Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587; Queens -- Scotland -- Biography; Scotland -- History -- Mary Stuart, 1542-1567
To this I reply that we know nothing of communication between Lennox and
Moray in July, 1567, but we do know when Lennox began to collect evidence
for the ‘discourse,’ in which this mysterious letter is cited. In June,
1568, Mary complained to Elizabeth that Lady Lennox was hounding Lennox on
to prosecute her. Mary had somehow got hold of letters of Wood and of Lady
Lennox.[246] We also infer that, when Lennox first took up his task, he
may have already seen Scots translations of the Casket Letters as they
then existed. We know too that he had now an adviser who should not have
allowed him to make a damaging error in his indictment, such as quoting a
non-existent letter. This adviser was John Wood. After Mary’s flight into
England (May 16, 1568) Moray had sent, on May 21, his agent, John Wood
(‘Jhone a Forret’?), to London, where he was dealing with Cecil on June 5,
1568.[247] Now Wood carried with him Scots translations of the Casket
Letters, as they then existed. This is certain, for, on June 22, Moray
sent to the English Council the information that Wood held these
translations, and Moray made the request that the ‘judges’ in the case
might see the Scots versions, and say whether, if the French originals
corresponded, they would be reckoned adequate proof of Mary’s guilt.[248]
The judges, that is the Commissioners who sat at York in October,
apparently did not, in June, see Wood’s copies: their amazement on seeing
them later, at York, is evidence to that. But Lennox, perhaps, did see the
Scots versions in Wood’s hands. On June 11, from Chiswick, as has been
said, Lennox wrote three letters to Scotland; one to Moray, one to his
retainers, the Lairds of Houstoun and Minto, men of his own clan; and one
to other retainers, Thomas Crawford, Robert Cunningham, and Stewart of
Periven. To Moray he said that of evidence against Mary ‘there is
sufficiency in her own hand-writ, _by the faith of her letters_, to
condemn her.’ But he also wanted to collect extraneous evidence, in
Scotland.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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