John Tennent - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

John Tennent of Listonshiels (died c. 1549) was a servant and companion of 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...

. He kept an account of the king's daily expenses which is an important source document for the Scottish royal court.

Tennent's court positions were pursemaster and yeoman of the wardrobe. He was given livery clothes as a servant in the king's chamber in 1529. As pursemaster he daily accompanied the king, paying his small debts and handing over the sums the king gave in alms or as tips to workmen and beggars. At St Andrews

St Andrews

St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....

, on 19 May 1540, James gave 44 shillings to two Dutchmen who played and danced for him on the shore. James twice paid out for farm animals killed by accident with a culverin

Culverin

A culverin was a relatively simple ancestor of the musket, and later a medieval cannon, adapted for use by the French in the 15th century, and later adapted for naval use by the English in the late 16th century. The culverin was used to bombard targets from a distance. The weapon had a...

, a new portable gun. John was also yeoman of the crossbow.

Tennent's other main rôle was yeoman and master of the wardrobe. The wardrobe was a large establishment which officially employed almost 40 individuals over the personal reign. There were embroiderers, tailors, a laundry, tapestry men, and carts to transport the clothes, tapestries, and cloths-of-estate

Scottish Royal tapestry collection

The Scottish royal tapestry collection was a group of tapestry hangings assembled to decorate the palaces of sixteenth century kings and queens of Scotland....

between the king's palaces. Tennent was in charge of the Honours of Scotland

Honours of Scotland

The Honours of Scotland, also known as the Scottish regalia and the Scottish Crown Jewels, dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, are the oldest set of crown jewels in the British Isles. The existing set were used for the coronation of Scottish monarchs from 1543 to 1651...

and ordered a new case to be made for a sword in March 1539. This may have been the sword sent by Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...

in 1537, now lost. He was appointed keeper of the palace and park of Holyroodhouse in November 1540.

When James V went to France in 1536, he first met a prospective bride, Marie de Vendôme

Mary of Bourbon

Mary of Bourbon or Marie de Bourbon was a daughter of Charles, Duke of Vendôme and Françoise d'Alençon, daughter of René, Duke of Alençon. Mary was the subject of marriage negotiations of James V of Scotland. He visited her in France, but subsequently married the Princess Madeleine...

, daughter of Charles, Duke of Vendôme, at St. Quentin

Saint-Quentin, Aisne

Saint-Quentin is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France. It has been identified as the Augusta Veromanduorum of antiquity. It is named after Saint Quentin, who is said to have been martyred here in the 3rd century....

in Picardy. It is said that at their meeting James instructed Tennent to pretend to be him and they exchanged clothes. This story appears in four sixteenth century chronicles. Adam Abell

Adam Abell

Adam Abell was a Scottish Friar at Jedburgh Abbey. He wrote a chronicle in the 1530s that gives an insight into contemporary thought and contains anecdotes that appear in later writings.-Life:...

and George Buchanan

George Buchanan

George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...

mention the disguise; only John Lesley

John Lesley

John Lesley was a Scottish Roman Catholic bishop and historian. His father was Gavin Lesley, rector of Kingussie, Badenoch.-Early career:...

names Tennent; Lindsay of Pitscottie's version is the most elaborate but does not identify the servant. As Lesley's translator put it;

"he takis on the habit of his servand and cumis to the place quhair sche was, for he finyet himselfe Johne Tennantis servand, quhom in this iornay the king with him had his servand."

Tennent was on the French trip, and his one diplomatic errand was not a success. James sent him from Compiegne

Compiègne

Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...

with letters and a verbal messages for Henry VIII of England

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...

and Cromwell

Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex

Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, , was an English statesman who served as chief minister of King Henry VIII of England from 1532 to 1540....

on 24 February 1537. 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...

complained that he was not well received. She wrote to her brother, Henry VIII;

"plesit Zoure Grace to wit, thare is in this realme ane grete wourde that thare wes ane servand of the King my sonnis come to Zoure Grace, quhome thai call Johnne Tennand, quha wes not wele tane with, as thai say."

James came back from France with Madeleine of Valois as his queen: Tennent brought their trunks from Leith

Leith

-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....

to Holyroodhouse. He was a signatory to the instrument made at Falkland Palace

Falkland Palace

Falkland Palace in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a former royal palace of the Scottish Kings. Today it is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and serves as a tourist attraction.-Early years:...

at the king's deathbed which David 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:...

used to attempt to claim the regency. After the death of James V, John carried out the instructions of Regent Arran and Cardinal Beaton, and dispersed numerous items from the king's wardrobe and armoury to their favourites.

John Tennent married Mause Atkinson (Mavis or Marion Acheson) who had been the king's laundress since 1516. Listonshiels was in the parish of Kirkliston

Kirkliston

Kirkliston is a village and civil parish within the City of Edinburgh in Scotland. It sits on the historic route between Edinburgh and Queensferry, the gateway to Fife and the north. Today, it is bypassed by the A90...

. It belonged to Torphichen Preceptory

Torphichen Preceptory

Torphichen Preceptory, is a church in the village of Torphichen, West Lothian, Scotland. It comprises the remains of the Preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in Scotland...

and as a reward for his services, John paid a reduced feudal rent; "listonschelis, set to iohne tennent be the kingis command in feu for £6 of maile allanerlie", £6 rent only. Another servant, Robert Hamilton, enjoyed a similar privilege at Briggis. John and Mause had no surviving children, and Listonshiels passed to John's brother Patrick by 1549.

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