NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT
History
Mary, Queen of Scots and the
Scottish Reformation
[ACCESS 3]
The Scottish Qualifications Authority regularly reviews the arrangements for National
Qualifications. Users of all NQ support materials, whether published by Learning and Teaching
Scotland or others, are reminded that it is their responsibility to check that the support materials
correspond to the requirements of the current arrangements.
Acknowledgement
Learning and Teaching Scotland gratefully acknowledges this contribution to the National
Qualifications support programme for History.
The publisher would like to acknowledge the following for permission to reproduce images,
photographs and texts: Pope’s Hat © 2007 Fundraw.com; Stirling Castle , © Marie Stuart
Society, http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/; Battle of Pinkie © CCLHP, www.cousland.net; Image
of Dauphin Francis, attributed to the workshop of Leonard Limosin, Francis II © Scottish
National Portrait Gallery; Mary, Queen of Scots and the Dauphin Francis © Trustees of the
National Library of Scotland; Mary of Guise, 1515–1560. Queen of James V about 1537,
attributed to Corneille de Lyon, Mary of Guise © Scottish National Portrait Gallery;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/norfolkodyssey/443315063/#DiscussPhoto
(www.suffolkchurches.co.uk); Microsoft clipart © 2009 Microsoft Corporation; ‘The Tradgie
of a Cardinal’ by David Lindsay © David Lindsay; Sir Francis Walshingham attributed to John
De Critz the Elder © National Portrait Gallery, London; John Knox. From ‘Cassell’s Old and
New Edinburgh’ (c. 1880s). Digitised and published by the Edinburgh Bookshelf.
www.oldandnewedinburgh.co.uk; Unknown, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell © Scottish
National Portrait Gallery; Unknown, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley © Scottish National Portrait
Gallery; Arnold Bronckorst, James VI and I (as a boy) © Scottish National Portrait Gallery;
Hugh Monro, after unknown, James Stewart, Earl of Moray © Scottish National Portrait
Gallery; Queen Elizabeth I by unknown artist © National Portrait Gallery, London; Battle of
Langside © Getty Images; William Craig Shirreff, Mary Queen of Scots Escaping from Loch
Leven Castle © National Gallery of Scotland; Loch Level castle, www.RampantScotland.com;
NPG D21382, David Riccio (Rizzio) by Charles Wilkin, after unknown artist stipple
engraving, published 1814 © National Portrait Gallery, London; Kirk o’ Field map, document
reference no TNA: MPF 1/366, http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk; Sir William Allan, The
Murder of David Rizzio © National Gallery of Scotland; Mary, Queen of Scots with her
second husband, Lord Darnley © Getty Images; Mary’s return to Leith from France, © Marie
Stuart Society, http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/; Sir David Wilkie, the Preaching of John Knox
before the Lords of the Congregation, 10 June 1559, © National Gallery of Scotland;
Attributed to Arnold Bronckorst, James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, © Scottish National
Portrait Gallery; Andrew Melville, courtesy of University of St Andrew’s Library; Mary in
prison © Marie Stuart Society, http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/; Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of
Norfolk by unknown artist © National Portrait Gallery, London; Extract of letter © Marie
Stuart Society, http://www.marie-stuart.co.uk/; Culture and Sport Glasgow (Museums),
Execution of Mary Queen of Scots, Herdman, Robert (1829–1888); Mary Queen of Scots
reproduced with the kind permission of the Blairs Museum Trust, Aberdeen; Mary Queen of
Scots reproduced with the kind permission of the Blairs Museum Trust, Aberdeen.
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently
overlooked the publisher will be pleased to make appropriate arrangements.
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
This resource may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes by educational
establishments in Scotland provided that no profit accrues at any stage.
2
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
Contents
Introduction
Setting the scene
Student notes
4
6
9
Section 1: Scottish society and the Church in the 1540s
13
Section 2: Relations between Scotland and England
22
Section 3: The Scottish Reformation
31
Section 4: Mary, Queen of Scots in Scotland
41
Section 5: The confirmation of the Reformation in Scotland
58
Section 6: Mary, Queen of Scots in England
64
Appendices
Appendix 1: Glossary
Appendix 2: Timeline
Appendix 3: Who’s who
73
76
78
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
3
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
In this unit, you will learn about the life of Mary, Queen of Scots and
the Scottish Reformation. You will learn about:
What life was like in the 16th century; who was in charge
of the country and the power of the Church
How England and France fought over control of Scotland
and used Mary to help them
Mary’s life in France
The Reformation and how it changed Scotland
Trouble the Reformation caused Mary
Mary’s return from France and her life in Scotland
Marriages and murders
How life changed in Scotland after the Reformation
Mary’s life in England
Mary’s death
At the start of each of the sections you will see a table like the one
above. When you have successfully completed each section, for
example you know about Mary’s life in England, put a green tick in the
box √. This will show your teacher that you know it well. If you are not
too sure about it, put an orange tick in the box √. This shows your
teacher that you have finished but there are some things that you are
unsure about. If you haven’t understood it or missed anything then put a
red tick √. This will let you know that you have to go back over some
things in the section.
Timeline
There are many important things that happened in the story of Mary’s
life. To help you keep track of everything there is a timeline with
important dates on it at the back of this unit. As you learn about the
4
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
INTRODUCTION
story of Mary, Queen of Scots, fill in the timeline to keep a note of the
most important events in her life.
Glossary
You are going to come across many new words that are important to
understand so that you can follow the events of this period of history.
Many of these words are listed in the glossary at the back of this unit.
As you work through each section, look out for the words in bold type
as these will be the words in the glossary. As you come across each new
word, find out its meaning and write it into the glossary. Then, when
you come across it again you can check your glossary to find out the
meaning. You might want to check that you have the same meaning as
others in your class.
Who’s Who?
At the back of this unit there is a ‘Who’s Who?’ section. Have a look at
this before you begin to familiarise yourself with the characters in
Mary’s life. Keep it beside you as you work.
BBC learning zone clips
Where you see this movie
icon there is a film clip to watch
to find out more. Go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/.
In the bar where it says ‘SEARCH BY KEYWORD OR CLIP
NUMBER’ put in the clip number given in the box beside the icon.
Click ‘SEARCH’ to view the clip.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
5
INTRODUCTION
Setting the scene
Before we start, we will have a look at what life was like in the time of
Mary. Mary was alive in the 16th century. The 16th century is from
1500 to 1599. Mary lived from 1542 to 1587. Life was very different
back then.
Activity
Write down three things that you use and wouldn’t want to live without.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Did your list include any of these?
If it did, you would not enjoy living in the 16th century. There was no
technology or electricity. People who had wealth entertained
themselves by going to balls and dancing as orchestras played classical
music, and by reading and listening to people tell stories.
Mary, Queen of Scots is a new historical character to us and the
Reformation is a period of time that you will not have studied before.
6
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
INTRODUCTION
Activity
Think of any two historical characters. It can be people that you have
already studied in history or people that you know from films and
books.
With a partner, add your two historical characters together to have four
different people.
Decide whether your four characters came before or after Mary, Queen
of Scots. Put them in order from earliest in history to most recent.
Decide where Mary, Queen of Scots comes within them.
Work with another pair to decide if you have the order correct.
Before we begin the course we should answer a few questions.
Why study Mary’s life?
Mary had a tragic but very interesting life.
She was married three times.
She was accused of murder.
Her third husband was the man accused of killing her second husband.
She was in prison for 19 years.
She was finally beheaded by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.
What was the Reformation?
The Reformation was a period of time in history when Scotland and
other parts of Europe changed from Catholic to Protestant. This was a
difficult time for Mary as she was a Catholic.
Who was in charge of Scotland at that time?
In our lives, the Prime Minister and politicians are in charge of the
country. They are voted for by the people. We have a royal family but
they do not make decisions.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
7
INTRODUCTION
However, in the time of Mary it was the Church and the royal family
who ruled the people of Britain. It was these groups that betrayed Mary
and this led to her gruesome death.
8
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
INTRODUCTION
Student notes
In this unit of work, you will be asked to complete various tasks. Some
will ask you to answer questions based on the information you have
read. These are called knowledge and understanding questions. These
are used to make sure you know what you have read and that you
understand it.
You will also be asked to answer enquiry skills questions. These
questions will be based on sources.
Sources are either primary or secondary.
Primary sources are written or produced at the time or shortly after an
event. They are first-hand (eyewitness) accounts of what happened. For
example, a letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots is a primary source
as she wrote it at the time.
Secondary sources are written or produced many years after the event
we are studying. They are second-hand accounts of what happened. For
example, a historian writing about the Reformation in 2006 is a
secondary source as the historian was not there at the time of the
Reformation.
At some points you will be asked how useful, how reliable or how
valuable a source is. To answer this type of question, you need to
follow these important steps.
Step one:
Why was it written/ produced? (What is the purpose of the
source?)
Step two:
Who wrote or produced it? (Who is the author?)
Step three: When was it written/ produced? (What is the date?)
Is it a primary or secondary source?
Step four: What does it say/show? (Is the detail useful?)
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
9
INTRODUCTION
Remember
When answering an enquiry skills question, think of PADD.
 Purpose of the source
 Author of the source
 Date that the source was written/drawn
 Detail. What is written/what is shown in the picture?
Here is an example of an enquiry skills question.
This is an extract from a letter sent from Mary, Queen of Scots to
Queen Elizabeth I of England when she was imprisoned in England. It
was written in 1569.
Madame, good sister,
I am pleading with you to help me dear cousin, I have
been imprisoned this past year and you had always
promised to help me. Will you come to my rescue? I
so desperately miss my son.
Your dearest cousin,
Marie R
10
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
INTRODUCTION
Enquiry skills question
How useful is this source in telling us how Mary was feeling whilst in
prison?
Look at this question. It is asking you how useful the source is. This
means that it is an enquiry skills question. Sometimes you will be asked
how reliable or how valuable a source is. This is asking the same
question.
Now we will go through the checklist.
 Purpose – Mary wrote this letter to ask her cousin Elizabeth for help.
 Author – the letter was written by Mary, Queen of Scots.
 Date – this letter was written in 1569, making it a primary source.
 Details – Mary tells Elizabeth that she misses her son and wants
Elizabeth to help her.
To help you answer enquiry skills questions, a blank answer sheet is
provided on the next page. Use this to complete your answer to the
question above.
A blank PADD sheet will be provided in the appendix. Your teacher
will issue these each time you are asked an enquiry skills question.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
11
INTRODUCTION
Opening statement
Source A is____________________ in telling us __________________
_________________________________(repeat what the question asks).
very useful
not very useful
quite useful
useful
Purpose
The purpose of the source is to _________________________________
__________________________________________________________.
give information about...
warn about...
describe ...
explain ...
defend ...
show ...
Author
The author of the source is ________________________.
Name of person
Name of a magazine or newspaper
Name of artist
Date
This source was written in ___________________.
This makes it a ____________________ source.
Put in the date of the source.
Is it a primary or secondary source?
Detail
The detail of the source mentions _______________________________
__________________________________________________________
Explain what the source says.
12
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
SCOTTISH SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH IN THE 1540s
Section 1: Scottish society and the Church in the
1540s
This section of the course looks at society. Society is where we live and
the people we associate with or socialise with. Society was very
different in Scotland in the 1540s, as was the power of the Church.
In this section you will learn about:
Landowners
Burghs
Power of the monarchy and nobility at the death of James V
The Church’s faith – what it believed
How the Church was organised. The failures and attempts to
change the Church.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
13
SCOTTISH SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH IN THE 1540s
Landowners
King and/or Queen
Ruled over ALL the land.
BUT! They could not defend it all by
themselves.
Needed people that they trusted and would
be loyal to them to help them defend the
land.
Nobles
Anybody who was a noble was related to the
royal family. They could have different
titles like duke, earl and baron.
The king and queen would give land to the
nobles.
In return, they wanted the nobles to help
them defend the land
Knights
The nobles asked knights to help them
defend the land. The nobles would give the
knights a small portion of their land.
Knights were trained soldiers
Foot soldiers
These were ordinary soldiers who lived on a
knight’s land.
The knights would use the men as soldiers
and the women would plant crops and make
things for the army.
14
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
SCOTTISH SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH IN THE 1540s
Burghs
A burgh was the name given to what we would call a town today. A
burgh was where ordinary people lived. People who lived in the burghs
made their living as craftsmen – they made things – or they could be
merchants, who bought and sold goods.
However, burghs were not very pleasant places to live. The houses in
the burghs were not well built and were often too close together.
Disease spread easily because they were built so close together. There
was no sewage system or running water.
There were three different types of burgh. They were run by:
king or queen
the Church
the nobles
Activity
Write the heading ‘Scottish society in the 1540s’ and answer these
questions in full sentences using the flow chart and text above.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Who owned all the land in the country?
What were the nobles asked to do?
Who was more powerful, a knight or a foot soldier? Explain your
answer.
Give reasons why the burghs were not pleasant places to live.
Can you think of any places in Britain that used to be burghs?
Hint! Think of the name, eg Edinburgh.
Peer assessment
Swap your answers with a classmate. Correct their answers and they
will correct yours. Write a comment at the bottom of their work telling
them what they have done well, and how they could improve. (If you
prefer, have a discussion instead of writing it down.)
Now change any of your answers you think you can improve on, based
on what your partner has written or said.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
15
SCOTTISH SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH IN THE 1540s
The power of the monarchy and nobles
The monarchy is the name for the extended royal family. In the 16th
century the monarchy was in charge of the whole country. Although we
still have a royal family today, we also have a government and they are
in charge.
In the 16th century, the monarchy was very powerful but its family
members had a few problems:
 They were not as rich as the nobles and the Church and they had to
raise money by taxing people – taking extra money from them.

They had a lot of competition – lots of people wanted to run the
country.
 They had to keep the nobles and the Church happy – these groups
could throw them off the throne!
The monarchy used to give the nobles lots of land and gave them
important jobs in the government to keep them happy and keep them on
their side. The nobles were very rich and powerful. It was essential that
the monarchy were liked and supported by the nobles.
Nobles were also in charge of the people of Scotland. They owned their
houses and gave people jobs. They were also in charge of law and
order. They had great power over the people. The people would only
support a monarch if the nobles liked them; they were scared they could
be forced out of their homes.
James V
James V (Mary’s father) was only one year old when he became king in
1513. He was obviously far too young to be king so the nobles ruled for
him until he was old enough. The nobles argued a lot and they were
split into two groups. They could not decide who Scotland should be
allied with. If countries are allies this means they are friends.Should
Scotland be friendly with:
16
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
SCOTTISH SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH IN THE 1540s
England?
or
France?
When James V was old enough to rule as king, he married a French
woman, Mary of Guise.
James’ decision upset many of the nobles and they refused to help him
when he wanted to fight with England. As we have read before, having
the support of the nobles was very important to the king. James’ army
was defeated by the English because of the lack of support from the
nobles.
The wife of James V, Mary of Guise, gave birth to a girl on 8 December
1542. She was named Mary. James was very ill at this time and was
very worried that he had a daughter. James would have preferred a son
because at that time the law stated that the oldest son would inherit his
father’s money, land and title when he died. A woman could inherit the
throne, but only if she had no brothers. Some people at the time also
believed that a woman was not strong enough to lead a country. James
was also very worried that the nobles would take the throne away from
his daughter. James V died on 14 December, 1542, 6 days after the
birth of his daughter Mary.
Check the timeline at the back to see if these dates are included!!
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
17
SCOTTISH SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH IN THE 1540s
Activity
Write the heading ‘The power of the nobility and the nobles’ and copy
and complete these sentences using the word box below.
The __________ are the people who were in charge of the country.
__________ and the _________ were wealthier than the monarchy.
James V split the nobles because half wanted Scotland to be friends
with _______ and the other half wanted to be friends with
___________.
James V chose to be friends with ________.
James V’s wife gave birth to a _______ called Mary.
_______ was _____ days old when James V died.
Word box – some words can be used twice!
six
nobles
monarchy
girl
Mary
England
Church
France
18
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
SCOTTISH SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH IN THE 1540s
The Church
In the 16th century, religion and the Church played a very important
part in peoples’ lives. Everyone in Scotland belonged to the same
Church – the Roman Catholic Church.
The Church was led by the Pope, who lived in the Vatican in the city of
Rome, the capital of Italy. The Church believed that the Pope was as
powerful as kings and queens.
Church was very different in those days and in using the teachings of
the Old Testament, many priests described God as strict and who people
are punished people if they disobey Him. At weekly services people
were told about hell and the horrors that would await them there if they
did not do what the Church said. Some priests told the people they
would be told they were going to hell if they did not obtain an
indulgence, which would take away some of the punishment . This could
be as simple as saying a few prayers but often this meant that they were
to give money to the Church.
This picture is called ‘Souls
taken down to hell’.
The drawing is from St Peter’s
Church in Suffolk, England.
It was painted in the Church to
remind people what would
happen to them if they sinned!
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
19
SCOTTISH SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH IN THE 1540s
The Catholic Church also believed that marriages were forever. Only in
very special circumstances could people get a divorce and they had to
get permission from the Pope himself.
Activity – Enquiry skills
Look at the picture above.
How useful is this source in showing us what the Catholic Church
taught its people?
Remember to go through the checklist in the introduction (PADD).
20
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
SCOTTISH SOCIETY AND THE CHURCH IN THE 1540s
How the Church was organised
The Pope
Head of the Church.
Chosen by cardinals.
Cardinals
Followed the instructions of the Pope.
Were very wealthy.
Many came from noble families.
Bishops
Followed the instructions of the cardinals.
Also very wealthy.
Some nobles joined the Church because they wanted power o ver the
people.
Ordinary people had to give the Church one tenth of their income.
Priests
Followed the instructions of the bishops.
Were very poor – didn’t have the wealth of the leaders of the Church.
People thought the priests were uncharitable as they charged for
weddings and funerals.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
21
RELATIONS BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
Section 2: Relations between Scotland and England
So far we have set the scene: we have looked at what life was like in
the 16th century. In this part of the course we will look at the ways in
which England tried to join with Scotland by using Mary as a means of
achieving this.
We will also examine the ways in which her Catholic religion was
going to cause problems for Mary.
In this section you will learn about:
The Treaty of Greenwich, 1543
The Rough Wooing
The Treaty of Haddington
Mary in France
Mary as Queen of England?
Scotland and England unite?
In the middle ages (the period of time we are studying), countries were
either friends or enemies. If they were enemies, they would fight wars
against each other. Scotland and England were enemies but the English
monarch, King Henry VIII, wanted the fighting to stop. King Henry
VIII wanted Scotland and England to become friends. At this time, the
best way to do this was for members of each royal family to marry each
other. King Henry VIII wanted his only son, Edward, to marry Mary. I f
this happened, Edward and Mary would be King and Queen of Scotland
and England.
22
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
RELATIONS BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
King Henry VIII was a Protestant, as was his son. He wanted Scotland
to become a Protestant country but Mary was Catholic. Henry VIII was
getting more worried about the fact that he was surrounded by Catholic
countries: Scotland to the north and France to the south.
The Treaty of Greenwich, 1543
When Mary was less than one year old and Edward was six years old,
Henry VIII of England and the Protestant nobles of Scotland decided
that the two would be married when Mary was 11 years old. This was
agreed in the Treaty of Greenwich, which was signed by Scotland and
England in 1543. A treaty is a signed agreement between countries.
Henry VIII wanted Mary to be raised in England but the Scottish nobles
would not agree to this. It was also agreed that Scotland and England
would remain separate countries: that the English would not try to take
over Scotland.
However, some of the Scottish nobles did not trust King Henry VIII and
with the permission of her mother, Mary of Guise, Mary was crowned
Queen of Scotland on 9 September 1543 at Stirling Castle.
Breaking the Treaty of Greenwich
In December 1543, the Scottish nobles decided that they did not want to
stay friends with England. King Henry VIII was asking more of
Scotland. He had never been happy about Scotland’s close relationship
with France, which was called the ‘Auld Alliance’. He wanted this
friendship to end as England and France were enemies. Many Scots did
not want this to happen, particularly Mary of Guise as she was French.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
23
RELATIONS BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
Activity
Answer the following questions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Why did countries become friends with each other?
What did King Henry VIII of England want for his son, Edward?
What did the Treaty of Greenwich say?
What happened on 9 September 1543?
Why were Scotland and France such good friends? Give two
reasons.
How do you think King Henry VIII would have felt when Scotland
decided that they did not want to be friends with England? Why?
Peer assessment
Swap your answers with a classmate. Correct their answers and they
will correct yours. Write a comment at the bottom of their work telling
them what they have done well and how they could improve. (If you
prefer, have a discussion instead of writing it down.)
Now change any of your answers you think you can improve on , based
on what your partner has written or said.
Clip 4117
For King Henry VIII, paying for a wedding was cheaper than
what?
The ‘Rough Wooing’
King Henry VIII was furious that Scotland had betrayed him and
broken the Treaty of Greenwich. Over the next four years (1544 –1548)
he carried out a serious of attacks on Scotland which became known as
the ‘Rough Wooing’. Wooing is an old fashioned term for trying to
impress someone and getting them to like you. This period of time is
called the ‘Rough Wooing’ because England was trying to get Scotland
to be friends with them and get them to agree to the marriage of Mary
and Edward by attacking and invading the country.
24
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
RELATIONS BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
The people of Scotland fought to defend Mary and for her own
protection she was moved around the country so the English would not
be able to get to her. Even when King Henry VIII died in 1547 and his
nine-year-old son Edward became king, the English still tried to force
the marriage. The English were led by the Duke of Somerset because
young King Edward was too young to rule.
There was a battle between the Scots and the English known as the
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh. It was a terrible defeat for the English and
became known as ‘Black Saturday’.
The Duke of Somerset tried to enforce the terms of the Treaty of
Greenwich but the Scots nobles decided to smuggle Mary out of the
country and take her to France.
Activity
Copy out the following statements and decide who was most likely to
say this. Write their name beside the statement.
‘I’m getting worried about France and Scotland’s close relationship.’
‘I am very scared for my daughter; I want her to go into hiding in my
home country of France.’
‘I will take an army to Scotland to make Mary marry King Edward.’
Clip 4118
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
25
RELATIONS BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
The Treaty of Haddington 1548
France wanted to help Scotland as they wanted Mary to marry the
Dauphin of France, Francis. The Dauphin is the heir to the French
throne, the person who will be the next king. The Scots agreed to this
and the Treaty of Haddington was signed in July 1548. France wanted
Mary and the Dauphin to marry as this would unite Scotland and
France. In August 1548, Mary set sail for France.
Mary in France
Mary arrived in France when she was five and was brought up with her
future husband, Dauphin Francis.
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Mary was incredibly happy growing up in the court of France. Mary
spent a lot of this time in the Châteaux de Chambord.
On 24 April 1558, 15-year-old Mary married the Dauphin at Notre
Dame Cathedral in Paris.
26
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
RELATIONS BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
Activity – Computer task
As mentioned above, Mary spent much of her life growing up in the
Châteaux de Chambord.
Using the computer, find out where this is. Is it in the city or in the
countryside?
Try and find pictures of the castle. Why do you think Mary enjoyed
living there?
Why would a young girl enjoy living there? Would YOU enjoy living
there?
The picture opposite was
drawn to show the
marriage between the
Dauphin of France and
Mary, Queen of Scots.
It was made at the time of
the marriage.
Queen Mary of France
By the time Mary was 15 years old, she was Queen of Scotland, living
in France and married to a French prince. This meant she was now the
future Queen of France. She also made an agreement with King Henry
II of France that if she did not have a son with her husband then
Scotland would belong to France. The Scots were not happy about this
agreement and even refused to send the Scottish crown to Mary in
France although she was Queen of Scotland.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
27
RELATIONS BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
A year later, on 30 June 1559, the King of France died and Mary and
Francis became King and Queen of France. Mary carried on living in
France whilst her mother, Mary of Guise, was ruling for her in
Scotland. She was called the regent. This is like the acting queen.
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
However, tragedy struck Mary as her young husband, King Francis II of
France, died on 5 December 1560. The secret agreement was forgotten
about as Mary and Francis did not have any children. At the age of 17,
Mary was a widow. She was no longer Queen of France as the throne
went to Francis’ brother.
Mary had no choice but to return to Scotland. Howeve r, there was a
new monarch – a queen of England – and this was going to cause
problems for Mary.
Activity – Discussion point
Mary had had a lot of drama in her life by the age of 17. She was a
widow and was no longer Queen of France. Her father had died and she
had grown up away from her mother. This was a lot for a 17 -year-old
girl to handle.
Think about what YOU hope to be doing when you are 17. Do you think
you will still be at school or college? Do you hope to have a job?
Is it the same as Mary?
28
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
RELATIONS BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
Elizabeth as Queen of England
In England, Elizabeth I became queen in 1558. She was a Protestant.
Her father was King Henry VIII of England. Her mother was Anne
Boleyn, Henry’s second wife. Henry VIII is famous because he had six
wives. He divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon so that he could
marry Anne Boleyn. It is for this reason that Catholics in Scotland
believed that Elizabeth should not be queen; Catholics did not believe
in divorce and said that Henry and Anne were not really husband and
wife, therefore, their only daughter was illegitimate, which means her
parents were not married. If a child was illegitimate, that child could
not be king or queen.
Henry VIII’s family tree
Henry VIII
Catherine of Aragon
Mary I
Anne Boleyn
Elizabeth I
Jane S eymour
Edward VI
This is part of Henry VIII’s family tree. It shows three of his wives and
his three children. Edward VI was king after Henry VIII died but he did
not keep well and died when he was 15. His sister, M ary I, then became
queen and when she died, Elizabeth became queen.
Many Roman Catholics believed that Mary Queen of Scots should
therefore also be Queen of England. Queen Elizabeth of England was
furious and distrusted Mary. She was worried that she wou ld try to take
her crown from her and rule Scotland and England.
Check the timeline at the back to see if any of the dates in this section
are included.
Clip 4124
Why was Mary in a very powerful position?
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
29
RELATIONS BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND
Activity
In the first two sections of this course we learned about the first 19
years of Mary’s life. After her husband died, Mary had no choice but to
return to Scotland to live.
Today, when we go to another country we have to have a passport.
Imagine that Mary has to get a passport for her return to Scotland. Fill
out the application below. Mary returned to Scotland on the 19 August
1561.
Application for passport
1.
Name: Surname ________________
First name _______________
Title (s) _________________
2.
Nationality _____________
3.
Birth: Place_____________
4.
Age ________
5.
Male or female ________
6.
Parents: Father
(dead or alive) _________
Mother
(dead or alive) _________
7.
Date_____________
Married: yes or no. If answer is yes, please answer below
Full name of husband/wife ____________________
Date of marriage ____________________________
Place of marriage ___________________________
State of marriage: still married/divorced/widowed
(score out wrong ones)
8.
If divorced or widowed, date this event _____________
9.
Reason for visit to Scotland ______________________
10.
Do you intend to stay in this country long? __________
30
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
Section 3: The Scottish Reformation
In the previous sections we have learned that Mary, Queen of Scots was
a Catholic and was raised in Catholic France. But now, she was
returning to Protestant Scotland. In this section we will examine how
Scotland changed when she was away and consider the Scotland she
came back to. We will also examine how Mary’s religion made her
many enemies within Scotland.
In this section you will learn about:
The growth of Protestantism in Scotland
Wishart, Knox and Calvinism
Religious conflict
The Lords of the Congregation
Rebellion against Mary of Guise
The Treaty of Edinburgh
When James V (Mary’s father) was king, a period of change began in
the way the Catholic Church ruled over the lives of the people.
Clip 4121
Why did some say the Church needed to be reformed?
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
31
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
The Reformation was a movement that began as a result of the actions
of one priest called Martin Luther.
In 1517, he claimed the Roman Catholic Church in Rome was greedy
and corrupt. He and his followers protested against this corruption and
wanted to reform the Church.
They broke away from the Catholic Church and because of this were
called Protestants. The Church was split into two parts. The
Reformation spread throughout Europe and eventually Scotland
changed from being a Catholic country to being a Protestant country.
We will now look at how this change came about and the effect that it
still has on Scotland today.
The role of John Knox
John Knox was a very important leader
of the Scottish Reformation, famous for
standing against Mary, Queen of Scots.
We are not certain when he was born but
it is believed to be either 1513 or 1514.
Knox was educated at St Andrews
University in Fife. He later became a
Catholic priest. However, he converted
to Protestantism and travelled around
32
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
Scotland teaching others about what he believed to be the corruption of
the Catholic Church. He was heavily influenced by an early Protestant,
George Wishart.
The death of George Wishart
George Wishart, a good friend of John Knox, was burned at the stake. A
very powerful cardinal at the time, David Beaton, accused Wishart of
heresy, meaning he was being accused of going against Catholic
religious beliefs. Beaton was a close friend and advisor to Mary of
Guise. Wishart was killed outside St Andrews Castle in 1546. Knox
went into hiding.
In retaliation, Cardinal Beaton was brutally killed by friends of George
Wishart. They burst into his castle in St Andrews, burned down his
bedroom door and stabbed him to death. They hung him outside the
castle so that everybody could see. The Protestants supporters of
George Wishart were then in charge of the castle.
Source A is a poem written at the time of the death of Cardinal Beaton
called The Tragedie of the Cardinal
As for the Cardinal, I grant,
He was the man we weel could want'
And we’ll forget him soon!
And yet I think, the sooth to say,
Although the loon is well away,
The deed was foully done.
Clip 4119
The Scots asked the French for help as they were close allies. The Scots
Queen, Mary, was living there and the French were Catholics too. The
Protestants were either killed or forced to work as slaves on French
ships. Knox was sent to work on a French ship. This only strengthened
his belief in the Protestant faith.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
33
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
Activity
Answer the following questions – it may be useful to work with a
partner.
1.
What happened to Scotland during the Reformation?
2.
Who was John Knox?
3.
Why was George Wishart brutally killed?
4.
Why was Mary of Guise upset at the death of Cardinal David
Beaton?
5.
Is Source A a primary or secondary source? Explain your answer.
6.
Look at Source A. Does the writer think that the death of Cardinal
Beaton was fair? Explain your answer.
Knox and Calvinism
From hiding, John Knox returned to England in 1549. He was sent to
Berwick-upon-Tweed by the newly formed Protestant Church to try and
convert people to the Protestant faith. He was then called to be the
official chaplain of King Edward VI, son of King Henry VIII. However,
he had to leave again after King Edward died and his sister M ary
Tudor, who was Catholic, became Queen of England. He went to
Geneva in Austria and met a man called John Calvin. He too was
Protestant. His ideas about the Protestant faith became known as
Calvinism. Knox was influenced by Martin Luther, George Wishart and
John Calvin. All their ideas greatly influenced the Protestant faith that
he brought to Scotland.
34
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
Activity
We have four new characters who played a huge part in the
Reformation of Scotland:
John Knox
George Wishart
David Beaton
John Calvin
As we discussed in the introduction, there were no computers in the
16th century, but imagine for this activity that there were computers
and social networking sites like Bebo and Facebook.
Using the information above, complete these profiles on each of the
men.
Name_____________________________
Catholic or Protestant ________________
Are you a friend of Mary, Queen of Scots?_______________
Four people have asked to add you as a friend. Do you accept or
reject their request? Give reasons for your answer.
John Knox
George Wishart
David Beaton
John Calvin
Complete the four profiles on the next page.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
35
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
Name_____________________________
Name_____________________________
Catholic or Protestant ________________
Catholic or Protestant ________________
Are you a friend of Mary, Queen of Scots?______________
Are you a friend of Mary, Queen of Scots?_____________
Four people have asked to add you as a friend. Do you
accept or reject their request? Give reasons for your
answer.
Four people have asked to add you as a friend. Do you
accept or reject their request? Give reasons for your
answer.
Martin Luther
George Wishart
David Beaton
John Calvin
Martin Luther
John Knox
David Beaton
John Calvin
Name_____________________________
Name_____________________________
Catholic or Protestant ________________
Catholic or Protestant ________________
Are you a friend of Mary, Queen of Scots?_____________
Are you a friend of Mary, Queen of Scots?_____________
Four people have asked to add you as a friend. Do you
accept or reject their request? Give reasons for your
answer.
Four people have asked to add you as a friend. Do you
accept or reject their request? Give reasons for your
answer.
Martin Luther
John Knox
George Wishart
John Calvin
Martin Luther
John Knox
George Wishart
David Beaton
36
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
The Lords of the Congregation
When Elizabeth who was of the Protestant faith, was made Queen of
England in 1588, Knox decided it would be safe to return to Britain. In
1559, Knox returned to Scotland in an effort to carry on spreading
Protestantism throughout Scotland. He wrote what was called the
‘Confession of the Faith’ and presented it to the Lords of the
Congregation. This was a group of Protestant nobles who supported
Knox. They accepted it, and in 1560 Scotland officially became a
Protestant country. The celebration of Mass was forbidden and it was
illegal to practice Catholicism. You could no longer buy goods from a
shopkeeper known to be Catholic. Knox even encouraged people to
throw their own family members onto the street if they were Catholic!
Activity – Enquiry skills
Look at the picture above.
How valuable is this picture in showing how John Knox was with the
Lords of Congregation?
Remember PADD on pages 10 and 11.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
37
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
Rebellion against Mary of Guise
While Scotland became a Protestant country, the young Mary was still
safe in France. As we have learned in the last section ‘Relations
between Scotland and England’ her mother, Mary of Guise, was acting
as the Queen Regent: she was acting as queen in Mary’s absence.
However, she remained firmly Catholic and the Lords of the
Congregation did not trust her. She asked her family in France to help
but the Protestant nobles saw this as an act of betrayal against
Scotland. As a result, Mary of Guise was removed from the throne of
Scotland.
The Protestant Scots nobles had to deal with the problem of French
soldiers in Scotland who were loyal to Mary of Guise. They called on
Queen Elizabeth I of England to help. Elizabeth sent English so ldiers to
drive back the French and they succeeded.
On 11 June 1560, Mary of Guise, the former Regent Queen of Scotland,
died.
The Treaty of Edinburgh
One month later, the Treaty of Edinburgh was signed. This stated that
Mary would not claim the throne of Scotland and it effectively ended
the friendship between France and Scotland. Protestants in Scotland
used Mary of Guise’s death to their advantage. They were happy that
they did not have ties with France any more.
38
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
Activity
Work in pairs or a small group.
Find the dates of each of the events listed below.
Put the events into chronological order.
(Hint: It will help to copy each event onto a separate square of paper
and then move them around until you are happy you have the correct
order)
 Knox meets Calvin in Geneva and is influenced by him.
 Scotland officially becomes a Protestant country.
 George Wishart is killed.
 Knox returns to England when Elizabeth I becomes queen.
 The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed.
 Knox is forced to work as a slave on a French ship.
 Knox presents his ‘Confessions of the Faith’ to the Lords of the
Congregation.
 Knox becomes King Edward VI’s chaplain.
 Mary of Guise loses the throne.
 Knox is forced to leave when Catholic Mary Tudor becomes Queen
of England.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
39
THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION
Effects of the Reformation today
The Reformation had a huge impact on the lives of people living in
Scotland at the time. It had a very negative impact on the life of Mary,
Queen of Scots as her religious background of Catholicism meant that
she remained separate from the Protestantism that had swept across
Scotland.
The impact of the Reformation can still be seen today. Scotland is still,
to an extent, a Protestant nation. Religion today is much more about
personal faith and beliefs and not about power as it was in the time of
Mary, Queen of Scots. Scotland is a country with religious diversity as
many faiths live side by side.
Investigation – Religious diversity in your town
Find out about the different religions that are practiced in
your area.
Work in groups to create posters to show the rest of the class about the
beliefs and customs of one of these religions.
Organise a visit to a place of worship.
Hint: Maybe your religious and moral education teacher can help you.
40
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Section 4: Mary, Queen of Scots in Scotland
As we have seen in the last two sections, a lot happened in Mary’s life
and she had only reached 19 years of age. Let’s recap:





She officially became queen when she was 6 days old.
She had to leave her home country because it was too dangerous.
She was married and widowed.
Her mother died.
Scotland became Protestant whilst she remained Catholic.
Mary made the decision to return to Scotland to reign as the rightful
queen. In this section you will learn about:
Mary’s return from France
Mary’s personality and her policies
Mary’s relationship with Elizabeth
Mary’s relationship with Moray and the Scots nobles
Marriage to Darnley
Murders of Riccio and Darnley
Rebellion against Mary
Mary in prison
Escape and leaving Scotland
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
41
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Mary’s return to Scotland
Mary returned from France on 19 August 1561. She arrived in Leith.
This is a drawing by a
Scottish painter, William
Allan, showing Mary
landing in Leith from
France in 1561.
Activity – Enquiry skills
Look at the drawing above.
How useful is this painting in showing how the people of Scotland
thought of Mary?
Remember PADD.
As we learned in the last section, the Scotland that Mary returned to
was very different from the one she had left behind. The Scotland she
was born into had been predominantly Catholic and had a close
friendship with France that was extremely strong. When she returned,
Scotland had reformed to the Protestant faith and had allied herself to
her old enemy, England. Mary was therefore a Catholic monarch who
was ruling over a Protestant country. She was also one of the few
female rulers in the world!
Clip 4130
42
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Mary’s personality and her policies
Mary returned to Scotland to fulfil her duty as the rightful queen of
Scotland. However, many of the Scots nobles did not feel comfortable
with her as she was a threat to the stability of Protestantism in
Scotland. Mary trusted and took the advice of James Stuart, her half brother, who later received the title Earl of Moray. James was a
Protestant and tried to help Mary with the Protestant nobles, although
he too did not feel comfortable with her religious beliefs.
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
John Knox preached against Mary and criticised her for attending
Catholic Mass in her own chapel. He also criticised her for dancing – he
said that a good Christian woman should not do that. Ma ry refused to
become a Protestant when she was asked. However, she did accept that
Scotland was now a Protestant country. This angered many Catholics in
Scotland as they believed Mary should stand up for them and return
Scotland to Catholicism. They were also suspicious of her Protestant
advisor James Stuart.
Mary’s relationship with Elizabeth
When Mary returned to Scotland, she realised that she had made a lot of
enemies because of her Catholicism. She tried to work with the
Protestant nobles of Scotland. Most of all, she really wanted to secure a
strong friendship with the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I of England.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
43
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Mary and Elizabeth were cousins although
they never met. Elizabeth knew that Mary
had a legitimate claim to the English
throne and was worried that she could take
the throne away from her. Mary invited
Elizabeth to come and visit Scotland but
she refused.
As Elizabeth was unmarried and had no
children, her nearest relative was heir to
the English throne. This happened to be
Mary. Mary was scared that Elizabeth
would name another person as king or
queen.
Mary’s relationship with other nobles
Mary remained unmarried after her French husband Francis died. The
people of Scotland wanted her to remarry so she could have a child to
be heir to the throne. The nobles, in particular, were very interested.
Mary was trying to keep them on her side so she would have to choose
her future husband carefully.
Activity – Discussion point
Mary had a lot to consider when looking for her future partner.
What qualities would you look for in a future partner? Discuss this with
the person next to you.
Now look at the list below. Are your considerations similar to Mary’s?
Mary had to consider the following:
 She could not marry a Catholic as this would upset the Protestant
community within Scotland.
 If she married a Protestant, the Catholic community within Scotland
would be upset.
44
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
 Elizabeth had to approve because she could name someone else as
heir to the English throne.
 Elizabeth wanted her to marry an Englishman.
 If she married someone from a foreign country, they could become
involved in a war with England.
Mary intended to marry the son of King Philip II of Spain, Don Carlos.
Spain was a Catholic country so the Protestant nobles would not have
approved.
Some of the Scottish nobles hoped that they would be chosen by Mary
as they wanted to be in a position of greater authority. Whoever married
Mary would become a very wealthy and powerful man. Elizabeth even
suggested someone. She wanted Mary to marry Robert Dudley. He was
a Protestant and Elizabeth knew that she would be able to control him.
This meant that she would have more control over Scotland. Elizabeth
hinted that if Mary was to marry Dudley, she would accept her as heir
to the English throne and would become her friend. However, Mary
rejected Dudley.
Activity
Imagine you are an advisor to Mary. You have to help her decide who
should be her husband.
Read the following descriptions of suitors and give reasons why Mary
should NOT marry each of them by explaining who would be upset by
the marriage.
Suitor no.1
I am the Prince of Spain.
I am very rich.
I am a Catholic.
Suitor no. 2
I am an English
nobleman.
I own lots of land.
I am a Protestant.
Suitor no. 3
I am deeply in love with Mary.
I am a Catholic.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
45
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Marriage to Darnley
Mary eventually chose to marry her cousin, Lord Henry Darnley. They
were married on 29 July 1565 at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh when
she was 22 years old. He was English but he was also a Catholic, which
did not reflect the full wishes of Queen Elizabeth I.
Elizabeth was not the only person who was very angry about the
marriage. Mary’s half-brother, James, the Earl of Moray, was furious
that she had married a Catholic. He was so angry that he tried to get a
group of Protestant lords together to rebel against Mary. However,
Mary quickly suppressed this uprising and James and the other rebels
fled to London.
Murders of Riccio
Mary’s marriage to Darnley was not popular with the people of
Scotland. Darnley was alleged to be a violent and bad-tempered man.
He was also demanding more power and influence. Mary became deeply
unhappy during the marriage and became very close to her secretary, an
Italian man named David Riccio. Darnley became incredibly jealous of
Mary’s relationship with Riccio and was convinced that they were
having an affair. The other Protestant nobles did not like Riccio either
as they felt he had too much influence over Mary.
On 9 March 1566, Mary was having a dinner party for close friends in
one of her private rooms in Holyrood Palace. Riccio was
46
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
there. Darnley, accompanied by Lord Ruthven and other nobles, entered
the room. Riccio was terrified and hid behind Mary, who was six
months pregnant at the time. Riccio was stabbed and then dragged out
of the room screaming. He was stabbed 56 times in total. Mary was
horrified and this incident made her hate Darnley even more.
Clip 4135
On 15 June 1566, Mary gave birth to a baby boy, James, who would be
the future King of Scotland. He also became the King of England when
Queen Elizabeth I died, as she died without having any children and he
was her closest living relative.
Activity – Police report
Imagine that you are a police officer investigating the murder
of Riccio. Complete this police report.
Police Report
Date of crime: __________________________
Type of crime: murder/assault/theft (circle)
If crime is murder, how was victim killed?
_____________________________________________________
Name of victim: _______________________________________
Place of crime: ________________________________________
Any witnesses: ________________________________________
Suspect:
______________________________________________
Motive for crime: ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
47
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Activity – Enquiry skills
How useful is this painting in showing us what happened the night
Riccio died?
Remember PADD on pages 10 and 11.
Murder of Darnley
At the time of James’ birth, Mary was separated from Darnley; she had
absolutely no love left for him. She did not want to be married to him
anymore. However, the Catholic Church would not recognise an
annulment or a divorce.
Mary had a new friend, the Earl of Bothwell. Many people at the time
suspected that Mary and Bothwell were in love and that she was having
an affair with him.
Clip 4136
48
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Clip 4137
Why was divorce out of the question for Mary and Darnley?
By the end of 1566, Darnley was very sick, possibly suffering from
small pox. Mary arranged for him to go to Kirk o’ Field, a house in
Edinburgh. He could not stay in Holyrood Palace in case the young
James caught the illness.
On 9 February 1567, Darnley was murdered at Kirk o’ Field. His death
was very suspicious. Someone had placed gun powder in the basement
of Kirk o’ Field and the house blew up. In fact, Mary had seen
Bothwell’s servant, Paris, there. Most suspiciously, Darnley’s b ody was
uncovered in the courtyard outside Kirk o’ Field and not a mark was
found on his body. Beside his body were a cloak, chair, dagger and
piece of rope. Mary had been at a ball in Holyrood Palace the night
Darnley died.
Clip 4138
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
49
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Activity – Enquiry skills
Look at the top right-hand corner of this painting.
How useful is this painting in informing us about the murder of
Darnley?
Remember PADD.
The whole of Edinburgh was asking two questions: first of all, who
killed Darnley and secondly, how did he die?
Bothwell went on trial for the murder of Darnley in April 1567. He was
found not guilty, but he had 300 of his own men standing outside the
court, in an attempt to scare the jury into finding him not guilty.
Also Mary’s actions following the murder made people very suspicious.
On 15 May, just 3 months after the death of her second husband, Mary
married the Earl of Bothwell. Mary was now 24 years old and married
to her third husband.
50
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Activity
You have been asked to investigate the murder of Darnley.
There are two main suspects: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Earl of
Bothwell.
You are to look at the evidence and explain why you think they could
have been involved. Police look for a motive – a reason why someone
would want to kill someone.
Complete the reports below.
Mary as suspect in the murder of
Lord Darnley
Bothwell as a suspect in the murder
of Lord Darnley
Relationship with Darnley?
___________________________
___________________________
Relationship with Mary?
____________________________
____________________________
Where was Mary when Darnley
died? ______________________
___________________________
What evidence is there that he was
involved? (Think about his servant
Paris.)_______________________
____________________________
____________________________
Motive for killing Darnley? Why
would she want him dead?
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
Motive for killing Darnley? Why
would he want him dead?
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
Activity – Class discussion
Now that you have filled in the information above, what do YOU th ink
happened to Darnley? Was he murdered when the house exploded or
was he killed in another way?
Who do you think killed Darnley?
Discuss your theories about what happened with members of your class.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
51
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Activity
Look at the three pictures below. Explain which one is the odd one out
and why. (There can be more than one reason or answer.)
Compare your answer with your partner’s.
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
DARNLEY
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
RICCIO
BOTHWELL
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Rebellion against Mary
Many of the Scottish nobles and the people of Scotland were outraged
that Mary had married the main suspect in Darnley’s death. Some of the
Protestant nobles, including her half-brother Moray, decided to rebel
against Mary and her new husband. The Protestant nobles raised an
army together as did Mary and Bothwell. The two armies met at
Carberry on 15 June 1566. The Protestant nobles said they would
withdraw if Mary gave up Bothwell. She refused. Eventually some of
52
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
her supporters gave up and went home. Mary thereafter surrendered to
the Scottish nobles. Bothwell escaped and tried to raise more troops for
Mary. He then escaped to Denmark and died 10 years later. He never
saw Mary again.
Mary in prison
Mary believed that she would still be queen after she surrendered.
However, the Protestant nobles imprisoned Mary in Loch Leven Castle.
They also forced her to abdicate (which means give up her throne). On
24 July 1567, Mary was no longer Queen of Scotland. Her one-year-old
son James was to be King of Scotland. Her half-brother, the Earl of
Moray, was to be the King Regent as a result of James being too young
to rule.
Escape and exile
Mary escaped from Loch Leven Castle on 2 May 1568. She was helped
by a few brave friends who remained loyal to her. One was Willy
Douglas. He managed to help smuggle Mary out of the castle, dress ed
as a servant.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
53
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Activity – Enquiry skills
How useful is this painting in informing us of what happened when
Mary escaped from prison?
Mary had other friends, one of whom, Lord Seaton, was waiting for her
at the side of the loch. They immediately headed for Hamilton, where
Mary rallied around 6000 supporters. Mary wanted to go to Dumbarton
Castle next as they had always been loyal to her there.
The Protestant nobles, headed by her half-brother the Earl of Moray,
tried to gather troops to fight Mary’s army. Although they only had
3000 to 4000 men, they decided to fight Mary before she could recruit
more men.
The Battle of Langside, 13 May 1568
Although Mary’s army was bigger, she lost the Battle of Langside.
Some people have argued that it was badly led. Mary had to leave
Scotland immediately. She was prevented from going to France, the
country where she grew up. She had no other choice: she would have to
go to England and ask her cousin, Queen Elizabeth , for help. Mary was
now in exile. This means that for some reason you cannot return to your
own country.
Clip 4142
54
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Activity – Computer task
We have mentioned many places in Scotland in this section of the
course:
Leith
Edinburgh
Carberry Hill
Loch Leven
Langside
Using a computer or an atlas, find a map of Scotland. Identify al l the
places mentioned above on the map.
Activity – Enquiry skills
Look at the picture. It was painted 10 years after the Battle of Langside.
Is this picture useful for informing us of what happened at the Battle of
Langside?
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
55
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Mary flees to England
Mary, encouraged by her half-brother the Earl of Moray, escaped to
England.
Mary had no choice but to leave Scotland but she also believed that she
would be safe in England. She believed that Elizabeth would look after
her because they were cousins. She also believed that a queen should
look after another queen.
Escaping to England turned out to be the worst decision of Mary’s life.
Clip 4145
Why was Mary a threat to Elizabeth?
Activity – Most likely to….
We have met many different characters in this section that had a huge
influence on Mary’s life.
Copy out the quotes below and decide who would have said it.
 ‘I don’t agree with her beliefs but I will stay loyal to my half-sister
as long as she does what I say.’
 ‘Even though she is my cousin, I still don’t like Mary. She wants my
country.’
 ‘I am a good friend of Mary’s but I think her husband suspects we
are too close. I am worried about what he will do.’
 ‘I don’t like my wife’s new secretary. I have to get rid of him.’
 ‘I am in love with Mary and know that she is unhappy with her
husband but she can’t divorce him. There must be another way to end
this marriage.’
56
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS IN SCOTLAND
Activity
Here is a list of points which the English government, and particularly
Queen Elizabeth, discussed while they were deciding what to do about
Mary.






Mary had fled to England for help.
Mary was Elizabeth’s cousin.
One queen should help another one.
It would set a bad example not to punish rebellious subjects.
Elizabeth had always promised to help Mary.
Mary repeatedly asked for a face-to-face meeting with Elizabeth to
explain everything.
 Mary could encourage English Catholics to rebel against Elizabeth.
 Mary had always claimed she was the true Queen of England.
 Mary had a bad reputation after the murder of Darnley and her
marriage to Bothwell.
In groups or pairs, decide:
 which of the points above would encourage Elizabeth to help Mary
 what you think Elizabeth should have done?
Give reasons for your answer.
Discuss
Elizabeth decided that Mary should stay in England. Are you surprised
at her decision? Give reasons for your answer.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
57
THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND
Section 5: The confirmation of the Reformation in
Scotland
As we have learned in the last section, Mary had to leave Scotland and
was in exile in England.
In this section, we will see why Mary was put in prison by her cousin
Elizabeth and how Scotland changed without their Catholic queen.
In this section you will learn about:
Moray and Morton as Regents of Scotland
The young James VI, son of Mary and Darnley
Andrew Melville and the development of Presbyterianism
in the 1570s
The Regency of Moray
Mary’s half-brother, the Earl of Moray, became
Regent of Scotland as a result of Mary
remaining in England and her son James being
too young to rule at only 13 months old. Moray
had encouraged Mary to go into exile in
England. The longer Mary stayed there, the
longer he would be Regent of Scotland. He had
to keep Mary in England. Moray produced the
‘casket letters’. These were letters that Mary
had sent to Bothwell. One in particular seemed
to prove that Mary and Bothwell had plotted
together to kill Darnley. Some historians
believe that these letters were false.
However, this was enough for Elizabeth to
58
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND
put Mary in prison while an investigation was carried out into her part
in the murder.
Moray also had to make sure he had enough support in Scotland and
England. As he was a Protestant noble, he had a lot of support in
Scotland. Elizabeth also liked Moray as he successfully arrested any
rebels who escaped from England to Scotland.
Moray was murdered in January 1570 by a loyal supporter of Mary in
Linlithgow near Edinburgh. Mary did not mourn the death of her half brother as he had betrayed her so badly.
The regencies of Lennox and Morton
After the death of Moray, Elizabeth chose the Earl of Lennox to be the
next regent as James VI, Mary’s son, was still too young to rule.
Lennox was the father of Lord Darnley so he was James VI’s
grandfather. Lennox was determined to find and punish those who were
responsible for the death of his son, Lord Darnley.
However, Lennox faced tough opposition as many of Mary’s supporters
became very violent. Lennox had to be very careful around Edinburgh
as Mary’s supporters were in control of the city. Lennox and his
supporters were part of what was called the ‘creeping parliament’ as the
members of parliament had to creep around in order to avoid any
gunfire from Mary’s supporters. Lennox was eventually killed outside
Stirling Castle by Mary’s supporters in 1572.
The next regent of Scotland was to be
James Douglas, the fourth Earl of
Morton. He proved to be the best of
James VI’s regents. He managed to
defeat Mary’s supporters and take back
Edinburgh castle. He supported the
Protestants of Scotland and helped them
set up a separate church.
Morton was executed on 2 June 1581
after he was wrongly accused of the
murder of Lord Darnley 14 years before.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
59
THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND
Activity
Answer the following questions in your jotter under the heading ‘The
confirmation of the Reformation in Scotland’.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Who was to look after Mary’s son James when she left Scotland?
What did the casket letters say?
Why was Lennox’s parliament called the ‘creeping parliament’?
Of the three regents, who was considered the best? Explain your
answer.
Peer assessment
Swap your answers with a classmate. Correct their answers and they
will correct yours. Write a comment at the bottom of their work telling
them what they have done well, and how they could improve. (If you
prefer, have a discussion instead of writing it down.)
Now change any of your answers you think you can improve on , based
on what your partner has written or said.
The young James VI
Mary last saw her son at Stirling Castle on 22 April 1567 when he was
just 10 months old. He never saw her again. James did not have the
happiest of childhoods, not least due to the fact that his mother had
been taken away from him so young.
60
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND
James was crowned King James VI of Scotland on 29 July 1567. John
Knox gave a speech at the coronation and James was brought up as a
Protestant. King James was looked after by the Earl of Moray and the
other regents but they did not care for him as much as they cared for his
power. He was quite unwell as a child. He was born with bent legs ,
which meant he could not walk properly.
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
However, there was one person who cared greatly for Jam es. George
Buchanan was James’ teacher. James was very clever and learned a lot
about literature and poetry from Buchanan. James became famous for
being a very intelligent young man. He was 14 years old when he began
to take more responsibility for his kingdom as he did not have any more
regents ruling for him.
Activity – Extension work
Use the internet to find out more about James VI. Go to:
www.ltscotland.org.uk/scotlandshistory
Under the heading, ‘Union of Crowns to Union of Parliaments’ you can
find out about what happened to him when Mary and then Elizabeth
died.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
61
THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND
Andrew Melville
In 1572, John Knox died. He had died before the Reformation was
completed in Scotland. Andrew Melville was a fellow Protestant who
took over from Knox. He was a Presbyterian: a Protestant that followed
the teachings of Calvin, just as John Knox did. Melville made sure that
the Presbyterian Church was to be the Protestant church in Scotland. He
completed the work started by John Knox. Andrew Melville was a
famous teacher and was in charge of the University of Glasgow and
then St Andrews University.
He wrote the Second Book of Discipline which said that the Church of
Scotland would be Presbyterian. He also said that the Church was to be
completely separate from the control of the royal family. This angered
King James VI because although he was brought up as a P rotestant, he
did not approve of Melville. He thought that Melville was taking things
too far. King James wanted the church of his choice in Scotland which
was the same as the Church of England – a Protestant church with
bishops managing it and the king as the head of the Church. Melville
said that the king was not in charge of the church because Jesus Christ
was. Melville also described King James as ‘God's sillie vassal’. This
was very insulting as he was saying that James was silly and that he
was only a servant.
62
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND
King James VI sent Andrew Melville to the Tower of London , where he
was imprisoned for five years. James said that Melville could never
return to Scotland after his release.
Activity
Answer the following questions in sentences in your jotter under the
heading ‘Andrew Melville and the confirmation of the Reformation’
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Is a Presbyterian a Catholic or Protestant?
What famous reformer influenced Andrew Melville?
What did Melville say about the Church and the royal family?
Why did this anger King James VI?
What did Melville call King James that offended him?
Peer assessment
Swap your answers with a classmate. Correct their answers and they
will correct yours. Write a comment at the bottom of their work telling
them what they have done well and how they could improve. (If you
prefer, have a discussion instead of writing it down.)
Now change any of your answers you think you can improve on , based
on what your partner has written or said.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
63
MARY IN ENGLAND
Section 6: Mary, Queen of Scots in England
As you learned in the last section, Scotland was now a completely
Protestant country as the king, James VI was a Protestant.
Mary had gone to England for protection from Elizabeth. This was a
massive mistake as Elizabeth had put Mary in prison.
In this section we will learn about:
Mary in England
Elizabeth I ’s reaction to Mary is Scotland
Mary’s involvement in the Catholic plots
Her trial and execution
Mary in England
Mary crossed the border into England on 16 May 1568. She was
immediately arrested by Queen Elizabeth’s officers. Mary was moved
around various castles in England until she was eventually put on trial
for the murder of Darnley. As we learned in the last section, it was
Moray and the other nobles that encouraged Elizabeth to do this. They
needed Mary out of the country so that they could rule without her.
However, Mary was never found guilty. Although Elizabeth did not like
Mary, she couldn’t bring herself to order her execution.
Mary was imprisoned for 19 years in total, from 1568 to 1587. She was
moved no less than 14 times from one castle to another. Mary was
treated well and had her own servants and a doctor and she could even
have some visitors. However, Elizabeth kept her closely guarded.
During this time, Mary desperately missed her son and did not keep
very well. She longed for freedom. 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.
64
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY IN ENGLAND
This is a portrait of Mary
showing her in prison. Mary
was always shown in black
with rosary beads.
It was painted after her death.
Activity
Look at the picture above and answer the following question.
How valuable is this picture in showing what Mary was like when she
was in prison?
Elizabeth I’s reaction to Mary in Scotland
By even being in England, Mary was a threat to Elizabeth. England had
become very stable under Elizabeth. Although England was a Protestant
country and Elizabeth was a Protestant queen, she let Catholics live and
worship in peace. The Catholics came to accept Elizabeth as their
queen.
However, there were many Catholics in Scotland that thought Mary was
the rightful Queen of England. Elizabeth was worried that these people
would rise up against her. The Pope also told the Catholics in England
that they did not have to obey Elizabeth. This greatly worried Elizabeth
as the Pope was the leader of the Church on earth and Catholics had to
obey him over anyone, even their queen.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
65
MARY IN ENGLAND
This is why Elizabeth imprisoned Mary.
If she sent her back to Scotland she
could be murdered by the Protestant
nobles. Although Elizabeth did not trust
Mary, she was her cousin and she could
not do this to her own flesh and blood,
but if she was free in England, she could
join together with the Catholics and
remove Elizabeth from the throne.
However, in 1570, Elizabeth did agree to
work with the French and help Mary
retrieve the crown of Scotland. Elizabeth asked that Mary reject the
Treaty of Edinburgh, which Mary would not do. From Section 2 we
know that the Treaty of Edinburgh said that Mary had a claim to the
throne of England. Also, the Catholic plots that were to follow made
Elizabeth reconsider helping Mary.
Activity
While Mary was in prison, she and Elizabeth wrote to each other.
Imagine that you are Elizabeth. You have to write to Mary and explain
why you are putting her in prison. Try to persuade her that you are
doing this for her own good.
Mary’s involvement in the Catholic plots
During Mary’s captivity, there were many plots created by some
English Catholics to remove Elizabeth from the throne and make Mary
Queen of Scotland and England. One of them was called the Ridolfi
plot, in which a wealthy Italian banker planned to remove Elizabeth
from the throne of England. The idea was that Spain would invade
England from The Netherlands with the assistance of a Catholic
uprising in England.
Another plot involved Mary marrying the Duke of Norfolk, a cousin of
Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth saw this as treason and Norfolk was locked
in the Tower of London. He was later executed, in June 1572.
66
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY IN ENGLAND
It was for this reason that Mary was moved
to different castles and houses during her
captivity in England. Elizabeth was worried
that Mary was involved in these plots. Mary
always denied involvement, although she
did admit to paying Ridolfi money.
This is an extract from a letter written by Mary during her captivity to a
friend
‘If I shall be holden (held) here
perforce (by force), you may be sure
then being as a desperate person I
will use any attempts that may serve
my purpose either by myself or my
friends’
Activity
Read the source above and answer the following question.
Is this source useful in proving that Mary was involved in the Catholic
plots?
Remember PADD.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
67
MARY IN ENGLAND
The Babington plot
Elizabeth was becoming increasingly concerned about Mary. She knew
she could not execute Mary without cause and without a proper trial.
Elizabeth knew that the Catholics of England and Scotland would rebel
against her and she could lose her throne. She had to find a clear reason
for executing Mary. If Elizabeth could prove that Mary was involved in
a plot to kill her then this would be a legitimate reason to kill her.
In 1585, when Mary had been in prison for 16 years, Elizabeth passed
new laws in England which said that if anyone was seen to be plotting
against Elizabeth then Mary would be executed. This was something
that the Catholic community did not want.
Elizabeth asked her secretary of state and close advisor Francis
Walsingham to spy on Mary and read her letters to find out if Mary was
plotting anything. Mary had been writing letters to friends in France
and Spain asking for help in her attempt to escape and overthrow
Elizabeth. Walshingham intercepted these letters. Walsingham did not
stop the letters right away because he wanted to know who else was
involved in the plot.
Walsingham also discovered that Mary was communicating with a
young Catholic man called Anthony Babington. Although these letters
were written in code, Walsingham was able to break it. In July 1568,
Babington wrote to Mary making it very clear that he was planning to
murder Elizabeth. Mary responded that it was up to him what he
68
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY IN ENGLAND
decided to do. This was enough evidence for Walsingham and
Elizabeth. Now the government had a case against Mary.
Clip 4146
Activity
Below is a secret code similar to the one used by Mary and Babington
A B C D E F G H I
* ^ & £ # = - + |
J
!
K L M N O P Q R S T U Y Z
> < } ~ / @ ‘ ¬ { [ % x ]
Decipher this message using the code above:
}*¬x
[+#
/=
{&/[<*~£
}%¬£#¬
/=
*–¬##£
[/
#<|]*^#[+
Can you write your own message using the code above?
Mary’s trial
Babington was arrested and charged with treason. In September 1586,
Babington was executed. Mary was then put on trial in October 1586.
She was accused of the crime of treason. This means planning to
overthrow the person in charge of the country, in this case it was
Elizabeth.
Mary denied being part of the plot to assassinate Elizabeth but the
judges did not agree.
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
69
MARY IN ENGLAND
Extract from Mary’s trial
Mary to the judges: ‘You are indeed my enemies’.
The Judges to Mary: ‘We are the enemy of the enemies of our queen.’
The trial lasted two days. Mary was found guilty of treason and was
sentenced to death.
However, it took Elizabeth a few months to sign Mary’s death warrant.
Elizabeth knew that this was the first time that a queen had been put on
trial and found guilty in another country. Elizabeth was perhaps worried
that other kings and queens would follow her example and someone
could do the same to her.
Eventually, in February 1587, Elizabeth signed Mary’s death warrant.
She was to be beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February.
Execution
Mary was said to have been very brave on the day of her execution. She
walked with dignity to the Great Hall at Fotheringhay Castle. She was
helped by her servants as she was too weak to walk herself. She was
dressed all in black with a white veil and a scarlet red underskirt. The
red underskirt symbolised the fact that Mary believed she was dying
because she was a Catholic and that she was a martyr, someone who
dies for their religious beliefs.
70
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
MARY IN ENGLAND
Mary was very composed in front of the several hundred people who
had come to watch her execution.
While her death warrant was read, Mary prayed aloud with her rosary
beads in her hand. She prayed for her son and the Church. She also
prayed for Elizabeth and wished her well.
Mary spoke to her servants and friends and asked them to remember her
in their prayers. Her eyes were covered with a white cloth and she put
her head on the block. She spoke a prayer in Latin, saying ‘Into your
hands, oh Lord’ and the executioner slammed the axe down on the back
of her head. However, it would take another two attempts to cut her
head off! The axe man lifted up her head to show the crowd that she
was dead.
However, to the shock and horror of the crowd, he was left holding her
hair. Her head fell down and rolled along the floor. Mary had been
wearing a wig: her hair was very short and was completely white.
Clip 4147
Where were Mary and Elizabeth eventually united?
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
71
MARY IN ENGLAND
Activity
At the start of the course, we looked at what life was like in the 16 th
century. We know that there were no computers in those days and n ews
was spread by people and not through newspapers and blogs.
However, imagine that you are a reporter for an online news site who
has been following the trial and is present at the execution of Mary,
Queen of Scots. Your readers want to know what happe ned at the trial
and execution.
Write two blog entries: one for the trial in October 1586 and one for the
execution in1587.
72
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
APPENDICES
Appendices
Appendix 1
Glossary
Reformation
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Catholic
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Primary source
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Secondary source
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Burgh
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Monarchy
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Nobility
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
73
APPENDICES
Treaty
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Alliance
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Wooing
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Dauphin
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Corrupt
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Protested
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Reform
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Heresy
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Retaliation
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
74
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
APPENDICES
Betrayal
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Reign
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Suppressed
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Uprising
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Abdicate
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Exile
____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
75
APPENDICES
Appendix 2
Timeline
This is a timeline of Mary’s life. While you are working through each
section, fill in what happened in Mary’s life on these important dates.
Date
Event
8 December 1542
14 December 1542
9 September 1543
1544–1548
August 1548
24 April, 1558
11 June 1560
30 June 1559
5 December 1560
19 August 1561
29 July 1565
9 March 1566
15 June 1566
9 February 1567
15 May 1567
24 July 1567
2 May 1568
13 May 1568
16 May 1568
July 1586
15 October 1586
8 February 1587
76
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
APPENDICES
Enquiry Skills Answer
Opening statement
Source A is____________________ in telling us __________________
_________________________________(repeat what the question asks).
very useful
not very useful
quite useful
useful
Purpose
The purpose of the source is to _________________________________
__________________________________________________________.
give information about...
warn about...
describe ...
explain ...
defend ...
show ...
Author
The author of the source is ________________________.
Name of person
Name of a magazine or newspaper
Name of artist
Date
This source was written in ___________________.
This makes it a ____________________ source.
Put in the date of the source.
Is it a primary or secondary source?
Detail
The detail of the source mentions _______________________________
__________________________________________________________
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
77
APPENDICES
Appendix 3
Who’s who?
In this unit of work you will study the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. You
will come across many different people and find out how they af fected
Mary’s life.
Before we begin, let’s meet some of the key people you will hear about in
Mary’s story. Use these pages as a reminder of who’s who as you learn
about Mary’s life.
Mary, Queen of Scots
Family
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
King James V of Scotland
Mary’s father
He died when she was 6
days old
78
Mary of Guise
Mary’s mother
She was French and came from one
of the most powerful families in
France
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
APPENDICES
Henry VIII of England
He was King of England when
Mary was born and was her
father’s uncle
He wanted Mary to marry his
son and become Protestant
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Earl of Moray
Mary’s half-brother
He was a Protestant and later
turned against her
He looked after her son James
during her years in prison
Elizabeth I of England
Daughter of Henry VIII
She was Mary’s cousin.
Elizabeth did not trust Mary
and feared she would take her
throne away from her.
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
James VI of Scotland and I of
England
Mary’s only child, from her
marriage to Lord Darnley
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
79
APPENDICES
Husbands
Francis, Dauphin of France
Mary’s first husband
Died when she was 19 years
old
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Henry, Lord Darnley
Mary’s second husband
She married him when
she was 22
Father to her son James
He was murdered
80
© Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Earl of Bothwell
Mary’s third husband
Suspected of killing Lord
Darnley
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
APPENDICES
Opponents of Mary, Queen of Scots
John Knox
Head of the Reformation
in Scotland
Disliked Mary as she was
a Roman Catholic
Sir Francis Walsingham
Was secretary of state to
Elizabeth (which meant
he was one of her closest
advisers)
He spied on Mary
MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS AND THE SCOTTISH REFORMATION (ACCESS 3, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
81