Summer Queen

North transept rose window - Notre-Dame Cathedral


On January 1st 1537, 16 year old Princess Madeleine de Valois, daughter of King Francis I of France married
25 year old King James V of Scotland in Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris.

Madeleine was frequently in poor health and when James asked for her hand in marriage her father was
at first reluctant to agree. It would appear however that Madeleine persuaded him to
change his mind - that and current power politics!  

Notre-Dame Cathedral - photo by Morelle Smith


At 10 am the wedding party, led by musicians, heralds and church dignitaries, proceeded along a specially constructed raised
 platform to a stage at the west door of the cathedral. There Madeleine and James were married by the Cardinal of Bourbon.
They then entered the church for the nuptual mass.

Afterwards a sumptuous dinner was served at the Bishop's palace, followed in the evening by more feasting and dancing at the
Palais de Justice. Rich cloths and tapestries decorated the banqueting halls and food was served on gold and silver plates.

Madeleine and James


Two more weeks of celebrations followed at the Louvre and Tournelles palaces.
Events included jousts, tournaments,feasts, plays,with airborne fire breathing dragons
and mock naval battles. 

                                                         

The Louvre Palace prior to remodelling in Renaissance style in the 1540s .....

How James may have looked then  .....

Aristocratic dress of the time.

The couple stayed in France until May when it was decided that Madeleine was fit to travel.

The Scottish king's ships left France accompanied by ten French ships accommodating Madeleine's
extensive entourage. She found the voyage uncomfortable and on arrival at Leith had to rest
for two days before proceeding to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, where she remained
until her death seven weeks later.
 Consumption is now thought to be the cause of death.

I would love to have seen the convoy sailing up the Firth of Forth, led by the king's flagship
......   but I can day dream!

The ships would have looked similar to those in this painting depicting
Henry VIII (uncle of James) embarking at Dover  .....

Holyrood Palace in Renaissance style

.....  and now, with the ruined abbey behind.

Photo taken from the hill above in the Royal Park created by James.
I've shown the Royal Park in a previous post  ....    HERE

Holyrood Abbey

The distraught James ordered a grand funeral for his queen.
The abbey interior was hung with black cloth and her coffin draped in purple and black.
Candles were kept alight around the tomb for two years afterwards.
James celebrated mass on the day of Madeleine's death every year until
his own death five years later.

A year after her death he married Mary of Guise.
20 years later their daughter Mary Queen of Scots would marry the Dauphin of France at
Notre-Dame de Paris in a celebration equalling that of Madeleine and James. 

Queen Madeleine lived in Scotland for only two brief summer months but her story touched
the hearts the people who named her the "Summer Queen".

Thank you for visiting  -   Happy New Year!


Sharedwith :     All Seasons       Mosaic Monday     Our World Tuesday   
                       Tuesday's Treasures     Image-in-ing

Image source  -  1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9  -  Wikipedia