Siege of St Andrews Castle
Encyclopedia
The Siege of St Andrews Castle (1546 – 1547) followed the killing of Cardinal David Beaton
by a group of Protestants at St Andrews Castle
. They remained in the castle and were besieged by the Governor of Scotland. However, over 18 months the Scottish besieging forces made little impact, and the Castle finally surrendered to a French naval force after artillery bombardment. The Protestant garrison, including the preacher John Knox
were taken to France and used as galley slaves.
. Beaton's strong opposition to the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, with Prince Edward (later King Edward VI of England
), the son and heir of Henry VIII of England
, had led to the war of the Rough Wooing with England.
In 1546, David Beaton imprisoned the Protestant preacher George Wishart
in the castle’s Sea Tower, then had him burnt at the stake in front of the castle walls on 1 March. Wishart's friends included a group of well-connected Protestant Fife
Laird
s, who had previously conspired against the cardinal
's life with the support of Henry VIII. On Saturday 29 May 1546, the lairds formed four teams. Norman Leslie
, Master of Rothes
, and three men, perhaps by disguising themselves as masons when some building work was in progress, got into the castle. James Melville and his companions got in by pretending to have an appointment with he Cardinal. William Kirkcaldy of Grange
and eight men gained entry to the castle at the drawbridge and when they were joined by John Leslie of Parkhill, they overpowered the porter Ambrose Stirling, stabbed him and threw his body in the ditch. The genuine masons and the garrison
left at the postern gate, where the Cardinal's mistress Marion Ogilvy had recently exited, supervised by Kirkcaldy. Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
wrote that Peter Carmichael stabbed the Cardinal in his chamber, or on the spiral stair, in the east blockhouse tower. To deter the Cardinal's supporters in the town (led by the Provost James Learmonth of Dairsie) from attempting a rescue, they hung his body in public view from his window or from the parapet at the front of the castle.
The son of the Governor, James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
, and second after his father in line to the crown of Scotland, was already in the castle as Beaton's hostage: now he was the pawn of the Fife lairds. John Knox wrote that the defenders covered Beaton's body with salt, wrapped it in lead and buried it in the Sea Tower of the castle. David Lindsay
made the Cardinal's ghost voice this detail in his Tragedie of the Cardinall; "Thay saltit me, syne cloist me in a kist."
; Master Henry Balnaves
; and Captain John Borthwick. Regent Arran was forced to delay his response as he was busy at the siege of Dumbarton Castle
on the west of Scotland, which he took from the English on 8 July 1546.
The Parliament of Scotland
at Stirling on 11 June 1546 issued a proclamation that none should sell the Castilians any kind of supplies. The lairds were summoned to plead their case in Edinburgh; they refused and Norman Leslie was declared a traitor. For the time of his captivity, Arran's son was excluded from the Scottish royal succession. William Kirkcaldy of Grange
negotiated with Henry VIII in England, offering James Hamilton to become a hostage in England. In September, Henry VIII ordered some supplies to be sent in six ships commanded by William Tyrrell with the miltary engineer Richard Lee
, and that the Lairds should hand over Hamilton to be brought to England (but this was not done). English intervention was hampered by Scottish diplomacy in peace negotiations. England and France were now at peace. A mission to St Andrews would be a new cause for war between Scotland and England, preventing the 'comprehension' of Scotland in this new treaty. Mary of Hungary believed the Scottish diplomats's chief purpose was delaying English action at St Andrews. Scotland remained at war with the Empire, meaning that there was no redress for piracy, and she sent her envoy, Matthew Strick, to Scotland to clarify the situation.
At first at St Andrews, according to Pitscottie, the garrison harrased the countryside roundabout, raising fires and "using their bodies in lechery with fair women." A long siege
was ordered by the Scottish Regent, James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran
. Monasteries in Scotland were ordered to pay Arran a tax of £6000 towards the costs of recovering the castle. Norman Leslie and Kirkcaldy of Grange with their accomplices were excommunicated for the slaughter of the Cardinal. On 23 November a copy of this "great cursing" was made and delivered to the Castle.
knew about the mine by 10 November, from an 18 day old eye-witness account. The defenders dug a successfully counter-mine to meet it. Both the mine and counter-mines were cut through solid rock. The tunnels were rediscovered in 1879 and remain open to the public today. The defenders dug three mine tunnels before they reached the attackers. The succesful countermine tunnel was started near the Fore Tower outside the walls of main central enclosure of the castle.
Arran's guns included "Crook-mow" or "Thrawynmouthe," and "Deaf Meg." Arran offered terms if the lairds vacated the castle and released his son. The garrison would be conveyed to Blackness Castle
. These terms were refused. Arran brought his guns to batter down the Sea Tower, hall and chapel from the west. The defenders shot back and killed the royal gunner John Borthwick and other artillerymen.
In November, Arran heard that an English army was on its way to relieve the Castle and commanded other Fife lairds to support him. John Wemyss of that Ilk was ordered to bring his followers and whatever artillery they had to resist a sea-invasion. Provisions sent for the siege in December by boat from Leith
included 60 stones of lead taken from the roof of the Great Hall of Holyroodhouse. When supplies were short the defenders made a new exit to the sea in the east wall. Supplies were obtained from the Laird of Montquhany in Tentsmuir Forest
, but Walter Melville and twenty men died because of poor rations and bad fish. On 20 December, the first siege was relaxed, and as part of the truce the Castilians offered some hostages or 'pledges' who were taken to Kinghorn.
Following requests made in person, Henry VIII made plans to assist the Protestants within the castle. He wrote to Arran from Nonsuch Palace
on 20 December 1546, requesting Arran to desist from the siege, and threatening to relieve the lairds. Balnaves, Leslie and William Kirkcaldy were each given £100 by England's Privy Council.
The English invasion never came, but Balnaves secured the services of two Italian military engineers, Guillaume de Rosetti and Angelo Arcano, and after Henry's death on 27 January 1547 his son Edward VI
did not send an armed force. The Castilians continued to sue for aid at the English court, and were able to travel in person to England by sea. The Scottish ambassador Adam Otterburn
recorded their presence in London. English ships brought arms and supplies, but St Andrews was blockaded by the Scottish navy
: in March 1547 Admiral Elmes and Andrew Dudley
were ordered to sail from Lindisfarne
with a convoy that had been repulsed. Dudley brought a contract for the garrison with terms for continued English support, in return for their continued promotion of the English royal marriage plan, and eventual surrender of the castle to an English relieving force.
In Scotland, a truce or concord was reached, which Knox described as the 'coloured appointment.' Those in the castle would wait on the receipt of an absolution from the Pope for the murder, and would then be allowed to surrender on good terms. The agreement was probably cynical on both sides. The Castilians had already suggested that Henry should write to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
to persuade the Pope not to grant the absolution. This would prolong the seige, giving more time for Henry (and now his son) to send an army, and effect their goals. Although the absolution arrived in April 1547, the Castilians refused to surrender. James Stewart of Cardonald wrote that the Castilians said in private; "that they would rather have a measure of wheat than all the Pope's remissions."
At this time, in April 1547, five English victualling ships were captured and brought to Leith. John Knox entered the castle and served as the garrison's preacher for the remainder of the siege. For a time Knox had the freedom to pass to and from the castle to preach in the parish
church. According to the Earl of Glencairn
, one of the besieged garrison, Ninian Cockburn, was a spy for the Governor. Later in the year, Ninian was involved in the handover of Broughty Castle
to the English.
who directed a devastating artillery bombardment to dislodge the Protestant laird
s. French intelligence included recent cartography by Jean Rotz
and Nicolas de Nicolay
who came on the voyage. While the fleet was seen by English observers, they seemed not to know its purpose, assuming it came to embark Mary, Queen of Scots. Arran himself may not have known much in advance, but he did travel from the seige at Langholm
to meet the French at St Andrews
After ineffectual bombardment from the ships, perhaps over 20 days, the land assault began on 28 July, and the defenders were already depleted by plague. The lairds knew an expert was in the field against them when their own Italian engineer observed cannon being winched into position with ropes rather than exposing the besiegers to their fire. Guns were also placed on St Salvator's and the cathedral towers. The battery began before dawn on Saturday 30 July. The castle was quickly rendered indefensible; within six hours according to Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
and Knox. Too late, on 1 August 1547, Edward Clinton was ordered to engage the French force at St Andrews. Admiral Clinton was to embark on the Pansy at Harwich and make for St Andrews "as fast as wind or weather will serve, " and raise the siege or rescue the Protestant lairds and James Hamilton. Clinton, who lay at Orford Ness
, did not even get this order till 9 August.
Somerset was warned that Arran had obtained a register of Protestants and English supporters from Henry Balnaves's quarters in the castle.
The success of the French mission and Scotland's subsequent defeat at the battle of Pinkie strengthened the Auld Alliance
, and in 1548 Mary, Queen of Scots was taken to France as the prospective bride of the French Dauphin
.
Norman Leslie was imprisoned at Cherbourg, Balnaves at Rouen
. Some of the garrison were kept in the fortress of Mont St Michel, from where Robert and William Leslie, William Kirkcaldy and Peter Carmichael managed to overpower their captors and make their way to Rouen and Le Conquet
and took ship to England.
The castle was slighted, and subsequently substantially rebuilt by Archbishop John Hamilton
, the illegitimate brother of Regent Arran, and successor to David Beaton.
noted that the Laird's plan included the hostage James Hamilton. Apart from his importance as the Governor's heir, Hamilton had been suggested as a possible husband for Henry's younger daughter, the Princess Elizabeth
or Mary, Queen of Scots. Donaldson suggested that Regent Arran did not pursue the seige so vigorously because his son was within. More recently, Elizabeth Bonner has downplayed Hamilton's significance, focussing her study on the French initiative and highlighting that the French preparations were kept secret from the English. She notes the lack of evidence for Henry as a prime mover in the laird's initiative.
The sixteenth century Scottish Catholic historian John Lesley
described James Hamilton merely as the most important of a number of noblemen's sons in the castle in the Cardinal's service. He wrote that the Lairds were motivated by grievances over the Cardinal's property transactions rather than by politics or religion. Although James Lindsay wrote straightaway to England with the news of the murder, including that Hamilton was kept prisoner by the lairds along with the servant he calls the Cardinal's chamber child, he did not express the laird's intent. James Kirkcaldy and Norman Leslie had previously offered to assasinate the Cardinal for Henry when he planned the attack on Edinburgh in 1544
. Margaret Sanderson in the biography Cardinal of Scotland notes the assumption of international responses that the murder was done for England's interests.
have seen the failure of the Scottish forces to take the newly equipped castle as indicative of inadequate technology of Arran's army. Italian artillery specialists were employed by both the defenders (via England) and the French besiegers. The 16th century chronicle historian Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie wrote that the French gunners, who rapidly took the castle in July 1547 criticised the defenders for not troubling to demolish towers and other places which could serve as gun emplacements against the castle.
David Beaton
The Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.-Career:...
by a group of Protestants at St Andrews Castle
St Andrews Castle
St Andrew's Castle is a picturesque ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger...
. They remained in the castle and were besieged by the Governor of Scotland. However, over 18 months the Scottish besieging forces made little impact, and the Castle finally surrendered to a French naval force after artillery bombardment. The Protestant garrison, including the preacher John Knox
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
were taken to France and used as galley slaves.
Murder of the Cardinal
The castle was the residence of Cardinal David Beaton and his mistress Marion OgilvyMarion Ogilvy
Marion Ogilvy was the wife or mistress of Cardinal Beaton an advisor of James V of Scotland.Marion was a younger daughter of Sir James Ogilvy of Lintrathen. Sir James, a diplomat, was created Lord Ogilvy of Airlie by James IV of Scotland in 1491. Her mother was Janet Lyle Marion Ogilvy (c....
. Beaton's strong opposition to the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, with Prince Edward (later King Edward VI of England
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
), the son and heir of Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, had led to the war of the Rough Wooing with England.
In 1546, David Beaton imprisoned the Protestant preacher George Wishart
George Wishart
George Wishart was a Scottish religious reformer and Protestant martyr.He belonged to a younger branch of the Wisharts of Pitarrow near Montrose. He may have graduated M.A., probably at King's College, Aberdeen, and was certainly a student at the University of Leuven, from which he graduated in 1531...
in the castle’s Sea Tower, then had him burnt at the stake in front of the castle walls on 1 March. Wishart's friends included a group of well-connected Protestant Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
Laird
Laird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
s, who had previously conspired against the cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
's life with the support of Henry VIII. On Saturday 29 May 1546, the lairds formed four teams. Norman Leslie
Norman Leslie (soldier)
Norman Leslie , was a 16th-century Scottish nobleman. The leader of the party who assassinated Cardinal Beaton, he was forced to flee Scotland, serving the monarchs of England and France...
, Master of Rothes
Earl of Rothes
Earl of Rothes is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for George Leslie, 1st Lord Leslie. He had already been created Lord Leslie in 1445, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His grandson, the third Earl, having only succeeded his elder brother in March 1513, was killed at the...
, and three men, perhaps by disguising themselves as masons when some building work was in progress, got into the castle. James Melville and his companions got in by pretending to have an appointment with he Cardinal. 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...
and eight men gained entry to the castle at the drawbridge and when they were joined by John Leslie of Parkhill, they overpowered the porter Ambrose Stirling, stabbed him and threw his body in the ditch. The genuine masons and the garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
left at the postern gate, where the Cardinal's mistress Marion Ogilvy had recently exited, supervised by Kirkcaldy. Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie was a Scottish chronicler, author of The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, 1436–1565, the first history of Scotland to be composed in Scots rather than Latin....
wrote that Peter Carmichael stabbed the Cardinal in his chamber, or on the spiral stair, in the east blockhouse tower. To deter the Cardinal's supporters in the town (led by the Provost James Learmonth of Dairsie) from attempting a rescue, they hung his body in public view from his window or from the parapet at the front of the castle.
The son of the Governor, James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought against French troops during the Scottish Reformation....
, and second after his father in line to the crown of Scotland, was already in the castle as Beaton's hostage: now he was the pawn of the Fife lairds. John Knox wrote that the defenders covered Beaton's body with salt, wrapped it in lead and buried it in the Sea Tower of the castle. David Lindsay
David Lindsay
David Lindsay may refer to:*David Lyndsay , Scottish poet*David Lindsay *David Lindsay , also Bishop of Brechin*David Lindsay , Australian explorer...
made the Cardinal's ghost voice this detail in his Tragedie of the Cardinall; "Thay saltit me, syne cloist me in a kist."
Siege
Following the murder, the Protestants took refuge in the castle. These "Castilians" included; Norman Leslie, Master of Rothes; James Kirkcaldy of GrangeJames Kirkcaldy of Grange
James Kirkcaldy of Grange was a Fife laird and treasurer of Scotland.He married Janet Melville, aunt of Sir James Melville of Halhill. Their heir was William Kirkcaldy of Grange. His main property at the Grange was called Halyards Palace...
; Master Henry Balnaves
Henry Balnaves
Henry Balnaves was a Scottish politician and religious reformer.-Biography:Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, around 1512, he was educated at the University of St Andrews and on the continent, where he adopted Protestant views. Returning to Scotland, he continued his legal studies and in 1538 was appointed...
; and Captain John Borthwick. Regent Arran was forced to delay his response as he was busy at the siege of Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton, and sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high.-Iron Age:...
on the west of Scotland, which he took from the English on 8 July 1546.
The Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
at Stirling on 11 June 1546 issued a proclamation that none should sell the Castilians any kind of supplies. The lairds were summoned to plead their case in Edinburgh; they refused and Norman Leslie was declared a traitor. For the time of his captivity, Arran's son was excluded from the Scottish royal succession. 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...
negotiated with Henry VIII in England, offering James Hamilton to become a hostage in England. In September, Henry VIII ordered some supplies to be sent in six ships commanded by William Tyrrell with the miltary engineer Richard Lee
Richard Lee (engineer)
Sir Richard Lee was a military engineer in the service of Henry VIII of England, Edward VI and Elizabeth I. He was a commander of Henry VIII of England| and appointed surveyor of the King's works.-Surveyor of Calais:...
, and that the Lairds should hand over Hamilton to be brought to England (but this was not done). English intervention was hampered by Scottish diplomacy in peace negotiations. England and France were now at peace. A mission to St Andrews would be a new cause for war between Scotland and England, preventing the 'comprehension' of Scotland in this new treaty. Mary of Hungary believed the Scottish diplomats's chief purpose was delaying English action at St Andrews. Scotland remained at war with the Empire, meaning that there was no redress for piracy, and she sent her envoy, Matthew Strick, to Scotland to clarify the situation.
At first at St Andrews, according to Pitscottie, the garrison harrased the countryside roundabout, raising fires and "using their bodies in lechery with fair women." A long siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
was ordered by the Scottish Regent, James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault and 2nd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the eldest legitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....
. Monasteries in Scotland were ordered to pay Arran a tax of £6000 towards the costs of recovering the castle. Norman Leslie and Kirkcaldy of Grange with their accomplices were excommunicated for the slaughter of the Cardinal. On 23 November a copy of this "great cursing" was made and delivered to the Castle.
The Scottish siege
In October 1546 Arran and the Scottish Privy Council met at St Andrews, and siege operations commenced in earnest. A mine, a tunnel to undermine the Fore Tower or enter the castle, was begun by Regent Arran's men. The French ambassador Odet de SelveOdet 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...
knew about the mine by 10 November, from an 18 day old eye-witness account. The defenders dug a successfully counter-mine to meet it. Both the mine and counter-mines were cut through solid rock. The tunnels were rediscovered in 1879 and remain open to the public today. The defenders dug three mine tunnels before they reached the attackers. The succesful countermine tunnel was started near the Fore Tower outside the walls of main central enclosure of the castle.
Arran's guns included "Crook-mow" or "Thrawynmouthe," and "Deaf Meg." Arran offered terms if the lairds vacated the castle and released his son. The garrison would be conveyed to Blackness Castle
Blackness Castle
Blackness Castle is a 15th century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blackness was the main port serving the Royal Burgh of...
. These terms were refused. Arran brought his guns to batter down the Sea Tower, hall and chapel from the west. The defenders shot back and killed the royal gunner John Borthwick and other artillerymen.
In November, Arran heard that an English army was on its way to relieve the Castle and commanded other Fife lairds to support him. John Wemyss of that Ilk was ordered to bring his followers and whatever artillery they had to resist a sea-invasion. Provisions sent for the siege in December by boat from Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
included 60 stones of lead taken from the roof of the Great Hall of Holyroodhouse. When supplies were short the defenders made a new exit to the sea in the east wall. Supplies were obtained from the Laird of Montquhany in Tentsmuir Forest
Tentsmuir Forest
Tentsmuir Forest in Fife, Scotland, stands next to Kinshaldy Beach with a view across the Firth of Tay. Covering some , the area was originally moorland before acquisition by the Forestry Commission in the 1920s....
, but Walter Melville and twenty men died because of poor rations and bad fish. On 20 December, the first siege was relaxed, and as part of the truce the Castilians offered some hostages or 'pledges' who were taken to Kinghorn.
Following requests made in person, Henry VIII made plans to assist the Protestants within the castle. He wrote to Arran from Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–3. Its ruins are in Nonsuch Park.- Background :Nonsuch Palace in Surrey was perhaps the grandest of Henry VIII's building projects...
on 20 December 1546, requesting Arran to desist from the siege, and threatening to relieve the lairds. Balnaves, Leslie and William Kirkcaldy were each given £100 by England's Privy Council.
The English invasion never came, but Balnaves secured the services of two Italian military engineers, Guillaume de Rosetti and Angelo Arcano, and after Henry's death on 27 January 1547 his son Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
did not send an armed force. The Castilians continued to sue for aid at the English court, and were able to travel in person to England by sea. The Scottish ambassador Adam Otterburn
Adam Otterburn
Adam Otterburn of Auldhame and Reidhall was a Scottish lawyer and diplomat. He was king's advocate to James V of Scotland and secretary to Mary of Guise and Regent Arran.-Servant to James V:...
recorded their presence in London. English ships brought arms and supplies, but St Andrews was blockaded by the Scottish navy
Royal Scots Navy
The Royal Scots Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Scotland from its foundation in the 11th century until its merger with the Kingdom of England's Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707.- Origins :...
: in March 1547 Admiral Elmes and 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...
were ordered to sail from Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
with a convoy that had been repulsed. Dudley brought a contract for the garrison with terms for continued English support, in return for their continued promotion of the English royal marriage plan, and eventual surrender of the castle to an English relieving force.
In Scotland, a truce or concord was reached, which Knox described as the 'coloured appointment.' Those in the castle would wait on the receipt of an absolution from the Pope for the murder, and would then be allowed to surrender on good terms. The agreement was probably cynical on both sides. The Castilians had already suggested that Henry should write to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
to persuade the Pope not to grant the absolution. This would prolong the seige, giving more time for Henry (and now his son) to send an army, and effect their goals. Although the absolution arrived in April 1547, the Castilians refused to surrender. James Stewart of Cardonald wrote that the Castilians said in private; "that they would rather have a measure of wheat than all the Pope's remissions."
At this time, in April 1547, five English victualling ships were captured and brought to Leith. John Knox entered the castle and served as the garrison's preacher for the remainder of the siege. For a time Knox had the freedom to pass to and from the castle to preach in the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
church. According to the Earl of Glencairn
Earl of Glencairn
The title of Earl of Glencairn was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1488 for the first Lord Kilmaurs .On the death of the fifteenth earl in 1796, there existing no original Letters Patent of the creation nor a given remainder in the various confirmations in title of previous earls the title...
, one of the besieged garrison, Ninian Cockburn, was a spy for the Governor. Later in the year, Ninian was involved in the handover of Broughty Castle
Broughty Castle
Broughty Castle is a historic castle in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454 when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus received permission to build on the site. His son Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus was coerced into...
to the English.
The French siege
This peaceful interlude came to end, however, in July 1547 when Henri II of France sent a fleet to take the castle for the Scottish Government. The force was commanded by his admiral and military engineer, the Italian Leone StrozziLeone Strozzi
Leone Strozzi was an Italian condottiero belonging to the famous Strozzi family of Florence.-Biography:He was the son of Filippo Strozzi the Younger and Clarice de' Medici, and brother to Piero, Roberto and Lorenzo Strozzi.After his father's defeat in the Battle of Montemurlo, Strozzi fled with...
who directed a devastating artillery bombardment to dislodge the Protestant laird
Laird
A Laird is a member of the gentry and is a heritable title in Scotland. In the non-peerage table of precedence, a Laird ranks below a Baron and above an Esquire.-Etymology:...
s. French intelligence included recent cartography by Jean Rotz
Jean Rotz
Jean Rotz, also called Johne Rotz, was a 16th century French artist-cartographer. He was born to a Scottish father and a French mother.-Career:Rotz was a member of the school of the Dieppe maps...
and Nicolas de Nicolay
Nicolas de Nicolay
-Biography:Born at la Grave in Oisans, in the Dauphiné, he left France in 1542 to participate in the siege of Perpignan which was then held by Emperor Charles V of Austria....
who came on the voyage. While the fleet was seen by English observers, they seemed not to know its purpose, assuming it came to embark Mary, Queen of Scots. Arran himself may not have known much in advance, but he did travel from the seige at Langholm
Langholm
Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the River Esk and the A7 road.- History:...
to meet the French at St Andrews
After ineffectual bombardment from the ships, perhaps over 20 days, the land assault began on 28 July, and the defenders were already depleted by plague. The lairds knew an expert was in the field against them when their own Italian engineer observed cannon being winched into position with ropes rather than exposing the besiegers to their fire. Guns were also placed on St Salvator's and the cathedral towers. The battery began before dawn on Saturday 30 July. The castle was quickly rendered indefensible; within six hours according to Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie was a Scottish chronicler, author of The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, 1436–1565, the first history of Scotland to be composed in Scots rather than Latin....
and Knox. Too late, on 1 August 1547, Edward Clinton was ordered to engage the French force at St Andrews. Admiral Clinton was to embark on the Pansy at Harwich and make for St Andrews "as fast as wind or weather will serve, " and raise the siege or rescue the Protestant lairds and James Hamilton. Clinton, who lay at Orford Ness
Orford Ness
Orford Ness is a cuspate foreland shingle spit on the Suffolk coast in Great Britain, linked to the mainland at Aldeburgh and stretching along the coast to Orford and down to North Wier Point, opposite Shingle Street. It is divided from the mainland by the River Alde, and was formed by longshore...
, did not even get this order till 9 August.
Aftermath
The defeated Protestants were taken away: some were imprisoned in France while others, including Knox, were condemned to the galleys. The immediate consequent of the siege were Protector Somerset's orders to mobilise a large English army for Scotland by sea and land.Somerset was warned that Arran had obtained a register of Protestants and English supporters from Henry Balnaves's quarters in the castle.
The success of the French mission and Scotland's subsequent defeat at the battle of Pinkie strengthened the Auld Alliance
Auld Alliance
The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...
, and in 1548 Mary, Queen of Scots was taken to France as the prospective bride of the French Dauphin
Francis II of France
Francis II was aged 15 when he succeeded to the throne of France after the accidental death of his father, King Henry II, in 1559. He reigned for 18 months before he died in December 1560...
.
Norman Leslie was imprisoned at Cherbourg, Balnaves at Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
. Some of the garrison were kept in the fortress of Mont St Michel, from where Robert and William Leslie, William Kirkcaldy and Peter Carmichael managed to overpower their captors and make their way to Rouen and Le Conquet
Le Conquet
Le Conquet is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Geography:Le Conquet is a fishing port in the northwest of Brittany...
and took ship to England.
The castle was slighted, and subsequently substantially rebuilt by Archbishop John Hamilton
John Hamilton (archbishop)
The Most Rev. Dr. John Hamilton , Scottish prelate and politician, was an illegitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....
, the illegitimate brother of Regent Arran, and successor to David Beaton.
The plan
The manifesto, if such there was, of the Fife lairds was not recorded. Thus the degree of deliberation or opportunism in their actions remains debateable. The historian Gordon DonaldsonGordon Donaldson
Gordon Donaldson CBE, FRHistS, FBA was a Scottish historian.Born in Edinburgh of Shetlander descent, Donaldson attended the Royal High School of Edinburgh, before being awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Edinburgh. He also supplemented his income by undertaking some tutoring...
noted that the Laird's plan included the hostage James Hamilton. Apart from his importance as the Governor's heir, Hamilton had been suggested as a possible husband for Henry's younger daughter, the Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
or Mary, Queen of Scots. Donaldson suggested that Regent Arran did not pursue the seige so vigorously because his son was within. More recently, Elizabeth Bonner has downplayed Hamilton's significance, focussing her study on the French initiative and highlighting that the French preparations were kept secret from the English. She notes the lack of evidence for Henry as a prime mover in the laird's initiative.
The sixteenth century Scottish Catholic historian John Lesley
John Lesley
John Lesley was a Scottish Roman Catholic bishop and historian. His father was Gavin Lesley, rector of Kingussie, Badenoch.-Early career:...
described James Hamilton merely as the most important of a number of noblemen's sons in the castle in the Cardinal's service. He wrote that the Lairds were motivated by grievances over the Cardinal's property transactions rather than by politics or religion. Although James Lindsay wrote straightaway to England with the news of the murder, including that Hamilton was kept prisoner by the lairds along with the servant he calls the Cardinal's chamber child, he did not express the laird's intent. James Kirkcaldy and Norman Leslie had previously offered to assasinate the Cardinal for Henry when he planned the attack on Edinburgh in 1544
Burning of Edinburgh (1544)
The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English sea-borne army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. A Scottish army observed the landing on 3 May 1544 but did not engage with the English force. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack Leith and...
. Margaret Sanderson in the biography Cardinal of Scotland notes the assumption of international responses that the murder was done for England's interests.
Military aspects
It is known from Beaton's financial records that he had prepared gabions (baskets filled with gravel for gun emplacements) and bought new cannons in anticipation of an English invasion. Other commentators, such as Marcus MerrimanMarcus Merriman
Marcus Merriman was an historian researching Anglo-Scottish relations in the 16th centuryand their European context.-Life:Merriman was born in Baltimore on the 3rd of May 1940. Educated at Bowdoin College Maine, he spent a year at Edinburgh University, then completed his PhD at the Institute of...
have seen the failure of the Scottish forces to take the newly equipped castle as indicative of inadequate technology of Arran's army. Italian artillery specialists were employed by both the defenders (via England) and the French besiegers. The 16th century chronicle historian Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie wrote that the French gunners, who rapidly took the castle in July 1547 criticised the defenders for not troubling to demolish towers and other places which could serve as gun emplacements against the castle.
Further reading
- Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol.8, HM General Register House (1908)
- Dalyell, John Graham, ed., The Chronicles of Scotland by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, vol. 2, Edinburgh (1814)
- State Papers of Henry VIII – part iv – Scotland and the Borders, vol. 5, (1836)
- Bonnar, Elizabeth, 'The recovery of St. Andrews Castle in 1547, French diplomacy in the British Isles', in English Historical Review, June 1996, 578–598
- Thomson, Thomas, ed., John Lesley's History of Scotland, Bannatyne Club (1830) pp.192-195
- Knox, John, The History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland, vol.1, Blackie & Fullarton (1831) pp.60-80
- Merriman, M., The Rough Wooings, Mary Queen of Scots, 1542–1551, Tuckwell (2000) ISBN 1 86232 090 X
- Sanderson, Margaret H. B., Cardinal of Scotland, John Donald (1986) ISBN 0 85976 110 X