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, and belts. I've transcribed much of his will with some…
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, Countess of Westmorland, wrote letters to her daughter Grace Fane, Countess of Home, discussing her health and hopes of pregnancy. 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. Mostly the coded passages relate to possible embarrassment involving…
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…
One Latin household books survives from the reign of James IV, (National Records of Scotland, E32/1). It covers dates from 1511 to 1512, giving daily expenses of food for the households of James IV and that of Margaret Tudor. The accountant was the Bishop of Caithness. Like the later Scottish household books, it includes entries…
When Mary of Guise went to Dumbarton to put her daughter on a boat to France in August 1548, it was thought she would sail with Mary, Queen of Scots to Whithorn. The Master of Ruthven wrote to the English commander, Lord Grey of Wilton, that "For newes, the Queenes grace of Scotlande taketh shyppeborde…
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