George Durie, abbot of Dunfermline and archdeacon of St Andrews, son of John Durie of Durie in the county of Fife, and brother to Andrew Durie, bishop of Galloway, was born about 1496. From 1527 till 1530 he acted as judge and executor of the monastery of Arbroath. During this same period he assumed the title of abbot of Dunfermline, and discharged some of the duties of that office under the direction of his uncle, Archbishop James Beaton, the actual titular, on whose death in 1539 he was promoted by James V to the full dignity of the office.

The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns, it was part of the conflict known as the Rough Wooing. It was a catastrophic defeat for Scotland, where it became known as "Black Saturday". A highly detailed and illustrated English account of the battle and campaign authored by an eyewitness William Patten was published in London as propaganda four months after the battle.