In 1503 Henry VII’s eldest daughter, Margaret married the Scottish king, James IV. The tighter, more productive relationship between England and Scotland which the bond of wedding rings was supposed to bring, did not materialise and in September 1513 James IV died fighting the English army of his brother-in-law, Henry VIII, at Flodden. The throne of Scotland passed to his 1 year old son, who became James V. The two nations were fighting again when the Scots were defeated at the Battle of Solway Moss in December 1542. King James V, who was not present at the battle, fell ill around the same time, and died shortly afterwards leaving one legitimate child, a newborn daughter. For Scotland this was a double blow, another infant monarch but this time a girl!
Adieu, farewell, it came wi' a lass and it will pass with a lass
It was clear that James was on his deathbed when news reached him that his wife, Mary of Guise, had given birth to a girl at Linlithgow Palace on 8th December. Famously, his response to the news was “Adieu, farewell, it came wi' a lass and it will pass with a lass”. He died on the 14th, and the 6-day old girl became Mary, Queen of Scots but what had James meant by his comment?
In 1315, Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, married Marjory, the daughter of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland. When her father died in 1329 Marjory’s half-brother became David II. When he died childless in 1371 the crown passed to Marjory’s son, Robert Stewart who became Robert II of Scotland and the first monarch of the Stewart line. Thus, “…it came wi’ a lass…”. The family name in itself is interesting. An ancestor had changed the family name from Fitzalan to Stewart reflecting the position of High Steward of Scotland which the family had held for a number of generations.
So what about “…it will pass with a lass.”
Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to British History to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
