Lion (warship)
Encyclopedia
Lion was the name of five warships of the Royal Scottish Navy during the 16th century, some of which were prizes
captured by, and from the English
. The names of these ships reflect the Royal Arms of Scotland and its central motif of the Lion Rampant.
and Sir Andrew Barton
and captured by the English in 1511. The ship did not belong to the king but was fitted out for warfare by the Barton brothers. She was around 120 tons with a crew of forty, and probably the largest merchant ship used and hired by James IV of Scotland
; small in comparison the king's Margaret
and Great Michael. Robert Barton took James IV of Scotland to the Isle of May
in the Lion in September 1506. Andrew Barton took the Lion and the small Jennet of Purwyn, (which was a capured Danish ship) close to England in June 1511. He was acting with a royal Letter of Marque
, which was a license to plunder Portuguese ships. Both ships were captured by Sir Edward
and Sir Thomas Howard
and taken to Blackwall. Andrew Barton was killed during their capture.
Robert Barton provided a new larger replacement Lion of 300 tons. The new Lion was victualled at Honfleur on 24 August 1513 with supplies for 260 men. James IV had lent his ships to France in the months before Flodden
.
. Captured by the English off the Kent coast in March 1547. In the 1530s this ship had been captured from the English navy and passed into the hands of James V of Scotland
. The Lion was part of the fleet that James V took to France in 1536 and brought back Madeleine of Valois in 1537. Known as the Great Lion, she and the Salamander
were fitted with 15 large wheeled guns and 10 smaller wheeled guns in May 1540, for the king's voyage to Orkney in June. John Barton sailed to Dieppe with the Great Lion and Salamander in June 1541, and had their 27 guns cleaned and the latter ship re-rigged. In December 1542, the Mary Willoughby, the Salamander and the Lion blockaded a London merchant ship called the Antony of Bruges in a creek on the coast of Brittany near 'Poldavy Haven.'
In March and April 1544, the Lion was prepared for a voyage to France with ambassadors. David Lindsay of the Mount, David Paniter, Sir John Campbell of Lundy, and Marco Grimani, Patriarch of Aquileia were rumoured to be passengers. Hertford
noted this was a prize not to be missed, and the Master of Morton wrote to him pointing out the opportunity to capture friend and foe, including his own father. She sailed on 7 April 1544, evading capture.
In October 1546, Florence Corntoun spent £305 repairing the Lion. Captain William Forstar was compensated with £540 for his expenses during 1544 fighting the war of Rough Wooing; £483 for repairs in March 1545; £708 for a voyage to the isles in June 1545; and £346 for recent works in dry-dock described as;
From October 1546, with other Scottish warships she was disrupting the English wine trade by blockading Bordeaux
and La Rochelle
. In March 1547, she took a broadside from Andrew Dudley
's Pauncey (correctly the Pensée) off Dover which burst her orlop. She was lost off Harwich
or Yarmouth
during the salvage operation. Odet de Selve
, the French ambassador in London gained a detailed account from Nicolas d'Arfeville, a French painter and cartographer. Dudley was 30 miles from Yarmouth when he saw the Great Lion, with the Lyonesse, the Mary Gallante and another un-named Scottish ship on Tuesday 7 March 1547. The Great Lion was overwhelmed by superior fire power, and the others surrendered, excepting the un-named ship. The badly damaged Lion was lost while being towed to Yarmouth when she grounded on a sandbank. Those on board were brought as prisoners to the Tower of London
, and at least one notable passenger was killed in the firefight. Mary, Queen of Scots sued for the release of one passenger, the diplomat Thomas Erskine Commendator of Dryburgh
The Lyonesse; during the Scottish lifetime of the Great Lion there appears to have been another ship called the Lion in the Scots navy. This was probably the Lyonesse, described by de Selve as of similar size to the Mary Gallante, between 100 and 300 tons.
also hired a private ship, called the Lion in August 1554 to attack Borve Castle, Sutherland
. Sir Hew Kennedy of Girvanmains embarked 50 men of war and the royal gunner Hans Cochrane with a cannon. On New Year's day 1560 this Lion captured a Portuguese merchant ship carrying cloth near the Isle of Wight
; and later another carrying sugar and olives; the Our Lady of Consolation of Oporto carrying figs; and the Saint Anthony of Aviero laden with salt. The partners in this adventure and the Captain, John Edmondstone, fell out over the proceeds and brought the case to the court of the Lord High Admiral of Scotland
, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
. They produced a letter of marque dating to the time of James IV belonging to Robert Logan of Restalrig
. A year later, another Captain of the Lion, Patrick Blackadder, came to the court on 13 May 1561, this time for two Portuguese ships carrying sugar, the Peter and the Holy Spirit, captured in the Wash
in April 1561. Blackadder produced the captured Portuguese sailors and the original letter of marque given to Andrew Barton on 20 November 1506. Robert Barton's descendant John Moubray of Barnebougall
made a counterclaim for ownership of the letter and a share of the spoil. This Lion was taken in 1567 by William Kirkcaldy of Grange
in pursuit of the Earl of Bothwell
to the Orkney Islands
where he ran aground.
Prize (law)
Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...
captured by, and from the English
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
. The names of these ships reflect the Royal Arms of Scotland and its central motif of the Lion Rampant.
The two Lions of James IV
The Lion was commanded by brothers Sir Robert BartonRobert Barton of Over Barnton
Robert Barton of Over Barnton was a Scottish sailor and Lord High Treasurer to James V of Scotland.-Sailor and shipowner:Robert Barton was a son of John Barton the sailor. He took Perkin Warbeck away from Scotland in the Cuckoo in July 1497...
and Sir Andrew Barton
Andrew Barton
Sir Andrew Barton served as High Admiral of the Kingdom of Scotland. Notorious in England and Portugal as a 'pirate', Barton was a seaman who operated under the aegis of a letter of marque on behalf of the Scottish crown, and is therefore more widely described as a privateer...
and captured by the English in 1511. The ship did not belong to the king but was fitted out for warfare by the Barton brothers. She was around 120 tons with a crew of forty, and probably the largest merchant ship used and hired by James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
; small in comparison the king's Margaret
Scottish warship Margaret
The Margaret was a Scottish warship of the 16th century.She was built at Leith around 1505 by order of King James IV of Scotland, as part of his policy of building a strong Scottish navy. He named it after his new wife, Margaret Tudor...
and Great Michael. Robert Barton took James IV of Scotland to the Isle of May
Isle of May
The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is 1.8 km long and less than half a kilometre wide...
in the Lion in September 1506. Andrew Barton took the Lion and the small Jennet of Purwyn, (which was a capured Danish ship) close to England in June 1511. He was acting with a royal Letter of Marque
Letter of marque
In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
, which was a license to plunder Portuguese ships. Both ships were captured by Sir Edward
Edward Howard (admiral)
Sir Edward Howard, KG , son of Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney, and a younger brother of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. He was the first of the Howards to win fame as an admiral, participating in his first naval battle while in his teens...
and Sir Thomas Howard
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was a prominent Tudor politician. He was uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of King Henry VIII, and played a major role in the machinations behind these marriages...
and taken to Blackwall. Andrew Barton was killed during their capture.
Robert Barton provided a new larger replacement Lion of 300 tons. The new Lion was victualled at Honfleur on 24 August 1513 with supplies for 260 men. James IV had lent his ships to France in the months before Flodden
Battle of Flodden Field
The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...
.
Lion and Lioness of James V
The Lion, or Great Lion was commanded by Sir Robert Barton and later by his nephew John BartonJohn Barton
John Barton may refer to:* John Barton , English theatre director and founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company* John Barton , engineer noted for his engravings using his Ruling Engine...
. Captured by the English off the Kent coast in March 1547. In the 1530s this ship had been captured from the English navy and passed into the hands of James V of Scotland
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
. The Lion was part of the fleet that James V took to France in 1536 and brought back Madeleine of Valois in 1537. Known as the Great Lion, she and the Salamander
Salamander of Leith
Salamander of Leith was a warship of the 16th-century Royal Scots Navy. She was a wedding present from Francis I of France to James V of Scotland....
were fitted with 15 large wheeled guns and 10 smaller wheeled guns in May 1540, for the king's voyage to Orkney in June. John Barton sailed to Dieppe with the Great Lion and Salamander in June 1541, and had their 27 guns cleaned and the latter ship re-rigged. In December 1542, the Mary Willoughby, the Salamander and the Lion blockaded a London merchant ship called the Antony of Bruges in a creek on the coast of Brittany near 'Poldavy Haven.'
In March and April 1544, the Lion was prepared for a voyage to France with ambassadors. David Lindsay of the Mount, David Paniter, Sir John Campbell of Lundy, and Marco Grimani, Patriarch of Aquileia were rumoured to be passengers. Hertford
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
noted this was a prize not to be missed, and the Master of Morton wrote to him pointing out the opportunity to capture friend and foe, including his own father. She sailed on 7 April 1544, evading capture.
In October 1546, Florence Corntoun spent £305 repairing the Lion. Captain William Forstar was compensated with £540 for his expenses during 1544 fighting the war of Rough Wooing; £483 for repairs in March 1545; £708 for a voyage to the isles in June 1545; and £346 for recent works in dry-dock described as;
to Williame Forstar quhilk he debursit upoun the calfating, dok casting, putting in of the under lute of the said Lyoun, and outred of hir to the Raid (attack)."
From October 1546, with other Scottish warships she was disrupting the English wine trade by blockading Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
and La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
. In March 1547, she took a broadside from Andrew Dudley
Andrew Dudley
Sir Andrew Dudley, KG was an English soldier, courtier, and diplomat. A younger brother of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, he served in Henry VIII's navy and obtained court offices under Edward VI...
's Pauncey (correctly the Pensée) off Dover which burst her orlop. She was lost off Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
or Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
during the salvage operation. Odet de Selve
Odet de Selve
Odet de Selve was a French diplomat.He was the son of Jean de Selve, first president at the parlements of Rouen and Bordeaux, vice-chancellor of Milan, and ambassador of the king of France. In 1540 Odet was appointed councillor at the parlement of Paris and in 1542 at the grand council...
, the French ambassador in London gained a detailed account from Nicolas d'Arfeville, a French painter and cartographer. Dudley was 30 miles from Yarmouth when he saw the Great Lion, with the Lyonesse, the Mary Gallante and another un-named Scottish ship on Tuesday 7 March 1547. The Great Lion was overwhelmed by superior fire power, and the others surrendered, excepting the un-named ship. The badly damaged Lion was lost while being towed to Yarmouth when she grounded on a sandbank. Those on board were brought as prisoners to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, and at least one notable passenger was killed in the firefight. Mary, Queen of Scots sued for the release of one passenger, the diplomat Thomas Erskine Commendator of Dryburgh
Abbot of Dryburgh
The Abbot of Dryburgh was the head of the Premonstratensian community of canons regular of Dryburgh Abbey in the Scottish Borders. The monastery was founded in 1150 by canons regular from Alnwick Abbey with the patronage of Hugh de Morville, Lord of Lauderdale...
The Lyonesse; during the Scottish lifetime of the Great Lion there appears to have been another ship called the Lion in the Scots navy. This was probably the Lyonesse, described by de Selve as of similar size to the Mary Gallante, between 100 and 300 tons.
The private Lion of Leith and Privateer
Mary of GuiseMary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
also hired a private ship, called the Lion in August 1554 to attack Borve Castle, Sutherland
Borve Castle, Sutherland
Borve Castle in Sutherland, Scottish Highlands is now a ruin. Formerly called the House of Burro. It was built in Kirtomy Bay near the hamlet of Farr....
. Sir Hew Kennedy of Girvanmains embarked 50 men of war and the royal gunner Hans Cochrane with a cannon. On New Year's day 1560 this Lion captured a Portuguese merchant ship carrying cloth near the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
; and later another carrying sugar and olives; the Our Lady of Consolation of Oporto carrying figs; and the Saint Anthony of Aviero laden with salt. The partners in this adventure and the Captain, John Edmondstone, fell out over the proceeds and brought the case to the court of the Lord High Admiral of Scotland
Lord High Admiral of Scotland
The Lord High Admiral of Scotland was one of the Great Offices of State of the Kingdom of Scotland before the Union with England in 1707.The office was one of considerable power, also known as Royal Scottish Admiralty, including command of the King's ships and sailors and inspection of all sea...
, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney , better known by his inherited title as 4th Earl of Bothwell, was hereditary Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He is best known for his association with and subsequent marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third husband...
. They produced a letter of marque dating to the time of James IV belonging to Robert Logan of Restalrig
Robert Logan of Restalrig
Sir Robert Logan of Restalrig was a Scottish knight involved in the Gowrie House affair of 1600.The Logan family lived at Lochend Castle near Restalrig, and others of the name had been Provost of Leith...
. A year later, another Captain of the Lion, Patrick Blackadder, came to the court on 13 May 1561, this time for two Portuguese ships carrying sugar, the Peter and the Holy Spirit, captured in the Wash
The Wash
The Wash is the square-mouthed bay and estuary on the northwest margin of East Anglia on the east coast of England, where Norfolk meets Lincolnshire. It is among the largest estuaries in the United Kingdom...
in April 1561. Blackadder produced the captured Portuguese sailors and the original letter of marque given to Andrew Barton on 20 November 1506. Robert Barton's descendant John Moubray of Barnebougall
Barnbougle Castle
Barnbougle Castle is a much-altered tower house on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, between Cramond and South Queensferry. It lies within the Dalmeny Estate, and is the property of the Earl of Rosebery. It is about north of Dalmeny House, the main house on the estate...
made a counterclaim for ownership of the letter and a share of the spoil. This Lion was taken in 1567 by William Kirkcaldy of Grange
William Kirkcaldy of Grange
Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange , Scottish politician and general, was the eldest son of Sir James Kirkcaldy of Grange , a member of an old Fife family...
in pursuit of the Earl of Bothwell
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney , better known by his inherited title as 4th Earl of Bothwell, was hereditary Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He is best known for his association with and subsequent marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third husband...
to the Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
where he ran aground.