When James VI travelled to Denmark to meet his bride Anna of Denmark, he sent the royal master of work William Schaw to Edinburgh in March 1590 to make preparations for his return. Accounts of payments made from the queen's dowry record that Schaw returned with a Danish or German turner or wright. One entry…
Catherine Tollemache was a daughter of Lionel Tollemache and Elizabeth Murray (later Duchess of Lauderdale). In 1677, she came to Edinburgh with her mother and the Duke of Lauderdale and stayed at Moray House in the Canongate. The Duke was the uncle of James Stuart, Lord Doune, and Catherine married him in December 1677. After…
William Fowler (died January 1572), an Edinburgh merchant, served as a treasurer of the French revenues of Mary, Queen of Scots.1 He was also a textile merchant, and his registered will lists his merchant stock of fabrics and ready made items such as hats, bonnets, belts, and "counterfeit pearls for masking".2 I've transcribed much of…
Lady Mary or Marie was a daughter of Anne Gordon, Countess of Moray. A record of her mother's income and expenditure survives in a series of accounts covering a part of the 1620s and 1630s. The accounts have a lot to say about Lady Mary, her parrot, wool bought for a frame used for a…
William Schaw was master of work to James VI and Anna of Denmark, and chamberlain of her Dunfermline estates. He was in charge of royal buildings, signing accounts and receipts, and was probably the designer of the 1594 Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle.1 Schaw was responsible for refurbishments at the Prince's Tower at Stirling around…
Mary Mildmay Fane, Countess of Westmorland, wrote letters to her daughter Grace Fane, Countess of Home, discussing her health and hopes of pregnancy.1 Grace lived in Scotland at Dunglass Castle. As noted in the catalogue of the Moray Papers, the six surviving letters include some court news and a few lines of code or cipher.…
In 1556, John Knox wrote a letter to his female Protestant following in Edinburgh, advising on suitable clothing for the godly. The new-ish French farthingale was deprecated.1 After finding some scriptural justification for censuring hairstyles, Knox wrote: 'Gif sic thingis as Esay the Prophet repruiffit in the wemen of his time be dampnabill, verdingallis, and…
There was a court in Edinburgh dealing with small debts. The officers of the court auctioned goods to settle claims on market days at Edinburgh's Mercat Cross. In September 1600, Jonet Cheyne or Schene produced a garnet garnishing for auction which she had been given as a pledge for a loan of £84 Scots made…
In Edinburgh, a court of baillies met regularly to hear complaints of bad debts and non-payments. The judgements were recorded in ledgers known as the 'Books of Decreets' which survive in Edinburgh City Archives, covering the years 1580 to 1635. The court proved a debt, typically accepting an oath made to a court officer, and…
John Workman or Warkman was a prominent artist in Edinburgh. He painted scenes for the Royal Entry of Anna of Denmark in May 1590 and decorated her coach in 1603 when she left for England, and his brother James made and painted a board for the game of the goose for James VI. John Workman…
