28 October 1562: Mary Queen of Scots and her half-brother James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, defeat George, the 4th Earl of Huntly at the Battle of Corrichie, near Aberdeen, to curtail his ambition and assauge Protestant concerns in Scotland. She goes on to sack Huntly Castle.
29 July 1565: Mary Queen of Scots marries her cousin Lord Darnley in a Catholic wedding.
26 August 1565: Mary Queen of Scots leads an army out of Edinburgh to supress a rebellion led by her half brother James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, who is opposed to her marriage. She puts the rebellion to flight in what becomes known as the Chaseabout Raid.
9 March 1566: Mary Queen of Scots' private secretary, David Rizzio, is murdered in front of her at the Palace of Holyroodhouse by a group including her husband Lord Darnley. The attempted coup that follows fails when Darnley has second thoughts and helps Mary to escape to Dunbar.
18 March 1566: Mary Queen of Scots returns to Edinburgh with an army provided by the Earl of Bothwell and those responsible for the murder of her private secretary David Rizzio, flee, many subsequently being exiled.
19 June 1566: Mary gives birth to a son, Charles James, at Edinburgh Castle.
7 December 1566: Mary Queen of Scots leaves Craigmillar Castle after a group of her advisers agree the Craigmillar Bond, an arrangement for the disposal of Lord Darnley, who by now everyone including Mary knows to be thoroughly unsuitable as a husband. Those involved include The Earls of Argyll, Huntly, and Bothwell, Sir James Balfour, and William Maitland of Lethington.
17 December 1566: The future James VI/I is christened at Stirling Castle. Lord Darnley refuses to attend.
10 February 1567: Lord Darnley, now ill with syphilis, is murdered while staying at the Provost's House on the edge of Edinburgh. The cellar of the building has been packed with gunpowder, but it seems Darnley may have been strangled while trying to escape the explosion. Public suspicions grow that the Earl of Bothwell, and possibly Mary Queen of Scots herself, are involved in the murder.
12 April 1567: The Earl of Bothwell is tried for the murder of Darnley and found not guilty. Few Scots believe the trial to be fair.
19 April 1567: James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, although already married, proposes marriage to Mary Queen of Scots with the support of many influential nobles across Scotland. Mary turns him down.
21 April 1567: James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, kidnaps Mary Queen of Scots on the edge of Edinburgh and takes her to Dunbar Castle, where, assuming Mary is an unwilling participant, he rapes her. They agree to marry.
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell is divorced from his wife, Jean Gordon, to clear the way for his planned wedding to Mary, Queen of Scots.
15 May 1567: Mary Queen of Scots marries the Earl of Bothwell in a Protestant wedding at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. They then flee from widespread popular dissent to Dunbar Castle.
15 June 1567: Scottish nobles intent on retrieving Mary Queen of Scots from James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, meet the couple and a thousand supporters at Carberry Hill, east of Edinburgh. After a day long stand-off Mary agrees to the nobles' demands and sends Bothwell away. They never meet again. Mary is taken away to imprisonment in Lochleven Castle on an island in Loch Leven, near Kinross.
24 July 1567: Lords Ruthven and Lindsay visit Mary Queen of Scots and insist she abdicates immediately or be killed. She abdicates.
29 July 1567: One year old Charles James is crowned King James VI of Scotland in a Protestant ceremony in the Church of the Holy Rude, close to Stirling Castle. John Knox preaches a sermon. It is exactly two years since Mary married Darnley.
2 May 1568: Mary Queen of Scots escapes from Lochleven Castle and revokes her abdication. She gathers an army and moves towards Dumbarton Castle.
13 May 1568: Mary Queen of Scots' army is defeated by a much smaller force under the Regent, the Earl of Moray, at the Battle of Langside, now part of Glasgow.
15 May 1568: Mary Queen of Scots' flight takes her to Terregles Castle near Dumfries. She rejects supporters' advice to return to France and chooses instead to flee to England and seek the mercy of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth, who still fears Mary might make a claim to the Crown of England.
23 January 1570: The Regent, the Earl of Moray, is shot and killed at Linlithgow by an assailant hiding in the home of the Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews.
12 July 1570: The Earl of Lennox, father of Lord Darnley, is appointed Regent with support from Queen Elizabeth.
September 1571: Mary, still captive in England, is implicated in a plot by the Catholic Duke of Norfolk to use Spanish troops to overthrow Elizabeth. This undermines much of her remaining support in Scotland.
1572: The Earl of Morton becomes Regent and is effectively ruler of Scotland for the next six years.
24 November 1572: The death in Edinburgh of John Knox, one of the leading figures in the Presbyterian Reformation of the Church in Scotland and a man who in another era would have been described as a religious fundamentalist.
May 1573: The fall of Edinburgh Castle as the last bastion of support for Mary in Scotland brings three years of civil war to an end.
9 June 1573: The death in prison in Leithof Sir William Maitland of Lethington, the politician who rose to become Secretary of State to Mary, Queen of Scots.
12 December 1574: The birth at Skanderborg Castle in Denmark of Anne of Denmark, who became queen consort of King James I of England and VI of Scotland.
March 1578: James VI takes over the government of Scotland at the age of 12.
14 April 1578: James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell dies, insane, in Denmark's notorious Dragholm Prison.
14 September 1580: The birth near Inverurieof Robert Gordonof Straloch, a poet, mathematician, antiquary and geographer, primarily remembered for his cartography of Scotland.
2 June 1581: The ex-Regent, James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, is executed for his alleged involvement in the murder of Lord Darnley, James VI's father, fourteen years earlier following accusations made by Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney.
14 April 1582: The University of Edinburghis established by a Royal Charter granted by James VI,making it only the sixth university to be founded in the British Isles, and the fourth in Scotland.
August 1582: 16 year old James VI is taken prisoner by the Earl of Gowrie and the "Lords Enterprisers" at Ruthven Castle now Huntingtower Castle near Perth. The "Ruthven Raid" was designed to increase the grip of the conspirators on power by controlling the King.
28 September 1582: The death in Edinburgh of George Buchanan, a historian and scholar who was persecuted for his Protestant views.
June 1583: James VI tricks his captors into allowing him to attend a feast at St Andrews Castle, where he escapes from them and subsequently forgives them.
April 1584: The Lords Enterprisers take St Andrews Castle in an effort to overthrow James VI, now aged 18. He musters an army and recaptures it, executing the Earl of Gowrie and exiling other conspirators to England.
May 1584: Parliament declared James VI head of both the church - the Kirk - and the state in the face of increasing efforts by the Kirk to limit his power.
11 August 1586: Mary Queen of Scots is arrested after writing a letter approving of a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth.
15 October 1586: Mary Queen of Scots is tried for treason at Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire.
8 February 1587: Mary Queen of Scots is beheaded at Fotheringay. Her son, James VI, briefly breaks off diplomatic relations with England.
16 July 1588: The death of Lady Agnes Keith who had been born into Scottish nobility and briefly became one of the most powerful women in the country.
20 August 1589: James VI marries Anne of Denmark, daughter of King Frederik II of Denmark. The marriage is by proxy and her subsequent efforts to sail to Scotland see her blown back by storm to Norway, allegedly as a result of witchcraft.
22 October 1589: James VI sails to Norway to collect his bride, Anne of Denmark.
1 May
1590: King James VI and Anne of Denmark return to Leith, and Anne is crowned Queen of Scotland later that month. James begins a witch-hunt that will claim over a thousand lives in the following hundred years.
* * *
Chapter Thirty-Nine
October 1566
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
1.
MS 09:33
MR 18:24
SR 06:34
SS 17:24
2.
MS 10:48
MR 19:08
SR 06:36
SS 17:21
3.
MS 11:55
MR 20:03
SR 06:38
SS 17:19
4.
MS 12:51
MR 21:08
SR 06:40
SS 17:16
5.
MS 13:36
MR 22:22
SR 06:42
SS 17:14
6. 23:11
MS 14:12
MR 23:40
SR 06:44
SS 17:12
7.
MS 14:41
NMR
SR 06:46
SS 17:09
8.
MR 00:59
MS 15:05
SR 06:48
SS 17:07
9.
MR 02:18
MS 15:26
SR 06:50
SS 17:04
10.
MR 03:36
MS 15:47
SR 06:52
SS 17:02
11.
MR 04:52
MS 16:07
SR 06:55
SS 16:59
12.
MR 06:07
MS 16:29
SR 06:57
SS 16:57
13. 03:50
MR 07:21
MS 16:54
SR 06:59
SS 16:55
14.
MR 08:31
MS 17:23
SR 07:01
SS 16:52
15.
MR 09:37
MS 17:58
SR 07:03
SS 16:50
16.
MR 10:36
MS 18:40
SR 07:05
SS 16:48
17.
MR 11:27
MS 19:28
SR 07:07
SS 16:46
18.
MR 12:10
MS 20:23
SR 07:09
SS 16:43
19.
MR 12:45
MS 21:24
SR 07:11
SS 16:41
20.
MR 13:15
MS 22:28
SR 07:13
SS 16:39
21. 06:47
MR 13:40
MS 23:35
SR 07:16
SS 16:37
22.
MR 14:01
NMS
SR 07:18
SS 16:35
23.
MS 00:44
MR 14:21
SR 07:20
SS 16:32
24.
MS 01:56
MR 14:41
SR 07:22
SS 16:30
25.
MS 03:10
MR 15:01
SR 07:24
SS 16:28
26.
MS 04:28
MR 15:22
SR 07:26
SS 16:26
27.
MS 05:47
MR 15:48
SR 07:28
SS 16:24
28. 15:24
MS 07:08
MR 16:20
SR 07:30
SS 16:22
29.
MS 08:27
MR 17:00
SR 07:32
SS 16:20
30.
MS 09:41
MR 17:52
SR 07:35
SS 16:18
31.
MS 10:43
MR 18:55
SR 07:37
SS 16:16
Lunar eclipse
Solar eclipse
28.10.1566 at 15:22 (total)
23.04.1567 at 10:21 (partially)
21.09.1568 at 05:08 (total)
13.10.1566 at 05:04 (partially)
09.04.1567 at 12:01 (annular)
Legend
For abbreviations that appear in the calendar, find the following legend:
MR = Moon rise, MS = Moon set, SR = Sun rise, SS = Sun set, NMR = No moon rise, NMS = No moon set, NMWD = No moon whole day, MWD = Moon whole day, NSWD = No sun whole day, SWD = Sun whole day.
* * *
Chapter Forty
The Broom O' The Cowdenknowes
Oh the broom, the bonnie, bonnie broom
The broom o' Cowdenknowes
Fain would I lie in my ain country
Tendin' my daddie's ewes
How blithe was I each morn tae see
My lass come o'er the hill
She tripped the burn and she ran to me
I met her with good will
She would oblige me every hour
Could I but faithful be?
She stole my heart, could I refuse
Whate'er she asked of me?
Hard fate that I should banished be
Sae early in the morn
Because I lo'ed the fairest lass
That ever yet was born
Fareweel, ye Cowdenknowes, fareweel
Fareweel all pleasures there
To roam again wi' my lass by my side
Is all I want or care
Oh the broom, the bonnie, bonnie broom
The broom o' Cowdenknowes
Fain would I lie in my ain country
Tendin' my daddie's ewes
This song started life as a ballad about a shepherdess who encountered a gentleman passing on horseback. The song became popular across Scotland and England towards the end of the reign of James l & VI, and the earliest publication date found is 1651. There are many versions of the ballad, indicating its great popularity, but the underlying story is consistent: she and the gentleman had an instant attraction to each other, and spent some time enjoying each other's company. The gentleman continued on his journey, leaving the shepherdess expecting a child. Just before the child was due to be born, the mystery man returned, declaring himself to be a wealthy Laird, and married her.
The Iyrical version of the song is usually sung from the shepherdess' perspective. The Laird took the shepherdess far from her "ain country" and she became very homesick. The version given here swaps the gender, making a banished shepherd the subject, but the yearning for the "bonnie broom" remains.
The broom - a tall shrub which blooms with spikes of small golden flowers, once grew abundantly on hillsides of the Scottish Borders.
Cowdenknowes is a Scottish estate on the east bank of the river Leader Water, 32 miles southeast of Edinburgh. The original tower house built by the Homes of Cowdenknowes in the 15th century is still occupied.
* * *
Chapter Forty-One
William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle (Bolsover Castle) taught to ride by Pierre Antoine Bourdon, Seigneur de St Antoine (M. de St Antoine). He and King James I's son Prince Henry, were taught to ride by French master Monsieur St Antoine.
In 1638, William accepted the post of Governor to the King's elder son, Prince Charles. William introduced the ten year old boy to manège riding and under his tutelage the prince became an accomplished rider, well able to sit leaping horses.
His first manual, La Methode Nouvelle et Invention extraordinaire de dresser les Chevaux (Antwerp: 1658), was published in French for the Continental rider, and set out to gracefully supersede the methods of Antoine de Pluvinel whose posthumous manual of 1623 had greatly refined the approach of earlier masters.
In 1633, M. de St Antoine was painted i
n a portrait by Van Dyck of Charles 1 (1600-49) with M. de St Antoine. He could be in his forties or 50 in that picture.
Pierre Antoine Bourdin, Seigneur de St Antoine, a master in the art of horsemanship, carries the King's helmet. Sent by Henry IV of France to James I with a present of six horses for Henry, Prince of Wales, in 1603, he remained in the service of the Prince and later of Charles I, as riding master and equerry.
Antoine de Pluvinel (1552, Crest, Dauphiné - 24 August 1620) was the first of the French riding masters, and has had great influence on modern dressage. He wrote L'Instruction du Roy en l'exercice de monter à cheval ("instruction of the King in the art of riding"), was tutor to King Louis XIII, and is credited with the invention of using two pillars, as well as using shoulder-in to increase suppleness.
A Love Beyond: A Scottish Historical Romance (The Reivers Book 2) Page 13