History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, Vol. 6 (of 8)Merle d'Aubigné, J. H. (Jean Henri)
History
History of the Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin, Vol. 6 (of 8)
Merle d'Aubigné, J. H. (Jean Henri)
Reformation
laid me in this tomb before that bright day dawned.’[202]
[Sidenote: SECOND MARRIAGE OF JAMES V.]
The prelates began to bestir themselves immediately to negotiate
another French marriage, but one which should be at the same time what
the first had not been,--a Romish marriage. They did not intend to be
taken in a second time. The ardent David Beatoun, the primate’s nephew,
who had accompanied the king to Paris, returned to France immediately
after the death of the young queen, in order to seek for James V. a new
alliance agreeable to the priests. David, who was very well liked at
the court of St. Germain, was made bishop of Mirepoix, by Francis I.,
and through his intervention was afterwards created cardinal. His whole
life was to be consecrated to a conflict with the Gospel in Scotland.
Now for this end he needed a fanatical queen, and it was not difficult
to find one.
There was at that time at the court of France a family which was
beginning to be known for its zeal for the papacy. Claude de
Lorraine, Duke of Guise, who had married Antoinette de Bourbon, had
distinguished himself on several occasions, and particularly at the
battle of Marignano. Surrounded by six sons and four daughters, he
founded a powerful house, which at a later period was near taking
the throne from the Valois and the Bourbons. Hence, the last word of
Francis I. to his son was this, ‘Beware of the Guises!’ It appears
that James, during his visit to France, had seen and observed the
eldest of the duke’s children, Mary, a young woman of three-and-twenty,
widow of Louis of Orléans.[203] To her Beatoun addressed himself. The
alliance was promptly concluded. The Scottish clergy triumphed; but the
evangelical Christians saw with sorrow ‘this egg taken from the bloody
nest of the Guises’[204] brought into their native land.
The young queen, having arrived at St. Andrews on June 16, 1538, strove
to gain the affection of the king and of her mother-in-law. She failed
to win the favor of the people; but the priests were enamored of her,
and feeling themselves thenceforth sure of the victory, they began to
set the authority of the pope higher than ever in their discourses.[205]
The pope then, through cardinal Pole, proposed an alliance between
the emperor and the kings of France and Scotland for the invasion of
England; and at the same time he withdrew from Henry VIII. and his
successors the title of _Defender of the Faith_, and transferred it to
the crown of Scotland.
James V., the slave at once of his wife and his bishops, seemed to be
positively chained to the chariot of the Roman pontiff.
CHAPTER IX.
DAVID BEATOUN ESTABLISHES HIS INFLUENCE: PERSECUTION REVIVES.
(1539.)
[Sidenote: DAVID BEATOUN.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account