Adam Otterburn
Encyclopedia
Adam Otterburn of Auldhame
and Reidhall (died 6 July 1548) was a Scottish lawyer and diplomat. He was king's advocate to James V of Scotland
and secretary to Mary of Guise
and Regent Arran.
and their associates on 13 July 1529. He was one of the Scottish commissioners who met English diplomats at Berwick-upon-Tweed
on 8 November 1529. This meeting discussed the possible restoration of the Earl of Angus
, which Henry VIII
might use as leverage to decide James's choice of bride. A five year truce was concluded and the Douglases were to go into English exile. In May 1532 he was of the first 15 Senators of Justice
. While in England he was knighted by James V as Sir Adam Otterburn of Redhall on 16 February 1534. (Redhall, his other estate, is within Edinburgh near Longstone
) Adam signed a border peace treaty in London on 11 May 1534. After the English reformation, in 1536, Henry VIII requested a meeting with James V, and Otterburn was sent to London to discuss Henry's motives. In April 1537 Otterburn and other courtiers joked with the English messenger Henry Ray
about English Friars now refugee in Scotland.
In June 1538 he wrote a French speech welcoming Mary of Guise
to Edinburgh. In August 1538 he was imprisoned in Dumbarton Castle
and next year deprived of office and fined £1000 for communicating with the forfeited Earl of Angus. After the death of James V, Otterburn received a gift of crossbows and armour.
's invasion in 1544 during the war of the Rough Wooing. Ralph Sadler
reported that Otterburn belonged to Cardinal Beaton's
pro-French faction, although Adam insisted the contrary, attributing his troubles during the reign of James V to his pro-English stance. The Governor, Regent Arran, ordered his arrest on 28 April 1544 but Robert Reid
, Bishop of Orkney
intereceded for him. Years later in 1561, Sadler reminded the English Privy Council
of Adam's words to him on the marriage proposed between Mary and Edward
;
When the English army intent on the destruction of Edinburgh
landed at Granton
and took Leith, as Provost of Edinburgh, Adam was sent out with two Heralds to parley
with Hertford on the morning of 5 May 1544. Hertford had been instructed not to negotiate, so Adam replied in defiance and refused to yield up the town. Hertford had not yet landed his guns so offered to wait till 7:00pm.
During an interlude in the war with England, Adam was concerned to recover money owing to him. His holding of lands at Auldhame, like those of his neighbours Oliver Sinclair
, the favourite of James V, and John, 5th Lord Borthwick
, required duties to be paid to Cardinal Beaton
. Adam wrote to the Cardinal hoping for money owed to him by Sinclair, and he noted that Borthwick and other landowners south of the River Forth
sold their wool in England. Adam was now distrusted by Regent Arran and briefly imprisoned with a threat of further lawsuits. Friends like Elizabeth Gordon, wife of John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl
wrote to Mary of Guise on his behalf. They were closely allied; Adam's son John had married the Countess' sister in law, Janet Stewart. In October 1546, Adam set out with d'Oisel
, the French resident in Scotland to meet with Henry VIII at Oatlands
. Before they left he complained he had not enough money and horses to get to Musselburgh
(a town close to Edinburgh). While they were waiting to see Henry the other diplomats were delighted to see them arguing. In March 1547, three of servants were allowed to return to Scotland.
Otterburn was still negotiating for peace in London before the Battle of Pinkie. On Sunday 7 August 1547 he went to Hampton Court and met Edward VI of England
. There he was dismissed as a diplomat by the council as it was now a time of hostility. He was given £75 as a gift for his departure. Otterburn saw,
to negotiate with Somerest, writing; "I dreid ye will nocht gif credence quhill ye se thame cum in at the dur," (I dread you will not believe till you see them come in the door).
Otterburn was one of the original Senators of the College of Justice
. He married firstly, Janet Rhynd, and secondly, Euphame Mowbray, with whom he had three sons, John, Robert and Thomas. He had three daughters, Margaret, Janet, and another whose name is unknown. His eldest daughter Margaret married Sir John Wemyss of Wemyss
. In February 1544 another daughter was married and Adam asked Mary of Guise for financial support as 'sik materis requiris coist and expensis', and again in 1546 he mentioned to David Beaton his difficulty in paying 'my dochteris tocher.' His son John married Janet Stewart, sister of the Earl of Atholl
.
recommended him to Cardinal Wolsey for an annual pension of £20. In his letters in 1546 and 1547 Otterburn mentions that he was 'aged and sickly', but Otterburn died after an assault in Edinburgh by a servant of Regent Arran on 3 July 1548, 'sore hurt on the head and his servant slain at his heels.' Patrick Mure, laird of Annestoun near Lanark
, and his son were charged with treason for his murder, their last recorded summons for the crime was at the instance of Mary of Guise.
Auldhame & Scoughall
Auldhame and Scoughall are hamlets in East Lothian, Scotland. They are close to the town of North Berwick and the village of Whitekirk, and are approximately 25 miles east of Edinburgh.- Saint Baldred's legacy :...
and Reidhall (died 6 July 1548) was a Scottish lawyer and diplomat. He was king's advocate to James V of Scotland
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
and secretary to Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
and Regent Arran.
Servant to James V
Adam Otterburn was an important servant of the Scottish monarchy in law and diplomacy. He drew up charges of treason against the DouglasesClan Douglas
Clan Douglas is an ancient Scottish kindred from the Scottish Lowlands taking its name from Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and thence spreading through the Scottish Borderland, Angus, Lothian and beyond. The clan does not currently have a chief, therefore it is considered an armigerous clan.The...
and their associates on 13 July 1529. He was one of the Scottish commissioners who met English diplomats at Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
on 8 November 1529. This meeting discussed the possible restoration of the Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus was a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots...
, which Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
might use as leverage to decide James's choice of bride. A five year truce was concluded and the Douglases were to go into English exile. In May 1532 he was of the first 15 Senators of Justice
College of Justice
The College of Justice is a term used to describe the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies.The constituent bodies of the supreme courts of Scotland are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, and the Accountant of Court's Office...
. While in England he was knighted by James V as Sir Adam Otterburn of Redhall on 16 February 1534. (Redhall, his other estate, is within Edinburgh near Longstone
Longstone
Longstone is a suburb of Edinburgh in Scotland. It borders Saughton, Wester Hailes, Slateford, Kingsknowe and Parkhead.Longstone's most dramatic features are the Slateford Aqueduct carrying the Union Canal and the adjacent railway viaduct . Underneath these runs the Water of Leith, and the canal...
) Adam signed a border peace treaty in London on 11 May 1534. After the English reformation, in 1536, Henry VIII requested a meeting with James V, and Otterburn was sent to London to discuss Henry's motives. In April 1537 Otterburn and other courtiers joked with the English messenger Henry Ray
Berwick Pursuivant
Berwick Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary was a British office of arms created around 1460 for English service on the Scottish Marches based at Berwick-upon-Tweed...
about English Friars now refugee in Scotland.
In June 1538 he wrote a French speech welcoming Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
to Edinburgh. In August 1538 he was imprisoned in Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton, and sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high.-Iron Age:...
and next year deprived of office and fined £1000 for communicating with the forfeited Earl of Angus. After the death of James V, Otterburn received a gift of crossbows and armour.
If your lad was a lass
Adam was Provost of Edinburgh in 1543 but deposed after Lord HertfordEdward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
's invasion in 1544 during the war of the Rough Wooing. Ralph Sadler
Ralph Sadler
Sir Ralph Sadler, PC, Knight banneret was an English statesman of the 16th century, and served as a Secretary of State for King Henry VIII.-Background:...
reported that Otterburn belonged to Cardinal Beaton's
David Beaton
The Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.-Career:...
pro-French faction, although Adam insisted the contrary, attributing his troubles during the reign of James V to his pro-English stance. The Governor, Regent Arran, ordered his arrest on 28 April 1544 but Robert Reid
Robert Reid (bishop)
Robert Reid was abbot of Kinloss, commendator-prior of Beauly, and bishop of Orkney. He was one of the greatest of the bishops of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Scotland, and his legacy was the founding of the University of Edinburgh....
, Bishop of Orkney
Bishop of Orkney
The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics within the territory of modern Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St...
intereceded for him. Years later in 1561, Sadler reminded the English Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
of Adam's words to him on the marriage proposed between Mary and Edward
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
;
"Our people do not like of it. And though the governor and some of the nobility have consented to it, yet I know that few or none of them do like of it; and our common people do utterly mislike of it. I pray you give me leave to ask you a question: if your lad was a lass, and our lass were a lad, would you then be so earnest in this matter? ... And lykewise I assure you that our nation will never agree to have an Englisman king of Scotland. And though the whole nobility of the realm would consent, yet our common people, and the stones in the street would rise and rebel against it.
When the English army intent on the destruction of Edinburgh
Burning of Edinburgh (1544)
The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English sea-borne army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. A Scottish army observed the landing on 3 May 1544 but did not engage with the English force. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack Leith and...
landed at Granton
Granton, Edinburgh
Granton is a district in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland. Granton forms part of Edinburgh's waterfront along the Firth of Forth and is, historically, an industrial area having a large harbour. Granton is part of Edinburgh's large scale waterfront regeneration programme.-Name:Granton first appears...
and took Leith, as Provost of Edinburgh, Adam was sent out with two Heralds to parley
Parley
Parley is a discussion or conference, especially one between enemies over terms of a truce or other matters. The root of the word parley is parler, which is the French verb "to speak"; specifically the conjugation parlez "you speak", whether as imperative or indicative.Beginning in the High Middle...
with Hertford on the morning of 5 May 1544. Hertford had been instructed not to negotiate, so Adam replied in defiance and refused to yield up the town. Hertford had not yet landed his guns so offered to wait till 7:00pm.
During an interlude in the war with England, Adam was concerned to recover money owing to him. His holding of lands at Auldhame, like those of his neighbours Oliver Sinclair
Oliver Sinclair
Sir Oliver Sinclair de Pitcairnis , , was a favourite courtier of James V of Scotland. A contemporary story tells that James V gave him the battle standard and command at the Battle of Solway Moss...
, the favourite of James V, and John, 5th Lord Borthwick
Lord Borthwick
Lord Borthwick is a title in the Peerage of Scotland.Alexander Nisbet relates that "the first of this ancient and noble family came from Hungary to Scotland, in the retinue of Queen Margaret, in the reign of Malcolm Canmore, anno Domini 1057...
, required duties to be paid to Cardinal Beaton
David Beaton
The Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.-Career:...
. Adam wrote to the Cardinal hoping for money owed to him by Sinclair, and he noted that Borthwick and other landowners south of the River Forth
River Forth
The River Forth , long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a mountainous area some west of Stirling...
sold their wool in England. Adam was now distrusted by Regent Arran and briefly imprisoned with a threat of further lawsuits. Friends like Elizabeth Gordon, wife of John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl
John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl
-Biography:He was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Atholl and Grizel Rattray. He supported the government of the queen dowager, and in 1560 was one of the three nobles who voted in Parliament against the Reformation and the confession of faith, and declared their adherence to Roman Catholicism...
wrote to Mary of Guise on his behalf. They were closely allied; Adam's son John had married the Countess' sister in law, Janet Stewart. In October 1546, Adam set out with d'Oisel
Henri Cleutin
Henri Cleutin, seigneur d'Oisel et de Villeparis , was the representative of France in Scotland from 1546 to 1560, and a Gentleman of the Chamber of the King of France.-Rough Wooing to Reformation:...
, the French resident in Scotland to meet with Henry VIII at Oatlands
Oatlands Palace
Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace located between Weybridge and Walton on Thames in Surrey, England. The surrounding modern district of Oatlands takes its name from the palace...
. Before they left he complained he had not enough money and horses to get to Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
(a town close to Edinburgh). While they were waiting to see Henry the other diplomats were delighted to see them arguing. In March 1547, three of servants were allowed to return to Scotland.
Otterburn was still negotiating for peace in London before the Battle of Pinkie. On Sunday 7 August 1547 he went to Hampton Court and met Edward VI of England
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
. There he was dismissed as a diplomat by the council as it was now a time of hostility. He was given £75 as a gift for his departure. Otterburn saw,
"afoir my eis verray gret preparatioun of weir, and actualie the gret hors, the harnes, the hagbutarisOn Monday he returned to Hampton Court and had further discussions with the Protector Somerset. He urged Regent Arran to note his warnings of the English invasion, and begged him to allow George Douglas of PittendreichArquebusThe arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
, and all gorgious reparrale set forwart towart our realme."
George Douglas of Pittendreich
George Douglas of Pittendreich was a member of the powerful Douglas family who struggled for control of the young James V of Scotland in 1528. His second son became James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton and Regent of Scotland. Initially, George Douglas promoted the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and...
to negotiate with Somerest, writing; "I dreid ye will nocht gif credence quhill ye se thame cum in at the dur," (I dread you will not believe till you see them come in the door).
Otterburn was one of the original Senators of the College of Justice
College of Justice
The College of Justice is a term used to describe the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies.The constituent bodies of the supreme courts of Scotland are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, and the Accountant of Court's Office...
. He married firstly, Janet Rhynd, and secondly, Euphame Mowbray, with whom he had three sons, John, Robert and Thomas. He had three daughters, Margaret, Janet, and another whose name is unknown. His eldest daughter Margaret married Sir John Wemyss of Wemyss
Wemyss Castle
Wemyss Castle is situated on the cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland.- History :Accounts date the construction of the castle to the year 1421 when Sir John Wemyss decided to build a fortified castle to replace one destroyed by the Duke of Rothesay at...
. In February 1544 another daughter was married and Adam asked Mary of Guise for financial support as 'sik materis requiris coist and expensis', and again in 1546 he mentioned to David Beaton his difficulty in paying 'my dochteris tocher.' His son John married Janet Stewart, sister of the Earl of Atholl
Earl of Atholl
The Mormaer of Earl of Atholl refers to a medieval comital lordship straddling the highland province of Atholl , now in northern Perthshire. Atholl is a special Mormaerdom, because a King of Atholl is reported from the Pictish period. The only other two Pictish kingdoms to be known from...
.
Sore hurt on the head
Earlier in his career, in May 1525 the English ambassador Dr Thomas MagnusThomas Magnus
Thomas Magnus, , English administrator and diplomat; Archdeacon of the East Riding of Yorkshire 1504, employed on diplomatic missions 1509-19 and 1524-7; present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold 1520; Privy councillor c.1520; awarded a doctorate by the University of Oxford 1520; canon of Windsor...
recommended him to Cardinal Wolsey for an annual pension of £20. In his letters in 1546 and 1547 Otterburn mentions that he was 'aged and sickly', but Otterburn died after an assault in Edinburgh by a servant of Regent Arran on 3 July 1548, 'sore hurt on the head and his servant slain at his heels.' Patrick Mure, laird of Annestoun near Lanark
Lanark
Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....
, and his son were charged with treason for his murder, their last recorded summons for the crime was at the instance of Mary of Guise.
Sources
- Cameron, Annie I., ed., Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine, Scottish History Society (1927)
- Cameron, Jamie, James V, Tuckwell (1998)
- Findlay, John, ‘Otterburn, Sir Adam (d. 1548)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 3 Oct 2010
- Inglis, John Alexander, Sir Adam Otterburn of Redhall, King's Advocate 1524-1548, (1935)
- Merriman, Marcus, The Rough Wooings, Tuckwell (2000)