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Details
FRANCOIS II (1544-1560), King of France, first husband of Mary Queen of Scots. Letter with secretarial signature (‘Francoys’) to Monsieur de Noailles, the French ambassador to Elizabeth I in England, Blois, 4 November 1559.
In French, one page, 335 x 225mm, integral address panel, contemporary docket, remnant of seal (seal tear, touching text).
François II sends munitions to Scotland. The letter alerts Noailles to a shipment of French arms and munitions going to Scotland, in case adverse weather should drive the ships into an English port en route: if this happens, Noailles is to request Elizabeth to lend them aid in accordance with the friendship between their two countries.
'Jay bien voullu vous faire ce mot de l[ett]re pour vous advertir que Jenvoye p[rese]ntemen en escosse ung nombre darmes, outilz ... , pouldres, boulletz & aultres monitions qui y sont necessaires pour mon service...'.
The shipment of arms was intended to help Mary's mother, the regent of Scotland Mary of Guise, in her struggle against the Protestant lords. François's plan to appeal to Elizabeth's good nature in case of his shipment coming to an English port was distinctly optimistic: Elizabeth was already secretly supporting the Protestant faction in Scotland, and the fact that François and Mary had broadcast Mary's claim to the English throne by incorporating the arms of England into their armorial scarcely endeared them to her. The French fleet was, in fact, driven back by bad weather (though into French, rather than English, ports), and Mary of Guise's position in Scotland was already desperate before her death on 11 June 1560. François II died on 5 December 1560; 9 months later, Mary returned to Scotland, a country she had not seen since she was five years old.
In French, one page, 335 x 225mm, integral address panel, contemporary docket, remnant of seal (seal tear, touching text).
François II sends munitions to Scotland. The letter alerts Noailles to a shipment of French arms and munitions going to Scotland, in case adverse weather should drive the ships into an English port en route: if this happens, Noailles is to request Elizabeth to lend them aid in accordance with the friendship between their two countries.
'Jay bien voullu vous faire ce mot de l[ett]re pour vous advertir que Jenvoye p[rese]ntemen en escosse ung nombre darmes, outilz ... , pouldres, boulletz & aultres monitions qui y sont necessaires pour mon service...'.
The shipment of arms was intended to help Mary's mother, the regent of Scotland Mary of Guise, in her struggle against the Protestant lords. François's plan to appeal to Elizabeth's good nature in case of his shipment coming to an English port was distinctly optimistic: Elizabeth was already secretly supporting the Protestant faction in Scotland, and the fact that François and Mary had broadcast Mary's claim to the English throne by incorporating the arms of England into their armorial scarcely endeared them to her. The French fleet was, in fact, driven back by bad weather (though into French, rather than English, ports), and Mary of Guise's position in Scotland was already desperate before her death on 11 June 1560. François II died on 5 December 1560; 9 months later, Mary returned to Scotland, a country she had not seen since she was five years old.
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