Catalogue description State Papers Scotland Series I, Henry VIII

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Details of SP 49
Reference: SP 49
Title: State Papers Scotland Series I, Henry VIII
Description:

Correspondence of a diplomatic nature between Henry VIII and James IV and James V, and Queens Margaret and Mary in Scotland, devised by Henry's Secretaries of State (Wolsey, Cromwell and Paget in particular), whose correspondence with the regents for Scotland, envoys sent to the Scottish court, royal guardians in the Borders, and dissident members of the Scots aristocracy, is also present.

Some rough drafts of documents by the Secretaries of State are included in the series.
Date: 1509-1547
Arrangement:

The arrangement is chronological.
Separated material:

Many papers which would otherwise have formed part of this series are in the the Cotton mss (especially Cott Caligula B) in the British Library.
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Physical description: 9 volume(s)
Access conditions: Open
Publication note:

The records are calendared entirely in: Calendar of State Papers relating to Scotland ed M J Thorpe 2 vols (London 1858) Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic of the reign of Henry VIII eds J S Brewer J Gairdner and R H Brodie 22 vols (London 1862-1932). Many of the documents had previously been printed in full inState Papers during the Reign of Henry VIII State Paper Commission 11 vols (London 1830-1852). Please speak to staff at the Map and Large Document Room enquiry desk for the precise location. James V's letters have been published inR K Hannay The letters of James V ed D Hay (Edinburgh 1954). For an overview seeW Ferguson Scotland's Relations with England: A Survey to 1707 (Edinburgh 1977).
Administrative / biographical background:

The marriage of Henry VIII's elder sister Margaret to James IV of Scotland had been intended to substitute amicable for the traditionally hostile relations between England and Scotland, but this proved impracticable. James IV fell on Flodden Field in 1513 and John Stuart, Duke of Albany, while Regent for his heir James V also invaded England.

The marriage between Henry VIII's son and heir Edward and Mary Queen of Scots seemed likely to achieve the English policy objectives of the exclusion of French influence and the destabilising of the Scottish Kingdom by dividing its aristocracy, but the overthrow of the Earl of Arran's regency in favour of the Queen Mother Mary of Guise, restored the French influence, to the fury of Henry, and the two countries were once more in collision for the remainder of Henry's reign.

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