Scottish aristocrats went to France to learn French conversation and the accomplishments of dancing, fencing and riding horses in manège in the Parisian riding academies. Meeting and making friends with French aristocrats was a bonus and tutors hoped their pupils would get an audience with the king and kiss his hand. Antoine de Pluvinel’s L’Instruction…
Anna of Denmark, National Galleries of Scotland Edinburgh's welcome for Anna of Denmark: The paill canopy When Anna of Denmark was newly arrived in Scotland, Edinburgh performed a ceremony of royal entry on Tuesday 19 May 1590. Anna was conveyed around the town in a coach at walking pace under a canopy called a paill or…
James V of Scotland left an extensive archive with the treasurer’s accounts (in Scots, published with some abbreviation) and exchequer rolls (published, Latin). In addition there are two series of household books (National Records of Scotland E31 & 32, Latin, unpublished) and some inventories of household goods. Much of the building work on royal palaces…
In 1890 William Fraser recorded a household and teind income account book for Coldingham Abbey in 1592. Fraser noted the physical condition of the booklet as 'partly decayed' or 'much mutilated at the beginning'. He printed a brief summary of the contents and the historical background, and while 'none of the entries contain special historic…
The National Records of Scotland has a series of letters from a minor courtier David Cunningham of Auchenharvie to his younger cousin David Cunningham of Robertland in Ayrshire. [1] The writer lived in London and had the office of 'Receiver of rents the king had when he was Prince' or 'Receiver General of the Principality…
Mary Dudley Sutton (1586-1644) was a cousin of Lucy, Countess of Bedford and a friend of Lady Ann Clifford. She married Alexander, Earl of Home on 11 July 1605 at Bedford House on the Strand. Latin verse in 1617 celebrated her marriage and her 'English hand' rebuilding Dunglass Castle as an example for the Union…
Objects and the archive 