This is the story of Margaret and Ellen.
In early 16th century Scotland, the King was James IV
and in 1507, William Dunbar,
the poet to the King's royal court, wrote a poem called Ane Blak-Moir.
"When she is clothed in rich attire she gleams as bright as a tar barrel.
When she was born the sun suffered an eclipse. The knight be glad to fight for her sake,
My lady with the huge lips."
Dunbar was recounting a tournament, a popular activity for royal courts at the time
and although funny poems were also popular
the racial tones of this poem are obvious.
Dunbar was writing about a Black woman.
So who was this lady with the huge lips and skin that gleamed as bright as a tar barrel?
It's very likely this woman was Elen More.
During the tournament, Elen's role was the Black queen of beauty.
She was the prize.
The winner of the tournament received an embrace and a kiss from Elen.
Elen More, sometimes referred to as Black Elen,
and often mentioned alongside Margaret More.
Together the two women were known as "the Moorish lassies".
In 1504, Margaret and Ellen, who were believed to be from North Africa,
arrived in Leith.
Their birth names were never recorded
and they were quickly baptised
Margaret after Queen Margaret and Elen after Eleanor Pole,
the Queen's principal lady in waiting.
Elen and Margaret joined the Edinburgh Castle household of Lady Margaret Tudor
who was King James IV's illegitimate daughter
but what was this young lady doing with these two young girls
as her ladies in waiting?
Well, the eroticisation and fetishisation of Black women isn't something we only see today.
In the 16th century, it was fashionable to have an African girl as an attendant in your home.
The addition of Margaret and Elen to the royal household was a sign
of status for all in the Stuart royal family.
But this sign of status came at a human cost.
On their arrival, Elen and Margaret were about 10 years old.
It's unclear exactly how they ended up in Scotland
but it was likely they were found aboard a foreign ship.
During this time, Scotland was not involved in the enslavement of people
but privateering was common.
Scottish sailors had licence to raid foreign ships.
Other countries like Portugal were involved in the enslaving of people
and so it's likely Scottish sailors found Margaret and Elen aboard a foreign ship
and brought them back to Scotland.
Slavery was not yet recognized by Scottish law, so the girls weren't enslaved
and received wages
but still, that's not compensation for being removed from your home, your family, your culture.
So in 1504, Margaret and Elen joined Lady Margaret Tudor's household.
The girls were treated relatively well.
They learned to horse ride and in that same year,
they accompanied Lady Margaret on a royal Scottish tour of the Borders.
In 1510, Lady Margaret Tudor was married to Lord Gordon
and the two spent lots of time together at Linlithgow with Margaret alongside them.
Elen stayed in Edinburgh and joined the royal household there
It's likely she was the Black maiden mentioned in 1512
as an attendant to the Queen.
in 1513, the two were reunited in records again,
receiving 10 gold coins as a present for the New Year.
On Saint Margaret's Day in 1513, a Black Margaret was gifted as a new gown.
Also, records show that around a similar time a Margaret Preston was also gifted a new gown.
Also in November 1512, a Margaret Preston accompanied Lady Margaret on a ride
so perhaps it's not two Margarets, but one
and our Margaret married a Scotsman!
Elen and Margaret became respected members of the court and Scottish history
but William Dunbar's poem shows us that not everybody would have treated them equally
and with respect
and let's not forget at one point it's likely these two girls were enslaved.