Series 1 > Papal negotiations with Mary Queen of Scots during her reign in Scotland, 1561-1567

CV1
PAPAL NEGOTIATIONS WITH MARY
will prove English and not French in their sympathies (pp. 251,
252). The tone of exaggeration, which jars upon us in this
discourse, is still more discernible in the Classijicatwn of the
Scottish Nobility (p. 254). A Catholic party which reckoned
first among its supporters the names of the Earls of Lennox,
Atholl, Huntly, and Bothwell,1 could hardly have been in a
position to withstand any severe trial. The second list,
which is probably only about one year older than the first,
shows, by the great changes in the order of the names, how
unstable the alliance had been, which the previous list had
vaunted.
The next document (p. 258) is perhaps more interesting for
bibliographical than historical purposes, as the notes sufficiently
explain. In any case the estimate of the balance of parties
after the death of Rizzio and the confessions of Mary’s weak¬
ness are worthy of consideration. Her agents were not always
clear on these points.
This last document was presumably written by the Bishop
of Dunblane after he had left Rome. Before going he had
had a farewell audience with the Pope, which Father Polanco
has described in graphic terms (p. 239). The bishop had also
obtained the leave of the Father General of the Jesuits to take
two Fathers with him to Scotland in the nuncio’s company.
It would even seem as if he had made some tentative arrange¬
ment for founding a Jesuit college in that country during his
previous visit to Rome (pp. 487, 496). The directions issued
to Father Hay how he should bear himself when giving
good advice to politicians (p. 497) is noteworthy, as an early,
perhaps an off-hand, attempt to grapple with a very difficult
problem, the only final solution of which, as was discovered
later, was to forbid Jesuits from engaging themselves in
politics in any way whatever.
1 Bothwell ‘ betwene factiounis of sindrie Religiounis, despysing baith sydis,
counterfutit ane lufe of thame baith.’—Detection, ed. Anderson, ii. 58.