Neil Younger

This is fascinating!

11 December 1582: To be frank, nothing of any consequence whatsoever seems to have happened today. Richard Stonley's diary reports 'moche Rayne and Snowe', so maybe everyone was staying indoors. That's all I've got.
#earlymodern

10 December 1582: A fascinating moment in Edinburgh today: the head of the Earl of Morton is removed from the spike on which it has been displayed on the Tolbooth in the city centre. At about 11am, it was taken down, 'layed in a fyne cloath, convoyed honorablie, and layed in ...
#earlymodern

Stokes reports to Walsingham from Bruges about a French attempt to take a nearby castle by surprise, which unfortunately became known to the enemy, who sallied out and easily repulsed them, 'for when the Frenchmen saw them come, they all ran away'. Anglo-French alliances are seldom easy. 9/

The duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V, writes to Mary queen of Scots, for no particular reason other than to send good wishes and hope that she will 'persevere very instantly in our holy Roman Catholic faith'. He also rather appealingly apologises for his inadequate French. 8/

... working for the Medici, but informing for Walsingham on the side. His news is mainly of the Ottomans, who are looking to make peace with Persia, which sounds unimportant to England, but since it means that they would then be free to turn to attacking Spain, it could be significant. 7/

Anthony Standen, an English exile in Italy, writes to Walsingham with European news. A former servant of Lord Darnley and Mary queen of Scots, he's also spent lots of time on the continent, where he had an affair with a former mistress of Charles V (!), the mother of Don Juan, and is now ... 6/

... strength to stand up to the fearsome pirates, and says 'they ar my Masters', i.e. stronger than him. This is semi-plausible since of course Elizabeth won't provide proper resources, but in fact it's widely believed that he is on the take, and I suspect Hatton is having his palm greased too. 5/

One Francis Hawley writes to Walsingham, responding to claims that he is not doing his duty and repressing pirates in the Isle of Purbeck, where he is deputy vice-admiral to Sir Christopher Hatton, his master and owner of Corfe Castle. He makes the case that he doesn't have the ... 4/

... the advent of the Lennox-Arran ascendancy, with James's support, and executed in June 1581 by means of 'the Maiden', an early form of guillotine. The decent burial of his head is surely a further sign of the reorientation towards a more pro-English, anti-Catholic regime. 3/

... the kist [chest/coffin] where his bodie was buried. The Laird of Carmichaell caried it, shedding tears abundantlie by the way'. Morton, as regent, had dominated Scotland in most of the 1570s, and had been a key player as far back as Mary's personal reign, but had been toppled in part by ... 2/

10 December 1582: A fascinating moment in Edinburgh today: the head of the Earl of Morton is removed from the spike on which it has been displayed on the Tolbooth in the city centre. At about 11am, it was taken down, 'layed in a fyne cloath, convoyed honorablie, and layed in ...
#earlymodern

Very sensible precaution

Well you would, wouldn't you

Very interesting!

9 December 1582: Another domino falls: France too has fallen in line with the pope's crackpot scheme to alter the calendar and confuse historians. Tomorrow will be the 20th December, not the 10th, and the number of shopping days until Christmas has rapidly diminished. The English ... 1/
#earlymodern

John Norris writes from Antwerp: the Cologne affair continues to heat up; it's said that the Bishop of Liege (a Catholic Wittelsbach from Bavaria) hopes to supplant the current Archbishop with support from Spain and other Catholic princes, so this is hotting up to be a mini war of religion. 8/

Lord Burghley writes to the interim governors of Ireland, notifying them that the earl of Ormond is coming over as President of Munster, with fresh soldiers and supplies, to end the earl of Desmond's rebellion - but as ever Burghley would prefer that it be ended without bloodshed (much cheaper). 7/

... this is pretty absurd, and Robert Bowes, sitting in on a Privy Council meeting with James, browbeats them into given him two days only before he has to get started in the direction of Berwick. It looks like it'll all be over and done with by the time La Mothe-Fenelon gets to Scotland. 6/

The news from Scotland is promising; the brief panic about a counter-coup is all over now, and Lennox seems finally to be accepting that he has to go; he only begs 20 days to get himself sorted, pack his bags etc to travel through England. Since he's had since late August to get ready ... 5/

Many congrats, that's great!

... to be most upset. Eltoft was supposed to be conducting some newly-raised troops from Gloucestershire into Ireland, so the Privy Council today write to the sheriff of that county, telling him that he won't now be available (thought not saying why). 4/

News from London for the earl of Rutland: a few days ago one Captain [Edmund] Eltoft had a fray with Captain John Zouche, both soldiers serving in Ireland, and Zouche was killed, at which his brother, a former gentleman pensioner at court, 'swooned and died immediately'. Elizabeth is said ... 3/

... ambassador, the redoubtable Henry Cobham, rather surprisingly makes no mention of this in advance nor indeed in retrospect for some days, which makes one wonder how well-organised the rollout of this policy was; there will surely be a lot of wrongly-dated documents in remoter parts of France. 2/

9 December 1582: Another domino falls: France too has fallen in line with the pope's crackpot scheme to alter the calendar and confuse historians. Tomorrow will be the 20th December, not the 10th, and the number of shopping days until Christmas has rapidly diminished. The English ... 1/
#earlymodern

Walsingham's agent Fremyn reports from Antwerp about the arrival of Anjou's fresh French troops, which has led to some optimism, although 'some people murmur, and dread the present government'. Apparently a lot of the German mercenary troops want to go and fight in the incipient war in Cologne. 6/

8 December 1582: The Scottish Privy Council at Holyrood hears a complaint about a Borders noble, John Maxwell, Lord Maxwell and recently-created Earl of Morton, who's based at the superb Caerlaverock Castle; allegedly, a bunch of his men visited Harehope in Tweeddale and ... 1/
#earlymodern

It's Mary, queen of Scots's birthday, the big 4-0, but sadly no record seems to survive indicating how she celebrated or whether Elizabeth sent a card. 5/

... that 'it is lesse lamentable or straunge here, consyderinge the beastly disposition of many emonge this people, who undoubtedly ... even here in the pale, and in the cytties ... will alwaies eate the carkasses of any cattell ... be they never so lothsome to civill people'. So there it is. 4/

From Dublin, Adam Loftus and Henry Wallop, the interim governors of Ireland, write to Burghley about money matters. It seems Burghley has heard that soldiers are selling dead horses to the people for meat, and is disturbed by this, and indeed they also deplore it, but Burghley must realise ... 3/