After almost twenty years of painful captivity, the Scottish woman was beheaded peacefully and blindfolded After almost twenty years of painful captivity, the Scottish woman was beheaded peacefully and blindfolded
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The death of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), has always moved me; Although it is true that her death while she was alive, after almost twenty years of painful confinement, mus
t have been even worse for her than her own beheading. Today we have the priceless testimony of Pierre de Bourdeille, lord of Brantôme (1540-1614), historian and biographer who accompanied Mary Stuart to Scotland. Bourdeille was able to interview the queen's two servants and hear from her the detailed description of her execution.
On February 8, 1587, one of the darkest pages in the annals of the European monarchy was written in blood. Let us note before that Elizabeth I of England had launched a legal battle against her cousin Mary Stuart, claiming that she had murdered her second husband, the British Lord Darnley. After almost two decades in prison, Elizabeth decided to behead her, accusing her this time without evidence of being involved in several conspiracies to end her life and seize the throne of England.
On the eve of her execution, Queen Elizabeth's representatives read her death sentence to Mary Stuart at Fotheringhay Castle, where she was held captive. Instead of being surprised, the aforementioned royal was grateful for the news because she longed to put an end to her misfortunes once and for all. She only cared about the health of her soul. She asked for a confessor for this purpose, which was denied. Faced with such ruthless refusal, she made her confession in writing; and then she wrote emotional farewell letters to the King of Scotland and her Queen Mother. When she finished her epistles, she gathered together the members of her servants and distributed all her money among them; To the women she gave her private jewelry box. She instructed the butler to tell her son James, king of England and Scotland under the name of James VI, not to try to avenge her death.
As night fell, she retired to the chapel to pray for two hours. She barely slept. She rose before dawn and put on a black velvet dress, a crimson silk doublet, and a black veil. She gave a handkerchief to one of her waitresses, asking her please to blindfold her eyes when she approached her scaffold. She returned to the chapel before leaving for the last time. She then entertained herself by talking in her chamber with the women, whom she begged to attend her execution so that she could later tell everything that had happened. While she was talking to them, there was a knock on the door. They were Isabel's envoys.