Series 3 > Scottish correspondence of Mary of Lorraine

xvi CORRESPONDENCE OF MARY OF LORRAINE
The whole tenor of the Correspondence goes to show
that this was an age of transition in warfare. On the one
hand, the English occupation of Scotland was an organ¬
ised military undertaking, directed from headquarters;
on the other hand, to the individual captains it was
partly a private enterprise. The German mercenary was
the professional soldier, while Mr. Rendall, with his
‘ handsum bande of fotemenn,’ was something of a volun¬
teer. [No. CCXVI.] Luttrell himself, although respon¬
sible to the central authority, enjoyed much discretionary
power.
His correspondence probably fell into the hands of his
captors at the taking of Droughty. If his letters were
preserved for their value to contemporaries, they have
not lost any of their interest with the passing of the years.
In themselves they are a curious addition to our know¬
ledge of the conditions of warfare in the sixteenth century,
while the glamour of personality makes an appeal to our
imagination. Luttrell’s attitude of arrogant defiance to
his enemies : his complaints to the Protector : the charges
against him of carelessness and neglect of duties : his
‘ over greate famylyaritie ’ : his ‘ extreme dettis ’ : his
perils and clamorous unhappiness in the post of duty and
of exile : all these add a real human interest to the his¬
torical value of the documents.
What is true of the Luttrell Correspondence is true of
the collection as a whole. The letters are largely con¬
cerned with affairs of state, but they are impregnated with
the spirit of personality. The hopes and fears, the ambi¬
tions and disappointments of the writers, are unconsciously
laid bare. We can feel the exultation and self-gratula-
tions of Lennox on the final accomplishment of his marriage
to his ‘ plesowr and desayr.’ [No. LXXVIL] More dis¬
interested is the unfeigned earnestness of Otter burn’s
solicitude for the safety of his country. There is pathos