If they had allowed the crown to seize the spoils of
the church, such an increase of power must have fol-
lowed that accession of property, as would have raised
the royal authority above control, and have rendered
the most limited prince in Europe the most absolute
and independent. The reign of Henry the eighth pre-
sented a recent and alarming example of this nature.
The wealth which flowed in upon that prince, from the
suppression of the monasteries, not only changed the
BOOK in. OF SCOTLAND. 227
maxims of his government, but the temper of his mind ; 1561.
and he, who had formerly submitted to his parliaments, ~~
and courted his people, dictated from that time to the
former with intolerable insolence, and tyrannised over
the latter with unprecedented severity. And, if his
policy had not been extremely short-sighted, if he had
not squandered what he acquired, with a profusion
equal to his rapaciousness, and which defeated his am-
bition, he might have established despotism in Eng-
land, on a basis so broad and strong, as all the efforts
of the subjects would never have been able to shake.
In Scotland, where the riches of the clergy bore as
great a proportion to the wealth of the kingdom, the
acquisition of church lands would have been of no less
importance to the crown, and no less fatal to the ari-
stocracy. The nobles, for this reason, guarded against
such an increase of the royal power, and, thereby, se-
cured their own independence.
Avarice mingled itself with their concern for the in-
terest of their order. The reuniting the possessions of
the church to the crown, or the bestowing them on the
protestant clergy, would have been a fatal blow, both
to those nobles who had, by fraud or violence, seized
part of these revenues, and to those abbots and priors
who had totally renounced their ecclesiastical character.
But as the plan which was proposed, gave some sanc-
tion to their usurpation, they promoted it with their ut-
most influence. The popish ecclesiastics, though the
lopping off a third of their revenues was by no means
agreeable to them, consented, under their present cir-
cumstances, to sacrifice a part of their possessions, in
order to purchase the secure enjoyment of the remain-
der; and, after deeming the whole irrecoverably lost,
they considered whatever they could retrieve as so much
gain. Many of the ancient dignitaries were men of
noble birth ; and, as they no longer entertained hopes
of restoring the popish religion, they wished their own
relations, rather than the crown, or the protestant
Q2
228 THE HISTORY BOOK nr.
1561. clergy, to be enriched with the spoils of the church.
~ They connived, for this reason, at the encroachments
of the nobles ; they even aided their avarice and vio-
lence ; they dealt out the patrimony of the church
among their own relations, and, by granting ' feus' and
perpetual leases of lands and tithes, gave, to the utmost
of their power, some colour of legal possession to what
was formerly mere usurpation. Many vestiges of such
alienations still remain q . The nobles, with the concur-
rence of the incumbents, daily extended their encroach-
ments, and gradually stripped the ecclesiastics of their
richest and most valuable possessions. Even that third
part, which was given up, in order to silence the cla-
mours of the protestant clergy, and to be some equiva-
lent to the crown for its claims, amounted to no consi-
derable sum. The ' thirds' due by the more powerful
nobles, especially by such as had embraced the refor-
mation, were almost universally remitted. Others, by
producing fraudulent rentals ; by estimating the corn,
and other payments in kind, at an undervalue ; and by
the connivance of collectors, greatly diminished the
charge against themselves r : and the nobles had much
reason to be satisfied with a device which, at so small
expense, secured to them such valuable possessions.
The pro- Nor were the protestant clergy considerable gainers
clergy* no ^v this new regulation ; they found it to be a more easy
gainers by matter to kindle zeal, than to extinguish avarice. Those
very men, whom formerly they had swayed with abso-
lute authority, were now deaf to all their remonstrances.
The prior of St. Andrew's, the earl of Argyll, the earl
of Morton, and Maitland, all the most zealous leaders
of the congregation, were appointed to assign, or, as it
was called, to 'modify' their stipends. An hundred
merks Scottish was the allowance which their liberality
afforded to the generality of ministers. To a few three
i Keith, 507. Spotsw. 175.
f Keith, Append. 188. Spotsw. 183.
BOOK in. OF SCOTLAND:
hundred merks were granted s . About twenty-four thou- 1561.
sand pounds Scottish appears to have been the whole ~~
sum allotted for the maintenance of a national church,
established by law, and esteemed throughout the king-
dom the true church of God *. Even this sum was paid
with little exactness, and the ministers were kept in the
same poverty and dependence as formerly. 1562
The gentleness of the queen's administration, and Dissensions
the elegance of her court, had mitigated, in some de-*^j^
gree, the ferocity of the nobles, and accustomed them
to greater mildness and humanity j while, at the same
time, her presence and authority were a check to their
factious and tumultuary spirit. But, as a state of order
and tranquillity was not natural to the feudal aristo-
cracy, it could not be of long continuance; and this
year became remarkable for the most violent eruptions
of intestine discord and animosity.
Among the great and independent nobility of Scot-
land, a monarch could possess little authority, and exer-
cise no extensive or rigorous jurisdiction. The inter-
fering of interest, the unsettled state of property, the
frequency of public commotions, and the fierceness of
their own manners, sowed among the great families the
seeds of many quarrels and contentions. These, as we
have already observed, were frequently decided not by
law, but by violence. The offended baron, without
having recourse to the monarch, or acknowledging his
superior authority, assembled his own followers, and
invaded the lands of his rival in an hostile manner.
Together with his estate and honours, every nobleman
transmitted some hereditary feud to his posterity, who
were bound in honour to adopt and to prosecute it with
unabated rancour.
Such a dissension had subsisted between the house
of Hamilton and the earl of Bothwell, and was height-
ened by mutual injuries during the late commotions .
* Knox, 301. ' Keith, Append. 188. " Keith, 215.
230 THE HISTORY BOOK m.
1562. The earl of Arran and Bothwell happening to attend
February, the court at the same time, their followers quarrelled
frequently in the streets of Edinburgh, and excited
dangerous tumults in that city. At last, the mediation
of their friends, particularly of Knox, brought about a
reconcilement, but an unfortunate one to both these
noblemen *.
A few days after, Arran came to Knox, and, with
the utmost terrour and confusion, confessed first to
him, and then to the prior of St. Andrew's, that, in
order to obtain the sole direction of affairs, Bothwell,
and his kinsmen the Hamiltons, had conspired to mur-
der the prior, Maitland, and the other favourites of the
queen. The duke of Chatelherault regarded the prior
as a rival, who had supplanted him in the queen's fa-
vour, and who filled that place at the helm, which he
imagined to be due to himself, as first prince of the
blood. Bothwell, on account of the personal injuries
which he had received from the prior, during the hos-
tile operations of the two contending parties, was no
less exasperated against him. But whether he and the
Hamiltons had agreed to cement their new alliance
with the blood of their common enemy, or whether the
conspiracy existed only in the frantic and disordered
imagination of the earl of Arran, it is impossible, amidst
the contradiction of historians and the defectiveness of
records, positively to determine. Among men inflamed
with resentment and impatient for revenge, rash ex-
pressions might be uttered, and violent and criminal
expedients proposed ; and, on that foundation, Arran's
distempered fancy might rear the whole superstructure
of a conspiracy. All the persons accused, denied their
guilt with the utmost confidence. But the known cha-
racters of the men, and the violent spirit of the age,
added greatly to the probability of the accusation, and
abundantly justify the conduct of the queen's ministers,
* Kaox,305.
BOOK in. OF SCOTLAND. 231
who confined Bothwell, Arran, and a few of the ring-
leaders, in separate prisons, and obliged the duke to ~"
surrender the strong castle of Dumbarton > which he
had held ever since the time of his resigning the office
of regent y .
The designs of the earl of Huntly against the prior The earl of
of St. Andrew's were deeper laid, and produced more en ^ t y ^
memorable and more tragical events. George Gordon, th . e queen's
ir-Ti-11'i r> i it i ministers.
earl of Huntly, having been one of the nobles who con-
spired against James the third, and who raised his son,
James the fourth, to the throne, enjoyed a great share
in the confidence of that generous prince z . By his
bounty, great accessions of wealth and power were
added to a family already opulent and powerful. On
the death of that monarch, Alexander, the next earl,
being appointed lord-lieutenant of all the counties be-
yond Forth, left the other nobles to contend for offices
at court ; and retiring to the north, where his estate
and influence lay, resided there in a kind of princely
independence. The chieftains, in that part of the
kingdom, dreaded the growing dominion of such a
dangerous neighbour, but were unable to prevent his
encroachments. Some of his rivals he secretly under-
mined, others he subdued by open force. His estate
far exceeded that of any other subject, and his ' supe-
riorities' and jurisdictions extended over many of the
northern counties. With power and possessions so ex-
tensive, under two long and feeble minorities, and
amidst the shock of civil commotions, the earls of
Huntly might have indulged the most elevated hopes.
But, happily for the crown, an active and enterprising
spirit was not the characteristic of that family ; and,
whatever object their ambition might have in view,
they chose rather to acquire it by political address,
than to seize it openly, and by force of arms.
The conduct of George, the present earl, during the
Knox, 307. 308. * Crawf. Officers of State, 56.
THE HISTORY BOOK m.
1562. late commotions, had been perfectly suitable to the
""" character of the family in that age, dubious, variable,
and crafty. While the success of the lords of the con-
gregatipn was uncertain, he assisted the queen regent
in her attempts to crush them. When their affairs put
on a better aspect, he pretended to join them, but
never heartily favoured their cause. He was courted
and feared by each of the contending parties ; both
connived at his encroachments in the north; and, by
artifice and force, which he well knew how to employ
alternately, and in their proper places, he added every
day to the exorbitant power and wealth which he pos-
sessed.
He observed the growing reputation and authority
of the prior of St. Andrew's with the greatest jealousy
and concern, and considered him as a rival, who had
engrossed that share in the queen's confidence, to which
his own zeal for the popish religion seemed to give him
a preferable title. Personal injuries soon increased the
misunderstanding occasioned by rivalship in power.
The queen having determined to reward the services
of the prior of St. Andrew's, by creating him an earl,
she made choice of Mar, as the place whence he should
Feb. 1. take his title ; and, that he might be better able to sup-
port his new honour, bestowed upon him, at the same
time, the lands of that name. These were part of the
royal demesnes % but the earls of Huntly had been per-
mitted, for several years, to keep possession of them b .
On this occasion the earl not only complained, with
some reason, of the loss which he sustained, but had
real cause to be alarmed at the intrusion of a formidable
neighbour into the heart of his territories, who might
be able to rival his power, and excite his oppressed
vassals to shake off his yoke.
June 27. An incident, which happened soon after, increased
and confirmed Huntly's suspicions. Sir John Gordon,
a Crawf. Peer. 297. b Buch. 334.
BOOK m. OF SCOTLAND.
his third son, and lord Ogilvie, had a dispute about the 1562.
property of an estate. This dispute became a deadly ~~
quarrel. They happened unfortunately to meet in the
streets of Edinburgh; and, being both attended with
armed followers, a scuffle ensued, in which lord Ogilvie
was dangerously wounded by sir John. The magis-
trates seized both the offenders, and the queen com-
manded them to be strictly confined. Under any regu-
lar government, such a breach of public peace and order
would expose the person offending to certain punish-
ment. At this time some severity was necessary, in
order to vindicate the queen's authority from an insult,
the most heinous which had been offered to it, since
her return into Scotland. But, in an age accustomed
to license and anarchy, even this moderate exercise of
her power, in ordering them to be kept in custody, was
deemed an act of intolerable rigour ; and the friends of
each party began to convene their vassals and depend-
ents, in order to overawe or to frustrate the decisions
of justice . Meanwhile, Gordon made his escape out
of prison, and flying into Aberdeenshire, complained
loudly of the indignity with which he had been treated ;
and as all the queen's actions were, at this juncture,
imputed to the earl of Mar, this added not a little to
the resentment which Huntly had conceived against
that nobleman.
At the very time when these passions fermented, with August.
the utmost violence, in the minds of the earl of Huntly
and his family, the queen happened to set out on a pro^
gress into the northern parts of the kingdom. She was
attended by the earls of Mar and Morton, Maitland,
and other leaders of that party. The presence of the
queen, in a country where no name greater than the
earl of Huntly's had been heard of, and no power su-
perior to his had been exercised, for many years, was
an event of itself abundantly mortifying to that haughty
Keith, 223.
234 THE HISTORY BOOK m.
1562. nobleman. But while the queen was entirely under the
~ direction of Mar, all her actions were more apt to be
misrepresented, and construed into injuries; and a thou-
sand circumstances could not but occur to awaken
Huntly's jealousy, to offend his pride, and to inflame
his resentment. Amidst the agitations of so many vio-
lent passions, some eruption was unavoidable.
On Mary's arrival in the north, Huntly employed his
wife, a woman capable of executing the commission
with abundance of dexterity, to sooth the queen, and
to intercede for pardon to their son. But the queen
peremptorily required that he should again deliver him-
self into the hands of justice, and rely on her clemency.
Gordon was persuaded to do so; and being enjoined
by the queen to enter himself prisoner in the castle of
Stirling, he promised likewise to obey that command.
Lord Erskine, Mar's uncle, was at that time governor
of this fort. The queen's severity, and the place in
which she appointed Gordon to be confined, were in-
terpreted to be new marks of Mar's rancour, and aug-
mented the hatred of the Gordons against him.
Sept. l. Meantime, sir John Gordon set out towards Stirling ;
but, instead of performing his promise to the queen,
made his escape from his guards, and returned to take
the command of his followers, who were rising in arms
all over the north. These were destined to second and
improve the blow, by which his father proposed, se-
cretly and at once, to cut off Mar, Morton, and Mait-
land, his principal adversaries. The time and place
for perpetrating this horrid deed were frequently ap-
pointed ; but the executing of it was wonderfully pre-
vented, by some of those unforeseen accidents, which
so often occur to disconcert the schemes, and to intimi-
date the hearts of assassins' 1 . Huntly's own house,'at
Strathbogie, was the last and most convenient scene
appointed for committing the intended violence. But,
Keith, 230.
BOOK in. OF SCOTLAND. 235
on her journey thither, the queen heard of young Gor- 1562.
don's flight and rebellion, and refusing, in the first ~~
transports of her indignation, to enter under the father's
roof, by that fortunate expression of her resentment
saved her ministers from unavoidable destruction 6 .
The ill success of these efforts of private revenge Take arms
precipitated Huntly into open rebellion. As the queen
was entirely under the direction of his rivals, it was im-
possible to compass their ruin, without violating the
allegiance which he owed his sovereign. On her arrival
at Inverness, the commanding officer in the castle, by
Huntly 's orders, shut the gates against her. Mary was
obliged to lodge in the town, which was open and de-
fenceless ; but this too was quickly surrounded by a
multitude of the earl's followers f . The utmost conster-
nation seized the queen, who was attended by a very
slender train. She every moment expected the ap-
proach of the rebels, and some ships were already
ordered into the river to secure her escape. The loy-
alty of the Munroes, Frazers, Mackintoshes, and some
neighbouring clans, who took arms in her defence,
saved her from this danger. By their assistance, she
even forced the castle to surrender, and inflicted on the
governor the punishment which his insolence deserved.
This open act of disobedience was the occasion of a
measure more galling to Huntly than any the queen
had hitherto taken. Lord Erskine having pretended
a right to the earldom of Mar, Stewart resigned it in
his favour ; and, at the same time, Mary conferred upon
him the title of earl of Murray, with the estate annexed
to that dignity, which had been in the possession of the
earl of Huntly since the year 1548 8 . From this en-
croachment upon his domains he concluded that his
family was devoted to destruction ; and, dreading to be
stripped gradually of those possessions which, in reward
* Knox, 318. f Crawf. Officers of State, 87, 88.
B Crawf. Peer. 35$)
236 THE HISTORY BOOK in.
1562. of their services, the gratitude of the crown had be-
stowed on himself," or his ancestors, he no longer dis-
guised his intentions, but, in defiance of the queen's
proclamation, openly took arms. Instead of yielding
those places of strength, which Mary required him to
surrender, his followers dispersed or cut in pieces the
parties which she despatched to take possession of
them h ; and he himself advancing with a considerable
body of men towards Aberdeen, to which place the
queen was now returned, filled her small court with
consternation. Murray had only a handful of men in
whom he could confide l . ' In order to form the appear-
ance of an army, he was obliged to call in the assistance
of the neighbouring barons ; but, as most of these either
favoured Huntly's designs, or stood in awe of his power,
from them no cordial or effectual service could be ex-
pected.
Oct. 28. With these troops, however, Murray, who could gain
nothing by delay, marched briskly towards the enemy.
He found them at Corichie, posted to great advantage;
he commanded his northern associates instantly to begin
the attack ; but, on the first motion of the enemy, they
treacherously turned then* backs ; and Huntly's follow-
ers, throwing aside their spears, and breaking their
ranks, drew their swords, and rushed forward to the
He is de- pursuit. It was then that Murray gave proof, both of
the'earl of s ^ ea( ly courage and of prudent conduct. He stood im-
Murray. movable on a rising ground, with the small but trusty
body of his adherents, who, presenting their spears to
the enemy, received them with a determined resolution,
which they little expected. The Highland broadsword
is not a weapon fit to encounter the Scottish spear. In
every civil commotion, the superiority of the latter has
been evident, and has always decided the contest. On
this occasion the irregular attack of Huntly's troops was
easily repulsed by Murray's firm battalion. Before they
h Knox, 319. ' Keith, 230.
BOOK HI. OF SCOTLAND. 237
recovered from the confusion occasioned by this unfore- 1562.
seen resistance, Murray's northern troops, who had fled ~
so shamefully in the beginning of the action, willing to
regain their credit with the victorious party, fell upon
them, and completed the rout. Huntly himself, who
was extremely corpulent, was trodden to death in the
pursuit. His sons, sir John and Adam, were taken,
and Murray returned in triumph to Aberdeen with his
prisoners.
The trial of men taken in actual rebellion against
their sovereign was extremely short. Three days after
the battle, sir John Gordon was beheaded at Aber-
deen. His brother Adam was pardoned on account of
his youth. Lord Gordon, who had been privy to his
father's designs, was seized in the south, and upon trial
found guilty of treason ; but, through the queen's cle-
mency, the punishment was remitted. The first par-
liament proceeded against this great family with the
utmost rigour of law, and reduced their power and for-
tune to the lowest ebb k .
k This conspiracy of the earl of Huntly is one of the most intricate and
mysterious passages in the Scottish history. As it was a transaction purely
domestic, and in which the English were little interested, few original pa-
pers concerning it have been found in Cecil's Collection, the great storehouse
of evidence and information with regard to the affairs of this period.
Buchanan supposes Mary to have formed a design about this time of de-
stroying Murray, and of employing the power of the earl of Huntly for this
purpose. But his account of this whole transaction appears to be so void
of truth, and even of probability, as to deserve no serious examination. At
that time Mary wanted power, and seems to have had no inclination to com-
mit any act of violence upon her brother.
Two other hypotheses have been advanced, in order to explain this mat-
ter ; but they appear to be equally removed from truth.
I. It cannot well be conceived, that the queen's journey to the north
was a scheme concerted by Murray, in order to ruin the earl of Huntly.
1 . Huntly had resided at court almost ever since the queen's return. Keith,
198. Append. 175, etc. This was the proper place in which to have seized
him. To attack him in Aberdeenshire, the seat of his power, and in the
midst of his vassals, was a project equally absurd and hazardous. 2. The
queen was not accompanied with a body of troops capable of attempting
any thing against Huntly by violence : her train was not more numerous
238 THE HISTORY BOOK in.
1562. As the fall of the earl of Huntly is the most import-
~~ ant event of this year, it would have been improper to
interrupt the narrative by taking notice of lesser trans-
actions, which may now be related with equal propriety.
An inter- In the beginning of summer, Mary, who was desirous
view be- o f entering into a more intimate correspondence and
tween Jill- CT .. ' . .._ . , 1 1
zabeth and familiarity with Elizabeth, employed Maitland to desire
Uary pro- a p ersona i interview with her, somewhere in the north
of England. As this proposal could not be rejected
with decency, the time, the place, and the circumstances
of the meeting were instantly agreed upon. But Eliza-
beth was prudent enough not to admit into her king-
dom a rival who outshone herself so far in beauty and
gracefulness of person ; and who excelled so eminently
in all the arts of insinuation and address. Under pre-
than was usual in times of greatest tranquillity. Keith, 230. 3. There re-
main two original letters with regard to this conspiracy ; one from Randolph
the English resident, and another from Maitland, both directed to Cecil.
They talk of Huntly's measures as notoriously treasonable. Randolph men-
tions his repeated attempts to assassinate Murray, etc. No hint is given of
any previous resolution formed by Mary's ministers to ruin Huntly and his
family. Had any such design ever existed, it was Randolph's duty to have
discovered it ; nor would Maitland have laboured to conceal it from the