MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS MARY STUART 15421587 Mary Stuart was born to James
V of Scotland and Marie de Guise at Linlithgow Palace; she was crowned Queen of Scots six days later, following her father's death. In 1548, she married the French dauphin, and she remained in France for the next 12 years. Her husband ascended the French throne as King Francis II in 1559 but died the following year. Power passed to his mother, Catherine de'Medici, who sent Mary home to Scotland.
The Catholic Mary returned to Scotland in 1561 only to find that John Knox, the Presbyterian preacher, had created religious instability there. Mary's troubles only increased when she married Henry, Lord Darnley, in 1564. Darnley was pompous, politically unskilled, and fond of taverns. Furthermore, he arranged for the murder of her secretary, David Rizzio. The relationship became irreparable.
Mary gave birth to a son, James Stuart, later James
VI of Scotland (1566) and James I of England (1603), in 1566. In 1567, Lord Darnley was killed in an explosion south of Edinburgh's Royal Mile (Kirk of Field). Many thought that James Hepburn, earl of Bothwell, Mary's new paramour, was responsible, and soon her enemies accused Mary as well. Nevertheless, Mary and Bothwell married, which outraged Scotland. The new-lyweds attempted an armed conflict, but the queen was defeated and forced to renounce her title. One year later, Mary escaped prison and attempted to retake her throne. She was defeated again by Protestant forces, and in 1568 fled to England, seeking the protection of her cousin Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1587, Mary's Catholic supporters attempted to murder Elizabeth and place her on the throne. Elizabeth reluctantly decided to execute her cousin, a deed that was accomplished at Fotheringay Castle on the morning of February 8, 1587.
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Mary is the undisputed author of a number of letters that are increasingly studied as fine examples of the epistolary genre. She corresponded with numerous people, including popes and rulers. Her status as a poet, however, is a contentious one. The authenticity of the so-called Casket Letters has long been in dispute. The eight letters, 12 sonnets, and two marriage contracts contained in them were used as the main pieces of evidence against Mary in her trial for complicity in Darnley's murder. The originals, however, disappeared in 1584, and only copies (in French, English, and Scots) remain. Nevertheless, the sonnets themselves are interesting, and even if not authentic, certainly served their political purpose, and they are commonly anthologized today.
See also James VI/I.
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