Courtier
A courtier is a person, in attendance at the court of a monarch or other royal personage. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers; the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, the social and political life were completely mixed together. Monarchs often expected the more important nobles to spend much of the year in attendance on them at court. Not all courtiers were noble, as they included clergy, clerks, secretaries and middlemen with business at court. All those who held a court appointment could be called courtiers but not all courtiers held positions at court; those personal favourites without business around the monarch, sometimes called the camarilla, were considered courtiers. As social divisions became more rigid, a divide present in Antiquity or the Middle Ages, opened between menial servants and other classes at court, although Alexandre Bontemps, the head valet de chambre of Louis XIV, was a late example of a "menial" who managed to establish his family in the nobility.
The key commodities for a courtier were access and information, a large court operated at many levels: many successful careers at court involved no direct contact with the monarch. The largest and most famous European court was that of the Palace of Versailles at its peak, although the Forbidden City of Beijing was larger and more isolated from national life. Similar features marked the courts of all large monarchies, including in India, Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Ancient Rome, Byzantium or the Caliphs of Baghdad or Cairo. Early medieval European courts travelled from place to place following the monarch as he travelled; this was the case in the early French court. But, the European nobility had independent power and was less controlled by the monarch until around the 18th century, which gave European court life greater complexity; the earliest courtiers coincide with the development of definable courts beyond the rudimentary entourages or retinues of rulers. There were courtiers in the courts of the Akkadian Empire where there is evidence of court appointments such as that of Cup-bearer, one of the earliest court appointments and remained a position at courts for thousands of years.
Two of the earliest titles referring to the general concept of a courtier were the ša rēsi and mazzāz pāni of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.. In Ancient Egypt we find a title translated as high great overseer of the house; the courts influenced by the court of the Neo-Assyrian Empire such as those of the Median Empire and the Achaemenid Empire had numerous courtiers After invading the Achaemenid Empire Alexander the Great returned with the concept of the complex court featuring a variety of courtiers to the Kingdom of Macedonia and Hellenistic Greece. The imperial court of the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople would contain at least a thousand courtiers; the court's systems became prevalent in other courts such as those in the Balkan states, the Ottoman Empire and Russia. Byzantinism is a term, coined for this spread of the Byzantine system in the 19th century. In modern English, the term is used metaphorically for contemporary political favourites or hangers-on. In modern literature, courtiers are depicted as insincere, skilled at flattery and intrigue and lacking regard for the national interest.
More positive representations include the role played by members of the court in the development of politeness and the arts. Examples of courtiers in fiction: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Sir Lancelot from Arthurian legend, Gríma Wormtongue from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Count Hasimir Fenring and Gaius Helen Mohiam from Frank Herbert's Dune. Petyr Baelish and Varys from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Fire. Ivan Vorpatril from Lois McMaster Bujold's series Vorkosigan Saga. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. Brokerage at the Court of Louis XIV, by Sharon Kettering. 1, pp. 69-87.
Turin
Turin is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Turin and of the Piedmont region, was the first capital city of Italy from 1861 to 1865; the city is located on the western bank of the Po River, in front of Susa Valley, is surrounded by the western Alpine arch and Superga Hill. The population of the city proper is 878,074 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2.2 million. The city has a rich culture and history, being known for its numerous art galleries, churches, opera houses, parks, theatres, libraries and other venues. Turin is well known for its Renaissance, Rococo, Neo-classical, Art Nouveau architecture. Many of Turin's public squares, castles and elegant palazzi such as the Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. A part of the historical center of Turin was inscribed in the World Heritage List under the name Residences of the Royal House of Savoy.
The city used to be a major European political center. From 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy, the first capital of the unified Italy from 1861 to 1865. Turin is sometimes called "the cradle of Italian liberty" for having been the birthplace and home of notable individuals who contributed to the Risorgimento, such as Cavour; the city hosts some of Italy's best universities, academies and gymnasia, such as the University of Turin, founded in the 15th century, the Turin Polytechnic. In addition, the city is home to museums such as the Mole Antonelliana. Turin's attractions make it one of the world's top 250 tourist destinations and the tenth most visited city in Italy in 2008. Though much of its political significance and importance had been lost by World War II, Turin became a major European crossroad for industry and trade, is part of the famous "industrial triangle" along with Milan and Genoa. Turin is ranked third after Milan and Rome, for economic strength.
With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the world's 78th richest city by purchasing power. As of 2018, the city has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma World city. Turin is home to much of the Italian automotive industry. Turin is well known as the home of the Shroud of Turin, the football teams Juventus F. C. and Torino F. C. the headquarters of automobile manufacturers Fiat and Alfa Romeo, as host of the 2006 Winter Olympics. The Taurini were an ancient Celto-Ligurian Alpine people, who occupied the upper valley of the Po River, in the center of modern Piedmont. In 218 BC, they were attacked by Hannibal as he was allied with their long-standing enemies, the Insubres; the Taurini chief town was captured by Hannibal's forces after a three-day siege. As a people they are mentioned in history, it is believed that a Roman colony was established in 9 BC under the name of Julia Augusta Taurinorum. Both Livy and Strabo mention the Taurini's country as including one of the passes of the Alps, which points to a wider use of the name in earlier times.
In the 1st century BC, the Romans founded Augusta Taurinorum. The typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the exact path of the Roman city's decumanus which began at the Porta Decumani incorporated into the Castello or Palazzo Madama; the Porta Palatina, on the north side of the current city centre, is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral. Remains of the Roman-period theater are preserved in the area of the Manica Nuova. Turin reached about 5,000 inhabitants at all living inside the high city walls. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the town was conquered by the Heruli and the Ostrogoths, recaptured by the Romans, but conquered again by the Lombards and the Franks of Charlemagne; the Contea di Torino was founded in the 940s and was held by the Arduinic dynasty until 1050. After the marriage of Adelaide of Susa with Humbert Biancamano's son Otto, the family of the Counts of Savoy gained control.
While the title of count was held by the Bishop as count of Turin it was ruled as a prince-bishopric by the Bishops. In 1230–1235 it was a lordship under the Marquess of Montferrat, styled Lord of Turin. At the end of the 13th century, when it was annexed to the Duchy of Savoy, the city had 20,000 inhabitants. Many of the gardens and palaces were built in the 15th century; the University of Turin was founded during this period. Emmanuel Philibert known under the nickname of Iron Head, made Turin the capital of the Duchy of Savoy in 1563. Piazza Reale and Via Nuova were added along with the first enlargement of the walls, in the first half of the 17th century. In the second half of that century, a second enlargement of the walls was planned and executed, with the building of the arcaded Via Po, connecting Piazza Castello with the bridge on the Po through the regular street grid. In 1706, during the Battle of Turin, the French besieged the city for 117 days without conquering it. By the Treaty of Utrecht the Duke of Savoy acquir
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he won the civil war, dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of Scots. However, he came to an unfortunate end, executed by means of the Maiden, a predecessor of the guillotine, which he himself was said to have introduced to Scotland. James Douglas was the second son of Sir George Douglas of Pittendreich, Master of Angus, Elizabeth Douglas, daughter David Douglas of Pittendreich, he wrote that he was over 61 years old in March 1578, so was born around 1516. Before 1543 he married daughter of James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton. In 1553 James Douglas succeeded to the title and estates of his father-in-law, including Dalkeith House in Midlothian, Aberdour Castle in Fife. Elizabeth Douglas and her two elder sisters, who were married to Regent Arran and Lord Maxwell, suffered from mental ill-health, their children either did not survive to adulthood, or in the case of three daughters were declared incompetent in 1581.
James had five illegitimate childrenAt the start of war of the Rough Wooing and his brother David communicated with Henry VIII of England on the possibility of their surrendering Tantallon Castle to the English army that burnt Edinburgh in 1544. However, four years he defended Dalkeith Palace against the English and was captured in June 1548, "sore hurt on the thigh " and taken as a hostage to England. After the Treaty of Boulogne brought peace, in 1550 James returned from captivity in England and was exchanged for the English soldier John Luttrell, began to use his title of "Earl of Morton." In 1559 James's political activities and allegiances during the Scottish Reformation were at first equivocal, but in February 1560 he signed the Treaty of Berwick which invited an English army into Scotland to expel the Catholic regime of Mary of Guise. He took part in the unsuccessful embassy to England in November 1560 to treat for the marriage of Elizabeth I of England to James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran.
In 1563 he became Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Though his sympathies were with the reformers, he took no part in the combination of Protestant reformers in 1565, but he headed the armed force which took possession of Holyrood palace in March 1566 to effect the assassination of David Rizzio, the leading conspirators adjourned to Morton's house while a messenger was sent to obtain Queen Mary's signature to the "bond of security"; the Queen, before complying with the request, escaped to Dunbar, Morton and the other leaders fled to England. Having been pardoned, Morton returned to Scotland early in 1567, with 600 men appeared before Borthwick Castle, where the Queen had taken refuge after her marriage to Bothwell. Morton attended the remarkable stand-off at the battle of Carberry Hill in June 1567, Mary's new husband, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell offered to settle the matter by single combat; when Patrick, Lord Lindsay took up the challenge, Morton gave Lindsay the sword of his ancestor, Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus.
Mary vetoed a fight, surrendered. Morton took an active part in obtaining the consent of the queen, while she was imprisoned at Lochleven Castle, to her abdication in July 1567; when Mary escaped from Lochleven, he led the vanguard of the army which defeated her forces at the Battle of Langside in 1568, he was the most valued privy counsellor of the Earl of Moray during the latter's brief term of office as Regent of Scotland. Scotland was now ruled by Regents on behalf of Mary's infant son, James VI of Scotland, who faced a civil war. James Stewart, Regent Moray, Mary's half-brother, was assassinated in Linlithgow and Matthew Stewart, Regent Lennox died from a gunshot wound after a struggle on the streets of Stirling. On 18 November 1571, the new Regent, John Erskine, Earl of Mar, sent Morton with Robert Pitcairn, Commendator of Dunfermline and James MacGill of Nether Rankeillour to negotiate with Elizabeth's representative Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, Governor of Berwick upon Tweed. Mar wanted English help to capture Edinburgh Castle from Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange who held it for Mary, Queen of Scots.
Regent Mar hoped that Morton could arrange for 12 cannons, 3000 foot soldiers, wages for the 800 Scottish foot soldiers and 200 horsemen in the field. Morton was instructed to offer six hostages to England from the sons of the nobility who supported James VI, he discussed returning the Earl of Northumberland to England, a fugitive after the failed Rising of the North. A week Morton wrote to Hunsdon with the same request, urging an attack in winter because the Castle was vulnerable when the Nor' Loch was frozen. Hunsdon replied that Elizabeth still hoped for a peaceful settlement, but he would send an estimate of the expedition's cost to Elizabeth. Morton received a token payment; the English rebels were handed over. The treaty for military aid was still not finalised when Mar died at Stirling in October 1572. On 24 November 1572, a month after the death of Regent Mar, the most powerful noble during Mar and Lennox's rule, at last reached the object of his ambition by being elected regent; as Regent of Scotland, Morton expected the support of England and Elizabeth, a week after his election, he wrote to William Cecil, Lord Burghley following his discussions with the English ambassador Henry Killigrew.
Dunbar Castle
Dunbar Castle is the remnants of one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. The Votadini or Gododdin are thought to have been the first to defend this site as its original Brythonic name, dyn barr, means'the fort of the point'. By the 7th century, Dunbar Castle was a central defensive position of the Kings of Bernicia, an Anglian kingdom that took over from the British Kingdom of Bryneich. During the Early Middle Ages, Dunbar Castle was held by an Ealdorman owing homage to either the Kings at Bamburgh Castle, or latterly the Kings of York. In 678 Saint Wilfrid was imprisoned at Dunbar, following his expulsion from his see of York by Ecgfrith of Northumbria. Dunbar was said to have been burnt by Kenneth MacAlpin, King of the Scots, he is on record in possession of the castle. In the 10th and early 11th centuries, the Norsemen made increasing inroads in Scotland and in 1005 a record exists of a Patrick de Dunbar, under Malcolm II, engaged against the Norse invaders in the north at Murthlake a town of Marr where alongside Kenneth, Thane of the Isles, Grim, Thane of Strathearn, he was slain.
The first stone castle is thought to have been built by Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria, after his exile from England, following the Harrowing of the North, by William the Conqueror after Gospatric took refuge at the court of Malcolm III of Scotland. Gospatric was a powerful landowner in both kingdoms and could summon many men, which encouraged Malcolm to give him more lands in East Lothian, the Merse and Lauderdale, as recompense for those lost further south and in return for loyalty as is usual under the feudal system. Sir Walter Scott argued that Gospatrick was a contraction of Comes Patricius. In any case, King Malcolm III is recorded as bestowing the manor of Dunbar &c. on "the expatriated Earl of Northumberland". The body of buildings measured in excess of one hundred and sixty five feet from east to west, in some places up to two hundred and ten feet from north to south; the South Battery, which Grose supposes to have been the citadel or keep, is situated on a detached perpendicular rock, only accessible on one side, seventy two feet high, is connected to the main part of the castle by a passage of masonry measuring sixty nine feet.
The interior of the citadel measures fifty four feet by sixty within the walls. Its shape is octagonal. Five of the gun-ports remain, which are called the'arrow-holes', they measure four feet at only sixteen inches at the other end. The buildings are arched and extend eight feet from the outer walls, look into an open court, whence they derive their light. About the middle of the fortress, part of a wall remains, through which there is a gateway, surmounted with armorial bearings. Ths gate seems to have led to the principal apartments. In the centre, are the arms of George, 10th Earl of Dunbar, who succeeded his father in 1369, who besides the earldom of Dunbar and March, inherited the Lordship of Annandale and the Isle of Man from his heroic aunt, Black Agnes of Dunbar They must have been placed there after his succession, as he was the first who assumed those sculptured Arms: viz, a large triangular shield, thereon a lion rampant, within a bordure charged with eight roses; the shield is adorned with a helmet, carrying a crest: a horse's head bridled.
On the right are the Arms of the Bruces, on the left those of the Isle of Man. The castle towers had communication with the sea, dip low in many places. North-east from the front of the castle is a large natural cavern, chiefly of black stone, which looks like the mouth of the Acheron – a place that leads to melancholy streams; this spot is supposed to have formed part of the dungeon where prisoners were confined, such as Gavin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld, a prisoner here in 1515. There is, however a dark postern which gives access to a rocky inlet from the sea, it seems probable that it was through this that Sir Alexander Ramsay and his followers entered with a supply of provisions to the besieged in 1338, it was long said the castle was invulnerable because of the many sieges it sustained. The castle was built with a red stone similar to that found in the quarries near Garvald. Large masses of walls, which have fallen beneath the weight of time, appear to be vitrified or run together. In the north-west part of the ruins is an apartment about twelve feet square, nearly inaccessible, which tradition states was the apartment of Mary, Queen of Scots.
The Castle remained the stronghold of the Earls of Dunbar until the forfeiture of George, Earl of March, in 1457, when the Castle was dismantled to prevent its occupation by the English. It was restored by James IV in the century; the castle came under the control of the Duke of Albany and it was during this period that the bulwark to the west was built. It may have been designed by Antoine d'Arces, Sieur de la Bastie, placed in charge of the castle in December 1514. Albany organised further repairs and amendments in July 1527. An Italian drawing for a fortification of this period by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, marked as an opinion for "il Duca D'Albania," has been associated with Dunbar; the castle was burnt by the Earl of Shrewsbury on a punitive raid during the Rough wooing in 1548. Further re-fortifications in 1548 were directed by Migliorino Ubaldini; the English soldier Thomas Holcroft described the activities of Peter Landstedt, a lieutenant of the German mercenary Courtpennick, on 24 September 1549.
Despite cannon fire from the castle, Landstedt got a foothold in a house in Dunbar, used the furniture to start fires in the town. Landstedt planned to make an entrenchment in front of the castle to place his guns
Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford
Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, KG of Chenies in Buckinghamshire and of Bedford House in Exeter, was an English nobleman and politician. He was a godfather to the Devon-born sailor Sir Francis Drake, he served as Lord Lieutenant of Devon. Francis was the son of 1st Earl of Bedford and Anne Sapcote, he was educated at King's Hall and accompanied his father, to sit in the House of Commons. He represented Buckinghamshire in parliament in 1545-47 and 1547-52. In 1547 he was appointed High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, he assisted to quell the rising in Devon in 1549, after his father had been created Earl of Bedford in January 1550, was known as Lord Russell, taking his seat in the House of Lords under this title in 1552. Russell was in sympathy with the reformers, whose opinions he shared, was in communication with Sir Thomas Wyatt. Being released he visited Italy, came into touch with foreign reformers, he led the English contingent fighting for Philip II of Spain England's King Consort, at the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557.
When Elizabeth I of England ascended the throne in November 1558 the Earl of Bedford, as Russell had been since 1555, became an active figure in public life. He was made a privy councillor, was sent on diplomatic errands to Charles IX of France and Mary, Queen of Scots. From February 1564 to October 1567 he was governor of Berwick and warden of the east marches of Scotland, in which capacity he conducted various negotiations between Elizabeth and Mary. Bedford represented Elizabeth as her ambassador at the baptism of Prince James on 17 December 1566 at Stirling Castle, was guest of honour at the subsequent banquet and masque, he appears to have been an efficient warden, but was irritated by the vacillating and tortuous conduct of the English queen. When the northern insurrection broke out in 1569, Bedford was sent into Wales, he sat in judgment upon the Duke of Norfolk in 1572. In 1576 he was president of the council of Wales, in 1581 was one of the commissioners deputed to arrange a marriage between Elizabeth and François, Duke of Anjou.
Bedford, made a Knight of the Garter in 1564, appears to have been a generous and popular man, died in London. He was buried at the family chapel at St. Michael’s Church next to Chenies Manor House, the family estate which he had made his principal home and where he had entertained Queen Elizabeth in 1570, his first wife was Margaret St John, daughter of Sir John St John and Margaret Waldegrave, by whom he had four sons and three daughters: Lady Anne Russell, married Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick. Henry Russell, Baron Russell, married his step-sister, Jane Sybilla Morrison of Cashiobury, without issue. John Russell, Baron Russell, married Elizabeth Cooke, daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke and Anne FitzWilliam, they had one son and two daughters, which included Anne Russell, wife of Henry Somerset, 1st Marquess of Worcester. Francis Russell, Baron Russell, MP for Northumberland, from 1572-1584, he married Juliana Foster and had issue, including Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford, Mary Ann Russell, wife of John Roote.
William Russell, 1st Baron Russell of Thornhaugh Lady Elizabeth Russell, married William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath. Lady Margaret Russell, married George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, his second wife was Bridget Hussey, daughter of John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford and Lady Anne Grey, who had twice widowed. He was succeeded as third Earl by his grandson, Edward Russell, only son of Francis Russell, Lord Russell. Chenies Manor House tudorplace.com.ar Accessed 27 October 2007 thepeerage.com Accessed 27 October 2007 Richardson, Kimball G. Everingham, David Faris. Plantagenet Ancestry A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. Royal ancestry series. Baltimore, Md: Genealogical Pub. Co, 2004. Accessed 28 October 2007
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. Albert Pollard says, "From 1558 for forty years the biography of Cecil is indistinguishable from that of Elizabeth and from the history of England."Cecil set as the main goal of English policy the creation of a united and Protestant British Isles. His methods were to complete the control of Ireland, to forge an alliance with Scotland. Protection from invasion required a powerful Royal Navy. While he was not successful, his successors agreed with his goals. Cecil was not an original thinker. In 1587, Cecil persuaded the Queen to order the execution of the Roman Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, after she was implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth, he was the father of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and founder of the Cecil dynasty which has produced many politicians including two prime ministers. Cecil was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, in 1520, the son of Sir Richard Cecil, owner of the Burghley estate, his wife, Jane Heckington.
Pedigrees, elaborated by Cecil himself with the help of William Camden the antiquary, associated him with the Welsh Cecils or Seisyllts of Allt-Yr-Ynys, Walterstone, on the border of Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. Cecil is an anglicisation of the Welsh Seisyllt. Lord Burghley acknowledged that the family was from the Welsh Marches in a family pedigree painted at Theobalds; the Lord Treasurer's grandfather, David had moved to Stamford. David Cecil secured the favour of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, to whom he was yeoman of the chamber, he was elected Member of Parliament for Stamford five times, between 1504 and 1523. He was Sergeant-of-Arms to Henry VIII in 1526, Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1532, a Justice of the Peace for Rutland. He, according to Burghley's enemies, kept the best inn in Stamford, his eldest son, Yeoman of the Wardrobe, married Jane, daughter of William Heckington of Bourne, was father of three daughters and the future Lord Burghley. William, the only son, was put to school first at The King's School and Stamford School, which he saved and endowed.
In May 1535, at the age of fourteen, he went to St John's College, where he was brought into contact with the foremost scholars of the time, Roger Ascham and John Cheke, acquired an unusual knowledge of Greek. He acquired the affections of Cheke's sister and was in 1541 removed by his father to Gray's Inn, without having taken a degree, as was common at the time for those not intending to enter the Church; the precaution proved useless and four months Cecil committed one of the rare rash acts of his life in marrying Mary Cheke. The only child of this marriage, the future Earl of Exeter, was born in May 1542, in February 1543 Cecil's first wife died. Three years on 21 December 1546 he married Mildred Cooke, ranked by Ascham with Lady Jane Grey as one of the two most learned ladies in the kingdom, whose sister, was the wife of Sir Nicholas Bacon, the mother of Sir Francis Bacon. William Cecil's early career was spent in the service of the Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector during the early years of the reign of his nephew, the young Edward VI.
Cecil accompanied Somerset on his Pinkie campaign of 1547, being one of the two Judges of the Marshalsea. The other was William Patten, who states that both he and Cecil began to write independent accounts of the campaign, that Cecil generously contributed his notes for Patten's narrative, The Expedition into Scotland. Cecil, according to his autobiographical notes, sat in Parliament in 1543. In 1548, he is described as the Protector's Master of Requests, which means that he was clerk or registrar of the court of requests which Somerset at Hugh Latimer's instigation, illegally set up in Somerset House to hear poor men's complaints, he seems to have acted as private secretary to the Protector, was in some danger at the time of the Protector's fall in October 1549. The lords opposed to Somerset ordered his detention on 10 October, in November he was in the Tower of London. Cecil ingratiated himself with John Dudley Earl of Warwick, after less than three months he was out of the Tower. On 5 September 1550 Cecil was sworn in as one of King Edward's two secretaries of state.
In April 1551, Cecil became chancellor of the Order of the Garter. But service under Warwick carried some risk, decades in his diary, Cecil recorded his release in the phrase "ex misero aulico factus liber et mei juris". To protect the Protestant government from the accession of a Catholic queen, Northumberland forced King Edward's lawyers to create an instrument setting aside the Third Succession Act on 15 June 1553. Cecil resisted for a while, in a letter to his wife, he wrote: "Seeing great perils threatened upon us by the likeness of the time, I do make choice to avoid the perils of God's d
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971 film)
Mary, Queen of Scots is a 1971 British Universal Pictures biographical film based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots, written by John Hale and directed by Charles Jarrott. Leading an all-star cast are Vanessa Redgrave as the title character and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I. Jackson had played the part of Elizabeth in the BBC TV drama Elizabeth R, screened in February and March 1971, the first episode of, written by Hale; the screenplay was written by the film directed by Charles Jarrott. Like the play by Friedrich Schiller and the opera by Gaetano Donizetti, it takes considerable liberties with history in order to achieve increased dramatic effect, in particular two fictitious face-to-face encounters between the two queens; the film received a less than enthusiastic review from the New York Times, but was nominated for several awards. Following the death of her husband Francis II of France in 1560, Queen of Scots returns to her native land. Though fearless and beautiful, the young queen faces many challenges.
As in neighbouring England, the Protestant faith has been embraced by many nobles of Scotland. He suggests that Mary enjoy herself in Scotland, pass the time with dancing and feasting. Moray wants to rule Scotland while the inexperienced Mary becomes a figurehead. Fearing that Mary has ambitions for England's throne, Elizabeth I of England decides to weaken her claim by sending her favourite, the ambitious Robert Dudley, to woo and marry Mary, she promises. Sly Elizabeth sends the younger, dashing but weak and spoiled Lord Darnley from a powerful Catholic family. Tempted by the handsome Darnley, Mary impulsively chooses him for marriage. Lord Moray, a Protestant, opposes the marriage, she exiles Moray to strengthen her own authority. Elizabeth is satisfied that reckless, passionate Mary's romantic misadventures will keep her busy in Scotland and give shrewd, practical Elizabeth less to worry about. Soon after the wedding, spoiled brat Darnley throws a childish temper tantrum, complaining that he has no real power and is Mary's king consort.
A disillusioned Mary soon banishes Darnley from her bed and consults with the gentle, soft-spoken Italian courtier David Riccio. Darnley had him as a lover and accuses him of fathering Mary's expected child. A group of Scottish lords persuade Darnley to help get rid of Riccio, whom they murder in Mary's presence. To escape, she persuades Darnley that the plotters will turn against him, they flee to the safety of Lord Bothwell, he has been an ally of Mary since her arrival in Scotland. After he defeats the plotters, Mary forces a truce among their leader Moray and Bothwell. Mary gives birth to a son, expected to succeed both Mary and the unmarried, childless Elizabeth; the peace is short-lived. The weak, selfish Darnley still wants power, though by now he is hideously scarred and dying of syphilis. Mary finds herself falling in love with the rough but loyal Bothwell. With Moray's help, they arrange for Darnley to be killed in a gunpowder explosion at his manor. Bothwell marries Mary, their few brief nights together are blissful.
But Moray leads a rebellion against them. He forces Mary to abdicate, she and her husband are driven into exile, Mary to England and Bothwell to Denmark. Mary's young son James is to be raised as a Protestant. In England, Mary begs an army to regain her throne. Instead Elizabeth takes her prisoner, keeping her locked away in luxurious captivity in a remote castle. Elizabeth's closest advisor, Sir William Cecil, is anxious to get rid of Mary, but Elizabeth fears to set a precedent by putting an anointed monarch to death, she fears that Mary's death might spark a rebellion by her Catholic subjects and cause problems with powerful France and Spain. As a result, Mary is doomed to an open-ended captivity. Over time, the once proud queen of Scots succumbs to an empty routine, plotting half-heartedly to escape but growing comfortable in her luxurious seclusion, she occupies herself with a lazy daily schedule of cards and gossip, talking vaguely of escape yet sleeping and each morning. Yet while the helpless imprisoned queen has lost all will to harm her enemies, they continue to plot her final destruction.
With the help of his associate Walsingham, Cecil finds evidence of Mary's involvement in the conspiracy to assassinate Elizabeth known as the Babington Plot. Elizabeth confronts Mary, who regains her royal pride and behaves defiantly at their secret meeting. Although Elizabeth offers her mercy if she begs for forgiveness, Mary will not beg for mercy in public, she endures the trial and execution. She knows her son James will succeed to the English throne. For dramatic effect, the film presents two meetings between the queens, although they never met in life. Moreover, the film depicts Mary as enjoying a late-morning cup of hot chocolate in bed when this was not a popular drink in the British Isles until well into the 18th century; the film implies a homosexual liaison between Darnley and Riccio. The film was shot in Scotland.
Media related to David Rizzio at Wikimedia Commons
