James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, 1st Duke of Orkney (* around 1534 ; † April 14, 1578 at Dragsholm Castle , Zealand , Denmark ) was Lord High Admiral of Scotland and Commander-in-Chief of the Scottish Border Country and third husband of Mary Queen of Scots .
Origin and education
James Hepburn was the only son of Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell and Agnes Sinclair. The younger sister Janet married John Stuart, Prior of Coldingham , in 1566 into the royal family. After their parents' divorce, Bothwell was raised and trained by his great-uncle, Patrick Hepburn , Bishop of Moray, at Spynie Palace near Elgin in northern Scotland.
There is evidence that the Count spoke and wrote fluently in English and French. The legacy of his books shows a particular interest in mathematics and the works of ancient and contemporary authors on questions of war strategy. The ancestral castles of the Counts of Bothwell were Hailes Castle and Crichton Castle near Edinburgh .
In the service of Marie de Guise
In 1556, around the age of 21 or 22, James Hepburn inherited from his father, Patrick Hepburn, as the fourth Earl of Bothwell. Although a Protestant himself, he loyally served the Catholic regent Marie de Guise , widow of Jacob V of Scotland and mother of Mary Queen of Scots . Since 1558, Marie de Guise found herself in hard disputes with the Lords of the Congregation , a Protestant aristocratic party behind which there was increasing resistance against the old alliance of Scotland with France ( Auld Alliance ). On October 31, 1559, James Hepburn intercepted a considerable sum of money that Elizabeth I had sent north to support the Protestant rebels. This earned him the lifelong hostility of Maria Stuart's half-brother, James Stuart (later 1st Earl of Moray), and other members of the Lords of the Congregation. In November of the same year, Crichton Castle , one of the chief castles of the Earls of Bothwell, was laid to rubble by its Protestant peers.
Bothwell remained loyal to the de Guise government and was commissioned by the regent to ask Frederick II in Denmark for arms help; from there he was supposed to go to France in order to get another French troop contingent from the daughter and King Franz II . In the course of the siege of Edinburgh by the rebels, however, Marie de Guise died on June 11, 1560.
In the service of Mary Queen of Scots
In 1560 the so-called " Reformation Parliament " under the leadership of James Stuart and John Knox introduced the Protestant denomination as a national creed in Scotland. The Treaty of Edinburgh concluded between the British and Scottish Protestants provided for Elizabeth I as protector of Scotland in future. Bothwell's assignment at the Danish court had become obsolete. He went to Paris to discuss the state of the nation with Mary Queen of Scots ( now Queen of France and Scotland following the death of Henry II ). In September 1560 he was commissioned by her to convene the Scottish Parliament. Bothwell should take a seat of the five loyal representatives.
The following year Francis II died and Mary Queen of Scots prepared for her return to Scotland. At the beginning of 1561 she conferred with the Lord High Admiral of her fleet in Joinville in order to prepare the long sea voyage along the English east coast. Elizabeth I had refused Mary passage through England because the Queen of Scotland refused to ratify the Treaty of Edinburgh and withdraw her claim to the throne of England. In August 1561, Mary landed in Leith.
After half a year, the different power interests of royalists and Lords of the Congregation in the "Arran Affaire" led to conflict. James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran , one of the leaders of the Lords of the Congregation, had devised a plan for the kidnapping of the Scottish Queen in March 1562, but when he was discovered, put the blame on Bothwell and thus played into the hands of Moray, the Bothwell immediately arrested at the fortress of St. Andrews. The Earl was taken from St. Andrews to Edinburgh Castle for pre-trial detention. Bothwell managed to escape with the Queen's tacit approval. With the pending court hearing and the increased power of the Queen's half-brother, a life in Scotland had become impossible for Bothwell. He wanted to escape into French exile via the northern English island of Holy Island , but was captured by the English. He sat in the Tower until 1564 , when the English Queen finally allowed him to travel to France. In March 1565 Bothwell returned to Scotland on short notice to settle financial affairs, but found that Mary Queen of Scots was still running the government under the strong influence of her half-brother Moray. At his instigation she had smashed the powerful Catholic clan of the Gordons in northern Scotland and given him, Moray, the title of Gordon County. Back in France, Bothwell, on the intercession of his queen, provided the offices of captain of the Scottish Guard and chamberlain to the king ("Gentilhomme de Chambre"). In August of the same year he was ordered back to Scotland by Maria. Driven by fear of losing power through Mary Stuart's marriage to Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley , Moray had dared to revolt. With Bothwell's help, the Queen successfully put down the rebellion (Chaseabout Raid). Moray and his co-conspirators went into exile in England. Bothwell was appointed to the Privy Council. George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly , received his father's earliest dignity back.
Marriage, Rizzio affair and advancement at court
For Bothwell, many things indicated a quieter life. On February 24, 1566, he married “at the express behest of the Queen” George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly's sister, Jean Gordon . The queen had thus secured a north-south alliance king loyalists. This was soon put to the test when David Rizzio , Maria Stuart's Italian secretary, was murdered with 57 stab wounds in March of that year . The Protestant lords only superficially wanted to create a copy of the alleged Vatican spy and favorite of the Queen; in fact, the conspiracy was supposed to provide Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley with the coronary crown which, in the event of Mary's death, would have made him king and instrument of the Lords of the Congregation. Maria refused her husband's royal privilege for reasons based on the fact that Darnley was syphilitic and addicted to alcohol and was therefore not up to the duties of a king.
After Rizzio's murder in Holyrood Castle, the pregnant queen and her loyal followers Bothwell and Huntly were closely guarded. The Queen managed to convince Darnley of the dishonesty of the rebels' motives and to move them to escape together. Bothwell escaped his guards by jumping into a pit under his room, with Huntly's help, quickly summoned some royal troops and took the royal couple to Dunbar Fortress. Darnley betrayed all of the co-conspirators and completely distanced himself from the bloody act. The perpetrators, including James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton and Patrick, 3rd Lord Ruthven , went into English exile. It is believed that further overturn plans were being prepared there.
In June 1566 Mary Stuart brought an heir to the throne, later James VI. from Scotland, to the world. She seemed at the height of her power, although the marital rift with Darnley could no longer be hidden from the public. She carried out government affairs with the help of her Secretary of State William Maitland and the support of the aristocrats who were devoted to her. In October of that year she was strong enough again to set court days for the border region in Jedburgh . Bothwell was sent ahead to prepare what was necessary in his area of responsibility.
Bothwell was badly wounded while outlaw Jock Elliot was arrested. A concussion from a sword blow from Elliot put him into a coma. Although believed to be dead for a long time, he regained consciousness, was able to receive the Queen and her companions at Hermitage Castle and, two weeks later, exercise his office at the District Court Day in Jedburgh.
When Darnley's behavior became increasingly disconcerting and he finally publicly denied his son's legitimacy, the Queen commissioned Bothwell to organize the prince's christening ceremonies and made him receive foreign ambassadors. Mary's increase in power and strengthening through the royalists was viewed with concern by the English. The more the Scottish queen gained in sovereignty, the more the resistance in the Catholic English nobility against Elizabeth I as an “unlawful bastard” on the throne of England grew.
Assassination of Lord Darnley
The assassination of Darnley on February 9, 1567 brought an unexpectedly great political turning point. After Darnley had gone to his father Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox , in Glasgow at the height of the marital conflict , the Queen came to him to follow him To bring Edinburgh back. Darnley had himself moved to Kirk o 'Field, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. This isolated area was recommended because of advanced syphilis or smallpox disease. When the symptoms superficially indicated improvement, a move to Holyrood was planned for the second week of February. Darnley didn't see him again. On the night of February 9, 1567, an explosion blew up the king's quarters. His body was found in the adjacent orchard with no traces of injury. The murder suspicion was soon directed towards Bothwell by the Protestant camp, cleverly staged with propaganda leaflets, ballads and posters. However, if the testimony of a resident of Kirk o 'Field is to be believed, who heard Darnley scream on the night of the murder, “Pity me, kinsmen!” (Relatives, have mercy), then the real murderers were to be found in the vicinity of the Douglas clan. But this was sponsored by Moray.
Due to his special political position, Bothwell was easy to isolate as the guilty party and would certainly have been condemned within a symbolic process for the "restoration of justice". Those who actually took over the reign after the abdication of Mary Stuart would have benefited from a conviction of Bothwell at that time: James Stuart, 1st Earl of Moray ; Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox ; James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton . However, since Bothwell was able to bring up incriminating evidence, especially against Morton, in a proper trial, one had to get rid of him in another way. Most historians agree that the following trial against Bothwell was a farce - not because an alleged guilty party was acquitted, but because the actual suspects could not be charged. Bothwell himself agreed to be heard at a meeting of the Privy Council. The court date was set for April 12, 1567. The jury, made up of peers, acquitted him for lack of evidence and warned Bothwell with this acquittal at the same time to withdraw from the political scene.
Marriage to Maria Stuart
Bothwell did not take this warning seriously. Retreat would inevitably have weakened the queen's position as well as abandoning all that the count had achieved so far. He saw the attack as the best defense and held a banquet on April 19, 1567 to win allies in the rooms of Holyrood Palace assigned to him, which went down in history as "Ainslie Bond". The result of the alliance, which almost all members of the Lords of the Congregation had signed, was, on the one hand, an assurance to protect the count from future defamation for the regicide; on the other hand, the declaration contained a marriage recommendation for Bothwell, "in the event that the Queen may condescend to marry one of her subjects". The undersigned intended to eliminate Bothwell, whom the people would never accept as the Prince Consort, through a targeted defamation campaign. It was hoped to be able to use it as an instrument of legitimation for the overthrow of the queen. Bothwell, who did not recognize this or ignored it, came to meet the intentions of his opponents by signing the "Ainslie Bond".
The marriage proposal was initially rejected by Maria Stuart, despite letters of recommendation. On April 24, 1567, Bothwell stopped the Queen's entourage at Almond Bridge and abducted her to Dunbar. In Bothwell's estimation, riots were to be expected in Edinburgh, which is why the Queen had to be brought to safety. What exactly happened on the fortress can no longer be clearly determined. It can be proven that Maria agreed to Bothwell's proposal to get married there and that the earl soon afterwards initiated the divorce from Jean Gordon . On May 3, the marriage was divorced in a Protestant civil court for adultery. On May 6, Bothwell returned to Edinburgh with the Queen. On May 7, the Hepburn-Gordon marriage was dissolved again in a Catholic court for consanguinity, although a dispensation had been obtained at the time of the marriage . Because of the denomination of Maria Stuart and Bothwell, the proceedings in both courts were necessary. On May 12, Maria raised Bothwell to Duke of Orkney and Lord of Shetland to establish the prince consort's befitting status. The marriage was concluded on May 15 as part of a Protestant liturgy. With this Mary had forfeited the sympathy of the Vatican and the Catholic princes of Europe.
The Lords of the Congregation had long been planning an uprising against the Queen. On June 15 the royal and insurgent troops faced each other at Carberry Hill, north of Edinburgh. With incomprehensible naivety, Mary Stuart accepted the Lords' offer of peace that they would be loyal to her if she parted with Bothwell. Arrived at the lords' camp, Maria already heard what the people in Edinburgh were to shout at her: “Burn the huir!” (Burn the whore). Bothwell were allowed to go on short notice, with safe conduct. Mary was imprisoned at Loch Leven Castle and forced to abdicate on June 24, 1567.
Escape to Denmark and imprisonment
Bothwell tried in vain to persuade his former brother-in-law Huntly to collect loyal troops. Moray had already put a bounty on Bothwell. The count found refuge in Spynie for a few weeks. He wanted to go to Denmark again to ask Frederick II to help free the queen. Equipped with three ships, he went out to sea, escaped Moray's chase troops and landed, beaten by storms, in Karmsund , Norway .
Believed to be a pirate by Captain Christian Alborg, Bothwell was handed over to Bergen castellan Erik Rosenkrantz in September 1567 for supervision until his identity was clarified. On September 28th, Frederick II ordered Bothwell to be imprisoned at Malmö Castle, but refused to extradite Bothwell for execution in Scotland despite strong pressure from Elizabeth I and Moray. The last written testimony we have of Bothwell is for Charles IX. written event diary (1559–1567), which is an apology on its own behalf and an appeal for the re-establishment of the Scottish Queen.
Numerous letters from Elizabeth I to Frederick II of Denmark and Norway between 1567 and 1571 prove that Bothwell was a feared witness with regard to the circumstances of the disempowerment of the Scottish Queen. It is possible that Elizabeth I's urgent request for extradition is in the background of Bothwell's transfer from Malmö to Dragsholm Castle on June 16, 1573. There Bothwell expected much stricter conditions of detention. On April 14, 1578, the prison diary of Bothwell's overseer found an entry that the count had died. Appropriately, he was buried in the crypt of the nearby church in Fårevejle. One can no longer look at Bothwell's mummified corpse there after the coffin, which was previously covered with a glass pane, has been completely surrounded by a wooden panel.
swell
- Calendar of State Papers relating to Scotland, Vol. I - VII. (Edinburgh 1858–1913)
- Calendar of State Papers of the Reign of Elizabeth I., Vol. I - VIII (Liechtenstein 1966)
- Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, Vol. I (Edinburgh 1877)
- The Scots Peerage, Vol. II (Edinburgh 1905)
- Frederik Schiern, The Life of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell (Edinburgh 1880)
- Robert Gore-Brown, Lord Bothwell (New York 1934)
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley |
Royal Consort of Scotland 1567 |
Anna of Denmark |
| New title created |
Duke of Orkney 1567 |
Title forfeited |
| Patrick Hepburn |
Earl of Bothwell 1556-1567 |
Title forfeited |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hepburn, James, 4th Earl of Bothwell |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hepburn, James, 4th Earl of Bothwell, 1st Duke of Orkney |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish military leader and husband of Mary Queen of Scots |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1534 |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 14, 1578 |
| Place of death | at Dragsholm Castle in Zealand , Denmark |