Unintentionally Concealing
In December 1542, Mary became Queen at six days old. For the next eight years, Scotland was subject to violent warfare by England over Mary’s future marriage.
These dynastic events are well known. But this hides the impact on Scotland.
Farms and towns were burned, invading soldiers brought plague, and many died.
This exhibition is not just about Mary. Instead, we explore the hidden histories of this war.
Unnervingly familiar
During the war, trade was damaged and crops were burned. This destroyed food, and the cost of living increased.
With armies came the plague, and with the plague came quarantine and restriction of movement to limit the spread of the virus.
After the war ended, things began to improve, getting back to normal took a long time.
Sounding familiar yet?
Unsuitably Described
The wars between England and Scotland over Mary’s future marriage following her ascension to the throne are known as the ‘Rough Wooings’ – but the Scots who lived through the wars did not have a name for them. The term was only used to describe them two centuries later
Recent research has focused on whether there might be more suitable alternatives to describe the period.
First recorded two generations after the war. The nearest contemporary evidence for a name.
However, this name is now widely used to describe another war, fought between France and the Grand Alliance from 1688 to 1697.
This name has been used since the unification of English and Scottish Parliaments in 1706-7.
However, the term has an association to rape, and it romanticises the wars within the context of Parliamentary Union.
It is the name used in the most up-to-date historical research and in this exhibition. Outlines the participants in the war and the time it took place.