Kerr-Peterson, Miles (2016) Politics and protestant Lordship in North East Scotland during the reign of James VI: The life of George Keith, fourth Earl Marischal, 1554-1623. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/7480/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Politics and Protestant Lordship in North East Scotland during the Reign of James VI: The Life of George Keith, fourth Earl Marischal, 1554-1623 Miles Kerr-Peterson, MLitt, MA (Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD School of Humanities College of Arts University of Glasgow Abstract George Keith, fourth Earl Marischal is a case study of long-term, quietly successful and stable lordship through the reign of James VI. Marischal’s life provides a wholly underrepresented perspective on this era, where the study of rebellious and notorious characters has dominated. He is also a counter-example to the notion of a general crisis among the European nobility, at least in the Scottish context, as well as to the notion of a ‘conservative’ or ‘Catholic’ north east. In 1580 George inherited the richest earldom in Scotland, with a geographical extent stretching along the east coast from Caithness to East Lothian. His family came to be this wealthy as a long term consequence of the Battle of Flodden (1513) where a branch of the family, the Inverugie Keiths had been killed. The heiress of this branch was married to the third earl and this had concentrated a large number of lands, and consequently wealth, in the hands of the earls. This had, however, also significantly decreased the number of members and hence power of the Keith kindred. The third earl’s conversion to Protestantism in 1544 and later his adherence to the King’s Party during the Marian Civil War forced the Keiths into direct confrontation with their neighbours in the north east, the Gordons (led by the Earls of Huntly), a Catholic family and supporters of the Queen’s Party. Although this feud was settled for a time at the end of the war, the political turmoil caused by a succession of short-lived factional regimes in the early part of the personal reign of James VI (c.1578-1585) led the new (fourth) Earl Marischal into direct confrontation with the new (sixth) Earl of Huntly. Marischal was outclassed, outmanoeuvred and outgunned at both court and in the locality in this feud, suffering considerably. However, Huntly’s over-ambition in wider court politics meant that Marischal was able to join various coalitions against his rival, until Huntly was exiled in 1595. Marischal also came into conflict briefly with Chancellor John Maitland of 2 Thirlestane as a consequence of Marischal’s diplomatic mission to Denmark in 1589-1590, but was again outmatched politically and briefly imprisoned. Both of these feuds reveal Marischal to be relatively cautious and reactionary, and both reveal the limitations of his power. Elsewhere, the study of Marischal’s activities in the centre of Scottish politics reveal him to be unambitious. He was ready to serve King James, the two men having a healthy working relationship, but Marischal showed no ambition as a courtier, to woo the king’s favour or patronage, instead delegating interaction with the monarch to his kinsmen. Likewise, in government, Marischal rarely attended any of the committees he was entitled to attend, such as the Privy Council, although he did keep a keen eye on the land market and the business conducted under the Great Seal. Although personally devout and a committed Protestant, the study of Marischal’s interaction with the national Kirk and the parishes of which he was patron reveal that he was at times a negligent patron and exercised his right of ministerial presentation as lordly, not godly patronage. The notion of a ‘conservative North East’ is, however, rejected. Where Marischal was politically weak at court and weak in terms of force in the locality, we see him pursuing sideways approaches to dealing with this. Thus he was keen to build up his general influence in the north and in particular with the burgh of Aberdeen (one result of this being the creation of Marischal College in 1593), pursued disputes through increasing use of legal methods rather than bloodfeud (thus exploiting his wealth and compensating for his relative lack of force) and developed a sophisticated system of maritime infrastructure, ultimately expressed through the creating of the burghs of Peterhead and Stonehaven. Although his close family caused him a number of problems over his lifetime, he was able to pass on a stable and enlarged lordship to his son in 1623. 3 Table of Contents Abstract 2 List of Images 5 Acknowledgements 6 Declaration 7 Conventions 8 Abbreviations 9 Introduction 13 Part 1: Court Chapter 1 Background to 1582 28 Chapter 2 The Feud with Huntly: 1582 to 1589 55 Chapter 3 Denmark and Feud with Chancellor Maitland: 1589-1591 78 Chapter 4 Huntly, again: 1591-1595 99 Chapter 5 Court Politics and Government after 1595 116 Part 2: Locality Chapter 6 Feuding 144 Chapter 7 Family 163 Chapter 8 The Earls Marischal and the Kirk 1560-1623 182 Chapter 9 Economic Activities 233 Chapter 10 Marischal College 255 Conclusion 287 Appendix 299 Bibliography 319 4 List of Images and Maps Figure 1: page 50, map of Scotland, showing the landholdings of the Earls Marischal. Figure 2: page 51, map of Caithness, showing the landholdings of the Earls Marischal. Figure 3: page 52, map of Buchan, showing the landholdings of the Earls Marischal. Figure 4: page 53, map of the west of Aberdeen, showing the landholdings of the Earls Marischal. Figure 5: page 54, map of the Mearns, showing the landholdings of the Earls Marischal. Figure 6: page 77, map of the Brig o’ Dee Rebellion. Figure 7: page 98, map of places in the 1589-1590 mission to Denmark. Figure 8: page 137, chart showing Keith attendance on the Privy Council 1589-1596. Figure 9: page 137, chart showing Keith attendance on the Privy Council 1596-1623. Figure 10: page 138, chart showing number of charters witnessed by the fourth Earl Marischal 1580-1623. Figure 11: page 138, chart showing number of charters witnessed by the third and fourth Earls Marischal 1561-1623. Figure 12: page 162, Carving of Marischal as depicted on the tomb of his daughter in Benholm Parish Kirk, 1620. Figure 13: page 198, map showing Marischal’s Parishes. Figure 14: page 254, the harbours of Peterhead. Figure 15: page 287, the early seal of Marischal College. 5 Acknowledgements First and foremost thanks to my supervisors for their diligent support, insightful comments and unending patience. Steven J Reid has been a perpetual source of support throughout my university career and I certainly would not be where I am now without him. Martin MacGregor deserves special thanks for being my supervisor without even initially knowing the fact. Despite this he happily took on the role with no complaint and whose comments on the thesis have been absolutely invaluable. My examiners Jane Dawson and Aonghas MacCoinnich have provided excellent feedback and support, plenty of advice for the future and further avenues of research, and not without a very challenging but fruitful Viva. The support and expertise from keen friends, especially Jamie Reid-Baxter and David MacOmish have been incredibly helpful. I’ve have been very lucky in the kind comments and tips for research from a huge variety of people, Marie-Claude Tucker, Amy Blakeway, Alan MacDonald, David Bertie, Keith Stewart, Mark Harvey, Ian Dickson, Eric Cambridge, Hamish Scott, Michelle Craig and the now departed Charles McKean and Jenny Wormald, to name just a few. Thanks also go to the helpful staff at various archives, including the National Library and in Register House, but most of all to those in Aberdeen City Council and also John, Earl of Moray, for bringing a number of his documents to Edinburgh for me. For long and fruitful discussions about the north east, its characters and the Kirk, sincere thanks are expressed to Catherine McMillan. Hearty thanks are also expressed to Ross Crawford, with whom I swapped theses to help with proofing. He certainly had the more difficult of the two! Ross was one of a number of fellow PhDs in the department studying Reformation Scotland, and chats with him, Charles Mitchell, Brian Brennan and Paul Goatman provided plenty of food for thought. Special thanks are expressed to my long-term office mates, Hanna Kilpi and Andy Gourlay, who provided much needed and mutual moral support. Also thanks to Ros Chapman, Fergus Oakes, Rebecca Mason, Jamie Kelly and Niall Bartlett, as well as the reformation chaps above for the communal tea runs in 9 University Gardens, which occurred with an almost monastic regularity and procession down the stairs. Almost every year of my university career seems to have contained a funeral of a close friend or family member, so this thesis is dedicated in memory of John Wilkins, Doreen Lewis, Ivy Wilkins, Reg Wilkins, Peter Cattermole and Buckles. Finally, thanks to Buzz.