Battle of Carberry Hill
Battle of Carberry Hill | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Marian civil war | |||||||
Commemorative Stane at Carberry marking the site of the conflict | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots | Forces opposed to Mary, Queen of Scots | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Earl of Bothwell | Kirkcaldy of Grange | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
2,000, including 200 musketeers 300 pikemen | 2,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Battle of Carberry Hill took place on 15 June 1567, near Musselburgh, East Lothian, a few miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland. A number of Scottish lords objected to the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots, after she had married the Earl of Bothwell, who was widely believed to have murdered her previous husband Lord Darnley. The Lords were intent to avenge Darnley's death. However, Bothwell escaped from the stand-off at Carberry while Queen Mary surrendered. Mary abdicated, escaped from prison, and was defeated at the battle of Langside. She went to exile in England while her supporters continued a civil war in Scotland.
Conflict
In May 1567 Queen Mary of Scotland married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Many of the Queen's allies who previously supported her, including Maitland, Morton, Balfour, and Murray of Tullibardine, disapproved of this and chose to oppose her. Many of the same Lords who claimed disapproval in June had signed the Ainslie Tavern Bond only two months earlier in April, pledging support for the marriage.
In April, Bothwell, along with several others, had been accused of Lord Darnley's murder. Bothwell was acquitted of the charge. His chief prosecutor, Lord Darnley's father, the
Stand-off at Carberry Hill
With only the support of the Hamiltons, Queen Mary and Bothwell left Fa'side Castle on the morning of 15 June 1567 and took position on the nearby field of battle at Carberry Hill against her enemies, the rebel Confederate Lords. Mary's army, according to John Knox, took their position at Carberry Hill in an entrenchment made by the English for the Battle of Pinkie twenty years before. They were armed with cannon and pole-arms brought from Dunbar Castle. According to a letter sent to the Archbishop of Glasgow, the Queen had 200 "hagbutters" commanded by Captains Alexander Stewart and Hew Lauder of her royal guard. Seven or eight cannon were brought from Dunbar Castle to defend the Queen's position at the "auld fort" by Fawside Castle.[3] Bothwell's men had also brought 300 pikes from the armoury at Dunbar. After the surrender these weapons were captured and dispersed, and in September 1567 the Scottish Privy Council wrote to the villages around Carberry asking for their return.[4]
The Confederate Lords approached from Musselburgh with an army of equal force.
Queen Mary's supporters carried the banner of the
Bothwell offered single combat to any of the Confederate Lords.
When
Queen and King's men
According to the later chronicle called The Historie of James the Sext, Queen Mary's supporters at Carberry were
The Confederate Lords included the
Aftermath
The rebel Lords took Queen Mary to Edinburgh. Some chronicles say she was first held in the lodging of
Queen Mary remained in prison for eleven months while accusations continued by the Lords who deposed her at Carberry Hill. Bothwell obtained a ship and first went to Shetland, where he was helped by Olave Sinclair.[22] He evaded Murray of Tullibardine and William Kirkcaldy whose ship the Lion ran aground. Then he crossed the sea to Norway, captivity, and madness.[23]
Mary escaped from Lochleven and made for Dumbarton Castle in the west of Scotland. She was drawn into battle at Langside and defeated. Mary sought safety in England, became a closely watched captive, and was executed in 1587. In Scotland, her supporters continued a civil war for the next five years.
External links
- Contemporary drawing of the battle, UK National Archives
- Carberry from Marie-Stuart.co.uk
- Carberry from AboutScotland.com
- Carberry from TheReformation.info
- Calendar State Papers, Foreign Elizabeth, vol.8, July 1567, (British History Online)
Footnotes
- ^ Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p.328.
- ^ Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 331.
- ^ Laing, Malcolm, History of Scotland with a Preliminary Dissertation on the Participation of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Murder of Darnley, vol. 2 (1819), pp.109-118, see p.114-5
- ^ Register Privy Council of Scotland, 1545-1569, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), p. 575.
- ^ Thomson, Thomas, ed., Historie of the Kirk of Scotland by David Calderwood, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1843), p. 363
- ^ Laing, David, ed., Works of John Knox: History of the Reformation, vol.2, Wodrow Society (1846), pp. 559-560, Knox made the same remark about the sun in reference to the nearby Battle of Pinkie (1547).
- ^ Malcolm Laing, History of Scotland with a Preliminary Dissertation on the Participation of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the Murder of Darnley, vol. 2 (1819), pp. 109-118.
- ^ Michael Questier, Dynastic Politics and the British Reformations, 1558-1630 (Oxford, 2019), p. 62: A. Labanoff, Lettres de Marie Stuart, vol. 7 (London, 1852), 212, M. Du Croc to Charles IX, 17 June 1567.
- ^ Calendar State Papers Spain (Simancas), vol. 1 (London, 1871), no. 427.
- ^ Register of the Privy Seal of Seal of Scotland, vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1982), no. 397, 15 July 1581, narration relates Kirkcaldy would also have accepted any challenge offered on behalf of Bothwell.
- ^ Thomson, Thomas, ed., The Historie of James the Sext (Banntyne Club, 1825), 12
- ^ A real person, scion of the historic Clan Blackadder.
- ^ Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 333 (index p. 742 gives "Edmund.")
- ^ Gordon Donaldson, The Memoirs of Sir James Melville of Halhill (Folio Society, London, 1969), pp. 68-69.
- ^ See External links; UK National Archives PRO Kew SP52/13 MPF1/366; with a drawing of the banner at the same location.
- ^ Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth: 1566-1568, vol. 8 (London, 1871), no. 1313.
- ^ Aikman, James, trans., History of Scotland by George Buchanan, vol. 2 (Glasgow, 1827), p. 522, Latin: "tunicula tantum vestita, eaque vili et detrita, ac paulum infra genua demissa" (possibly like a kilt).
- ^ Annie Cameron, Warrender Papers, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: SHS, 1931), p. 50.
- ^ Thomson, Thomas, ed.,The Historie of James the Sext (Edinburgh, 1825), p. 14.
- ^ John Graham Dalyell, Annals of Scotland: From the Yeir 1514 to the Yeir 1591, by George Marioreybanks (Edinburgh, 1814), p. 19.
- ^ Aikman, James, trans., History of Scotland by George Buchanan, vol. 2 (Glasgow, 1827), p. 523
- ^ Diurnal of Occurrents (Edinburgh, 1833), p. 123
- ^ John H. Ballantyne & Brian Smith, Shetland Documents, 1195-1579 (Lerwick, 1999), pp. 126-8 no. 171.