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William Schaw
William Schaw (c. 1550–1602) was Masters of Work to the Crown of Scotland, Master of Works to James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark for building castles and palaces, and is claimed to have been an important figure in the development of Freemasonry in Scotland. Biography William Schaw was the second son of John Schaw of Broich, and grandson of Sir James Schaw of Sauchie Tower, Sauchie. Broich is now called Arngomery, a place at Kippen in Stirlingshire. The Schaw family had links to the Royal Court, principally through being keepers of the King's wine cellar. The Broich family was involved in a scandal in 1560, when John Schaw was accused of murdering the servant of another laird. William's father was denounced as a rebel and his property forfeited when he and his family failed to appear at court, but the family were soon re-instated. At this time William may have been a page at the court of Mary of Guise, as a page of that name received an outfit of black mourning cloth when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masters Of Work To The Crown Of Scotland
The Master of Works to the Crown of Scotland was responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of royal palaces, castles and other crown property in Scotland. The main buildings were; Holyroodhouse; Edinburgh Castle; Stirling Castle; Linlithgow Palace; and Falkland Palace. The position was roughly equivalent to that of Office of Works, Surveyor of the King's Works in the English Royal Household.Colvin, p1155 The emergence of the position reflected a shift in responsibility from the masons, or administrators in holy orders, to designers with little hands-on knowledge of stonemasonry. Earlier holders of the office were often courtiers: James Hamilton of Finnart was the king's kinsman; John Scrymgeour was a heraldry, heraldic expert; while William Schaw, an administrator, was a key figure in the development of Freemasonry, itself a 'craft' having little to do with building. Later holders filled a role similar to that of architects in the modern sense. Some Masters were craft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Donaldson
Gordon Donaldson (13 April 1913 – 16 March 1993) was a Scottish historian. Life He was born in a tenement at 140 McDonald RoadEdinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory, 1912 off Leith Walk in northern Edinburgh on 13 April 1913 the son of Rachel Swan and Magnus Donaldson. He was of Shetland descent. Donaldson attended Broughton Elementary School (adjacent to his home) and then the Royal High School of Edinburgh (1921–31), before being awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Edinburgh. He also supplemented his income by undertaking some tutoring. After graduating in 1935 with a first-class Honours Degree in History ( MA), he gained his PhD in 1938 at the Institute of Historical Research in London, where he also won the David Berry Prize from the Royal Historical Society. Donaldson also has a DLitt degree. After working as an archivist at the General Register Office for Scotland 1938–1947, he was appointed to a lectureship in Scottish History at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest known settlements around Dunfermline probably date to the Neolithic period, growing by the Bronze Age. The city was first recorded in the 11th century, with the marriage of Malcolm III of Scotland, and Saint Margaret of Scotland, Saint Margaret at Dunfermline. As List of Scottish consorts, Queen consort, Margaret established a church dedicated to the Trinity, Holy Trinity, which evolved into Dunfermline Abbey under their son David I of Scotland, David I in 1128, and became firmly established as a prosperous royal mausoleum for the Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish Crown. A total of eighteen royals, including seven Kings, were buried here between 1093 and 1420 including Robert the Bruce in 1329. By the 18th century, Dunfermline became a regiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Somerville (family Historian)
James Somerville (1632–1690) was a Scottish family historian. A youthful soldier of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, he like his father declined to claim the title Lord Somerville, but wrote an extensive work on his ancestry, later edited by Walter Scott. Early life Baptised on 24 January 1632 at Newhall in Lanarkshire, he was eldest and only surviving son of James Somerville of The Drum (by right, tenth Lord Somerville) and Lilias, second daughter of Sir James Bannatyne of Newhall, a lord of session. James's father had gained military experience in France, as an officer in the Scots guard of Louis XIII. On the outbreak of the First Bishops' War in 1639, the elder Somerville joined the covenanting levies under General Alexander Leslie, and with the rank of major had a leading command at the siege of Edinburgh Castle in 1640. James joined his father's company at this siege. Campaign against Cromwell In 1645 the teenage Somerville was present at David Leslie's first cavalry mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (1819), ''Rob Roy (novel), Rob Roy'' (1817), ''Waverley (novel), Waverley'' (1814), ''Old Mortality'' (1816), ''The Heart of Mid-Lothian'' (1818), and ''The Bride of Lammermoor'' (1819), along with the narrative poems ''Marmion (poem), Marmion'' (1808) and ''The Lady of the Lake (poem), The Lady of the Lake'' (1810). He had a major impact on European and American literature, American literature. As an advocate and legal administrator by profession, he combined writing and editing with his daily work as Clerk of Session and Sheriff court, Sheriff-Depute of Selkirkshire. He was prominent in Edinburgh's Tory (political faction), Tory establishment, active in the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, Highland Society, long time a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, Mary was six days old when her father died and she inherited the throne. During her childhood, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland was governed by regents, first by the heir to the throne, James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, and then by her mother, Mary of Guise. In 1548, she was betrothed to Francis II of France, Francis, the Dauphin of France, and was sent to be brought up in Kingdom of France, France, where she would be safe from invading Kingdom of England, English forces during the Rough Wooing. Mary Wedding of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Francis, Dauphin of France, married Francis in 1558, becoming queen consort of France from his accession in 1559 until his death in December 1560. Widowed, Mary Entry of Mary, Q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Seton, 1st Earl Of Dunfermline
Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline (1555 – 16 June 1622) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord President of the Court of Session from 1598 to 1604, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1604 to 1622 and as a Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland. Early life Born at Seton Palace, East Lothian, he was the son of George Seton, 7th Lord Seton, and Isobell Hamilton. The Setons remained a Roman Catholic family after the Scottish Reformation of 1560, and continued to support Mary, Queen of Scots, after her abdication and exile in England. Alexander Seton was educated at the German and Roman College in Rome from June 1571 to December 1578. Alexander was noted learning Italian and science (philosophy) in Rome by Baptista da Trento in 1577 in a letter describing plots to marry Elizabeth I of England to the Earl of Leicester and re-instate Mary in Scotland. The family historian Viscount Kingston heard that he was skilled in mathematics, heral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 of John Hay, 3rd Lord Hay of Yester. His childhood and schooling were in France. Political career Edinburgh and the Reformation George Seton was Provost of Edinburgh in 1557, and from time to time would send his carpenter, Robert Fendour or Fender, to the Burgh Council as his representative. In February 1558, George Seton was one of eight commissioners sent to Henry II of France to negotiate the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Dauphin. On 29 November 1558, the Parliament of Scotland acknowledged that Seton and the others had fulfilled their commission. In February 1559, the town council gave him funds to prepare a banquet for Mary of Guise on their behalf. However, Seton and the burgh council began to encounter difficultie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruthven Raid
The Raid of Ruthven, the kidnapping of King James VI of Scotland, was a political conspiracy in Scotland which took place on 23 August 1582."Ruthven, William", by T. F. Henderson, in ''Dictionary of National Biography'', Volume 50 (Smith, Elder, & Co., 1897) It was composed of several Presbyterian nobles, led by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, who abducted the king. The nobles intended to reform the government of Scotland and limit the influence of French and pro-Catholic policy, and to prevent or manage the return of Mary, Queen of Scots from England to rule with her son in an " association". Their short-lived rule of around 10 months is known as the "Ruthven" or "Gowrie Regime". Scottish coup d'état Ruthven Castle In July 1582 the discontented lords made a bond to one another in their enterprise to displace Catholic influences around the young king. Their party became known as the "Lords Enterprisers", and their opponents were the King's favourite, the Frenchman Esmé S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world, each overseen by one or more bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, upo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Drummond Of Carnock
Sir Robert Drummond of Carnock (died 1592) was Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland from 1579 to 1583. This was the responsibility for building and repair of palaces and castles. His appointment was made to be "as Sir James Hamilton of Finnart had it." Life Robert Drummond was the eldest son of Alexander Drummond, of Carnock and Arnmore (Ernmore), and Marjory Bruce of Auchinbowie. Arnmore is a location at Kippen, Stirlingshire, neighbouring Broich, the home of William Schaw, his successor as Master of Work who is regarded as a founder of Freemasonry. Alexander Drummond had been a supporter of the Earl of Angus and went with him to exile to England in 1529. Carnock, the location, is to the east of Stirling. Robert built up the Carnock lands into a holding recognised as a free barony. Robert's first wife, Agnes (or Margaret), was a sister of Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange. With Robert's permission, Agnes Kirkcaldy sold a tenement in Dysart called the "Slate House" in 1540. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Records Of Scotland
National Records of Scotland () is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government. It is responsible for civil registration, the census in Scotland, demography and statistics, family history, as well as the national archives and historical records. National Records of Scotland was formed from the merger of the General Register Office for Scotland and the National Archives of Scotland in 2011; it combines all the functions of the two former organisations. The offices of Registrar General for Scotland and Keeper of the Records of Scotland remain separate, but since 2011 both have been vested ''ex officio'' in the Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland, currently Paul Lowe. Location National Records of Scotland is based in HM General Register House on Princes Street in the New Town in Edinburgh. The building was designed by Robert Adam for the Register House Trustees; it was opened to the public in 1788. History The first official tasked with the care ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
