Francis Bothwell of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Lord of Session The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

, was a Scottish merchant, landowner, judge and politician. As a university graduate, he was called ''Master Francis Bothwell'', or "Dominus" in Latin documents; however, this has been misunderstood by some writers, so he is occasionally, inaccurately, referred to as "Sir" Francis Bothwell.

Career

The elder son of Richard Bothwell, a

Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the ...

during the reign of James III, Francis served as Procurator (1513–14) of the Scottish Nation at the

University of Orléans The University of Orléans (french: Université d'Orléans) is a French university, in the Academy of Orléans and Tours. As of July 2015 it is a member of the regional university association Leonardo da Vinci consolidated University. History ...

in France, and was appointed a Burgess of Edinburgh in 1515, and Provost of Edinburgh in 1525. Francis Bothwell was a Burgh Commissioner, for Edinburgh, in the

parliaments In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. T ...

of 1524, 1525, 1526, 1528, 1531, 1532 and 1535. He served as Lord Auditor of Causes, Lord of the Articles, and was one of the first Lords of Session when the

College of Justice The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, an ...

was founded on 27 May 1532. For his service in the first year of the Session, Francis was paid £133-6s-8d. In June 1528, Bothwell took possession of a house on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. The house in Byer's Close had been forfeited to the

Crown of Scotland The Crown of Scotland ( gd, Crùn na h-Alba) is the crown that was used at the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland. It is the oldest surviving crown in the British Isles and dates from at least 1503, although it has been claimed that the c ...

because the owners had gone to England without permission, and was granted to Francis in January 1528. The present house on the site is called "Adam Bothwell's House", after his son. Bothwell was a business partner of Adam Hopper, another Provost and merchant of Edinburgh. In 1529, the year of Hopper's death, they had been exporting fish to England. Bothwell later married Hopper's widow Katherine Bellenden. Francis Bothwell was recorded as being seriously ill in December 1535, but his date of death in unknown.

Family

Bothwell married firstly Janet Richardson, daughter and co-heir of Patrick Richardson of Meldrumsheugh, and thus got lands in the

regality A regality was a territorial jurisdiction in old Scots law which might be created by the King or Queen only, by granting lands to a subject ''in liberam regalitatem'', and the tract of land over which such a right extended. A lord of regality h ...

of Broughton. Their children included: * Janet Bothwell, who married

Archibald Napier Archibald Napier may refer to: * Sir Archibald Napier (landowner) (1534–1608), Scottish landowner and official, master of the Scottish mint and Laird of Merchiston * Archibald Napier, 1st Lord Napier (c. 1576–1645) * Archibald Napier, 2nd Lord ...

Merchiston Merchiston ( ) is a residential area around Merchiston Avenue in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Location Merchiston Avenue is 1.3 miles Southwest of the West End of Edinburgh's principal street, Princes Street. Other areas near Merchi ...

, and their son was the mathematician

John Napier John Napier of Merchiston (; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston. His Latinized name was Ioan ...

. * Richard Bothwell was

during the reign 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 S ...

. * Adam Bothwell was

Bishop of Orkney The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics of Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. Th ...

, a Lord of Session, and the father of John Bothwell, Lord Holyroodhouse. It is unclear if Adam Bothwell was a son of Francis Bothwell's first wife Janet Ricardson, or his second wife Katherine Bellenden. Katherine was involved in the supply of cloth to the royal court; in July 1537 "Master Francis Bothuilis wyfe" delivered purple velvet for use at the funeral of the Queen of the Scots,

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 ...

.''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'', Edinburgh (1905), p. 332

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bothwell, Francis Lawyers from Edinburgh Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 16th-century Scottish businesspeople 16th-century Scottish judges 16th-century Scottish politicians 16th-century Scottish people Scottish merchants Senators of the College of Justice Scottish knights Burgesses in Scotland Provosts of Edinburgh Burgh Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Politics of Edinburgh 16th-century Scottish landowners University of Orléans alumni Councillors in Edinburgh Court of James V of Scotland Politicians from Edinburgh