Info on Francis Stewart-Hepburn
Sandi
I am researching Francis Stewart-Hepburn, the 5th Earl of Bothwell, nephew
of James Hepburn, the 4th Earl. If anyone has any information, or can point
me in the right direction, it is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Sandi
Lisa Lideks
There was a book a few years back entitled "Bothwell and the Witches,"
dealing with his involvement in some witch-cults of the time. If you
can find an edition of the "Dictionary of National Biography," they
have a fairly detailed account of his life. Also, the Scottish
true-crime writer William Roughead wrote a book entitled "The Rebel
Earl," where the title essay is a rather delightful treatment of
Francis and his dealings with King James. Information on Francis is
rather scant, for some strange reason--these are the only sources I
know of. Good luck!
Mike MacKinnon
"Lisa Lideks" <drag...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2489f4da.02012...@posting.google.com...
My favourite man in history! A real opportunist if ever there was one!
Not to be confused with Bothwell of MQofS fame. His family name, IIRC, was
Lennox and he was commonly to be seen in the courts of both England and
Scotland. Whenever anything got a bit hot for him in Scotland, he's head off
to England and the court of QEI.
As regards the witches saga, Bothwell had fallen out with KJVI (again!) and
this time the King was determined to get him. It should be remembered KJVI
was terrified of witches and was convinced that the death by drowning of his
intended, while just off the coast of Scotland, was caused by witches.
There followed the proverbial "witch hunt" in which some unfortunates from
North Berwick, the chief among them being a woman called Agnes Sampson were
arrested and accused of witchcraft. Under torture, they admitted that
Bothwell was the leader of their coven.
Bothwell then beat a hasty retreat over the border, out of the reach of
KJVI. Unfortunately, he was rapidly becoming 'persona non grata' in the
court of QEI and he decided to round up some followers and go back to
Scotland with the intention of kidnapping the king. This came to nothing,
but he did manage to hold the king at the point of a sword until his 'sins'
were forgiven.
Eventually, he realised that discretion was the better part of valour and
left Scotland to fight as a soldier of fortune for the King of Sweden. His
philandering ways eventually found him chased out of Sweden and he settled
in Denmark, where he died.
As a postscript, his corpse and coffin were found about 15 years ago in, I
think, Ribe in Jutland.
He was a fascinating man and I've often thought of writing a biography of
him. I should say that all this was written from memory, so a few things may
be wrong, but I believe the salient points to be correct.
Mike
Thomson McFarlane
"Mike MacKinnon" <mmack...@nospam.pgpower.com> wrote in message
news:cHc38.841$D6....@news.iol.ie...
> My favourite man in history! A real opportunist if ever there was one!
>
> Not to be confused with Bothwell of MQofS fame. His family name, IIRC, was
> Lennox and he was commonly to be seen in the courts of both England and
> Scotland. Whenever anything got a bit hot for him in Scotland, he's head
off
> to England and the court of QEI.
>
Lennox who habituated both courts was Lord Darnley.
The again my memory could be keech.
Thomson