MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS: THE POLITICAL CAREER OF A QUEEN DETERMINED TO RULE by Jessica Sealy Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History Acadia University April, 2010 © Copyright by Jessica Sealy, 2010 This thesis by Jessica Sealy is accepted in its present form by the Department of History and Classics as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honours Approved by the Thesis Supervisor Dr. Jennifer MacDonald Date Approved by the Head of the Department Dr. Paul Doerr Date Approved by the Honours Committee Dr. Sonia Hewitt Date ii I, Jessica Sealy, grant permission to the University Librarian at Acadia University to reproduce, loan or distribute copies of my thesis in microform, paper or electronic formats on a non-profit basis. I however, retain the copyright in my thesis. Signature of Author Date iii Acknowledgements There are several people without whom I could not have completed this thesis. I would like to extend thanks... To Beth and Doug Sealy, for twenty two years of encouragement, support, love and proof reading, and for always believing I could accomplish everything I set out to do and for reminding me when I stopped believing in my capabilities. To Alyssa Sealy, for giving me a reason to set high standards for myself and for inspiring me to challenge myself. To the Sealy and the Coles families, for setting exceptionally high standards for themselves and for teaching me to do the same, and for never once allowing me to believe I could not meet those standards. To the Acadia University History Department for keeping me on track and for the encouragement and enthusiasm they exude that kept my interest these past four years, and to Dr. Verstraete, for encouraging me to pursue an honours degree. To Heather MacDonald for lighting the spark, Leigh Whaley for fanning the flame, and Jennifer MacDonald for working tirelessly to keep the fire blazing. iv Table of Contents Title Page i Approval Page ii Permission for Duplication Page iii Acknowledgements iv Abstract vi Chapter One Historiography: The Life of Mary, Queen of Scots 1 16 th to 19 th Century Scholarship: The Growth of a Scandalous Reputation 2 20 th Century Scholarship to the 1970s: The Impact of the Casket Letters 5 1960s Scholarship: Mary’s Web of Humiliation 10 Post 1970s Scholarship: The Impact of Feminism 15 Conclusion: The Political Career of Mary, Queen of Scots 24 Chapter Two A Queen Determined to Rule 26 Introducing the “Reluctant Ruler” 26 Political Decisions Made during Mary’s Time in France 27 Establishing Herself in Scotland 29 Mary’s First Scottish Parliament 37 The Politics behind the Darnley Marriage 40 The Not-So-Reluctant Ruler 45 Chapter Three A Turn Toward Inactivity 47 The Distracted Ruler: Domesticity Distracting the Scottish Queen 48 The Desperate Ruler: A Queen without a Realm 59 The Not-So-Active Ruler 65 Chapter Four Conclusion: The Political Career of the Queen of Scots 67 Appendices A- Mary, Queen of Scots: Chronology 71 B - Mary, Queen of Scots: Family Trees 72 Bibliography 74 v Abstract Mary, Queen of Scots, has been portrayed as an ineffective ruler who had no interest in Scottish politics. In reality, she was not a reluctant monarch. Despite having a short and relatively uneventful political career, Mary demonstrated her resolve to rule through three distinct phases of involvement in Scottish politics. Her time as queen began with a period of determination, lasting from 1561 to 1565. During this time, Mary nominated her Privy Council, developed a policy of religious acceptance and held an extremely successful Parliament. She also established positive foreign relations with England while maintaining those established through her first marriage with France. Mary attempted to use her second marriage as a political bargaining chip to solidify her alliances, marrying Lord Darnley and improving her position in the English succession, in 1565. However, with this marriage began her phase of domestic distraction. Her decision to focus on her queenly duty to maintain the royal line by producing an heir distracted her from the legislative process. This was the only period of Mary’s political career during which she was reluctant to take an active role in governing, as she became focused on handling her husband and the scandalous events he brought into her life, rather than on maintaining the level of involvement she had previously had in her government. Two tumultuous years later, Mary abdicated as queen in favour of her infant son. At this time, she realized how deeply she cared about leading her kingdom and entered a period of desperation, spent imprisoned in England. This phase was characterized by frantic pleas to be released, followed by plots to escape and reinstate herself in Scotland. Mary did not give up on her desire to regain her position as Queen of Scotland until the day of her execution. This thesis will conclusively illustrate that Mary Stewart was not politically indifferent through an extensive examination of each of these phases of her political career. vi Nemo me impune lacessit No one provokes me with impunity vii Chapter 1 – Historiography: The Life of Mary, Queen of Scots Mary Stewart, popularly known as ‘the Queen of Scots,’ has been discussed at great length in historical scholarship. The vast majority of the writing about Mary has focused on her tumultuous relationship with her cousin and neighbour, Queen Elizabeth I of England. As a result, Mary is remembered in comparison to her cousin, rather than in her own right. Scholars have portrayed her as a “reluctant ruler,” 1 in contrast to Elizabeth, the strong, confident, independent queen. While it is true that Mary spent a great deal of time focused on her personal life, she did assert herself politically. 2 Closer examination of different phases of her queenship will reveal that she was, at times, power hungry, in both her personal and political life. Through an investigation of her reigns in France and Scotland and of her pursuit for power in England, I intend to prove that Mary Stewart was in fact not a reluctant ruler. Chapter One will familiarize the reader with the secondary literature written about Mary. This chapter will introduce this “queen in three kingdoms”3 through an analysis primarily consisting of 20 th and 21 st Century scholarship. It will investigate how the analyses of Mary have changed over time. Crucial to the historical scholarship is the changing perception of Mary before and after the feminist movement. This chapter will introduce Mary and the views put forward about her by scholars to date. There is no shortage of literature about Mary Stewart. One explanation for the vast resources on this subject is her reputation as a scandalous queen. Significantly more scholarship has been written about Mary during the 20 th and 21 st centuries than was written earlier. It is upon 1 Jenny Wormald, Mary, Queen of Scots: Politics, Passion and a Kingdom Lost, (London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2001), 103. 2 Please see Appendix A for a chronology of Mary’s personal life and political career. 3 Michael Lynch, ed, Mary Stewart: Queen in three kingdoms (Oxford, England: Basil Blackwell Ltd, 1988), title. 1 this writing that I will rely as few earlier writings exist. This literature follows one of two main trends. The first is most visible in the literature published before the 1970s. Up to this point, she is discussed as a scandalous queen, as that literature focuses on the shameful events in her personal life. The literature published after the 1970s deviates from that trend. From the 1980s onward, the tendency in scholarship was to focus on Mary’s political incompetence. The feminist movement heavily influenced this shift in literature, as will be discussed later in this chapter. Mary was no longer viewed as a foolish female ruler. Her political career became significant to proper studies of her reign. The remainder of this chapter will discuss these two trends. 16 th to 19 th Century Scholarship: The Growth of a Scandalous Reputation While I will be relying primarily on 20 th and 21 st Century material, it is important to consider texts written during Mary’s lifetime and in the decades and centuries following her death. George Buchanan’s work is valuable as it is one of the few contemporary sources available. He worked for a time as Mary’s tutor and was her loyal supporter until he joined the Protestant Reformation and became a fervent anti-Marian scholar. He attempted to justify the rebellions against Mary and prove her guilt in the murder Lord Darnley, Mary’s second husband. He believed Mary’s reign was tyrannical and reckless. 4 In his book, The Tyrannous Rule of Mary Stewart, Buchanan accuses Mary of attempting to poison Darnley after their son James’ baptism and plotting, with conspirators, to murder him. He goes so far as to say “the Queen... had planned the murder for that day.” 5 Buchanan states that Mary allayed Darnley’s suspicions, luring him to Kirk O’Field, all the while planning to place the blame on her brother. Buchanan believed that Mary’s hasty 4 W.A. Gatherer, 1958 preface of George Buchanan, The Tyrannous Reign of Mary Stewart: George Buchanan’s Account, translated by W.A. Gatherer (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1978, reprint Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1958), vii – viii. 5 George Buchanan, The Tyrannous Reign of Mary Stewart: George Buchanan’s Account, translated by W.A. Gatherer (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1978, reprint Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1958), 114.