Scotland -- History -- Stuarts, to the Union, 1371-1707
In the month of May, 1566, Mary Beton married Alexander Ogilvie, of
Boyne. But little is known of this marriage beyond the fact that the
Queen named the day, and beyond such circumstances of a purely legal and
technical nature as may be gathered from the marriage contract, which is
still extant, and has been published in the Miscellany of the Maitland
Club. It sets forth that the bride was to have a dowry from her father
of 3000 merks, and a jointure from her husband of lands yielding 150
merks and 30 chalders of grain yearly. This legal document derives its
chief interest from bringing together in a friendly transaction persons
who played important and hostile parts in the most interesting period of
Scottish history. It bears the signatures of the Queen and Henry
Darnley, together with those of the Earls of Huntly, Argyll, Bothwell,
Murray, and Atholl, as cautioners for the bridegroom, that of Alexander
Ogilvie himself, who subscribes his territorial style of "Boyne" and
that of "Marie Bethune". The signature of the bride's father, and that
of Michael Balfour, of Burleigh, his cautioner for payment of his
daughter's tocher, are wanting.
It would appear that Mary Beton, or, as she was usually called after her
marriage, "the Lady Boyn", or "Madame de Boyn", did not immediately
retire from the Court. In what capacity, however, she kept up her
connection with it, cannot be ascertained. All that we have been able to
discover is that after her marriage she received several gifts of
ornaments and robes from the Queen. Amongst the latter we notice a dress
which was scarcely calculated to suit the fair beauty: "Une robbe de
satin jeaulne dore toute goffree faicte a manches longues toute chamaree
de bisette d'argent bordee dung passement geaulne goffre d'argent!"[96]
Both Mary Beton and Alexander Ogilvie are said to have been living as
late as 1606. All that is known as to the date of her death is that it
occurred before that of her husband, who, in his old age, married the
divorced wife of Bothwell, the Countess Dowager of Sutherland.
It is interesting to note the contrast between the comparatively
uneventful reality of Mary Beton's life and the romantic career assigned
to her in one of the best-known works of fiction that introduces her in
connection with her royal and ill-fated mistress. In Mr. Swinburne's
_Mary Stuart_, the catastrophe is brought about by Mary Beton. For some
score of years, from that day forth when she beheld the execution of him
on whom she is supposed to have bestowed her unrequited love, of the
chivalrous, impetuous Chastelard, when her eyes "beheld fall the most
faithful head in all the world", Mary Beton, "dumb as death", has been
waiting for the expiation, waiting
Even with long suffering eagerness of heart
And a most hungry patience.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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