Mary Stuart

Mary was born on 8 December 1542 at Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow, Scotland to King James V of Scotland and his French wife, Mary of Guise. She was the only child of James to survive, and she was said to have been born prematurely. A popular legend, written by John Knox, states that James, hearing on his deathbed that his wife had given birth to a daughter, ruefully exclaimed, "It came with a lass, it will pass with a lass!"

Mary was baptised at the Church of St. Michael, situated close to the palace, shortly after she was born. Rumours were spread suggesting Mary was weak and frail; on 14 December, six days after her birth, her father died following a nervous collapse from suffering a defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss, meaning she was now queen. As Mary was still an infant when she became queen, Scotland was ruled by regents until she became an adult.

Henry VIII took the opportunity of this regency to propose England and Scotland be united through the marriage of Mary and his own son, Prince Edward. On 1 July 1543, when Mary was six months old, the Treaty of Greenwich was signed, which among other points, promised Mary to be married to Edward. It was Henry's wish that Mary should also move to England where he could oversee her upbringing. However, feelings among the Scottish people towards the English changed somewhat when Cardinal Beaton rose to power again, and began to push a pro-Catholic and French agenda, which angered Henry who wanted to break the alliance with France and the papacy. When French ships were spotted on the Scottish coast in July, it was felt they were a threat to Mary, and she moved with her mother to Stirling Castle which was considered safer. On 9 September 1543 Mary was crowned Queen of Scots in the chapel at this castle.

Shortly before Mary's coronation, the occupants of some Scottish ships headed for France were arrested by Henry, who claimed they were not allowed to trade with France even though that was never part of the agreement. These arrests caused anger among people in Scotland. Arran decided to join Beaton following this, and he became a Catholic. The Treaty was eventually rejected by Parliament in December.

This new alliance and the rejection of the treaty caused Henry to begin his rough wooing, designed to impose the marriage to his son on Mary. This consisted of a series of raids on Scottish and French territory and other military actions. It lasted until June 1551, costing over half a million pounds and many lives. In May 1544, the English Earl of Hertford (later created Duke of Somerset by Edward VI) arrived in the Firth of Forth hoping to capture the city of Edinburgh and kidnap Mary, but Mary of Guise hid her in the secret chambers of Stirling Castle.

On 10 September 1547, known as "Black Saturday", the Scots suffered a bitter defeat at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh. Mary of Guise, fearful for her daughter, sent her temporarily to Inchmahome Priory, and turned to the French ambassador Monsieur D'Oysel for help.

The French, remaining true to the Auld Alliance, came to the aid of the Scots. The new French King, Henry II, was now proposing to unite France and Scotland by marrying the little Queen to his three-year old son, the Dauphin François. This seemed to Mary of Guise to be the only sensible solution to her troubles. In February 1548, hearing that the English were on their way back, Mary of Guise moved Mary to Dumbarton Castle. The English left a trail of devastation behind once more and seized the strategically located town of Haddington. By June, the much awaited French help had arrived. On 7 July with it the French Marriage Treaty was signed at a nunnery near Haddington.

With her marriage agreement in place, five-year-old Mary was sent to France in 1548 to spend the next thirteen years at the French court. Henry II had offered to guard and raise her. On 7 August 1548, the French fleet sent by Henry II sailed back to France from Dumbarton carrying the five-year-old Queen of Scots on board. She was accompanied by her own little court consisting of two lords, two half-brothers, and the "four Marys", four girls her own age, all named Mary, and the daughters of some of the noblest families in Scotland: Beaton, Seton, Fleming, and Livingston.

Vivacious, beautiful, and clever (according to contemporary accounts), Mary had a promising childhood. While in the French court, she was a favourite. She received the best available education, and at the end of her studies, she had mastered French, Latin, Greek, Spanish, and Italian in addition to her native Scots. She also learned how to play two instruments and learned prose, poetry, horsemanship, falconry, and needlework.

Portraits of Mary show that she had a small, well-shaped head, a long, graceful neck, bright auburn hair, hazel-brown eyes, under heavy lowered eyelids and finely arched brows, smooth lustrous skin, a high forehead, and regular, firm features. While not a beauty in the classical sense, she was an extremely pretty child who would become a strikingly attractive woman. In fact, her effect on the men with whom she later came into contact was certainly that of a beautiful woman.

On 24 April 1558 Mary married the Dauphin Francis at Notre Dame de Paris, Francis assuming the title King consort of Scots. When Henry II died on 10 July 1559, Mary, Queen of Scots, became Queen consort of France; her husband becoming Francis II of France.

After the death of Mary I of England, Henry II of France caused his eldest son and his daughter-in-law to be proclaimed king and queen of England. From this time on, Mary always insisted on bearing the royal arms of England, and her claim to the English throne was a perennial sticking point between Elizabeth I and her, as would become obvious in Mary's continuous refusal to ratify the Treaty of Edinburgh. Under the ordinary laws of succession, Mary was next in line to the English throne after her father's cousin, Elizabeth I, who was childless. Yet, in the eyes of many Catholics, Elizabeth was illegitimate, thus making Mary the true heir as Mary II of England. However the Third Succession Act of 1543 provided that Elizabeth would succeed Mary I of England on the throne.

Francis died on 5 December 1560, of an ear infection which led to an abscess in his brain. Mary's mother-in-law, Catherine de' Medici, became regent for the late king's brother Charles IX, who inherited the French throne. Under the terms of the Treaty of Edinburgh, signed by Mary's representatives on 6 July 1560 following the death of her mother, France undertook to withdraw troops from Scotland and recognise Elizabeth's right to rule England. The 17-year-old Mary, still in France, refused to ratify the treaty.

Mary returned to Scotland soon after her husband's death and arrived in Leith on 19 August 1561. Despite her talents, Mary's upbringing had not given her the judgment to cope with the dangerous and complex political situation in the Scotland of that time.

At Holyrood Palace on 29 July 1565, Mary married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, her half first cousin. Henry was a member of the House of Stewart (or Stuart) like Mary was, but he was not an agnatic descendant of Stewart Kings, but rather of their immediate ancestors, the High Stewarts of Scotland.

Mary had fallen head over heels in love with the "long lad" (Queen Elizabeth's words) after he had come to Scotland from England earlier in the year (with the permission of the English Privy Council). On the other hand, Elizabeth felt threatened by the prospect of such a marriage, because both Mary and Darnley were claimants to the English throne, being direct descendants of Margaret Tudor, the elder sister of Henry VIII. Their children would inherit both parents' claims, and thus, be next in line for the English throne.

This marriage, to a leading Catholic, precipitated Mary's half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, to join with other Protestant Lords in open rebellion. Mary set out for Stirling on 26 August 1565 to confront them, and returned to Edinburgh the following month to raise more troops. Moray and the rebellious lords were routed and fled into exile, the decisive military action becoming known as the Chaseabout Raid.

Before long, Darnley became arrogant and demanded power commensurate with his courtesy title of "King". Darnley was jealous of Mary's friendship with her private secretary, David Rizzio, and, in March 1566 Darnley entered into a secret conspiracy with the nobles who had rebelled against Mary in the Chaseabout Raid. On 9 March a group of the lords, accompanied by Darnley, murdered Rizzio in front of the pregnant Mary while the two were in conference at Holyrood Palace. Darnley changed sides again and betrayed the lords, but the murder had made the breakdown of their marriage inevitable.

Their son, James, was born on 19 June 1566. It became increasingly clear, that some solution had to be found to "the problem of Darnley". At Craigmillar there was held a meeting (November 1566) among leading Scottish nobles and Queen Mary. Darnley was fearing for his safety and went to Glasgow to see his father. There he became ill.

In the new year, Mary prompted her husband to come back to Edinburgh. He was recuperating in a house at the former abbey of Kirk o' Field within the city wall of Edinburgh, where Mary visited him frequently, so that it appeared a reconciliation was in prospect. One night in February 1567, after Mary had left to go to the wedding of one of her maids of honour, an explosion occurred in the house, and Darnley was found dead in the garden, apparently of strangulation; historian Alison Weir, however, concludes he died of post-explosion suffocation. It turned out that James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell had supplied the gunpowder for the explosion, and he was generally believed to be guilty of Darnley's assassination. Mary arranged for a mock trial before parliament, and Bothwell was duly acquitted on 12 April.

On 24 April 1567, Mary visited her son at Stirling for the last time. On her way back to Edinburgh Mary was abducted, willingly or not, by Bothwell and his men and taken to Dunbar Castle, where she was allegedly raped by Bothwell. However, already in October 1566, she had been very interested in Bothwell when she made a four-hour journey on horseback to visit him at Hermitage Castle where he lay ill. On 6 May Mary and Bothwell returned to Edinburgh and on 15 May, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, they were married according to Protestant rites. Bothwell had divorced his first wife, Jean Gordon twelve days previously.

The Scottish nobility turned against Mary and Bothwell and raised an army against them. Mary and Bothwell confronted the Lords at Carberry Hill on 15 June, but there was no battle as Mary agreed to follow the Lords on condition that they let Bothwell go. However, the Lords broke their promise, and took Mary to Edinburgh and imprisoned her in Loch Leven Castle, situated on an island in the middle of Loch Leven. Between 18 July and 24 July 1567, Mary miscarried twins. On 24 July 1567, she was also forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in favour of her one-year-old son James.

On 2 May 1568, Mary escaped from Loch Leven and once again managed to raise a small army. After her army's defeat at the Battle of Langside on 13 May, she fled by boat across the Solway Firth to England.

Mary landed at Workington in England on 19 May and stayed at Workington Hall. She was swiftly imprisoned by Elizabeth's officers at Carlisle Castle. During her imprisonment, she famously had the phrase En ma Fin gît mon Commencement ("In my end is my beginning") embroidered on her cloth of estate.

After her flight into England, Mary Stuart expected Elizabeth I to help her regain her throne. Elizabeth was cautious, and ordered an inquiry into the question of whether Mary should be tried for the murder of Darnley first. A conference was held in York and later Westminster between October 1568 and January 1569. The accusers were the Scottish Lords who had deposed Mary. For overriding political reasons, Elizabeth neither wished to convict Mary of murder nor acquit her of the same; the conference was intended as a political exercise.

Mary refused to acknowledge the power of any court to try her since she was an anointed Queen, and the man ultimately in charge of the prosecution, James Stewart, Earl of Moray, was ruling Scotland as regent for Mary's son King James. His chief motive was to prevent a restoration of Mary to the Scottish throne. Mary refused to offer a written defence unless Elizabeth would guarantee a verdict of not guilty, which Elizabeth would not do.

As evidence, Mary's Scottish accusers presented the "Casket letters"— eight letters purportedly from Mary to Bothwell, reported by James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton to have been found in Edinburgh in a silver box engraved with an F (supposedly for Francis II), along with a number of other documents, including the Mary/Bothwell marriage certificate. The outcome of the conference was that the Casket Letters were accepted by the conference as genuine after a study of the handwriting, and of the information contained therein. Yet, as Elizabeth had wished, the inquiry reached the conclusion that nothing was proven.

In 1569, William Cecil had unofficially appointed Sir Francis Walsingham to organize a secret service for the protection of the realm, particularly the Queen's person. Henceforth, Cecil as well as Walsingham would have many opportunities (and reasons) to watch Mary carefully.

Elizabeth considered Mary's designs on the English throne to be a serious threat, and so eighteen years of confinement followed, much of it in Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor in the custody of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and his redoubtable wife Bess of Hardwick. Bothwell was imprisoned in Denmark, became insane, and died in 1578, still in prison.

Trial and execution

Mary eventually became a liability that Elizabeth could no longer tolerate. Mary was put on trial for treason by a court of about 40 noblemen, including Catholics, after being implicated in the Babington Plot by her own letters, which Sir Francis Walsingham had arranged to come straight to his hands. From these letters it was clear that Mary had sanctioned the attempted assassination of Elizabeth. Mary denied this and was spirited in her defence. One of her more memorable comments from her trial was "Remember Gentlemen the Theatre of history is wider than the Realm of England." She drew attention to the fact that she was denied the opportunity to review the evidence or her papers that had been removed from her, that she had been denied access to legal counsel, and that she had never been an English subject and thus could not be convicted of treason. The extent to which the plot was created by Sir Francis Walsingham and the English Secret Services will always remain open to conjecture.

In a trial presided over by England's Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas Bromley and Attorney General Sir John Popham, (later Lord Chief Justice), Mary was ultimately convicted of treason, and was sentenced to beheading.

Although Mary had been found guilty and sentenced to death, Elizabeth hesitated to actually order her execution. She was fearful of the consequences, especially if, in revenge, Mary's son James of Scotland formed an alliance with the Catholic powers, France and Spain, and invaded England.

She did eventually sign the death warrant and entrusted it to William Davison, a privy councillor. Later, the privy council, having been summoned by Lord Burghley without Elizabeth's knowledge, decided to carry out the sentence at once before she could change her mind.

At Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire, on 7 February 1587, Mary was told that she was to be executed the next day. She spent the last hours of her life in prayer and also writing letters and her will. She expressed a request that her servants should be released. She also requested that she should be buried in France. The scaffold that was erected in the great hall was three feet tall and draped in black. It was reached by five steps and the only things on it were a disrobing stool, the block, a cushion for her to kneel on, and a bloody butcher's axe that had been previously used on animals. At her execution the executioners (one of whom was named Bull) knelt before her and asked forgiveness. According to a contemporary account by Robert Wynkfield, she replied "I forgive you with all my heart". The executioners and her two servants helped remove a black outer gown, two petticoats, and her corset to reveal a deep red chemise—the liturgical colour of martyrdom in the Catholic Church. As she disrobed she smiled faintly to the executioner and said, "Never have I had such assistants to disrobe me, and never have I put off my clothes before such a company." She was then blindfolded and knelt down on the cushion in front of the block. She positioned her head on the block and stretched her arms out behind her.

In Lady Antonia Fraser's biography, Mary Queen of Scots, the author writes that it took two strikes to decapitate Mary: The first blow missed her neck and struck the back of her head, at which point the Queen's lips moved. (Her servants reported they thought she had whispered the words "Sweet Jesus.") The second blow severed the neck, except for a small bit of sinew that the executioner severed by using the axe as a saw. Robert Wynkfield recorded a detailed account of the moments leading up to Mary's execution, also describing that it took two strikes to behead the Queen. Afterward, the executioner held her head aloft and declared, "God save the Queen." At that moment, the auburn tresses in his hand came apart and the head fell to the ground, revealing that Mary had had very short, grey hair. The chemise that Mary wore at her execution is displayed at Coughton Court near Alcester in Warwickshire, which was a Catholic household at that time.

When the news of the execution reached Elizabeth she was extremely indignant, and her wrath was chiefly directed against Davison, who, she asserted, had disobeyed her instructions not to part with the warrant. The secretary was arrested and thrown into the Tower. He was later released, after paying a heavy fine, but his career was ruined.

Mary's body was embalmed and left unburied at her place of execution for a year after her death. Her remains were placed in a secure lead coffin. She was initially buried at Peterborough Cathedral in 1588, but her body was exhumed in 1612 when her son, King James I of England, ordered she be reinterred in Westminster Abbey. It remains there, along with at least 40 other descendants, in a chapel on the other side of the Abbey from the grave of her father's cousin Elizabeth I. In the 1700s her tomb and that of Elizabeth were opened to try to ascertain where James I was buried; he was ultimately found buried with Henry VII.

Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1552 – 29 October 1618) was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, and explorer.

Little is known about Raleigh's birth. Some historians believe Raleigh was born in 1552, while others guess as late as 1554. He grew up in the house of Hayes Barton, a farmer, in the village of East Budleigh, not far from Budleigh Salterton in Devon, England. He was the youngest of five sons born to Catherine Champernowne in two successive marriages. His half brothers, John Gilbert, Humphrey Gilbert, Adrian Gilbert, and full brother Carew Raleigh were also prominent during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. Catherine Champernowne was a niece of Kat Ashley, Elizabeth's governess, who introduced the young men at court.

In 1568 or 1572, Raleigh was registered as an undergraduate at Oriel College, Oxford, but does not seem to have taken up residence, and, in 1575, he was registered at the Middle Temple. His life between these two dates is uncertain, but, from a reference in his History of the World, he seems to have served with the French Huguenots at the Battle of Jarnac, 13 March 1569. At his trial in 1603, he stated that he had never studied law.

Between 1579 and 1583, Raleigh took part in the suppression of the Desmond Rebellions. He was present at the siege of Smerwick, where he oversaw the slaughter of Italian and Spanish soldiers after they had surrendered. Upon the seizure and distribution of land following the attainders arising from the rebellion, Raleigh received 40,000 acres (160 km²), including the coastal walled towns of Youghal and Lismore. This made him one of the principal landowners in Munster, but he enjoyed limited success in inducing English tenants to settle on his estates.

Raleigh's plan in 1584 for colonization in the "Colony and Dominion of Virginia" (which included the present-day states of North Carolina and Virginia) in North America ended in failure at Roanoke Island, but paved the way for subsequent colonies. His voyages were funded primarily by himself and his friends, never providing the steady stream of revenue necessary to start and maintain a colony in America.

In 1587, Raleigh attempted a second expedition again establishing a settlement on Roanoke Island. This time, a much more diversified group of settlers was sent, including some entire families, under the governance of John White. After a short while in America, White was recalled to England in order to find more supplies for the colony. He was unable to return the following year as planned, however, because the Queen had ordered that all vessels remain at port in case they were needed to fight the Spanish Armada. The threat of the Armada was only partially responsible for the 4 year delay of the second expedition. After England's victory over the Spanish fleet in 1588 the ships were given permission to sail. Unfortunately for the colonists at Roanoke the small fleet made an excursion towards Cuba in an attempt to capture as prizes the treasure-laden Spanish merchant ships that were reported to be proliferate in those waters at that time. White is said to have objected to this unplanned foray, but was helpless to dissuade the crews who'd been told of the enormous riches to be had by the experienced (he had previously piloted in the Americas in the service of the Spanish), Portuguese pilot hired by Raleigh to navigate the voyage. It was not until 1591 that the supply vessel arrived at the colony, 4 years later, only to find that all colonists had disappeared. The only clue to their fate was the word "CROATOAN" and letters "CRO" carved into separate tree trunks, suggesting the possibility that they were either massacred, absorbed or taken away by Croatans or perhaps another native tribe. Other speculation includes their being swept away or lost at sea during the stormy weather of 1588 (credited with aiding in the defeat of the Spanish Armada). However, it is worth noting that a hurricane prevented John White and the crew of the supply vessel from actually visiting Croatoan to investigate the disappearance, and no further attempts at contact were recorded for some years. Whatever the fate of the settlers, the settlement is now remembered as the "Lost Colony of Roanoke Island".

In December 1581, Raleigh came back to England from Ireland to despatches as his company had been disbanded. He took part in Court life and became a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. The various colourful stories told about him at this period are unlikely to be literally true.

In 1585 he was knighted and was appointed warden of the stannaries, that is of the mines of Cornwall and Devon, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, and vice-admiral of the two counties. Both in 1585 and 1586 he sat in parliament as member for Devonshire.

Raleigh commissioned the shipbuilder R. Chapman, of Deptford to build a ship for him. Originally called Ark, it became Ark Raleigh following the convention at the time where the ship bore the name of its owner. The crown, in the form of Queen Elizabeth I, purchased the ship from Raleigh in January 1587, for the sum of £5,000. As a result the ship was renamed Ark Royal.

In 1592, Raleigh was given many rewards by the Queen, including Durham House in the Strand and the estate of Sherborne, Dorset. He was appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, and as Lord Warden of the Stannaries of Devon and Cornwall. However, he had not been given any of the great offices of state. In the Armada year of 1588 he was employed as Vice Admiral of Devon, looking after the coastal defences and military levies.

In 1591, Raleigh was secretly married to Elizabeth "Bess" Throckmorton (or Throgmorton). She was one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, eleven years his junior, and was pregnant at the time of their marriage. She gave birth to a son, believed to be named Damerei, who was given to a wet nurse at Durham House; the infant does not seem to have survived, and Bess resumed her duties. The following year, the unauthorized marriage was discovered and the Queen ordered Raleigh imprisoned and Bess dismissed from court. He was released from prison to divide the spoils from the captured Spanish ship Madre de Dios ("Mother of God").

It would be several years before Raleigh returned to favour. The couple remained devoted to each other. During Raleigh's absences, Bess proved a capable manager of the family's fortunes and reputation. They had two more sons, Walter and Carew.

He was elected a burgess of Mitchell, Cornwall, in the parliament of 1593.

Raleigh retired to his estate at Sherborne where he built a new house, completed in 1594, known then as Sherborne Lodge but is now extended and known as Sherborne (new) Castle. He made friends with the local gentry, such as Sir Ralph Horsey of Clifton Maybank and Charles Thynne of Longleat. During this period at a dinner party at Horsey's, there was a heated discussion about religion which later gave rise to charges of atheism against Raleigh. He was elected to Parliament, speaking on religious and naval matters.

In 1594, he came into possession of a Spanish account of a great golden city at the headwaters of the Caroní River, and a year later he explored what is now eastern Venezuela in search of Manoa, the legendary city in question. Once back in England, he published The Discovery of Guiana an account of his voyage which made exaggerated claims as to what had been discovered. The book can be seen as a contribution to the El Dorado legend. Although Venezuela has gold deposits, there is no evidence Raleigh found any mines. He is sometimes said to have discovered Angel Falls, but these claims are considered far-fetched.

In 1596 Raleigh took part in the capture of Cádiz, where he was wounded. He was also the second-in-command of the Islands Voyage to the Azores in 1597.

In 1597, he was chosen member of parliament for Dorset, and, in 1601, for Cornwall. He was unique in the Elizabethan period in sitting for three counties.

From 1600 to 1603, Raleigh was the Governor of the Channel Island of Jersey, and he was responsible for modernizing the defences of the island. He named the new fortress protecting the approaches to Saint Helier Fort Isabella Bellissima, or Elizabeth Castle.

Though royal favour with Queen Elizabeth I had been restored by this time, it did not last. Elizabeth died in 1603, and Raleigh was arrested at Exeter Inn, Ashburton, Devon and imprisoned in the Tower of London on 19 July. Later that year, on 17 November, Raleigh was tried in the converted Great Hall of Winchester Castle for treason due to his supposed involvement in the Main Plot against King James. Raleigh conducted his defence with great skill, which may, in part, explain why King James spared his life, despite the guilty verdict. He was left to languish in the Tower of London until 1616. While imprisoned, he wrote many treatises and the first volume of The Historie of the World, about the ancient history of Greece and Rome. His son Carew was conceived and born while Raleigh was legally dead and imprisoned in the Tower of London (1604).

In 1616, Sir Walter was released from the Tower of London in order to conduct a second expedition to Venezuela in search of El Dorado. In the course of the expedition, Raleigh's men, under the command of Lawrence Keymis, attacked the Spanish outpost of Santo Thomé de Guayana (San Thomé) on the Orinoco. During the initial attack on the settlement, Raleigh's son Walter was struck by a bullet and killed. On Raleigh's return to England, the outraged Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, the Spanish ambassador, demanded that King James reinstate Raleigh's death sentence. The ambassador's demand was granted.

Raleigh was beheaded at Whitehall on 29 October 1618 .

After Raleigh's execution, his head was embalmed and presented to his wife. She died 29 years later and it was returned to Raleigh's tomb at St. Margaret's, Westminster Raleigh's body was finally laid to rest in St. Margaret's Church, where his tomb may still be visited today.

Poetry

Raleigh is generally considered one of the foremost poets of the Elizabethan era. His poetry is generally written in the relatively straightforward, unornamented mode known as the plain style. C. S. Lewis considered Raleigh one of the era's "silver poets", a group of writers who resisted the Italian Renaissance influence of dense classical reference and elaborate poetic devices. In poems such as "What is Our Life" and "The Lie" Raleigh expresses a contemptus mundi (contempt of the world) attitude more characteristic of the Middle Ages than of the dawning era of humanistic optimism. However, his lesser-known long poem "The Ocean to Cynthia" combines this vein with the more elaborate conceits associated with his contemporaries Spenser and Donne, while achieving a power and originality that justifies Lewis' assessment, and contradicts it by expressing a melancholy sense of history reminiscent of The Tempest and all the more effective for being the product of personal experience. Raleigh is also Marlovian in terms of the terse line, e.g. "She sleeps thy death that erst thy danger sighed". A minor poem of Raleigh's captures the atmosphere of the court at the time of Queen Elizabeth I, when he wrote a reply to Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love". Raleigh's response was "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd". "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" was written in 1592, while Raleigh's "The Nymph's Reply to The Shepherd" was written four years later in 1596. Both written in the traditional pastoral poetry, and they follow the same structure of six four-line stanzas employing a rhyme scheme of aabb.

Virginia (and thus West Virginia) was named for Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen" of England.

Virginia, one of the most historic states of the United States is rich in natural beauty and worth visiting sites and attractions. The state is named after the Queen Elizabeth I of England and is one of the original thirteen states of the United States that stood against the British domination in the American Revolution.

The state was under the control of Native Americans for a while. The main people among them were the Cherokee, Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Meherrin, Monacan, Nottaway, Pohick, Powhatan etc. the largest group of people was the Algonquian after which came the Iroquoian and the Siouan.

Virginia was established as an economic venture that got off to a very shaky start. In 1584 Queen Elizabeth I of England gave Sir Walter Ralegh (commonly misspelled Raleigh) permission to establish colonies in the New World. Gallantly, Ralegh named the area for the Virgin Queen, but undersupplied his colonies, which disappeared between one supply ship's arrival and the next

Before 1698 Jamestown was the capital of the Virginia colony. But after the State House got burned in 1698 the capital got was shifted to Middle Plantation that had acquired the name of Williamsburg in the honor of King William III, the William of Orange. At the time of Restoration, King Charles II of England named the colony of Virginia was named ‘the Old Dominion’.

The colonial capital was again changed and moved to Richmond in 1780. This happened at the request of the then Governor Thomas Jefferson. Patrick Henry was the first governor of Virginia.

On 29^th June 1776 the constitution that accepted Virginia as a commonwealth independent of the British Empire was adopted.

During the American Civil War Virginia was one of the states that seceded from the Union to become the Confederacy. As a result some counties were separated. The land of Virginia has witnessed maximum battles as part of the American Civil war.

On 26^th January 1870 Virginia rejoined the Union formally after a term of military rule after the war.

The capital of the state is Richmond till date. Richmond has turned into a beautiful city that offers several attractions such as the Bell Tower, Bell Isle, Canal Walk, Maymont Park etc.

Episode 1

Pre-view Exercises

Ex. 1 Check up the pronunciation of the words.

Catholic, protestant, loyalty, endeavor, usurper, Austria, France, Turkey, virginity.

Ex. 2 Guess the meaning of the words.

Usurper, sultan, emperor, ambassador, archduke, alliance, Judas, provocation, advancement, masque.

Ex. 3 Give the Russian equivalents for the following words and word combinations.

assassin (n)	issue (n)
atrocity (n)	preach (v)
endeavor (n)	sewer (n)
to torment with smth	to plunge into
to tumble down	infertile (adj.)
to put smb on a leash	notorious (adj.)
subject (n)	celestial (adj.)
cloak (n)	illustrious (adj.)
asset (n)	to retire
usurper (n)	pawn (n)

Ex. 4 Find in ex. 1 -3 words corresponding to the following intonation patterns. Write them down.

/ _	/ _ _	_ /	_ / _	_ / _ _
killer	compliment	attempt	instruction	virginity

Ex. 5 Form:

1. nouns from the verbs:

Provoke, advance, assassinate, retire, permit, protect, punish, forgive, ally.

b) nouns from adjectives:

Loyal, virgin, fertile, safe, real, honest, weak, wise.

Ex. 6 Of the suggested meanings of the word choose the one which fits the contextual meaning of the underlined unit.

1 So long as you have no issue, there will be always talks about Mary, Queen of Scots. (1 outgoing, outflowing; 2 publication; 3 question that arises for discussion; 4 result, outcome, consequence; 5 children)

2 I have to ask for your royal warrant to return to the New World. (1 justification or authority; 2 a written order giving official authority)

3 Have my doctors confirm that the Queen is still fertile. (1 (of lands, plants) producing much; 2 (of a person, his mind) full of ideas, plans; 3 able to produce seeds, eggs, offsprings)

4 I have returned from the New World, Your Majesty. I have claimed the fertile coast in your honor and called it Virginia in honor of our Virgin Queen.( see the previous point)

5 Virginity is an asset that holds its value well. (1 (pl) anything owned by a person, company, etc that has money value and may be sold to pay debts; 2 valuable or useful quality or skill)

6 Spanish gold was stolen from Spanish ships, attacked without provocation. (1 provoking or being provoked; 2 something that provokes or annoys)

7 The Queen wouldn’t accept the fruits of piracy. (1 pl: any plant or vegetable products used for food; 2 fig (often pl): profit, result or reward)

8 I am Your Majesty’s most loyal subject. (1 any member of a State except the supreme ruler; 2 something talked or written about or studied; 3 person, animal or thing treated or dealt with; 4 (gram) word(s) in a sentence which is described, which does something; 5 (music) theme on which a composition is based)

9 What do they say in Paris about the Pope’s call for holy war? (1 of God, associated with God or with religion; 2 (fig) sacred)

10 He will walk behind me, carrying my cloak. (1 loose article of clothing, without sleeves; 2 (fig) something used to hide or keep secret).

11 The Archduke will retire to his private Chambers. (1 withdraw, go away; 2 (formal) go to bed; 3 (of an army) withdraw, go back; 4 give up one’s work, position, business; 5 retire from the world – enter a monastery or become a hermit)

12 If you want to win the Queen’s favour, pay her the compliment of truth. (1 expression of admiration, approval; 2 (pl) greetings)

13 I don’t trust you, as you are Walsingham’s pawn. (1 (chess) least valuable piece; 2 person made use of others for their own advantage)

Ex. 7 From the list of words (ex. 3) find:

a) synonyms

- an attempt;

- a murderer, killer;

- heavenly or divine;

- authorization, sanction;

- pray.

b) the word that corresponds to the definition

- drain or selvage pipe;

- to keep smb under control;

- valuable or useful quality;

- to afflict with great pain;

- to fall violently;

- well-known for something bad;

- a person who wrongfully takes power, authority, position.

Ex. 8 Find an odd word in each line.

1. topic, subject, citizen, country man;

2. cover, garment, cloak, coat;

3. notorious, famous, well known for bad reason;

4. go to bed, retire, withdraw, give up;

5. asset, advantage, valuable quality, virtue, demerit;

6. distinguished, celebrated, illustrious, notorious;

7. cruelty, rudeness, atrocity, wickedness, kindness.

Ex. 9 Render the sentences into Russian paying attention to the translation of modal verbs.

1 May we have wisdom not to fear shadows in the night.

2 You’ll have to see the Lord Chamberlain, sir.

3 You can’t come in! – So how am I to see him if you won’t let me through?

4 You must wait for him to come out.

5 The traitor is dead. We must act.

6 You can’t learn the secrets of the universe on an empty stomach.

7 I have traveled here to this illustrious court in the hope that our great nations might be joined in love.

8 I adore the natives you brought. I don’t suppose you could get one for me.

9. How am I to win the Queen’s favor?

Ex. 10 Put questions to the italicized words.

1 Philip of Spain, a devoted catholic has plunged Europe into holy war .

2 The Spanish speak openly of Mary Stuart as Queen of England in waiting.

3 Half the nation cling to the old superstitions (the general question).

4 The bishops are preaching that God is showing his displeasure because the Queen is still unmarried.

5 If the Queen falls they’ll all come down after her.

6 Walsingham knows too much already.

7 I speak with the Queen daily.

8 That depends on what you propose to do with them.

9 I have little enough to offer, but whatever I have, ask, and it’s

yours.

10 The Archduke will retire to his private chambers as he is tired after his long journey.

Ex. 11 Put the following in the Reported Speech.

1 ”Soon England’s true believers will rise up against the bastard usurper Elizabeth and slit her throat” Mary Stuart’s supporter said.

2 “If you were to produce an heir, there’d be no more talk of Mary,

Queen of Scots” Walsingham warned.

3. Elizabeth said: ”I find the impossible far more interesting”

4. “My time has come, Majesty. Send me back to England to begin

God’s work” said King Philip’s spy.

3. “The sea wall at Dover is cracking, Francis. We have no money to rebuild our defenses. Turn your mind to that threat.” said the Queen to Walsingham

4. “And when I marry, will you change the name to Conjugia?” laughed the Queen.

5. “The traitor’s dead. We must act” one of the plotters said.

6. “William, what do they say in Paris about the Pope’s call for holy war?” asked F. Walsingham his brother.

7. I find the air has become stale. I am sensitive to the smell of open sewers” said the Spanish Ambassador.

8. “I have a secret, my dear. I pretend there’s a pane of glass between me and them. They can see me but cannot touch me” Elizabeth confessed to the Archduke.

9. “How am I to win the Queen’s favour? ” Walter Raleigh asked

Bess.

3. The Queen informed: “His Highness, the Archduke is tired after a long journey. He will retire to his chambers to rest”.

Ex. 12 While watching the film:

1. Write down the key sentences of the episode composing a plan to speak about the main events;

2. Write down the names of the personages you have got acquainted with for the first time and be ready to indicate their relations to Queen Elizabeth.

Comprehension check

Ex. 1 Say whether the sentences given below correspond to those used in the videofilm.

1. Half the nation cling to the old superstitions and Elizabeth is ready to punish them for their beliefs.

2. Elizabeth doesn’t like to discuss private matters in public spaces and jokes about princes in the undiscovered lands across the sea.

3. Elizabeth realizes the dangers coming from Spain and from Mary of Scots.

4. Elizabeth is enthusiastic about marriage and receives her suitors with interest.

5. Walter Raleigh wants to win the Queen’s favour because he’d like to stay at Court and protect her Majesty.

6. The Englishmen know nothing about potato and tobacco.

7. The supporters of the Catholic Church are conspiring against Queen Elizabeth.

8. William has brought good news to Francis from Paris, that’s why he can’t leave the court yet.

9. Elizabeth notices more smile lines on her face.

10. The Archduke of Austria proposes to Elizabeth, but she is interested in the notorious pirate.