Cardinal Beaton the Name Most Execrated in the Ecclesiastical History

C A R D I N A L B E A T O N

P RI EST AND P OLI TICIAN

J O H N II E R K L E S S

M I N I S T E R O F T A N N A D I C E

W I T H A P R T R I ’ ' O A I I

C O N T E N T S.

C H A P . P A G E

I T H E D E C L I N E O F T H E C A T II D L I C C H R H I N . U C

S C O TL A N D ,

I I . T H E O L D A L L I A N C E A N D T H E O L D E N M IT Y ,

’ I I I EA R L Y I N F LUE N C E S D N R E A T D N N C H A R A C TE R . ,

I V B EA T O N A N D P A TR I C K H A MI LTO N . ,

D I P L O MA C I ’ v. ,

’

V I . T H E E X TI R P A TI O N C E I I ICR E S Y ,

V I I . R E EC R MA T IC N FR O M E N G LA N D ,

V II I S O L WA Y mo s s A N D IT S S E EL . Q U

I X . F URT H E R I N TRI GUE S ,

x K N G A G A N S C A R N A L . I I T D I ,

X I P R O T E S TA N TI S M A N D W I S H A RT . ,

X I I T H E A SSA SSI N A TI O N O F B E A TO N . ,

T O N C A R D I N A L B E A .

H A P T E R I C .

T IIE D EC LI N E O F T H E C A T HO LI C C H UR C H IN S C O TLAND .

THREE centuries and a half have passed since

IVish art w the burning of George , the event hich has made the name of Cardinal Beaton the name most execrated in the ecclesiastical history

’ In w w a s of Scotland . Knox s ords , Beaton

“ ” “ w V itio u s that bloody olf the Cardinal , a priest and w icked monster w hich neither minded ” God nor cared for man . As Knox has made hatred of Popery one of th e Virtues of Scottish

Protestantism , this verdict on the character of

’ VVi sh art s destroyer is acceptable to those w h o

“ hold that the blessed martyr of God w as a w saint ithout reproach . O L D ECLINE O F T H E CATHOLIC CHURCH .

Beaton , moreover , having been the chief enemy of the Scottish Reformation , has been w a arded , in literature and tradition , an evil reputation , great in proportion to the cause w w hich he opposed . Even ere this reputa

w w w as tion , ho ever , holly deserved , the man more than a destroyer of heretics , and more than an enemy of the Lutheran faith . B e at e n w as the representative and most not able man of Catholic Scotland of the sixteenth

n w as ce tury , and by title , at the time of his death , Lord Chancellor of the kingdom , Arch w bishop of St Andre s , and Cardinal Legate in

l In w ~ Scot and . the history of his country , hat ever his personal character may have been , he takes his place as the last great churchman and statesman before the Reformation , and almost the last politician to keep Scotland w ithin the circle of European interests . M odern research has often been able to dis

of w credit the veracity tradition . Crom ell , by n the ge ius of Carlyle , appears no longer before the bar of history as the religious hypocrite w h o murdered his king ; but since even Judge

Jeffreys has had his advocate , it may appear as if later w riters formed a Court of Appeal

to reverse all generally accepted j udgments . w Literature itself, like tradition , has not al ays represented men and events as they appear in the light of an inquest into facts ; but against w the best literature , historical criticism is po er ’ less . Shakspere s M acbeth and Richard III . have established themselves in most minds secure against eviction by the M acbeth of the

Chronicles and the Richard of the Histories .

IVh e n w u , moreover , ritten history and literat re

w are a contemporary ith their victim , greed in

b e a censure , such condemnation may seem

K 1o yond dispute . Thus and Sir David

Lindsay , in their disparaging of Beaton , are apt to be accounted w itnesses w hose testimony w w is not to be traversed . These riters , ho ever , carried religious prej udice and personal hatred , the one into history , and the other into litera ture ; and w hatever be their position among w Scottish men of letters , they ere singularly unﬁtt e d for a calm and rational j udgment on ’ n the character of a religious oppone t . Knox s

s o w th e R e history , in far as it is the ork of

w as w w h o w former , ritten by one ould not lie ;

but no narrative of events and controversies , ’ w i s in hich the narrator had a leader s share , 4 D F T E C H ~ CH ECLINE O H AT OLIC C UR .

n above the suspicion of party bias . O the t other hand , the asser ions of Lindsay , in his

Tragedy of the Cardinal , are not , in fairness , to be tested by the canons of literal accuracy . These tw o w riters are mainly responsible for the popular opinion and traditions regarding B e at e n but the modern student w h o can rise above sectarian feeling , and at the same time resist the fashion w hich aims at reversing accepted j udgments on men of the past , may , w ithout insult to the sincerity of Knox and the good faith of Lindsay , come to doubt the

s e e traditions concerning Beaton , and to in him w h o w one , though a orldly ecclesiastic ,

w as the zealous guardian of his Church , and

th e ablest Scottish statesman of his day .

Beaton , as a leader in Church and State , had w w f no easy task in the ork of his t ofold o ﬁce . The Catholic Church w a s suffering exposure

under the light of the Renascence , and direct

at tack from the forces of Protestantism .

Henry VIII . , moved by anger against Rome , w a s seeking to spread in Scotland those reforms w hich he found convenient for a king in Eng

w as an land . M oreover , Scotland still obj ect ,

h ad as it been in former times , of the cupidity

of the King of England , and its independence D O F T H E SC SH F 5 ATE OTTI RE ORMATION .

w as i so w as again in danger . Nor Scotland lated from European politics . The King of

France and the Emperor Charles , each of them I in his j ealousy of Henry VII , sought her alliance ; and to them in turn she looked for aid against England . The memorable events of the ﬁrst half of w m the sixteenth century ere any , and Euro pean history seemed then to be in haste : but these events can be fully understood only through a know ledge of antecedent facts ; and

a nd in the history of Scotland , Beaton his times can become an intelligible volume only by reference to events and policies not con fi w ned ithin the limits of the century . There are three outstanding facts of this ki n d w hich thro w light on th e history of the period that marks the close of medieval Scotland , and on the policies of the leader in Church and State of that period . The decline of the Catholic

- and Church , the ancient Scoto French alliance , — the long continued enmity betw een Scotland m and England , are the three i portant facts

w a t hich demand examination the outset . The date of the Scottish Reformation is later than that of Germany or England ; but this i s largely to be explained by the Scottish policy 6 DECLINE OF T E CATHOLIC CHURCH .

of Henry VIII . , and by the dominant influence i w h o h s . of Beaton , ruled the councils of nation In Germany the Reformation w as at first purely religious ; afterw ards it w as political as w ell as ’ T “ ar religious , if the Peasants is to be accounted part of the general Reformation movement . In England the first Reformation dates from ’ os Henry s search for a divorce court , since g ’ ’ ’7 pel light first daw n d from Bullen s eyes and amo ng the outw ard and visible signs of a change in the religion of the land w ere the ff erection of the sca old , the kindling of the

ﬁres for sacriﬁces , and the plunder of the

I II r e v olu monasteries . Scotland the spiritual

w as tion , after the murder of Beaton , aecom

ani e d t p by violence to stone and lime . Tha murder w as not applauded by the people as a w hole ; and so short w a s the time betw een it and the destruction of th e ancient national faith , that Beaton must be held to have been

the last support of the Catholic Church .

Knox , like every leader of a revolution , did w w his ork ith speed , because the forces of

t w w a des ruction ere ready to his hand . He s

th e strong , and thoroughness of the Scottish Reformation w as largely due to his strength ;

w as but the Church doomed before his day , SP F D 7 IRITUAL REE OM .

w ro and aited but the coming of the dest yer . Drastic legislation might have removed eccle si asti cal w r e volu abuses , and ithout sudden tion the paramount inﬂuence of the clergy in the State might have ceased as laymen gradually grew in capacity ; but an i ns titu tion corrupt in practice and irritating because

its i ns titu of privileges and monopolies , an tion w hich demanded and exercised absolute

w as authority over the individual conscience , , d in spite of the ivine origin claimed for it , certain to be overthro w n w henever spiritual freedom came to be numbered among the rights of the people . T o show under w hat variety of circumstance a n ation progresses tow ards freedom is the

III highest function of the historian . a bar baric age political and spiritual liberty are alike impossible to a people ; but progress is made from barbarism as the manifold insti t uti ons of slavery are seen to be inadequate to the needs and rights of human life . By the natural law of progress the Catholic Church in Scotland , the complex organ of Papal author

w as ity , doomed to destruction or death , since w the people , hose best and excellent traditions w w ere those of national independence , ere , by 8 D F T H E A T H H ECLINE O C OLIC C URC .

centuries of struggle for political liberty , pre paring themselves for freedom from the foreign n authority and the spiritual tyra ny of the Pope .

w w c ffe c The ork of vandalism , ho ever , so

’ tive l s w as y performed by Knox s zealot , no proof of a popular recognition of the right or m meaning of spiritual freedo . That recognition

law is subj ect also to the of progress , and therefore the incidents of the Reformation w must be traced to causes not holly spiritual .

The incubus of the priesthood , and especially of

w a s s o the monkish orders , a burden grievous to the people that it w as a delight to them to throw it off w hen the invitation came from w w Knox . M any , too , had gro n eary of the w w w saints , and ere ready to elcome the ritten

Gospel . M odern miracles , indulgences , and legends of saints had ceased to satisfy any but the most credulous ; and results sho w that the Scots w ere ﬁtted to receive spiritual teaching w hich demanded not credulity but intelligence . The Scottish Reformation w a s an appeal to men w h o had show n their w orth in their battles for

w as liberty . This appeal not made from per suasive lips till it came from Knox ; nor could it have been made w ith hope of effect w hile

w as Henry VIII . , the patron of reformation , ’ D O T E H R H D 9 ELAY F H C U C s OOM .

menacing the independence of Scotland , and w Beaton as ruling Church and State . Though w Henry VIII . advised his nephe , the Scottish king , to enrich himself by the demolition of w the monasteries , and after ards gave the same advice to the nobles and the prelates ; though immorality among the clergy w as exposed and satirised by Dunbar , Lindsay , and Buchanan ; though Patrick Hamilton and martyrs of less

’ w — reno n had died , Beaton delayed the Church s

his ow n T o doom till death had come . the

w th e Cardinal , ho ever , the cause of Church

’ never seemed the forlorn - hope of the Pope s w battle . Leaving France , here the authority of Rome in things spiritual , if not in things

w as ecclesiastical , supreme , he returned to Scot w land , here the inﬂuence of the Church and w of churchmen as universal . Throughout his career in Scotland that influence w a s assailed ; but at no time in the course of his life w ere there signs of the sudden and crushing ruin w hich at last overtook the Church . He w hoped that in Scotland , as ell as in other

new a w countries , the f ith ould be stamped out ; and though he s aw the spread of the

b e Lutheran doctrines , he did not cease to lieve that the glory of the ancient Church 1 0 D F T E H H H ECLINE O H CAT OLIC C URC . w his w ould yet be restored . After death , hen there w as no one to C heck the law less and covetous nobles , the signs of the impending dow nfall w ere manifest ; and though Beaton

w w as could not foresee hat coming , and did not n despair for the ancient faith , the Reformatio

w as in Scotland inevitable , and no man could hinder its approach . For centuries the Church w as moving slow ly tow ards the fall w hich

Beaton for a time impeded . I The reign of David . marks the period of greatest activity in the grow th of the Catholic

e volu Church in Scotland , and the paradox of tion is sho w n in the fact that to that reign w e must look for the chief cause of the Church ’s I decline . n the ancient Scottish Church the w w bishops ere andering apostles . David , though not the first to be a patron of Chris ti anit w as y, the most liberal of monarchs w in founding bishoprics and endo ing abbeys . w Kings , nobles , and saints follo ed him in erecting religious houses , or in adding to n the endo w ment of existing o es . M agnificent cathedrals and splendid abbeys w ere b uilt over all the land , till no other country of Europe h w a s . richer in t ose edifices Donors , as if con tributing directly to the Lord , gave of their S S E E 1 1 ECCLE IA TICAL R E V N U s . lands and w ealth ; and the entrant about t o take the monastic vow s w as expected to lay the price of his possessions at the feet of the

d r successors of the apostles . The oct ine of purgatory w as of inestimable ﬁnancial value to ff w the Church , for no one could a ord to die ith out securing safety in the next w orld by the saying of masses in this ; and pious children , remembering that their fathers had been sin ners , gave for masses for the dead the gold w hich opened even the door of purgatory . The saints to w hom the various churches w ere dedicated show ed an avaricious fondness for gifts before their intercession could be had for the quick and the dead . Every saint had

w a s his price . There in Scotland no Louis w w VII . ith his matchless j e el for the shrine of Becket ; but the popular saints brought w ealth

t- re as urie s to their altars , and thence to the of their priests . w Friars andered about selling indulgences ,

w a s charms , and holy relics , and one of these

w h o w the poet Dunbar , after ards made merry

ow n over the habits of his order . Chaucer , w ardo ne I ith his genial satire , described the p w ith his w allet full of pardons come from w Rome ; and Langland , ith more of scorn , 1 2 D F T H E H H H ECLINE O CAT OLIC C URC . pictured the pardoner caj oling the people to

hi s w w . w buy ares Every here in Europe , hen the zeal of the various monkish orders w a s w i dead th their founders , the friars made them selves conspicuous by the violation of the vow s w hich they had taken . Dante sang the praise of St Francis and his vow of poverty ; but even Dante did not live too soon to be w ail and satiris e the avarice and w orldliness of the w follo ers of St Francis and St Dominic , and even of the representatives of St Peter himself.

L aw w Through the Canon , hich embraced all “ w things relating to orphans , the ills of de ” func t s 1 , the matters of marriage and divorce ,

w w as the ealth of the Church increased . M ore

as w as of over , the priest the notary those w days , it is ithin the bounds of possibility that unscrupulous means w ere sometimes used thro u gh last w ills and testaments to ﬁll the clerical treasury Neither the amount of th e ecclesiastical revenue nor the acreage of Church lands can now t o be determined . The return the Privy Council immediately after the Reformation w a s

w w as not complete , and the value of hat paid

n ow I in kind cannot be computed . n regard 1 r ’ I u e Stai s nstit t s .

1 4 r DECLINE o THE CATHOLIC CHURCH .

the generation before the Revolution , the lands of the religious houses w ere the best tilled in

the country ; even at so late a time , the clergy of Franc c thus preserved the ancient traditions

o f w w their orders , and sho ed hat the monks

had done for agriculture in the middle ages .

IVh e n w w e w , ho ever , assert that the ealth of the Church drew the ablest men to her

ffi w e o ces , conclude the number of the bene fits that fi e w ed from the ecclesiastical endow

ments . I David . and other patrons of piety , in gift w ing great ealth to the Church , made that w ealth , in later days , the envied prey of greedy nobles ; and as many of the b e ne ﬁc e s w ere of h high value , t ey became at all times obj ects w d of ambition to many neither ise nor goo . IVhile able m e n of lo w ly origin often attained f w to high o ﬁcial position , and hile from the highest social ranks w ere draw n men like

w h o w on Bishop Kennedy , golden opinions fﬁ for their splendid ability , the clerical o ces w ere but too frequently held by men more ﬁtted for Parliament or for the army than for

. k the priesthood Buchanan , spea ing of the I reign of James . , declares that the livings in general either w ere bestow ed upon the most 1 5 ECCLESIASTICAL PATRONAGE . w orthless members of noble families w h o w ere w unﬁt for other employment , or ere inter c epte d by the fraud of the Roman See ; w hile

Dunbar , in a poem to the king , complained

I kn w n h t h ow th e Kirk i dit a oc s gy , B ot B ene ﬁ c e s ar noch t lc ill d e vydit ; S um m en h e s e in nd I n h ne s v , a oc t a , n Q uh ilk to c ons idd er is a c pane .

w h o Sir David Lindsay , hated the race of clerics , found an occasion to satirise the method of ecclesiastical patronage by asking for himself the appointment of master - tailor

w a s re to the king . James amazed at the

“ “ quest . Sir, . aid Lindsay , you have given bishoprics and b e n e ﬁ c e s to mony standing here

th e about you , and yet y can nouther teach nor preach : and w hy may not I as w eill be your 1 I s e w taylor , thocht can nouther shape nor The sovereigns held in their o w n hand the nomination , under conditions , to vacant sees ; the preferments w ere a splendid pi e c e of pa tronage , and by Acts of Parliament in the days

w as of the Stuart kings , it distinctly declared that the nomination belonged to the king , and

“ ” III the provision of the same to the Pope .

s e e w 1 40 0 the of St Andre s alone , from the year

1 ’ Irving s Lives of the Scottish Poets . w to the time of the Reformation , there ere at least six bishops of royal pedigree ; Alexander w w w Ste art , upon hom Erasmus besto ed his

l s on w as praise , the natura of James IV . , Arch bishop of St Andrew s w hen at the age of tw enty he fought and fell o n the ﬁeld of

Flodden . James V . in virtue of his prerogative

his provided for illegitimate sons , and for him

th e s e v self at same time , by appointing them o rally as abbots or priors of Holyrood , Kelso , w 1 M elrose , Coldingham , and St Andre s . There are several Acts of the Parliaments of I f James III . and James V . against tra ﬁcking

b e neﬁ c e s in Rome for Scottish . Under one of

w as these Acts , Gavin Douglas imprisoned by hi s political enemies for a year , upon the charge of having obtained a Bull from the Pope ap

I II pointing him to the bishopric of Dunkeld . I I England under a similar statute of Richard .

w as Cardinal W olsey impeached . These Acts are proof not of an attempted reform of p a tronage , but of the desire of the monarchs to retain the patronage securely in their ow n hands ; and they are proof also of the shame ful trafﬁc in b e neﬁc e s w hich follow ed from the opulence of the Scottish Church . 1 B r’ A n 1 5 H er I 2 37 N . 2 . u . o 7 alfo s n als , amilton Pap s, . FF F S 1 7 TRA IC I N BENE ICE .

By an Act passed in the reign of James III . , to conﬁrm one of the reign of Robert the Bruce , Englishmen w ere made ineligible for Scottish b e neﬁc e s , though in earlier times no restriction I existed . English , Spanish , and talian priests

b e had been appointed to high ofﬁces . But fore the Bull w hich erected St Andre w s into

’ s e e m a primate s , the election of English en as t E a dm e r — hat of , a monk of Canterbury to the w bishopric of St Andre s , raised the question of the ecclesiastical dependence of Scotland O II

A c t w m England . The hich ade an English

a w man inc pable of election , hile it settled this vexed question , increased the value of the ecclesiastical mono poly , and made compe fﬁ tition for the o ces keener among th e Scots . The demand for appointments not only led to fﬁ the shameful tra c already noticed , but the unsett led order of election produced riot and

w th e anarchy , hich debased the Church in estimation of a people w h o have alw ays loved F at least the decencies of religion . After lod

w w w as den , hen the see of St Andre s vacant l by the death of the youthfu archbishop , and w hen the venerable Bishop Elphinstone , founder of the University of Aberdeen , had refused the

w w as . nomination , a scene of la less strife enacted B 1 8 DECLINE O F THE CATHOLIC CHURCH .

w w as Andre Forman , Bishop of M oray , nom

i nat e d Oh n by the Pope ; J Hepburn , Prior of w St Andre s , by the Chapter ; and Gavin ’ Douglas , her husband s uncle , by the queen

w as regent . Douglas seized the castle , but

ousted by the superior force of Hepburn . F Eventually orman , through the help of his

w a s w as purse , installed , and Hepburn bought

o ff w w a s n ot fortu . Douglas after ards more nate in obta ining a peaceable entrance into the

w as bishopric of Dunkeld . He nominated by

- w w h the queen regent but Andre Ste art , brot er

of the Earl of Athole seized the castle , even though the nomination by the regent had been “T strengthened by a Bull from the Pope . hen

w as at last Douglas consecrated , he could not be enthroned ; the cathedral and the palace

’ w ere both held in siege against the bishop s

w as supporters , and peace eventually secured

’ w 1 only by purchasing Ste art s submission . One other method of ecclesiastical trafﬁc r e corded by Buchanan may be cited in evidence of the corruption of the Church .

Robert Cairncross , an aspirant to a holy

law ofﬁce , in order to elude the of Ambitus , w w as Calder ood says , agered a large sum of

1 ’ M itland s H r 2 a 7 6 . isto y of Scotland , p . E 1 9 TRAFFIC I N B EN FI C Es .

’ w money , hich he deposited in the king s hands , V w w that he , James . , ould not present him ith

w on the first vacant b e ne fic e . The king the w ager by presenting him to the vacant abbey 1 m a w of Holyrood . The story y ell be believed , s ince this method of purchasing a living w as w not dead in the reign of George II . , hen a bet to Lady Yarmouth of £ 5 0 0 0 gained a ’ bishopric . Fisher , Bishop of Rochester , Henry s m artyr , is a notable exception among the traf fi c ke rs for livings w h o w ere native of every

m w a s country of Christendo . He appointed

by Henry to the bishopric of Rochester , and

u in it he continued till his death . He sed to

s a s o w c h u rc h w as y , Burnet rote , that his his w w w ife , and he ould never part ith her because

s h e w as poor . M aj or and Buch a nan have each lamented

w S otti sw oo d the ealth of the Church , though p , w in a later time , has spoken a ord in its favour .

w w th e M ost of us , ho ever , hile applauding spread and establishment of religion by the

are bounty of pious donors , likely to conclude that it w ould have conduced to the peace of

the State , the purity of public patronage , the w elfare of true religion , and the stability of

1 ’ B H r 35 . uchanan s isto y of Scotland , xiv . 2 0 DECLINE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH .

the Church , if the apostolic succession had been w in the line of lo liness and poverty . The w ealth of the Church resulted no t only f in the evils attendant upon the tra ﬁc in livings , w but also in the neglect of priestly ork , and in

“ III idleness and profligacy . the Dance of the ” Seven Deadly Sins Profligacy , less politely

i s I styled , led in by dleness . The pursuit of learning and the practice of priestly duties might have prevented these vices ; but learn

and ing literature , till the century before the

w fe w Reformation , ere found only among the . From th e tw elfth century onw ards certain w to ns like Perth and Stirling possessed, apart m n from the o astic seminaries , public schools w I . taught by the clergy . James , ith praise w orthy zeal , tried to rouse the nation from its ignorant slumbers , and founded schools , and charged the clergy to s e e to their ow n educa tion . But till the foundation of the University w of St Andre s , scholars had to seek the higher l learning in other lands . Probably Balliol C o

w as lege , Oxford , intended for Scottish youths , as w as also the Scots College in Paris ; w hile Cambridge and Bologna also dre w students from Scotland . w Before the end of the ﬁfteenth century , hen

2 2 T A T D ECLINE O F H E C OLIC CHURCH .

C amb uske nneth , light is shed on this subj ect , and yet the w riter w as not a favourer of the

Reformed doctrines . The letter belongs to the

1 5 2 2 M ln year , and in it y says to the Abbot T “ e of St V ictor, near Paris , stand in need of nothing s o much as of an accession of learned men . Although in former times men of learn ing abounded in our monastery , yet at present w they are almost extinct , nor ill their place be speedily supplied u nless w e send a certain number of our most promising novices to the w universities , here there is a greater frequency

B u t w e of literary exercises . do not hold it

m a expedient for the to eng ge in secular studies , and w e therefore solicit that they should be educated in your college . This letter helps to account for th e ignorance of the h clergy , t ough no greater historical blunder could be made than a sw eeping charge of ignorance against the Church w hich produced I F or dun w “ nt oun chroniclers like , Bo er , and y scholars like Boece and Lesley ; poets like i Barbour , Dunbar , and Douglas ; eccles astics like Kennedy and Elphinstone . None the less , the scholarship and excellence of some of the higher clergy could not prevent the decline 1 Ir ’ Li e I r u ving s v s , nt od ction . G F T E P S S 2 3 I NORANCE O H RIE T . and hinder the ﬁnal ruin of a Church w hose priests w ere destitute as a class of higher learn i n g, and had at best such scholarship as that displayed in the monkish legends and tales . The foundation of the universities w as beyond doubt one of the chief causes of the Reforma tion ; and yet these universities w ere founded and patronised by dignitaries of an institution w hich claimed spiritual authority over the indi w vidual conscience . Beaton himself, hile try ing to stem the rising tide of the Reformation , 1 w as S t w B patron of learning at Andre s . y the irony of fate , lovers of learning became the unconscious destroyers of an institution they w loved ith a stronger passion . Yet in the light spread from the universities th ere could not stand clerics like the bishop w h o claimed

“ ” that he had come O II indifferently w ell

“ though he knew neither the Old or N e w

Testament . III England in the fourteenth century Lang

“ ” land had w ritten his V i s I o n ; and though Scot land had no poet of that period to lament w w the decay of religion , yet hat Langland rote of England w as eq ually true of Scotland .

1 ’ T h e re e e M r C e e w e re me e v nu s of St a y s oll g aug nt d by him ,

nd e w as C e r e U er a h hanc llo of th niv sity . 2 4: DECLINE O F T H E CATHOLIC CHURCH .

’ VVi clif perhaps w as the original of Chaucer s

“ e rs oun pore p , but among the clergy of the

Pre - Reformation Church it is to be feared that w e must look in vain for the good priest . The silence of Scottish history regarding such a priest is not a proof that he never existed ' ’ but if w e take the parson of Chaucer s art as

w e an ideal , ﬁnd none like him in recorded history . Bishop Lesley , himself an able and w orthy prelate of the Roman Church , admits that no pains w ere taken to instruct the people in religion . Strange to relate in the history m of a Church , in the indictment against Graha , w ﬁrst Archbishop of St Andre s , one of the charges w as that he said three masses in the 1 day ; and this triple sign of piety rose up in j udgment against him"2 The secular or parochial priest seldom preached save at holiday times . At Lent especially , the preaching friars practised their art to rouse the people to zeal for some one

or other of the distinctively Catholic virtues ,

s such as confession or fa ting . The character w of dumb dogs , hich Knox delights to ascribe

1 tti sw ood 5 S o . 9 p , p . ’ 2 Contrast S p otti sw ood s account of the indictment of Graham ’ e G r M onasti con w ith that giv n in o don s . the w hole clerg y of Scotland before the R efor mation . To ascribe this character to them w w b e ould not , ho ever , be j ustiﬁable merely cause the Reformers delivered sermons inordi nately long ; but is j ustiﬁable because in the

early Christian Church , and for many centuries

w as s e r in its history , the custom to deliver

w a s a mons , and this custom l rgely neglected

in Scotland . The quality of the sermons actually preached

’ may be j udged of in the light of Bonner s in

“ struction to his clergy , that there should be no sermons preached that had been made w ithin these t w o hundred or three hundred 1 years and w e have no reason to think that

w as the English priest inferior to the Scottish .

w w a w Barlo , after ards Bishop of St As ph , rote w 1 5 3 5 w “ to Crom ell in from Ber ick , For not

w le nti e s ondr ithstanding her be p of prestes , y

m ult t u de s m onke s sortes of religions , y of , flock

s o ing companys of freers , yet among them all

n ot fe w e many , is ther a , noo not one , that ” 2 sin rl r a chith e c e y p e Christ .

III 1 5 43 , Arran , the governor , described the

1 B r e ’ H e Ref r u n t s ist . of th o mation , i . iii . 2 1 e er He r . 9 . Stat Pap s ( n y v . p 2 6 D N F T E H H H ECLI E O H CAT OLIC C URC .

clergy as havi ng bene s a c onsu etit in tymi s bypast c ontinu allye efter thair aw in lustis and fleshly d e syri s that thai nevir e x e rtit thaim to ” 1 w f “ . kna the ord of God Arran , therefore , in h order to instruct the people , and to make t em

understand the abuses of the Church , caused certain friars learned in the Scriptures to

preach . Among the causes of the decline of the

Church , there is notably the immorality of

N o w the clergy . one ith the respect due

- to historic truth , or even to common sense , w ould accept as s trict veracities either the ff satires of poets anxious for artistic e ect , or the descriptions of men or institutions made “T ’ by their enemies . olsey s moral reputation is n ot to be sullied only because Shakspere makes the w it of Surrey merry over the

’ “ w w C ardinal and the bro n ench . Luther s purity w a s assailed ; his enemies could not

f . w as a ford to let him go free Knox , of

: w as course , defamed he guilty , in the imagi n ation of his enemies , not only of the love w n hich is illicit , but also of ightly communi w cation ith a visitor too black to be human . w Protestants , therefore , to hom the reputation

1 H er 30 3 . amilton Pap s, i . 2 7 IMMORALITY OF THE PRIESTS .

of the Reformers is dear , may perhaps , in

w o w n vie of the slanders against their heroes , w allo for a percentage , to be ﬁxed by their

a j udgment and their charity , of ex ggeration in the accounts of the immorality of notable

Catholic prelates , and of the licentious habits th w of e hole clergy before the Reformation .

Nevertheless , though charity thinketh no evil unless under irresistible conviction , the vice among the clergy of the Church before the Reformation is too glaring to be overlooked ;

is and is proved , though its extent not deter

n u mi ed , by such doc ments as Cardinal M or ton ’s letter to the Abbot of St Albans 1 If

ow n Chaucer and Dunbar , to take certain of our w poets , could ith impunity make clerics the heroes of tales w ritten for the entertainment

of the people , it may be taken as certain that

w h o the people , did not resent the character w given to the clergy of their Church , ere

’ familiar w ith the facts w oven into the poet s

art .

III n w h o England , La gland , prophesied that a king w ould come to beat th e c le I gy for

w h o breaking of their rule , but never , even

’ 1 i da Fr e H r hi s r e C V . ond s isto y , and also Sho t Studi s onf. E i A b rdon Re r . sco . e . M C u re e gist p p ( aitland l b), P fac . 8 ~ 2 DECLINE OF THE CATHOLIC C H U RC .

in dream , constructed a Reformed Church free from the domination of Rome , pictured the religious debasement of his country , and attrib ut e d it to the negligence of a w orldly and

a dvo licentious priesthood . Sir Thomas M ore , ’ cate of tolerance in his Utopia , persecutor of w the Protestants in London , opposed the ith dra w al of England from allegiance to the Pope , but advocated the reform of the morals of the clergy ; though in his reply to the once famous

‘ ’ Supplication of the Beggars , he defended the institution of the religious orders . m w Eras us , illustrious in his day in the hole w orld of letters , poured contempt and scorn

0 11 the race of monks , as he likened them w to beetles ; and even Rabelais , hose humour w a s not that for a Reformer, ground the monk through the mill of his satire . Probably the levellers of the Scottish religious houses did w not kno even the names of Langland , M ore , or Erasmus ; but undoubtedly Patrick Hamil

IVish ar t ton , , Knox , and the other spiritual w instruments of the Reformation , ere alive to the influences w hich w ere moving in the w orld

of letters . I in n Scotland itself, Dunbar , though not

spired by the zeal of a Reformer , had prepared

3 0 D F T E H H ECLINE O H CAT OLIC C URC .

m n cline of the Church , entio is to be made of the j ealousy of the nobles against the prelates , w h o w ere almost the only men w ith education and learning adequate to the discharge of the f duties of the high o ﬁces of the State . The

w h o prelates , consequently , ﬁlled these ofﬁces , w ere brought into a close connection w ith the sovereigns ; and the nobles , especially in V the time of James . , ranged themselves as

w h o enemies to the churchmen , ﬁlled the o th e w fﬁces , guided the councils , enj oyed ealth , but did not perform the military service , of the

State .

To increase the j ealousy of the nobles , members of the clerical orders w ere exempt from ordinary taxation and w ere freed from l w subj ection to the secular a of the land . First of the law s attributed by one of the Scot

tish chroniclers to M acbeth , is that in favour

“ o f the clergy : He that is w ithin orders of th e Church shall not be compelled to an s w e re

t e m orall before a p j udge , but be remitted to ” 1 his ordinaire . If to this j ealousy be added a thieving rapa

c ity , the force of English example , and the temptation to plunder inspired by the English

1 Boece . N 3 1 THE NATIONAL PARTY A D THE CHURCH .

W I ll w king , there be found the motives hich

prompted the Scottish nobles , for the most

part , to sanction the destruction of the reli

i ou s g houses , and to array themselves on the

side of a reformed religion . To one man

the ancient Scottish Church , an anachronism and an anomaly in days after Luther had sounded the note of religious revolution in w Europe , o ed its preservation throughout the

’ V III s period of Henry . Scottish policy .

w h o w Beaton , by his political genius to ered

above all his contemporaries , kept back for a generation th e w eak and corrupted C h urch from destruction ; but his success in main taining the Church w as due neither to high

w II O II personal orth , to the effective policy of w persecution hich he adopted , but to the fact that he w as head of the national party w hich opposed Henry VIII . and his intrigues against Scottish independence . As head of the national party , he gathered around him men zealous for the safety of the ancient w Church , and men alarmed for the elfare and w independence of the country , and ith this party he opposed w ith consummate skill and success the intrigues and policies of the English king . In saving the political liberties of his

E C H A P T R I I .

T H E LD N AN T H E L D N O ALLIA CE D O E MITY .

THROUGHOUT the period of Beaton ’s pre eminence i n ecclesiastical and politic al affairs w w hich follo ed upon the death of James IV . , Scotland w a s divided into a French and an w w English faction . France , ith a vie to her ow n w w as interests else here , concerned to save

Scotland from the English grasp , and had not only traditions of an old alliance , but the w records of many treaties ith Scotland , to go upon as a gro und of intervention and of ’ w a s intrigue to this end . England s policy governed by the avo w ed desire of a friendly union of the countries and by the actual lust of supremacy . The history of the alliance betw een Scotland

w on and France has for M . M ichel especially a high reputation for industrious research among

0 3 4 T HE O LD A N D T E LD ALLIANCE H O ENMITY .

“ the mouldy records of treaties ; w hile the history of the enmity betw een Scotland and England has called into the ﬁeld of controversy w a host of riters , energetic beyond doubt , but w 0 11 as O II w eighted , this side that , ith the bur

of l den a nationa prej udice . Neither Scots man nor Englishman can engage in this con trovers y w ithout a bias for his country ; but w the foreigner ill probably , like Dante , censure

T h e th ir in ride h m ke h o l like st g p , t at a t f o a t h o T h e E n li h nd th e S im ien eir b und . g s a cot , pat of t

T “ here documents are fe w and j udgment is w arped by patriotism , historic certainty is hard to reach . Yet there are indisputable facts of w the Scottish alliance ith France , and of the

w in enmity to England , hich help to make ’ t e lligible Scotland s political history of the sixteenth century , and particularly of that

’ period during w hich Beaton s inﬂuence w a s paramount .

t Fordun The old Scottish his orians , from to

Buchanan , tell of a league negotiated in the

7 9 0 w A c h ai us year bet een Charlemagne and ,

IV e King of Scotland . read that the league w as entered into for the purpose of helping Charlemagne in his w ars w ith the Saxons w h o

w w ho inhabited Germany , and ith those , settled H N D H A 3 5 C ARLEMAGNE A A C I Us .

the in England , sailed thence as pirates to

w e coasts of Gaul . Further , gather that the le ague w as intended to secure for France a supply of learned Scots to act as professors in th e College of Paris . Boece details the number of ﬁghting men supplied to the French king ; but Boece competes w ith Dempster for the position among Scottish historians of the father w of lies . One riter has given the terms of the 1 w e alliance ; but he has invented them . As look at the ﬁgures of Charlemagne and A c h aius

s w e on the canva of European history , are not w t inclined , ithou the strongest evidence , to believe that the French king had dealings w ith

w e the king of the Scots . Such evidence as have 2 E inh art b is derived from g , the iographer and

s on - i n - law w h o f alleged of Charlemagne , a ﬁrms that the m uniﬁ c e nc e of Charlemagne had the

' f e e c t of making the kings of the Scots declare themselves the subj ects and servants of France . Eginh art may be supposed to be an authority on this point and if w e cast aside the suspicion that his imagination chose Scotland as th e ’ w estern limit of the area of Charlemagne s w w treaties , hich stretched east ard to the Persia

al w e of Haroun Raschid , may admit that in the 1 V i d 2 M l . a 2 9 1 V C r . M ait and , p . . ita a ag 3 6 T E LD A A N D T E O LD H O LLIANCE H ENMITY .

eighth century a connection of some now inde ﬁnable kind existed be tw een Charlemagne and

A c h aiu s I h ow . t is of little historic moment ,

w w as ever , hether there such a connection or

not ; seeing that if a league once existed , it did not end ure as a political force affecting the

progress either of France or Scotland . That w hich is of historic value i s the fact that th e tradition or legend of that connection has sat

isﬁ e d w w h o the pride of Scottish riters , have rej oiced to point to one of their kings as w orthy w to enter into a treaty ith Charlemagne , the 1 hero of history and romance .

I II France , M ezeray has naturalised the story as found in Boece ; and in many public docu ments of that country the old alliance is men

n e d III w ti o . the contract of marriage bet een

w as Francis and M ary , it expressly stated that the friendship betw een the t w o kingdoms ex w 2 tended back ard to the days of Charlemagne . IVh at e ve r may have been the origin of this

w tw o alliance , the friendship bet een the coun tries w as strengthened i n later times by the cherished sentiment that it w as of long endur

1 See the account of the alliance given in Hume ’s House of ’

D 5 . ouglas , p . 2 M c e Le E e Fr e . . i h l , s cossais n anc , ch , i

3 8 T E LD A N D T E O LD H O ALLIANCE H ENMITY .

the delight of vengeance in sending soldiers to

j oin the enemies of England . Though they suffered disaster and rout at Flodden and

w t he Sol ay , the Scots helped to drive English

out of France . ’ Portia s keen w it in the M erchant of ’ V enice describes the Scottish lord ; and the picture is true to the life I He borro w ed a w box of the ear of the Englishman , and s ore

“ w w w as I he ould pay him hen he able .

” “ think , says Portia , the Frenchman became ” his surety , and sealed under for another . There can be no doubt of the readiness of the

w a Scot to pay hi s debt w hen he s able . I 1 XII 1 3 w . 5 . n , hen Henry VIII and Louis w ere menacing each other , Scotland tried for

ow n her sake , and for the sake of France , to gain the victory w hich might have been w on at Flodde n ; but though France alone reaped

Flodde n w the beneﬁt from , through the eaken

’ ing of Henry s forces , the friendship of the

w a s ancient allies not impaired . At the end

1 5 2 4 w his of the year , hen Beaton returned to ’ o w n country after s ix years residence at the

w as Court of Francis , Scotland recovering from n the shock of the great natio al disaster . M ar garet Tudor had not been able , by persuasion ’ T 3 9 B E A T O N s ATTACHMENT o FRANCE .

O II kindly fraud , to prevent her husband from 1 w ar now w declaring on her brother , ho ever , it w as possible that Henry and his nephew V James . , inﬂuenced by the feeling of kin

a u t ship , might cement peace , and p an end to the ancient alliance of Scotland and France . Such a peace w as probable ; but one c ause w hich frustrated its accomplishment is found

w h o in the fact that the man , during the second quarter of the sixteenth century , guid ed the policies of Scotland , had been resident w in the French Court , here friendship for

w as Scotland genuine if not disinterested , and w here enmity to England w as unquestionably sincere . Beaton entered upon his political w ork at w home ith sentiments of attachment to France , w hich had been the place of his education and the scene of his opening political career , and w ith feelings , to be strengthened by the gift of honours , in favour of the continuance of the ancient league . The hatred of the Scots against

w a s England , according to Buchanan , fostered by prelates and priests in receipt of gold from France ; but the Scot needed no priest to

nourish his enmity against the Englishman .

’ ’ 1 C re e e e n c M r n ompa th sc n i S ott s a mio . 4 0 T H E O LD AND T H E LD ALLIANCE O ENMITY .

O II the other hand , English Treasury Accounts

w w h o sho that the Scottish nobles , in the time of Henry VIII . , favoured an English alliance , w ere pensioners of the English king . Friend ship w ith France and enmity to England w ere feelings common to all patriotic Scotsmen for generations before the Reformation ; and those w h o cherished these feelings w hile w orking for ’ their country s independence , are entitled to the

O II w praise blame hich is due to Nationalists . The memory of Beaton as a churchman has n bee held in bitter detestation , but as a poli tici an he saved his country from falling under subj ection to Henry ; and though Henry n o w

f n ow o fered bribes , and threatened his liberty

hi s th e and even life , Beaton kept loyal to national sentiment and true to the national policy of Scotland . n Henry VIII . succeeded to the throne you g , w ambitious , and impressed ith an idea of his

O II w as ow n genius . the Continent there still an arena for English armies ; but for a ﬁnal conquest and annexation of Scotland , armies w in w ere of no avail . Those armies might battles and devastate a country never opulent b ut the country w hich could support its ow n inhabitants w ould not even during one cam ' S SH P O F H EN R Y V 4 1 COTTI OLICY III .

ai n t p g suppor the soldiers of England . M ore

w r over , the Scots had excellent po e s of self

w a recovery after defeat , and ere soon re dy

again to harass their English foes . Henry kne w that he might again and again defeat w the Scots , but kne also that he could not

subdue for ever , even by a succession of vic w tories , the stubborn country hich had Ban

noc kb urn 0 11 for a heritage . His soldiers more than one memorable occ asion did ﬁnd their w ay to Scotland ; but Henry w as anxious to

’ establish England s overlordship by diplom a cy

n r a w a r and i t igue , r ther than by . The settle

n w me t of the Scottish question , hich had been w the dream of former kings , ould be a triumph

w da n for his genius , and ould free him from a

gerons auxiliary of France . Later in his reign this settlement became of pressing importa nce

w o to him hen , having failed to gain the electi n to the Empire , he turned his thoughts to the

a throne of Fr nce , and coveted a possession w w n hich the English kings had o and lost . Scotland and England w ere to be united in some w ay w hich w ould mean supremacy to

England , and peace to her on her borders . ’ w as w as This Henry s policy , but it by no

n e w means . 4 2 T E O LD A N D T E LD H ALLIANCE H O ENMITY .

i w h o M odern h storians , have an eye to Eng ’ land s glory , endeavour to prove the ancient s w ubmission to England of a Scotland hich ,

th e w geographically , did not exist in days hen certain kings are said to have given the tokens w h of this submission . Could it be sho n t at , in ages represented in legend and ﬁction and fact , kings in Scotland occasionally did homage to w their more po erful English neighbours , there w w ould still be anting proof that Scotland ,

now . as existing , ever rendered such homage From the time w hen Picts and Scots are said to have been united , till the time of James VI . , there is no Sign to be found of a popular acqui n e s c e c e in the English assertion of overlordship . Su c h an acquiescence could neither be made nor refused in the same fashion as it might be made or refused in the days of elected Parlia ments ; but although individual kings sub mitt e d themselves to the mastery of English

sovereigns , the submission could not , and did

not , bind the people of a country broken up into s o many almost separate sections by clan

ship and by feudal distinctions . Nevertheless ,

to coerce Scotland into submission , to force it

w w as to ackno ledge the English supremacy , once the fondest hope of the kings of England ; W A R F D P D 43 O IN E EN ENCE .

and w hen Henry VIII . inherited the throne , he

inherited this hope . W illiam the Lion , prisoner in the hands of F Henry II . , by the treaty of alaise bartered ’ his w n country s independence for his o liberty . I Richard . sold back to the Scots their inde p e nd e nc e for the price of ten thousand merks ; but he s tipulated that the Scottish kings should

annually , if demanded , do homage in England w for the lands hich , as nobles , they held in that w I country . Ed ard . , by force and fraud , tak ing advantage of this arrangement as if it w ere ’ the sign of Scotland s dependence , made him self overlord in the dispute for the Scottish w w cro n , and gave that cro n to one of the claimants for a price w hich has made the name

a IVa lla c e of B liol detested in Scotland . roused

the spirit of patriotism among his countrymen , thou gh there w a s no throne as a re w ard for his w w heroism . Bruce completed the ork hich W allace had begun , and found for himself a kingdom . Bannockburn at last settled the question of Scottish freedom , even though ’ Bruce s ow n son and the younger Baliol traf ﬁcke d w ith the independence of a country w w w as hich , kings though they ere , not in their keeping . 4 4 THE O LD ALLIANCE A N D THE O LD ENMITY .

The civil w ars of England doubtless pre vented the stronger nation from crushing or w w w exterminating the eaker , hich ould not

th e w w submit . Henry VII . , after ars hich

th e carried him to throne , found himself and

w as his people desirous of peace , and glad to

r w enter into a t eaty ith James III .

a I th e dau h By the marri ge of James V . to g ” T hri s il ter of Henry , the and the Rois of

t w o w Dunbar , the countries ere ultimately united ; but though a perpetual peace w as w signed , the old hatred continued , and ith tragic consequences . Flodden , in spite of this

w as peace , to be fought ; and the Scottish — people of to day , proud of their history and proud of their songs , are no less touched by ” the pathos of the Flo w ers of the Forest than stirred by the trumpet - blast of Scots w h a

” ’ hae . The pretext for James s declaration of

’ w ar w a V III s s threefold Henry . delay in giv ’ w ing up his sister s j e els , his negligence in avenging the death of Sir Robert Ker , and his refusal to give satisfaction for the murder of w w Andre Barton . These ere slight causes to

w ar w t w o bring about a bet een nations , but the temper of James w a s easily roused against a people w hich it w as his prerogative as a Scot

4 6 T E O LD C A N D T E LD H ALLIAN E H O ENMITY .

n w h o w as now of Alba y , looked upon by many of the Scots as the person to ﬁll the regency . Holinshed declares that a dispute took place among the Scots over the question of the vacan

Flodd e n cies caused by , and that some of the w discontented Scots rote secretly to Albany , asking him to take the government of their I w country . n the spring of the follo ing year b the queen ore a posthumous child , created by

Parliament Duke of Ross . The Parliament w hich met in July continued M argaret in the regency ; but nominated also , as a council to

A rc hbislI O assist her , p James Beaton and the A 1 Lords Huntly , ngus , and Arran . Albany

a as doubtless greed to this arrangement , he himself w a s not in a position to proceed to Scotland on account of the French king ’s nego

i s w h w as ti at on it Henry . Louis anxious for ’ w s u peace ith England , and Albany s regency , p ’ w planting that of the king s sister , ould have endangered the peace . w By the ill of James , M argaret had been named regent only for s o long as s he remained w w a ido . She preferred a husband to the w regency ; and , hile hardly recovered from her sickness , married Archibald Douglas , Earl of 1 1 20 Le er M r re D re e i er I I . . tt of a ga t to ac , q uot d by P nk ton , 4 REGENCY OF ALBANY . 7

I w as Angus . mmediately the country divided

tw o into parties , the one desirous of continuing the queen as regent and of establishing friend

w on ship ith England , the other bent main taining the independence of the country and on inviting Albany from France . The anti

w as English party victorious in Parliament , w and the Duke of Albany , nephe of James

w as III . , French in all but descent and name ,

a nd brought from France installed as regent , 1 5 1 5 M ay . Before Albany ’s arrival Henry had been busy ff in Scottish a airs , endeavouring by allurements

o w n and bribes to establish his supremacy . M argaret had been importuned to carry her

S C II to England , and had been tempted by ’ Henry s promise that he w ould declare his n w - ephe heir apparent to the English throne . ’

Her husband s uncle , Gavin Douglas , had been offered O II behalf of England honour u pon honour , as the price of his aiding her ﬂight . But Douglas had seen the danger attending ’ c o unt e Henry s proposals , and had refused to nance them . M argaret could not ﬂee to England

w s o like a peasant ith her children , and their 1 scheme had failed . On the other hand , through

1 C rre e e u ed i er n . 1 29 . o spond nc q ot by P nk to , ii 4 8 T H E O LD AN T H E LD Y ALLIANCE D O ENMIT .

w Lord Dacre , arden of the English Borders , Henry had attempted all that could be at

s o tempted by bribery , and had been success ful that Dacre had four hundred Scots in his pay , ready to disturb the government about to 1 u be set p . Thus Albany arrived to ﬁnd a divided nation , though the party opposed to the English interest w a s the stronger of the t w o .

Outw ardly there w ere friendly relations b e XII w . t een Scotland and England Louis . had w made peace ith Henry VIII . , and this peace w a s I 0 11 conﬁrmed by Francis . his accession . Scotland w as specially named as a party in this

’ treaty , though not till shortly before Albany s

w a A l arrival s the assent of Scotland given . w w bany , ho ever , ithout intending to do so ,

’ played Henry s game w hen he mixed tyranny w m and revenge ith his govern ent of the Scots . w Angus , Arran , Home , Lennox , Glencairn , ere driven to espouse the English cause , and M ar garet herself w as fain to ﬂee for protection to her brother . Henry , anxious that his armies might be free to carry out his Continental policies , urged again and again that a direct treaty of peace should be made betw een th e

1 ’ Le er D re W e wide E Le er ﬁr erie tt of ac to ols y ; llis s tt s , st s s . A N A N D S 4 9 LBA Y WOL EY .

1 5 1 6 tw o . countries At last , in June , a brief peace w as concluded ; and 0 11 the day 0 11 w hich

w as this truce arranged , Henry sent to the Sco ttish Estates a letter in w hich he demanded

1 the dismissal of the regent . To this demand

w un the Estates ould not yield ; but Albany ,

a of cert in his position , entered into negotiations w IV ols e ith y , and promised to place the young t king under the protection of the three Esta es , to consent O II his o w n behalf to a perpetual E n peace , and , at some future time , to visit g in w land order to confer ith Henry . Secretly he entered into these negotiations , but publicly he s e nt to France to demand material help for his government , or , failing this help , permission to enable him to return to France . This help w as w as refused , as , indeed , France in no posi tion to grant it . After various stratagems had

t w as been resorted to , M argare invited back to m Scotland , that she ight take charge of the

w a s young king ; a council of regency formed , w A hich consisted of Forman , rchbishop of St w w Andre s , James Beaton , Archbishop of Glasgo and Chancellor of the kingdom , and the Earls n of A gus , Argyle , Arran , Huntly . The council w as divided betw een the French and English

1 ee e n w er e r e . R er . S th a s of th Scottish Pa liam nt ym , xiii

D 5 0 THE O LD ALLIANC E A N D THE O LD ENMITY . interests ; and leave of absence having been

s e t granted to him , the regent sail for France , 1 5 1 w 7 . June These arrangements ere , of w w course , ithin the kno ledge of Henry , and it w as further tacitly understood that dur ing the regent ’s absence nei ther France nor England should directly interfere in Scottish ff a airs . For this tacit understanding there w as some surety in the mixed character of the council . III those days the political combinations of w Europe ere never constant . Henry having failed to secure for himself the election to the I mperial throne , turned again to the thought of recovering his French inheritance . Yielding w w to the persuasive ords of his nephe Charles , w h o had been elected emperor , Henry trans

s o ferred to him his alliance , that each , doubly

ow n armed , might be able to ﬁght his battle .

w IV ols e Francis , ith the help of y , sought in vain to prevent this alliance ; and though the political masquerade of the Field of the Cloth

w as w as as of Gold acted , Francis soon anxious

s e t t a s to Scotland agains her ancient enemy , in the beginning of his reign , he had been at w pains to maintain peace bet een them .

w w as M argaret , mean hile , chaﬁng under the N AN ALBA Y D MARGARET .

neglect of Henry and Wolsey . Henry had no

S IVols e w as money to pend on his sister , and y husbanding his resources in order to pave a

w a golden y to the Popedom . But M argaret w anted money more than the accomplishment ’ of her brother s political schemes , and therefore sh n e looked to Fra ce in her necessity . From n her husband Angus , the leader of the E glish

ff w as n ow faction in Scottish a airs , she separ ated by the bitterest feelings of hatred ; and so ,

w h us angry ith her brother , and hating her band , she proposed that Albany should return to share w ith her the government of the coun

’ w try . Henry s alliance ith the Emperor , and their hostilities against France , made this pro posal acceptable to Francis ; and accordingly , 1 5 2 1 in November , Albany landed in Scotland , w here the French inﬂuence w as once more dominant . W hen this dual control , as the government carried 0 11 by Albany and M argaret may be

w as w as called , established , an attempt made

w D ou las e s to crush the po er of the g . Angus w as banished , and through the inﬂuence of 1 w as . Albany , Gavin Douglas called to Rome I w n the year follo ing the return of Albany , 1 h Bu n 1 3 . c ana , xiv . 5 2 T E O LD A N D T E O LD H ALLIANCE H ENMITY . the Parliament decided to prepare for w ar w ith

w h o w as Henry , far from ready to meet the

w a s Scots . A magniﬁcent army collected ; and though it is said to have numbered eighty

me n thousand , the regent disbanded it before an engagement took place . Historians have

’ disputed as to the cause of the regent s con duct ; but some reliance i s to be placed on Buchanan ’s statement that the chiefs of the

w ow n army , although illing to protect their borders , refused to march into England merely w to ﬁght the b attle of the French . Albany ent b ack to France to make his peace w ith the w king hile M argaret , veering round once more

’ to n the English interest , liste ed to her brother s proposal to marry the young king of Scotland

e ﬂ e c t to the Princess M ary of England . No , w w ho ever , could be given to this proposal ith out the consent of the Estates ; and of the w Estates , the maj ority of the members ere still w favourable to the alliance ith France . As if to complicate the political plot , Albany once w more returned to Scotland , bringing ith him a considerable number of French soldiers . Thes e w ere to form part of a n e w army w ith w hich ’ w h o to attack the English , during the regent s absence had been busy harassing the Scottish

5 4 THE O LD ALLIANCE A N D T E O LD ENMITY .

w h o w money , men , to any one ould assist in 1 carrying out the proj ect . The English policy w as w as as successful , and James recognised

n ki g , in an assemblage held at Edinburgh in 1 2 4 I 5 . August n November of this year , the erection w as ratiﬁed by an Act of Parlia

ment , and the regency declared to be at an

w w as end . James , a boy of t elve years of age ,

w as not ﬁtted to govern men . M argaret the ’ w boy s nearest relative , and hen beside him w exercised the most po erful inﬂuence over him . ” She had been favourable to the erection , and w as at this part of the year atta ched to the English faction ; and consequently the boy

king being but the reﬂex of the governor , Henry seemed at last to be installed in the ’ a ff in man gement of Scottish a airs . Albany s capacity w as a blow to the inﬂuence of the

French party ; but its ablest man , Archbishop

’ VVols e s James Beaton , the subj ect of y vainly in directed ﬂattery , and the dreaded obstacle

w a his the y of schemes , did not leave Henry to the peace and enj oyment of unopposed w authority . The Archbishop ould not give his

“ ” n consent to the erection of the young ki g ,

e u ven tho gh he himself, Primate of the Church

1 e er He r 9 0 Stat Pap s ( n y iv . . S A N D S 5 5 JAME BEATON WOL EY .

and Chancellor of the kingdom , might have " w Wol hoped for a large share of actual po er . s ey therefore directed his policy and cunning in against the Scottish Primate , and tried to duce him to proceed to England to arrange a settlement of Scottish affairs ; and it is evident ’ n ow from YV ols e y s letters that he intended to keep the Archbishop a prisoner , could he only

s e t induce him to foot in England . James w w Beaton , ho ever , met cunning ith cunning ,

’ ’ and evidently suspected the purity of \V ols ey s 1 0 w proposals . T England he ould not go ; and seldom he left th e security of his stronghold at

w IVh e n St Andre s . he did leave his castle to attend the meeting in Edinburgh in August

1 5 2 4 w as and a , he seized c st into prison 2 IV ols e through the devices of y , because he had advised that the erection ” of the king should not take place till after September , the ter ’ mination of Albany s leave of absence . His

w as IV ols imprisonment of short duration . e y intrigued in order that Beaton might be sent a prisoner to England ; but w ith the maj ority

w as of the Scottish nobles , patriotism as yet

1 C rre e e e er 2 41 o spond nc q uot d by Pink ton ii . . 2 4 B . . 2 D r . f O r e er He r uch , xiv ; iu n o ccu Stat Pap s ( n y d t V . F r an D me . . 665 III , o o s ic), iii ii . pp . , 7 66 . 5 6 THE O LD ALLIANCE A N D THE O LD ENMITY .

stronger than devotion to any foreign cause ;

and those nobles , often divided amongst them

selves by almost unintelligible j ealousies , and separated by envy from the opulent and for

tunat e w churchmen , ould not submit to the indignity of sending a Scotsman to an English 1 prison . Albany departed to France in M ay of the year 1 5 2 4 in August the “ erection of the king w as accomplished in the assemblage at

Edinburgh , and in November the erection

w as tw o ratiﬁed by Parliament . At Christmas w galleys arrived at St Andre s from France , and brought certain Frenchmen to the castle of the

w as Archbishop . The incident full of suspicion

a to M gnus , the English resident , lately acered ite d to Scotland ; and therefore he w rote to

James Beaton seeking an explanation . M agnus

w as O II either a novice in the art of diplomacy , knew nothing of the skilful politician to w hom

w as w he riting . The Archbishop assured him ,

w n in return , that the Frenchmen ere stra gers w to him , and that he kne nothing of their “ ” 2 knokit e t I w as coming till they at ye g . t

1 e er He r - 2 1 . . 9 7 1 1 41 1 46 1 Stat Pap s ( n y iv pp , , , , 7 0 ,

20 9 . 2 I 2 82 bid . , p . . VA L F F F 5 7 ARRI O BEATON ROM RANCE .

— w as Christmas time , and he bound to entertain

I w as strangers . f M agnus deceived by the simple cunning of the Archbishop , no modern reader of the English correspondence w ould be

as as credulous the English resident . Beaton

“ had opposed the erectio n of James ; he h ad been the obj ect of Henry ’s caj olements and attacks ; he had even suffered imprisonment th at the hands of e English faction . Shortly after his release from prison , a company of Frenchmen arrived at the Castle of St ’ w w w a s Andre s , and ith them the Archbishop s

w n d nephe , David Beato , come from his resi ency in France ; or , as is conj ectured by Pinkerton and asserted by Froude , from a special mission

a an to Fr ncis in name of the queen , or of Arr , the chief noble a mong the Scottish adherents

of France . The sequence of these events is w ritten on an easily intelligible page of the

book of Scottish history . The arrival of the French galleys is to be taken as the n ext n moveme t of the French policy , after the success of Henry ’s scheme for the “ erection ”

of James . David Beaton ’s arrival on the scene of Scot tish politics bears the appearance of mystery and intrigue w hich attaches to his subsequent 5 8 T E O LD A C A N D T E O LD H ALLI N E H ENMITY . actions ; but it is the event w hich gives cer

his tainty to the belief that uncle , the Primate

w as th e and Chancellor , the main support of

“ French inﬂuence in Scotland . The said M r w “ w Davy , rote M agnus , albeit he ere ambas sador to the King of Scots in France , imme w diately after his coming to Dunbar , ithout either doing his duty to the king ’s grace here ’ or to the queen s grace , departed from thence , and w ent straight to the Archbishop of St w Andre s .

1 e er H e r 2 7 7 . Stat Pap s ( n y iv . p . C P T H A E R III .

’ F N S ON B E A T O N s H EARLY IN LUE CE C ARACTER .

D V D B a A I EATON , the future C rdinal , belonged w to an ancient Scottish family , from hich w various ofﬁcers of the State had been dra n .

w as n 1 49 4 w as He bor in , and the seventh s on of John Beaton or Bethune of Balfour , I d Fife , and of sabel , aughter of David M ony 1 of P itmill th e penny y , of same county . Robert de Bethune in the reign of Robert

II . , married the heiress of John de Balfour , by w hom came the estate in Fife ; but the name of Beaton has been rendered famous in Scottish history by the members of the family w ho w ere churchmen , and by the M ary Beaton ’ “ ” 2 w h o w s a one of the queen s four M aries .

1 T h e e e n e r u —B e tou ne Be e Be sp lling of th am is va io s , ton , une B eatton Be u th , , t n . 2 F r e e ee W d’ ‘E Ne F e ’ n o g n alogy s oo s ast uk of if , a d L d e’ ‘ r r ’ o g s Po t aits . 6 0 F S ON ’S H IN LUENCE BEATON C ARACTER .

By the marriage of the ﬁrst Earl of Arran to the daughter of Sir David Beaton of Creich ,

w as A the Cardinal related to the Regent rran , w hose policies he at last so often skilfully manipulated .

As a rule , the great political churchmen out

I IV ols e side of taly , of the y and M azarin class , have been m e n w ith w hose pedigree history has no concern and Beaton is no exception , save as regards his uncle , the Archbishop and Primate . It has already been mentioned that James

h w w as Beaton , t en Archbishop of Glasgo , one of the council of regency formed before Albany ’s

I II 1 5 1 w ﬁrst arrival in Scotland . 5 he as made

w as Chancellor , and again appointed one of the ’ 1 I regents during Albany s absence . I I 1 5 2 0 occurred the incident know n in Scottish affairs ” w w as Cleanse the Cause ay , by hich the Arch w bishop , hile he almost lost his life , gained the ” addition to his name of Clattering Conscience .

I 1 5 2 2 w as n , James Beaton translated from 2 w w r Glasgo to St Andre s , in succession to F o

w h o man , by his political intrigues contrived to gain rew ards from the Pope and from the

Kings of France and England .

1 He w as C e r n 1 5 1 3 r Bru n H hanc llo i , acco ding to nto and aig . 2 tti sw ood 6 2 . S o . p , p of literature but M ackenzie romanced , and could not distinguish fact from ﬁction , nor

his ow n truth from invention . ’ Dempster , in proof of Beaton s genius , makes him out to have been the author of three liter ‘ ’ ‘ w : le ati onibu s m ary orks De g suis , De Pri ’ ae atu Petri , and Epistol but except the w w letters , hich ere probably his ordinary cor w respondence , none of these ritings has ever fﬁ been discovered . One is safe to a rm that a chancellor of a kingdom and a cardinal of

w rs the Church rote lette , though one may not venture to say that these letters are literature .

0 11 Hay , the author of a panegyric the Cardinal , praises his learning ; but the author of a pane w gyric rites for the purpose of praising , rather than for the purpose of setting forth the truth . w On the hole , in spite of such expressions to the contrary , it is probable that Beaton did not carry the reputation of a scholar to the w ork of 1 Church and State though Je rvi s e asserts that ’S S H SH P 6 3 BEATON C OLAR I . w e ow e to the Cardinal the preservation of some of the most valuabl e remains of our monastic w literature , hich he fortunately plucked from the ﬂames kindled by infuriated zealots .

w IV ols e The parallel bet een Beaton and y , s o often draw n by those w h o label Scottish w men and places ith English names , does not fail in respect of the literary and scholarly

tw o w standing of the cardinals , hich in neither

w as case eminent , though each of them is num bered among the patrons of learning in the history of the university . Sir David Lindsay , in the Tragedy of the Cardinal , very plainly satirises Beaton ’s ignorance

H w b ei I w as le te nd rdin l o t ga a ca a , Little I knew th erin w h at suld b e done I under d n o s ie e iri u l stoo c nc sp t a , N o m re th n did B lind A ll n th e m n o a a of oo .

w w as Lindsay , ho ever , a Protestant .

w e Learning , as have seen , scarcely existed in Scotland before the Reformation , though universities and colleges had been founded . There w ere not altogether w anting distin

uish e d g scholars , but , like George Buchanan , they w ere obliged to seek in other countries helps to the study of letters and to the acquire ment of learning . Beaton , if not a master of 6 4 F S ON ’S H IN LUENCE BEATON C ARACTER . classical learning and of the philosophy of the

w as scholastics , at least not an exception to the multitude of his countrymen in those days . 1 49 6 By the statute of James IV . , of date , the sons of gentlemen w ere required to attend s chool in order to learn Latin ; but this statute indicated a liberal - minded king rather than an

an adv ced scholarship in the schools . The trans lation of V irgil by Gavin Douglas belongs to

’ ’ aﬂ ords the period of Beaton s youth , but no

i s proof, excellent as the translation , that the study of the ancient classics w as pursued w ith scholarly accuracy and taste in Scotland before the Reformation . The scholastic philosophy reigned triumphant in the universities of

L E w a s urope , and the substitute for science and w metaphysics ; hile theology , as distinguished from the scholastic philosophy , meant for the most part the w ritings and sayings of the 1 Christian Fathers , and exercises thereon . A know ledge of canon law w as necessary to the efﬁcient discharge of the duties attaching to f w the higher o ﬁces of the Church , and a kno ledge of civil law w a s equally necessary for

1 Thomas Aq uinas may be taken as a representative scholas e e e e Ar e tic and th ologian of th middl ag s . istotl in philosophy e F er h e w er e e s He u and th ath s in t ology his guid . is j stly called the great Catholic doctor . 6 5 THE CANON A N D THE CIVIL LA w .

an ofﬁcer of the State . The consistorial courts w ere ecclesiastical courts presided over by 1 churchmen ; and in the law courts of Edin V burgh , established by James . , churchmen w w ere among the j udges . Scotland , hich thus required acquaintance w ith both the canon and the civil law 0 11 the part of those engaged in the

aff management of public airs , never had , before the Reformation , any notable teacher of either

law system , and hence students of desirous of an adequate training passed from Scotland to

O II III I Bologna Paris . the north of taly , in the eleventh century , the study of the ancient

law w a s Roman revived , and Bologna became n the centre of this study . Subseque tly Paris attained celebrity as a school of canon law ;

law and though civil , from the thirteenth cen

d w w w a s tury o n ards , prohibited by Papal decree among the regular subj ects taught in the Uni

of versity , the Parliament Paris made arrange ments for lectures 0 11 this subj ect ; and as men of note from other places w ere periodically ap pointed lecturers , the University gained high l w 2 distinction as a school of civil a . The exact dates of Beaton ’s studentship at

1 ’ ‘ ’ C n . Fr er H W e I r . o f as s usband and if , nt oduction 2 T l ’ See yt e r s Life of Sir Thomas Craig .

E ’ A 6 6 INFLUENCES ON BEATON S CHAR CTER .

Paris are unknow n ; but before 1 5 1 9 he had ﬁnished his studies in Paris and had returned

w as a to Scotland , since in that year he p pointed to the oﬂi c e of Scottish resident at \ the Court of France . V hen David Beaton returned from the University his uncle w as

w w as closely allied ith Albany , and therefore in a position to advance the fortunes of his ’ w nephe . Doubtless the young man s French education, and signs of ability in political w w ork hich he probably displayed , rendered ’ him gracious in Albany s eyes ; but his con n e c ti on w ith the Archbishop accounts most plausibly for the appointment of a man of tw enty - ﬁve years of age as resident at a Court w here the guardianship of Scottish interests

1 required political experience and ability . The years of Beaton ’s stay in France are the years of his political apprenticeship , though he

’ may have displayed a master s pow er in his w w ork , hich certainly demanded more than the w w skill of a novice . Nothing , ho ever , is kno n regarding the incidents and details of his French 2 w e career , and are left , therefore , to consider

1 Acc r L e Be w e u e r w as o ding to odg , aton , hil a st d nt in Pa is , sometimes employed in the diplomatic business of the Scottish re e g nt . 2 There is evidence that in the years 1 5 2 2 - 23 - 2 4 he passed F S I 6 RANCI . 7

not the labours of this political apprentice , but the scene of those labours .

I w as w as Francis . king . He young , gay,

a covetous of pleasures , fond of art , and mbi w tious of the signs and sho s , the trappings and w the suits , of kingly po er . The dream of his early manhood had been to be emperor , and thus to be master of Christendom and the chosen champion against the T urks ; and he w illingly

ﬁ r 0 ere d fortunes in purchase of votes for his e w h o w lection to the imperial throne , hich ,

w a s w on b . ever , y Charles of Spain After the victory of M arignano , Francis sought knight

in hood , medieval fashion , from the hands of w his bravest soldier , Bayard , around hose memory cluster tales an d traditions a s of an

a Arthurian legend . The victory of M rignano w as hailed by Francis and his follo w ers as a

and victory for chivalry , till the defeat of Pavia in 1 5 2 5 that victory shed a glory over the name of the king . The nobles of France rej oiced in the military glitter of their king , a nd in their eyes the early years of his reign blazed as w ith the splendour of the Field of the Cloth of Gold . r c l Fr ce e e e er f om S ot and to an on Stat busin ss . Stat Pap s

He r V . F r . . 2 1 ( n y III o and iii , and iv . . ’ 6 8 INFLUENCES ON BEATON S CHARACTER .

But there i s another a spect of those years of

’ Francis s reign . The Court life reflected the I gay , selfish , sensual character of the king . f ’ rofli ac any , even , of the stories of Beaton s p g y throughout his career in Scotland are to be believed , the French Court may be pointed to as the nursery of his vices ; j ust as in another generation the French Court received the cen sure of the m orali st S w hom the reports as to the conduct of M ary of Scotland scandalised . III point of historical importance the licentious ness of the king w as of small account compared w f w ith his policy in ecclesiastical af airs , hich ff w i a ected the liberties of France . Jubilant th

t o the victory of M arignano , Francis proceeded

n w Bologna , and there in co ference ith the X Pope , Leo . , endeavoured to secure the I w French interests in taly . He had sho n him

w a r n self valiant in , and felt therefore conﬁde t

w as of success in council . But the king a toy

’ ntiﬂ in the hands of the astute P o . Leo agreed to the proposed terms of peace betw een Franc e and the Papal pow er ; yielded certain Papal

I a w claims to t lian territory , hich claims could be s e t up again at any convenient season ; and in return obtained from Francis an under taking to abolish th e Pragmatic Sanction of

’ 7 0 INFLUENCES ON BEATON S CHARACTER .

of the Church to the hands of the king ; but those w ere days w hen the patron reaped a w harvest of gold , and hen simony deepened the degradation of an institution already sunk far belo w the level of moral respectability Francis found it no easy task to impose the Concordat 0 11 the Church : the Parliament

w II O II w ould not at ﬁrst publish it , ould the

University . Tyrants and autocrats have a

’ barbarous but e ﬂ e c tive method of force w hich they seldom hesitate to employ in carrying out their policies ; and Parliament and University

’ s ufl e re d i w h o alike at the hands of the k ng , stripped the Parliament of its control of e c cle s i astic al affairs , and destroyed the efficiency of the University by persecuting its most noted 1 and courageous members . The Church itself suffered dishonour ; its offices w ere sold to the

O II w w O II highest bidders , ere besto ed favourites

of the king . One consequence of the Concordat

is seen in the rise of those political churchmen , of w hom Richelieu w a s the ablest and of w hom

he is the type . The struggle of the Concordat continued throughout the years of Beaton ’s stay in

1 A i r e f u d Bur e H full account of th s affai is to b o n in n t , ist . r of Pa t III . 1 THE CONCORDAT . 7

w as France , and too momentous in its force and results to leave no impress on his char

w e w acter . Once more are ithout recorded ’ syllable to tell us of the Side on w hich Beaton s

t w IV e re w e sympa hies ere ranged . to j udge by his o w n subsequent policies in Scottish

’ a ﬂ ai rs w ecclesiastical , hen Henry tempted the king of the Scots to lay his hand on the patri

w e S mony of the Church , hould suppose that his sympathies lay w ith the French Church

w t w 0 11 hen its liber ies ere infringed ; but , the

w w e other hand , ere to j udge by his friendship

w w h o w w O II ith Francis , after ards besto ed him

’ w a bishopric , and ith Leo s successor , from

’ w w e hom he received the cardinal s hat , should infer that his sympathies w ere w ith the king

and the Pope .

I o n his position as Scottish resident , Beat n w as not called upon to take a side in the dis pute ; and not being constrained to reve al his

w as leanings , he too astute and too subtle a

diplomatist , as subsequent events in Scotland w I sho ed , to declare himself a partisan . n poli

w h o tics he hesitates is lost , and deserves his

w e w as fate ; but Beaton , are safe to conclude ,

not hesitant , but only reticent from motives of w w orldly isdom . The question of the Concordat ’ 7 2 INFLUENCES ON BEATON S CHARACTER .

w as one that primarily concerned the French f nation , and did not directly a fect the interests I of Scotland . t produced in France a great ’ w constitutional struggle , in hich the Church s prerogative w a s infringed and civil liberties w ere curtailed ; and the French capital during the years of the struggle w as a school of poli

ti e s w h o - for a man like Beaton , , in after years

w as and other places , to be a leading actor in the scenes of a political and ecclesiastical drama .

I w h ow t has been sho n , shortly after the V erection of James . , Beaton returned from w w France , and ent ith certain Frenchmen direct w w to the Castle of St Andre s , ithout ﬁrst pre senting himself at the Scottish Court . From

h w e t is circumstance are entitled to argue that , in the j udgment of Archbishop James Beaton

’ and of Francis , David Beaton s presence in Scotland w as req uired in the councils of those w h o opposed themselves to the intrigues of

Henry in Scotland .

’ Beaton s ﬁrst preferments w ere to the Rec tories of Campsie and Cambuslang , and to the

w III Chancellorship of Glasgo Cathedral . the year 1 5 2 3 his uncle resigned to him the Abbey

w n of Arbroath , though retaining for his o use ’S F S P F S 7 3 BEATON IR T RE ERMENT .

a large share of the emoluments . The Pope w a s petitioned to grant a dispensation for tw o years to the ne w abbot not to w ear the monachal habit . According to the customs of the Church a t f that period , an o ﬁcial , as high even as the w abbot of one of the ealthiest abbeys , did not need to be in full orders w hen he enj oyed the

b e n c ﬁc e dignity and the w ealth of a clerical .

w as The Pope able , as autocrat of the Church , to overrule the common ecclesiastical la w ; and no Pope w as likely to interfere w ith a family arrangement of s o faithful a S C II of the Chu rch 1 a s the Primate of Scotland . In the ofﬁcial communication w ith regard to the nomination to Arbroath , Beaton is styled ” Cle ri c u s A ndr e ae D i o c e si s Sancti , Protonotary A w of St ndre s , and Chancellor of the Church of Glasgo w ; and is also spoken of as the coun s e llor III and friend of the king . a letter to

E us e bii the Cardinal Sancti , the Archbishop , f after reference to the af air of the abbey , speaks of certain negotiations for the establishment of the primacy of the s e e of St Andre w s over that w t of Glasgo , and announces the appointmen of his nephew as ambassador to the Pope and the l College of Cardinals . I n a etter to the same

1 E - . Re 3 41 t . 39 3 pp g . Sco , i pp . . 7 4 F S ON ’S H IN LUENCE BEATON C ARACTER .

V cardinal , sent in the name of James . , Beaton is appointed ambassador to the Pope and cardinals ; and the ki ng requests that Beaton alone should be heard as ambassador in re ff i w gard to Scottish a airs . Nothing s kno n of

w e the details of this mission to Rome , but learn from a subsequent correspondence betw een M agnus and IV ols e y th at the question of the 1 primacy w a s not se ttled in this year ; and

w as Beaton himself, in later times , a party , n according to Knox , in a strife for precede ce w d in the cathedral of Glasgo . That cathe ral ,

w as by a Bull of Pope Alexander III . , freed from dependence 0 11 any bishop save its ow n

P e e IVh e n s e e w w as and the p . the of Glasgo made archiepiscopal in the question of the supremacy of St Andrew s arose ; and if ’ Knox s story be true , the question of supremacy remained u nsettled w hen Beaton as cardinal w visited the cathedral of Glasgo . The Cardinal and the Archbishop could not agree as to pre c e de nc e . Beaton as cardinal , legate , and pri S mate , maintained that his cross hould be carried in front of the procession through the cathedral ; the Archbishop , holding himself

1 e er He r Stat Pap s ( n y iv . 429 . 2 M . 246 aitland , p . Y 7 5 THE ABBE OF ARBROATH .

ow n master in his diocese and cathedral church , w w ould yield to no one . A riot ensued , hich w Knox describes as a merry game , in hich w w n Rockets ere rent , Tippets ere tor , and ” w w 1 Cro ns ere knapped .

A be rbroth ock The Abbey of Arbroath , or , in

w as IVilliam Angus , founded by the Lion , and w s a dedicated to the memory of Thomas Becket . Pope Benedict granted to a certain abbot and w his successors the right to ear the mitre ,

ontiﬁ c al n rings , robes , and other p orname ts ; and hence the social and ecclesiastical position of the abbot of Arbroath w as one of the most digniﬁed in the land .

III 1 5 6 1 the year the revenues of the abbey , as entered in the “ Book of Assumption of ” 2 8 3 1 4 £ 7 . Thirds , amounted to , s Scots money , w w w to hich ere added heat , meal , and other 2 a things paid in kind . These revenues me nt w very considerable ealth , calculated at w of our money , and ere ample , after meeting the charges for the monks , to maintain the dignity of the abbot . In the Register of the abbey Beaton ’s nam e

1 8 1 5 2 4 c onﬁ rm ﬁrst appears in January , , as ’ ing Robert Scott s endow ment of the altar of

1 ’ B . H H r Ar r . Knox , k i . ay s isto y of b oath ’ 7 6 INFLUENCES ON BEATON S CHARACTER .

St D upth ac us ; and in 1 5 2 5 Beaton took his seat in the Scottish Parliament as abbot of I 1 Arbroath . t is evident , from the chartulary , that the abbot attended to the business in trusted to him , since , on one occasion , he re b uke d the ofﬁcers for letting the convent w ant provisions Sen God , of His grace , has given ” the place largely to live upon . This Register 2 records a name w hich one does not in these days associate w ith a house

O II 2 2 d 1 5 2 8 of God . the of M ay , the abbot

“ a for cert in sums of money , and other causes , granted to M ari ot e O gylw y the liferent of the

B urnt on and lease of the lands of of Ethie , h 3 ot er lands near that place . There are also notices of other lands having been granted

“ 0 11 similar terms to this M aistres M arion ” O ilb e m s h e . g y , as is so etimes styled This

M istress M arion , supposed to have been the

d y w aughter of Sir James Ogilv , after ards Lord v 1 Ogil y of Airlie , is characteristically described ’ w w I II by one riter as Beaton s chief le d . the later years of the Cardinal ’s life She resided at

M el und orfars hir e w w as g Castle , F , hich built

1 s Re r . N r . e A b er b r l 4 t 2 . o r . 6 gi t ig d , p 2 3 . 48 2 . 1 5 I . 5 0 0 5 9 2 1 . P bid , pp . , , 1 D ’ eer e Ac e L r A r e ouglas s P ag , count of th o ds i li .

’ 8 F S ON S H 7 IN LUENCE BEATON C ARACTER . it w w y, to have married Ann of Austria , the ido

’

X . of Louis III but M azarin , though a car ’ n w as I . dinal , only deacon s orders Beaton , ’ w ma hile in deacon s orders , y have married

M arion Ogilvy ; but it is highly improbable , since he w as destined to the profession of the Church , and his marriage might have proved fatal to his entrance to the priesthood , even w ith the ready help of the Bishop of Rome There is absolutely no proof of the alleged marriage , and in all the legal docu ments his children are said to be natural or ’ illegitimate . During Beaton s lifetime three of his S O II S w ere legitimated by special Act of Parliament ; and in the Act they are 1 called his natural sons . One of these sons ,

w as O fﬁ Alexander , entered the Church , made c i al w of Lothian , and after ards became a Pro

n T h r testa t . e fact that the children w ere e

u t e d w p illegitimate is no proof, ho ever , that their father w as not married : had he been married before he took full orders , and had he w continued in edlock after he became a priest , his children could not have been acknow ledged legitimate . Beaton w as by no means singular as a priest 1 e h ’ B h K it s is ops . 7 9 MARION OGILVY .

voVVin w in g celibacy , and in after ards entering into or continuing unhallow ed domestic ties ; and the moralist ﬁnds ample material in the records of that time for grieving over vow s of purity and celibacy made by men on the thresh w old of a priestly life , after ards profaned by ’ r ﬂi a p o g c y and lust . Be the stories of Beaton s

O II n ot indiscriminate immoralities true , he seems to have been attached to M arion Ogilvy S w as if he had been his ife ; and , according to

w as O II n Knox , in her company the ight pre d ceding the day of his eath .

w w a s David , eighth Earl of Cra ford , married

’ 1 5 46 I II in to Beaton s daughter . the contract of marriage the Cardinal called the bride his

40 0 0 a s a. w daughter , and gave her merks do ry , at that date the largest ever given in Scotland

III th e a to a bride . contract of marri ge there

’ is no mention of the mother s name , but Buchanan calls the bride the eldest daughter of the Cardinal and there is every reason to 1 w as believe that her mother M arion Ogilvy . Knox maintains that the marriage w as cele brat e d at the expense of the Cardinal , as if the bride had been the daughter of a prince ;

1 ’ ’ C re D eer e J e rvi se s L e ompa ouglas s P ag , and and of th L indsays . ’ 8 0 INFLUENCES ON BEATON S CHARACTER .

w w as s o but hether this or not , a marriage of the kind w as not vie w ed w ith the favour w hich the moral ideas of those days might have sanctioned . Commissary M aule relates that

at Thomas M aule , younger of Panmure , an

w as tendant on the Cardinal , contracted in ’ marriage to Beaton s daughter ; but that James

“ ri e s te s V . bade him marry never ane p gett w hereupon that marriage did cease .

The Cardinal resented the slight , and M aule ’ w a s 3 0 0 forced to pay 0 merks . Beaton s privat e life undoubtedly w a s stained w ith the vice w hich s o often rendered illustrious church men notorious examples of broken vow s of

R e chastity . Among the minor causes of the formation , next to the cupidity of the church

t r oﬂi a c men , mus be reckoned the p g y of the clergy pledged to celibacy ; and w ithout ques tion a typical churchman of the pre - Reforma tion days is seen in the man w h o gained the highest honours and ofﬁ ces of the Church in

w h o Scotland , and granted a liferent of abbey lands to the w oman w h o w as the mother of his illegitimate children .

1 ’ M . Ac re e G r n S count of Panmu family , q uot d in o do s ’ M ti on onas c . C P T E I H A R V .

A N A N D PA K H A BE TO TRIC MILTON .

’ T H E years w hich follow ed Albany s regency s aw i ff the ascendency of Angus in Scott sh a airs . The w hole period of that ascendency w as ﬁlled w ith political intri gues ; the changes of parties and factions w ere like the changes of the

IVh a t kaleidoscope . part David Beaton took in the political scenes is not recorded ; but it may be accepted as certain that he follo w ed

or perhaps dictated , the policies of his uncle . It i s true that ordinary history is like th e face of a clock ; w e see the hands that move and w that mark the time , but not the heels and w secret springs hereby it goes . The Archbishop of St Andrew s w as the w ealthiest man in the

t h e country , the ablest diplomatist , man of largest political experience ; and his actions and policies do not require the explanation that F 8 2 A N D P K H BEATON ATRIC AMILTON .

i David Beaton inspired and d rected them . Yet

w as w w the Archbishop gro ing old , and his nephe

w as w young and , closely associated as they ere , it w as not possible for the younger and abler

man to be a mere spectator of events . The ambassadors w h o arrived from France in 1 5 2 4 informed the Archbishop that their king

could not assist the Scots , and that Albany 1 could not return to the regency . w 2 III 1 5 5 . the follo ing year , the defeat of

Pavia made the French king a prisoner , and proved his inferiority to the Emperor . The queen - regent of France and her councillors did w not , ho ever , leave Henry undisturbed in his

Scottish policy . They sent an ambassador to Scotland to urge the continuance of the treaty of Rouen ; and instructed him to assure the A rchbishop of the queen ’s help in gaining the ’ cardinal s hat for him , and to promise a bishopric w 2 or an abbacy in France for his nephe . Before

w as the battle of Pavia , Henry still eager to out w it the French in Scotland yet though he had spent money in subsidising M argaret , Arran , and Lennox , he had good reason to doubt the

1 Le er Fr i . C f er . 244 tt of anc s on Pink ton , ii . . 2 ’ T eu e Re e e Fr e e l E c osse l t , lations Politiq u s d la anc av c ,

5 7 . i . p . MARGARET AND ARRAN .

constancy of M argaret and Arran . The return of Angus had long been threatened as a check

w h o w on the queen , hated her husband ith the w hatred of a slighted oman . She remonstrated against the return of her husband and in this w as w h o j oined by Arran , being , after Albany , w w the next heir to the cro n , ished to be ﬁrst in the councils of his country . The nobles , ’ w w h o w w h o ho ever , ere in Henry s pay , and

- enj oyed no ofﬁces under the boy king , looked to the return of Angus as a possible means of aggrandisement for themselves , and , at any w rate , as a political change hich might be of

’ advantage to them . M argaret s remonstrances w s h e w ere in vain , as did not support them ith the Signs of unquestionable ﬁdelity to Henry ’s

IV ols e n w cause . y , accordi gly , hen he learned that M argaret and Arran w ere not prepared to be the passive instruments of his Scottish policy , w ithdre w the prohib ition w hich barred the re

of turn Angus . The release of the Archbishop w 1 5 2 4 of St Andre s in the autumn of , after a

w IVols e short imprisonment , sho ed y that the queen and Arran w o uld not accept their orders w from his hands , and sho ed him also that the leaders of the French faction , despairing of ’ w i Albany s return , might coalesce ith the fr ends A N D P K H 8 4 BEATON ATRIC AMILTON . of the queen and form a party opposed to the

English interest . Angus might be relied upon as a tool for Henry , as long as the hatred of the queen against her husband continued ; and

w a s that hatred not likely to cease , since M ar

w as garet solicitous of a divorce . Angus , in

w as pursuance of the English policy , permitted 1 5 2 4 to return to Scotland in November , after m any promises to his master , the English king ; but for a time his presence produced no e ﬂ e c t 0 11 the political movements of the country IVols e y had feared a coalition betw een the th Archbishop and the party of e queen . The

w w a s Archbishop , ho ever , deeply incensed over

i III r is o nme nt w his p and , hatever the queen and

Arran may have expected , acted not out of

a O II gratitude for his rele se , but out of anger

his account of imprisonment . Unexpectedly

w a s he j oined himself to Angus , and thus the means of forming a n ational party to support neither England nor France , but to oppose

an d M argaret Arran . Buchanan declares that

Angus , Lennox , and Argyle crossed the Forth and constrained Beaton to j oin them , and that 1 he durst not refuse . These nobles w ere about w to attack the castle of Edinburgh , here M ar 1 H t . 2 5 is , xiv .

8 6 BEATON A N D PATRICK HAMILTON .

man w h o had previously refused the bribe of a

’ 0 11 W cardinal s hat the promise of olsey , and the politician w hom Wolsey tried to entrap in

w as l England , little likely to be thus easi y

brought over to the English interest . At this period a friendly correspondence of considerable amount w as carried on betw een the tw o prelates but Beaton w as a master of

w as intrigue , and astute enough to match ’ IV ols e y in diplomacy . The Archbishop s policy w as not to further the cause of Henry , but to govern Scotland ; and accordingly he j oined

w h o w w himself to Angus , speedily sho ed hat military force could do to advance the fortunes w of him h o had it at command .

III 1 5 2 5 w as February , a Parliament held in

III th e n Edinburgh . procession A gus bore the w . w as cro n , and Arran the sceptre A council chosen to govern the king and the realm , and w among the members of that council ere Beaton , n 1 A gus , and Arran . Later in the same year ,

Th e dissensions broke out in the council . Archbishop had procured letters from the king to the Pope recommending his promotion to the 2 n rank of cardinal , and Angus and Arra , for the

’ 1 Cr w r Ofﬁ er e Le e a fo d s c s of Stat sli . 2 C e er He r 443 omp . Stat Pap s ( n y iv . . L of w the month October , ambassadors ent lngland to arrange a truce for tw o years

w h o w Henry , had j oined in a treaty ith

lC IS , after Pavia had established the aseen y of Charles V This truce w ith England Arran back to M argaret ; and he and garet w ere determined to prevent its rati 1 ion The queen had no w broken off alto or from her brother ; and Arran , though

a ad received his sh re of English gold , had

O II w r been friendly terms ith Henry , and him never been trusted by . To prevent r atiﬁcation of the truce , M argaret and Ar got together an army but th e army quickly w w ered hen the young king ith Angus ,

I l e . , and Lennox appeared against it I gus in the meantime acted as w arden of the t w ish marches , hile the Archbishop directed

> usine s s \Vh ate ve r of the council of State .

have been his secret motive , the Archbishop

1 e er He r 430 . Stat Pap s ( n y iv . p . BEATON AND PATRICK HAMILTON .

publicly Show ed friendliness to England . I n T 1 5 2 6 w “ M arch of , M agnus rote to olsey that

w as w Beaton the most po erful man in Scotland ,

w as n ow and the chief friend of England , and advised that \V olse y should endeavour to obtain for the Scottish prelate the cardinal ’s hat and

' 1 \V ols e w the legateship . This y ould not do , or

w h ow w did not do , as he kne not to re ard , but ’ w u III only h o to s e promises as bribes . Beaton s

w e desire for these priestly honours , probably see the origin of his avow ed friendship for Eng

’ a IVith out \V ols e s O II l nd . y help the aid of

France , the primate of Scotland could not hope for the red hat . France had failed the Arch bishop , but England might serve instead . The w w English cardinal , ho ever , hile he might try to bribe the Scottish chancellor w ith the promise

’ w w a s n o - of the Pope s re ard , doubt clear sighted

s e e enough to that if Beaton , already the most w po erful man in Scotland , added to his honours the dignity of cardinal and Papal legate , he w w u n ould govern Scotland at his pleasure , ith f fortunate ef ect as against England . The Arch bishop never received the red hat , nor did he ever attain to the dignity and authority of a legate of the Pope .

1 e er He r 444 Stat Pap s ( n y iv . p . . G ’S D V 8 0 MAR ARET I ORCE .

In M arch of 1 5 2 6 M argaret procured a

divorce from her husband , and immediately w w t after ards married her lover , Henry Ste ar . Once more Arran forsook the cause of the 1 queen . Ashamed of her indecent conduct , he

c m atta hed hi self to Angus and the Chancellor . w Angus gladly elcomed him , since a union of the tw o most pow erful nobles of the land w ould w eaken the authority of the Chancellor, and

w a s since Arran , moreover , a much less dan n gero s rival than Beaton . By this time , such

w as w the military po er of Angus , the young king w a s practically held prisoner by him ; and to have possession of the king w as to have

w II the symbols and also the reality of po er . O

1 3 th 1 5 2 6 w a s the of June , it declared that the

w as king no longer a minor , and that henceforth

th e a w a s ow n ro"y l prerogative to be in his w hands . The statute hich ordained the secret

w w as t h e council , of hich the Archbishop head ,

w a s w a annulled . These changes ere m de by

w w as Parliament , but hen the king declared to be no longer a minor he w as in the custody of Angus ; and no w Angus w as strengthened by

the adhesion of Arran .

1 e er H e r 3 85 49 . . 0 . Stat Pap s ( n y iv pp , 2 A e r e f c cts of th Pa liam nt o S otland . scattered the forces brought against him ; and

w as w as Scott a follo er of Lennox , suspicion

w h o w as quickly fell upon Lennox , forced to 1 retire from the Court . w M argaret , the Chancellor , and Lennox ere now w V w united against Angus , and , ith a ie to

A o deliver the king , they prepared an army .

O II cording to Lindsay of Pitscottie , the king , ’

- e n s Beat advice , made direct request to Lennox to rescue him ; w hile Buchanan asserts that w Lennox held a meeting at Stirling , here he

w w ar made kno n his policy , and that Beaton w a s w h o among those attended . Thus a stand w as openly made against Angus ; but Angus w a s too pow erful to be overthro w n by such

III w as enemies . the fray Lennox himself killed ; and the pathetic picture of Arran spreading his scarle t cloak over the dead body of Lennox , is made all the more pathetic ’ by Arran s w ords as quoted by Lindsay The w isest , the stoutest man , the hardiest man

w as that ever born in Scotland , has fallen ” this day .

1 Bu n n 2 7 . cha a , xiv . 9 1 GOVERNMENT O F A NGUS .

w as now w as Angus master of Scotland , and bent on seizing the queen and the Chancellor . w w He laid aste the castle of St Andre s , but w did not ﬁnd him hom he sought . The story is that Beaton , to escape capture , lurked about h 1 the mountains in the clot es of a shepherd .

w as w Lennox dead ; Arran , old and orn by

w h o w as w the death of Lennox , his nephe , left the Court . Before he left , Beaton made his peace w ith him by giving him the revenues of w the abbey of Kil inning . Beaton also made w w his peace ith Angus , by presenting him ith t w o thousand merks , but did not by this means induce Angus to admit him to a share in the 2 III 1 5 2 Government . the Parliament of M ay 7

Angus himself held the seals of the Chancellor . w w At the end , ho ever , of this year , hich had

s o seen many political changes , Angus and Beaton w ere once more reconciled ; and at

Christmas - time the royal table at St Andre w s " found places for M argaret , Beaton , and Angus III the spring of the follow ing y ear the dull routine of ecclesiastical affairs w as broken by the martyrdom of Patrick Hamilton . Arch

1 Lindsay of Pitscottie Buchanan . 2 3 Cr r ’ fﬁcer e w O . L . a fo d s s of Stat indsay " 4 n 28 8 Le er f M W l e e er . . tt o agnus to o s y , q uot d by Pink to , ii 9 2 BEATON AND PATRICK HAMILTON . bishop James Beaton w as a politician I ath e r w than a churchman , a orldling rather than a w religious zealot , and hence the onder often expressed that in his name Patrick Hamilton w should have been summoned to St Andre s . n h Buchanan represe ts the Arc bishop as , at a later time , brought to Court an inﬁrm old w man to eep over the ancient religion . Knox declares that the Archbishop w a s more careful

w w a s of the orld than he to preach Christ , or yet to advance any religion ; but further char

“ a c te r i s e s him as one that bare impatiently that any trouble should be made to the king w w dom of darkness , hereof ithin this realm he ” w a i w od w s . S ott s o the head p , ho ever , places the Archbishop in a different light , and asserts

w a s n h V i ole ntlv that he himself eit er set , nor much solicitous (as it w a s tho ught) h o w matters w ent in the Church . Though Patrick Hamilton w as the proto ” w as th e martyr of Scotland , he not initiator of the Scottish Reformation ; he w a s simply one of the many Scottish disciples of the German

III 1 5 2 5 w as Reformer . a Parliament of it enacted that the books of Luther Should n o t be brought into Scotland by merchants O II for

w as rick Hamilton , the Archbishop himself w andering about as if he w ere an escaped

convict or a hunted martyr , and after his w andering had been glad to make his peace

0 11 w money terms ith Arran , the chief of the

. I Hamiltons t is not likely , therefore , that for the sake of the religion of w hich he w as

O II no ardent professor , for the sake of the Church of w hich he had not proved himself

a zealous partisan , except in the matter of the w w w primacy of St Andre s over Glasgo , he ould have risked personal discomfort and probably

direct attack from the hands of Arran . Neither for religion nor for the Church w ould the Arch bishop have e ndange re d hi s personal comfort ; a n d his n e w heroic policy against heresy is intelligible only 0 11 the theory that David Beaton w as the instigator and the Archbishop

the nominal agent of this policy . No prelate , w w ho ever , armed only ith the authority of the

1 A le si us e re e Ar e re H n d cla s that th chbishop d si d amilto , ’ e re e r ﬂ e e r A re w s — V i da L r er b fo th t ial , to f om St nd o im s r H ’ Pat ick amilton , ch . viii . N 9 5 ANGUS A D THE HAMILTONS .

C Church , ould have attacked a member of a house s o pow erful as that of the Hamiltons . Not even David Beaton in the height of his pow er w ould have ventured alone to provoke the certain enmity and revenge of one of the greatest of the Scottish nobles . Undoubtedly Patrick Hamilton in his day w as the most noted and most zealous of the Scottish disciples o f Luther ; and the surface explanation of his m artyrdom is that he , being the most promi

w a s nent heretic , the victim readiest to the hand of the priest .

w n ot s uﬂi c e This explanation , ho ever , does , since w e ﬁnd that in a later day the clergy w ere impotent to silence men like Sir David

w h o w Lindsay , ere protected by the friendship

IVith o u of the king . t the strongest political support , a support stronger than that of Arran , the Archbishop or his nephew could not have s eized and condemned one of even the least of

w s the Hamiltons . At this time the king a

a absent on a pilgrim ge to a northern shrine ,

— I a j ourney evidently arranged O I sanctioned

a by Angus , lest solicit tion might be made to

w h o w a s ow n James to save Hamilton , his relative . Angus and Arran , moreover , though s ometimes associated through the vicissitudes of 9 6 A N D BEATON PATRICK HAMILTON .

w 1 political intrigue , ere never personal friends w Arran , too , had incurred the rath of Angus

n no w by opposi g his return to Scotland , and 0 11 the death of Lennox he had left the

a Court . There is re son , therefore , to believe

n n e w that A gus , chief in the State , and

w as w anxious to establish his authority , illing to let it be seen that his most dangerous rival ’ w a s n ot po w erful enough to protect that rival s w n o . kinsman But for Angus , the Hamiltons could not have been inj ured as they w ere through the striking do w n of one of their blood and name ; but it suited Angus to i n

ﬂic t w the blo . Hence the death of the proto martyr of Scotland is to be traced to political — convenience as w ell as to priestly zeal to the ambition of Angus as w ell as to the intolerance

I 2 O I h n of one ot er of the Beato s .

w as The charge made against Hamilton , of S course , one imply of heresy , and as such it is

a to be ex mined Patrick Hamilton , though

- d popularly called the proto martyr of Scotlan ,

1 “ IV ols e e er N r 1 5 2 4 w r e I sh alb y, in a l tt to o folk , , ot , t e fou ndc a thing right di fﬁc ile to make a good concorde bitw e ne thE rle s A ra n A n w i s h e c er th E rl of y and g , onsid ing that e of ” n w i h e sle w r P atrike H e — e er A s e & c . g Si am lton , Stat Pap s 1 0 . He r . 6 ( n y iv p . 2 C Dr ’ H J e V onf. ummond s ist . of am s . w as w i the ﬁrst to n the distinction .

The second name 0 11 the Scottish death - roll w of religion is that of Paul Cra , a Bohemian , w h w w 1 4 3 o as burned at St Andre s in 3 . He w as reported to be a missionary of the opinions of Huss and Jerome of Prague but the special charge made against him w a s that he denied

the doctrines of transubstantiation , confession , 1 and prayer to the saints . w To ards the end of the ﬁfteenth century ,

Blac kadd e r w , Archbishop of Glasgo , summoned w thirty persons to ans er to charges of heresy . l Knox calls them the Lo lards of Kyle , and mentions thirty charges of heresy preferred

a gainst them . These Lollards maintained that w there should not be image or relic orship ,

th e that prayers should not be made to V irgin , that the Pope had not authority to forgive

sins , that the mass could not proﬁt the souls

of those said to be in purgatory . They held w also that priests could la fully marry , and they w ere charged w ith spreading the amusing

“ doctrine that w e are not bound to believe ” w all that doctors of the Kirk have ritten .

1 S coti ch r 20 . , xvi . . 9 9 THE LOLLARDS OF KYLE .

w it Happily for the accused , the of one of

“ them w as s o potent that the greatest part ” o f w as accusation turned to laughter , and the proceedings terminated w ithout the kindling of the ﬁres . These various heretics spent themselves in a vain endeavour to change the generally r e c eive d w doctrines of religion , and died ithout S haking the stability of the Church . The

e disaster of Fl dden , and the civil troubles of f the regency , did not af ord the quiet needful to religious speculation ; and not till the im

ortation p of the books of M artin Luther , and the receip t of information reg arding the great

w as a events in Germany , Scotland gain roused

III 1 5 2 0 from her dogmatic slumbers . the Pope published his Bull of condem nation against Luther ; and thus before Scotland had

n e w sacriﬁced a single martyr for the opinions , the Reformation in Germany w a s an a e com li d p sh e fact . Patrick Hamilton w as an avow ed follow er and preacher of the doctrines of the man w hom the Roman Church had condemned ; and though his family connections , in days of other i political coalit ons , might have saved him from the extreme penalty of the ecclesiasti cal and civil 1 0 0 BEATON A N D PATRICK HAMILTON . law diﬂi c ult s e e h ow w , it is to other ise he could have avoided the censure and escaped the

law - a punishment of a heretic and a bre ker , unless , indeed , the chief dignitaries of the Scottish Church had themselves been in w sympathy ith the German Reformer . Patrick Hamilton w as th e youn ger S O II of

- a Kinc avil Linlith Sir Patrick H milton of , in

ow w g , and of Catherine Ste art , the illegitimate I II 1 daughter of Albany , brother of James .

u w as The f ture martyr thus allied to the king ,

a his to Albany , and to Arr n ; and death by ﬁre could not have been effected had not

Angus consented to it . Hamilton , under the law w hich allow ed those to dra w the stipend w h o w ere unﬁt to perform the duties of a

oﬂi c e w as w clerical , appointed hen a boy

w a s Abbot of Ferne , in Ross . He a student w 1 5 2 0 of the University of Paris , here in he took the degree of M aster of Arts ; and c ons e quently must, for a short time at least , have

w - w III been a fello student ith David Beaton . 1 5 2 3 w he entered the University of St Andre s ,

O II hi s in order to carry studies under M aj or ,

w h o the teacher of Buchanan and Knox , con trive d to sit undisturbed in his professional

1 ’ D s eer e ougla s P ag .

1 0 2 A N D P K H BEATON ATRIC AMILTON .

f w a suf ered ere pilgrim ge , purgatory , prayer to “ iﬂ ” tr e s . saints and for the dead , and such Lindsay of Pits cottie gives a graphic d e s crip ’ tion of Hamilton s accusation , and of the man ner of his death ; and he and others narrate the vain attempts made to induce Hamilton t o

w as w recant . The ﬁre kindled at St Andre s , and in the midst of it the martyr cried w ith a

: h ow loud voice , Lord Jesus , receive my spirit long shall darkness overw helm this re ahn ? and ” h ow long w ilt Tho u suffer this tyranny of man ? At the trial w ere present the tw o arch w d n bishops , ith the bishops of Dunkel , Brechi ,

a w and Dunbl ne ; certain abbots , among hom w a s A b e rbroth oc k David , abbot of ; also cer tain other minor ecclesiastics . These all signed the sentence passed upon Hamilton ; and in order to give that sentence greater authority , and probably to lessen the risk of the j udges by increasing their number , the names of those of any reputation or ra nk in the University

w a . ere dded Even the Earl of Cassilis , a boy

a e w as S of thirteen years of g , made to ign the w sentence . The prelates ere astute ; and this indiscriminate signing of the w arrant of Hamil ton ’s death points to the conclusion that the ma w as f rtyrdom not a purely ecclesiastical af air, H L ’S S 1 0 3 AMI TON TREATI E . and that th e clergy w ere not w illing to incur 1 undivided responsibility for the act . The sentence i s to be found i n the appendix ’ ‘ ’ to Keith s Bishops ; but there is another ‘ ’ document of more importance , the Treatise , setting forth the youthful theologian ’s opinions

0 11 law IVe the and faith . are told in a later

“ edition of Knox that this servant of God , M r

w as w Patrick Hamilton , (besides his godly kno ledge) w ell learned i n philosophy : he abhorred

S - ophistry . The pre Reformation literature of Scotland is singularly free from theological dis

e cussi n , and a special interest therefore attaches ’ O II to this Treatise account of its author , and 0 11 account also of its isolated position in litera

w a s w ture . The Treatise originally ritten in

Latin , but a translation of it has been incor

’ ’ ’ p orat e d into Foxe s M artyrs and Knox s His ’ w w tory . As is ell kno n , the learned of those

w t a days rote for the mos part in Latin , and p pealed but to a limited class of readers . From

’ ’ w w e w Hamilton s Treatise , ho ever , learn hat must have been the burden of his preaching vi z . , the Pauline doctrine of j ustiﬁcation by

w t ow n . faith , hich Luther had almos made his ‘ ’ The Treatise sho w s many signs of the logic

1 F e S ottisw ood . Knox, ox , p of w the schools . Premises are laid do n , and w conclusions , of course , are dra n ; and these

n ew form the basis of a conclusion . This form of argumentation the logicians term a sorites ; and nature or some benign pow er seems to have contrived it for behoof of dogmatic theologians .

w s A sorites kno s no limit of length , and abun dant assertions are required to form the prem ’ i w s e s . For the most part , ho ever , Hamilton s assertion s are taken from the Scriptures ; and indirectly the Treatise ’ is an emphasis of the Protestant doctrine of the absolute authority of the Bible . Sometimes the author is simply

as w assertive , here , after the fashion of the argumentations regarding the Trinity and the procession of the Holy Spirit , he speaks of the trinity of virtues , faith , hope , and charity , and declares that charity springs from faith and w hope . That hich is of interest in the Treat ’ i s e is the statement of the doctrine of j usti fi c ati on by faith and the i n efli c i e nc y of good w orks . Scotland had not in these early years the faculty of ingenuity ; there w ere Reformers in w w the fifteenth century , but they ere follo ers of

IVi c lif N o w or Huss . in the sixteenth cen tury one of her sons produces a treatise O II cer

1 0 6 BEA TON AND PATRICK HAMILTON .

w began to smell some hat of the V erity . Not only among the members of the University , but even among the Black Friars and the Grey

n e w s o Friars , the faith advanced , that there w as further talk of martyrdom as a check 0 11

IV e ow e the advance of heresy . to Knox the ’ story of the w ise amiliar of Archbishop

“ w h o Beaton , said to his master , M y lord , if w ye burn any more , except ye follo my counsel , ye w ill utterly destroy yourselves : if ye w ill w burn them , let them be burnt in hollo cellars for the smoke of M r Patrick Hamilton hath ” w infected as many as it ble upon .

i n Apart from reformat o , a policy of inactivity w ould best have served the Church party , as long a s the martyrdom of Hamilton w as fresh in the public memory ; yet this policy , if com w pletely carried out , ould have brought about th e ruin of the Church long before the actual w occurrence of that event . Reformation a s a

w as course open to the Church , but this course

O II not pursued ; the contrary , David Beaton sternly opposed the Reformers , and thereby earned a lasting reputation as a cruel and permitting the ﬁrst General Assembly of

Church . C H A P T E R V

D PL A I OM CY .

A T 1 5 2 8 Easter of , the year of Patrick Hamil

’

ton s death , the Archbishop entertained the

D ou las e s w young king and the g at St Andre s ,

a nd giving them presents of gold and silver , h “ ” 1 ot er gifts of tacks and steadings . Thus did he pacify the D ou glas e s and secure their

favour ; and they , recently victorious over

now M argaret and her husband , and deceived

n re by the conduct of the Archbishop , bega to w lax their vigilant atch over the king . James ,

w w a s ho ever , resolved to free himself from the

w w as po er of Angus , and intriguing for this n w e d ith Beaton . He had secured the castle

of Stirling from his mother , and had given her

in exchange the lands of M ethven , and the

1 L s c e indsay of Pit otti .

1 1 0 D P I LOMACY .

m w as supre acy of Angus at an end , and there after the feeling of James tow ard the D ouglas es w as one of intense hatred .

n w as You g though he , the king took the

th e o w n government of country into his hands .

D ou las e s By j udgment of the Parliament , the g w w as ere declared guilty of treason . Angus w sentenced to death , and his estates ere con

fi s c at e d law by ; but though he fled to England , the actual confiscation w as not in those days a simple arrangement . He had held the office of

w as now chancellor , and , of course , deprived of the great seal . To this ofﬁce James appointed

a w his preceptor , Dunb r , Archbishop of Glasgo , a man highly praised even by the enemies of his Church , and described by Buchanan as

“ upright and learned , but rather deficient in ” w w as political kno ledge . James Beaton cer t ainl w y not deficient in political kno ledge , and had been chancellor till Angus seized the offi ce ’ his share i n the plan of the king s escape might h ave entitled him to be restored to his former

w as now m an u n honours ; but he an old , and ﬁtt e d for the toils of the high ofﬁce of chan c e llor w as . That he not deposed , through any

w a sinister feeling of the king to rds him , is plain from the prominent position he took in JAMES A N D T E CLERGY 1 1 1

1 the council . The claims of David Beaton , w w ho ever , ere not neglected ; and although no oﬂi c e w as found for him immediately 0 11 the

w as fall of Angus , yet soon after that event he

appointed Lord Privy Seal , in succession to

Crichton , Bishop of Dunkeld , and a little later received the further honou r carried by th e offi ce of Protonotary Apostolic . Thus early in his actual reign James came under the influence of the clergy an influence w fe w w as hich in a years to be supreme , and w as to be detrimental to the pow er of the

w h o nobles . Of the clergy , David Beaton , had been appointed among others to superintend 2 w a s w h o w as the education of James , the one to secure and preserve the chi e f authority in

\Vhat e ve r m a the councils of the king . y be

s s said about priestly politicians as a cla , and about the impress they have left 0 11 the events of European history , it is to be remembered th at before the Reformation prelates and priests w ere almost the only men ﬁt for the ofﬁces of

State w hich w ere not military . Protestant zeal is liable to condemn utterly the Roman priest

n o t for his creed , as the layman proud to be

1 5 45 State Papers (Henry iv . p . . 2 ’ — Lodge s Portraits Beaton . 1 1 2 D P I LOMACY .

- priest ridden is apt to resent , irrespectively of

O II time place , all clerical interference in civil affairs but Protestant zeal and the pride of the w layman not ithstanding , the Scottish clergy of the Roman Church w ere as a class beyond com parison superior in intelligence and ability to the nobles , the only men likely to contend w w ith them in the ork of government . The very fact of the suppression of the Jesuits w by Papal authority , sho s that the prej udice against clerical interference in politics is not

IV ols e irrational ; but y in England , and Rich elien and M azarin in France , and even David

Beaton in Scotland , are illustrious examples

n ot of European statesmen , less illustrious because they w ere cardinals of the Roman

Church . IVh e n James chose his councillors from among

w as the clergy , there no one in Scotland equal in political experience to the A rc hbislI O p of St w Andre s , no one superior in integrity and w learning to the Archbishop of Glasgo , and no one comparable w ith David Beaton in political acuteness and in kno w ledge of the secrets and intrigues and policies of his contemporary states

w as w men in Europe . Angus outla ed , Lennox

D P I LOMACY .

to hi s uncle a dutiful letter of thanks for the him 1 beneﬁts conferred on during his minority .

: Henry , moreover, had also to dissemble the

ow n cause of Angus should have been his , and now that Angus had ﬂed to him he might have been expect ed to make good the losses of his faithful servant by demanding the restoration

D ou las e s of the forfeited lands of the g . But w Henry solicited hat he should have demanded , and by his solicitation gained nothing but a re mission of the death sentence w hich had been 2 O II w w as passed Angus . Peace ith Scotland , w ho ever , the ﬁrst consideration of the English

w h o h w as w king , at t is time in league ith Francis a gainst the Emperor ; and so a treaty

’ of peace for ﬁve years , made for convenience

w as 1 4th sake , ratiﬁed December James n ow turned his attention to home

f s e t th e af airs , and himself to humble pride of

w h o w his nobles , had gro n into petty kings w during the la less times of his minority . The pursuit of this policy gained for him the name ” of “ King of the Commons but i t also alien ated even the outw ard loyalty and allegiance

th e w a of many of nobles , and cleared the y for

1 0 2 4 e er He r . 5 4 I 5 . . . 7 . Stat Pap s ( n y iv p . bid , p 3 e d a R e r Fo e r 2 8 6 . ym , , xiv . S A N D T E S 1 1 5 JAME H NOBLE . the dominance of the clergy in the government of the country . The Borders , Orkney , and the Isles w ere each the scene of disloyalty or re volt ; but in each of those places the king

w as established his authority . Argyle deprived

his n w of comma d , and Cra ford of his land in

I w a w the sles ; Both ell , M urray , M x ell , and

Sir James Hamilton w ere variously punished . IVhat offences they had committed cannot now be ascertained but probably they incurred the royal condemnation by disobedience to the Acts of Parliament by w hich James intended w w to curtail their po er . Those la less nobles w ere not slo w to transfer their allegiance to 1 w h o w as r w it a . Henry, eve illing to purch se

I II w a letter ritten by Northumberland , of date

2 7 th 1 5 3 1 w e December , catch a glimpse of a very different English king from that one w h o w professed affection for his nephe , and friend ’ w ship for his nephe s country . Northumber w w w land rote that Both ell , in conference ith

w him , had expressed the hope that , ith the favour of Angus and the help of th e nobles w estranged from James , he ould be able to w w 2 cro n Henry in the to n of Edinburgh . Henry may have allow ed himself to be

1 2 C n T er 9 . . . e er He r 5 8 9 . o f ytl , ii Stat Pap s ( n y iv . p . ﬂattered w ith a vision of the realisation of this A n hope , and he had gus at hand to tempt him w into active hostility ith Scotland . His Con ti n e nt al policy required peace w ith Scotland ; but he did not favour th e idea of James be

a w coming po erful and popular king . The subj ugation of Scotland w ould satisfy his am bition ; it s dependence 0 11 England w ould suit his Continental policy a settled peace betw een the tw o countries w ould be fatal to these plans

of subj ugation and dependence . Yet Henry

w ar w as cautious not to declare . He con

orthumb e rland tented himself by sending N , in

w 1 5 3 2 O II the inter of , to make a raid Scot

a s land , such might have delighted a Highland 1 thief.

’ N orth umb e rland s i w expedit on , hatever its

m a ulterior purpose y have been , ended in a

a r id , since no rising of the Scots in favour of the English took place such as Henry possibly expected from the accounts of the disloyal

th e w nobles , and from fact that Angus , ith his

w a s th e uncle and brother , in company of 2 Northumberland . The Scots retaliated , and a w Border arfare continued for more than a year .

tw o To complicate the relations of the countries ,

1 2 2 e er He r . I 6 . . . 629 . 7 Stat Pap s ( n y iv p bid , p .

D P I LOMACY . and in complaint of the neglect of Fran cis to adhere to the terms of that treaty . Buchanan further asserts that Beaton had instructions to proceed to Flanders to negotiate w ith the n Emperor Charles , faili g a satisfactory arrange ’ IVhat ve r i n ment w ith Francis . e Beaton s s tru c ti ons may have been , as to demanding ’ ranc is s d satisfaction for F neglect of Scotlan , it is highly probable that James did think to

w h o j oin himself to the Emperor , had sought in certain marriage proposals to draw him aw ay from any allian ce w ith Henry and 1 w w as Francis . Beaton , ho ever , commissioned w ith pow er to arrange a French marriage for 1 5 1 7 James , in terms of the treaty of ; and

w as Francis , therefore , likely to agree to any reasonable proposals w hich w ould prevent ’ 2 t IVha t Bea on s j ourney to the Emperor . speciﬁc arrangement s Beaton made w ith the French king are not know n ; but that he brought matters to a peaceful conclusion is w itnessed by the fact that a second ambassa dor proceeded to Scotland to propose a truce w ith England , and that James listened to the

B e voi s n proposal . M onsieur de , the Fre ch

1 e er He r 5 3 . 3 . Stat Pap s ( n y iv p . 2 B 45 uchanan , xiv . . III 1 5 3 2 , James , by Act of Parliament , estab shed the College of Justice O II the model of

a w a s he P rliament of Paris , and advised in he transaction of this business by the Arch w op of Glasgo , and most probably by

vid w h o w a s w Beaton , familiar ith the 2 i ns I t tuti . o of the French State James . w d created a Court of Session , hich consisted the chancellor an d certain representatives of

a e three Estates of Parliament , and had p

) a - ointed it to sit three times year , at places 3 ’ le t ermine d by the king ; but if Dunbar s a tire 0 11 the transaction of legal affairs at

E w as dinburgh be not a romance , there u s tiﬁc ati on for the reform carried through by I w ames V . hen he instituted the College of l s i c e ne w w as u t . The court to hold its sittings

II w Edinburgh , and the j udges ere to be styled

enators A S B of the College of Justice . the

1 C H er 1 0 1 1 . onf. amilton Pap s , i . , ’ 3 Er e ’ I e Hist z l m es l n . i D rnmmnnd s A skin s nstitut s 1 2 O D P I LOMACY . scheme w as subsequently ratified by Act of w Parliament , the Senators ere to be fifteen in — number , seven laymen and seven churchmen , w w h o w as w ith a president , al ays to be a churchman . James doubtless intended this Court to b e a check on the law less nobles in their tyranny over the commons ; but in the process of w establishing it , he came into conflict ith the i w clergy . The rel gious houses ere enormously

w 0 11 w as ealthy , and a tax them the easiest

means of raising money for State purposes .

The nobles could resist a tax by force of arms , but the clergy had only spiritual w eapons at i their command , and somet mes these spiritual w eapons w ere dangerous to those w h o used

a w them . J mes had isely resolved that the

n ew Court should mean j ustice to the poor , and that j ustice Should not be scanty O II

its account of price . He determined , therefore , to levy a tax from the clergy ; but the Bishop

of Aberdeen , in name of the clergy , protested

to the Pope against this exaction , and Arch

bishop Beaton ﬁnally secured a Papal Bull , restricting the amount of the tax 1 The Arch

l 2 2 D P I LOMACY .

w n regarding the peace ith Engla d , gave his ambassador po w er to negotiate for him a matri

w u 1 monial alliance ith the da ghter of Francis .

’ M uch depended on the king s marriage . The w Hamiltons , according to Buchanan , ere anxious

m s o to prevent a arriage , that their succession to w w the cro n might be secure and , as this riter

s a does not hesitate to y , they even attempted ’ ’ the king s life . From the time of James s escape from Angus the marriage had been a

IV ould subj ect of especial interest . the young king ally himself to England by taking the w Princess M ary as his ife , and thus , per

tw o haps , bind the countries in a lasting ? peace Henry again and again , in the course w of his sinister dealings ith Scotland , had pro posed that James should be afﬁa nc e d to his daughter ; but the afﬁanc e w as never the chief end of his proposals , and did not take place . IVh e II James assumed the actual government

c orr e s on of his country , and entered into a p w w dence ith his uncle , the marriage ith M ary w as once more mooted ; but the n e goti a tions came to nothing , although the King of

w h o w as w France , then in league ith Henry , w as favourable to the English match . By the

1 R i t M a n Re . t N . 1 35 1 . e s . g . g . Sigil g Sco , o G P S 1 2 3 MARR IA E ROJECT .

1 5 1 7 1 treaty of Rouen of , the eldest daughter of Francis had been promised in marriage to

sh e James ; but had died , and his daughter M agdalen w a s thought too delicate in health ever to marry ? ’ The Emperor Charles , before Henry s divorce , strongly opposed this English match , as he feared a lasting peace betw een Scotland and

England . He therefore sent his messenger to f w w Scotland to o fer his ido ed sister , the Queen 3 of Hungary , to James ; but this offer roused the opposition of Henry and Francis . Albany now w w suggested the Duchess of Urbino , ido of w Lorenzo of M edici , and , though Henry ould

m at have agreed , Ja es declined . Charles , w enmity ith the Kings of France and England , and threatened by the Smalcaldic League , once more show ed zeal in the question of the w Scottish marriage . He promised Nor ay , a w country not yet conquered by him , as a do er to any bride w hom James might choose from among the friends of the Emperor . Buchanan relates h ow Charles sent his ambassador secretly

1 A 4 - 8 c f re e Te e . opy o this t aty is giv n in ul t , i . pp . 2 F r c 1 5 3 3 e c e e m rr e J e an is , in , gav a ons nt to th a iag of am s ’

M e e e r eme M e e . and agdal n , subj ct to th imp ov nt of agdal n s h alth — Te e 7 7 . ul t , i . 3 D r O ur 1 5 2 9 iu n . of cc . , . 1 2 4 D P I LOMACY .

1 5 3 4 to Scotland , in the year , to excite James

against Henry , and to urge upon the young king that the marriage w ith Ann Boleyn w o uld probably remove him from the succession to the ’ w English cro n . The ambassador , in his master s n f w ame , o fered James the choice of a ife from h — among t ree M aries M ary of Hungary , M ary of

n ow Portugal , and M ary of England , that the

mother of the last - named princess had been

w s divorced from Henry . Still another lady a ’

mentioned , the Emperor s niece , the daughter of the deposed King of D enmark ; but sh e w as

aﬂi anc e d w as 0 11 already to another , and James friendly terms w ith the reigning sovereign of

Denmark . None of the proposed marriages

I II took place . the Supplement to Dempster it is suggested that Beaton show ed James that the Emperor and th e P e p e w ere trying to make m a tool of him by these arriage proj ects . James hardly required Beaton as his adviser in a case s o obvious ; nor is Beaton richer in his reputa

tion for political sagacity by having ascribed.

to him an understanding of the self- evident policy of the Emperor . There is no doubt , w w ho ever , that Beaton ith his French sympa h w t ies preferred an alliance ith France , and it may safely be concluded that w ith his control

1 2 6 D P C I LOMA Y . land to oppose a marriage then proj ected b e w t een James and M ary of Bourbon , daughter 1 s aw of the Duke of V endome . Henry in this marriage the alliance of the Scottish king w ith

w a the Catholic party , and resolved in every y ’ w to prevent it . But Henry s obj ections ere not likely to be of w eight w ith the council of

w w as James , hich dominated by the clergy , seeing that Henry had already suggested the demolition of the Scottish religious houses? t M oreover , James by this time had sen David Beaton and certain Scottish nobles to France to make the ﬁnal settlement for the V endome 3 marriage . Francis , though he had refused his daughter M agdalen in marriage t o the Scottish

i w as w k ng , illing to give any one of the prin

: a cesses of the blood accordingly , a marri ge w ith M ary of V endome w as agreed to by 4 6 1 5 3 6 I II treaty , M arch , the autumn of 1 5 3 6 w James , eary , it is said , of the obstacles

w a th e placed in his y by Henry and Hamiltons , resolved to proceed to France to s e e the lady

5 chosen for him by his ambassadors . He landed w w in France ith a train of nobles , among hom

1 . 2 2 H er . 2 I . 6 . amilton Pap s, i bid , i . 1 I 1 8 2 0 2 . bid . , , , 1 5 I 5 9 e er He r 4 1 . . Stat Pap s ( n y v . p . . bid , p . ‘L W ‘ A J i u s e d lover . The scene and the rej oicings ’ probably w hat in Lindsay s imagination I t to have been ; but for some reason O II w t w r James a s disappoin ed ith the bride . Sw a heartbroken ain of ballad romance , “ ft for the w ars ; but meeti ng the King of

Ic e w , he j ourneyed ith him to Paris , and w e fell violently in love ith M agdalen , s u w as e passion in ret rn equally strong . V 1 erts on . , the historian of Charles , declares ,

t J w 0 11 he o her hand , that ames ent a mili expedition to help the King of France in w ar w h e ith the Emperor . T re is another ff w V to the e ect that , against the ish of his

es , James proposed to marry the divorced

ht e r w h o w as r of Lord Erskine , the lady he r a w t w to his son , J mes Ste ar , after ards

2 \Vhat ve r of M urray . e may have been ’ e a xact purpose of James s voy ge to France , e is no doub t that his passion for M agdalen

1 H r f C r e B V . isto y o ha l s , ook vi . 2 e er He nr 4 1 46 Stat Pap s ( y v . pp . , . 1 2 8 D P I LOMACY .

’ w as w th e sincere . Young , but sicklied o er ith v hectic cast of consumpti e beauty , M agdalen w as no w ife for James to take from France to

Scotland . Yet, in spite of prudence , the mar ri age w as solemnised in Paris w ith great pomp 0 11 the l s t January in presence of princes w and of prelates , among hom Beaton is men ti one d ; and after a fe w months James and his w w young ife departed for Scotland , here they landed in the month of M ay . There is nothing more pathetic in Scottish history than the story of the marriage of James and M agdalen . She arrived in Scotland in M ay but her n e w coun

w as try not a sunny France , and in July she w as dead . There is a touching grace in Lind

’ “ say s description of her landing : And w hen the queen came in Scottish ground she bow ed h and inclined herself to the eart , and took the muilds thereof and kissed ; syne thanked God that he had brought her safely through the s e a ” 2 w ow n ith her husband to their country . Five w years after her death , hen her husband died

w a s also , he buried beside her in the Abbey of

Holyrood .

1 1 0 6 D r O r T e e . . iu n . of ccu . ul t , i 2 ’ ’ “ T h L f P i otti e s H r . C r D L e indsay o tsc isto y onf. Si . indsay s

D eploration of the Death of Ouene M agdalen .

J uise ; but w hether the lady prefe rred the w n younger king , or hether the arra gements w t y ere altoge her matters of political diplomac , James and she w ere at l a st married by proxy in France in January 1 5 3 8 ? I II June of the same year she landed in Scotland a nd pro c e e de d w w to St Andre s , here , amidst pomps and pageantries , and also allegorical cere

s w w as monie , of hich Sir David Lindsay the

w as author , she married to the king . Beaton no w C o ad ti t e r - w ofﬁ j Archbishop of St Andre s , 3 c i d III h e w w n at e . t follo ing year , he a son w as a nd born to the king queen , Beaton and the Archbishop of Glasgo w w ere godfathers to w the child ; and later in the same year , hen

1 e er He r 1 1 2 . Stat Pap s ( n y v . p . 2 3 Le e . 1 5 5 Te e 1 1 5 1 5 . D r . c r 39 . O . sl y , p ul t , i iu n of c u , . I N NG ND 1 BEATON E LA . 3 1

M ary w as publicly cro w ned in Holyrood as

w w as Queen of Scotland , the cro n placed upon 1 her head by Beaton . Lindsay of Pitscottie

w a s declares that Beaton angry , especially w w w ith the Lord M ax ell , to hom the charge

w as w as of the queen intrusted , because he not allow ed even to j ourney in the same vessel w ith M ary as she crossed from France . Be w this as it may , M ary and Beaton ere destined to be henceforth j oined together as the strong supporters of the Catholic Church . M agdalen

h e r de V alois had been trained by aunt , the

w h o Q ueen of Navarre , favoured the Huguenot party in France ; but M ary w a s of the inn e r circle of those w h o championed the Catholic

s u cause in Europe , and if Beaton did not g

J w h a d gest the marriage of ames ith M ary , he

’ reason to be glad th at th e king s choice had

’ h e r fallen upon . Till the day of Beaton s d w tw o eath , M ary of Guise and he ere the dominating po w ers in the governm e nt of Scot

w i n e O land , and ere zealous alike th ir pposition

r to England , thei favour of France , and their t o suppor of the Cath lic Church . In the interval betw een the French marri

w as n ages , Beaton se t as ambassador to Eng

1 D r . f c r 1 5 39 . O . iu n o cu , arisen concerning the Borders , and regarding a complaint that fugitives and rebels from England w ere harboured and aided in Scot 1 h ad w a n land . M argaret ritten to Henry ’ no un c i n g Beaton s embassy , and praying him w b to take kindly ith the A bot of Arbroath , as ” 2 w v th he a s gret y the kyng . There is no record of the details of any meet w ing bet een Henry and Beaton , though doubt less they met in council and also privately , as Beaton w rote to Cromw ell requesting a meeting ? ’ w I w a s ith Henry f Beaton s request granted , the meeting w as the ﬁrst and only one betw een

tw o w h o w w those men , ere after ards to be bitter

e w h enemies , and to hate ach other ith a atred strangely at variance w ith the teaching either

n w of the old or e faith . Little i s kno w n of the obj ect of this mission

w w a w as to England , and less is kno n of h t I w arranged . t is plain , ho ever , that Beaton

’ w as not unskilful in the ambassador s art of m w making fair pro ises , since Norfolk rote to

“ w I doubt e Crom ell , do something that the imb as satour of Scotland hath not s o fra nkely

1 1 . e er He r V V . 0 . 6 Stat Pap s ( n y III), p 2 0 3 I . . I 9 . . 9 9 . bid . , p bid , p

t w as w him per y in French land besto ed upon , and though he had been nationalised as a Fren ch subj ect previou s to his consecration

w as to the bishopric of M irepoix , it specially w ritten dow n in the Act conferring the pro

u perty upon him that his heirs , tho gh born out of France , should be legal inheritors of the pro 2 perty . Francis , alive to the importance of Scot

’ w land s union ith France in European contests ,

n w as s exerted his i ﬂuence ith the Pope , Jame h ad d already one , to gain for Beaton the car

’ dinal s h a t n ot w s e e . Paul III . slo to that Scot

w as al a I e c d land of v ue to Rome , readily g to the request of FI aII c iS I and Beaton w a s accordingly

C o e li o created cardinal of St Stephen in M onte ,

1 5 8 h w as w n in December 3 . T is title not unkno in the history of the Scottish Church : it w a s

w h o that borne by John de Salerno , presided at a meeting of the clergy at Perth , in the W reign of illiam the Lion . Among Scottish

a born ecclesi stics before Beaton , there had been

W IV a r dla w O f but one cardinal , alter , Bishop

’ 1 L w C C rc c 1 8 . a son s atholic hu h in S otland , p . 2 See notice of th e collection of his apers i . p . lxxi . D N 1 3 5 BEATON A s CAR I AL .

w w h o u w Glasgo , ﬂo rished to ards the end of the 1 fourteenth century . Thus Beaton might have rej oiced to possess the red hat , if for no other reason than the rarity of the honour . A car dinal w as in po w er and dignity a prince of the h Catholic Churc , and one of the most intricate threads of ecclesiastical and civil history is that

0 11 w hich are strung the schemes , intrigues ,

n strifes of the ca didates for the coveted rank .

a i Dubois , Archbishop of C mbra , during the period of the regency in France , in the early

e th part of the eighteenth c ntury , solicited is dignity ; and it has been sai d that all Europe

o n w as enlist ed for this red hat . Eight milli livres w ere spen t in the q uest of it ; and one

a n th e h at u Pope died rather th give to D bois , w hile the next Pope died thro u gh shame of having given it .

m w e difﬁ ~ There see s , ho ev r , to have been no culty in Obtaining for B e aton the title of c ar

w a s a nd dinal , young though he , native of a land from w hich the princes of the Church had not been chosen . The reason for this honour to

n o t a Scottish prelate is hard to ﬁnd . The Pope w as thus able not only to ple ase the Kings of

1 He w as e c r U r I eref re V . mad a a dinal by ban , and th o his title h as been disputed . 1 3 6 D P I LOMACY .

e c France and Scotland , but to further in S t f o . land the interests Rome Fisher , Bishop of

Rochester , had been marked by the Pope for

promotion to the rank of cardinal , that he might the more zealously and pow erfully guard the for tunes of the Roman Church against the attacks of the Reformers but Henry sent Fisher to the

s o stake before the hat arrived , and thoroughly severed himself from the authority of Rome

a w t w as th t , hile he lived , the Papal au hority l w a ost cause in England . Scotland , ho ever ,

might still be saved to the Pope . To this end a cap and sw ord w ere consecrated for James by his Holiness himself ; the title of Defender

w a s of the Faith , forfeited by Henry , promised

u to the Scottish king ; and pon Beaton , the

ma n hi s ablest of country , the rank of cardinal w as conferred , in the hope that the honour w ould be an incentive to him to guard the

Church .

III 1 5 3 9 Beaton , already coadj utor , succeeded w w n his uncle as Archbishop of St Andre s . O i g w to the eakness of age , James Beaton before his death had left the duties of his various w ofﬁces in Church and State to his nephe . He had been made Provost of the Church of

Bot- hw ell in 1 5 0 3 ; had afterw ards been ap ts w w kno n as a benefactor . A all round zastle ne w , a altar in the choir of the d w ral , bridges over the Clyde , ere erected 3 expense ; w hile in St Andrew s he con n ed himself a patron of lear ing , by found ’ he IVh e n College of St M ary s . he died 1 3 9 there stood ready as his successor a more ﬁtt ed than he to be the head of 3h and State ; and tradition has ascribed Ia t successor a character of greater i n t ual genius , but of less moral respecta

1 5 3 9 w a s , then , David Beaton archbishop

ar dinal m n . He ight hope to be cha cellor ; is ambition w as s e t upon his being legate ar e th e , the vicegerent of Pope in Scotland , der that he might not only possess the st ecclesiastical dignity n ext to that of ) O O m P , but that he ight also have the I and t h e authority to carry out a. ugh coercive policy against the enemies ? e ancient faith A legate (t Za tc r e w as

I w a , in countries here llegiance to Rome t w ill professed , ith an authority that could I s e w ith the aid of secular j udges ; and

I e s De e er 1 5 3 8 w r e e e re e e in c mb ot to th Pop , q u sting th

rip for Beaton . A L G E 1 3 9 BEATON s E AT .

this authority gave its possessor a pow er dan gerons alike to his personal enemies and to the

or la tc r c enemies of his Church . A legate enj oyed the prerogative expressed in the s ay

“ - r a e ing of Gregory VII . , Nost vice qu e corri

c orri at ee s tat u e nda genda sunt g , qu con s i t s o - w a s r o t tu a . But far reaching this p rogative that Beaton w a s s trenuously Opposed

’ n s in his dema d for it . From Beaton s letter w h 1 to his agent , Andre Olip ant , it is plain that his enemies o pposed at Rome his get

w e ting legatine po er , but that he pr ssed his claims 0 11 the ground of th e need o f such po w ers to stamp out t h e n e w a nd grow i ng

e if heresy . B aton alone of living men , man w e l t h e i n ere abl , cou d save ancient faith Scotl and ; and th e P O p e therefore w as w ill ing enough for his o w n cause to gra nt B e aton

w w o e a t the legatine po er hich he s licit d , and

a 1 5 44 a d l st in obt ine .

1 ’ S e e S a dlc r s e r s 1 3 c s . . t e . Pap , vol i p . q 2 ref ce L be r Ar r th P a to i b o . C H A P T E R I V .

T E PA N O H S H EXTIR TIO F ERE Y .

T H E accession of Beaton to the primacy of the Scottish Church w a s follow ed by a policy of the w type hich , in the language of later times , is named thorough or coercive . Coercionists and anti - coercionists are separated 0 11 the question w hether man is for the law or the la w is for man ; and w hile the former lay emphasis upon la w a as the safeguard gainst anarchy , the latter see in its vigorous enforcement a possible source of tyranny . Progress is achieved through the repeal of effete la w s and the enactment of n e w ones ; but progress o w es its chief stimulus to the revolutionis t and the law - breaker ; and to stand for the supremacy of the law is by no means alw ays the same as to stand for the i supremacy of r ght . Beaton had deﬁnite Acts of Parliament against

1 4 2 Y THE EXTIRPATION OF HERES .

w as Beaton , as head of the Church , guardian o f the law s w hich aimed at securing its unity and the purity of its doctrine : on him there

w as w fore laid the duty of enforcing those la s , though individuals should have to suffer in con sequence . Yet in fulﬁlling this duty he brought to light the harshness of the la w s concerning e heresy , and incur an odium that has lasted for centuries . The idea of toleration has n o w largely taken the place of the idea that the Church must be kept pure by the extirpation of heretics . w it Church History , hile is a Book of M artyrs for lovers of religious progress , is also a Book of Heroes for the zealots w h o cling to the theory of extirpation and reverence the mem ory of the

fe w extirpators ; but those zealots have become , and toleration has begotten i n most men indis criminate admiration of all martyrs and abhor

- w h rence of all heresy hunters . Yet en the plea is urged that the extirpator of heresy acts as for

th e w the cause of Head of the Church , and hen history show s certain tender - hearted inquisitors i n Spain as eager for the glory of Christ as w ere some of the stern - hearted Covenanters of

Scotland , does not charity demand that this a bhorrence be not unqualiﬁed Nothing is more ’ a v V V l l l l k / U L L U U l L L L J J M L L L L L L N J ure him by the standard of the men of his times . the sixteenth century toleration w a s I in M ore ’s Utopia but not in Christen

A n e h apologist might therefore urg t at ,

h n n fo r g tradition condem s Beato tyranny ,

Ilam e ought to fall 0 11 the time rather th an

Ie r man and , fu ther , might plausibly con

as u i n an that , religious persec tion Scotl d ns igniﬁ c ant in quantity compared w ith the c uti o ns a nc in Engl nd , Fra e , Spain , Hol the chief extirpator of the Lutheran here in Scotland has gained a notoriety e x c e s Oe c au s e of the rarity of persecution in the ” S of others . The equity of history

w v w ho e er , furnishes an ans er to the apo t w a s 0 11 th e . Since religious persecution e , before and after , insigniﬁcant in Scot the director of the a ctual persecution is 1 44 T E RP O H S H EXTI ATION F ERE Y .

j ustly singled out for censure ; and since the w 1 Archbishop of Glasgo , the prelate next in dig nit y to the primate , counselled a milder policy than the Cardinal ’s— not perhaps for toleration ’s

sake , but for the sake of the prosperity of the Church Beaton ’s reputation must take the consequences of his employment of the methods

of coercion .

“ The smoke of M r Patrick Hamilton in ” fe c te d w s o w St Andre s , that the place hich once w as the capital of Catholicism became the w centre of the ne heresy . The students of the

university , the novices of the abbey , began to ” w smell some hat of the verity , and even Black and Grey friars w ere to be found preaching IVilli a gainst the abuses of the Church . One am

A rith e w h o w as w , not then or after ards a

s o s e Lutheran , ridiculed in his sermons the p

“ c i al abuses of cursing and of pretended miracles , giving at the same time illustrative

“ ” specimens of cursing by friars , that he ex

w of cited the rath the Bishop of Brechin, and raised the question w hether or not such ridicule t w as heresy . The friar pos poned the settlement of this nice question by ﬂeeing to England , w here , for defending the supremacy of the

1 ’ H r B . Knox s isto y , k i .

1 4 6 THE EXTIRPATION OF HERESY .

“ Andrew s that Seton had asserted that it be w hoved a bishop to be a preacher , or else he ere m but a du b dog , and fed not the ﬂock , but fed ” his o w n belly . Seton , in presence of the Arch bishop and to his delight , maintained that they w w h o alleged such things ere liars . This de

w a s w w light changed , ho ever , hen the Arch w bishop heard the ords of the accused . Con

d w w h o si er hat ears these asses have , cannot

w I Z a discern bet ixt Paul , saiah , and echari h and

M alac hai f III , and riar Alexander Seton . very ‘ I a I b e deed , my lord , said th t Paul saith , t

’ h ove th I i a bishop to be a teacher ; sa ah said ,

‘ Th a t they that feed not the ﬂocks are dumb Z dogs and echariah saith , They are idle pas

’ tors . The Pope himself could not have ven t ur e d to condemn Seton for preaching the w ords

n of the Bible but this friar , being the co fessor w of the king , could not , ithout danger to the interests of the Church , be left near the royal

w a s presence . A charge of heresy therefore

a ff preferred gainst him , and James , su ering from

w a s the stern precepts of this confessor , glad to escape to a more lenient director of his con science . Seton , accordingly , had to seek the road to England ?

1 ’ S i . tt sw ood H r B . o 64 65 . Knox s isto y , k i p , pp . , n d t h e t i I n 1 5 3 3 h w e . e persecu ons , o ever , er w as added at St Andre w s to the roll of

T S . Henry Forrest , a young Benedictine , Iurne d for the sin of possessing an Eng

. ible , and of being an admirer of Patrick lt n I 1 5 3 4 t w a s o . n a cour of heresy held linb ur h g , then included in the diocese of

w u Idre s . D ring the sitting of the court ,

I w a s Beaton in France , and the Bishop

18 8 therefore presided as c O III mis s io n e r for r c hbis h o I a t o f p . f the m r yrdom Patrick lt on w as d , in part , the result of Davi

’ n s counsels , then one may j udge that this

w a s e O f held , not to satisfy the z al the

)lSl1 0 e p , but that of his more nergetic w h w . Among t ose summoned to ans er

bar e w e g of heresy there ere , besides thre

I s a c J n of Leith , an dvocate nan ohnsto ,

e e rs n , the master of the Grammar School

inb u r h g , and the brother and sister of Pat

I aIII il O II t . James Hamilton , the brother ,

vas S ff w heri of Linlithgo , by advice of the 1 4 8 T H E EXTIRPATION O F HERESY .

w re c anta to please James , made a sho of w tion , hich saved the scandal of the martyr dom of another of the Hamiltons . Of the

w t w o w accused , ho ever , ere condemned and executed ? David Straiton incurred the w rath of the

Bishop of M oray over a question of tithes . He bade his servants thro w back every tenth

O II s e a salmon trout into the , and told the

’ bishop s officers to seek for the tithe w here the

w as h servants got the stock . He t reatened

’ w ith prosecution for contempt of the bishop s orders , but increased the contempt by paying w no heed to the threat . As Straiton , ho ever , w as know n to be a friend and convert of Erskine w of Dun , after ards famous in the Reformed

w as Church , a charge of heresy brought against him w as , and on this charge he condemned to

w w s be burned . Along ith Straiton a burned

w h o Norman Gourlay , a priest , had declared

afli rm e d against purgatory , had that the Pope w as antichrist , and had married in defiance of the canon la w ? As if to w itness to this reign w of terror , certain scholars , hom their country could ill spare , fled from Scotland . Among

w A le s iu s w h o these ere , became professor of

1 C l erw S tti s d 2 o w oo . I Knox , a d ood , p bid .

1 5 0 T E P O H S H EXTIR ATION F ERE Y .

m the Black Friars , Duncan Si pson , a priest of

m Fe rre t V . Stirling , and Tho as , the icar of Dollar Along w ith them w as condemned Robert F or rester , a notary at Stirling . Keillor had w ritten a miracle play w hich w as i acted before the king at St rling . The

w a s subj ect of the play the passion of Christ , and the allusions to the priests and the Phari

w h o sees persuaded Pilate to condemn Christ , suggested to the people the priests w h o induced

n w James to persecute the men of the e religion . Unfortunately for the students of literature and

a of Church history , the pl y has not been pre served ; but the memory of it is established through the martyrdom of its author . Forret , the vicar of Dollar , had been in the habit of

n a w a s preachi g every Sunday , though pre ching

a : deemed a privilege of the fri rs moreover , he

s a th e had taught the people to y the Creed ,

’ n Lord s Prayer , and the Ten Comma dments ;

’ and had given o ﬂ e n c e because he had not taken T H E O F WEST SCOTLAND . either the Old or N e w Testament w ords w hich caused the name O f the bishop to pass into a proverb ? The ﬁve men w ere burned 0 11 the Castle

Hill of Edinburgh ; and , as if to give dignity

w a s to the scene , King James present as a spectator? Calderw ood asserts that Forret had been “ diverse times ” summoned before S t w the Bishops of Andre s and Dunkeld , but had escaped punishment till he fell under the w stronger po er of David Beaton . If this state f ment is true , it a fords further evidence that the aged A rc lI bi slI O p of St Andre w s w as not the author of the coercive policy w hich w a s

a nd carried out under his name authority . Th e spread of the n e w faith w as not conﬁned

I II w to the e a st of Scotland . the est also there w G o w ere heretics , but the Archbishop of lasg w as not zealous for the coming of the kingdom

a nd o of God by coercion persecuti n . David

a as u w t h e Beaton , as c rdinal and coadj tor ith

u w a s n o t w h o w primate of the Ch rch , illing , w ever , to leave the est of Scotland free for the w gro th of heresy . Shortly after the sitting of th e clerical court in Edinburgh , he sent emis

1 S ottis w ood Knox , p . 2 H e B f J e —M rc 1 1 5 3 9 ous hold ook o am s a h , . 1 5 2 T E P O H R S Y H EXTIR ATION F E E . s ari e s w w to Glasgo , to act ith the Archbishop in holding an assize of inquisition . Jeremy

and Russel , a young man of the Grey Friars ,

Alexander Kennedy , a lad not eighteen years w of age , ere summoned to appear before these j udges . Kennedy is described by Knox as ” w it being one of excellent in vulgar poetry ,

w e w but are left to onder if, like Keillor or like the greater Buchanan , he had held up the clergy to the scorn of the people . Kennedy , w at the opening of the trial , sho ed signs of a failing faith ; bu t the exhortations of Russel

him t w o m strengthened , and these , after aking

w 0 11 a good confession , ere burned a spot near

’ s w the Archbishop s castle in Gla go . The Arch

his w i bishop , to praise , did not llingly let them f I suf er . think it better to spare these men ” a th n to put them to death , he said to the commissioners of the Cardinal . The commis

“ sio ne rs in anger answ ered him : IVhat w ill ? IVill ye do , my lord ye condemn all that

n my lord Cardi al , and the other bishops , and w e ? I w have done f so ye do , ye sho yourself

u s s o w e w enemy to the Church and , and ill ” 1 repute you , be ye assured .

Possibly this prelate , j ealous for the pre 1 ’ H r B Knox s isto y , k . i .

T H E P F H SY EXTIR ATION O ERE .

’ w ff t o Fran c is c anS I nium , hich gave o ence the and subsequently produced that more bitter ‘ ’ Fran c is c anu s w satire , ritten at the request or — order of James then offended w ith the Fran — c i s c ans i n w hich the ignorance and sensuality w of the friars ere ruthlessly exposed . Buchanan w as i w impr soned in the castle of St Andre s , from w hich escape w ould have been impossible had not succour come to him . But he escaped

an w w to Fr ce , probably ith the kno ledge of the 1 n w h o ki g , , according to Buchanan himself, had taken a bribe from Beaton for his imprisonment , and by the help of James Beaton the future

\V e w bishop . are not here concerned ith

’ w Buchanan s career , save ith a single incident of it . On one occasion he came face to face w a 0 11 ith the Cardin l the streets of Paris , and the sight of Buchanan stirred again the w rath

’ w of Beaton . Beaton s vindictive cruelty is sho n by the fact that he sought , by letter to the w bishop of the diocese herein Buchanan resided ,

t or tu n to have Buchanan sent to Sco land . F

n ately for Bucha an and for scholarship , the letter w a s int ercepted and did not reach the

’ bishop but w e s e e in Beaton s conduct cruelty and persecuting tyranny , inexcusable even on

1 V a it . SI R JOHN B O R T H ¥V I C K

w f the ground , hich might in other cases a ford pretext if not excuse , that the safety of the Scottish Church required the extirpation of ? those w hose presence w as a source of danger One of the ﬁrst public acts of the Cardinal w hen he had reached the full dignity of pri

O f w as mate Scotland , the holding of a council at St Andrew s for the purpose of considering f the position of ecclesiastical af airs . Beaton w a s n ow not only cardinal , but archbishop and

Ze a tu s D a te s g , and the ceremonial of the council must be ﬁtting his dignity . Earls and barons , w h w bishops and abbots , it cro ds of men of lesser name , marched in procession to the

w 0 11 a a cathedral , here , a d is r ised above the

s at a e rest , the C rdinal high r in rank than the other titled lay and priestly de fenders of the

a l national religion . The C rdina addressed the

e assembly , and spoke of the spread of her sy and w the dangers hich threatened the Church .

The chief man among the heretics , Sir John

w be Borth ick , had been summoned to appear w fore the council ; but , too ary to trust the mercy of the priests , had ﬂed to Henry .

’ Borthw ick w a s captain of the king s French

Guards , and had been guilty , according to the

1 ’ Ir L e f B uc ving s if o hanan . 1 5 6 T H E P F H S EXTIR ATION O ERE Y .

O f indictment , dispersing heretical books and of maintaining doctrines contrary to the faith of

w a s w the Church . As he himself not ithin

w as 2 8th 1 5 40 reach , he sentenced on the M ay to be burned in efﬁgy ; and it remains a ques tion w hether or not this burning by efﬁgy entitles Borthw ick to a place on the honourable roll of Scottish martyrs ? Shortly after the council held at St Andrew s

w as had risen a court of inquisition established , w ith Sir James Hamilton , natural brother of

w as the Earl of Arran , as its head . This man

hi s above suspicion in attachment to the Church , and w as likely to prove a valued i nstrument of persecution but he had mixed himself up w ith

D o u las e s the political intrigues of the g , and it req uired skill O II the part of the clergy to in duce James to favour his appointment . James ,

w w as w ho ever , al ays poor and needy , and the conﬁscated property of the heretics w as grateful

w as to him if their punishment not . Hamilton did not live to gain a reputation as a j udge of an inquisitorial court . Accord ing to Drummond , he resolved to make an example of his cousin , the brother of Patrick

’ n w h o Hamilto , had by the king s permission

1 ’ Keith s History .

T H E F EXTIRPATION O HERESY .

According to the story , the Cardinal , after the death of Sir James Hamilton , prepared a list of three hundred and sixty persons , noblemen and gentlemen , suspected of heresy , and pre

sented it to the king . The property of those heretics w ould have enabled the king to meet the hostile approaches of Henry ; but James ,

O II Ki rkald the advice of his Treasurer , y of

w ar 0 11 th e Grange , not only refused to make suspected heretics , but turned in anger against the prelates , and lectured them on their dis

w w a s orderly lives . James , ho ever , not likely to risk the anger of the prelates at a time w hen , threatened by his uncle he needed their a dvice and their ﬁnancial help . Tradition is still more sp e ciﬁc in its treat

IV e ment of this list of heretics . are told that

w a s once more the list presented to the king , w w a s hen he on the road to the south , before

O f w w as the battle Sol ay , and that it found in the pocket of his mantle after his death . I t w t is highly improbable , ho ever , tha Beaton furnished such a list at a time w hen it w as useless to the king ; yet even if he had given it , it is still more improbable that he left it

n w about the person of the ki g , hen , by his

1 e Knox , K ith . I e at n ; ou t t ne re I s t ne d III e C t assert ion O I governor Arran that such a list existed that his o w n name appeared ﬁrst upon it? he policy of coe rcion w hich w e have traced not carried out w ithout the sanction O f the III 1 5 2 5 an Act of Parliament w a s passed us t those w h o held the doctrines of Lu th e r I in 1 5 3 5 this Act w a s ratiﬁed in Pa rlia t h w h o , and a statute decreed against t ose ght to Scotland O II used any of the 2 ’ ‘ I III eran books . Pitcairn s Criminal

’ ls a 1 0 a , under date Janu ry and Febru ry

1 5 3 8 - 3 9 i , there are not ces of individuals ng surety against their using books s u s 3 3d a to be heretic l . II the 1 4th of M arch 1 5 4 1 the king w a s ant at a Parliament held at Edinburgh , in h severe measures w ere t ake n against th e

. I w as n faith t e acted that , under pain of

II , no one should question the authority of Pope ; that no private conventions should eld for disputation on the Scriptures ; that abj urers of heresy should not be admitted to any spiritual O II temporal ofﬁce that those w h o refused to answ er a summons for heresy should be accounted heretics ; that informers on here ? tics Should receive certa in rew ards

By these Acts the prelates hoped , but hoped

n e w . in vain , to stay the progress of the faith

I as n n Scotland , in other cou tries in early

Christian times , persecution served not to ex tir at e bu t p to multiply the faithful . During the sitting of the Parliament of M arch 1 5 4 1 a Reform Act w a s passed w ith the aim of purify ing the manners of the Church? The king w as t S i no doub incere in his reforming pol cy , since

w a s w he alive to the neglect of orship , and to w the ignorance and vices of the clergy , for hich “ the Kirk and kirkmen w ere slighted and con ” m n d t e e . He assured the ambassador of the English king that he w ould s e e to the reform of the ecclesiastical Vices but his pow er a s a

w a s w as reformer of the smallest , separate as he from his nobles , and under the inﬂuence of the " h We clergy w o w ere to be reformed . ﬁnd pro s e c uti o ns under the Act directed against heresy , but none under the Act directed against the ignorance and vices of the clergy .

1 2 e 2 9 - 3 1 2 . 9 . . . I . . K ith , i pp bid , i p .

REFORMATION FR OM ENGLAND . land ; but the n e w faith imported from Ger many had not behind it a force of arms , and did not therefore require a stern persecution w i n to crush it . Henry , ith his genius for n trigue , and his fa atical zeal for the faith w w as hich he himself had inaugurated , an enemy w hom the Church had reason to fear . w His connection ith James , his army of spies and diplomatists scattered over Scotland , his w military po er , all threatened continual danger to the liberty and religion of Scotland ; and if

w a s his plan of conversion failed , it because of ’ Beaton s persecution and astute diplomacy , and because the author of the plan w a s the King of England , the hereditary enemy of Scotland . ’ — Henry s policy i n Scotland w a s t w ofold to e stablish the English overlordship , and to j oin Scotland w ith England in the denial of t h e

Papal supremacy , and in the opposition to a great Catholic League then in course of forma

tion . On Beaton depended the success or the ’ ’

failure of Henry s policy . James s marriage ,

w a s it has already been seen , of special interest

to the Pope , the Emperor , and the Kings of

France and England , inasmuch as the marri age w as likely to inﬂuence or determine his answ er to the great religious question of the SS S T S V 1 6 3 EMBA IE O JAME .

time . The Emperor sent him the order of the

hi s s e cu r Golden Fleece , and sought alliance in ing a Catholic council . Francis sent him the o rder of St M ichael ; w hile the Pope sent him w w a consecrated cap and s ord , that the s ord “ might breed a terror in the heart of a neigh b ourin g prince , and besought him to defend 1 the Catholic faith Thus w a s Scotland brought into the arena O f European politics becau se of n her proximity to Engla d . 1 5 3 4 Shortly after the peace of , Henry sent Lord \Villiam How ard to Scotland w ith i ns tr uc

a tions to make offer of the G rter to the king , to propose a meeting of the t w o sovereigns w ith ’ Francis , and to promise on Henry s part the payment of all expenses incurred by James at the meeting . The Scottish king accepted the w Garter , as ell as the invitation to the meeting of the sovereigns ; but this meeting did not ? I 1 5 3 5 w take place n October , Barlo and H olcroft e w ere sent from England w ith dirce tions to persuade the King of Scotland of the

’ e n e w xcellence of his uncle s creed . According w to their instructions , these ambassadors ere to

1 B C erw Dr n uchanan , ald ood , ummo d . 2 e er He r 1 H er . Stat Pap s ( n y v . p . ; amilton Pap s , i 1 4 1 5 , . 1 6 4 REFORMATION FROM ENGLAND . endeavour to rouse James to anger against the w authority of the Pope , and against the ealth w M and the po er of the clergy . oreover , the meeting of the tw o kings w as again to be

? w s urged The reply of James a brief. He w ob e die ns ould keep his till Haly Kyrk , but

w as w n he illing to meet his u cle , and to leave to him the necessary arrangements ? In this w same year , as has been sho n , James despatched commissioners to arrange a marriage w ith M ary w of V endome , hile Henry endeavoured to pre vent the marriage and to draw James to his side in the great religious strife . Once more 3 ambassadors w ere sent to Scotland ; and their instructions reveal Henry ’s character and his w purposes to ards Scotland . The ambassadors ,

w w - Lord Ho ard and Barlo , bishop elect of St w Asaph , ere to set before James the blessings

w to s u of religion as then kno n in England , g gest the demolition of the Scottish religious houses , but to make the suggestion in such a w ay as not to drive James for advice to his w clerical council . Further , they ere to obtain the Opinions of the Scottish nobles regarding the ecclesiastical changes in England and w ere to hint at the possible advantage to be gaine d

1 H m l er 2 2 2 3 2 6 2 I d 3 . I d a i ton Pap s , i , , . bi . bi .

Scottish council to decide on York .

w a strange perverseness , ho ever , the

dor sho w ed himself on friendly terr.

Sir George Douglas , and thus aliena favour of James from Henry ’s proposal meeting did not take place , either at

’ w Ne castle , and for a time Henry s i

w b a ﬂi e d S v in this direction ere . A ho

w f I cess , ho ever , attended his ef orts at w tion in Scotland . James rote to him 1 5 3 6 , that he had sent to Rome for i po w ers to reform abuses n the realm . ally in reference to the temporal p o s 1 of the Church James may have s o ug w po ers , but it is certain that he did to reform the abuses . The clergy w ere the chief oppo n

’ s o w as i Henry s plans , and strong the s iti on that at las t they persuaded J solicit from Rome a brief prohi biting th

n w as i g . They urged that no trust N D 1 6 7 THE SCOTTISH CLERGY A HENRY .

re M oreover , these guardians of the national ligi on w ere not w illing that their king should confer w ith the arch - heretic of England ; and Buchanan relates h ow they brought to court the Archbishop of St Andrew s and the Bishop w of Dunkeld , inﬁrm old men , to eep over the religion w hich Henry w as seeking to destroy ; and h ow they bribed the courtiers to w arn

’ n F O II James against his uncle s i trigues . the failure of the V endome marriage Henry w as not responsible . On the contrary , the mar r iage w ith M agdalen w as even less to his liking ; and he declared to his sister that he

’ kne w nothing of his nephew s doings in France till he received the announcement of James ’s ? w a union ith the daughter of Fr ncis Henry ,

’ w moreover , estranged still further his nephe s affections by not granting the request that he and his bride should be allow ed to pass through

0 11 Fra nc e England , their j ourney from to Scot land ? The clergy had rescued James from Henry ’s

n ow w inﬂuence ; and the union ith France , so ff e ectively promoted by Beaton , cemented once

- more the ancient Scoto French alliance , and

1 H er . 3 5 . amilton Pap s , i 2 e er He r V 6 9 . Stat Pap s ( n y . p . 1 6 8 F F D RE ORMATION ROM ENGLAN . w as likely to make Scotland an active agent in

the advancement of the great Catholic cause . n Duri g the absence of the Scottish king , on

his i the occasion of marr age , the government

w as carried on by a council of regency , of w hich the aged Archbishop of St Andrew s w a s

a member . Henry , though he had failed to procure the m eeting at York and to prevent the i n French marriage , did not , even the absence w of his nephe , abate his zeal in pursuit of the

Scottish policy .

1 5 3 7 w as Early in the year , Sadler sent to

Scotland , nominally on a mission of inquiry ’ regarding M argaret s domestic concerns , in

w as i n reality on a mission of intrigue . He w structed to ingratiate himself ith the nobility ,

to gain M argaret as an agent of England , and to ascertain the feelings of the people in regard

to the religious changes in England . Sadler w had to report , ho ever , that he found the council of regency in favour of the ancient ? w ar religion , and inclined to in its support ’ w h o w s w Ray , follo ed Sadler as Henry s py , rote

1 4 1 5 37 w as r e on April , , that it universally ported in Scotland that the English had sent out Ships to capture James on his homew ard

1 ’ 43 er e er e er I I . 3 . Sadl s l tt , q uot d in Pink ton ,

w M ary of Guise , and ith her the Cardinal , arrived in Scotland in June 1 5 3 8 but Beaton appears to have gone back Shortly afterw ards

O V t o to France . The precise bj ect of the isit w im France is unkno n , but in the interval portant changes took plac e in the progress of ’ the P O p e s scheme of a Catholic league against

b e England . Pope Paul acted as mediator w t een Charles and Francis , both exhausted w ith th eir campaigns ; and as a result of the mediation the truce of Nice w as signed 0 11 June 1 8 1 5 3 8 1 , After the signing of the truce , Paul published the Bull of excommunication against

Henry , in the hope that the Emperor and the King of France w ould be moved to arms against the heretic .

w as Cardinal Pole , Englishman though he , acted as the chief agent of the Pope in trying to form the league , and in the course of the negotiations proceeded to Spain to persuade

s on Charles that , as a faithful of the Church , he must leave for the time the punishment of the

1 ’ i . R er H . C r e B V V . . ob tson s ist of ha l s , k 1 7 1 THE C A T OLIC LEAGUE .

and n Turk , turn to the chastiseme t of Henry , now the most dangerous enemy to the Catholic I Church . n the dispatch borne by Cardinal

Pole , the Pope assured Charles that in an attack on England he w ould have the assistance

of James of Scotland , and his excellent Cardinal , David Beaton ? The assurance given by the

’ Pope , and Beaton s absence from Scotland in 1 5 3 8 w the autumn of , sho that the Cardinal w as one of the chief promoters of the scheme of w a Catholic alliance , by hich he hoped to de

fe e stroy Henry , the of the Papal authority , the

disturber of the established religion , and the hereditary and ene rg eti c enemy of the liberties

th e of Scotland . Hopeful of the success of w league , Beaton returned to Scotland to age w ar on the heretics ; and in the spring of 1 5 3 9 the persecutions in Edinburgh an d Glasgow took place . Pole w as s o far successful in his mission to

. 1 5 3 9 Charles Early in the year , English ships w ere arrested in Flanders ; the Spanish ambas

w as sador recalled from England , and a ﬂeet w 2 began to collect at Ant erp and other ports .

w as w The destination of the ﬂeet never kno n , but rumour had it that an attack on England

1 ’ 2 C . Fr n e H r I onf o d s isto y , ch . xv . bid . 1 7 2 F F D RE ORMATION ROM ENGLAN . w as intended . Among the communications to Henry from his agents w as one to the effect 2 2 that , on January , an ambassador of France had arrived in Scotland and passed to the king ;

a another , that Francis had desired James to h ve an army ready on the 1 5 th of M ay ; and still another , that Beaton had gone to Paris to learn w hat the King of France and the Pope w ould

w ar w do to help Scotland , and , if ere made on

w w as England , hat to be done for Scotland S d ? I houl the expedition fail n April , Ray , ’ s Henry s py , reported that in Scotland there w i w ar ere ev dent preparations for , and that M argaret had told him of the arrival from France of a large quantity of silver w hich w as ? w coined into money Evidently , ho ever , the

m O II plan of campaign could not be deter ined , there w a s reason for belief that any attack on w I England ould prove a failure . n M arch , the w harves of Antw erp w ere covered w ith mili t ary stores for the expedition ; on the 7 th of w April , ne s reached England that the ﬂeet 3 w s u a broken p .

Sometime during the spring of this year ,

1 7 4 F F N D RE ORMATION ROM E GLAN .

I 1 5 3 9 A rchl n the autumn of this year , ,

w e James Beaton died , and the Cardinal in sole possession of the s e e of St A nt Shortly after his elevation to the pri Beaton applied to the Pope to make G

R e s talri th Dean of g, a bishop , in order ? might act as his suffragan Thus the P r secured leisure for the political w ork did not lie among the duties of hi s c l

ﬂi c e o . Beaton for some unkno w n reason cont for a time in France after this failure Catholic league and after his return his I m ents w ere closely w atched by the E 1

de I spies , as if they expected some further

n l i me t of the Catholic po icy . From a d s of th e council of the North to C romw e

VVhIl appears that certain Scottish letters , the foundering of a ship had come int i 1 5 THE CHARACTER OF JA MES . 7 but certain letters of James to the Pope and to the Cardinal Ghuic c i Show that the Pope ’ sought to delay Beaton s j ourney , and that

’ ? James urge d th e Pope to reconsider the matter The only private business w hich w a s likely to take Beaton to Rome w a s his w ish to Obtain 2 legatine pow ers in Scotland ; but probably his chief purpose in seeking the presence of the P O p e w as to instigate anew the attempt to establish the Catholic league .

The King of Scotland , ever after his return

’ w as w from France , closely atched by Henry s

w a s spies , and frequently the recipient of advice from an uncle skilled in kingcraft . The character of James show s vacillations w hich explain not only the praise besto w ed O II w him by Catholic riters , but also the fond regrets of Protestant historians over one w h o w as almost persuaded to be a Reformer . James saved the brother and Sister of Patrick Hamil ton from martyrdom , but consented to the death of Straiton and Gourlay ; he w itnessed the burning of the men on the Castle Hill of

w a s O f Edinburgh , but privy to the escape r w Geo g e Buchanan from the castle of St Andre s .

1 e er He r e . . 1 68 . Stat Pap s ( n y v p , not 2 er 1 3 - 1 Sadl , i . pp . 7 . 1 6 F F D 7 RE ORMATION ROM ENGLAN .

Later in the year in w hich he w itnessed the

hi s w burning in Edinburgh , he and queen ere w spectators at Linlithgo of an interlude , pro ’ ” bably Lindsay s Satire of the Three Estates , in w hich the vices of the clergy and the pre w sumption of the prelates ere satirised . On the occasion O f the interlude the king is said to have called on the Archbishop of Glasgow

and the bishops present to reform their lives , or he w ould send six of the proudest of them

to his uncle of England . At the same time it w as reported that James intended to expel all the clergy from the ofﬁces of his household and of the State ? If James ever had such

w a s an intention , it the intention of a man

w th e w w w ith ish but ithout the po er to act , w ith the desire to exercise an authority w hich

w a s instead exercised over him . Acting 0 11 this or on similar information Henry sent Sadler O II another of hi s embassies to Scotland? The commission to Sadler is the

1 8 F F D 7 RE ORMATION ROM ENGLAN .

’ ? w mission The Cardinal s letter , hich had been w seen by James and despatched ith his consent , referred to Beaton ’s request to be appointed

a. la te r e w legate , a matter about hich James ’ w himself had ritten to the Pope . Beaton s supposed dealings w ith traitors w ere also easily w explained . They ere simple men , James told m Sadler , and he hi self made the Cardinal the

minister both to commit and to deliver them . Thus Henry utterly failed to incriminate Beaton and to discredit him w ith James ; and Sadler had to w rite that James excused the

Cardinal in everything , and seemed loath to

his w hear anything in dispraise . Henry a s not more successful regarding the demolition of the

religious houses . James thanked him for the

advice , but declared that it seemed to him

’ against reason and God s law to put dow n abbeys and religious houses w hich had stood

’

many years and had maintained God s service . A n d w hat need had he to take them , he said , w hen he could have anything he asked of them ? “ I “ am sure , he declared , there is not an

n w e abbey in Scotla d at this hour , but if mister

n w e w w e a ything , may have of them hatever ’7 w NVh n ' ill desire . e Sadler urged the P 1 O ﬂ1gac y ’ SADLER S MISSION . of the monks as a reason for the destruction of n w “ the religious houses , James a s ered , God

fe w forbid that if a be not good , for them all the rest should be destroyed . The contrast i s marked betw een the t w o kings in their conduct in regard to the religious houses ; and though the bre aking up of the monasteries may n o w be applauded O II moral and economic grounds , praise may none the less

g w h o w be given to the Scottish kin O ) ithstood the temptation of enriching himself after th e fashion of the King of England . James , no

th e doubt under the inﬂuence of clergy , refused

0 11 a to lay a sacrilegious hand the mon steries , though the d estruction of th em w ould have

w O II brought him ealth . Henry , the other w i hand , ith his assert on of superiority over the

t h e s clergy , levelled English religious hou es to the ground and thereafter advised his nephew w to do like ise in Scotland , that he might “ establish his revenue thereby in such sort as to be able to live like a king and yet not w meddle ith sheep . III the Sadler papers there is no further

w w a s mention of Hilliard . Hilliard , ho ever , being entertained at St Andrew s by th e Griete ” ’ C ardinall w h o , evidently dictated James s 1 8 0 F F ND RE ORMATION ROM ENGLA .

s reply to the demand that Hilliard , a religiou

refugee , should be exchanged for one Rutherford ,

a thief and manslayer . James refused the ex

“ o n change , the ground that he leaves kirk men to be dealt w ith by their ordinaries by the ” 1 law of Haly Kirk . Everyw here Beaton triumphed in his answ er

’ to Sadler s insinuations and demands , and once

w a s w more Henry th arted . Sadler himself w confessed that , as the noblemen ere young , w w it and anting in agility of , gravity , learning ,

w as u s e and experience , the king forced to the bishops and the clergy as his only ministers ? for the direction of things Sadler , at the

same time , gave a strange instance of the w po er and tyranny of the clergy . A report

w as a s spread that he and his folks ate ﬂesh , w h heretics and Je s , at Lent , and t erefore the m Cardinal caused proclamation to be ade , that w hosever should buy an egg or eat an egg w ithin those dioceses , should forfeit no less than his body to the ﬁre to be burned as a

heretick , and all his goods conﬁscate to the ” w m king . Sadler , ho ever , ust have invented S or coloured the story , ince the Scottish histo

w h o rians are silent on this matter , even those

1 5 4 2 H er . . er 4 . 7 . amilton Pap s , i Sadl , i p .

F FR OM N L A D RE ORMATION E G N .

the ancient faith , and of supremacy of the Pope ; w hile the Act passed for the reform of the clergy w as one to w hich they w ere not S w likely to obj ect , ince they themselves ere to be the administrators of the Act . The State correspondence of this year show s that Henry zealously demanded that the re ligiou s refugees to Scotland should be con side re d as criminals , and under the articles of existing treaties Should be given up as such ? w to him The Scottish Government ould not ,

w w as r e ho ever , yield , and in no instance a

’ li i o u s g refugee sent back . Henry s anger had also been roused by the fact that James w a s now being styled Defender of the Faith . The f Pope had of ered to confer the title on James , and thus to deprive Henry of it ; but no Bull w as w r e issued , such as appeared hen Henry c i ve d e the title for opposing Luther . ’ 1 5 40 After Sadler s arrival in Edinburgh in , w w on a mission of hich little is kno n , he had sent to England certain books published in

- Scotland . On the title page of one of these , ‘ t ’ The Trumpe of Honour , the King of Scot

w as of land called Defender the Christian Faith , as if to sho w that his faith w a s not that of

1 e er He r V 1 1 9 . Stat Pap s ( n y . p . D F D O T E F H 1 8 3 E EN ER F H AIT .

? ’ Henry Henry s w rath w a s thus sw ollen from many sources , but he resolved to make one

ff s e e hi s w more e ort to nephe , and save him i ’ and h s country from Rome . Beaton s absence from Scotland seemed to favour the prospect

O f s e t 0 11 1 s t a meeting . Henry out the of

July to visit the northern part of his kingdom , and arrived at Pomfret at the end of August . Here a messenger from the King of Scotland came to arrange a meeting betw een the t w o ’ 2 kings , before Henry s return to London . James had commissioned Bellenden to visit Henry in reference to peace betw een th e t w o 3 w as countries , and probably this the messenger w h o at Pomfret proposed the meeting . Did the proposal originate w ith James ? Ki rkaldy

- of Grange , one of the Scottish English faction , on advices from England had proposed to James

m and s o to have this eeting , had done secretly , in order that Beaton ’s friends might hear noth it 1 ing of . Apparently , then , the proposal origi nated w ith James and though Henry suggested " W O II m London , indsor , Ha pton Court , as he could not go to York “ w ithout hurt of his

1 e er He r 1 9 1 Stat Pap s ( n y v . p . . 2 e er . 680 . Stat Pap s , i 3 e er e r . 1 9 0 . Stat Pap s (H n y v . p 4 C Fr e ’ H r onf. ond s isto y, ch . xix . 1 8 4 REFORMATION FROM ENGLAND .

” 1 person , he ﬁnally did go to York in the n middle of September , expecti g there to meet w Im h o h w . James , o ever did not appear mediately before the secret negotiations , Beaton w ith David Panton , the secretary , had left

Scotland for France and Rome , probably on the mission w hich had been postponed by the Pope?

I s n June of this year , Ray , the py of Henry , reported that every man in Scotland , according

w a s w to his degree , ordered to be ready ith

w ar his eq uipments for , and that in the castle of Edinburgh w orkmen w ere busy making guns 1 2 W and ammunition . On July , Sir illiam Eure reported that a ship w ith guns and pikes and other w eapons had arrived from 3 France . Probably there w as some connection bet w een the Cardinal ’s j ourney to France and those w arlike preparations and Henry , evidently suspecting that the Cardinal w a s plan ning

w ar 0 11 w as a England , anxious to meet James

III r at York in September . Septembe it w a s

w h o w as reported that James , making no pre

1 8 6 F F D RE ORMATION ROM ENGLAN .

1 ’ December , and that the blame of James s non - appearance at York w ould be laid on the

w h o clergy , feared an invasion from Henry w w as w h o hen he in the north , and had been instructed by the Cardinal that the King of France did not favour a meeting bet w een

1 Henry and James . The commissioners eventually proposed a

0 11 1 5 1 5 42 meeting at York January , , and promised that they w ould remain as hostages

’ for the appearance of James . From Henry s reply to the proposal it is plain that some stipulation had been made by James that the consent of the King of France Should ﬁrst be obtained , and that , failing this consent , James w ould then endeavour to arrange a meeting of the three kings . Nothing came of the proposal for the meeting O II January 1 5 th ; and thus Beaton ﬁnally triumphed in his endeavour to prevent the coming together of James and the man w hom t he Scottish clerg y dreaded and 2 hated The Scottish cle rg y had indeed reason A 1 8 PLOT GAINST JAMES . 7

and moreover , they mistrusted the honesty of

’ Henry s proposals as to a safe - conduct for

w h o w James , , they believed , ould be detained a prisoner in England if he did not agree to ’ n He ry s terms . Possibly the Scottish council did not kno w

’ but only suspected , Henry s sinister purposes . w That the purposes ere sinister , in spite of the professions of friendship and love from an uncle w to a nephe , is seen from the plot for kid

w O I v a e . napping James , to hich Henry D heed IVharton seems to have proposed to Henry w scheme for capturing James , hich Henry sub mitt e d w h o l to his council , very explicit y con d e m n e d it?

’

Henry s policy in Scotland failed , though he had the strength of English arms and the po w e r

w a s of English gold to help him . He matched

a s w h o O by a man able as himself, in pposition to pow erful inﬂuences had saved for a time the ancient Church and the ancient liberties of Scot. land . The Cardinal and the Earls of M urray and Argyle w ere named as the chief O f thos e

’ w ho prevented the Scottish king s j ourney to 2 w York , though Beaton after ards argued to

w as Sadler that , seeing he in France at the date

1 2 2 1 4 I . 2 0 4 . . e er He r . Stat Pap s ( n y v . p . bid , p ing at York . According to Knox , the prelates a n d churchmen promised to James mountains of gold (as Satan their father did to Christ J esus if He w ould w orship him) ; for rather w ould they have gone to hell than he should have met King Henry ; for then , thought they , w a & c . f re ell our kingdom of abbots , monks , w And fare ell , thought the Cardinal , his credit a nd IV e glory in France . may praise or i blame the mot ves of Beaton and the prelates , but they successfully frustrated the policy of

England . s I brother Ferdinand to save Hungary . n ct ob e r of the same year Charles sailed to

’ l i e rs O f g , the headquarters the Sultan s ﬂeet , ith tw enty thousand infantry and tw o thou

.nd w a s horse ; but he vanquished , and by e c e m be r w a s back again in Spain .

n e w h w Charles t ought of a league ith Henry , though the heretical King of England w as no e e t ally for his Catholic maj esty . Yet Francis

n ared this allia ce ; and , determining therefore

s e t Scotland against England , he opposed , t e r the Spanish loss of Hungary , and again

’

ter the defeat at Algiers , the meeting of

n at fe ry and James at York . Francis also ~m p te d another stroke of policy . To induce e nr w ar y to j oin him in against Charles , he r e posed a marriage betw een the Duke of rle a n s and the Princess M ary , and made fer to Henry of certain to w ns round Calais ?

I 1 5 42 w the summer of , ho ever , this alliance as no longer mooted ; but , on the contrary , it as rumoured that Charles had married the

rinc e ss M ary , and had entered into league

h N ow w as it Henry . the talk in France of I r against Charles and Henry ; and the Arch

’ 1 C f F r ou d e s H r c on . isto y , h . xix . ishm e n w w be not easy morsels to s allo , ? Paget In a later despatch the a mbas wrote that the French counted that if w y made any business ith France , the

” o h w a King ould str ight molest him . J uly hostilities betw een Francis and s broke a nd out , Charles once more , lly as the Pope favoured his rival

w I II negotiations ith Henry . Sep

Francis raised the siege of Perpignan , ’ t Alva victor ; but his hopes w ere r e v w a s u hen , in October , the Turk s ccess Hungary over the army of Ferdinand

nc lu de d a A a p rty of English soldiers . betw een Henry and Charles w ould be d Francis , and Scotland , he determine ,

’

be used to occupy Henry s attentions .

accordingly , returned to Scotland , prob 1 5 42 July of this year , ; and , though vinted in the scheme of the Catholic resolved to strike a blo w w hich m ight 1 9 2 SOLWAY Moss A N D I T S SEQUEL .

w in her quarrel ith Spain , and perhaps , if a rising of the Catholics in th e north and other parts of England took place , deliver England from the rule of the heretic .

’ A ﬂ airs in England an d Scotland w ere also

w ar w as ripening for . James angry because I Henry , by adopting the title of King of re land , instead of the former designation of Lord w of the Country , had s ept aside the claim of interest w hich the Scottish king had had in Ire w land from the time of Ed ard Bruce . Henry ,

0 11 n w as the other ha d , j ealous of James because of the latter ’s adoption of the title of Defender

w as of the Christian Faith , though this j ealousy not speciﬁcally mentioned by Henry among the

w ar III causes of the declaration of . August

1 5 42 0 11 o c , the disturbances the Borders gave casion to Sir Robert Bow es to cross into Scot land in order to punish some of the troublesome w Borderers . Bo es , though he had three thou

sand men , fell into the hands of a body of Scots headed by Huntly ; and at H addonrig he and s ix hundred of hi s follo w ing w ere taken prison 1 w ers . James immediately sent ord of this

n w w a s e xa er engagement to Fra ce , here it gg

ated into a great victory , and at the same time

1 H l er 1 2 1 28 1 4 . 6 7 . ami ton Pap s , i , ,

1 9 4 SOLWAY Moss A N D I T S SEQUEL . tion and history of kings of Scotland paying homage to England . The last instance speci

I w h o W a d ﬁ d . e is that of James , at indsor ? mitte d the authority O f Henry V I The reasons for the w ar w ere declared to be the

n harbouri g of English criminals by the Scots , the invasion of English territory by certain Scots during negotiations for peace betw een

tw o the kings , the refusal to yield to Henry w lands to hich he had proved his title , and ,

a lastly , the failure of James to keep the p pointment at York . Norfolk crossed the Tw eed and des troyed K w elso , hile another of the English command I e r s devastated the surrounding country . t

w as n ow w w t inter , and as stores ere scan y , Nor

H ow tle folk , after reaching , returned to England w w ith a multitude of his soldiers . He rote that

J w w a s ames ould gladly have had peace , but

prevented from suing for it by his council . Some conﬁrmation is given to Norfolk ’s asser

w h o tion by Bishop Lesley , expressly declares that James sent ambassadors to arrange a peace w ith the English commander?

1 Holinshed and Hall . 2 V I 2 2 1 e er He r . H er i V . Stat Pap s ( n y p amilton Pap s, .

p . lxxiii . in the religious struggle . The most ardent i sh patriot could not eu logise those nobles . t w ad his quarrel ith England , it must be

:d w as , not their concern , and did not I their interests ; it w as the quarrel of m a nd w the churchmen ith Henry , and fore the Scottish nobles rebelled against

IVh e n l king . Norfo k returned to Eng tlre re w as an opportunity for the Scots

m u s vade England , and James therefore the Scottish forces on Fala M oor 1 but

Io le s w ar b refused to j oin in the . They re d their feudal allegiance compelled them

fend their country , not to march out of

Iin t w s an enemy . To England they ould

o ; and James , after soundly rating them

slo alt W e y y , returned to Edinburgh . are ted to Knox for an account of w hat there

happened . The Cardinal urged James to w n e the campaign , and dra i g up a list of

C S , presented it to him . James , on a

b u t r e s . occasion . had refus d such a li t w w order . The English ere at Ber ick , and the plan w as that the Scots should march into

Cumberland and , if possible , take Carlisle .

Beaton and the Earl of Arran , in order to

’ draw o ﬂ attention from the main body of the w Scots , ere to proceed to Haddington , and to w make a Sho of atta ck 0 11 the east border . The Scots accordingly crossed into Cumber w land , here , as the king did not accompany n them , Oliver Sinclair , a minion of the ki g

O f w as and a tool the Cardinal , proclaimed

w h o w leader . The Scots ere not the men ,

ever , to submit to this indignity , and Oliver

Sinclair , they determined , should not lead

m n w a t them . A idst their co fusion they ere

farrn e r s tacked by the Cumberland , and a cry

w a s w as S O O II raised that Norfolk advancing .

w as the army disordered and ﬂed , though no

w as Norfolk upon them . The main portion w OSS reached the Sol ay M , and fell into the hands of IVharton and one important result of the battle w as the capture of some of the ’ Scottish nobles w h o had obeyed their king s

1 9 8 S M N D I T S OLWAY oss A S EQUEL .

w the Cardinal , M ax ell , Oliver Sinclair , and ’ s M ark Carre . His account , too , of Beaton share in the battle , has been authenticated . ’ H e r tford s reports show that the Cardinal had been at Peebles and then at Haddington w ith the Earl of M urray , immediately before the day of the Solw ay rout w hile Angus informed

Hertford that , had the Scots been victorious in

w ar w as the , it the intention of Beaton and M urray to proceed from Haddington to Eng land , and there in one of the churches to pro h claim , in name of the Bis op of Rome , sentence of interdict upon th e realm? After the battle James hurried to an inter w w vie ith the Cardinal at Edinburgh , and it may w ell be believed that that interview w as

w as w to unpleasant . There further ne s , too , disturb the king . Henry had sent Somerset m herald on a ission to him , and the night on w hich the Scots set out for the s outh the

w as now herald dismissed . James learned that he had been murdered 0 11 the road to Dunbar

tw o w w as by English refugees , one of hom

w 0 11 w kno n to be friendly terms ith Beaton . The herald had been detained lest he should report the doings of the Scots ; and the English

w as suspected that the murder arranged , and

1 H m er 2 5 c . 4 . a ilton Pap s , i . , pp lxxxii , lxxxiii , xc , x i ere rs w no w f t w d t t o E l d ? , ere a er ar s sen ng an a mes left Edinburgh and reached Falkland , f ter visiting the house of the Laird of Grange . t w w as w Falkland , here he prostrated ith a

I dden and , as it proved , a fatal sickness , ' ord w as brought to him that the queen ad borne a daughter , and he replied in the

“ o w w - w w I w ell kno n ords , t came ith a lass ,

“ nd w w s o re it ill pass ith a lass . And he

” “ omm ende d himself, says Lindsay , to the

I e rc t y of Almighty God , and spake lit le from hat b ut time forth , turned his back unto his ” ) w rds , and his face unto the all . The Car ’ inal s w as friends , it reported , left the body of he king unburied , in the hope that Francis ,

norant g of the death , might send money as to he n w a s ki g . The rumour unfounded , and the e m ains of the king w ere carried w ith funeral

Iom p to Holyrood , and placed beside those of he queen M agdalen . Among those in attend ne e w w ere the Cardinal , ith the Earls of Arran nd ? Argyle , and other nobles w men ere bitterly opposed to Beaton , and yet , according to certain of the early historians , he caused James to Sign a w ill appointing him chief of a council of regency . Knox declares that Beaton hired a priest named Balfour to

r w w fo g e a ill , hich the king signed ; and he mentions another report , that the dead hand

w as m S of the king ade to ign a blank paper , w w w w on hich Balfour after ards rote the ill .

w th e Buchanan asserts that the Cardinal , ith

w 0 help of Balfour , simply forged the ill . N charge of forgery w as ever preferred against i n Beaton , though Arran on one occasion formed Sadler that there w as a crime for w hich he might prosecute the Cardinal . Arran ,

w w as w ho ever , the man hom Beaton sought to displace in the regency ? Among the scandalous rumours O f the time w as one to the effect that James had died of 1 L d e in say of Pitscotti . 2 A document has recently been discovered among the Ham l er w c e e r e Re r H M c i ton Pap s hi h th dito of th po t on ist . SS . on w siders to be the original ill .

2 0 2 S A Moss A N D IT S S OLW Y EQUEL .

virtues for conducting himself in private life , and as little ﬁtted by courage or capacity for directing the government of a kingdom A

w as meeting of the nobles accordingly called , at w hich Beaton obj ected to the government of one man , and especially of one man of the name n of Hamilto . Arran , urging his j ust title , claimed that opposition should not be made to him till his rule had been tried . The courtesy ’ n of the times is evident from Arra s speech .

“ ” C hu rle He called the Cardinal False , and de c lare d that w hat the Cardinal had reported in

’ “ ” 1 w as James s name all lyes . Arran , as the

w as result of the meeting , proclaimed governor ; and three days afterw ards free pardons w ere granted to Beaton and the other lords engaged f 1) in the af air . A free pardon to Beaton may seem to indicate a crime , but his opposition to the appointment of Arran sufﬁces to account for the pardon . ’ Arran s name w as 0 11 the list of pre s c rib e d persons said to be given to James , and there fore it may be supposed that he w as friendly to the cause of the Reformation , and that his election to the governorship w as favoured by leading nobles , and the maj ority of the people , w h o , if they did not favour the ancient Church w w ith its doctrines and practices , ere decided in their opposition to England .

D ou la s e s w The g ere still in England , as James had maintained his hatred of them till

ow the day of his death . N they might return at any time , and their presence in Scotland could not be w itho ut effect 0 11 the progress

w n w of events . Beaton , ishi g to stand ithin

a nd their favour , deeming it safer for the success of his policy that they should be in

0 11 Scotland , spread the rumour that James his deathbed commanded the Earl and his brother to be recalled , and to be restored to w their lands , if they ould do their duty to their country ? w Henry , ho ever , had other purposes than merely to restore the D ouglas e s to thei r

country and their possessions . The prisoners taken at Sol w ay had been conveyed to Lon ’ w don ; but hen Henry heard of James s death ,

w a s a marked change made in their treatment , and it w as S O O II evident that he meant to use

ow n them for his schemes in Scotland , and by hi favours to bind them to s interests . The p u blication of the Hamilton State Papers has

’ now made clear the full extent of Henry s i n tri u e s O II 2 9 th g and purposes . the of Decem ber 1 5 42 it w a s intimated to the council of Scotland that at the suit of the Earls of Cas s ilis and Glencairn , and others of the prisoners ,

Henry had consented , subj ect to certain pledges ? a and host ges , to their return to Scotland

w w e These pledges ere not stated , but are not

n ig orant of their nature . The chief prisoners , w among hom , besides the Earls of Cassilis and w w Glencairn , ere the Lords M ax ell , Fleming ,

Somerville , Gray , and Oliver Sinclair , pledged themselves to secure that the young queen S hould be sent to England , on the pretext

’ that s h e w as to be afﬁanc e d to Henry s S O II Ed w ard ; that certain castles and fortresses S hould be given to Henry , and the country governed in his n ame that the Cardinal should be made prisoner and sent to England ; and w that the Protector , if he ould not j oin them ,

1 H a er . 2 66 2 7 6 . amilton P p s , i ,

2 0 6 SOLWAY MOSS A N D I T s SEQUEL .

’ their country , even by aiding Henry s soldiers ’ w h o might be sent to accomplish their master s

r plan . Sir Geo g e Douglas , the brother of n w A gus , did not hesitate in riting to call

“ ” Henry his Sovereign Lord , nor is there w anting the plainest proof that these English prisoners accepted Henry ’s gold as the price

rﬁ I fe w of their p e dy . n history there are transactions more shameless than this and yet

his those men , Henry and minions of Scotland , w ere to be know n as the champions of the r e

formed religion , and through corruption and betra yal the Reformation in Scotland w as to be accomplished . Tradition is unj ust . M en ’ w h o w ere w illing to sell their country s inde p e nde nc e for gold have been aw arded the praise given to religious reformers , and it is

w h o forgotten that Beaton , has been j ustly c ondemned for opposing the reform of the

w as w h o Church , the man saved the liberties o f his country . Henry ’s plans for sending back the English

w I w as re prisoners ere quickly matured . t ported to him that the Cardinal had declared ’ l U 7 L U L L U L L L / L L L L L é , J O

M ary in his hands , and the Cardinal ed s e e , Henry might Scotland in subj ee

England the child dead , and Beaton and

s e e disposed of, he might himself king w I tland as ell as of England and reland . ic otland Beaton , aided by M ary of Guise , ’ . the head of those w h o Opposed Henry s e of reformation and his policy of a n on ; Arran , supported by a considerable

) f w a s the people , friendly to the cause of f w in ormation , and rote to Henry of his as regarding the Church ; but in Vie w of nne c ti on w t ith the infan queen , and of i rshi w im rob p to the cro n , it is highly p I at he ever countenanced the s ubmission

t N o w coun ry . the state of parties in nd w a s to be complicated by the arrival English prisoners w ith Bothw ell and the a ses .

I n , moreover , had not strength and cour nd decision to guide the councils and 2 0 8 SOLWAY MOSS AND I T S SEQUEL .

policies of his country ; and for the next years , ’ is till Beaton s death , Scottish history mainly the record of the opposing policies of Henry

and Beaton . The English prisoners arrived in Scotland on 2 oth 2 6th the of January , and on the Beaton w as a prisoner in Dalkeith . Beaton had been in w w correspondence ith the French , to hom he

w a s looked for help , and it said that after Sol ’ w a w a s y , and before the king s death he making ready to proceed to France , to solicit assistance against England . The rumour of this correspondence w a s made the foundation of a charge that he had invited the Duke of

Guise to take the government of Scotland . On

w as this charge Beaton imprisoned , and though Arran afterw ards professed not to believe the

n as w charge , the E glish acted if it ere true , and guarded the Channel against the coming of Guise ? Before the arrival of Angus and his friends

w as as is w Beaton supreme over Arran , itnessed by the fact that he induced the Earl to take the Chancellor ’s seal from the Archbishop of w w ? Glasgo , and to besto it on him This

1 er H er 2 83 2 2 29 5 30 0 30 4 . 1 38 . 9 Sadl , i . amilton Pap s , i , , , , 2 5 2 0 . State Papers (Henry v . p .

w w in the orld , and , as instance , sho ed that the Cardinal had advised him to seek for a divorce

u - w that he might marry the q een do ager . Sir Georg e and the governor then agreed to seize the Cardinal on the arrival of Angus and send him to Henry ; and Arran promised that he w ould reform the Scottish after the manner

h w h o t e . of English Church Lord Lisle , had w w as ritten to Arran concerning Guise , able to report 0 11 th e 2 l s t of January that Beaton w as w d a prisoner , and that the ne s regar ing Guise had hastened Arran in this matter . The seizure of the Cardinal caused a commo w tion in the palace of Edinburgh , here the

- w w as queen do ager lay . M ary alarmed , but w as paciﬁed by the assurance that it w a s only ” IVh e n the taking of a alse trumping karle .

w as w as Beaton removed , his priest seen to

’ w hurry after him ith the Cardinal s cross , w hereat Angus declared “ he shall paye better than his cross err he have done The Cardinal w as taken to Dalkeith , then to Seton , after w ards to Blackness under the guard of Lord

w h o Seton , , though a relative of the governor , w as th e a supporter of Cardinal . Thus for a time Beaton w a s deposed from his pow er over “ seemed to prosper . Angus and his brother ,

“ w r e s t rote Lisle , ruleth the about the gov

e ern r .

1 s 2 - 85 2 9 . H er . 8 amilton Pap , i CHAPTER. IX .

F H N G S URT ER I TRI UE .

T H E imprisonment of Beaton did not advance the cause either of Arra n or of the D ou glas e s .

I w as th e r w h o t sacrilege in the eyes of cle g y , in anger closed the churches of the diocese of

w s ac St Andre s , and refused to dispense the r m nts a e . The Earls of Argyle , M urray , and

Huntly , friends of the Cardinal , demanded his w release , and threatened force to obtain it hile w Both ell , though he did not j oin the party of

w w a nd w those nobles , ithdre from Angus ent ? s o far as to visit Beaton w M ean hile , Henry urged that the prisoner should be sent to England but Douglas replied

t w as that his for the present impossible . Nor ,

w as it declared , could the Scottish fortresses as

1 4 - 5 . 2 9 2 2 e er He r V . Le le 1 1 7 . Stat Pap s ( n y pp s y , p . by Parliament of the appointment of Arran as governor . A rumour reached him that Arran ’ w as a prisoner in the hands of Beaton s friends ,

O II and he suspected , pretended to suspect , that

w w n Arran a s a party to his o imprisonment .

w as w h i The rumour it out foundat on ; yet , as ’ it w ould have suited Henry s purposes to prove an intrigue bet w een the governor and the Car in dinal , he endeavoured to discover such an

’ trigue . One of Lord Lisle s household servants

’ w as employed as a spy O II Arran s movements but that spy discovered nothing w hich Henry could possibly u s e as a pretext for opposing the ratiﬁcation of Arran ’s appointment?

W w as hen Parliament met , Arran formally recognised as governor of the realm ; and as

“ ” none of the English lords w a s bold enough

h e w as to name Henry for the governorship , not long of ﬁnding an opportunity to upbraid

1 2 3 e er He r . 6 d er 67 6 8 Stat Pap s ( n y v . p Sa l , i . pp . , . 2 29 H l er . 9 3 36 ami ton Pap s, i , . T E N L SH DS H E G I LOR .

his pensioners for silently agreeing to the appointment of Arran ? “ w w The English lords ere not , ho ever , d false to their ple ges , seeing that they laid before Parliament their master ’s proposals

regarding the marriage of the infant queen . Parliament appointed commissioners to meet w ith Henry , and instructed them to agree

w s on to the marriage of M ary ith his , but to refuse consent to her removal from Scotland

sh e w a w till s of a marriageable age . They ere further instructed to s e e that the independe nce of Scotland should suffer no detriment by the w marriage , and that native rulers should al ays

w w a s succeed to the cro n . One concession to

w as be made to Henry . He to be permitted to send an English gentleman and English ladies

O II to attend M ary , so long as she resided in her native land?

r his Angus u g ed for better terms for master , and is said to have pulled off his cap w hen he

kin e s m a e s ti e said the g j my master , God save his grace but Angus only succeeded in s e w curing a reversal of his o n attainder .

as w The King of England , if he ere a Scot , did not know w hen he w as beaten and defeat

1 P 2 H er er . 5 9 et se . 2 9 3 6 . l . . 9 3 amilton ap s , i , Sad , i p q served only to Sho w the fertility of his r e sources . He had published his claims to the w overlordship of Scotland , and at Sol ay had t emphasised them . The Sco tish Parliament , w w ho ever , ould have none of him , and the manifesto w as but an exercise in historical

w a s n ow study . Arran governor , and Henry , w hile describing him as “ occupying the place ” w of governor , resolved ith the aid of Sadler to instruct him in the arts of government . Sadler reported in his ﬁrst letter , on information re c e i ve d r from Sir Geo g e Douglas , that at some future time the governor and the nobles w ould be brought to love the king , and to yield to him the w hole direction and obedience of the

w as realm . This fancy intended to prepare the w a w y for the assurance , that ere an attempt w made to depose Arran , there ould be riot in w the land , the Cardinal ould be liberated , and a French army imported . There is not ,

“ w s o w rote Sadler , little a boy but he ill hurl w w stones against it , and the ives ill handle f w their distaf s , and the commons universally ill ” 1 rather die in it . w The people ere certainly roused to anger , ’ a nd Beaton s imprisonment they correctly as 1 er . 0 . Sadl , i p . 7

2 1 8 F H S URT ER INTRIGUE .

’ to feel honoured by Henry s proposals , to be

agreeable to the English marriage , and to the

immediate delivery of the child into England . W ith feminine love of romance , and of a secret

its and disclosure , she conﬁdentially informed Sadler that the govern or intended to agree to m the English arriage , but to retain the child in

s h e w as Scotland till of a marriageable age , in w the hope that Henry ould then be dead , and ff the treaty be rendered of no e ect . His real

sh e w as motive , declared , ultimately to marry the queen to his o w n s on ; and she w arned Sadler that nothing w ould ever come of the

a O II English marri ge , unless Henry insisted

immediately obtaining custody of the child .

s h e As one guileless of the arts of diplomacy ,

“ w as suggested the Cardinal , if he at liberty , ” might do much good in the same . Sadler tho u ght that Beaton w ould not do much good

in the same , but M ary protested that the Car

w a s w dinal a ise man , and could better consider ” the beneﬁt of the realm than all the rest . w w She arned Sadler , moreover , that she ould O in future seem to ppose the marriage , in order that the governor might further reveal to her his purposes ?

1 er 8 5 e t se Sadl , i . p . q . A SE O F E RELE B ATON .

’ Arran s purposes w ere not those ascribed to

- w III him by the queen do ager . his j ealousy of

w a s w Beaton he illing to reform the Church , to

w O ff permit the reading of the Bible , to thro allegiance to the Pope , and to agree to the Eng w lish marriage . That marriage ould be fatal to his hopes for his S O II but such w a s his j ealousy of the Cardinal , that he gave his consent to t w certain schemes , simply because hey ere opposed by Beaton . w Both ell and Buccleuch , at this time , each offered to deliver the child to Henry but seeing ’ t w hey ere of Beaton s party , it is evident that

’ Off w as m i the er ade at the Cardinal s suggest on , ’ w h o w a s desirous of learning Henry s int e ntions? Sadler w ould not yield consent to the release

w a s of the Cardinal , yet the release at hand . FO II some unknow n reason the governor and t h e D ouglas e s resolved to remove Beaton from

w w as Blackness , hich a strong fortress , to the w w castle of St Andre s , hich belonged to their prisoner . Arran pretended that this arrange ment w ould give him possession of a desirabl e w castle , and ould cause the clergy to believe

w as rr that the Cardinal at liberty , and , in co

n w Si r seque ce , to perform mass at Easter ; hile

1 8 H er . 30 5 3 1 . amilton Pap s , i , 2 2 0 F U H N G S RT ER I TRI UE .

George Douglas declared that after the castle of w w St Andre s had been gained , Beaton ould be

u removed to Tantallon or D nbar . Douglas further asserted that he had spoken to the w Cardinal regarding his removal to St Andre s ,

w as w w and that he a ily carle , and ould not ” consent to the matter . I n spite of a protest

’ D ou la s e s from Sadler , made to the g in Henry s name , Beaton , under the charge of Lord Seton , w w ith some t elve or sixteen servants , passed to

w w w as 3 0 0 St Andre s , hich garrisoned by of w w his o n . retainers Beaton , hile nominally a

w a s prisoner , in reality free , and yet Arran had S w w orn not to liberate him . Arran after ards sought to blame Lord Seton for this strange w affair ; but obviously the blame , ere there

m w a hi o w n s s . y , entirely The threats of the Catholic lords may have inﬂuenced him ; per

hi s haps brother Hamilton , the Abbot of Paisley, w h o had j ust come from France , may have persuaded him ; possibly the rumoured arrival of Lennox in Scotland may have suggested the desirability of a friendly alliance w ith the

Cardinal . Amidst these conj ectures may be found Arran ’s motive for consenting to the 1 release of Beaton .

1 H er . 340 er . . 1 1 7 1 36 et se amilton Pap s, i ; Sadl , i pp , q . and w hen Sadler thereupon demanded that

n the priso er should be sent to England , the governor laughingly refused , lest it should be

t h e w though , said , that they in Scotland ere not able to punish faults . The Cardinal , he

“ added , had lever go into hell than go to ’ w w England . The Cardinal s feelings , ho ever , ere

w as consulted , and he not sent to England ; but it w ould be strange indeed had any one been deceived by Arran ’s conduct ? A policy of decep ti on w as systematically

w I w as follo ed in regard to Henry . t pretended

h w as w t at Beaton a prisoner in St Andre s , and

e h Beaton invit d Sadler to t at place , that through him he might offer his la w ful service

’ a to the king s m j esty . M ary of Guise also pursued the same policy , and maintained that h a d w the Cardinal been free , he ould not only w have furthered the English marriage , but ould himself have gone to England to offer his s e r vices to Henry . Beaton even declared that

h n ow t ough he had interests in France , he sa w the good of a union bet w een Scotland w and England , and saving al ays the freedom

1 er I 1 4 r é s e . . . 0 Sadl , p q H ’S S 2 2 3 ENRY BRIBE .

w w of Scotland , ould ork to accomplish this union ? Henry w as not likely to be deceived by these

protestations , but he resolved , if possible , to

w as i rr proﬁt by them . Sadler accordingly

t w a structed to mee the Cardinal , and , by y of

show ing the advantages of a Scoto - English

w as Off w alliance , to er him , if he ould renounce

the interests of France , a bishopric in England 2 richer than that of M irepoix .

m a n The most honest of the time , in spite

w as of his incapacity to govern , Arran and yet he w as guilty of deception in the release of

w a s f Beaton . A bribe of ered to him in the form of a marriage bet w een his S O II a nd the 3 w English princess Elizabeth , but he ould not

th e II O II w a submit to rule of Henry , hile gree ing to the English marri a ge w ould he permit the removal of the queen to England during

o w n nra de her childhood . His interests him favourable to the independence of hi s country

w his his t w as but , hatever motives , pa riotism sincere . In the second w eek of April the Scottish

1 er 1 0 4 1 1 5 1 . 3 1 Sadl , i pp . , , . 2 e er e r V 2 8 4 Stat Pap s (H n y . p . . 3 H er 348 amilton Pap s , i . . 2 2 4 F H G S URT ER INTRI UE . ambassadors appointed to treat w ith England

n a regardi g the m rriage and regarding a peace , had audience of Henry and the Council . They stated their instructions , that the queen should not proceed to England till She w as of mar ri age able age ; that Arran should be governor w during her minority , and that after ards the Scots Should elect a native governor ; that Scotland should for ever have her o w n law s and customs and that the chief strongholds of Scotland should not be delivered into the keeping of England till the queen had children . w Amidst the negotiations for peace , they ere asked if they w ould become frende to frende ” e nne m e e nn e m e and y to y , but they refused to w disturb the existing treaties ith France .

’ ’ Henry s schemes w ere very diﬂ e re nt from

w as those of the Scots . His son a prince , he said , to be desired for the daughter of any king in Christendom ; and as it w as not meet that a prince of Englan d should marry any one ignorant of th e nurture and fashion of his h country , Henry insisted t at M ary should be w w sent to England ithin t o years . The King of England professed to be w illing that Arran ’ should govern during M ary s minority ; and

“ f w a a e r that a ter rds , if he use himself as pp

2 2 6 FURTHE R INTRIGUES .

meeting of the Estates , fearing , in spite of

- n the safe co duct offered to him , to be taken ’ prisoner . Angus had evidently roused Arran s

n ot w on j ealousy , but he had him to the side w of England . The governor s ore a great ” ’

oath , and protested that Henry s proposals

w a nd h w as ere most unreasonable , t at there

m an w w h o w neither , oman , nor child ould not rather die than agree to them ? At the meeting

th e as of Estates , Lennox appeared ambassador from France to u rg e a rene w al of the ancient league and the inclusion of France in any treaty

w d a nd Off bet een England and Scotlan , to er

men , money , and ammunition , and even the

w ar w aid of Denmark , if ere declared . At the

same time , the English lords informed Sadler that w ith diﬂi c ulty they had kept the governor w from j oining the Cardinal , and that the hole realm murmured that they had rather die than break the ancient league w ith France? m Henry de anded too much , and the Cardinal , both 0 11 account of his imprisonment and his

i - w as leadership of the ant English party , the most popular man in Scotland and the Church of w hich he w as primate w as again freed from t the danger of destruc ion by the people . Once 1 i er . . 1 60 et se I H er 3 5 Sadl , pp q . bid . amilton Pap s , i . 7 . Ing an e ffect such as t h at h ope d

Lennox , easily tempted to ally he Cardinal by promises of the nd . of the hand of the queen e d to Sign the Act appointing I and second person of the realm . l at the conduct of his rival to

J only req uested from him the

o ance , but als demanded from

D unrbar to n w of ; and , hen the re w u demand ere alike ref sed , clare him a traitor O I I to drive w land . Forces ere prepared for Dumbarton ; but secretly Ang us

Io w to yield . The castle ould

’ II in the governor s hands , and

’ h s g Angus in Henry , had not Beaton c hanged the pu rp ose of 3avi ng the castle secure against he Highlands? 2 2 8 F H S URT ER INTRIGUE . not mistake his o w n popularity for a Sign t hat

w s the Church a permanently freed from danger .

w a s Henry unequalled in his perseverance , and w a s u skilled in the ses of gold . Any day , Arran might pass from his isolated position of

“ ” neutrality to the side of the English lords , ’ and they together might w ork Henry s w ill in

’

m . w as refor ing the Church Beaton s aim ,

w ow n therefore , to dra the governor to his side ; but he did not neglect other precautions for the safety of the ancient religion . 1 ’ V ith Arran s consent the Cardinal , in M ay 1 5 43 of this year , , called a meeting of the

r cle g y , in reality for the purpose of determining

’ w hat sums of money should be oﬂ er e d tow ards

a w ar the prepar tions for . Some of the leading

w th e clergy ere unable to attend convention , w hich w as form ally a dj ourned to meet again in June ; but those present offered to give of their

ow n and money plate , and of the plate of the

’ o ﬂ e re d O II o w n churches , and further , their parts to ﬁght if need might be ? Thus w as Beaton supplied w ith the means of strengthening his party from the ranks of the

N O II nobles and the gentry . did Beaton neglect

aid ff the pro ered by France . Arrangements

1 er 1 - 20 4 . 89 . Sadl , i pp .

w w possibilities . M ean hile negotiations ere pro c e e din w t w o g bet een the countries . The Earl

r w h o of Glencairn and Sir Geo g e Douglas , had narrow ly escaped cap tivity at the hands of Beaton for his valiant championship of the English cause at the meeting of the Estates

’ w ere despatched w ith answ ers to Henry s de 1 m ands Henry v as forced to moderate his

m his a bition ; and among terms , publicly

w as announced , there no longer mention of the overlordship of the realm O II of th e ocen

n w as w p a ti o of the fortresses . He illing to w settle a treaty of peace , but one hich ex cluded France , and to postpone the delivery of the young queen into England till s he had reached her tenth O II tw elfth year? These w ere his public terms , but privately he prepared a ” w w secrete devise , hich Angus and M ax ell at least of the Scottish nobles are kno w n to

1 1 6 m er . H er 7 . 3 69 . Sadl , i . p a ilton Pap s , i 2 e er He r 30 2 ct se Stat Pap s ( n y v . pp . q . ” 0 3 1 — T E S D V S [ 0 1 H ECRETE E I E .

“ w have subscribed . The English lords ere to secure the delivery of the child at the time

“ stipulated in the treaty, or as soon as may

a be to gu rd the safety of the queen , and , in case of her death O II of her removal (pre sum

w d as ably to France), to ackno le ge Henry lord of the realm ; to support Arra n if he t kept to the treaty , but to suppor no other as governor ; to side w ith Henry if w ar broke out , and to help him to secure all the terri tory south of the Forth ? The governor and his friends accepted the terms delivered to them at the hands of the w ambassadors , ith the exception of the exclu

a sion of Fr nce from the treaty of peace . The Scots w ould not disow n the ancient alliance ; but ultimately at Greenw ich commissioners from the t w o countries a rranged the terms of the treaties?

III spite of treaties , the Cardinal and his

w w ar w party ere busy preparing for , hich w as to be declared w hen help came from

France . Lennox returned from the Highlands

and r collected his men ; in the north , A g yle ,

1 H e er e r er . 1 9 2 . . . 3 3 7 Stat Pap s ( n y v p Sadl , i p . 2 de R er F ee ra . ym , , vol . xiv w l Huntly , M urray , and in the south , Both el

e and Hume , j oined the Cardinal and mad ready their forces ? Henry deemed it dangerous to his cause that w Beaton should be free , and , as has been sho n , advised Arran to seize him and Lennox but

“ Ire Arran , as if had been an English lord , excused himself on the ground of sickness for w not obeying this advice . Arran , ho ever , laid

a c himself open to the charge of insincerity ,

n cordi g to Sadler , because he did not seize

w h o S t w Beaton , made a j ourney from Andre s

0 11 to Arbroath . Arran , the other hand , de c lar e d that any fray at that time w ould have endangered the settlement of the treaties , and , important surely , that he did not possess the strength to overcome the Cardinal? Henry w as aw are that Beaton and his friends S looked for aid from France , ince by themselves

w 0 11 w ar I w as they ere unable to carry a . t w w not unexpected ne s , therefore , hen he heard ,

0 11 3 0 th J the of une , that a French ﬂeet 2 0 0 0 of sixteen sail , carrying men , besides money , artillery , and arms , and also letters for w the do ager and Beaton and Lennox , had

T FUR HER INTRIGUES .

Rumours of the Cardinal ’s popularity reached

d w as Englan , and it told to Henry that the

n w as gover or , believing that Lennox about to

a - w t m rry the queen do ager , had de ermined to ally himself w ith Beaton and his friends ?

w h o w h ow u s e Beaton , kne to the name of Lennox and to trafﬁc w ith his claims to the

w w as cro n , probably the author of the story

a i n regarding the marri ge of Lennox , and by venting it he doubtless hoped to secure the

e gov rnor . w He did not yet , ho ever , gain Arran ; but his strength w as s o great that Sadler reported

w ar that , in the event of a , the governor could

w r e not ithstand him . Sadler had further to port that he himself intended to seek refuge in

' ’ 1 antallo n w as , so intense the popular feeling 2 w as against England . Henry furious , and absurd in his fury . Among the many stories from Scotland w hich reached his c ar w a s one to the effec t that the Cardinal had chal lenged Sir Ralph Eure to combat . Henry heard this story , and believed it ; and so anxious w as he to be rid of his hated foe that he commanded Eure to ﬁght Beaton at Edin

r h w S bu g h , forgetful t at his knight ould purn

1 2 d er 2 2 40 36 3 7 . H er . . . . 0 amilton Pap s , i Sa l , i pp , A A 2 3 5 ARR N N D BEATON .

the challenge of the priest , had it been given , h and ignorant of the real c aracter of that priest .

f w as Su folk suggested , and he probably correct , that the story had risen out of the mi sc lrie f making of some Border thief ? I II England the reports of the w ar prepara tions in Scotland produced consternat ion . Could England interfere w hen the treaties w ere no t

? w a s yet signed Beaton , it said , had ff men , and the governor but A airs appeared to be still w orse for England w hen it w as w 7 0 0 0 learned that Beaton , ith men , had w w gone to Linlithgo , here the young queen resided .

a At l st Henry resolved to act . He sent £ 1 0 0 0 w to Arran , and ith the money the advice to proclaim Beaton and his friends traitors to the realm ; and offered to chastise the Borderers , and to send a ﬂeet to capture 2’ ’ the French ships . Henry s enemies did not , w w ho ever , ait in quietness to be proclaimed

. w 0 11 2 4th traitors At Linlithgo , the of July , Beaton and many of the spiritual and te rn

a w w r poral lords , mong hom ere Lennox , A g yle ,

1 ) H er . 41 4 e er He r V amilton Pap s , i ; Stat Pap s ( n y III v .

3 20 - 32 3 pp . . 2 H er . 41 8 4 d er t s 1 9 2 3 8 e e . amilton Pap s , i , Sa l , i . p . q 2 3 6 F H G S URT ER INTRI UE .

w Huntly , and Both ell , pledged themselves by a secret bond to stand by one another in de ’ fence of the realm and of the young queen s liberty ? After executing this bond they opened n w up communicatio s ith the governor , and de mande d as the price of peace that the queen should be placed in the keeping of certain lords appointed by Parliament , that the governor should rule w ith the aid of a council similarly appointed , and that , pending the present ar

D o u las e s rangements , the g should be required ? to quit the Court III the ﬁrst instance nothing w as agreed upon by the opposing parties , save that the queen w as to be placed under th e care

t w o of four Scottish nobles , to be nominated by

t w o the governor and by the Cardinal . III spite of the demand that the D ouglas e s should leave the Court , the Cardinal and Angus

S O O II w O II after ards met cordial terms , and the t w o opposing parties agreed to hold a c onve n tion for the signing of the treaties betw een the

t w o . n countries Beato , moreover , intimated to Glencairn that he w as desirous of securing the favour of Henry ; but fornre r experience made

“ the English lords doubtful of his sincerity , and n o w they suspected an intrigue w hen he

1 2 H l er 44 I . 424 . 6 . . ami ton Pap s , i bid ,

F H INT R IGUES URT ER . w as made to Arran that if he j oined the Cardi ? nal his s on should ultimately marry the queen

0 11 w as Henry , the other hand , not deﬁcient

r in similar promises . He u g ed that Beaton

O II should be made prisoner , driven north of the Forth to a safe distance from the presence of ff 5 0 0 0 the queen . He o ered a force of men

to the governor , and , as the price of this army , I demanded all the fortresses of the south . f

Arran consented to these terms , his son should marry the Princess Elizabeth of England , and he himself should be proclaimed king of that part of Scotland w hich lies north of the Forth ?

’ Henry s schemes w ere as empty as his pro mises ; but possibly if his promises had been

ac c orn sincere , his schemes might have been

li sh e d p . He erred in demanding too much for

w h o w himself, even from men ere not dead to

I I ono ur and patriotism ; and from those w hose

J i onour w a s a n w w l lost d h o ould have sold their w country , he demanded that hich they had not w w the po er to give , and promised that hich he had not the mind to fulﬁl . The governor had not the forces necessary to

1 H er 43 . 7 . amilton Pap s, i 2 439 I . er 246 et se bid , Sadl , i . p . q . ’ T HENRY S OFFERS o BEATON .

w as drive the Cardinal into the north , and he equally impotent to convert him into a re

O f h former the Churc , as Henry had formerly

w as suggested he should do . There no chance , w w he kne ell , of the Cardinal renouncing the

s o w u t red hat , since , by doing , he o ld forfei w h w . o his chance of the Papal cro n Beaton ,

o f ever , still continued his policy deception . He agreed to the treaties being signed ; he w ould not give up his allegia nce to France ; w but , earied of his extravagant style of living ,

w as w he illing to depart to France , if only the governor w ould meet him at S t Andre w s and yield consent to his departure . To Edinburgh ,

w w n o w ho ever , he ould not go , as he feared for ? his ow n safety Once more Henry resolved to

w 0 11 re try hat fair promises the one side , and

0 11 monstrances the other , could do to force the

signing of the treaties . He advised the gover nor to proclaim Beaton and his friends traitors if they w ould not agree to the treaties ; w hile he gave instructions that Beaton should be

ff arc hbi slI O ri c o ered the English p and primacy ,

’ w lra t if, even ithout giving up the cardinal s , he w ould j oin himself to Henry? At the sanre

w as time , an order issued from the Privy Council

1 H er 45 2 2 I 45 7 amilton Pap s , i . . bid . , . signed ? Henry let it be know n to his Scottish friends that he w as anxious that the treaties should be signed before the Papal legate arrived in Sec t w land , and , lest their validity should after ards be q uestioned , that Beaton should be present w w ? 2 5 th hen they ere signed At last , on the 1 5 43 t of August , Sadler reported that the reaties w ere signed , though the Cardinal and his friends w had not attended the meeting . Arran , ho ever , resolved to make one more effort for peace w ith Beaton ; but though he visited him at St w w d Andre s , and remained ith him several ays , he returned to proclaim him guilty of treason ? IV hat e v e r effect the treaties might have had

0 11 w the progress of events , they ere rendered useless by a rash and foolish act of Henry . w Hardly had they been signed , hen , in viola tion of the peace , he seized certain Scottish ships w hich had taken refuge in an English

1 H er 45 2 I 4 1 6 . . 8 . . amilton Pap s , i bid , 3 er 2 7 0 - 2 7 7 Sadl , i . pp .

C H A P T E R X .

K G G NS D IN A AI T CAR INAL .

B EATON , having gained the governor , sought to complete his triumph by inviting Angus to w w j oin ith him in cro ning the queen . Angus ” “ w w and the English lords ould not , ho ever , t i n II O II w ake part the ceremonial , ould they yield in their allegiance to Henry . On the contrary , they subscribed a bond to be true to h one another in their English policy , and t ereby

w h o w h enraged the Cardinal , s ore t at though it cost him his life he w ould drive the D ouglas e s from the country . III accordance w it h their agreement w ith

and - w Arran , Beaton the queen do ager suc c e e de d w in establishing a council , of hich they themselves became members , to aid the gover nor i n the conduct of public business ; and they further exerted their authority in causing AN S D BEATON D A LER . a meeting to be held at Edinburgh to w ards the end of September for t h e purpose of deliberating ’ i on Henry s recent act ons . In the discussions at this meeting , the Cardinal proved himself a

S w h ow skilful debater, as he ho ed the treaties , n w having been broke by Henry , ere no longer

’ I II binding on the Scots . reply to Sadler s plea that the ships seized by Henry w ere bound for w France , Beaton demanded hether the English

g kin D ? if he received the hostages named in the w t treaties , ould restore the ships to Sco land ; and w hether also he w ould make amends for

w w 0 11 am the arfare aged the Borders . The

r w s O II b as sado a brought to bay . Yes no he nrus t reply to this skilful advocate of Scotti s h

w a rights , and kno ing the temper of his m ster he durst not a ns w er that Henry w ould m ake reparation of the damage he had w rough t ; and s o the meeting came to an end w ithout any thing being done to ratify the treaties . Pri vately Beaton assured Sadler of his desire to s e e the treaties carried out , and of his anxiety to gain Henry ’s favour ? On Beaton ’s efforts to appear friendly to England some light is throw n by a letter to Henry from his a nrb as

\V otton w h o w Gra nve lle m e sador , rote told

1 - - er . 2 84 2 8 0 3 . 8 29 0 2 9 3 0 30 7 3 3 . Sadl , i pp , , 7 , , 2 44 K G S D IN AGAIN T CAR INAL . that the French king w ith hi s council have concluded that the Scots Shall make a fair face

a w to your M j esty , and promise that they ill deliver the queen - do w ager and her daughter into your hands ; lrow b e it w hen it shall come ” 1 th e to the point y shall do clear contrary .

w w as Beaton , ho ever , no clumsy diplomatist , w and his professions of friendship , as they ere

w a w rene ed gain and again , ere not rej ected by w those they ere meant to deceive . ’ III ru spite of Beaton s overtures to Henry ,

w ar w mours of ere heard in Scotland . Henry , w hen he learned h ow Sadler had been treated

tlrre at by the infuriated people of Edinburgh , ened dire vengeance 0 11 that city ; and bidding

a Sadler move to Tant llon , gave orders for the preparation of an army to punish the Scots for w not carrying out the treaties , hich he himself had been the ﬁrst to violate . A last chance w as given to the Scots to send the hostages named in the treaties ; but the Scots made

a no response , lthough Beaton had represented himself as favourable to the ratiﬁcation of the ? w ar treaties Henry therefore concluded for , and sho w ed his ignorance of Scotland and his

w and the people by his ords , that the English marriage w ould yet prove dangerous to the in

of w dependence the country . Every here the people w ere hostile to Henry and favourable

C to Beaton , as the English lords discovered w hen they plotted to seize Stirling and St A n w dre s , in order that the queen and the Cardinal might be made captive .

\ w a s w a s V ar inevitable , and the Cardinal not a gainst it he had not received the supplies sent from France , but he still placed his hope in that country . Rumour spread the story that w ith 6 0 0 0 soldiers of Denmark and i Scots , all pa d by France , he intended

w ar to carry the into England . Neither the

1 er 2 2 3 2 3 3 3 6 7 . Sadl , i . pp . , , merchants w ith indignation replied that ruld rather lose property and life than

heir country . Sadler , as unpopular as

arr dor could be , then proceeded to T and the fact that he sought refuge w ith au s e d the D ougla s e s to share in his un ? ty About this same time their t re ac h

Ie ir w as country further brought to light . e ti ng held immediately after the union tardinal D o u las e s and the governor , the g r frie nds pledged themselves to remain

England , and they despatched messen Is su re Henry of their w illingness to ful

m nds S orn e rville w e a . and M ax ell , the e rs w 0 11 to Henry , ere made prisoners

to England , and their despatches taken W Iem . hen the contents of the de

3 w n ow m ere at this time ade public , ignati on among the Scots w as great?

rote to Angus to dismiss Sadler , as no

‘ ' 1 G a I A n 1 I n 1 \ 2 0 4 Q Q Q Q A I as treason ? At this meeting the Cardinal ’s

w a s appointment to the chancellorship ratiﬁed , and there is this entry in the records of Parlia

“ ment , That my Lord Cardinal has accepted the Ofﬁce of Chancellor in and upon him at the desire of my Lord Governor and Lords of Ar ” ticles . At the same time , the ofﬁce of Lord

w as w Privy Seal besto ed upon Hamilton , Abbot of Paisley?

“ Angus and the English lords , in order to escape the penalties of treason and the risks

of unpopularity , engaged to Arran that they w w O ould be loyal to the queen , ould ppose

w r e England , and ould maintain the ancient i n w lig o . At the very time hen they made this

engagement , they sent to England to beg that an army be sent to Scotland to help them against the governor and th e Cardinal ? The

w h o w r moralist d ells on the vice of the cle g y ,

1 e er He r V 34 . 8 . Stat Pap s ( n y p . 2 3 ’ A r . C w fﬁ . r f r er e cts of Pa l ii a o d s O c s of Stat . 1 e er He r 5 3 5 6 2 . . 3 Stat Pap s ( n y v . pp ,

n w ar dinal , instead of bei g ready to carry the

w as into England , totally unprepared to meet ’ I w a s Henry s forces . t best , it seemed to him , to make no preparations for defence ; and in M arch it w a s rumoured that he and the queen dow ager w ere seeking to escape to France ?

w h ad Beaton , ho ever , no intention of going to France and from the fact that he did nothing

i s for the defence of the realm , it evident that

w as he trusted that Henry , as he engaged in

w a w n ot his French rs , ould be able to do more than devastate a tract of the Scottish territory . III reality Henry w as not able to over w helm

a and w as Scotl nd , intimation made to Hertford that the grand attempt O II Scotland w as de w h w layed for a season , but that mean ile the ork

w as of devastation to proceed . Hertford w a s

as ordered to advance into the country , and he

w as t o w marched he put all to ﬁre and s ord . He w a s specially instructed to sack and burn

r w n Edinbu g h , ith Holyrood , and the surroundi g w to ns and villages to sack Leith , and burn and

1 e er He r 3 6 0 . Stat Pap s ( n y v . p . ’ H T F R P D 2 5 1 E R O D S EX E ITION .

w w as f subvert it , putting , hen resistance o fered , w w w man , oman , and child to ﬁre and s ord ith

w as out exception . Thereafter Hertford to pro c e e d d to Fife to evastate in like manner , and he w as to be careful to spoil and turn upside ’ w w w “ do n the Cardinal s to er of St Andre s , as the upper stone may be the nether , and not one n n stick sta d by a other , sparing no creature alive w ithin the same , especially such as , either in ” I 1 O I th e friendship blood , be allied to Cardinal . He w as further commanded to proclaim IIe nry protector O f the realm and guardian of the

0 11 queen , and to nail a placard every church door intimating that th e Scots had the C ardinal

’ ffe w to thank for their su rings . These ere Henry s

w th e intentions , and they sho not anger of a w po erful sovereign , but the pitiless personal spite of a savage : O II the l s t of M ay 1 5 44 the English ﬂe e t a ppeared in the Forth , and Hertford made pro clamation that he had come to convey the queen

a to England to be m rried to the prince , and if the queen w ere not delivered to him that he w r 0 ould burn Edinbu g h and Leith . N reply w as made to this proclamation , save a feeble

1 H er C u 9 9 4 amilton Pap s ( l b publication), 3, . 2 H e ’ e er 2 1 . ain s Stat Pap s, i . 2 5 2 K A GA S D ING IN T CAR INAL . attempt 0 11 the part of the governor and the

’ Cardinal to prevent H e rtfor d s march from

t w as Granton to Lei h . Leith sacked and Edin burgh w as destroyed by a ﬁre w hich raged for three days ; and the surrounding country w as w m laid aste . About the iddle of M ay the

w as ﬂeet returned to England , but Hertford left w ith an army to devastate the country as he marched homew ards ? Knox ’s account of this expedition is original 1 and graphic . V hen the ﬂeet arrived in the

w w h o w W Forth no one kne the men ere . hen

“ w ord of the ﬂeet w as taken to Edinburg h the ‘ I I Cardinal skipped and said , t is the sland

ﬂ ot e — Sh w , they are come to make a o , and to I put us in fear . shall lodge all the men of

’ w ar in mine eye that shall land in Scotland .

Still sitteth the Cardinal at his dinner eating , a s though there had been no danger appear

IVh e n w ing . , ho ever , the Cardinal and the

’ w a s governor understood that the ﬂeet Henry s ,

“ they ﬂed as fast as horse could carry them , s o that after they approached not w ithin tw enty ” miles of danger . Henry by his forces had w rought devastation w throughout a hole tract of Scotland , but he

1 Le e 1 80 se . . et sl y , p q

t F O II saken the Scot ish cause . a time a petty w w as w a and arfare ged in Cantire Kyle , but the main obj ect of the expedition had not been g ained w hen Lennox returned to England? The disunion O f the Scottish nobles now

w 6 th O f sho ed its results . On the November

ﬂ w a s w a Parliament held in Edinburgh , in hich the governor declared the D o uglas e s traitors ; w fe w — w hile a days previously the queen do ager , a cting in the capacity of regent , had issued a summons for a Parliament to be held 0 11 the 1 2 th of November at Stirling , and had sus

f e nr f pended the governor r his o ﬁce . At the

w w a s meeting in Edinburgh , at hich Beaton present , the Parliament proposed to be held at

1 4 n . C e r O f e er . . 7 D r f al nda Stat Pap s , Scotland , i p ; iu o

Occur . 2 D r r . Le e B c n . . O iu n of ccu ; sl y , u hana N ATTACK O COLDINGHAM .

w as Stirling declared illegal , and ambassadors w ere sent to the queen - do w ager to inform her that Parliament , as represented by the mem

r w bers in Edinbu g h , ould remain loyal to

w w as t o Arran . The do ager forced yield , and w h undoubtedly this intrigue , to hich t rough

sh e w a s personal ambition had been a party , an attempt of the D ouglas e s to gain supreme authority in the government ? At the meeting of Parliament preparations w ere made for defending the Borders against t the English attacks . Thereaf er an attempt w as th e made to take Coldingham , and in strife 2 0 0 0 Englishmen scattered a Scot 0 tish force numbering 7 0 0 . This disaster to the Scots w as publicly ascribed to the hesi

D ou las e s w h o w rr taney of the g , , ho ever , ma aged to dc lud e the governor into beli e ving that

h a d A n they fought for their country . rra accordingly agreed to the charge of treason ag ainst the D ougla s e s being w ithdra w n by the w 1 5 44 Parliament hich met in December .

D ou las e s w w The g , ho ever , ere soon to be

T w o placed in actual opposition to England .

English commanders , Sir Ralph Eure and Sir

Brian Layton , had arranged an expedition into

1 Ac f r e I I 2 . D r . f Occ r ts o Pa liam nt , iu n o u . niti e S w ere w antonly heaped upon the tombs of

D ou las e s w the ancestors of Angus . The g ere roused as if w ith the spirit w hich had animated their dead and had made their name illustrious . If they w ould not ﬁght for the independence of w ff their country , they ould ﬁght for the o ended honour of their house . Reinforced by the M aster of Rothes and the Laird of Buccleuch w w ith their follo ers , they attacked the English

an d men routed them in the battle of Ancrum ,

2 7 1 5 45 tw o February , ; and the deaths of the English commanders w iped out the dishonour ? done to the dead D ou glase s The failure of the expedition led by Lennox w as a source of vexation to Henry ; but now w hen he heard of his losses at Ancrum his w rath rose to a fury . His interests in France , w ho ever , demanded his closest attention , and for a time he w a s forced to content himself w ith that w hich policy could do for him in t Scotland . He accordingly ins ructed Cassilis

“ ” to command the English lords to s e e to the ratiﬁcation of the treaties ; and though his

1 Le e 1 8 7 . sl y , p . e c od to Roslin M uir O II the 2 8th of July ; and 9 th w on the of August , the Scots , ith their w ? French allies , ere ready for action Angus w a s v an appointed leader of the , and the army

t w o marched into England , and after days of

w a s D ou la s e s skirmishing disbanded . The g w ere false to their country ; and the expedi ’ 0 11 w w tion , hich Beaton s hopes ere centred ,

“ ended in an ignominious failure , through the ” 3 deceit of George Douglas and the vanguard . Knox describes the expedition as if it w ere memorable only through the w ounded pride of

“ th e w Cardinal M onsieur de Lorge , ith bands

w ar d e s tru c of men of , came from France for a

w as tion to Scotland ; for , upon their brag an w w W army raised , for ards they go to ards ark ,

’ even in the midst of harvest . The Cardinal s

w as banner that day displayed , but it

1 e er He r V 45 9 . Stat Pap s ( n y . p . 2 Ac r e ts of Pa liam nt , ii . 3 49 8 D r r . e er He r O V . . iu n . of ccu Stat Pap s ( n y . p ’ P S D P D N 2 5 9 H E R T FO R D S ECON EX E ITIO .

w as left so bare that w ith Shame it w a s shut

e c k w up into the p again , and they , after a sho , returned w ith more shame to the realm than ” hurt to their enemies . Scottish history w as repeating itself w ithin a generation ; and , as in the days of Albany V and of James . , the army intended to de vastate England exhausted its strength in its th march across e Borders . Some of the nobles w ere false to their country , and it is no j usti ﬁ c ati on of their conduct that this expedition w a a s planned by a churchm n . Undoubtedly the army w as prepared to w ork d e struction on the enemy of the Catholic faith ; b ut that enemy w a s also the foe of Scottish i nd e p e nd w ence , hom every Scot , for love of country , d should have hated and resiste . But patriotism w a s all but dead among the nobles of Scotland , and w a s to be found chieﬂy among the church men ; and the man w h o w as the most zealous u pholder of the ancient faith w a s also the most

’ n ardent champion of his country s independe ce . Henry w as not long of follow ing up the Car

’ dinal s futile attack on England by an attack I 1 5 45 on Scotland . n the autumn of this year , , w Hertford , ith a great army , entered Scotland ; but no resistance w as offered to the progress 2 6 0 K S D ING AGAIN T CAR INAL .

his W w as of march . ithout Angus , resistance impossible ; but Beaton knew that Angus w as not to be trusted , although Henry had still to avenge the disaster of Ancrum . Hertford advanced into Scotland along a road of r uin

w D o u las e s w and aste , and the g ere among the ff greatest su erers . Such a scene as this had not been w itnessed in Scotland for a hundred

years . The list of destructions is appalling ’ M onasteries and friars houses , seven ; castles , w w to ers , and piles , sixteen market to ns , ﬁve ;

t w o - villages , hundred and forty three mills , ” 1 K thirteen spitals and hospitals , three . elso ,

D r b ur h w M elrose , y g ere in the catalogue of

H ow w ruins . far this ork of devastation might

i s s a have proceeded it impossible to y , since

’ Henry s anger and vengeance knew no bounds but the devastation ended only because the

country could supply no food to its destroyers . ’ H er tfor d s The result of expedition , manifest

w a s in the ruins he left behind him , not seen in any determination of the Scots to sue for

mercy or to ratify the treaties . On the con

trar w as n y , a policy of defence at once ina g

urat ed w as . A Border army , it determined ,

1 ’ 5 4 H e e er . e er He r ain s Stat Pap s, i ; Stat Pap s ( n y V 5 2 3 . . p .

Dumbarton ; but before Lennox could have

reached the Clyde , the Cardinal and Huntly had persuaded the governor of Dumbarton to ? yield the castle Lennox , not having obtained I from the Lord of the sles the expected help , did not venture to Scotland ; and Beaton there fore w a s left to triumph over the impotency of Henry ’s schemes for the subj ugation of

’ ’ the country . Beaton s triumphs over Henry s w w w plots ere not allo ed , ho ever , to remain unavenged . The King of England in the earlier days of his Scott ish intrigues plotted against the liberty of the Cardinal , as he had done in the case of

w a the Archbishop James Beaton . His desire s

o w n to have those prelates , each in his genera

tion , prisoners in England ; and had he obtained

w th e his desire , it goes ithout saying that current of Scottish history w ould have been

changed . Doubtless , in the ﬁrst instance , the King of England aimed only at the imprisonment

1 2 1 9 Le e . 0 . D r r . iu n . of Occu sl y, p F A PLOTS O SSASSINATION . of the Cardinal but one is almost safe to assert that had Beaton been removed to England , ’ after one of his triumphs over Henry s schemes , he w ould have died as a traitor to the self appointed protector and overlord of Scotland . The failure to make Beaton a prisoner led to l darker counci s .

Henry VIII . , Defender of the Faith , then

n titular head of the Church of E gland , is ex hibit e d in the State papers of his reign as the ai der and abettor of assassins ; and th e com bination of defender of a religious faith and employer of assassins is suggestive of Machia v lli n e a rather than of Christian ethics . An apologist for Henry may point to examples of Papal benediction pronounced on as sassination to instances of other kings , like M acbeth of

n the tragedy , payi g for the dagger of the murderer ; even to pious men , like certain of w the Covenanters , lying in ait to kill . The apologist may also point to the current ethical

’ w ideas of Henry s time , such as that hich j usti ﬁ e d the murder of individuals as a preventive 1 of greater evils ; but the Bible w hich Henry gave into the hands of the people as a guide w to right conduct , and the Church of hich he

1 M re ’ o s Utopia . to the name of religious persecutor ; but to his great enemy belongs the guilt that comes from the meaner crime of the assassin .

w as Crichton , Laird of Brunston , the ﬁrst ’ O II w to calculate , and then to act , Henry s ill i n n g e s s to remove Beaton from out his path .

A s 0 11 he ﬁrst appears the page of history ,

w s Crichton a an agent of the Cardinal . From

’ ’ Beaton s he passed to Arran s service , and at last b e c anre a spy in the pay of the English 1 1 5 44 . 7 ambassador On the th of April , Hertford w rote to Henry that one IViS h art t had arrived , bringing letters from Bruns on , and desired to communicate information w hich consisted of t w o parts : one part w as that the

Laird of Grange , the M aster of Rothes , and John Charteris w ould attempt to take or slay

d s the Car inal as he pa sed through Fife , and if they apprehended him w ould deliver him to

’ Henry ; but they desired to kno w his maj esty s w pleasure therein , and hat support and main t e n anc e w u he o ld give them , if after the deed w they ere attacked by their enemies . The second part of the information related to pro s e t w w for ard expressly by his maj esty , ill not seem to have to do in it ; and yet not mis

’ o ﬂ e r liking the , thinketh good that M r Sadler ,

w w as S to hom that letter addressed , hould w rite to the Earl of the receipt of his letter ff w containing such an o er , hich he thinketh not convenient to be communicated to the

’ w w king s maj esty ; marry , to rite to him hat

s a he thinketh of the matter (he shall y), that

’ w r if he ere in the Ea l of Cassilis place , and w ere as able to do his maj esty good service

a s kno w e tlr a n d there , he him to be , thinketh w w a right good ill in him to do it , he ould surely do w hat he could for the execution of it , believing verily to do thereby not only

’ a accept ble service to the king s maj esty , but

’ n also a special be eﬁt to the realm of Scotland ,

’ and w ould trust verily the king s maj esty ” w ould consider his service in the same . I II a plot of assassination a lie may possibly be a factor w orthy of n o consideration ; but about to be sent as Henry ’s messenger to the

’ D o u las e s n a III g , Glencair , and C ssilis . Sadler s dispatch w as included a cipher letter from the ? Laird of Br unst orr

’ w i n Sadler , in accordance ith Henry s s t ru c ti o ns w , rote to Cassilis , but received no answ er? Apparently Cassilis w a s dissatisﬁed

’ w w as w ith Henry s reply , and not illing to w slay the Cardinal , and thereafter to thro him

’ O II w Sir self Henry s charity for a re ard .

G u w eorge Do glas , ho ever , pressed for a deﬁnite w 3 re ard ; and Forster , the English spy , brought

“ w ord from him to S adler that if the king w a his ould have the Cardinal de d , if Grace w ould promise a good re w ard for the doin g w w w w thereof, so that the re ard ere kno n hat w it should be , the country being la less , he thinketh that that adventure w ould be proved ; for the common saying is that the Cardinal is

1 4 e er He r 5 3 . Stat Pap s ( n y v . p . 2 4 3 1 . 46 I . . I 7 . . 7 . bid , p bid , p 2 6 8 K G S D IN AGAIN T CAR INAL .

w ar the only occasion of the , and is smally d ” beloved in Scotlan . Douglas further desired w w S w to kno , if the Cardinal ere lain , in hat w w manner the re ard ould be paid . Assassins w ere evidently able to make terms w ith kings w w a s w hen murder their business , ithout feign

aw e ing in presence of the kingly maj esty .

w h o Henry , liked the idea of the murder ,

w w as but not the idea of the re ard , relieved from c onring to deﬁnite terms w ith Douglas by an offer from Brunston to kill the Cardinal for a small sum of money ? This offer precisely

’ a w suited Henry s ch racter . He ould have the

0 11 murder done , and done the cheapest terms .

’ w B runs t o n s Sadler , to hom letters to Henry w had been sent for transmission , rote to Brun ston that he noted the offer “ to take him out of the w ay that hath been the w hole w orker ” 2 all of your mischief. Sadler agreed that it w ould be an acceptable service to God to take

w a w the Cardinal out of the y , and rote that though Henry w ould not for sundry reasons w directly meddle ith the matter , yet the assas s ination w ould be a good service both to God and to his maj esty . Sadler gave assurance that

n by either trapping or killing the Cardi al . 6th 1 5 45 w On the of October , Brunston rote

w \Vi sh art to Henry from Ormiston , here George w a s w d i n after ards captured , that the Car inal w tended to pass to France , but the riter hoped

“ to G o d his j ourney shall be S h ortit to his dis ” 2 pleasure . This may have been a pious hope , but it may also have been a hope implying u n

’ w godly interference ith the Cardinal s purposes . 3 O II 2 0 th w the of October , Brunston rote to Hertford that his friends w ere ready to serve

“ nru st w Henry , but his maj esty be plain ith

w hi s w them , both hat maj esty ould have them w to do , and in like manner hat they shall lippen ” w to of his maj esty . Brunston also rote con

w s e e i n cerning his illingness to Sadler , but timated that the meeting must be secret , as

w w a w other ise it ould me n to him , the riter , the losing of life and heritage . There is nothing to Show w hat w as the nat ure

1 e er He r 5 1 2 Stat Pap s ( n y v . p . . 2 I 5 49 3 I 5 5 0 5 1 5 . bid . , p . . bid . , pp . , LOSS O F STATE PAPERS .

’ of the service w hich Brunston s friends w ere w w w as illing to render to Henry , or hat the business on w hich Brunston w as to visit Sad ler ; but it may be conj ectured that the letter

’ referred to Beaton s assassination , and to the terms demanded by the conspirators . Of the 1 5 45 period from the last day of October , to

2 7 th 1 5 46 0 11 w the of M ay , the day hich Bea

w a s th e ton murdered , none of Scottish corre s o nd nc n w I p e e is o to be found . t may there fore be supp o sed that the correspondence w a s destroyed because th e letters referred to th e i ’ demand for , and the grant ng of, Henry s bond

s It of payment to the assas ins . is evident from the previous correspondence t hat w ithout

’ th e d e e d w Henry s concurrence in , and his ritten w promise of a deﬁnite re ard , Brunston and his friends w ould not proceed w ith the assassin ation . Brunston , according to his letter of the

2 0 th w a s s oo rr of October , to meet Sadler upon some secret business ; and seeing that th e cor respondence of the subseq u ent period has been l destroyed , it may reasonab y be supposed that

’ ’ Bru ns ton s business referred to Henry s bond w of payment , and that the letters ere ﬁtted to compromise the King of England in the murder

of Beaton . KING AGAINST CARDINAL .

’ There is no direct evidence in proof of Henry s ’ implication in Beaton s murder but the dest ruc tion of the State correspondence arouses su s

ic ion p , and it is a suggestive fact that among the murderers of the Cardinal w ere Kirkaldy

— w h o of Grange and the M aster of Rothes men , ’ d Brunst on s 1 5 44 accor ing to letter of April , offered their services to Henry for the killing of

as Beaton he j ourneyed through Fife . nor to “ let slip amongst the people the

“ ” N e w Bible and the Testament in English , that they might know the truth and might A h o w w . learn to esche sedition rran , in reply , complained that there w ere no translations of i n the Bible the realm , but begged that an Englishman be sent to Scotland to sell copies of the Scripture in the vulgar tongue and pro m is d e him protection . The demand for the

N e w w as Old and Testament great . They be nra rv e llo u sl w y desired of the people , rote Suf folk to the English Privy Council , as he advised that the demand of th e Scottis h people be s up plied from England ? The Scottish Parliament w a s w ithout means to satisfy this w ant of the 1 5 43 people ; but by an Act of M arch , the

w a s w reading of the Scriptures made la ful , in face of the protests of the cle rg y? Arra n for a time sho w ed zeal as a reformer he asked Sadler to w rite to England for copies

’ of the Bible a nd of Henry s statutes for the T E L IN S L D 2 7 5 H BIB E COT AN .

w w is ho ever , ere expensive , and there no men tion of a supply being forw arded to Scotland ; but advice cost nothing . After promising to send for publication a copy of a volume contain

a o v ing pure and true doctrine , he dvised the g e rn e r to w arn the people to receive the Bible w reverently and humbly , ith a desire to learn

h ow by it they may direct their manners , living ,

w n o t n a and true orshipping of God , and by car l fancy to frame themselves such vain and evil opinions as hath by seditious persons been ” raised in the heads of unlearned people . Henry w a s explicit in his advice to Arran to abolish

C tun mis s io ne rs o the religious orders . ught to procure information regarding the manner of the living of the monks ; and thereafter the governor should take into council some o f the

a n w chief nobles , greei g ith them , in the ﬁrst w instance , as to the share each ould demand of n A the la ds of the abbeys . fter the nobles had been satisﬁed , and the governor himself had

hi s o w n S secured share of the Church poils , he

t w O II w ough to deal ith the bishops apart , ith

a nd the tractable ones , induce them to sanction this ecclesiastical revolution by promise to them of the lands of their sees , and additions there to from surrounding inferior religious houses . 2 6 P S S A N D S H 7 ROTE TANTI M WI ART .

Henry advised that certain abbeys be altered

“ to the state [estate of secular priests , and be charged to send s o many poor men to the universities in order that the “ state of the ” r cle g y be better preserved ; and further , that a provision be made for present members of h the religious ouses during their lifetime , and that a good portion of the Church lands be s e t ? ’ aside for the maintenance of the crow n Henry s scheme for the demolition of the monasteries w a s marked by thoroughness ; but his scheme for the destination of the property w as founded

O II w as theft , since each notable person to take w w hat he ished . Arran advised the people to read the Bible w ith reverence ; and promised Henry that w hen peace w a s secured betw een

tw o w w the countries , he ould proceed ith the demolition of the monasteries a purpose j usti ﬁ e d to his Protestant mind by the arg ument

r that , seeing that pu g atory did not exist , there w as no need to support men to pray for the

III h souls of the dead . order t at Arran might n w be further stre gthened in his reforming ork ,

n w He ry commissioned a priest , kno n as Sir ? Robert Richardson , to go to Scotland The

1 4 H er . l . 3 8 ami ton Pap s , i 2 R r f C amb usk enne th e ed 1 5 30 icha dson , a canon o , d dicat , in ,

N D \V I H A R T PROTESTANTISM A S .

Catholic to draw the attention of Parliament to I the state of the realm . t seemed as if the

’ III Reformation of Knox s days had begun . Dundee the houses of the Black and Grey friars w ere spoiled ; and the abbey of Lindores w as

I w as attacked . n Edinburgh an attempt made ’ to destroy the Blackfriars monastery , and in Arbroath a Similar attack against the abbey w a s frustrated only through the interference of

W e h Lord Ogilvy . ave further information regarding the religious condi tion of Scotland at this period from the correspondence of the

Gr inra ni w h o Papal legate , M arco , arrived in Scotland in the autumn of the year 1 5 43 and from him w e learn h o w marked w as the advance of the Lutheran faith . w The Pope , Paul III . , rote to the Scottish w king , before the battle of Sol ay , giving him permission to gather a portion of the tithes of the kingdom for the purpose of defending the realm against Henry V III . ; and , at the same time , commanded Grimani to proceed to

I II Scotland to aid in collecting the tithes . 1 5 43 w June , Grimani rote from Paris to Rome that he had learned from one of Beaton ’s agents the divided condition of Scotland , and the

w ar h certainty of a civil , and t at his presence 2 MARCO GRIMANI . 7 9

in Scotland w ould be dangerous to himself and w useless to the Church . Possibly Beaton vie ed w ith j ealousy the approach of a Papal ambassa

w h o w his o w n dor , might interfere ith spiritual

’ rule ; or possibly Grimani knew that Henry s w w him ships ere atching for in the Channel .

I ow n w G n spite of his letter , ho ever , rimani , after going through the fo rnr of e xc ommu ni

n w h o cati g those had imprisoned Beaton , left

Paris in July , and proceeded to Scotland .

’ G rim ani s Henry had prepared Arran for arrival , and Arran declared that if the Papal legate made any garboil w ith his fulminations of

a n i cursing , or stirred y div sion or inquietation , he w ould certainly never return home .

’ The exact date of G rim a ni s arrival is u n

w n r e kno n , but he has left an accou t of the ligio us condition of Scotland a t the t ime of his

w as u arrival . The realm f ll of heresy , and but for the interposition of God w ould soon be in — w the condition of England . The queen do ager and the Cardinal had spent their money in the cause of the Church ; and th e clergy w ere un able to give any aid , as the fruits of their bene ? ﬁ c e s had been seized by the Lutherans I f these statements are true , the progress of

1 ’ C f e e M r r 48 e t se . on . St v nson s a y Stua t , p . q able to seize the spoils of the churchmen . If 1 5 43 w therefore , in , the Lutherans ere numer ous , as thus indicated , the reason for the delay in the do w nfall of the Church can only be found in the political fact , that the independence of w as . the country in danger The Scots , such of w them as ere patriotic , banded themselves to gether under Beaton for the preservation of the national liberty and w hile the independence of

w as the realm in danger , through the action of

England , that change in the national Church

’ could not be c ﬂ e c t e d w hich w as advocated by

the King of England .

h ow Beaton , as nationalist leader , did not ,

ever , trust to his popularity as the only means

to secure the safety of the ancient Church , but resolved to follow the usual procedure for the

extirpation of heresy . I n the beginning of the

1 5 44 Ire w as a la te re year made legate , a w w dignity hich he had long sought , and hich at last w as besto w ed O II him in response to

PROTESTA NTISM AND WISHART .

’ i n 1 5 40 the martyrdoms , till that of Beaton s w attainment of the legatine po er , the progress

t h e ne w w a s of faith notable , and the most signal help to that progress w as found in the declaratory Act anent the reading of the Bible . That Act w as published in Edinburgh a fe w mo nths after the Pope in Rome had sanctioned the adoption by the Catholic Church of a plan for the destruction of heretics . At the colloquy t 1 5 4 1 held in Ra isbon , , the Catholic Church ,

u it s a thro gh chief representative , G spar Con t n r e ari i , made an honourable overture for conciliation w ith the Protestant Church ; but

’ C ont ari ni s w as action repudiated at Rome , and

1 5 42 0 11 ff in , the advice of Cardinal Cara a , the future Pope Pa ul I V the inquisition w a s

2 1 I II authorised by a Bull of date July . Italy especi ally the inquisition w as disastrous to the Protestant faith ; but w hile the Bull of inquisition w a s addressed to the w hole

w as Church , it impossible for Beaton , the pri

O f w mate Scotland , at once to obey it . T o ards 1 5 45 w the end of , ho ever , the Cardinal found leisure amidst his political cares to turn his attention to the business of the Church in Scot ? land Accompanied by the governor , by

1 h C e 9 r e . . . 7 onf K it , i , fo this dat 2 8 3 THE HERETICS OF PERTH .

- Argyle the Lord Justice General , and by the

Bishops of Dunblane and Orkney , he made a S t w j ourney through the diocese of Andre s .

At Perth , if tradition is true , he exhibited unparalleled ferocity against certain of the ne w u faith . B chanan relates that four men w ere put to death for eating ﬂesh 0 11 a for bidden day ; and that a w oman also suffered death because s h e refused during th e time of

w h o d . her elivery to pray to the V irgin Knox ,

’ dates the incident at St Paul s day before the n ﬁrst burning of the city of Edi burgh , narrates ho w a great number of hone s t m e n and w omen w ere called before the lardi nal and accused of

a w a s heresy . The speci l charge against them that they had eaten a goose upon Friday . w w Four men ere hanged , and the ife of one of

w as w r them dro ned . At the san e time several

w a nd men ere banished , Roger , a Black friar , w a s w w w a s removed to St Andre s , here he murdered or died in the act of trying to escape . ’ Sp otti s w o o d s account of this raid O II the heretics of Perth is more graphic and detailed . He relates that ﬁve men w ere apprehended at w the charge of Friar Spence , and ere executed one for saying that a man could be saved w itlr out prayer to the saints ; three for nailing tw o E I R T PROT ST A N T I SM AND VV SH A .

horns on the head of an image of St Francis , ” for the putting of a cow es rump to his tail and for eating a goose on All - Hallow evening w the ﬁfth for keeping company ith the others .

w m n w as r w w h A o a cha g ed ith refusing , ile in n t labour , to pray to the V irgi , and saying tha she w ould pray to God only in the name of

w h e fﬁ . o Jesus Christ Lamb , had denied the cacy of prayer to the saints , besought the

w w as e xe c u people , hen he at the place of tion , to fear God and to forsake the leaven w d of papistical abominations . The oman ma e

w w w w h o kno n her ish to die ith her husband , w a s o n e of the accused men but she w a s co rr d e mn d w e to be dro ned . As she parted from

S IV e her husband he said , Husband , be glad . h u ave lived together many j oyf l days , and this da w w e w e y hich must die , ought to esteem the

no w w e most j oyful of all , because shall have j oy for ever ; therefore I w ill not bid you good

w e night , for shall shortly meet in the kingdom ” of heaven . Tradition has added to the his ’ torians accounts that B e at orr w itnessed the

s at execution of the men , as he in the Spy ’ Tow er a building in the Earl of Gow rie s gar den by the side of the Tay 1 w hile Lindsay of

1 Chronicle of Perth (M aitland Club). armed authority of the Church but everyw here there w as a clamour w hich could n ot be silenced

roﬂi ac d e w I II against the p g y of the gy . Hay his ’ 1 5 40 Panegyric on the Cardinal , printed in , w dared , even hile praising a churchman , to point out the corruptions in the Church , and the n da gers involved in their continuance . Tradi

’ tion has preserved many stories of Beaton s inr

h w as morality ; and if t ey be true , he certainly not the man to call the clergy to purity of life . Y e t a great danger to the Chu r ch seemed to him to arise out of those charg es of p roﬂiga c y w hich w ere continually being nrade against the monks and priests . That danger must be over come , and Beaton therefore summoned a pro v inc ial council to meet at Edinburg h 0 11 the 1 3 th of January 1 5 46 ; and at this meeting of council it w as his intention to frame measures for the rooting up of heresy , and for the reform

r of the manners of the cle g y .

w r Beaton , ith the governo , proceeded from St Andre w s to Edinbu rg h for the purpose of

w h ow presiding over this council , of hich , ’ w ever , little is kno n , since the Cardinal s plans 2 8 7 WISHART IN ENGLAND . w ere suddenly upset by the ne w s that Geo rg e 1Vi shart w as at the house of Ormiston in East

Lothian . M ore important to the best interests of the Church , it seemed to Beaton , than the

w as reform of the lives of the clergy , the

IVi sh art w h o capture of , for a time , in vari ous parts of the country , had been a noted and f m e fective preacher of Protestantis .

’ Beaton s name has been interw oven w ith that

V I of V i sh a I t in Scottish ecclesiastical history ; ~ W a h is o w n and hence ish rt , apart from con

s i c uou s as i . p merit a preacher , cla ms attention Geo rg e IVis h a r t w a s a teacher o f C r e e k in

a s i s M ontrose , he ﬁrst presented to us on the ? i s n l page of history He ext seen in Bristo , w w as w here he accused of heresy , and here he

A o e recanted . fter soj ourning on the C ntin nt a nd returning to England , as is conj ectured , he w w c o nnn is s io ne rs ent back to Scotland ith the ,

w h o h a d n l Knox says , gone to E gland to de iber ate w ith Henry O II the treaties and i II I nI e di a t e ly a fter his return he began to preach the Reformed d I II octrines . Dundee the people ﬂocked to h w n e w ear him , and sho ed their zeal for the

1 It is commonly said that IVi sh ar t w as of the family of P i ttar r o w L n e f e re ; but ai g , in his dition o Knox , d cla s that ’ w IVi sh art s f nothing is kno n of amily . structed the people . In the w est he w opposed by the Archbishop of Glasgow ; but I

w w I passed from to n to to n , till the outbreak the plague in Dundee recalled him to th w . mi I place There , ith great devotion , he i s t e r e d tl to the stricken people , and left tow n only w hen an u rg e nt message called hi to Edinburgh to meet the friends of tl m Refor ation . A beauti ful picture of IVi sh a rt has been m at

“ w h o w a s u w by one his pupil , courteo s , lo l

b I lovely , glad to teach , desirous to learn V the V i sh ar t long popular in tradition w as tl

w w h o denunciator of coming oes , seemed as he w ere one of the stern Hebre w prophets w l had broken the limits of the centuries ar. appeared in Scotland . ’ I IVish ar t . n Knox s account , , from the b

d w as e ginning of his career in Scotlan , persecut

d w a s w by the Car inal . I t Beaton h o contrive to have him interdicted from preaching

w a s w h o A rcl Dundee , and it he bade the

2 9 0 PROTESTANTIS M A N D WISHART . mation in the State correspondence of a plot

’ “ w as against Beaton s life , note made that a Scottish man called IVi s h art brought a letter

n s ton from the Laird of Bru e . I W’ t is not possible to identify this ishart , so as to assert or deny that he is George IVi Sh art

I r th e martyr . t has been a g ued by friends of ’ V the martyr s good reputation that V i sh art w as not an uncommon name in Scotland ; that one cannot be certain that IVi Sh ar t returned to Scot

1 5 43 w a rn b ass a land in , the year in hich the 1 dors w ere engaged w ith the treaties ; that there is no evidence to Sho w that WVi sh art ever left Scotland after his return and that a saint like the m artyr w ould not have made himself party O n S to a plot of assassination . the other ide , it h as been pointed out that the IVi shart w h o had audience of Henry w a s not likely to be an

w 1Vi sh art obscure and unkno n man ; that George , from his know ledge of England and his habits

w as c onﬁ of travel , ﬁtted to be the bearer of

w a s dential letters , and not likely to arouse the SH D T E S 2 9 1 WI ART A N H BRUN TON LETTER .

’

Brunston s . date of letter Further , it has been pointed out that one cannot argue from modern ’ e thical ideas against Georg e IVi sh art s c orm i v ance at a plot of murder , since religious zealots in former times approved of murder , if done as ’ for God s sake ; and that John Knox ap plauded

w w as the murder of Beaton hen it actually done . w Further still , it has been sho n that the ﬁrst plot w as for the capture O II slaying of the Car " Wi w dinal , and that George shart , if he ere the m bearer of the letter , ight have approved not o f the slaying but of the capture of Beaton ? w From the documents kno n to us , a deﬁnite conclusion cannot be come to regarding the identity of the \Vi s hart w h o w as the bearer

’ o f Brunsto n s letter ; but if that IVishar t w as the future martyr , his share in the plot of assassination may in part account for the perseverance w ith w hich Be aton pursued him . 1Vh ateve r the decision at w hich w e arrive in

w e regard to this question of identity , are not in ’ doubt as to George IVishart S connection w ith the men w h o w ere plotting against the Cardi w nal . Though he ere ignorant of the intrigues ,

1 Contrast the arguments of Tytler (Hi story and also in th e T ’ L e r . Cr L e f H r if of Si aig), and of aing ( dition o Knox s isto y). 2 9 2 P S S A N D SH A ROTE TANTI M WI RT . he must surely have know n the character of

w O r Brunston , one of the visitors ith him at

w ho n miston , in the business of spyi g had passed from Beaton to Arran , and from Arran to Henry of England ; and he w as from time to time in the company of Cassilis and Sir George Douglas , — and his ow n death w a s avenged at least one — of the conspirators said s e w hen the Laird of Grange and the M aster of Rothes murdered the d w W Car inal in the castle of St Andre s . hen ’ i t is seen that among IVi sh art s frie nds w ere

Kirkald Brunston , Cassilis , Douglas , y of Grange , — and the M aster of Rothes the men w hose names are found in the documents w hich w it ness to the plots for Beaton ’s assassination it appears reasonable to conclude that George VVi sh art w as the bearer of the Brunston

letter . ’ — IVish art s prophetic utterances if the w ords w ere not put into his lips by later w riters afford further proof of his complicity w ith the

“ ” ’ English lords , the enemies of Beaton s poli

tical schemes . Those utterances , if more than general diatribes against w ickedness and w arn w ings of the rath to come , must have been i I founded on deﬁnite informat on . n Dundee he spoke in mysterious w ords of some impend

PROTESTANTISM AND VVI SH A R T . w e conclude that the preacher w as a true pro 1 5 48 phet of the events of , or that in his zeal or anger he used w ords w hich amid the troubles

w as t of the State he almos safe to utter . Knox ,

w w as w ho ever , admits that he not accurate ith w dates , and consequently , if the prophecy ere ful

w it w as w as ﬁlled , the time hen uttered earlier than that of the visit to Ormiston . There is one other plausible explanation of the insertion of ’ ’ w ‘ the ords into Knox s History . The historian , w - w riting in after years , and remembering hat

a 1 5 44 actually h ppened to Haddington in , and

’ w hat w ere IVi sh art s experiences there on the w occasion of his preaching , put into his lips ords ? w hich never w ere spoken III 1 5 44 instructions w ere given to the English commander , Sir Ralph

Eure , to visit Haddington and burn it , and these w instructions ere carried out , most likely as a punishment to Bothw ell for his defection from

w as Henry . This fact probably present to ’ Knox s mind w hen he pictured IVi sh art as the ’ din ton s prophet of H ad g evil fate .

1Vi s lrart w , it may ell be believed , could not ’ have h ad information regarding Henry s inte rr

’ 1 IVi sh art s w ords apply to the destruction of Haddington i n 1 5 44 r ather than to the Engli s h occupatio n of the tow n i n

1 5 48 . ’ W I H A R T S P PH S 2 9 5 S RO ECIE .

w as tions , if the date of the supposed prophecy anterior to that of the destruction of the tow n 1 5 44 ’ in . Henry s letter of instruction to the English commander w as w ritten Shortly before the 1 4th of April and 0 11 the 2 4th of the

w as 1Vi s h art same month it reported that , the bearer of the Brunston letter , had arrived in

IV e England . are safe to conclude , therefore , that if George IVi s h ar t w a s the bearer of the letter , he could not by any possibility have returned to preach in Haddington before M ay , w hen the Hertford devastations began ; and are safe also to conclude that before the time w hen the letter of instructions to the English com

w a s w mander ritten , the preacher could not have learned Henry ’s intentions regarding

Haddington . It has been argued that this prophecy is

’ IVi s h ar t s indicative of participation in , and w kno ledge of, the schemes and plots of Henry

“ ” and the English lords ; and that it affords another proof of his share in the political in

t ri u e s O f w w a s g of the day , one hich the assas s ination of Beaton ? Could it be proved that

1 T h e e e w 0 11 A r 1 4th E re e xact dat is unkno n , but p il , u mad

know n to Hertford the instructions regarding Haddington . H e ’ e er 2 6 ain s Stat Pap s , i . . 2 Tytler . Appendix to Life of Sir Thomas Craig . i s highly improbable that he ever uttered the w w ords hich Knox has recorded .

’ IVi sh art s zeal as a Protestant preacher is

’ enough to account for Beat- e n s anxiety to lay

at hold of him , and even to account for the

w 0 11 tempts hich , according to Knox , he made ’ IVi s hart s life ; but if the Cardinal knew that

IVi sh art w as a party to the plots of Brunston ,

w a s and if he kne of the plots , he probably did ’ IVish art S of Cassilis and Douglas , friends , it is still m ore easy to explain the reason of the per ’ sistent persecution w hich ended in IVi sh art s t dea h .

IVi sh art , as has been seen , left Dundee in response to a call from the Earl of Cassilis . The supporters of the Reformation probably

n e w intended some departure in their policy , w hich w as abandoned w hen they learned that Beaton had appointed a clerical council to be

ld IVhile lI e in Edinburgh . attending the meet

at ing of this council , the Cardinal learned th

IVi Sh art w as at Ormiston , and he hastened to

P S S AN IV I SH A R T ROTE TANTI M D . e e IVi sh art w a s rn r . removed to St w s , here the Cardinal summoned a to 0 11 f deliberate the case o this heretic .

: w n ould not , or ould not , atte d at St

S but , on the secret advice of Hamilton on , proposed that proceedings should be 3111 it w as possible for him to take part w w ase . Beaton , ho ever , ould not coun v delay , and by irtue of his legatine

r proceeded at once to a trial . A cha g e

w as VVish art een counts preferred against ,

r to the sacraments , saints , pu g atory ,

marriage of priests . art , in his defence , claimed that his

DI w a s w in accord ith that of the Bible , t he w as at liberty to deny all doctrines

Ind II e d O the Bible . Resolute in his ’ A R T D H 2 9 9 W I SH S EAT .

w as burned , lest an attempt at rescue should be made ; and , according to Buchanan and w w Lindsay of Pitscottie , the indo s of the castle w w ere hung ith tapestry and silk , as if the day w ere a holiday or festival and from these w indow s the Cardinal and his friends w itnessed the death of the martyr . Fortunately for the re putation of the Cardinal , this instance of tyran I nic cruelty may be doubted . n the earliest edition of Knox ’s ‘ History ’ and of Foxe ’s ‘ ’ ’ and a M artyrs , in the Tr gedy of Sir David

Lindsay , there is no mention of this barbaric display ; and th ere is every reason to think that those men w ould not have been silent w regarding a scene hich , had it been enacted , w they must have kno n . They are silent also

’ as to the prophecy regarding Beaton s death , w IVi sh art hich others have attributed to . The

“ \Vis hart dying is reported to have said , He w h o in such state , from that high place , feedeth

w w fe w his eyes ith my torments , ithin a days w w shall be hanged out at the same indo , to be seen w ith as much ignominy as he n ow leaneth ” there in pride .

' ’ I \Vish art s w f those are ords , they are the w itnesses of his meanness of soul . The ﬁrst martyr of the Christian Church died like his uttered the prophecy ascribed to him , had not

h ow learned to die as a Christian . The prophecy could not have proceeded from a store of supernatural kno w ledge ; and those

w ho IVi sh art w as believe that a prophet , must be able to Show that he w as not speaking w ith something like a criminal know ledge of i n

tended murder . A S the historians w h o are silent regarding the scene of the draped w indow s of the castle

are silent also regarding this prophecy , it may

IVi sh art b e be accepted as truth that died , as

ﬁtt e d a martyr for the cause of Christ , display

ing the mildness and the charity of his M aster .

— N eta Emery T yln e y and Knox are the sole authorities re ’ r e e f W i s t re r c T ln e ga ding th dat o h ar s tu n to S otland . y y says “ About the year of our Lord 1 5 43 th ere w as in the U niversity

s w of Cambridge one M aster George W i hart . H e ent into Scotland w ith divers of the nobility w h o came for a treaty w ith ” ’ He r V w r re : I II e e n y III . Knox s o ds a th midst of all th c e e re er e efe e alamiti s that cam upon this alm , aft th d ction of th er r r J e C r c e c e e gov no f om sus h ist , am into S otland that bl ss d I r r G M er Ge r e “ i sh ar t e ma ty of od , ast o g , in company of th com er e re en e e e r r L r mission s b fo m tion d , in th y a of ou o d T e e er w ere e r e r h s commission s , Knox says , s nt f om th Pa lia ment to King Henry and as it is know n that they returned

C H A P T E R XII .

T E SS SS A O N H A A IN TION F BEATO .

T H E 1 5 44 1 5 45 w political events of and , hen Henry w rought disaster in Scotland and tried w to overthro her independence , made Beaton the most popular man in the country . The

w as w as popularity deserved , inasmuch as it he w h o successfully b aﬂl e d the plans and intrigues

“ ” of Henry and the English lords ; but public Opinion regarding the Cardinal w as larg ely changed by his procedure in the case of IVi sh

IVh at e ve r art . may have been the private reasons w hich induced Beaton to pursue his

w v elre me nc e victim ith such , the martyrdom , apart from its ethical and religious bearing , w s a a gross blunder in public policy . The plans to assassinate Beaton could , in the nature

n w fe w of things , be k o n to only a persons and ’ D O F S P P L 3 0 3 ECLINE BEATON O U ARITY . though W ishart may have been implicated in t these plots , and the full measure of his guil

w w h o w kno n to the Cardinal , the people ere ignorant of the plots loc ke d w ith favour on

Y i sh rt as V a . M any accepted him a teacher of divine truth , and many admired him for his benevolence during the time of the plague in w Dundee . Besides those people , there ere doubtless others w h o had the strongest anti pathy to the sacriﬁce of men to death because

w h o w of their religious opinions , and , ithout consciously admitting or asserting the doctrine w of toleration , ere opposed to the punishment

O II of heresy by death . the other hand , the

a w h o w u ignor nt and the bigots , ere nder

’ a priestly domination , pplauded the Cardinal s conduct ; but w hile the numbers of his adh e r

and ents opponents cannot be determined , the

w as loss to his popularity great , and only the successful bafﬂing of another English intrigue could have restored him to his former posi O tion in the public favour . The pportunity of w regaining popularity never , ho ever , came to

him .

’ Wi sh ar t s After death , John Leslie , brother

r of the Earl of Rothes , decla ed openly that d w form of a bon of manrent , in virtue of hich

he pledged himself to protect , and render service

to , Beaton . Knox declares that John Leslie “ in all companies spared not to say that that S w same dagger , ho ing forth his dagger , and that same hand should be put in the Cardinal ’s ” O II as S o tti s w oo d breast , p says , that his hand

’

and dagger should be the Cardinal s priests . w The Leslies , ho ever , had a grudge against the

Cardinal , as Norman Leslie and he had quar

r e lle d I . t appears that Sir James Colville of

IV e m s s Easter y , one of the ﬁrst j udges of the

Court of Session , espoused the cause of the

D ou las e s w g , and ith them departed to England

w w w III hen they ere outla ed by James V . ’ 1 5 40 a his w , fter death , Colville s estates ere forfeited and given to the family of Rothes ; but this forfeiture , by the inﬂuence of Beaton , w as 1 5 43 reduced by Parliament in , and the Leslies w ere in consequence offended w ith the

Cardinal . Probably Beaton had promised some equivalent to the Leslies ; and the supposition

’ is that , shortly before the Cardinal s death , he

3 0 6 T E SS SS O H A A INATION F BEATON .

D u las s w o e . g , hich came to nothing From the

i s records of the Privy Council , it proved that

w as 0 11 2 3d w he in Edinburgh the of M ay , hen he attended a meeting of the Council , held for the purpose of considering a question relating to the Borders . Immediately after the meeting of the Council w d w he ent back to St An re s , and , Knox says , called a meeting of the gentlemen of Fife for

“ M onday , the last day of M ay . This treason

w as able purpose not understood , but from letters and other sources it transpired that he meant to kill or capture the Leslies and others w h o w ere mixed up in the plot w hich resulted ” IVhat in the murder of the Cardinal . Knox in this passage describes as treasonable appears to be a very innocent act of prudence by a man w h o had heard sinister rumours agai nst his ow n I safety . t does not seem likely that Beaton w ould thus have sought to kill O II cap w ture his enemies , or that those enemies ould have been foolish enough , amidst rumours and reports of their intended act , to trust them

n his selves i to hands . Buchanan gives a more plausible account of the purpose of this meet

w w as ing at Falkland , hen he says that it ’ Beaton s intention to seek th e aid of the gentle T E SP A S 3 0 H CON IR TOR . 7 men of Fife in arranging for the protection of the east coast against attack from Henry .

w s e e Beaton , ho ever , did not live to the ’ M onday of Knox s story . 2 8th 1 5 46 On Friday the of M ay , Norman w w w Leslie ent by night to St Andre s , here he

Kirkald 1 found the younger y of Grange , and at a

w III later hour they ere j oined by John Leslie . the early morning of Saturday the conspirators gathered in knots around the castle ; and w hen the gates w ere opened and the draw bridge w a s w w let do n , arrangements necessary for the ork of repair then being carried out , the sentinel told

Kirkald w h o y, questioned him , that the Car

w a s w IVhile dinal not yet a ake . the sentinel

w as Kirkald thus talking to y , Norman Leslie and his company passed into the court of the

w a s w w castle , as he probably ont to do , ithout raising suspicion ; but w hen John Le s lie a p

e w h o a pr ached , a man had threatened his d gger ’

against the Cardinal s life , the sentinel sus

e c te d p foul play , and sprang to the bridge w across the moat . But the attempt to dra

w a s the bridge too late , and the sentinel ,

hi s w as head broken , cast dead into the ditch ,

’ ’ 1 Ki rkald s er r Be ﬂ e e had ee y fath , p obably by aton s in u nc , b n e ed r e 0 c c Tre urer d pos f om th of as . 3 0 8 T E SS SS O H A A INATION F BEATON . and the conspirators w ith his keys w ere left masters of the principal gate . The noise of this tumult roused the fears of the w orkmen

o w n for their safety ; and they , numbering a w w hundred , ere easily put outside the alls .

The servants and attendants of the Cardinal , w to the number of ﬁfty , ere ej ected in the same easy fashion ; and the suspicion naturally arises that means had been used to prepare at least the chief servants and attendants for this attack . Possibly the conspirators , through

w h o Norman Leslie , had entrance to the castle , ’ had taken the opportunity of Beaton s absence

r v in Edinbu g h to corrupt the ser ants , and gain their promise to offer no resistance w hen an

w as attack made .

Kirkald w h o w y , kne the secret arrangements

- of the place , hastened to the postern gate , lest w Beaton should escape by it . Beaton , hen he

- heard the tumult in the castle yard , and learned w w that the Leslies ere there , ent at once

w w as to ards this postern , but escape there

. I impossible nstantly he returned to his room , and caused his chamberlain to heap up boxes

I w a s n inside the door . t not lon g till Joh

3 1 0 TH E ASSASSINATION OF BEATON .

’ w as Beaton s body . Thus Beaton killed , and as

“ w a s I f he dying , he murmured , am a priest ; y , ” 1 f i s w e w y, all gone . These things rite mer ” i n rily , says Knox , his account of the murder .

“ 10 0 11 w w w as Although the be ell a ay , the deed

’ w foully done , are Sir David Lindsay s ords . New s of the fray quickly reached the tow n ; but the murderous business in the castle w as w w speedily transacted , and hen the to nspeople

w as arrived Beaton dead . They , ignorant of

w lra e nd hat had pp , demanded to see the Car

dinal and his friends began to prepare a rescue , w hen they w ere stopped by the sight of the

dead body . The conspirators , that the people 2 s e e it might their god , as one report had ,

fastened the body of the Cardinal , dressed in

ontiﬁ e al the p robes , by the leg and arm to a w w w sheet , and lo ered it through a indo and w w do n the all , and left it before the gaze of the horriﬁed spectators ? The w indow through

w d w a s w n ow hich the bo y lo ered , it is said , w as that afterw ards chosen by tradition as the one from w hich the Cardinal had w itnessed the

ff IVi sh art dying su erings of .

1 B & c . uchanan , Knox ,

2 e er- He r V 5 60 . Stat Pap s ( n y . p . ’ 3 C o e e M r u r . 6 9 . nf St v nson s a y St a t , p . ’ 3 1 1 BEATON S BURIAL .

The curious w h o may w ish to ﬁnd examples of savage treatment of the dead w ill learn in Lindsay of Pitscottie the indignity said to be

w h o done to the body of the man , according

w as w to Knox , killed ith the gravity due to a w ork and j udgment of God and in Dempster , w the punishment hich , he says , fell upon the perpetrator of this indignity . The body w as preserved in salt and encased

s e a - w in lead , and then placed in the to er of the

as castle , till such time the funeral obsequies

T h e s e w might take place . obsequies ere long

w nrad e delayed , and ere never in the style deemed ﬁtting for a prince of the Church and w a chancellor of the kingdom . Nothing is kno n I for certain regarding the grave of Beaton . t w as said that he w as buried in Kilrenny church yard , beside dead members of his family ; but w Sir James Balfour rote that the body , after

- w w as lying nine months in the sea to er , buried ’ secretly in the ground of th e Blackfriars mon ? ast ery in St Andrew s O w ing to the loss or destruction of the State

n ow correspondence , already referred to , it is impossible to determine the share of Henry

I i s VIII . in the murder of Beaton . t beyond

1 ’ V i de IV o d E e F e o N . , ast uk of if 3 1 2 T E SS SS O H A A INATION F BEATON .

w question , ho ever , that the absence of ofﬁcial correspondence is in itself enough to re use suspicion that documents implicating the Eng lish monarch have been at some time i nt e n ll I tiona y destroyed . n the letters sent to

th e England regarding murder , there is no ’ mention of IVi Sh art s death as having led to it ; but it is said Simply in one letter that Norman w Leslie sle the Cardinal , and in another , that Norman Leslie and Kirkaldy O f Grange w ere S the layers of the Cardinal . A third letter , one W n to Lord harto , gives an account of the assas s inati on , and mentions by name only Norman

Kirkald Leslie , y , and James M elvil , and speaks ? of Norman Leslie as the leader of the company Neith er the Leslies nor Kirkaldy had reason ’ IVi s h ar t s to be aggrieved by death , as James M elvil professed to be ; and it is not at all T ’ “ i sh art s probable , therefore , that martyrdom had any connection w ith the action of the Leslies

Kirkald and y of Grange . Nor is it likely that a personal dispute betw een Leslie and the Car dinal , probably regarding a contract implied

w as f in a bond of manrent , a su ﬁcient incite

w h o ment to murder , for those j oined them selves together to slay the Cardinal .

1 e er He r 5 5 1 V 60 6 . Stat Pap s ( n y . pp . , mation w as accordingly made by the Privy Council that no one should hold speech w ith the

II O II w conspirators , should supply them ith , nor

III w sell to them , any victuals . order , ho ever , that they might not plead fear of the Cardinal ’s friends as an excuse for not ans w ering the summons to appear before Parliament , pro clamation w as made that those mentioned in the summons should be allow ed to pass unm e lested to Edinburgh ; but even this offer of safe - conduct did not induce the conspirators w to leave their stronghold , and they ere there ? fore declared traitors The Church , too , added her penalty to this sentence of treason , and they w ere formally excommunicated according to ecclesiastical usage .

1 e e ’ M r ew r 5 . 7 St v nson s a y St a t , p . 2 R i st r C u nd . 2 6 3 1 32 8 39 e . 3 g of P ivy o ncil of Scotla , i pp . , , , , . 3 1 5 INDICTMENT OF ROTHES .

1 2 th 1 5 47 w as On the of July , a commission issued in name of M ary , Queen of Scots , appointing certain j udges “ to call and accuse ” t by indictment the Earl of Rothes , fa her of

n Norman and brother of Joh Leslie , for being art and part of the treasonable murder of w David , Cardinal Archbishop of St Andre s , and

Chancellor of the kingdom .

w as After the usual formalities , a court held

0 11 1 5th the of July , in presence of the governor

t h e and Lord Chancellor , in the ﬁelds near the w w ater of Yarro , in the county of Selkirk , at

’ seven O clock in the morning . At this court the Earl of Rothes appeared and denied com

li c it w as a c p y in the murder , and thereafter quitted and altogether freed of the crime ? charg ed against him

Kirkald Norman Leslie , y of Grange , the

n Lairds of Brunston and Ormisto , and others of the conspirators , had found a refuge in 2 1 5 5 4 England ; but in , after the coronation of w M ary of England , they ere banished from that

s o . country , and passed to France Norman

1 4 5 . Re r H . M . . 0 11 . 0 po t ist SS , iv p 2 A er e e e f A re w Ki rk ald Gr e e tw o ft th si g o St nd s , y of ang , th

Le e s e er C r e w ere e r s er Fr ce sli , and P t a micha l tak n as p i on s to an . M M e e er e e r r e e I II ont St ich l th y ov cam th i gua ds and scap d , and

afterw ards passed to England . 3 1 6 E THE ASSASSINATION OF B ATON .

“ w h o Leslie , by this time had repented very ” soir of his share in the murder of Beaton , sought to recover his lost honour by service in w ar ; and having gained the charge of a hundred light horsemen of the army of Henry

w ar of France , fought valiantly in a against

d w 0 11 the Emperor , but ied of his ounds the 2 9th 1 5 5 4 of August . The King of France ,

Kirkald to recompense this service , sent y of n Grange and his companions back to Scotla d , and by his inﬂuence gained from the queen and the Estates the reversion to them of their lands ? One w riter has pointed out that the murderers of Beat on each died a violent death

- Norman Leslie from w ounds received in bat

Kirkald 0 11 w tle , and y of Grange the gallo s . 3 d 1 5 7 5 On the of July , in consequence of the repentance of John Leslie for his share in

’ r w d the Ca dinal s murder , the Earl of Cra for ,

Be atorrs grandson of Beaton , and others of the , w executed a deed of remission , kno n by the w name of Letters of Slains , by hich they for gave to John Leslie the rancour of their w rath and deadly feud and malice for the slaughter

a of the Cardin l , and received him into their

hearty love , favour, and kindness , as lovingly

1 Le e 2 49 . sl y, p . months by that of Henry VIII . Both had gained and both had lost in their long struggle , b ut neither lived to s e e the ultimate gain and w loss . Throughout a generation plots ere planned , intrigues devised , battles fought , and

w as gold spent . and against those fearful odds the

w as independence of Scotland maintained . By policies less heroic and successes less glorious than those of the days w hen IVallac e w as de li ve re r w as and Bruce king , Beaton saved Scot w land from the grasp of England . His ork before he died w as a preparation of defences

’ against w hat proved to be Henry s last attack on the country w hich the English had s o Often a ssailed ; but he died before that attack w as

d e w ma , and before he kne that Scottish liberty w as safe . K A D D N 3 1 9 ING N CAR I AL .

I i s w h o t not often given to a priest , can achieve no victory by the splendour of his arms , to be numbered among the saviours of civil liberty and political independence ; yet plain

u w historic truth m st give to Beaton , hat popular ’ tradition refuses him , a place among Scotland s greatest statesmen and among her patriots . w w Henry VIII . heard the elcome ne s that his

a w plots gainst Beaton ere at last successful , and that his enemy w as slain ; but he did not live to learn that the vision w hich English kings for w many centuries had cherished , and hich he himself had kept ever before his eyes , the vision

’ o f England s political supremacy over Scotland , w as but an empty dream . Nor did he live to

w w w R e for kno , hat Beaton never kne , that the mation of the Church in Scotland w as nothing short of a social and spiritual revolution . Scot ’ w as land s independence to be preserved , but her ancient Church w as to be destroyed ; and thus in the struggle w hich lasted throughout a w generation , Beaton and Henry VIII . , hile they w did not itness the end of the struggle , each

w o n lost and each . Nearly three hundred and ﬁfty years have ’ passed since Beaton s death , and his political w is r ork fo g otten , and he is remembered only 3 2 0 THE ASSASSINATION OF BEATON . as the man around w hose name cluster stories

w h o w as r of immorality , the destroyer of Geo g e

VVi S hart VVi Shart the martyr . has kept the memory of Beaton living , and but for him the name of the great Cardinal might have been w n kno n to one save the students of history . Beaton has suffered the fate of those w hose lot it w as to belong to an old and dying social w w w order , and his best ork ith his orst has w been buried ith the past . He spent himself,

his rr apart from purely political interests , in co tinning a spiritual system w hich w as inadequate

w and to the ants of the people , in supporting a

w s a w w as Church hich , to y nothing orse of it ,

w as an anachronism . His labour in vain , and w hatever may be the truth of Protestantism or l of Catholicism , Scot and chose Protestantism ;

w w as and the revolution , hich accomplished at w the Reformation , utterly destroyed the ork of Beaton and of the lesser men w h o had striven to support the old social and spiritual order . IVith that labour w hich w a s in vain there has been forgotten that political w ork w hich w as not in vain ; and there remains only the Car

3 2 2 T E SS A SS O H A INATION F BEATON .

Be at on w as guilty of the sins of the prelate and of the Vices of the aristocrat unchaste and w w a s orldly he , and his reputation has paid the full penalty of his sins and vices . Pos terity h a s been more kindly in its treatment of the moral reputation of his great adversary ,

’ w because he as not a churchman . Yet Henry s

’ w e morals ere as corrupt as B aton s , and his ecclesiastical ty ranny w a s even more violent

w as a nd w as but Henry a king , Beaton a t w m churchman , and posteri y , hile too erciful w to the king , has been pitiless to ards the priest .

T H E E N D .