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MR I.H. was driven insane by confinement [in Denmark!]
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Art Neuendorffer
Aug 24, 2006, 11:45:05 AM8/24/06
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-------------------------------------------------
MR I.H.
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.marileecody.com/marysig.jpg
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/mermaidhare.jpg
.
<<'The Mermaid and the Hare': Placard denouncing the adultery between
Mary and Bothwell. This anonymous placard was one of many plastered
throughout Edinburgh during the fateful spring of 1567. Rumors of
adultery with Lord Bothwell were only encouraged when Mary wed him just
three months after Darnley's very suspicious death. In popular culture,
the mermaid symbolized a prostitute; the hare was Bothwell's insignia.
The initials 'I H' refer to his full name, James Hepburn. 'M R', of
course, stands for Maria Regina. Mary was devastated by this sort of
anonymous slander. Her reputation in Scotland never recovered.>>
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqosimages.html
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/bothwell.jpg
.
<<Miniature portrait of James Hepburn, 4th earl of Bothwell, 1566.
This portrait by an unknown artist is the only known likeness of
Mary's third husband, born c1535. It is part of a double miniature;
the other portrait is of his first wife, Jean Gordon.
.
Since they were married in 1566 and divorced a year later, I have
assumed the miniatures were painted in 1566 to celebrate the union.
Jean actually divorced Bothwell on 3 May 1567, and the marriage was also
annulled on the charge that Bothwell had seduced her serving maid.
.
Bothwell was a notorious womanizer, but he was also an intelligent and
capable leader. His hasty Protestant marriage to Mary on 15 May 1567 at
Holyrood was an unmitigated disaster, whatever personal happiness it may
have brought either spouse. Five centuries later, it is impossible to
understand Mary's feelings towards Bothwell. He had given her (and her
mother before her) unwavering support but he was also implicated, like
many of the Scottish lords, in Darnley's murder (as was Mary herself.)
She had been taken under duress to Dunbar Castle by Bothwell in late
April 1567. It was asserted by her councilors that he 'ravished her
and lain with her against her will' and so 'the Queen could not but
marry him' to protect her honor. Mary herself wrote to the Bishop
of Dunblane, 'Albeit we found his doings rude,
yet were his words and answers gentle.'
.
They married in a quiet and tense ceremony, fraught with immense
consequence. It was widely believed that Mary loved Bothwell and they
were both murderers. Placards mocking the queen as a prostitute and
temptress (see below) were posted throughout Edinburgh; European leaders
were scandalized by the union. And barely a month after the marriage,
on 17 June 1567, the 'Casket Letters' were produced. These
controversial letters, later determined to be forgeries, were used by
the queen's enemies to prove her and Bothwell's adultery and complicity
in Darnley's murder. The sonnets included with the letters, however,
and written by Mary to Bothwell, are not so easily dismissed as
forgeries. Their order may have been altered and some lines tampered
with, but they are strikingly similar to the sonnets she wrote during
her English captivity. If the sonnets are authentic, and I believe
them to be, then it is clear that Mary loved Bothwell.
.
Their union ended with the loss of her throne. Bothwell himself died
in captivity in Denmark in 1578. The imprisonment was politically
motivated; the Scottish lords did not want him to return home.
But it was also incredibly cruel.
.
After a lifetime of action & love of the outdoors,
.
*Bothwell was driven insane [in Denmark] by confinement*>>
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/maryqosdarnley1.jpg
.
<<Darnley was Mary's second husband, a love match which quickly soured.
They wed on 29 July 1565; he was nineteen, vain and spoiled. Mary was
twenty-two and rather melancholy, susceptible to Darnley's superficial
charms. He also possessed Tudor royal blood, sharing the same
grandmother (Margaret Tudor) with Mary.
.
The union should have been popular, but it was not. Darnley's family
was disliked as overbearing and presumptuous; the Protestant lords did
not like having a rival to their influence over the queen; and Elizabeth
I, officially at least, did not like the dynastic implications of the
match. Elizabeth knew Darnley from his time at the English court and
was not concerned with his political acumen. In fact, she privately
celebrated the match, knowing it would cause trouble for the Scottish
queen. Poor Mary, who had every reason to believe she had made a
sensible choice, was faced with the realization that any marriage would
bring dissension and criticism upon her. She genuinely loved Darnley
but he soon disappointed her with his immaturity and demands.
.
They had a child together, James, who would later unite Scotland and
England after Elizabeth's death in 1603. Unfortunately for Mary,
Darnley was mentally unstable and felt slighted by her inability
to persuade the Scottish parliament to crown him king. He was also
susceptible to malicious gossip; he participated with the Scottish
lords in the murder of Mary's beloved secretary, David Riccio,
on 9 March 1566. Darnley was eventually murdered under highly
suspicious circumstances at Kirk o'Field on 10 February 1567.
Mary's reputation never recovered from the scandal.>>
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/maryqosandfrancis.jpg
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/maryring.jpg
.
<<This striking portrait by an unknown artist reveals a clear debt to
Clouet's work. Mary places a ring on the wedding finger of her right
hand (where the wedding ring was worn at the time.) This is a reference
to her celebrated wedding to the dauphin Francois in 1558. It was
undoubtedly one of the happiest years of Mary's life. Her future seemed
brilliant and assured, yet a mere decade later she would be a prisoner
in England. Mary Queen of Scots in White Mourning, c1560. This haunting
portrait is by an unknown artist and possibly based upon similar
chalk drawings by Clouet. It was painted c 1559-61, the span of time
in which Mary lost her mother, beloved father-in-law, and husband.>>
-------------------------------------------------------
Art Neuendorffer
MR I.H.
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.marileecody.com/marysig.jpg
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/mermaidhare.jpg
.
<<'The Mermaid and the Hare': Placard denouncing the adultery between
Mary and Bothwell. This anonymous placard was one of many plastered
throughout Edinburgh during the fateful spring of 1567. Rumors of
adultery with Lord Bothwell were only encouraged when Mary wed him just
three months after Darnley's very suspicious death. In popular culture,
the mermaid symbolized a prostitute; the hare was Bothwell's insignia.
The initials 'I H' refer to his full name, James Hepburn. 'M R', of
course, stands for Maria Regina. Mary was devastated by this sort of
anonymous slander. Her reputation in Scotland never recovered.>>
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqosimages.html
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/bothwell.jpg
.
<<Miniature portrait of James Hepburn, 4th earl of Bothwell, 1566.
This portrait by an unknown artist is the only known likeness of
Mary's third husband, born c1535. It is part of a double miniature;
the other portrait is of his first wife, Jean Gordon.
.
Since they were married in 1566 and divorced a year later, I have
assumed the miniatures were painted in 1566 to celebrate the union.
Jean actually divorced Bothwell on 3 May 1567, and the marriage was also
annulled on the charge that Bothwell had seduced her serving maid.
.
Bothwell was a notorious womanizer, but he was also an intelligent and
capable leader. His hasty Protestant marriage to Mary on 15 May 1567 at
Holyrood was an unmitigated disaster, whatever personal happiness it may
have brought either spouse. Five centuries later, it is impossible to
understand Mary's feelings towards Bothwell. He had given her (and her
mother before her) unwavering support but he was also implicated, like
many of the Scottish lords, in Darnley's murder (as was Mary herself.)
She had been taken under duress to Dunbar Castle by Bothwell in late
April 1567. It was asserted by her councilors that he 'ravished her
and lain with her against her will' and so 'the Queen could not but
marry him' to protect her honor. Mary herself wrote to the Bishop
of Dunblane, 'Albeit we found his doings rude,
yet were his words and answers gentle.'
.
They married in a quiet and tense ceremony, fraught with immense
consequence. It was widely believed that Mary loved Bothwell and they
were both murderers. Placards mocking the queen as a prostitute and
temptress (see below) were posted throughout Edinburgh; European leaders
were scandalized by the union. And barely a month after the marriage,
on 17 June 1567, the 'Casket Letters' were produced. These
controversial letters, later determined to be forgeries, were used by
the queen's enemies to prove her and Bothwell's adultery and complicity
in Darnley's murder. The sonnets included with the letters, however,
and written by Mary to Bothwell, are not so easily dismissed as
forgeries. Their order may have been altered and some lines tampered
with, but they are strikingly similar to the sonnets she wrote during
her English captivity. If the sonnets are authentic, and I believe
them to be, then it is clear that Mary loved Bothwell.
.
Their union ended with the loss of her throne. Bothwell himself died
in captivity in Denmark in 1578. The imprisonment was politically
motivated; the Scottish lords did not want him to return home.
But it was also incredibly cruel.
.
After a lifetime of action & love of the outdoors,
.
*Bothwell was driven insane [in Denmark] by confinement*>>
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/maryqosdarnley1.jpg
.
<<Darnley was Mary's second husband, a love match which quickly soured.
They wed on 29 July 1565; he was nineteen, vain and spoiled. Mary was
twenty-two and rather melancholy, susceptible to Darnley's superficial
charms. He also possessed Tudor royal blood, sharing the same
grandmother (Margaret Tudor) with Mary.
.
The union should have been popular, but it was not. Darnley's family
was disliked as overbearing and presumptuous; the Protestant lords did
not like having a rival to their influence over the queen; and Elizabeth
I, officially at least, did not like the dynastic implications of the
match. Elizabeth knew Darnley from his time at the English court and
was not concerned with his political acumen. In fact, she privately
celebrated the match, knowing it would cause trouble for the Scottish
queen. Poor Mary, who had every reason to believe she had made a
sensible choice, was faced with the realization that any marriage would
bring dissension and criticism upon her. She genuinely loved Darnley
but he soon disappointed her with his immaturity and demands.
.
They had a child together, James, who would later unite Scotland and
England after Elizabeth's death in 1603. Unfortunately for Mary,
Darnley was mentally unstable and felt slighted by her inability
to persuade the Scottish parliament to crown him king. He was also
susceptible to malicious gossip; he participated with the Scottish
lords in the murder of Mary's beloved secretary, David Riccio,
on 9 March 1566. Darnley was eventually murdered under highly
suspicious circumstances at Kirk o'Field on 10 February 1567.
Mary's reputation never recovered from the scandal.>>
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/maryqosandfrancis.jpg
http://www.marileecody.com/maryqos/maryring.jpg
.
<<This striking portrait by an unknown artist reveals a clear debt to
Clouet's work. Mary places a ring on the wedding finger of her right
hand (where the wedding ring was worn at the time.) This is a reference
to her celebrated wedding to the dauphin Francois in 1558. It was
undoubtedly one of the happiest years of Mary's life. Her future seemed
brilliant and assured, yet a mere decade later she would be a prisoner
in England. Mary Queen of Scots in White Mourning, c1560. This haunting
portrait is by an unknown artist and possibly based upon similar
chalk drawings by Clouet. It was painted c 1559-61, the span of time
in which Mary lost her mother, beloved father-in-law, and husband.>>
-------------------------------------------------------
Art Neuendorffer
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