James MacGill of Nether Rankeillour
Encyclopedia
Sir James MacGill of Nether Rankeillour (died 1579) was a Scottish politician. In 1561, he was on the Privy Council
of Mary, Queen of Scots and was her Lord Clerk Register
in charge of archives. He is regarded as a representative of the Clan Makgill
and though employed in the administration of Mary of Guise
was a committed Protestant.
As Master James MacGill, he was Parson of Flisk, and was later knighted as Sir James MacGill of Nether Rankeillour, an estate 3 miles south of Cupar
in Fife
. His successor as Clerk Register James Balfour first obtained the Parsonage of Flisk in turn.
at Carlisle, and by the Water of Sark
. There, in the run-up to peace of Cateau-Cambresis, he offered the opinion that the Scottish would not then break peace with England to appease the French. MacGill was a commissioner for the final negotiation of the peace at the Kirk of Steill in May 1559, called the Treaty of Upsettlington.
, MacGill and John Bellenden of Auchnoul
searched the records of Scotland to find precedents for trying Regent Arran and his son James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
, who had joined the Protestant cause, for treason. Yet by August 1559, he had secret meetings with the English commander and Captain of Berwick, Sir James Croft
, saying that the Queen Regent's council were mostly joined with the Protestants. However, on 25 November 1559, he asked for the keys of Edinburgh Castle
on behalf of the Regent, and was refused. Later, during the Siege of Leith
he remained with the Queen Regent in Edinburgh Castle.
who wanted details of the divorce of Margaret Tudor
and Earl of Angus
, the grandparents of Lord Darnley
. After the murder of David Riccio, the Papal Nuncio advised the removal of six men from court to restore peace, including Bellenden and MacGill, described as 'a man of no family and contriver of all evil.' When Mary had escaped to England, MacGill was one of the party who produced the casket letters
in York
which alleged to implicate Mary in the death of Darnley, and he attended Elizabeth I and her council at Hampton Court at the end of October 1568.
of Edinburgh. In November 1571, when Mary's supporters held Edinburgh Castle, MacGill was sent with Robert Pitcairn, Commendator of Dunfermline Abbey
to treat with Henry, Lord Hunsdon
at Berwick upon Tweed. MacGill was to ask for 8 cannons, 3000 footmen and pikemen, and support for 1000 Scots troops, in the cause of the 'maintenance and protection of the true religion to the confusion of those that now goes about to disturb the same.' MacGill had a particular interest in the siege as the 'registers and records of the chief matters' were within Edinburgh Castle, inaccessible with the Scottish crown jewels and royal artillery. The force holding the Castle, known as the Castilians, in 1572 twice destroyed houses he occupied in Edinburgh, and while the siege lasted the burgh council met in exile in Leith
.
Regent Morton wrote to MacGill in 1575 asking him to re-negotiate a gold and silver mining contract with the Dutch engineer Cornelius de Vois. A portrait painter working in Scotland at this time, Arnold Bronckorst
, was associated with Cornelius and Nicholas Hilliard
. Morton also obtained passports for Macgill's sons, John and David, to travel to France to continue their studies.
MacGill died in 1579. His executors were his wife Janet Adamsoun and son, Master James.
), was a noted Protestant. John Knox
wrote to her from Lyon
s in 1557 as one of his 'sweet sisters.' His letter mentions that he had previously written to her on the subject of 'what duty a wife owes her husband.' Knox said he had referred the matter to John Calvin
.
In 1584, as a supporter of the strongly Protestant William Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie
, Janet was banished from Edinburgh.
When Janet wrote to Thomas Randolph
, an Englishman, in April 1583, she reminded him of her husband's 'duty and good service to his country, together with his love and maintenance of peace, unity, and concord betwixt our two nations, whenever the occasion was offered here, or when he was employed and sent in commission to your country.'
Privy Council of Scotland
The Privy Council of Scotland was a body that advised the King.In the range of its functions the council was often more important than the Estates in the running the country. Its registers include a wide range of material on the political, administrative, economic and social affairs of Scotland...
of Mary, Queen of Scots and was her Lord Clerk Register
Lord Clerk Register
The office of Lord Clerk Register is the oldest surviving Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century.The Clerk-Register was from ancient times the principal Clerk in the kingdom, from whom all other clerks, whatever their government positions, and who were essentially his...
in charge of archives. He is regarded as a representative of the Clan Makgill
Clan Makgill
Clan Makgill is a Lowland Scottish clan.-Origins:For some time people have quoted Dr. George F. Black's The Surnames of Scotland...
and though employed in the administration of 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...
was a committed Protestant.
As Master James MacGill, he was Parson of Flisk, and was later knighted as Sir James MacGill of Nether Rankeillour, an estate 3 miles south of Cupar
Cupar
Cupar is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town is situated between Dundee and the New Town of Glenrothes.According to a recent population estimate , Cupar had a population around 8,980 making the town the ninth largest settlement in Fife.-History:The town is believed to have...
in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
. His successor as Clerk Register James Balfour first obtained the Parsonage of Flisk in turn.
Regency of Mary of Guise
MacGill was appointed Clerk Register of Scotland by the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, when she formed her administration in 1554. On 25 May 1557 he was one of a delegation who met with representatives of Mary I of EnglandMary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
at Carlisle, and by the Water of Sark
River Sark
Disambiguation: for other meanings, please see Sark The River Sark or Sark Water is a river best known for forming part of the western border between Scotland and England...
. There, in the run-up to peace of Cateau-Cambresis, he offered the opinion that the Scottish would not then break peace with England to appease the French. MacGill was a commissioner for the final negotiation of the peace at the Kirk of Steill in May 1559, called the Treaty of Upsettlington.
Scottish Reformation
During the crisis of the Scottish ReformationScottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
, MacGill and John Bellenden of Auchnoul
John Bellenden (Lord Justice Clerk)
Sir John Bellenden of Auchnole and Broughton was, before 1544, Director of Chancery in Scotland, and was appointed Lord Justice Clerk on 25 June 1547. He was also knighted before April 1544....
searched the records of Scotland to find precedents for trying Regent Arran and his son James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought against French troops during the Scottish Reformation....
, who had joined the Protestant cause, for treason. Yet by August 1559, he had secret meetings with the English commander and Captain of Berwick, Sir James Croft
James Croft
Sir James Croft PC , Lord Deputy of Ireland and MP for Herefordshire in the Parliament of England.He was born the second but eldest surviving son of Richard Croft of Croft Castle, Herefordshire, inheriting the estate on his father's death in 1562.He was elected seven times as knight of the shire ...
, saying that the Queen Regent's council were mostly joined with the Protestants. However, on 25 November 1559, he asked for the keys of Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
on behalf of the Regent, and was refused. Later, during the Siege of Leith
Siege of Leith
The Siege of Leith ended a twelve year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Scotland. The French troops arrived by invitation in 1548 and left in 1560 after the English arrived to assist in removing them from Scotland...
he remained with the Queen Regent in Edinburgh Castle.
Personal rule of Mary, Queen of Scots
When Mary returned to Scotland in 1561 he was appointed to her council. He was unhelpful to the English agent Thomas RandolphThomas Randolph (diplomat)
Thomas Randolph was an English ambassador serving Elizabeth I of England. Most of his professional life he spent in Scotland at the courts of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her son James VI. While in Scotland, he was embroiled in marriage projects and several upheavals...
who wanted details of the divorce of Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
and 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...
, the grandparents of Lord Darnley
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field...
. After the murder of David Riccio, the Papal Nuncio advised the removal of six men from court to restore peace, including Bellenden and MacGill, described as 'a man of no family and contriver of all evil.' When Mary had escaped to England, MacGill was one of the party who produced the casket letters
Casket letters
Casket Letters is the name generally given to a group of eight letters and a sequence of irregular sonnets said to have been addressed by Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Earl of Bothwell, between January and April 1566 or 1567. If authentic throughout, they would provide definite proof of Mary's...
in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
which alleged to implicate Mary in the death of Darnley, and he attended Elizabeth I and her council at Hampton Court at the end of October 1568.
Under James VI
In 1570 he was, reluctantly, made ProvostProvost (civil)
A provost is the ceremonial head of many Scottish local authorities, and under the name prévôt was a governmental position of varying importance in Ancien Regime France.-History:...
of Edinburgh. In November 1571, when Mary's supporters held Edinburgh Castle, MacGill was sent with Robert Pitcairn, Commendator of Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey is as a Church of Scotland Parish Church located in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. In 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister is the Reverend Alastair Jessamine...
to treat with Henry, Lord Hunsdon
Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon
Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, of Hunsdon was an English nobleman.He was the son of Mary Boleyn, the sister of Anne Boleyn and also the mistress to King Henry VIII of England...
at Berwick upon Tweed. MacGill was to ask for 8 cannons, 3000 footmen and pikemen, and support for 1000 Scots troops, in the cause of the 'maintenance and protection of the true religion to the confusion of those that now goes about to disturb the same.' MacGill had a particular interest in the siege as the 'registers and records of the chief matters' were within Edinburgh Castle, inaccessible with the Scottish crown jewels and royal artillery. The force holding the Castle, known as the Castilians, in 1572 twice destroyed houses he occupied in Edinburgh, and while the siege lasted the burgh council met in exile in Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
.
Regent Morton wrote to MacGill in 1575 asking him to re-negotiate a gold and silver mining contract with the Dutch engineer Cornelius de Vois. A portrait painter working in Scotland at this time, Arnold Bronckorst
Arnold Bronckorst
Arnold Bronckorst, or Bronckhorst was a painter of Netherlandish origin who was court painter to James VI of Scotland....
, was associated with Cornelius and Nicholas Hilliard
Nicholas Hilliard
Nicholas Hilliard was an English goldsmith and limner best known for his portrait miniatures of members of the courts of Elizabeth I and James I of England. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, up to about ten inches tall, and at least two famous...
. Morton also obtained passports for Macgill's sons, John and David, to travel to France to continue their studies.
MacGill died in 1579. His executors were his wife Janet Adamsoun and son, Master James.
Janet Adamsoun
His wife, Janet Adamsoun (or AdamsonAdamson (surname)
Adamson is an English language patronymic surname meaning "son of Adam". It is rare as a given name, although there has been a tradition in some families for the first-born son to be called Adam...
), was a noted Protestant. John Knox
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
wrote to her from Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
s in 1557 as one of his 'sweet sisters.' His letter mentions that he had previously written to her on the subject of 'what duty a wife owes her husband.' Knox said he had referred the matter to John Calvin
John Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
.
In 1584, as a supporter of the strongly Protestant William Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie
William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie , known as The Lord Ruthven between 1566 and 1581, was a son of Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven.-Life account:...
, Janet was banished from Edinburgh.
When Janet wrote to Thomas Randolph
Thomas Randolph (diplomat)
Thomas Randolph was an English ambassador serving Elizabeth I of England. Most of his professional life he spent in Scotland at the courts of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her son James VI. While in Scotland, he was embroiled in marriage projects and several upheavals...
, an Englishman, in April 1583, she reminded him of her husband's 'duty and good service to his country, together with his love and maintenance of peace, unity, and concord betwixt our two nations, whenever the occasion was offered here, or when he was employed and sent in commission to your country.'