Phone rings... ...Seaton
Yes I know what time it is. It's 1546, it's the 29th of May, but more importantly...
it's Saturday mornin'... There's been a murder? What cardinal David beaten the bishop of St Andrews?
...and the body's where? OK, it'll take me about 10 minutes to get dressed,
it'll me about an hour to get to St Andrews. It's at the castle you say? OK I'll see you in
an hour and 15. Because I need to poo that's why! Somebody get my horse.
Hiya, I'm Buce Fummey from Scotland history tours. If you're interested in
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OK, so the deceased is cardinal David Beaton yeah?
Wasn't has uncle the Bishop here in St Andrews before him? What else do we know?
Let's walk and talk.
So let me get this straight... some religious reformers have used the
cover of building works been done to disguise themselves as masons, they've
gained entry to the castle, they've overcome the guards, they've murdered
Cardinal Beaton, mutilated his body and then left it outside his window for all to see?
That's some way to start a weekend.
Oh that's nasty!
How long's the body been up there? Any idea of a motive? What George Wishart the
religious reformer that Cardinal Beaton had burned at the stake here three weeks ago? That fairly
stirred up a hornet's nest... and it's come back and stung the Cardinal on the bum...
but we've got to get the bottom of it. Is that another body in the ditch?
who is that? The Porter? So he was just collateral damage?
poor sod
So as far as we know the perpetrators are still in there? Any sign of them coming out?
Yeah, I can see why they had to disguise themselves as masons to get in, the place
looks impregnable. It could take months to get them out of here. You know what I reckon?
I reckon there'll be a siege. The besiegers will try and undermine the
outer walls of the castle, but the defenders will successfully countermine
Yeah, after that I reckon the besiegers will bring up cannon. They may
even use St Salvador's Tower, but they'll fail, because the defenders will
be able to shoot the gunners. The English will use the North Sea to try and bring in
some supplies for the Protestant defenders, but that's all the help they'll
get from Henry. Yeah I reckon some of the defenders will die of malnutrition
Eventually, I reckon the Scottish regent will end the whole thing by
imposing a French naval blockade and bringing up special troops. Yeah, all in all
I reckon it'll take 14 months, and if it doesn't
my name's not Marty McFly. No, I know my name's Seaton, it was a joke!
OK, make sure this place is surrounded, then find out as much as you can about cardinal David Beaton
I'm gonna head down to the martyrs
monument, I need to think. The martyrs monument. The monument to George Wishart.
The guy who's BBQ started this whole thing.
It's down by the Royal & Ancient clubhouse. The Royal and Ancient, the home of golf?
One of the oldest club houses in the world? Yeah no I know it won't be there for 300
years, so use Google Maps! Hey, and call me
...phone rings... McTaggart two seconds just let me get
parked
OK, so what have you got on the victim?
OK, educated at the universities of St Andrews and Glasgow, then studied civil
and canon law in Paris... ambassador in France for James V, Oh get him!
He was involved in the negotiations of both of James's marriages to high powered French woman.
One of them was Francis I daughter wasn't it? Was made Bishop of Mirepoix in Languedoc
on the recommendation Frances I. Oh we are a proper
Francophile, aren't we? That explains why he falls in the pro French side of 1540s
Scottish politics... and well-connected. Yeah, the word on the street is that it was
him that made sure that the wee Queen MAry didnae marry Henry VIIIs son Edward
Actually, there's talk about her being sent off to marry the Dauphin in France.
No, of course you didn't hear about it, because you read the Daily Mail.
If you read The National you'd know that a lot of people blame Beaton for
Henry VIII invading Scotland in the first place, and now we've got English
occupying towns and castles. Ah, you're right, it has been a rough wooing. Actually that's a
good phrase. I'm gonna use that in my report. No you're not getting credit for
it, shut it! Seems to me that our victim Beaton has got a lot of his jobs through
cronyism and nepotism. When did you say that he took over from his uncle as
Archbishop of St Andrews? February 1539? Right so seven years ago. All right.
What about the ringleaders, Normam Lesley, Master or Rothes and William Kirkcalday
of Grange, what do we know about them? uh-huh. It just all seems a bit extreme.
Murder a cardinal and hang his corpse outside his castle just because he
burned a reformer at the stake. I mean that's going to lead to excommunications.
It's difficult enough trying to I got a Celtic season ticket. There's gotta be something
more. There's gotta be some other kind of motivation surely. Have you got anything
else...
Ah, and of course men the cloth aren't supposed to get married, unofficial or no.
Eight children? Oh Cardinal Beaton we have been naughty
Uh-huh? OK, so basically what you're seeing is that he's seen as the
personification of the war with English, the hypocrisy of the church, and our
Catholic links with France? OK. round up all the Glasgow Rangers supporters in
the area. I'm gonna hit the streets and then meet me at the Martyr's Monument
Oh and put out an APB on John Knox. An APB. Just find oot where he is!
Listen, we need to get the word out there: so make sure as many people as possible
share this, give the investigation a thumbs up, subscribe for updates, and ring
the notification bell. Have you got that?
Because if they don't click 'all' for notifications they won't get updates!
What century are you living in McTavish? Right I'll see you at the
monument. Don't be late
I thought told you not to be late. Have you got anything on John Knox? Don't give
me that, somebody must know something. They can't be that tight lipped.
They're not real Masons
Hey boss. Yeah I've been working the case all day, and you
know what? I don't think it's all about religion. I think there's politics and personal
animosity involved as well. OK, so the perpetrators were these new modern
Protestant reformers, but they also were pro English and the supported the wee Queen
marrying Henry VIII's son. Plus the ringleaders were Norman Leslie
of Rothes and William Kirkcalday of Grange.
Well, the Leslie interests have been affected by Cardinal Beaton's interest
growing in Fife, and Kirkcalday of Grange's uncle James was removed from his
position of treasurer of the realm. I think it's personal
well you may not like it boss, but that's what's going in my report. Look if you're
not convinced why not come down here yourself? Spend a day here. There will be
a link to a video in the top left hand corner. Click that, come down here spend
a day here. OK boss. Tha mi an dochas gum bith lath math leibh.
Tiorridh an drasda.
you