Duke Of Albany Research Articles

The Duke of Albany's Invasion of England in 1523 and Military Mobilisation in Sixteenth-century Scotland

In November 1523 a Scottish army, led by John Stewart, duke of Albany, invaded England for the first time since the battle of Flodden. While this was a major campaign, it has largely been ignored in the extensive literature on Anglo-Scottish warfare. Drawing on Scottish, French and English records, this article provides a systematic analysis of the campaign. Although the campaign of 1523 was ultimately unsuccessful, it is the most comprehensively documented Scottish offensive against England before the seventeenth century and the extensive records detailing the expedition advances broader understanding of military mobilisation in medieval and early modern Scotland. While the national mobilisation drive which sought to gather men from across the kingdom was ultimately unsuccessful, the expedition witnessed the most extensive number of French soldiers yet sent to Scotland. Finally, the article considers how an examination of the expedition enhances understanding of regency rule and the political conditions in Scotland in the years after Flodden.

John Stuart, Duke of Albany and his contribution to military science in Scotland and Italy, 1514–36

John Stuart, duke of Albany was born in France, but acted as Regent of Scotland from 1514 until 1524. He visited Scotland three times and, in the early years of his regency, is credited with bringing a degree of stability back to Scottish governance during an otherwise troubled political period. Albany was also noteworthy for his love of visual splendour and magnificence. In France, he was an astute patron of the visual arts, commissioning a number of important manuscripts and architectural projects, such as the Sainte-Chapelle at Vic-le-Comte in the Auvergne. Albany’s main architectural achievement in Scotland was the fortification and extension his principal residence, Dunbar Castle, in the form of a great artillery blockhouse: perhaps the first such structure to have been built in the British Isles. The plan of the blockhouse appears to follow the basic form of a contemporary Italian angle bastion. The fortification earned a formidable reputation during this period, contemporary commentators noting that it was impregnable.Further evidence supporting the idea that Albany was greatly interested in Italian developments in military science come in the survival of a working sketch, now held in the Uffizi, Florence, which bears a note in the writing of the famed military architect, Antonio Sangallo the Younger, that it was undertaken ‘following the opinion of the Duke of Albany.’ The sketch shows a square fort protected by a ravelin. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between these two pieces of evidence, to investigate what they tell us of Albany and of his interest in military science, and to demonstrate how such ideas were introduced into Scotland and then fed back into architectural and military discourse on the Continent.

The artistic patronage of John Stuart, Duke of Albany, 1520–30

The Sainte-Chapelle at Vic-le-Comte is one of the most important religious buildings surviving from the 16th century in the Auvergne. It was the last of ten French royal and ducal chapels founded, broadly following the precedent set by Louis IX’s foundation of the Parisian Sainte-Chapelle in 1248. The primary function of this, and the other Saintes-Chapelles, was to provide a dignified structure within which to house fragments of the Passion relics inherited from Louis IX. For their patrons, such foundations served as important public expressions of piety, advertised the patrons’ connections to the French crown, and simultaneously functioned as valuable diplomatic tools, encouraging important guests to venerate their relics. The Sainte-Chapelle at Vic-le-Comte has received limited scholarly attention, particularly in relation to its patron John Stuart, Duke of Albany, and his position as Regent of Scotland. This paper examines this foundation and its ambitious programme of decoration in relation to the aims and ambitions of its founder. The motivations behind the project are analysed in relation to Albany’s position in Scotland, his growing prominence in France, and his strengthening ties to the Florentine Medici family. Investigated in relation to other examples of his patronage, Albany’s foundation demonstrates how issues of ancient lineage, sacred kingship, and dynastic commemoration were of central importance.

The Earl of Perth's Chapel of 1688 at Drummond Castle and the Roman Catholic Architecture of James VII

From 1685 until December 1688, for the first (and last) time since the Reformation in 1560, Roman Catholicism was officially encouraged among Scotland's elites. This was due to James Stuart, Duke of Albany and York, who became king in 1685 but was forfeited by Parliament in 1689. Architecture played a strong role in that ideological interlude, when the leading architect was the Rome-trained Catholic, Master James Smith. The contract with Smith quoted below for the private Catholic chapel of Lord Chancellor James Drummond Earl of Perth, and first highlighted to historians by John Gifford, illustrates the ascendancy of Counter-Reformation Catholicism in that brief episode within protestant Scotland.1

<i>King Lear</i> (review)

Reviewed by: King Lear Melissa Croteau King Lear Presented by The Old Globe at the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, San Diego, California. June 12–September 23, 2010. Directed by Adrian Noble. Set by Ralph Funicello. Costumes by Deirdre Clancy. Lighting by Alan Burrett. Sound by Christopher R. Walker. With Robert Foxworth (King Lear), Emily Swallow (Goneril), Aubrey Saverino (Regan), Catherine Gowl (Cordelia), Charles Janasz (Earl of Gloucester), Joseph Marcell (Earl of Kent), Jay Whittaker (Edgar), Jonno Roberts (Edmund), Bruce Turk (Fool), Donald Carrier (Duke of Albany), Michael Stewart Allen (Duke of Cornwall), Andrew Dahl (Oswald), Ben Diskant (King of France), Christian Durso (Duke of Burgundy), and others. Early in King Lear, the Earl of Gloucester prophesies the coming apocalyptic disintegration of families, friendships, and the kingdom itself. … Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide: … We have seen the best of our time. Machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves. The famous nihilism of this play can be heard in the constant repetition of "nothing" throughout. Adrian Noble's production of King Lear for the Old Globe's 2010 Shakespeare Festival strove to capture that sense of a civilization slouching toward its destruction by several vivid and effective [End Page 228] means. Nevertheless, at the "promised end," Noble retreated from the darkness. The Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003, Noble was visiting Artistic Director of the Old Globe's 2010 Shakespeare Festival, and he brought with him a few distinct characteristics and goals. In a symposium he convened to introduce himself to the Old Globe community and audience, Noble emphasized that he aimed to make Shakespeare heard—that is, to put the focus back on the language. This would entail simplifying sets and working with actors—both the apprentice actors at the Old Globe and the seasoned professionals—to make sure every word rang out clearly. In addition, Noble stressed that he does not ever read scholarly criticism of Shakespeare's work because he believes that to be irrelevant to the more important work of training actors and communicating with audiences. While I can comprehend why he might feel this way, as a scholar who has written on King Lear and has found my research on the play quite illuminating, I was disappointed to hear his hackneyed and divisive approach. Surely, if the aspiration is to connect new audiences to the beauty and insight of Shakespeare's work, everyone—actors, directors, audiences, scholars, students, etc.—should have a seat at the table and be welcomed into the dialogue. As I watched Noble's production of Lear, once with a group of my graduate students and once with another veteran theatre-goer, I was reminded that it is the protean and fecund quality of Shakespeare's plays which perpetuates the ongoing dialogue. Welcome or not, scholars are always already involved in theatrical productions. One of the most effective elements in Noble's King Lear production was the set, which reflected his desire for simplicity. The floor of the stage was composed of dark, weathered-looking wooden planks, and in the center of the stage was a long platform about five feet wide and raised approximately three feet from the stage. This platform extended from the furthest reaches of the upstage to within about four feet from the front edge of the stage. This platform, along with the elevated walk-ways on the diagonally-angled left and right walls of the stage, gave the actors levels on which to perform—which, in a play about hierarchies and power-plays, was quite effective. All of this was made of the same dark, weathered wood, giving the whole stage a somber, worn feeling. Thick layers of autumnal yellow and orange leaves lay on the floor of the stage, suggesting that wintry death and destruction were imminent. In the first few acts of the play, the costumes on both men and women were inspired by court clothing of the eighteenth century, but they were [End Page 229] all in fall earth tones of dark brown, tan, black, and grey. There was one notable exception: Cordelia, in the famed "love trial" scene in which she is...

King Lear, and: Antony and Cleopatra

Reviewed by: King Lear, and: Antony and Cleopatra Coen Heijes King Lear Presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom. February 18–August 26, 2010. Park Avenue Armory, New York, July 6–August 14, 2011. Directed by David Farr. Designed by Jon Bausor. Lighting by Jon Clark. Sound by Cristopher Shutt. Fights by Kate Waters. With Greg Hicks (King Lear), Kathryn Hunter (Fool), Kelly Hunter (Goneril), Katy Stephens (Regan), Samantha Young (Cordelia), Darrell D'Silva (Earl of Kent), Geoffrey Freshwater (Earl of Gloucester), Charles Aitkin (Edgar), Tunji Kasim (Edmund), John Mackay (Duke of Albany), Clarence Smith (Duke of Cornwall), James Tucker (Oswald), Brian Doherty (King of France), Ansu Kabia (Duke of Burgundy), and others. Antony and Cleopatra Presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom. April 10–August 28, 2010. Park Avenue Armory, New York, July 6–August 14, 2011. Directed by Michael Boyd. Designed by Tom Piper. Lighting by Wolfgang Göbbel. Sound by Andrew Franks. Fights by Terry King. With Kathryn Hunter (Cleopatra), Darrell D'Silva (Antony), Brian Doherty (Enobarbus), Philip Edgerley (Meneas, Proculeius), Geoffrey Freshwater (Agrippa), James Gale (Maecenas), Paul Hamilton (Messenger, Diomedes), Greg Hicks (Soothsayer), Tunji Kasim (Mardian), John Mackay (Caesar), Sandy Neilson (Lepidus), Sophie Russell (Octavia), Clarence Smith (Pompey), Katy Stephens (Eros), Hannah Young (Charmian), Samantha Young (Iras), and others. The initial entrance of Lear in David Farr's production immediately set the stage for one of the most complex and multi-faceted Lears an audience is ever likely to see. The audience saw Lear's knights entering and positioning themselves at the back, waiting for their king. Goneril, Regan, Cordelia, Kent, Albany, and Cornwall had all taken up positions [End Page 531] on stage, waiting for Lear to enter. All characters' and spectators' expectations were focused on Lear entering from the back and all eyes were turned that way, helped along by the theatre spotlights, which were firmly set on an opening upstage. Lear, however, was not where we expected him to be, and after a prolonged silence, in which everyone on stage seemed to be holding their breath, an unexpected burst of laughter could be heard from the diagonal walkway which entered downstage right in the thrust stage Courtyard Theatre. The laugh seemed to come from the audience itself, and as the laughter continued, the spotlights, the audience, and the characters on stage finally found Lear, who continued walking slowly around the stage, looking at his daughters and knights before he finally spoke his first line on the business of Burgundy and France. This mini-narrative showed us a Lear who loved to play games, who was having a good time, and who liked to take the audience with him on his jokes. He visibly enjoyed these little pranks, and continued to do so, right up until the end, when he gleefully ran away from Cordelia's soldiers, or jokingly shot wildflowers at them with an imaginary bow. However, the first few moments also revealed a Lear who wanted to be in absolute control, a Lear who manipulated those around him and thought he could do anything he liked. It was he who determined the pace of the scene as he slowly walked from one character to another, watching them, revealing a man who thought he owned his soldiers, his nobles, and his daughters. This Lear was not a nice man; he was a difficult man, a king who demanded absolute and unquestioning loyalty. In the ensuing scene this demand for loyalty was expressed with a strong and humiliating visual image when he ordered Kent to kneel and kiss his sword. Lear's wrong-footing of the audience and the characters also made audience and characters nervous about what he was going to do next. It was this unease which allowed the production to avoid any easy sentimentality, for example in Lear's scene with the blind Gloucester, when he unexpectedly wiped the blood of Gloucester's cheek and licked it, or when he put his hands on Gloucester's eyes, asking him to read, but then immediately afterwards gently cradled him. The set paralleled the unsettling elements in...

Kuningas Lear [King Lear] (review)

Reviewed by: Kuningas Lear [King Lear] Nely Keinänen Kuningas Lear [King Lear] Presented by the Finnish National Theater, Helsinki, Finland. From April 7, 2005. Directed by Reko Lundán. Translated by Juha Siltanen. Sets by Kati Lukka and Antti Mattila. Costumes by Auli Turtiainen. Lighting by Ville Toikka. Sound by Esa Mattila. Fights by Kristo Salminen. With Esko Salminen (Lear), Jani Karvinen (King of France), Ilja Peltonen (Duke of Burgundy, Curan), Esa-Matti Pölhö (Duke of Cornwall), Petri Liski (Duke of Albany), Timo Tuominen (Earl of Kent), Ismo Kallio (Earl of Gloucester), Jussi Lehtonen (Edgar), Eero Aho (Edmund), Juha Muje (Fool), Jani Karvinen (Oswald), Ilja Peltonen (Curan), Tuomas Mattila (Old Man), Tuomas Mattila (Doctor), Kristiina Halttu (Goneril), Wanda Dubiel (Regan), Elsa Saisio (Cordelia), and others. Given how infrequently King Lear is performed in Finland, there was understandable enthusiasm in Helsinki when it was announced that the director/playwright Reko Lundán would direct the play on the main stage of the Finnish National Theater, with Esko Salminen in the lead role. In addition to his work in film and television, Salminen is known as a Shakespearean actor, having most recently played Prospero (1995) and Falstaff (2003) at the National Theater. Lundán's production examined what happens to individuals when they are forsaken by the gods, left alone, capable only of treachery and cruelty. Although Lundán also [End Page 68] said in the program notes that the aim of tragedy is catharsis, building a bridge from suffering to solace, I was not completely convinced that this production managed to build that bridge. But still, there was much to admire. Since its first production in 1886, King Lear has been performed sixteen times by professional theatre companies in Finland, making it the least performed of Shakespeare's major tragedies (compare Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet with 58 professional productions each, followed by Othello with 30 and Macbeth with 23). The play was produced only sporadically in the 1910s, 30s, and 50s (with no performances in the 20s, 40s and 60s), but since the 1970s has appeared somewhat more regularly. Influential productions include one by the director Kalle Holmberg at the Turku City Theater in 1972, which was influenced by Peter Brook, and another by Jotaarkka Pennanen at the Finnish National Theater in 1983, a powerful and visual modern production, which included an auditorium built around the back of the stage where the 'characters' retreated to watch the rest of the play (and the audience) after they had died. In 1998, Teatteri Jurkka, the leading black-box theatre in Helsinki, staged an experimental Lear directed by Petteri Sallinen, where five actors took on fourteen roles, playing on an empty stage. Lear was played by Pentti Siimes, who had come out of semi-retirement to take on the role; one reviewer reported that she had never seen such a cruel and sarcastic Lear. This production also experimented with cross-gender casting, sometimes to quite good effect: the lone actress played Regan, Cordelia, and Edmund, while a male actor took on Goneril along with Edgar and Kent. Reko Lundán brought to Lear a stark, modern sensibility, familiar to Finns from Lundán's own work as a playwright, most recently in his trilogy on the Finnish welfare state: (Tarpeettomia ihmisiä [Unnecessary People], Ihmisiä hyvinvointivaltiossa [People in a Welfare State], and Aina joku eksyy [Someone Always Gets Lost]. Two key decisions shaped this production: first, he set the play in a kind of Finnish minimalist fantasy of modern-day Britain, complete with cell phones and golf courses. Second, he used a physical, rugged translation by Juha Siltanen, one of Finland's leading translators, commissioned especially for this production. For a non-Finnish-speaking audience, it's difficult to describe the qualities of Siltanen's translation. Lear was first translated into Finnish in 1883 by Paavo Cajander, who from 1879 until his death in 1913 translated all of Shakespeare's plays except Pericles (for some 20 of Shakespeare's plays, Cajander's is still the only Finnish translation). Cajander's translations are known for their lyrical, poetic qualities. The most recent major [End Page 69] translation is by Matti Rossi, a well...

John Stewart, Duke of Albany, Lord Governor of Scotland, and his political role in 16th-century France

The discovery of three hitherto undocumented letters to John Stewart, Duke of Albany and Lord Governor of Scotland from the French government minister, Florimond Robertet, allows us to glimpse the diplomatic dealings of a powerful 16th-century personage who moved between the courts of Scotland and France. It also reveals something of his close personal relationship with François I’s leading political adviser to whom, for example, he sent the touching gift of a crystal charmstone. Albany, this Scot who had been brought up in France, was indeed a cosmopolitan figure and the letters, recounting the latest news of the momentous Sack of Rome by the Imperial army of Charles V, place the Lord Governor in a wider European context.

Gibberellic acid and the light inhibition of stem elongation

The ability of gibberellic acid (GA3) to prevent the light inhibition of stem elongation in peas was examined for several varieties under a wide range of irradiation conditions.A saturating dose of GA3 largely prevented the inhibitory effect of red light on total stem height in "Duke of Albany" (tall), "Alaska" (medium) and "Meteor" (dwarf) although a small, but statistically significant, effect persisted in all varieties after 3 days of light. The growth of the second internode was, however, markedly inhibited by red light even with a saturating dose of GA3. With gibberellin there was no difference between the effects of continuous red light and 15 minutes per day on height but the second internode was much shorter in the former treatment. The number of internodes present was the same in both cases and, therefore, the upper internodes in continuous light were as long or longer than in the 15-minute treatment. The number of internodes was only slightly fewer in darkness than in light so that, with GA3, the effect of red light was transient and only the growth of the lower internodes was inhibited. Without GA3 overall height was less in both red light treatments than in darkness for all three varieties.In blue light, on the other hand, there was no difference depending on whether height or internode length is considered, and even with a saturating dose of GA3 the growth rate remained depressed in continuous blue light. There was, however, some interaction between blue light and GA3.Red/far-red reversal experiments showed that in the varieties "Alska" and "Duke of Albany" the far-red stimulation of elongation persisted in the presence of a saturating dose of GA3 while for the dwarf variety "Meteor" there was a significant interaction between far-red and GA3.At least a quantitative difference was found between tall and dwarf peas in their response to light. Tall varieties showed a much greater effect of a prolonged exposure to blue and a smaller effect of a short exposure to red than dwarf varieties. Increasing the duration of exposure to red increasingly inhibited the growth of tall varieties. The medium variety "Alaska" grew to approximately the same height in continuous red and blue light.

The illness of Charles, Duke of Albany (Charles I), from 1600 to 1612; an historical case of rickets.

Journal Article The Illness of Charles, Duke of Albany (Charles I), from 1600 to 1612: An Historical Case of Rickets Get access J. J. KEEVIL J. J. KEEVIL *Robertsbridge, Sussex England Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Volume IX, Issue 4, October 1954, Pages 407–419, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/IX.4.407 Published: 01 October 1954

The Scot who was a Frenchman. Being the Life of John Stewart, Duke of Albany, in Scotland, France and Italy. By Marie W. Stuart. (Hodge; 12s. 6d.)

The Scot who was a Frenchman. Being the Life of John Stewart, Duke of Albany, in Scotland, France and Italy. By Marie W. Stuart. (Hodge; 12s. 6d.)

Doune Castle

Doune Castle was built within the earthworks of an earlier dun or fort towards the end of the fourteenth century, by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland in the reign of Robert III and James I. The castle is an irregular pentagon in plan, the habitable buildings being on the north and north-west sides, while the remainder of the enclosure is screened by a high and massive curtain wall. The components of the castle are described in detail. it has much in common with the French Chateau de Pierrefonds, erected by the Duc d'Orleans about 1390'”1400. There also similarities with Sanquhar Castle in Nithsdale.

Duke of Albany

Duke of Albany

Duke of Albany

Duke of Albany

Duke of Albany

Duke of Albany

Lament on the Death of His Royal Highness the Late Duke of Albany

Lament on the Death of His Royal Highness the Late Duke of Albany

John, duke of albany, governor of Scotland

John, duke of albany, governor of Scotland

XXX. Remarks on the title of Thane and Abthane. By Robert Riddel, of Glen Riddel, Esq. In a letter to Mr. Gough

Agreeable to my promise I send you some remarks on the title of Thane in Scotland, and the authority that was annexed, to that most antient and honourable office by our Kings and the Estates, in the earlier ages of the Scottish monarchy. A Thane (which signifies a servant) held under the king a jurisdiction over a district called a Thanedom, and afterwards a Sheriffdom or County. His office was to give judgement in all civil and criminal cases within his Thanedom. Upon perusing the claims of hereditary jurisdiction in Scotland, when they were annexed to the crown in 1748, I find that in the year 1405 a receipt was granted by Robert duke of Albany, regent of Scotland, for infesting Donald, thane of Calder, in his thanedom, as heir at law to Andrew, thane of Calder, his father, to whom he had previously been served heir, and returned in the heritable offices of Shireef (or Thane) of Nairn, and Constable of the castle of Nairn. He was accordingly seased of his lands and thanedom ; and the seasine is produced as a voucher in the year 1748, to prove the fact.