holding her to keep her from rolling off.

Quickly, Cardinal David Beaton put the Coronation Oath to her, which Lord Livingston answered for her. The Cardinal immediately unfastened Mary's heavy robes and began anointing her with the holy oil on her back, breast, and the palms of her hands. When the chilly air struck her, she began to cry. The Earl of Lennox (whose son Henry, Lord Darnley, later became Mary's 2nd husband) brought forward the Sceptre and placed it in her baby hand, and she grasped the heavy shaft. Then the Sword of State was presented by the Earl of Argyll, and the Cardinal performed the ceremony of girding the three-foot sword to the tiny body.

Then, the Earl of Arran carried the Crown. Holding it gently, Cardinal Beaton lowered it onto the child's head, where it rested on a circlet of velvet. The Cardinal steadied the crown and Lord Livingston held her body straight as the Earls of Lennox and Arran kissed her cheek in fealty, followed by the rest of the prelates and peers who knelt before her and, placing their hands on her crown, swore allegiance to her.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots


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Mary's story

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Mary I of Scotland

Mary I
Queen of Scots

Queen of France



Mary I (popularly known as Mary, Queen of Scots:

French: Marie, reine des Écossais);

(December 8, 1542 - February 8, 1587)

was Queen of Scots (the monarch of the Kingdom of Scotland)
from December 14, 1542, to July 24, 1567.

She was also the Queen Consort of France
(Reine de France) from July 10, 1559 to December 5, 1560.

Because of her tragic life, she is one of the best-known Scottish monarchs.

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Reign December 14, 1542 – July 24, 1567
Coronation September 9, 1543

Born December 8, 1542 1:12pm LMT
Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian,
Scotland

Died February 8, 1587 (aged 44)
Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire,
England

Buried Peterborough Cathedral,
Westminster Abbey

Predecessor James V
Successor James VI/James I of England

Consort François II of France
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell

Royal House Stuart

Father James V
Mother Marie of Guise

Scottish Royalty-
House of Stewart

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_queen_of_scots

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Mary, and Thomas Percy - 2

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Life under Elizabeth's Reign

On Elizabeth's accession the earl, whose loyalty to the Catholic Church was known, was kept in the North while the anti-Catholic measures of Elizabeth's first Parliament were passed. Elizabeth continued to show him favour, and in 1563 gave him the Order of the Garter. He had then resigned the wardenship and was living in the South.

But the systematic persecution of the Catholics rendered their position most difficult, and in the autumn of 1569 the Catholic gentry in the North, stirred up by rumours of the approaching excommunication of Elizabeth, were planning to liberate Mary, Queen of Scots, and obtain liberty of worship.





Earl Thomas with the Earl of Westmorland wrote to the pope asking for advice, but before their letter reached Rome circumstances hurried them into action against their better judgment. After the Rising of the North failed, Thomas fled to Scotland, where he was captured by the Earl of Morton, one of the leading Scottish nobles. After three years, he sold to the English Government for two thousand pounds. He was conducted to York and beheaded in a public execution, refusing to save his life by abandoning his religion. His wife survived him, as did four daughters who were his co-heirs. The earldom passed to his brother.

Beatification

He was beatified by Leo XIII on 13 May, 1895, and his festival was appointed to be observed in the Dioceses of Hexham and Newcastle on 14 November.

Children

He and Anne Somerset were parents to five children:

* Thomas Percy (d. 1560).

* Elizabeth Percy. Married Richard Woodroffe of Wolley.

* Joan Percy. Married Lord Henry Seymour. He was a younger son of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset and his wife Anne Stanhope.

* Lucy Percy. Married Sir Edward Stanley. He was a younger son of Edward Stanley, 3rd Earl of Derby and Dorothy Howard. Dorothy was a daughter of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk and his second wife Agnes Tilney.

* Mary Percy (11 June 1570 - 1643). A nun. Founder of Benedictine Dames in Brussels from which nearly all the existing houses of Benedictine nuns in England are descended.

Peerage of England

Preceded by
New Creation Earl of Northumberland
1557–1572
(Forfeit 1571) (Restored 1572) Succeeded by
Henry Percy

External links

Entry in Catholic.org This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.



NAME Percy, Thomas, 7th Earl of Northumberland
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Earl of Northumberland
DATE OF BIRTH 1528
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH August 22, 1572
PLACE OF DEATH York

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Percy%2C_7th_Earl_of_Northumberland"




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Percy%2C_7th_Earl_of_Northumberland


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