''Salamander'' was a warship of the 16th-century

Royal Scots Navy The Royal Scots Navy (or Old Scots Navy) was the navy of the Kingdom of Scotland from its origins in the Middle Ages until its merger with the Kingdom of England's Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707. There are mentions in Medieval records of f ...

. She was a wedding present from

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of James IV of Sco ...

Flagship of Scotland

Henry Ray saw James V and

Madeleine of Valois Madeleine of France or Madeleine of Valois (10 August 1520 – 7 July 1537) was a French princess who briefly became Queen of Scotland in 1537 as the first wife of King James V. The marriage was arranged in accordance with the Treaty of Rouen, ...

arrive at

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

on 19 May 1537, noting four great Scottish ships and ten French. Two French ships remained in Scotland as wedding presents; the ''Salamander'' and the ''Morischer'', ''Moriset'' or ''Great Unicorn''. A list of French wedding gifts includes these two as 'great ships for the wars', with two further 'gallant ships of war.' The ship was repaired or finished in France in March 1537, and James V gave gifts to workmen who set up a new mast at

Honfleur Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honf ...

. After a major refit by John Barton, the ''Salamander'' took James V on a pilgrimage from Leith to the

Isle of May The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is about long and wide. The island is owned and managed by NatureScot as a national nature reserve. There are now no ...

ending at

Pittenweem Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747. Etymology The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'pl ...

, then returned to France in May 1538 to escort the new queen,

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

, accompanied by the ''Moriset'', and '' Mary Willoughby''. Mary of Guise herself sailed from

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

with Jean de Clamorgan, sieur de Saâne-Saint-Just, captain of the ''Réale'', with two other French ships or

galleys A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be use ...

, the ''Saint Jehan'', and ''Saint Pierre''. The three French captains and their commander Jacques de Fountaines, Sieur de Mormoulins, were rewarded with gold coins in June 1539. New costumes were bought for 4 trumpeters, 4 drummers, and 3 whistlers for the Scottish fleet. The keepers of the ''Salamander'' were Alexander Lun and John Reid, and John Ker was its master. The ''Salamander'' became the king's flagship. In 1538 it was equipped with a new compass and four clocks. The '' Great Lion'' and the ''Salamander'' were fitted with 15 large wheeled guns and 10 smaller wheeled guns in May 1540. The 22 crossbows of the ''Salamander'' and 9 small hagbut guns used on the tops were inspected and repaired, and two and half fothers of lead bought for ballast. The ships were "gallantry trimmed with painting and gilding". Next month, James V embarked on the newly equipped ''Salamander'' at Leith, after first making his will on 12 June, and accompanied by the ''Mary Willoughby'', the ''Great Unicorn'', the ''Little Unicorn'', the ''Lion'' and twelve other ships sailed to

Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...

Orkney 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 ...

. Then he went to

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

on the West. James's fleet in the West was provisioned from

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

and

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

and returned to Edinburgh by 6 July. John Barton sailed to Dieppe with the ''Great Lion'' and ''Salamander'' in June 1541, and had their 27 guns cleaned and the latter ship re-rigged. During 1542, the ''Mary Willoughby'', the ''Lion'', and the ''Salamander'' attacked merchants and fishermen off

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

under the command of John Barton, son of Robert Barton, the 'Skipper from Leith'. In December 1542, the ''Mary Willoughby'', the ''Salamander'' and the ''Lion'' blockaded a London merchant ship called the ''Antony of Bruges'' in a creek on the coast of Brittany near 'Poldavy Haven.'

In the English Navy

The ''Salamander'' and the Scottish-built ''Unicorn'' were captured at Leith and used as transport for the return journey of a part of Lord Hertford's land army on 14 May 1544, after the

burning of Edinburgh The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English sea-borne army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. A Scottish army observed the landing on 3 May 1544 but did not engage with the English force. The Provost of Edinburgh wa ...

, with ballast of 80,000 Scottish iron cannon-shot. With 200 crew and 20 gunners, her armament in the English fleet listed on 1 January 1548 consisted of: 2 brass

culverin A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but later was used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The term is derived from the French "''couleuvrine''" (from ''couleuvre'' "grass snake", following the La ...

s; 3 brass demi-culverins; 4 sakers; 7 iron port pieces; 3 iron fowlers; 2 iron quarter slings; 17 iron double bases; and 11 hand guns. There were 140 yew bows; 90 bills; and 70 moorish pikes. The ''Salamander'' carried roughly half the armament of Henry VIII's flagship the

Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' (launched 1511) is a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She served for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her l ...

. The ''Salamander'', listed in the English fleet as 300 tons with 220 men, and called a '' galleas'' in the

Anthony Roll The Anthony Roll is a written record of ships of the English Tudor navy of the 1540s, named after its creator, Anthony Anthony. It originally consisted of three rolls of vellum, depicting 58 naval vessels along with information on their size, ...

, and the ''Unicorn'', returned to Scotland in Edward Clinton's invasion fleet of August 1547, and presumably contributed to the naval bombardment at the

Battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Cro ...

. She may have been destroyed as late as 1574.''Correspondance Diplomatique De Bertrand De Salignac De La Mothe Fenelon'', vol. 6 (1840), p. 93
/ref>

References

External links

* The second Anthony Roll; text describing the ''Salamander'' on wikisource
Electric Scotland, Leiths sea-dogs: The fighting Bartons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salamander Ships of the Royal Scots Navy Individual sailing vessels 16th-century ships Rough Wooing 16th century in Scotland Marriage, unions and partnerships in Scotland Captured ships Ships built in France