Have Courage and Be Kind

#catherine de medici #mary stuart

Mary Queen of Scots (2013) + showing her strength as a woman and queen regnant

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“Had Mary been less ambitious when she first met Bothwell, or had he been a little bolder, they might have reigned together and lived out their lives in the plenitude of that great love which held them both in thrall. But a queen is not as other women; and she found too late that the teaching of her heart was, after all, the truest teaching. She went to her death as Bothwell went to his, alone, in a strange, unfriendly land.” [ x ]

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“Mary was in truth a dynastic enormity: Stewart, Tudor, Guise and related to so many other people. Her life was to cause many wars and much political and religious turmoil. But at her birth, she was a child of peace and joy as well.”

— Marcus Merriman, “The rough wooings: Mary Queen of Scots 1542-1551″

“On July 29, Mary Stuart kissed her mother goodbye and boarded her ship, which was Henry II’s own royal galley. Although only five and a half years old, she carried herself like a queen. Her embarkation was watched by Jean de Beaugué, an army veteran and of d'Essé, who wrote: she is “one of the most perfect creatures that ever was seen, such a one as from this very young age with its wondrous and estimable beginnings has raised such expectations that it isn’t possible to hope for more from a princess on this earth.” As mary walked down the narrow steps from the castle to pier, she registered her personal trademark. Whatever she did and wherever she went in the future, whether her actions and behaviour were to be applauded or demonised, she would prove to have this gift of conjuring a sense of occasion.”

— John Guy, Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart

“When Mary was no more than thirteen she recited, in the great gallery of the Louvre, before the assembled French court and the foreign ambassadors, a Latin oration of her own composition, and did this so ably, with so much ease and grace, that her uncle the Cardinal of Lorraine was able to write to her mother, Mary of Guise: “Your daughter is improving, and increasing day by day in stature, goodness, beauty, wisdom and worth. She is so perfect and accomplished in all things, honourable and virtuous, that like of her is not to be seen in this realm, whether among noble damsels, maidens of low degree, or in middle station. The King has taken so great a liking to her that he spends much of his time chatting with her, sometimes by the hour together, and she knows as well how to entertain him with pleasant and sensible subjects of conversation as if she were a women of five-and-twenty.””

— Stefan Zweig, Mary Stuart

✧ Mary’s first encounter with embroidery and needlework was as a child in France. When she returned to Scotland to rule, she would embroider at her council’s meetings whilst listening and learning the Scottish ways. This period of her life was soon taken up by her duties as Queen, such as trying to please her people and dealing with the various feuds around her, for her to spend much time with the needle. During her imprisonment at Lochleven, she had the time to create, but lacked the materials which were grudgingly and parsimoniously sent to her. Therefore, it was not until her captivity in England that her major works were created.

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Mary Queen of Scots in her white mourning veil by François Clouet + portrayals on screen | Elizabeth R (1971), Mary Queen of Scots (1971), Mary Queen of Scots (2013)

✧ Mary always kept dogs, and when she was held a prisoner in England for nineteen years, the queen was allowed to keep her beloved companions with her. As reported by one of her jailors, she would sometimes spend hours talking to her lap dogs; about religion and her estranged son, James. It appears Mary favoured the Maltese and Terrier breeds, and whether it was a Skye Terrier or Scottish Terrier, that stayed by her side during her execution, it was nevertheless, a faithful friend.

“Although the guidelines did not address Mary’s presence in the council chamber, historians have concluded that she was an unsuccessful ruler partly because she appeared at only a few of the meetings listed in the register. A comparison of her record to her son James VI’s, who is usually judged a competent Scottish ruler, casts serious doubts on the register’s use as negative evidence for her governance. From 1585 for several years when he was about her age, his attendance at the sessions printed in the register was not much greater than hers. Only in the 1590s did he meet with his council regularly. The condemnatory studies of Mary’s rule have overlooked Thomas Randolph’s (the English ambassador to Scotland) references to her habit of seeking her councilors’ advice. Although her motivations and the rationale behind her comments frequently eluded him, he usually knew her whereabouts and sometimes the nature of her business. He observed that she often attended part of the council meetings and sewed while listening to the discussions. She may have learned this practice from observing Catherine, who embroidered every afternoon while heeding conversations around her. A non-threatening female activity, it afforded her opportunities to hear as well as to conceal her reaction to others’ opinions.”

— Retha M. Warnicke, Mary Queen of Scots, ch. 5, pg. 89 and 90 (via scotlandsladies)