The Royal Mile, one of the most famous streets in Edinburgh, runs from the castle all the way down to Holyrood Palace. When Edinburgh castle was first established this was the only accessible route, a natural ramp formed thousands of years ago gave access to a castle otherwise impregnable from the east.

With the establishment of Holyrood palace, or rather the original monastery in the 12th century, the route between the two became an important thoroughfare. Businesses and government offices sprang up as well as several churches such as the magnificent St Giles Cathedral.

By the 16th century many parts of this route became dedicated to markets and the wide area running down from St Giles towards the Canongate featured some of the city’s first permanent shops. Many of these housed small trade people who made and sold their wares, and among the most popular were the jewellers. The shops themselves were very small and were known as ‘Locked Booths’. From this we get the word ‘Luckenbooth’.

The Luckenbooth brooch became a very popular item in 16th century Scotland. It featured the ‘Heart & Crown of Scotland’ and was romantically linked to the tragic Mary, Queen of Scots as it was the brooch she had given to Lord Darnley.

The style of the Luckenbooth brooch became very popular throughout the UK. By the 18th century the trade in silver to the new world featured the little brooch and many ended up traded with Native Americans, particularly the Iroquois of the Six Nations. As a result of this the Luckenbooth became a popular decorative symbol in their costumes.

The tradition was that the young man would give his lady a Luckenbooth brooch on their wedding day. When their first child arrived the brooch would then be pinned to the babies shawl to protect it from “evil spirits”. As such it had very similar connotations to the Irish ‘Claddagh’ ring especially with the similar heart shaped theme. This tradition can be carried over to today. A Luckenbooth Brooch makes a fantastic gift for your bride on your wedding day, or a gift for a newborn as a symbol of protection and love. Whatever you pick one up for, it is and always will be an enduring symbol of Edinburgh and of Scotland.

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Perhaps my favourite part of Christmas (after opening presents, of course), are the days spent feasting and picking at leftovers until you can’t possibly eat any more. Here’s a compile of traditional Scots Christmas fare, guaranteed to warm your cockles this holiday season. All recipes featured below come from Theodora Fitzgibbon’s book Traditional Scottish Cookery, first published in 1980 and found at a charity shop in Edinburgh (price – £2).

Cock-A-Leekie Soup

In the 1826 work The Annals of the Cleikum Club, author Dr Regdil wrote extensive recollections of feasts and dinner parties hosted by 17th century Scottish aristocrats. In it he wrote: “… I yield the Scots the superiority in all soups – save turtle and mulligatawny.”

Scotland has a long-standing and excellent reputation for soups, perhaps attributed to the Auld Alliance – the country’s long connection with France. Cock-A-Leekie soup likely originated in France as chicken and onion soup, but by the time it had made it’s way to Scotland in the 16th century, the onions were replaced with leeks. This soup is traditionally served at Christmas time banquets and at Burn’s Night supper, as well as an every day soup in winter.

• 1 boiling fowl about 4lb, (2 kg.) jointed or carcase, leg and wings of a bird.
• 3 chopped rashers streaky bacon
• water or stock to cover
• mixed bouquet garni of parsley, thyme, bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 12 medium-sized leeks
• 1/4 lb. (125 g.) cooked, stoned prunes

Put the jointed bird, or carcase, legs and wings, and the bacon into a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and remove any scum. Add about 8 of the leeks, which have been well washed and chopped, the green as well as the white part, the herbs tied into a bundle, salt and pepper. Return to the boil, then simmer very gently for about 2-3 hours or until the chicken is cooked. Add a little more water if necessary but do not weaken the stock too much. Taste for seasoning, then strain, picking out the chicken, taking the meat from the bones and cutting it into small pieces. Add to the soup, together with the stoned prunes and the remaining chopped leeks and simmer very gently for not more than 15 minutes. It can be garnished with a very little cream and chopped parsley, but do not disguise the pure flavour too much.

Serves 8 if a whole bird is used, and at least 6 with the carcase etc.

Roastit Bubbly-Jock

This recipe comes from a Mrs. Buchanan in 1891, and is the traditional Scottish method of cooking turkey. At this time oysters were cheap and pentiful, forming part of the stuffing. It probably gets its curious name from the gobbling voice of the live bird.

• 1 hen turkey about 10 lb. (4.6 kg.)
• 2 oz. (50 g.) melted butter
• 1 pint (600 ml.) giblet stock, hot
• 1 heaped tablespoon redcurrant jelly

For the stuffing:

• 1 lb. (450 g.) sausage meat
• 4 oz. (125 g.) breadcrumbs
• 1/2 pint (150 ml.) milk
• 6 oysters, fresh or canned, optional
• 8 large, peeled cooked chestnuts
• 2 stalks chopped celery
• chopped turkey liver
• 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
• pinch of dried sage

Wipe the turkey inside and out and prick the breast lightly. Then soak the breadcrumbs in the milk and squeeze dry before adding all the other stuffing ingredients, then put this into the body and crop of the bird.
Put the bird in the roasting tin and brush with the melted butter, then add half the stock, cover with foil and roast at 350ºF. (170ºC.) or gas mark 4 for 20-25 minutes to the pound. Baste half way through cooking time, season and add the rest of the giblet stock, warmed. Boil up before putting it back in the oven and continue cooking.
Take off the foil 15 minutes before it is ready to let it brown, and add the redcurrant jelly to the pan juices, stir well, boil up rapidly to reduce slightly and serve separately. Enough for 10.

Clootie Dumpling

This traditional pudding is also spelt ‘Cloutie’, from being boiled in a ‘clout’ or cloth. It’s a favourite at Christmas time, with recipes varying from region to region. In the north-east recipes tend to use oats and golden syrup, while the further south you go, breadcrumbs and treacle are called for. Perfect alongside whisky-laden custard or brandy butter, the dumpling should be eaten within two days otherwise should be sliced then frozen. For a boxing day treat, toast or fry slices of the dumpling and serve as part of a full-Scottish breakfast.

• 4 oz. (125 g.) shredded suet, or margarine
• 8 oz. (225 g.) flour
• 4 oz. (125 g.) oatmeal
• 3 oz. (75 g.) sugar
• 1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
• 8 oz. (225 g.) mixed sultanas and currants
• 1 teaspoon each: ground cinnamon and ginger
• 1 tablespoon golden syrup
• 2 eggs
• 3-4 tablespoons buttermilk or sour milk

Rub the fat into the sifted flour, then add all the other dry ingredients. Make a hole in the centre and add the syrup and beaten eggs and mix well. Then add enough buttermilk or sour milk to make a soft but firm batter. If using a pudding cloth dip it first into boiling water and then flour it well before adding the pudding mixture. Tie up, but allow a good space for expansion.
Or the mixture can be put into a lightly greased basin allowing a one inch (2.5 cm) space at the top. Tie down securely and boil with boiling water coming up to the rim for 2 1/2-3 hours. If using the cloth, put a saucer or plate in the bottom of the saucepan and stand the pudding in the cloth on top, then cover with boiling water and cook for 2 1/2-3 hours.

Shortbread

This traditional cake is special to Scotland and eaten all the year round, but especially at Christmas and Hogmanay as once upon a time it was a luxury and reserved only for special occasions. To ensure best results, it should be made from only the finest ingredients and will not have the proper flavour if butter is not used. Originally it was made from oatmeal, but nowadays the finest sifted flour and rice flour are used.

Although shortbread was prepared during much of the 12th century, the refinement of shortbread is credited to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century. The name of one of the most famous and most traditional forms of shortbread, petticoat tails, may have been named by her. This type of shortbread was baked, cut into triangular wedges, and flavored with caraway seeds. The ingredients should be warm and dry.

• 1 lb. (450 g.) butter
• 8 oz. (225 g.) castor sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 lb. (450 g.) sifted flour
• 8 oz. (225 g.) rice flour – if rice flour is not available then all wheat flour can be used, but reduce it to 1 lb. (45o g.) in all.

Cream the butter and sugar together very well. Mix the flours and salt, sift them, then incorporate them gradually but thoroughly until the dough is like a shortcrust pastry texture. Do not knead or roll out as this only toughens it. Press with the hand into two round cakes and if you don;t have a wooden shortbread mould, then put on to an ungreased baking sheet covered with baking-paper. The usual thickness is about 3/4 inch (1.9 cm.) for an 8-inch (20.3-cm.) shortbread.
Pinch the edges regularly with the finger and thumb and prick all over, lightly with a fork. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 375ºF. (190ºC.) or gas mark 5 for about 1 hour, and after 20 minutes reduce the heat to 350ºF. (180ºC.) or gas mark 4 to let it crisp up and get a pale fawn colour. Leave to cool before putting on to a rack.

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Còisir Dhùn Èideann (Edinburgh Gaelic Choir) meet once a week in the Quaker Meeting House, just a few streets away from the Royal Mile. My interest in Gaelic became piqued earlier this year when I attended a Gaelic harmony workshop, and have been attending choir rehearsals since. In the last few weeks I have noticed that I am becoming more familiar with the language – for example when looking at certain words I can kind of figure out how it’s meant to sound. It’s really hard work, but I had forgotten how much I enjoy singing as part of a group, and it’s an added bonus that I can combine this with learning Gaelic.

At our last rehearsal we sang unison songs as a little break from our usual rehearsal routine. One of them was the song Griogal Cridhe, which is the lament of the widow of Gregor Ruadh, the Red MacGregor of Glenstrae. Griogal is Gaelic for Gregor, and cridhe (a word that I have come across quite a lot in my foray into Gaelic music) means heart, or in this case beloved. The song is the oldest known Gaelic song, and well known in Scotland. There are Gaelic songs that are possibly older, but this one can be dated to a specific event, which just happens to be a heartbreaking chapter from clan history.

MacGregor (1541-1570) was the 10th chief of Clan MacGregor, and his tenure is remembered for a particularly bloody, long-lasting feud with Clan Campbell of Breadalbane. Once close allies, the troubles between the two clans came about as the result of a power struggle for control over manpower, lands and other resources in Breadalbane and Lorn. Previously the clans had expanded together from their neighbouring glens into Lorn, settling once again side by side in their new lands. This geographical closeness cemented all kinds of links between the clans including marriages – MacGregor himself was married to Marion Campbell, the daughter of Grey Colin Campbell. When cracks in the clan relationship began to appear, many clansmen were torn between their loyalties.

Sir Colin Campbell, better known has Grey Colin, became Laird of Glenorchy and Baron of Dalach by purchase in 1550. Two years later he evicted the McGregor chieftain from Balloch Castle, demolishing the castle and building one for himself, known as Taymouth Castle and located on the outskirts of the village of Kenmore. Grey Colin’s Taymouth exists to this day in name only – most of the castle was demolished and rebuilt in the 19th Century by the Campbells of Breadalbane.

The clan feud came to a head in 1562 when Grey Colin imposed hard conditions on the young MacGregor chief, who was infefted with the lands of Glenstrae. (Your Scots word for the day is infeft – an old Scots law word which means to invest with or give symbolical possession of inheritable property). In the same year the MacGregors seized lands on Loch Tay, which resulted in the death of some Campbells and their allies. The raiding and fighting was particularly intense in the following year – Mary, Queen of Scots was even involved, giving authority to Grey Colin to pursue the MacGregors ‘with fire and sword’ through two acts of the Privy Council.

Seven more years of rebellions and fighting followed, and in 1570 MacGregor was betrayed and captured by Grey Colin and beheaded in the presence of Murray of Atholl and others as a salutary lesson to the Clan MacGregor. MacGregor’s wife, Marion Campbell, is said to have witnessed the execution at the hands of her father, and penned the heartbreaking elegy which we know today in response. In the song, Marion describes the horror of what happened, as she sings to her child:

Verse 1:
I´Sioma hoidhche fhliuch is thioram
Side na seachd sian
Gheibheadh Griogal dhomhsa creagan
Risan gabhainn dion

Chorus:
Obhan obhan obhan iri*
Obhan iri, o!
Obhan obhan obhan iri
Smor mo mhulad smor

Verse 2:
Eudail mhóir, a shlaugh an Domhain,
Dhòirt iad t´ fhuil o ´n dé,
´S chuir iad do cheann air stob daraich
Tacan beag bho d´ chré.

Verse 3:
B ´annsa bhi le Griogal cridhe
Teàrnadh chruidh le gleann,
Na le Baran mór na Dalach,
Sìoda geal mu m´ cheann.

Verse 4:
´Nuair a bhois mnàthan òg a´ bhaile,
´Nochd nan cadal sèimh,
´S ann bhios mis´ air bruaich do lice,
´Bualadh mo dhà làimh.

Verse 5:
Dhìrich mi dh ´an t-seòmar mhullaich,
´S theirinn mi ´n tigh-làir,
´S cha d ´fhuair mise Griogal cridhe
´Na shuidhe mu ´n chlàr.

Translation:

Many a night both wet and dry
Weather of the seven elements
Gregor would find for me a rocky shelter
Where I would take refuge.

Chorus:
Obhan, Obhan, Obhan iri
Obhan iri O!
Obhan Obhan Obhan iri,
Great is my sorrow, great.

Great darling from the “Domhainn” folk
They let your blood yesterday
And they put your head on an oaken stake
Near where your body lay.

I would be glad to be with dear Gregor
Guarding cattle in the glen
Instead of with the big Baron “Dalach”
White silk around my head.

While the young wives of the town
Serenely sleep tonight
I will be at the edge of your gravestone
Beating my two hands.

I climbed into the upper chamber
And lay upon the floor
And I would not find my dearest Gregor
At the table in his place.

Using the law and the statutes to suit themselves the Campbells successfully evicted the MacGregors from Glenorchy and Glenstrae, but the MacGregors didn’t take this lightly. Amongst their reprisals for the death of their chief in 1570 was the killing of thirteen Campbells. Although denounced for this, the MacGregors were granted a pardon within two years. 443 years after the fact, the song continues to have an emotional pull on singers, continuing the legacy of these two great clans.

*The chorus (obhan obhan obhan, etc. . .) is made up of nonsense words, meant only to convey emotion, not meaning.

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Chambers Street, Edinburgh

In August 1561 Mary, Queen of Scots returned to Edinburgh from France as a Catholic queen in a newly reformed Protestant Scotland. Initially greeted with crowds curious to catch a glimpse of their new queen, Mary Stewart was regarded with suspicion and faced a volatile political situation from the fervent Protestant ascendancy.

450 years on, Mary has made a triumphant return to the Scottish capital in the form of an exclusive major exhibition currently on show at the National Museum of Scotland. Entitled Mary, Queen of Scots, the exhibition chronicles one of the most well-known and captivating royals of all time. It brings together jewels, furniture, tapestry, portraits and documents, providing an insightful view of a fascinating woman and the tumultuous era in which she lived.

Last week I attended a talk highlighting the exhibition’s star pieces by George Dalgliesh – Keeper of Scottish History and Archaeology at the National Museum for over 20 years. He explained that the 200+ items on display aim to present a slightly different view of Mary’s life, focusing on her personal rule in Scotland. He added that Mary still excites controversy to this day, with debates ensuing as to whether the Scottish queen was a Catholic martyr or a scheming adulteress.

Blairs Memorial Portrait of Mary

On entrance to the exhibition the giant Blairs Memorial portrait of Mary towers over you, providing a commanding view of Mary on her way to the executioners block. Commissioned by Elizabeth Curle, a companion to Mary in the final years of her life, the portrait was painted 10-15 years after Mary’s death and was used as a piece of Catholic propaganda to promote Mary’s martyrdom. The portrait also includes visual vignettes of Mary’s grieving ladies in waiting and a scene from the execution.

The exhibition is set out chronologically, with the pinnacle point her reign as Queen of Scotland. Amongst the 16th century artifacts, which include a handwritten letter from Mary to her mother Mary of Guise, an innovative 21st century video shows a 3D image of what Mary would have looked like during her reign. Costume sketches and models by Jasper Conran for a recent production of Donizetti’s tragic opera Maria Stuarda show her renowned regal fashion sense and striking figure that continues to inspire artists today. Even John Knox, the leading light of protestant reformation is said to have described her features as “pleasing”.

Among the most fascinating of the items on display are the documents in the concluding section of the exhibition which include a set of cipher codes, the death warrant issued by Mary’s second cousin Elizabeth I, and a letter from Mary’s son James VI pleading Elizabeth for mercy. The original death warrant disappeared during the legal accusations following the execution, however the surviving copy on display was made for court records and includes the signature of Elizabeth I. The warrant instructs Elizabeth’s commissioners to:

“…repaire to our Castle of Fotheringhaye where the said Queene of Scottes is in custodie of our right trustie servant and Counsellor Sir Amyas Poulet Knight, and then taking her into your charge to cause by your commandment execution to be done upon her person.”

 

 

The Penicuik Jewels

Today very little survives that belonged to Mary for a number of reasons. Following her death her belongings were burned to try and stop the creation of a cult of relics around a martyred Queen. Mary’s half-brother, James Stewart Earl of Moray, is also said to have sold his sister’s jewels following her abdication to pay for troops. A surviving relic on display are the Penicuik Jewels. Originally from a rosary, the jewels are now strung as a necklace and include a locket set with Scottish river pearls. Dalgleish thinks the jewels were probably commissioned by Mary to be given away, as they are not regal enough to be fit for a queen. Giving jewels as gifts was a common practice during the 16th Century as a way of binding a person to your cause.

To this day Mary continues to hold a place in Edinburgh’s heart, as buses make their way through the city’s streets with her face displayed on their sides. The exhibition provides a wondrous insight into the life of a controversial Queen whose legacy still lives on, almost 450 years after her death.

‘Mary, Queen of Scots’ runs until Sunday 17th November 2013. You can read more about the exhibition by clicking here.

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3D Facial Reconstruction of Mary, Queen of Scots

A renowned team of experts at the University of Dundee have revealed a 3D virtual image of Mary, Queen of Scots as she would have looked at the time of her reign. The image was released to coincide with a major new exhibition on the life of the iconic figure that opened at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh last Friday.

Professor Caroline Wilkinson, from the Forensic and Medical Art Research Group, worked from existing portraits and from what is known of Mary’s biography to reconstruct her face as it would have been following during her reign in Scotland from the ages of 19 to 26, a period when there is no portrait record of her.

Professor Wilkinson created a head-and-neck model using the portraits of Mary as templates. The model was created using 3D modelling software and craniofacial templates before digital artist Janice Aitken sculpted clothing and hair then added textures and lighting to create the finished image. The team have previously worked on major projects to reconstruct the faces of Bach, Cleopatra’s sister, Simon of Sudbury and Richard III among others.

“There were no portraits painted during Mary’s time in Scotland, but there were both before and after this period,” explained Professor Wilkinson. “Normally we would begin the process of craniofacial reconstruction by examining skeletal remains, but of course we didn’t have a skull to work from in this case so had to work from portraits earlier and later than the depiction we were asked to create.

“This meant it was a very different challenge for me and the model is more of an artistic representation rather than the scientific interpretation we would normally produce from skeletal remains. We had to get the facial proportions and size of her features from portraits which, luckily, were from slightly different angles so we could look at her face from more than one viewpoint.

“What we wanted to do was depict how she would have looked at the time she lived in Scotland. This was a difficult time for her marked with illness, grief, miscarriage, and imprisonment so we wanted to show the stresses and strains of life on her face because later portraits make her look significantly older than her years.

“She is not what you would describe as a classic beauty. Mary had quite a big nose and a strong chin so when you describe her verbally she doesn’t sound attractive, but the paleness of her skin, red hair, and strong features meant she had a very striking appearance.”

Janice Aitken then put textures on the model and coloured the skin, hair and eyes to ensure it looked as realistic as possible. She created a short movie of the face being shown from several different angles to give the viewer a more complete impression of Mary during the time of her reign in Scotland.

The post University Brings Mary, Queen of Scots Back to Life appeared first on ScotClans | Scottish Clans.

I wrote about my adventure for the lovely Bikeable Jo over on her blog which chronicles cycling adventures on the streets of Edinburgh. I also discovered that the bicycle was invented by none other than a Scotsman – good work Scotland! You can read my post here, and I’ve also uploaded an album to Tartan Footprint with my photos from the journey.

Happy reading!

The Innocent Railway Tunnel

Craigmillar Castle

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Inspired by Sir Henry Raeburn’s series of portraits of clan chiefs, photographer Julian Calder said he wanted the portrait to highlight some of the Queen’s traditional if less prominent roles. “We wanted to photograph the Queen as the Queen of Scots and I wanted to do it as a Raeburn painting. He did paintings of Scottish clan chiefs and I thought they were very romantic… We wanted to have her looking at the massed clans on the distant hills.”

The Queen is dressed in the mantle of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, the Scottish counterpart to England’s Order of the Garter. From her shoulders, held by white satin ties, hangs the Collar of the Order made of golden thistles and rue sprigs, from which hangs a tiny St Andrew and his saltire cross. The photographer had initially hoped that the Queen would wear Scotland’s Crown Jewels, known as the Honours Three. However tradition dictates that they can only be removed from Edinburgh by the Duke of Hamilton, who was unavailable. Instead the Crown Jewel cabinet in London was raided, with the Queen opting to wear the emerald-covered Vladimir Tiara. It was once owned by the Grand Duchess Vladimir, aunt of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II, and was smuggled out of Russia during the Revolution

The MacNab – one of a series of portraits of clan leaders that inspired Julian Calder’s picture of the Queen

The portrait also enforces the Scottish connections to the monarchy – Elizabeth II is a direct descendant of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, not of England’s Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I, who reluctantly signed Mary’s death warrant. The Queen’s great‑great‑grandmother, Queen Victoria, who bought and loved the Balmoral Estate, said she could never forgive Elizabeth I’s treatment of “my ancestor, poor Mary”. A favoured summer holiday spot for the royals since Victoria, the Queen is popularly supposed to be happier at Balmoral than anywhere else.

Calder and the book’s author Alastair Bruce spent the day beforehand scouting for locations finally opting for a remote stream called Gelder Burn, which runs into the River Dee. “It’s remote, you can seen the heather was out and everything was right about it. Creatively, the curve of the stream could mirror the curve of the cape. The dark green of the trees and the heather all worked as a composition. It had all the ingredients” Calder said.

On the day of the photo shoot, Bruce said rain threatened to disrupt plans which had been weeks in the making. “As the allotted hour approached, the skies cleared and the Queen not only agreed to go outside but also to be photographed at a spot I had picked 25 minutes away. So we drove up to Gelder Burn and passed a family out for a walk who were just astonished to see the Queen passing by in all this regalia. There was no time to set up the shot but it was this magical moment – hardly a breath of wind and no midges.”

Say cheese – On set with the Queen

Keepers celebrates the bewildering range of official titles and appointments that have evolved over more than a thousand years. Those photographed range from the Monarch and the Master of the Rolls to a vicar’s son who is the hereditary Lord High Admiral of the Wash and the Royal Falconer. The portrait is the latest in a series of recent representations of the Queen. The Welsh Rugby Union unveiled a matronly expressionist portrait by Dan Llywelyn Hall earlier this year, and HRH received rave reviews for her role alongside Daniel Craig in the London Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2012.

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Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus

In 1545 the aptly titled War of Rough Wooing was in full, ruthless swing. In order to gain Scotland’s allegiance to England, King Henry VIII employed the curious tactic of scorching and pillaging Scotland into submission. In retaliation, approximately 2,500 Scottish soldiers were raised by the Chief of Clan Douglas, Archibald Douglas 6th Earl of Angus, with help from James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran. They gathered just a few miles from the Scottish border town of Jedburgh, confronting 5,200 English soldiers on 27 February 1545 at the Battle of Ancrum Moor.

Towards the end of Henry VIII’s reign, the King sought to unify the Kingdoms of England and Scotland through the arranged marriage of his son Edward, and Mary, Queen of Scots (aged one at the time). After much discussion and dissension, the Scottish Parliament under the Earl of Arran (Queen Mary’s regent) rejected Henry’s proposal, and instead offered the infant’s hand to the French, thus renewing the ‘Auld Alliance’.

Henry reacted rather badly to the news, and declared war against Scotland. Major hostilities broke out in Edinburgh in 1544, where Henry ordered the Earl of Hertford to burn Edinburgh, Leith and much of the border towns to the ground. The burning and pillaging of the borders continued into 1545, led by Sir Ralph Eure. Douglas’s estate had suffered heavily during the attacks – his family tombs at Melrose Abbey were vandalised by Eure, and Henry VIII had even given Eure some of Douglas’s land in the borders. The attacks forged an unlikely alliance between Douglas and Arran who had been bitter rivals for many years, even fighting a pitched battle in the streets of Edinburgh in 1520. Douglas was also joined at the battlefield by Scott of Buccleuch, whose lands had also been destroyed in the attacks.

The English command numbered approximately 5,200 and was made up of 3000 German and Spanish mercenaries, 1,500 English borderers and 700 disaffected Scots. As they settled into their encampment under Gersit Law, a small Scottish force made an attack then retreated. The English gave chase over the hill, where they met the entirety of the Scots force made up of predominantly Douglas men. Gleefully hidden on the far side of the hill, the Scots, although largely outnumbered, had the advantage of surprise and of the setting sun which was behind them. The English front line cracked under the might of the Scots pikemen, never being able to secure enough solid ground on the hill to launch a substantial attack. This sent the army into disarray, scattering the troops into the hostile countryside.

The English lost 800 men, including Eure, to the Scots two casualties. 1000 English men were also taken prisoner. Scotland’s incredibly decisive victory was enough to cool Henry VIII’s wrath for the meantime, however the war waged on until shortly after the death of the King in 1547. Local lore also says that a Lady Lilliard took part in the battle to avenge the death of her lover who was killed by English troops. Lilliard fought until dying of her wounds on the battle field, where an inscribed stone now lies in memory of her.

Fair maiden Lilliard
lies under this stane
little was her stature
but muckle was her fame
upon the English loons
she laid monie thumps
and when her legs were cuttit off
she fought upon her stumps.

In 2012 the Scottish Government announced the battle site at Ancrum Moor was to be protected under the Scottish Historic Environment Policy 2009.

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This very human trait looks to be the reason for the execution of Pierrre de Boscosel, Sieur de Chastelard, a young French courtier who accompanied Mary Queen of Scots as a page when she returned to Scotland. It seems that he became infatuated by Mary, who had openly displayed her affection for him, and, as a result, drove him to take considerable risks .

His first misfortune was to be found by her grooms hiding under the royal bed, albeit fully clothed, spurred and armed with a sword. He was ejected from the palace. When notified of this indiscretion, the Queen dismissed him from the court. On that very day, St Valentine’s day, the court moved to St Andrew’s, where on the following night, he once again breached security. Paying scant regard to his banishment, he burst in on Mary, who was half undressed and about to go to bed. The Queen was livid. Chastelard begged her forgiveness. His excuse, incredulous though it may sound, was that he had been “heavy for want of sleep” and that her bedroom had been the nearest place of refuge.

The screams of outrage brought her half brother, The Earl of Moray, to the bedroom, where she besought him to..”slay Chastelard and let him never speak a word!” Moray was only too well aware of Mary’s previous flirtations with Chastelard and wisely declined to do so, adding that he would have him tried and dealt with by the appropriate authority.

Apparently, Mary asked whether he would be allowed to speak, and Moray responded……. ” I shall do , madam, what in me lieth to save your honour.”

8 days later Chastelard was executed for treason. His final words were ” Adieu the most beautiful and the most cruel princess in the world”.

Mary, as his accuser, was duty bound to watch his execution. The threat against the royal personage was reason enough, but as her reign subsequently proved, he was the first of many to tread this path!

Much maligned or much misunderstood? This is just one episode in the story of this iconic monarch. Want to know more?…………… then, why not join me on my 3 day tour on the reign of Mary Queen of Scots. http://www.clansandcastles.com/mqs.htm

Mary, Queen of Scots, playing golf with her courtier, Pierre de Boscosel de Chastelard at St Andrews. Amadee Forestie

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Late in the evening of the 26^th of March 1603 Robert Carey arrived exhausted, battered and bruised at the gates of the Palace of Holyroodhouse at the foot of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. With him he carried important news, news that would change everything: the Queen of England was dead. Sixty hours earlier he’d left Richmond Palace in London the moment Elizabeth I had expired, and now he was being taken by candlelight to see the King of Scots, James VI in his bedchamber. Without permission or authority from the English parliament, Carey announced to the king that he was being offered the throne of England. It was news that James had been waiting a lifetime to hear.

Not that it came to him as any surprise, for over the last three years or so Elizabeth’s chief councillor, the rather dyspeptic Robert Cecil, had been conducting informal negotiations with the Scottish king; and when it became clear that the old queen was on her last legs those discussions became more official. Indeed, so astute was Cecil that James’s succession was one of the smoothest in English history; no mean feat considering that the king of Scotland was about to wear the crown of St Edward. For centuries kings of England had attempted to make Scotland subordinate to their will; and in one of the great ironies of European history the tables had now been turned.

King James VI

James left Edinburgh on the 5^th of April, having pledged to his Scottish subjects that he would come back ever three years (a promise he failed to keep) and became the first Scottish monarch in nearly a hundred years to cross the River Tweed and enter England. It took over a month for the travelling show to wind its way to London, and everywhere cheering crowds greeted their new king all along the Great North Road, culminating in a stupendous fanfare as he entered the capital on the 7^th of May. Edward I, Hammer of the Scots, must have been spinning in his grave.

James was crowed in Westminster Abbey in July 1603, sitting on the ancient Stone of Destiny, wearing the Crown of England and amid the great and grand of the English aristocracy. To them he was now James I of England; but the new monarch had grander ideas. He once told his parliament, that he now “ruled Scotland from London with a pen, which English kings had never managed with the sword”; a backhanded complement to his Stewart ancestors and his native land, but showing firmly that one king ruled both nations. From the very start he called the new joint-monarchy ‘Magna Britannia‘, or Great Britain: resurrecting an old Roman term for a modern Caesar.

Above all James wanted to unite his kingdoms, it was almost an obsession, and this didn’t go down too well with his English ministers and parliament. Every step towards British-ness was a step away from English-ness; although north of the border the Scots were still basking in the fact that they’d just given England a king and didn’t really care as much. He also didn’t really understand the English system, its laws or customs, so he brought south a Scottish court and surrounded himself with the familiarity. This caused serious tensions, and played a huge part in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Still, undaunted and with a cunning wilfulness his programme of integration, at least in symbolism, continued.

James VI was the son of the stunningly beautiful Mary Queen of Scots and her equally handsome husband Lord Darnley; yet he turned out to be a rather strange looking character. He had a pronounced limp, odd stature and a tongue too large for his mouth which meant he tended to slaver like a simpleton. All this was combined with a raft of personality disorders, all stemming from a childhood that at best could be described as traumatic. However, James was no simpleton; he was well educated, sharp and political expedient – every thing he said or did was done in calculation of his own conceit as a divine king. In Europe he was half-mockingly called the ‘Wisest Fool in Christendom’. He may have looked and sounded like a half-wit, but his brain was razor-sharp; and his English ministers never really grasped that.

The king was passionate about heraldry and symbolism, and he saw this as an effective way to smooth the path to genuine union. His first move was to create a personal heraldic badge: a motif combining the rose of England with the thistle of Scotland. He then changed the Royal Standard, merging elements from both the English and Scottish coats of arms – although Scotland would, and retains a separate royal standard where the Scottish lion rampant takes precedence over the English ‘three lions’ emblem). As independent nations though both Scotland and England retained their own national flags; but here too James decided that his two realms should have one; and it remains his greatest contribution to the symbolic life of the nation.

According to the king there was contentions at various ports in Scotland allowing English ships to enter, and vice versa; a cover story for sure, but one that allowed James to realise an ambition: a national flag. He asked the Privy Council to come up with a flag that ships and navies from both countries could fly and several options came back to his desk for approval. Now considering that his English ministers saw Scotland as little more than appendage, their designs reflected it: with the St Andrew’s Cross reduced to little more than an afterthought against their Cross of St George. James was having none of it, and commissioned a flag that displayed both ensigns with parity, and the result was the red-white cross of England emblazoned against a backdrop of the white-blue cross of Scotland. And so on the 16^th of April 1606 the new Union Flag was born.

A very English candidate for the Union Flag

With such a Scottish influence over their coveted flag the English parliament and army refused to adopt it; but with direct authority over the navy the new flag was made compulsory. A flag flown at sea is smaller than one flown on land and is known as a ‘jack’. Thus, for the first hundred years of its existence it was known as the Union Jack, a name that has kinda stuck. Also, James was Christened by his French-speaking mother as Jacque (the French for James), and behind his back he was snidely called ‘Union Jacque’. This play on words sealed the name in our national psyche, and few today realise that it is properly the ‘Union Flag’, not ‘Union Jack’.

James VI died in 1625, but his dream of union didn’t; and it took over a hundred years of civil war, fiscal disparity and ultimately bullying tactics to take Scotland into political union with England. With the Act of Union in 1707 James’ flag was adopted as the British national flag as England and Scotland ceased to be independent nations. By this time colonial ambitions were taking the flag to the farthest corners of the globe; and in time it would flutter across a quarter of the world. In 1801 Ireland was united with Great Britain (thus adding the red X cross of St Patrick to the flag) to create the United Kingdom and the standard we know to day was complete.

The British Empire is long dead, but the Union Flag is still an important part of the flags of many Commonwealth nations, such as Australia and New Zealand and most Canadian States (it’s even in the flag of Hawaii). It remains an integral part of the colourful pageantry and pride in our country; a reminder that our United Kingdom is exactly that. Scottish James would be very happy. 

The Union Flag

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