Salamander of Leith was a warship of the 16th-century Royal Scots Navy

Royal Scots Navy

The Royal Scots Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Scotland from its foundation in the 11th century until its merger with the Kingdom of England's Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707.- Origins :...

. She was a wedding present from Francis I of France

Francis I of France

Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

 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...

.

Henry Ray saw James V and Madeleine of Valois arrive at Leith

Leith

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

 on 19 May 1537, noting four great Scottish ships and ten French. Two French ships remained in Scotland as wedding presents; the Salamander and the Morischer, Moriset or Great Unicorn. A list of French wedding gifts includes these two as 'great ships for the wars', with two further 'gallant ships of war.' The ship was repaired or finished in France in March 1537, and James V gave gifts to workmen who set up a new mast at Honfleur

Honfleur

Honfleur is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie...

.

After a major refit by John Barton, the Salamander returned to France in May 1538 to pick up the new queen, 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...

, accompanied by the Moriset, and Mary Willoughby

HMS Mary Willoughby

Mary Willoughby was a ship of the Royal Navy. She was appears in the navy lists from 1535, during the reign of Henry VIII. She was named after Maria Willoughby, a lady-in-waiting and close friend of Catherine of Aragon. The ship was taken by the Scots in 1536 and joined the Royal Scots Navy, The...

. The Salamander became the king's flagship. In 1538 it was equipped with a new compass and four clocks. The Great Lion and the Salamander were fitted with 15 large wheeled guns and 10 smaller wheeled guns in May 1540. The 22 crossbows of the Salamander and 9 small hagbut guns used on the tops were inspected and repaired, and two and half fothers of lead bought for ballast. Next month, James V embarked on the newly equipped Salamander at Leith, after first making his will on 12 June, and accompanied by the Mary Willoughby, the Great Unicorn, the Little Unicorn, the Lion and twelve other ships sailed to Kirkwall

Kirkwall

Kirkwall is the biggest town and capital of Orkney, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. The town is first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty...

 on Orkney. Then he went to Lewis

Lewis

Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....

 on the West. James's fleet in the West was provisioned from Dumbarton

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:...

, Ayr

Ayr

Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...

 and Irvine

Irvine, North Ayrshire

Irvine is a new town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland. According to 2007 population estimates, the town is home to 39,527 inhabitants, making it the biggest settlement in North Ayrshire....

 and returned to Edinburgh by 6 July. John Barton sailed to Dieppe with the Great Lion and Salamander in June 1541, and had their 27 guns cleaned and the latter ship re-rigged.

During 1542, the Mary Willoughby, the Lion, and the Salamander attacked merchants and fishermen off Whitby

Whitby

Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...

 under the command of John Barton, son of Robert Barton, the 'Skipper from Leith'. In December 1542, the Mary Willoughby, the Salamander and the Lion blockaded a London merchant ship called the Antony of Bruges in a creek on the coast of Brittany near 'Poldavy Haven.'

In the English Navy

The Salamander and the Scottish-built Unicorn were captured at Leith and used as transport for the return journey of a part of Lord Hertford's

Edward 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....

 land army on 14 May 1544, after the burning 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...

, with ballast of 80,000 Scottish iron cannon-shot. With 200 crew and 20 gunners, her armament in the English fleet listed on 1 January 1548

Inventory of Henry VIII of England

The Inventory of Henry VIII of England compiled in 1547 is a list of the possessions of the crown, now in the British Library as Harley Ms. 1419....

 consisted of; 2 brass culverins

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...

; 3 brass demi-culverins; 4 sakers

Saker (cannon)

The saker was a medium cannon slightly smaller than a culverin developed during the early 16th century and often used by the English. It was named after the Saker Falcon, a large falconry bird native to the Middle East....

; 7 iron port pieces; 3 iron fowlers

Veuglaire

The Veuglaire was a wrought iron cannon, and part of the artillery of France in the Middle Ages...

; 2 iron quarter slings; 17 iron double bases

Breech-loading swivel gun

A breech-loading swivel gun was a particular type of swivel gun and a small breech-loading cannon invented in the 14th century. It was equipped with a swivel for easy rotation and was loaded by inserting a mug-shaped device called a chamber, pre-filled with gunpowder and projectiles...

; and 11 hand guns. There were 140 yew bows; 90 bills

Bill (weapon)

The bill is a polearm weapon used by infantry in medieval Europe.The bill is similar in size, function and appearance to the halberd, differing mainly in the hooked blade form...

; and 70 moorish pikes

Pike (weapon)

A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...

. The Salamander carried roughly half the armament of Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose

Mary Rose

The Mary Rose was a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. After serving for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany and after being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a...

.

The Salamander, listed in the English fleet as 300 tons with 220 men, and called a galleas

Galleass

The galleass developed from large merchant galleys.Converted for military use they were higher and larger than regular galleys. They had up to 32 oars, each worked by up to 5 men. They usually had three masts and a forecastle and aftcastle. Much effort was made in Venice to make these galleasses...

in the Anthony Roll

Anthony Roll

The Anthony Roll is a record of ships of the English Tudor navy of the 1540s, named after its creator, Anthony Anthony. It originally consisted of three rolls of vellum, depicting 58 naval vessels along with information on their size, crew, armament, and basic equipment. The rolls were...

, returned to Scotland in Edward Clinton's

Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln

Edward Fiennes, 1st Earl of Lincoln, KG, also known as Edward Clinton was an English nobleman and Lord High Admiral.-Background:...

 invasion fleet of August 1547, and presumably contributed to the naval bombardment at the Battle of Pinkie

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh

The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the Rough Wooing. It was the last pitched battle between Scottish and English armies, and is seen as the first modern battle in the British Isles...

. She may have been destoyed as late as 1574.

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....

 the Salamander is commemorated by the name of Salamander Street, which runs east from Leith along the old shore line, and Salamander Place leading south to Leith Links

Leith Links

Leith Links is the principal open space within Leith, the harbour district of Edinburgh, Scotland. This public park extends to . In its current form it is largely flat and bordered by mature trees. Historically it was an undulating area of former sand-dunes utilised as a golf links.-Current...

.

External links

• The second Anthony Roll; text describing the Salamander on wikisource
• Electric Scotland, Leiths sea-dogs: The fighting Bartons