357 - Mary, Queen of Scots: John Erskine, Earl of Mar Letter Signed as Regent of Scotland - Seeking Military Support Against Mary, Queen of Scots (1572)

Mary, Queen of Scots: John Erskine, Earl of Mar Letter Signed as Regent of Scotland - Seeking Military Support Against Mary, Queen of Scots (1572) Scottish nobleman and statesman (d. 1572) who served as guardian of the young James VI and played a leading role in the overthrow of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the establishment of her son as king. A supporter of James during the Marian Civil War, he served as Regent of Scotland from 1571 until his death the following year. LS in Early Modern Scots, signed “John Regent,” one page, 8 x 11, April 1, 1572. Addressed from Leith to the Laird of Barnbarroch, a letter from John Erskine, Earl of Mar, as Regent of Scotland, concerning the ongoing Marian Civil War and calling for military assistance against forces holding Edinburgh for Mary, Queen of Scots. In part: “The troubles here so long continuing, through the withholding of the town of Edinburgh against our sovereign Lord and his authority, it is thought most expedient to retain victuals from the town. And for that end there is men of war planted in the houses next adjacent thereto, which through...the travels of some number of horsemen, the matter appears to take good and speedy success...by advice of the counsel, it is thought good that by proclamation the west border and country be drawn here to Leith again the 20th day of this month...Praying you therefore...with your kind friends and servants, able and well horsemen...to be here at Leith in warlike manner the said 20 day of April instant, [with] provisions to remain for the space of one month thereafter...as ye will do the King’s Majesty good service and to us thankful and acceptable pleasure. So we commit you to the protection of God.” The partial seal of the regent remains affixed to the reverse. In fine condition, with archival repairs to the intersecting folds, and show-through from wax seal on reverse. This letter falls within the Marian Civil War (1568-1573), the conflict fought between the King's Men, governing in the name of the infant James VI, and the Queen's Men, who continued to support the restoration of Mary, Queen of Scots, following her forced abdication and flight to England. Edinburgh became the war's central battleground after William Kirkcaldy of Grange, keeper of Edinburgh Castle, declared for Mary in 1571, with the castle becoming the principal stronghold of the Marian party in the capital. Unable to dislodge him, the King's party established itself at Leith and began a prolonged siege and blockade of Edinburgh in the autumn of 1571, the opening phase of what became known as the Lang Siege, which would not end until Kirkcaldy's surrender in May 1573. John Erskine, Earl of Mar, had become Regent of Scotland in September 1571, chosen after his predecessor, the Earl of Lennox, was killed at Stirling. Mar held the regency for barely thirteen months before his own death in October 1572. His orders here to withhold “victuals” from Edinburgh and station armed men in houses adjacent to the city directly reflect the blockade being maintained against the Marian stronghold. The letter's recipient, Patrick Vaus of Barnbarroch, had inherited the Barnbarroch estate in Galloway in 1568, making him Laird of Barnbarroch at the time of this letter; his later career as a Senator of the College of Justice and ambassador to Denmark still lay years ahead. Mar's summons calling on “the west border and country” to muster at Leith by April 20th, with provisions to last a month, places Vaus among the regional lairds expected to answer the regent's call with mounted, provisioned men. Written from the King's party's base at Leith, the letter offers a direct account of the measures being taken to isolate Edinburgh and of the regional manpower summoned to sustain the campaign against supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots.