University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Honors Program in History (Senior Honors Theses) Department of History March 2008 Their Nation Dishonored, the Queen Shamed, and Country Undone: Feuding, Factionalism, and Religion in the Chaseabout Raid Rachel Omansky [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors Omansky, Rachel, "Their Nation Dishonored, the Queen Shamed, and Country Undone: Feuding, Factionalism, and Religion in the Chaseabout Raid" (2008). Honors Program in History (Senior Honors Theses). 10. https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors/10 A Senior Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Honors in History. Faculty Advisor: Margo Todd This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors/10 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Their Nation Dishonored, the Queen Shamed, and Country Undone: Feuding, Factionalism, and Religion in the Chaseabout Raid Abstract The mid-sixteenth century witnessed religious and political upheaval across much of Western Europe, particularly in the British Isles. In 1565, a good portion of the Scottish nobility rebelled against their sovereign, Mary, Queen of Scots. The roles played and decisions made by the nobles during this revolt, known as the Chaseabout Raid, provide important insights concerning the converging issues of feuding, factionalism, and religion in Scotland. My reconstructed narrative of the Chaseabout Raid indicates that there were, in fact, no firm factions determined yb ideology, but rather shifting allegiances in the midst of conflict, determined yb complex and interrelated factors, personalities, and motivations. The primary motivation for the coalitions formed during the Chaseabout Raid was selfish personal ambition—base desire for individual gain still superseded any proto-nationalistic ideas or purely ideological commitments. Using this incident, I offer new conclusions regarding the origins of the Scottish kirk and national identity, the rise of the modern notions of loyalty and allegiance, and the construction of the modern Scottish state. With respect to the broader study of history, these conclusions discovered through an empiricist approach may demonstrate the validity of this method for reexamining other riots, rebellions, and revolts across history. Comments A Senior Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Honors in History. Faculty Advisor: Margo Todd This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/hist_honors/10 “THEIR NATION DISHONORED, THE QUEEN SHAMED, AND COUNTRY UNDONE”: FEUDING, FACTIONALISM, AND RELIGION IN THE CHASEABOUT RAID Rachel J. Omansky University of Pennsylvania Department of History 25 March 2008 Faculty Advisor: Dr. Margo Todd Honors Director: Dr. Kristen Stromberg Childers ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page i Table of Contents ii Conventions and Acknowledgements iii Maps iv Genealogical Tables ix Chapter I: Introduction to Scotland in 1565 1 Chapter II: The Road to the Chaseabout Raid 17 Chapter III: The Chaseabout Raid 62 Chapter IV: Personalities and Motivations 125 Chapter V: Themes and Conclusions 195 Bibliography 202 iii CONVENTIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have employed a number of historical conventions in writing this thesis about which the reader should be aware. In terms of contemporary and near-contemporary sources, I have modernized spellings and, for Scottish sources, have Anglicized spellings, but have attempted to retain as much of the original grammatical construction as possible. In terms of proper names, I have chosen the most common modern spelling for each name and have remained consistent throughout the thesis. For dating, I have given all dates in the modern calendar; it should be noted, however, that during the period addressed in this thesis, the new year was not celebrated in Scotland until March. There are many people whose help has been essential to the completion of this thesis. I would like to thank the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, Department of History, Penn Humanities Forum, and Rodin College House for their generosity in providing research funding. I greatly appreciate the ample assistance provided by the archivists at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh (NAS), the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh (NLS), and the British Library, London (BL). For their interest and enthusiasm in reading about early modern Scotland, I thank Dr. Kristen Stromberg Childers, Assistant Professor of History, Ms. Alice S. Hickey, and Rabbi Dr. Louis Kaplan. They each provided extremely helpful and focused feedback throughout the research process. Most especially, I would like to thank Dr. Margo Todd, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, for her unfailing support in all aspects of completing this thesis. Her suggestions to scholarship, instruction in paleography, and editorial and methodological suggestions have all been invaluable. These were matched by her incredible generosity with her time. Finally, a special thanks to all family and friends who have offered advice and encouragement. iv This modern physical map of the British Isles was adapted from the original appearing in Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History (Robert Bucholz and Newton Key). v This map of the physical features of Scotland appears in Scotland: The Shaping of a Nation (Gordon Donaldson). vi This map of major sites of sixteenth century Scotland appears in My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots (John Guy). vii This map of major sites in central Scotland in the sixteenth century appears in My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots (John Guy). viii This map of movements during the Chaseabout Raid appears in Maria R: Mary Queen of Scots, the Crucial Years (The Duke of Hamilton). ix SUCCESSION TO THE ENGLISH THRONE HENRY VII 1485-1509 Arthur HENRY VIII Margaret Mary d. 1502 1485-1547 m (1) JAMES IV m (1) Catherine of Aragon 1488-1513 (2) Anne Boleyn (2) Archibald, Earl of Angus (3) Jane Seymour (1) JAMES V (2) Margaret (3) (1) (2) 1513-1542 m. Matthew, EDWARD VI MARY ELIZABETH Earl of Lennox 1547-1553 1553-1558 1558-1603 MARY m Henry, Lord Darnley 1542-67 JAMES VI 1567-1625 This genealogical table shows the succession to the English throne, highlighting the origins of the claims made by Mary, Queen of Scots and by Lord Darnley. This table was created based on tables appearing in Scotland: The Shaping of the Nation (Gordon Donaldson) and My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots (John Guy). x THE HAMILTONS AND THE LENNOX-STEWARTS JAMES II 1437-1460 JAMES III Alexander, John, Mary 1460-1488 m (2) James, Lord Hamilton Matthew Stewart, m Elizabeth James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Lennox Hamilton 1st Earl of Arran John, 3rd Earl James, 2nd Earl of of Lennox d. 1526 Arran (Châtelherault) d. 1575 (1) JAMES IV m Margaret Tudor m (2) Archibald 1488-1513 Earl of Angus JAMES V Margaret Douglas m Matthew, 4th Earl of Lennox 1513-1542 MARY m Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley 1542-1567 JAMES VI 1567-1625 This genealogical table shows the relationship between the Lennox Stewarts and the Hamiltons as well as their respective claims to the succession of the Scottish throne. This table was created based on tables appearing in Scotland: The Shaping of the Nation (Gordon Donaldson) and My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots (John Guy). 1 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION TO SCOTLAND IN 1565 In 1565, thinking “their nation dishonored, the[ir] Queen shamed, and [their] country undone,” nobles took up arms against the constituted authority of the realm, the anointed monarch. 1 Mary, Queen of Scots is remembered in popular history, not to say myth, as a tragic figure: her tumultuous life makes for a dramatic read, and the changes in Scotland during the period of her reign, particularly with respect to religion, resulted in a massive increase in the number of documents that were written and that have survived to the present day. Mary has accordingly been studied extensively by prominent scholars of Scottish history. Though their accounts and analyses are often admirable, a closer examination of the most abundant sources from the sixteenth century reveals that extant scholarship does not adequately address or accord proper importance to an event in the middle of her personal reign, the 1565 rebellion known as the Chaseabout Raid. A close analysis of this minor rebellion will illuminate larger issues and trends during this crucial period of Scottish history. Carefully examining the events, circumstances, and, in particular, noble personalities and motivations of the rebellion will expose the complex interplay and effects of feuding, factionalism, religion, and dynastic and land claims among the elite in post-Reformation Scotland. A focus on the most prominent individuals involved in the rising will enable new conclusions regarding this understudied rebellion as well as larger implications regarding the protestant Reformation in Scotland, the rise of the modern notion of allegiance, and the development of the 1 Randolph to Cecil (3 May 1565), Calendar of State Papers Relating to Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots, 1547-1603 [henceforth cited as CSPS ], II: 152. 2 modern Scottish state. 2 Indeed, the study of a smaller rising will also facilitate the understanding of the fundamental question of rebellion against authority, a puzzle that appears throughout history. What is it precisely that motivates people to rebel against constituted authority? A brief description of the conditions in Scotland in 1565 is necessary to appreciate the significance of the Chaseabout Raid. 3 Mary herself was born on 8 December 1542, the only child of James V, King of Scots, and his French wife Mary of Guise; she succeeded to the crown upon her father’s death six days later. 4 During her long minority, Scotland was governed first by the Duke of Châtelherault and later by Mary’s mother, serving as regents. Mary was raised at the French court from the age of five and married the heir to the French throne, who succeeded his father as Francis II in 1559.