The Baptism of James VI was celebrated at Stirling Castle in December 1566 with a masque, fireworks, and a staged assault on a mock fortress.

Prince James

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

was the son of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, and

Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1546 – 10 February 1567), was an English nobleman who was the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the father of James VI and I, James VI of Scotland and I of England. Through his parents, he had claims to b ...

. He was born on 19 July 1566 at

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. The midwife was Margaret Asteane. He was taken to

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

where a nursery was prepared for him. His cradle was made by the queen's ''menusier'' or upholsterer Nicholas Guillebault and placed under a blue plaiding canopy, rocked by a team of five aristocrats including the queen's niece,

Christine Stewart Christine Susan Stewart, (January 3, 1941 – April 25, 2015) was a Canadian politician. She served three terms as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for the riding of Northumberland in Ontario. During her career she held the cabinet position ...

. The princes' household at Stirling included Margaret Beaton, Lady Reres. In December Lady Reres and the prince's nurse Helen Littil were dressed in black velvet gowns with black satin doublets and skirt fronts. John Balfour, one of the queen's valets, bought this cloth. It was later said that Mary dressed all her household and nobility in new clothes for baptism at her expense, exceeding their status and degree, the costumes involving cloth of gold and silver and tissue. This is in part a response to

George Buchanan George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." ...

's claim that Mary dressed the

Earl of Bothwell Earl of Bothwell was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. It was first created for Patrick Hepburn in 1488, and was forfeited in 1567. Subsequently, the earldom was re-created for the 4th Earl's nephew and heir of line, F ...

in magnificent clothes for the events but neglected Lord Darnley.

Preparations for the baptism and masques

While Mary was hunting with Darnley at Cramalt Tower in August 1566 she wrote invitations to the baptism. On 6 October the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

allowed a tax to be raised to entertain the ambassadors at the baptism, £6000 would come from the church, £4000 from the barons and freeholders, and £2000 from burgh towns. Simon Preston of Craigmillar was receiver of the tax. Most of the expenses of the baptism were paid from this tax of £12,000 Scots, to which Edinburgh contributed 500

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...

. There are records of making the fireworks and costumes for the soldiers, but few details for the masques, costumes, and props used in the Great Hall. The decoration of the Great Hall was in part the responsibility of Mary's wardrobe servant

Servais de Condé Servais de Condé or Condez (employed 1561-1574) was a French servant at the court of Mary Queen of Scots, in charge of her wardrobe and the costumes for masques performed at court. Varlet of the Wardrobe He was usually referred to as Servais or ...

, and he recorded that the Prince's bed at the baptism had a cover of cloth of silver. Nicolas Guillebault, the ''menusier'', upholstered chairs, folding stools, and stools of ease with velvet and

Morocco leather Morocco leather (also known as Levant, the French Maroquin, or German Saffian from Safi, Morocco, Safi, a Moroccan town famous for leather) is a Vegetable tanning, vegetable-tanned leather known for its softness, pliability, and ability to take c ...

. The staged events at the baptism have been compared with the festival held at

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...

and

Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the ...

in 1565, which may have been the model for the programme at Stirling. At Bayonne an artificial castle in the ball room was besieged to illustrate the triumph of Christianity according to a prophecy of

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

. Arthurian themes were also explored at Stirling. At Stirling, three "counterfeit devils" with actors playing "moors" and Highland men unsuccessfully attacked a mock castle. A part of the entertainment was written by

, a poet in Latin who would become the young king's tutor.

Bastian Pagez Bastian Pagez was a French servant and musician at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. He devised part of the entertainment at the baptism of Prince James at Stirling Castle in 1566. When Mary was exiled in England, Bastian and his family continu ...

, a French valet, worked on the costumes and devised the choreography. The royal accounts record that Bastian was given 40 ells of " taffeteis of cord" in three colours for seven (or some) "preparatives" for the baptism. "Preparatives" here may mean "harbingers," the role of the satyrs at the feast, but may just mean the preparations in general. Fireworks were made by soldiers of the queen's guard and the gunners of Edinburgh and Stirling castles, including

Michael Gardiner Michael Strickland Gardiner (born 5 July 1979) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Originally from Albany, Western Australia. Ga ...

. John Chisholm, comptroller clerk of the royal artillery, arranged the

firework display Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...

for the baptism. The preparations were expensive, and John had to send to the Queen twice for extra money. John's account for the event lists his ingredients, including,

colophony Rosin (), also called colophony or Greek pitch ( la, links=no, pix graeca), is a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants, mostly conifers, produced by heating fresh liquid resin to vaporize the volatile liquid terpene comp ...

orpiment Orpiment is a deep-colored, orange-yellow arsenic sulfide mineral with formula . It is found in volcanic fumaroles, low-temperature hydrothermal veins, and hot springs and is formed both by sublimation and as a byproduct of the decay of another a ...

, quicksilver, Lombard paper, camphor, gum arabic, arrows and dozens of small pottery vessels. The fireworks were made in Leith and shipped to

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

in great secrecy, carried to the castle at the dead of night "for feir of knowledge thairof". Chisholm also arranged the making of costumes used by soldiers in the pageant of an assault on a mock castle. To perfect the costume for the teams of warriors some blue fabric had to be dyed black. Two tailors in Stirling adjusted the costumes to fit the soldiers before the performance. Four soldiers were provided with costumes and wigs made of lamb's fleece to act as "

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

", to masquerade as African people. The carpenter James Reid built the mock fort beside the churchyard of the Holy Rude Kirk, in the area known as the valley, from fir spars and boards shipped from Leith. The French ambassador, Jean, Count de Brienne, arrived in Edinburgh on 2 November 1566 and was lodged in Henry Kinloch's house in the Canongate near

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...

. He visited

Craigmillar Castle Craigmillar Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is south-east of the city centre, on a low hill to the south of the modern suburb of Craigmillar. The Preston family of Craigmillar, the local feudal barons, began build ...

to meet Mary on 20 November. Mary had been ill, and was convalescing at Craigmillar, and courtiers including

John Bellenden John Bellenden or Ballantyne ( 1533–1587?) of Moray (why Moray, a lowland family) was a Scottish writer of the 16th century. Life He was born towards the close of the 15th century, and educated at St. Andrews and Paris. At the request of ...

heard that the baptism would go ahead on 10 December. The baptism was delayed by a week. Brienne went to Stirling on 12 December, escorted by

George Seton, 7th Lord Seton George Seton V, 7th Lord Seton (1531–1586), was a Lord of the Parliament of Scotland, Master of the Household of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Provost of Edinburgh. He was the eldest son of George Seton, 6th Lord Seton, and Elizabeth Hay, a daughter ...

James Melville of Halhill Sir James Melville (1535–1617) was a Scottish diplomat and memoir writer, and father of the poet Elizabeth Melville. Life Melville was the third son of Sir John Melville, laird of Raith, in the county of Fife, who was executed for treason ...

claimed that he was a "simple man" and "no courtier", suggesting by this that Mary's diplomatic policy was towards England.

The baptism

The baptism ceremony was held at Stirling on 17 December. The name and titles proclaimed were, "Charles James, James Charles, Prince and Steward of Scotland, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord of the Isles, and Baron of Renfrew". There was a torchlit banquet, described in the chronicle called the ''Diurnal of Occurrents'', followed by "dancing and playing in abundance". The final act of the day was a masque involving men on hobby horses singing in Italian.

Darnley and Bothwell

James's father, Lord Darnley, was estranged from the Queen. Mary and Bothwell were said to had him moved from William Bell's house in Stirling to an obscure lodging in the castle on 5 December. He stayed privately in the castle and did not attend the events, and the French diplomat Monsieur du Croc (who represented the Duke of Savoy for the occasion) was instructed not to speak to him by Charles IX. On the day of the baptism du Croc sent a message to Darnley that if he came to his room, he would exit by the other door. According to the accusations against Mary known as the "Book of Articles" or " Hay's Articles", she had ordered a passage to be built between her chamber in the "new work" or palace to the Great Hall where Bothwell lodged. Her building work was unfinished. This "passage" was later replaced by the neo-gothic bridge between the palace and great hall.

Fireworks and a mock castle

A wild bull was hunted in the Park of the castle on 18 December. On 19 December there were fireworks directed by John Chisholm and the gunners Charles Bordeaux and James Hector. The pageant consisted of an assault on a mock castle by wildmen. The 28 Highland wildmen dressed in goats-skin carrying fireworks were fought by fifteen soldiers dressed as

landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line wa ...

moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

, and devils, armed with two cannons.

Dancers with tails

wrote that Bastian Pagez was responsible for an entertainment in the Great Hall of Stirling Castle on 19 December which offended the English guests at the baptism. Mary and thirty guests sat at a round table like King Arthur's at the head of the hall. The courses of the dinner were brought up the hall on a moving table, with twelve men dressed as

satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...

s, with long tails, carrying lighted torches. In their other hand the satyrs carried whips to clear the way in front. When the table reached the stage, the satyrs passed their torches to bystanders. Then six servers dressed as

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

s who had been seated on the moving table, passed the food to the satyrs, who brought the dishes up to the round table on the stage. Meanwhile, courtiers costumed as nymphs and satyrs sang Latin verses specially written by George Buchanan in honour of the food and hosts as the "gift of the offering of rustic gods to James and his mother". The Latin title is ''Pompae Deorum Rusticorum''. The parts of the song were alternately given to the satyrs,

nereid In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; grc, Νηρηΐδες, Nērēḯdes; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanids, Oceanid Doris ...

faun The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...

s, and

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who ...

s who addressed the Queen and Prince, and it was concluded by characters representing the

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

. The nereids had used compasses to navigate their way to Scotland following the Great Bear from the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

. They represented

Indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

. When the satyrs first wagged their tails, the English guests took it as reference to an old saying that Englishmen had tails. This story of English tails was first set down in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

by the chronicle writers

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a ...

Wace Wace ( 1110 – after 1174), sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy (he tells us in the ''Roman de Rou'' that he was taken as a child to Caen), ending his care ...

, and

Layamon Layamon or Laghamon (, ; ) – spelled Laȝamon or Laȝamonn in his time, occasionally written Lawman – was an English poet of the late 12th/early 13th century and author of the ''Brut'', a notable work that was the first to present the legend ...

in his '' Brut''. The origin was a legend that Saint Austin cursed the Kentish men of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

to have rayfish tails, and afterwards they were called ''muggles''.

Polydore Vergil Polydore Vergil or Virgil (Italian: ''Polidoro Virgili''; commonly Latinised as ''Polydorus Vergilius''; – 18 April 1555), widely known as Polydore Vergil of Urbino, was an Italian humanist scholar, historian, priest and diplomat, who spent ...

had more recently published a version of the legend, writing that the curse applied to the descendants of people from Strood who had cut off the tail of

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

's horse. From this ancient story it had become proverbial in Europe that all Englishmen had secret tails. Melville criticised the diplomatic skills of the guests for taking offence at this, saying they should have pretended not to see the joke. Some of the English guests, including

Christopher Hatton Sir Christopher Hatton KG (1540 – 20 November 1591) was an English politician, Lord Chancellor of England and a favourite of Elizabeth I of England. He was one of the judges who found Mary, Queen of Scots guilty of treason. Early years Sir ...

, sat down behind the

high table The high table is a table for the use of fellows (members of the Senior Common Room) and their guests in large university dining halls in anglo-saxon countries, where the students eat in the main space of the hall at the same time. They remain ...

to face away from the spectacle, and the Queen and the English ambassador, the

Earl of Bedford Earl of Bedford is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England and is currently a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Bedford. The first creation came in 1138 in favour of Hugh de Beaumont. He appears to have been degraded fr ...

had to smooth things over. Melville said that Hatton told him he would have stabbed Bastian for the offence, done because Mary, for once, showed more favour to Englishmen rather than the French. The moving table or stage was drawn up the hall four times for four courses, led by the satyrs. Each time its decorative theme was renewed. During the fourth course a child actor descended from the roof in a globe. The stage mechanism broke during the fifth course.

Diplomats and gifts

Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, KG ( – 28 July 1585) of Chenies in Buckinghamshire and of Bedford House in Exeter, Devon, was an English nobleman, soldier, and politician. He was a godfather to the Devon-born sailor Sir Francis Drake ...

, represented Queen Elizabeth at the baptism and was guest of honour at the banquet and masque. She gave him a gold chain set with pearls, diamonds, and rubies. Bedford refused to go in the chapel at the baptism, and Jean Stewart, Countess of Argyll went in his place, and he gave her a ring with ruby, according to Queen Elizabeth's instructions. Bedford brought a gold font "curiously wrought and enamelled" by the goldsmiths Brandon and Partridge, and there were plans to hijack his convoy near Doncaster and steal it. According to James Melville of Halhill, Mary gave

a chain of pearls and a diamond ring, a ring and a chain with her miniature picture to

George Carey George Leonard Carey, Baron Carey of Clifton (born 13 November 1935) is a retired Anglican bishop who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, having previously been the Bishop of Bath and Wells. During his time as archbishop the C ...

, and gold chains to Mr Lignish (Ralph Liggens or Lygons), a friend of the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

, and to five English gentlemen of "quality". She received a necklace of pearl and rubies and earrings from the French ambassador, the Count de Brienne, otherwise described as a "carcanet of fine work". In January 1567 Obertino Solaro, Sieur de Moretta, the ambassador of the

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a Duchy of Sav ...

, who was late for the baptism, gave Mary a fan with jewelled feathers. After the baptism,

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland, James V of Scotland. A supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent ...

, took the Earl of Bedford on a tour of

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. They visited

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

and Hallyards, a house of

William Kirkcaldy of Grange Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange (c. 1520 –3 August 1573) was a Scottish politician and soldier who fought for the Scottish Reformation but ended his career holding Edinburgh castle on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots and was hanged at the co ...

Mary went to

Drummond Castle Drummond Castle is located in Perthshire, Scotland. The castle is known for its gardens, described by Historic Environment Scotland as "the best example of formal terraced gardens in Scotland." It is situated in Muthill parish, south of Crieff. ...

and to

Tullibardine Castle Tullibardine Castle was a castle located in the village of Tullibardine, north of Auchterarder in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. History The lands of Tullibardine passed to the Murray family after Ada de Strathearn, the wife of William Murray, ...

for New Year, the home of William Murray, without Lord Darnley who went to Glasgow. The wardrobe servant Servais de Condé recorded that a piece of large leaf verdure tapestry, originally from

Huntly Castle Huntly Castle is a ruined castle north of Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where the rivers Deveron and Bogie meet. It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly. There have been four castles built on the site that ...

, and a small Turkish carpet were lost from Stirling Castle, and a tapestry from the suite of "Rabbit Hunt" from

Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although mai ...

, at the time of the baptism. In 1568 Ralph Lignish or Liggens was involved in the Duke of Norfolk's discussions at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...

with Moray and John Lesley about him marrying Mary, Queen of Scots, which led to his execution. He may have been the Duke's messenger at the Stirling baptism, said to have told Mary that in the event of Elizabeth having no heir, "he and diverse others of the principalest of the nobility were to stand for her and hers". According to Robert Melville, Norfolk sent him to Mary in captivity at

Lochleven Castle Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the site of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1 ...

, to advise her not to abdicate in favour of her son. He went into exile in France. Mary wrote to "Liggons" from Chartley, twenty years later.

More masques at the Stuart court

In January 1581

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

, the son of

James Stewart, 1st Lord Doune James Stewart, 1st Lord Doune (1529-1590) was a Scottish landowner. Career James Stewart was the son of Sir James Stewart of Beith (d. 1547), Constable of Doune Castle, who was the third son of Andrew Stewart, 1st Lord Avondale, and Margaret Lind ...

, married Elizabeth Stewart, the elder daughter of

Regent Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. A supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotland for his ...

. The wedding was celebrated on 31 January in Fife with a tournament of " running at the ring" and James VI took part. Two day after the party came to Leith, where a water pageant culminated with a theatrical assault on a Papal

Castel Sant'Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausol ...

, built on boats on the

water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The name ''Leith'' may be of Britto ...

. The eldest son of James VI and

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...

, was baptised at Stirling in 1594. The celebrations involved a tournament of running at the ring in fancy dress, desserts and fruits served by six ladies from a moving stage drawn by a "

Moor Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. Ethnic and religious groups * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during ...

", and a model ship loaded with fish made from sugar.Michael Bath, 'Rare Shewes, the Stirling Baptism of Prince Henry', in ''Journal of the Northern Renaissance'', no. 4 (2012)
/ref>

References

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