Queen consort of James V of Scotland, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots
Marie of Guise became the wife ofJames V of Scotland on 18 May 1538, thus sealing the Scottish-French alliance with King Francis I. Prudent, intelligent, and, as she would later prove, courageous, Marie journeyed to Scotland on 10 June 1538 to take up her duties as queen consort. On 8 December 1542, having already buried two sons, Marie gave birth to Mary, princess of Scotland. With James’s death eight days later, her daughter became Mary, Queen of Scots, and Marie’s role changed from consort to dowager and defender of her daughter’s right to rule.
Between January 1543 and 29 July 1548, a period known as England’s Rough Wooing because of Henry Vlll’s violent policy toward Scotland, Marie of Guise largely supported the governing council’s idea of an independent Scotland. However, the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547 convinced her that Scotland could not stand alone against English aggression, so Marie made every effort to maintain the French alliance, ultimately guiding the ruling council in their decision to transport her daughter Mary Stuart to France for safety.
Meanwhile in Scotland, squabbles between nobles led to continued unrest. The governor of Scotland, James Hamilton, earl of Arran, finally proved himself inept by 1554, and Marie took control. As regent, Marie had to balance the desires of the vocal Protestant clergy and nobility, suspicious of a woman ruler, against the pressures placed upon her by the French king, Henri II, who was soon to be Mary Stuart’s father-in-law. Though she naturally favored the French, Marie practiced tolerance and pursued a conciliatory policy with respect to her daughter’s Protestant subjects. One reason she did so was to counter the Spanish-influenced government of Mary Tudor by encouraging the Protestants in England. In early 1559, however, faced with rebellion from
Scottish Protestants after Elizabeth I succeeded her sister, Marie ended her policy of tolerance, opting for union with France since Mary Stuart had married the Dauphin the previous year. By the time of her death on 11 June 1560, though Marie of Guise had kept Scotland for her daughter, the Scots had undergone such a complete change in religion and government that, when Mary Stuart returned in 1562, they hardly knew her.
Timothy G. Elston
See also Mary Stuart; Religious Reform and Women.
Bibliography
Fleming, Arnold. Marie de Guise. Glasgow: McLel-lan, 1960.
Fraser, Antonia. Mary, Queen of Scots. New York: Delacorte Press; London:Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1969.
Marshall, Rosalind K. Mary of Guise. London: Collins, 1977.
World History
