Margaret Carwood
Encyclopedia
Margaret Carwood was a maid-of-honour at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. Her wedding was celebrated at the time of the murder of Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, the Queen's consort. However, historians have disagreed on who Margaret married.
.
, Margaret Carwood accompanied Mary, Darnley, and the servant or musician Bastian Pagez
on their escape from Edinburgh to Dunbar Castle
. A 17th-century history mentions that a Sebastian Broune and a lady-in-waiting rode with the party.
George Buchanan
wrote in his Detection that Margaret was privy to all the Queen's secrets. Buchanan's story, published to incriminate the queen, was that Mary lodged in the Exchequer House in Edinburgh rather than her Palace in September 1566. In a night-time escapade she and Margaret Carwood dangled another servant called Lady Reres, with a string or a belt, over the garden wall to fetch the Earl of Bothwell
.
After the murder of Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley on 10 February 1567, during his trial the servant called French Paris (Nicolas Hubert) declared that he went the Kirk o'Field lodging
on 8 February to retrieve a fur wrap of the queen's, on Margaret Carwood's orders. Margaret was attending Mary at the Kirk o'Field, waiting with the other ladies in the queen's chamber next to Darnley's bedchamber, when the ladies were suddenly called to Holyroodhouse. Some histories say that Margaret married Bastian Pagez on Sunday 9 February 1567. Sources agree that Mary attended a masque or dance in honour of Bastian's marriage that night. Mary's husband, was killed at 2:00am the next morning. Margaret's wedding was celebrated at Holyroodhouse on the following day.
One of the Casket Letters
, which were thought to incriminate the Queen in Darnley's murder, mentions Margaret Carwood and her previous departure from court. The letter was endorsed by its Scottish copyist, "Anentes the depesch of Margaret Carwood, quhilk was before her marriage, (proves her affection)," and by another hand that Margaret was in special trust with the Queen.
and William Robertson
believed that Bastian married Christily Hogg on 9 February, and Margaret Carwood married John Stewart of Tulliepowrie and Fincastle, on Tuesday 11 February 1567, two days afterwards. This is compatible with the contemporary report called Hay's articles, which mentions both the masque attended by the Queen for Bastian's marriage before the murder, and Margaret's marriage the morning after the murder. Amongst others, the biographer Antonia Fraser
accepted Stevenson's view that Bastian married Christiana Hogg on that night. Pagez and Hogg were listed as man and wife four years later in England.
The Queen gave Margaret a gift of 15 ells of black velvet for her wedding on Monday 10 February. Mary's participation at Margaret's wedding on the day after Darnley's murder was cause for adverse comment.
Background
Margaret was an heiress of the family of Carwood of that Ilk in Lanarkshire. Her sister Janet married John Fleming of Persellands. Margaret became a lady of the Queen's chamber in May 1564. When Mary was pregnant with her son James, Margaret helped draw up her will with a list of bequests of her personal jewellery. Margaret worked with Piers Martin, the tapestry-man, in 1566 making a mat and a green canopy and coverlet for the Queen. She was also the Queen's "Pantrice", in charge of the royal pantryPantry
A pantry is a room where food, provisions or dishes are stored and served in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. The derivation of the word is from the same source as the Old French term paneterie; that is from pain, the French form of the Latin panis for bread.In a late medieval hall, there were...
.
Events at the end of the reign
In March 1566, according to some accounts, after the murder of Mary's Italian secretary David RizzioDavid Rizzio
Davide Rizzio, sometimes written as Davide Riccio or Davide Rizzo , was an Italian courtier, born close to Turin, a descendant of an ancient and noble family still living in Piedmont, the Riccio Counts de San Paolo et Solbrito, who rose to become the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots...
, Margaret Carwood accompanied Mary, Darnley, and the servant or musician Bastian Pagez
Bastian Pagez
Bastian Pagez was a French servant and musician at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. He devised part of the entertainment at the baptism of Prince James at Stirling Castle in 1566. When Mary was exiled in England, Bastian and his family continued in her service...
on their escape from Edinburgh to Dunbar Castle
Dunbar Castle
Dunbar Castle is the remnants of one of the most mighty fortresses in Scotland, situated over the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian.-Early history:...
. A 17th-century history mentions that a Sebastian Broune and a lady-in-waiting rode with the party.
George Buchanan
George Buchanan
George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...
wrote in his Detection that Margaret was privy to all the Queen's secrets. Buchanan's story, published to incriminate the queen, was that Mary lodged in the Exchequer House in Edinburgh rather than her Palace in September 1566. In a night-time escapade she and Margaret Carwood dangled another servant called Lady Reres, with a string or a belt, over the garden wall to fetch 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...
.
After the murder of Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley on 10 February 1567, during his trial the servant called French Paris (Nicolas Hubert) declared that he went the Kirk o'Field lodging
Kirk o' Field
Kirk o' Field in Edinburgh, Scotland, is best known as the site of the murder in 1567 of Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots....
on 8 February to retrieve a fur wrap of the queen's, on Margaret Carwood's orders. Margaret was attending Mary at the Kirk o'Field, waiting with the other ladies in the queen's chamber next to Darnley's bedchamber, when the ladies were suddenly called to Holyroodhouse. Some histories say that Margaret married Bastian Pagez on Sunday 9 February 1567. Sources agree that Mary attended a masque or dance in honour of Bastian's marriage that night. Mary's husband, was killed at 2:00am the next morning. Margaret's wedding was celebrated at Holyroodhouse on the following day.
One of the Casket Letters
Casket letters
Casket Letters is the name generally given to a group of eight letters and a sequence of irregular sonnets said to have been addressed by Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Earl of Bothwell, between January and April 1566 or 1567. If authentic throughout, they would provide definite proof of Mary's...
, which were thought to incriminate the Queen in Darnley's murder, mentions Margaret Carwood and her previous departure from court. The letter was endorsed by its Scottish copyist, "Anentes the depesch of Margaret Carwood, quhilk was before her marriage, (proves her affection)," and by another hand that Margaret was in special trust with the Queen.
Two weddings and a funeral
Although the dance on the night before the murder is often described as a celebration of the wedding of Bastian and Margaret, the historians Joseph StevensonJoseph Stevenson
Joseph Stevenson was an English Catholic archivist.-Biography:Though his parents were Presbyterians, he was educated at University College, Durham under the historian, James Raine, and afterwards at the University of Glasgow...
and William Robertson
William Robertson (historian)
William Robertson FRSE FSA was a Scottish historian, minister of religion, and Principal of the University of Edinburgh...
believed that Bastian married Christily Hogg on 9 February, and Margaret Carwood married John Stewart of Tulliepowrie and Fincastle, on Tuesday 11 February 1567, two days afterwards. This is compatible with the contemporary report called Hay's articles, which mentions both the masque attended by the Queen for Bastian's marriage before the murder, and Margaret's marriage the morning after the murder. Amongst others, the biographer Antonia Fraser
Antonia Fraser
Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, DBE , née Pakenham, is an Anglo-Irish author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction, best known as Antonia Fraser...
accepted Stevenson's view that Bastian married Christiana Hogg on that night. Pagez and Hogg were listed as man and wife four years later in England.
The Queen gave Margaret a gift of 15 ells of black velvet for her wedding on Monday 10 February. Mary's participation at Margaret's wedding on the day after Darnley's murder was cause for adverse comment.