Catégorie Histoire
Madeleine of Valois, king James V’s first wife
In the first half of the XVIth century, France and Scotland were not only bound by the Auld Alliance, a treaty of mutual military assistance between the two kingdoms dating from the end of the XIIIth century. Many Scots were also permanently living on the Continent: Scottish merchants living in the cities of Rouen and […]
Marignan 1515/2015: fin juillet en Val de Loire, la Renaissance est à la fête
Cet été en Val de Loire, ce n’est certainement pas la énième reconstitution de bataille qui se déroule dans le parc de Beauvais à Romorantin le 24 et 25 juillet, et dans le parc Léonard de Vinci du Clos Lucé à Amboise le 26 et 27 juillet. Point du tout. Les spectateurs du 21e siècle […]
June 1538: Marie de Guise discovers Scottish fashion
After an exhausting sea crossing from France, Marie arrived on a sandy beach on the Scottish East coast near Crail. She was accompanied by the duke of Guise her father, her sister Louise, her ladies in waiting and many Frenchmen. All disembarked the galleys and moved towards castle Balcomie, probably passing fishermen, villagers and townspeople. […]
22 May 1540: A prince is born to Scotland
In early May 1540, king James V decided to move the Scottish Court to the palace of St. Andrews. Queen Marie, who was heavily pregnant, was lodged with her ladies in confortable chambers containing two beds, one hung with curtains of white damask fringed with white silk, and the second with curtains of yellow damask […]
Philippa of Guelders, Marie of Guise’s prickly grandmother
Much like her granddaughter Marie of Lorraine-Guise, Philippa of Guelders did not receive much attention from French historians. Only the final part of her life, spent in a convent at Pont-à-Mousson in the Lorraine region, inspired some rare biographers. The first was Hilarion de Coste (1595-1661), member of the Order of the Minimes de Saint […]
La bibliothèque de François Ier au château de Blois
Jusqu’au 18 octobre 2015, l’exposition « Trésors royaux, la bibliothèque de François Ier » au château de Blois ressuscite l’une des plus anciennes bibliothèques royales de France. Préparée depuis 2011 en partenariat avec la Bibliothèque nationale de France, elle est exceptionnelle par le nombre et par la qualité des livres présentés. Suite à la Révolution française, les […]
Modern scholarship on Mary of Guise
Throughout the Middle Ages into the sixteenth century, France and Scotland were closely allied under the banner of « my enemies’ enemy is my friend », and both were enemies of England. Mary, a woman from the powerful Guise family in France, became queen consort of Scotland when she married James V, and was the mother to […]
Marie de Guise-Lorraine 1515-2025 