Mary Queen of Scots in Caput Mortem

Caput Mortem is the name of a colour, literally ''dead head red'', how appropriate for my sketch of Mary Queen of Scots; the 8 Feb was the day she lost her head in Fotheringhay castle in England. Being a proud Scot, Mary really is a cult figure in Scotland, but having read so much about her I really can't help feeling that a lot of the tragedies that befell her were a little due to following her heart and not her head.  

After having left Scotland as a child and a short stint as Queen of France, she returned as an imposing nearly six feet tall catholic widow, to rule a land which she hardly knew and a folk who were readily embracing protestantism in various forms.  As a catholic and a woman she had no chance against preachers like John Knox, whose house can be seen top left. John Knox was very vocal about her shortcomings and her love of dancing, bawdy jokes and carousing in the inns of Edinburgh dressed as a man probably did little to improve her image. As I was born in Edinburgh the streets around the Royal Mile, Holyrood House and Edinburgh castle were just as well known to me as they would have been to Mary, which always made me feel a bit closer to her.

 Top right beside Mary is her second husband Henry Stuart Lord Darnley, who obviously caught her eye and turned her head, oblivious to his failings, she married this '' lustiest lang man'' although he really only had set his sights on becoming king. As they say ''marry in haste, repent at leisure'', she realised her mistake very quickly, Darnely although he fathered her son, had to go! Murder was the solution, and whether Mary had any part in this plot is still the subject of much discussion. Unfortunately, she then married hubby number 3 Bothwell who definitely was involved in the murder of hubby number 2, this marriage resulted in abdication and eventually the fateful flight to England which would cost her her head. 

The stunning heart shaped Darnley/Lennox jewel is associated with Mary, having been in the possession of Darnley's parents. The jewel is amazingly made, with secret compartments and a great deal of symbolism and is thought to represent the Lennoxes hopes for their son, who indeed had a claim to the throne of England in his own right. 

The claim to England's throne was another one of those issues where Mary should've thought a little before constantly harping on about it, especially when you then flee into the arms of the Queen whose country you claim to be queen of, and held there it probably isn't wise to plot to overthrow the said queen.  I think Mary lived by the motto I'm a Scotswoman, with a fire in my soul, my heart on my sleeve and a mouth I can't control! and I can sympathise with that. 

Mary is held in great honour on the west coast of Scotland too which she toured extensively in 1563, Dunure castle in my sketch was one of the haunts of my youth and Mary stayed there on her famous progress. Irvine also still celebrate this visit with a pageant complete with queen and her four Maries, Mary Queen of Scots attendants. The magnificent earring in the sketch was won from Mary her attendant in a game of golf. 

Finally, the pencil sketch of the ''Luckenbooth'' brooch, these pieces of jewellery are commonly associated with Mary, they combine hearts, crowns and often the letter M, the name Luckenbooth comes from the ''locked jewellers booths'' to be found on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. They were traditionally given to ward off evil spirits, witches or alternatively as love tokens or engagement presents. We followed this tradition with the Luckenbooth  brooch given to me at my engagement and then pinned on our daughter’s shawl as a baby. 

Mary certainly was a tragic figure in many ways but maybe it would be a consolation to her to know that her son James I and VI did unite the two thrones that she had a claim to, so her struggles maybe weren't in vain.