A widow at eighteen
Francis II died after two years on the throne (5 December 1560), and Mary, widowed at eighteen, thought of retiring to an estate in Touraine, for she loved France. Meanwhile Scotland had turned Protestant, and France feared losing an ally. The French government held that Mary's duty was to go to Edinburgh and urge her homeland toward union with France and a return to the Catholic faith. She had to adjust herself to giving up the comforts and splendor of France for a life in Scotland, which she barely remembered and thought a land of savagery and cold. So she wrote to the Scottish nobles affirming her loyalty, but she did not tell them that the marriage contract provided that if she died childless, Scotland would pass to the kings of France. The nobles, Protestant and Catholic alike, were delighted, and the Scottish parliament invited her to take the throne. Mary asked Elizabeth for a safe-conduct across England, but the request was refused. So on 4 August 1561 (the book's date) she boarded ship at Calais and, with tears in her eyes, said farewell to France, gazing at the shore as long as it could be seen. Five days later she landed at Leith, the port of Edinburgh, and set foot on Scottish soil.
Scotland in 1560 and 1561
Scotland was an ancient country with deep traditions. In the northern highlands nearly independent chiefs lived a half-primitive life of hunting, herding and farming through tenants. The south held low, beautiful country, fertile because of abundant rain, but with long winters and sharp cold. The Scots were trying to free themselves from illiteracy, licentiousness, corruption, lawlessness and bullying, and to establish a moral and civilized order. They were also prey to superstition, burned witches, and sought with intense faith a life of less suffering. To counter the divisive power of the nobles, the kings had supported the Catholic clergy and given them wealth, which bred greed, laxity and irregular living.
The nobles, who coveted the wealth of the Church, lowered the standing of the clergy by placing their worldly sons in church offices, and in addition took up the cause of religious reform. They created the Scottish parliament, brought it under their influence, and through it came to dominate both church and country.
Danger from abroad was the strongest force for unity at home. The English government, feeling insecure with unruly Scots on the island of Britain, repeatedly tried to take Scotland by diplomacy, marriage or war. Scotland, fearing this, allied itself with France, England's old enemy. At this point Cecil advised Elizabeth to support the Protestant nobles against their Catholic queen, so as to sow division in Scotland and end both its danger to England and its alliance with France. Moreover, if the Protestant leaders succeeded, they might depose Mary Stuart, set one of the nobles on the throne and spread Protestantism through all Scotland; Cecil even thought of persuading Elizabeth to marry such a king and so unite England and Scotland. When France sent forces to crush the Protestants, Elizabeth sent an army to protect them and drive out the French. After their troops were beaten, the French envoys signed an ill-starred treaty at Edinburgh (6 July 1560) by which French forces would leave Scotland and Mary Stuart would give up her claim to the English throne and crown. But Mary, on the advice of her husband Francis II, refused to ratify the treaty. This drew Elizabeth's full attention.
The religious situation was also in confusion. The parliament, whose members were Protestants, formally abolished Catholicism and set up Protestantism on Calvin's model. But these acts, which needed royal assent to become law, were not approved by Mary. Catholic priests still held many posts, half the nobles favored the pope, and John Hamilton, of the royal family, still came to parliament as Catholic archbishop. In Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Perth, Stirling and Aberdeen a large part of the middle class had turned to Calvin's creed under the fiery preaching of John Knox.
A year before Mary's arrival, Knox and his colleagues wrote the Book of Discipline to set out their principles and aims. In it, 'religion' meant the Protestant way, 'the godly' meant followers of Calvin, and idolatry meant the Mass, the invocation of saints, and the worship and keeping of images. It declared that stubborn upholders of such things and teachers of such errors should not escape the magistrate's punishment, which could be severe, and that any principle contrary to the Gospel should be wholly abolished. Ministers were to be chosen by the people, schools founded for pious children, and the Scottish universities (St. Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen) placed under supervision. The wealth of the Catholic Church and the church tithe (a tenth of the people's income) were to serve the needs of ministers, education and the relief of the poor. The new Church, not the secular state, should make the laws of morality and set penalties for drunkenness, gluttony, blasphemy, strange dress, mistreatment of the poor, licentiousness and adultery.
But the nobles, who controlled the parliament, refused to adopt the Book of Discipline (January 1561), fearing a strong, independent Church and having made their own plans for the old Church's wealth. Still, the book remained the guide and goal of the Church. Knox, despairing of establishing a religious government, set about training new ministers, raising money for their support and spreading the new faith through all of Scotland, where some Catholic priests still served. The decisive, commanding power of his teaching and the zeal of his followers made him a force in Edinburgh and in the eyes of the government. Mary, being Catholic, would have to reckon with his opposition before she could strengthen her own position.
The queen and her character
Mary had arranged to arrive two weeks before the appointed time, fearing opposition from some of her enemies. But when news of her arrival at Leith spread through the capital, the people gathered in the streets were struck by the sight of a beautiful, lively queen not yet nineteen, and as she rode with dignity toward Holyrood Palace many welcomed her gladly. Among them were Catholic and Protestant gentry alike, proud that Scotland had such a lovely queen who might one day take England too, by herself or through her child.
The two portraits that survive show she was one of the most beautiful women of her age. We cannot say how far unknown painters flattered her, but in both we see the delicate features, the fine hands and the thick auburn hair that enchanted nobles and biographers. Yet the portraits can hardly convey her true charm: her lively spirit, her smiling mouth, her witty talk, her warmth, her gift for kindness, her need for affection, and her open admiration of strong men. Her tragic fate lay in wanting to be both woman and queen, to feel the warmth of love without giving up any royal privilege.
She thought of herself, like women of the Middle Ages, as beautiful, proud, passionate and fond of pleasure; she could bear intense longing and suffering, had a tender heart and steady loyalty, and a courage that grew as danger grew. She was a skilled rider who leapt hedges and ditches recklessly and bore the hardships of a campaign without weariness or complaint. But in spirit and body she was not made for rule: apart from her nerves she was frail, and at times so listless that people thought she had epilepsy (the book's wording), and at times an unknown illness afflicted her. Unlike Elizabeth she lacked a masculine shrewdness; and though she was clever she seldom acted wisely, and many times ruined her policy through her feelings. Sometimes in some matters she showed great restraint, patience and skill, then suddenly upset everything with a hot temper and a sharp tongue. Her beauty and her mind were her enemies, and her character decided her end.