By: Henrik Samuelsson/TT
Published: Less than 20 min ago
1 of 3Photo: Gonzalo Fuentes/pool/AP/TT
For decades, even centuries, people have searched for Mary Stuart’s secret letters. And so they turn out to have been in the National Library of France (BNF) for all these years.
The most important find surrounding the Queen of Scots in a century, an expert proclaims.
Rumors of secret letters, written in code, have existed ever since Mary Stuart was beheaded in 1587. In them she gossips, keeps in touch with friends and seeks support from allies in the power struggle with Queen Elizabeth I that would lead to her death.
But in modern times no one has known if these letters have been preserved and, if so, where. That they have now been found is almost accidental.
The discovery was made by three men from the international research effort Decrypt. The trio went through digitized parts of the BNF, the national library in Paris, hoping to find and decipher historical documents in general.
“The Last Place”
They found papers said to be from Italy, early 16th century. But something wasn’t right. Among other things, the writing appeared to be in French, not Italian. And when they began to decode the text, exciting phrases appeared, “my freedom”, “my son”… And then a name, “Walsingham”, which put the researchers on the trail of the Scottish queen.
– This was the last place anyone would look, says George Lasry, one of the three experts, who has now published an account of the find in the journal Cryptologia.
Francis Walsingham was secretary to Elizabeth I. It is already known that in the time of power intrigues in London, he apparently had contacts at the French embassy, who spread secret material to him.
“Historical sensation”
The letters now found are mostly addressed to Michel de Castelnau, the French ambassador 1575–1585. They are 57 in number. That they are genuine is proven by the fact that seven of them are known from before, and exist as copies in the British National Archives.
“This discovery is a literary and historical sensation,” exclaims John Guy, historian who wrote the Mary Stuart biography that formed the basis of the 2018 film Mary Queen of Scots.
“It’s about the most important find around Maria Stuart in 100 years”.
Being rewritten
Detailed analyzes of the contents of the letters remain to be done. But whoever expects clear evidence in the legendary intrigues, which led to Maria Stuart being finally executed for attempted murder of Elizabeth, will be disappointed. She was smarter than to speak widely about such things, George Lasry assesses according to the AFP news agency.
But Steven Reid, a historian at Glasgow University, points out that it is “the biggest discovery of new Maria Stuart material in modern times”. When the letters are studied in more detail, and compared with other documents and findings, the biographies of this mythical time will probably have to be rewritten, Reid believes according to AFP.
Facts
The Dramatic Life of Mary Stuart
Mary Stuart was the daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise. She barely had time to come into the world, on December 8, 1542, before the newborn was named Queen of Scots when her father, the king, died just six days later.
And it didn’t take much longer before she was drawn into the power game between England and Scotland, which at the time had not yet entered into the present-day union of the United Kingdom (United Kingdom). After growing up in France, which entered into a Catholic alliance with Scotland against Protestant England, she became both French and Scottish queen – and according to some, also England’s rightful monarch.
But after many more dramatic and bloody power tours, during her last 20 years Maria Stuart was held prisoner in England by her rival Elizabeth I. Even as a prisoner, however, she was a heavy power player, and participated in intrigues against the queen – especially as the line of succession was such that if Elizabeth died would Mary Stuart take over in England.
After one of these conspiracies, Mary Stuart was put on trial for treason. According to contemporary accounts, she skillfully defended herself at the trial at Fotheringhay Castle, but was still sentenced to death in the fall of 1586.
On February 8, 1587, i.e. almost exactly 436 years ago, Mary Stuart was beheaded in the same castle. She was then dressed in red, which contributed to her sometimes being confused with Mary the Bloody, “Bloody Mary” long before the drink of the same name. But that nickname actually belongs to Maria I, Elizabeth’s half-sister and representative on the throne who died in 1558.
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