This month's expert talk is by Gayle Hulme, taking us to some of the important places in the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Gayle has travelled the length of the UK to give us this informative talk, including:
Linlithgow Palace, Stirling Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh Castle, Kirk o'field, and even Westminster Abbey.
Excellent talk! I recently spent 2 weeks in Scotland and visited Stirling Castle and Holyrood. I visited Westminster Abbey and Edinburgh Castle a few years ago. Linlithgow is still on my list. There’s much I have yet to visit, so another trip is definitely in my future 😃. I have two questions to ask. The first is due to all the misrepresentation of facts in movies (but I’ll still watch them for the entertainment value), but do you believe that Bothwell raped Mary? It just seems like such a bold and brutal act for him to perpetrate in an anointed queen.
My second question is in regards to the death mask of Mary, Queen of Scots. Is it real, or is it questionable? If it’s real, how I wish there were death masks of all the Tudor monarchs (including spouses who were divorced/beheaded) I want to know what they REALLY looked like.
Thank you…i’m glad you enjoyed it. It was so much fun to do. I do believe that a Bothwell attacked Mary. Bothwell had amongst other things persuaded the other nobles to sign a petition to Mary, known as the Ainsley Bond. It urged Mary to marry him. It fell apart after the nobles withdrew their support and Mary had no support for the marriage. The only way was to besmirch her honour. As for the death masks, I haven’t seen any with convincing providence,
Thank you…i’m glad you enjoyed it. It was so much fun to do. I do believe that Bothwell attacked Mary. Bothwell had amongst other things persuaded the other nobles to sign a petition to Mary, known as the Ainsley Bond. It urged Mary to marry him. It fell apart after the nobles withdrew their support and Mary had no support for the marriage. The only way was to besmirch her honour. As for the death masks, I haven’t seen any with convincing providence.
That was really interesting! Thank you for all the effort you put in to your talk. Out of all the Tudor period, I know the least about Mary, Queen of Scots, and this was a big help. I look forward to the a and a, I do have questions. Thanks again! Michelle t
Thanks, Michelle. I really was my pleasure to visit these places again and feel something of what Mary must have experienced. Looking forward to chatting with you on the 29th.
Thank you for such an informative talk and tour. I too, know very little about Mary, Queen of Scots and just recently acquired John Guy’s book on her for a future read. I recently attempted to watch the movie which is supposed to be based on this book. However, I stopped watching part way through as I felt that the depiction of Elizabeth was both highly inaccurate and downright appalling. I’m guessing that John Guy’s work is much more historically accurate since my past reads of his work have been thoroughly enjoyable. It’s so wonderful and helpful to actually see the places where such monumental events took place. I’m looking forward to the discussion later this month.
Thanks for watching. I’m sure you’ll enjoy John Guy’s work. He has spent an age pouring over original documents.
Hollyrood and Stirling are my favourite places in Scotland, after my original homeland of Aberdeen, of course, but especially Stirling because I love the magical Chateaux part. I loved how beautiful and colourful it was inside and how French looking it was compared to the rest of the castle.
What I believe people forget is that the rooms didn’t look exactly as they did now but would have been much more beautiful and luxurious. The castles themselves were gleaming white not plain. With tapestries and bright paintings they would have sparkled and elaborate hangings can still be seen. Beds were huge luxurious items with many rich covers and pieces of wealth. The visual impact was amazing but in movies everything is so plain. With digital magic we should be able to do better.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to see them at their original splendour. 😊
Many thanks for the beautiful video and putting the information and history at the sites of their happening. Looking forward to the talk this evening.
Thank you. Looking forward to a good old matter on the 29th.