The Tragedy of Fotheringay: Founded on the journal of D. Bourgoing, physician to Mary Queen of Scots, and on unpublished ms. documentsMaxwell-Scott, Mary Monica
General
The Tragedy of Fotheringay: Founded on the journal of D. Bourgoing, physician to Mary Queen of Scots, and on unpublished ms. documents
Maxwell-Scott, Mary Monica
Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587 -- Death and burial
All the assembly except the Queen of Scots and her servants saying
after him, during the time of which prayer the Queen of Scots,
sitting upon her stool, having about her necke an Agnus Dei, in her
hand a Crucifix, at her girdle a pair of beads with a medal at the
end of them, and a Latin primer in her hand, began with loud and
fast voice to pray in Latin, and in the midst of her prayers she
slided off her stool, and kneeling said divers Latin prayers, and
after the end of Mr. Dean's prayer she kneeling prayed in English
to this effect--for Christ's poor afflicted Church, and for an end
of all their troubles, for her son that he might prosper and fear
God, and for the Queen that she might prosper and serve God aright;
she confessed that she hoped to be saved by the blood of Christ, at
the foot of whose crucifix she would shed her blood. Then said my
Lord of Kent, "Madam, settle Christ Jesus in your heart and leave
these trumpery things." She prayed that God would avert his wrath
from this Island, and that God would give her grief and forgiveness
for all her sins. These with other prayers she made in English,
saying she forgave her enemies with all her heart that had long
sought her blood, and desired God to convert them to the truth, and
in the end of her prayer she desired all the company of heaven to
make intercession for her, and so kissing her crucifix and crossing
herself said these words, "Even as the arms of Jesus are spread here
upon the cross, so receive me unto thy mercy and forgive me all my
sins." Her prayer being ended the two executioners, kneeling on their
knees, desired her grace to forgive them, who answered, "I forgive
you with all my heart, for now I hope you shall make an end of all
my troubles." Then they, with her two women keeping her up, begin
to disrobe her of her apparel. Then she letting fall her crucifix,
one of the two hangmen took from her neck the Agnus Dei, which
she, laying hand on, gave it to one of her women, and told one of
the executioners that he should be answered money for it. Then she
suffered her two women to disrobe her of her chain of pomander beads
and all other her apparel most willingly, and with joy rather than
with sorrow helping to make unready herself, putting on a pair of
sleeves with her own hands which they had pulled off, and that with
some haste, as though she longed to be gone; all the time they were
putting off her apparel she never changed her countenance, but with
smiling cheer she uttered these words--That she never had such women
to make her unready, and that she never put off her clothes before
such a company. Then she being stripped of all her apparel saving
her petticoat and kirtel, her two women began to cry and lament,
then she turned her to them, and embracing them, said these words in
French: "Ne cry point pour moi. Ja promys pour vous." And so crossing
and kissing them both she told them that they had more cause to
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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