David Rizzio and Mary Queen of Scots: Murder at Holyrood - Hardcover

Tweedie, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0750943319 ISBN 13: 9780750943314

Publisher: The History Press, 2006

Synopsis

On the evening of 9 March 1566, a raiding party forced their way into the palace of Holyrood House and stabbed Italian secretary, David Rizzio to death while he was at supper with Mary, Queen of Scots. The attack was savage and brutal - Rizzio was stabbed over fifty times - and Mary's husband, Darnley, was among the conspirators.

David Rizzio came to Scotland in 1561. There, he rose to power and influence in the court of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was her secretary, chief minister and the architect of her plan to avoid Scotland turning into a Calvanist republic. It was also rumoured that he was her lover and father of her child, James VI and I.

David Tweedie explains how Rizzio so enraged the Scots lords that they plotted his murder. He points to the complicity of Elizabeth and her ministers and shows that Rizzio's murder was a serious political event, since with his death, died the possibility of religious counter-reformation in Scotland. While the other men in Mary's life have received their dur from the historians, Rizzio remains a shadowy figure. This book restores the balance and explores one of the most shocking events of Mary's colourful reign.

About this title

About the Author

David Tweedie is a Scot among whose ancestors are two of Rizzio's murderers, Adam Tweedie of Drava and William Tweedie of Drummelzier. After reading history at Oxford he qualified as a solicitor and was a member of the American Bar Association. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of both the Society for Reformation Studies and the Marie Stuart Society.

Edition details

• Publisher: The History Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0750943319
• ISBN 13: 9780750943314
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256