Treaty of Everlasting Peace

The Treaty of Everlasting Peace refers to an agreement made between Henry VII and Scotland's James IV, with Pope Alexander VI binding the treaty with the threat of excommunication to whoever violated the pact.  Part of the deal involved James marrying Henry's daughter Margaret Tudor.  The treaty was signed on May 28, 1502.

Peace benefitted both kingdoms.  Henry, for his part, had recently taked the throne in battle over Richard III.  The Wars of the Roses were not out of mind.  In Scotland, James consolidated his power over the Lord of the Isles.  Peace eternal; until 1513.  In that year, King Henry VIII invaded France, forcing James into an invasion of England under Scotland's Auld Alliance with France.  James died in that invasion, at the Battle of Flodden.

Everlasting peace gave way to centuries of warfare, and there is some sentiment in opposition to the prospect of peace in the poem below, which was included in "A Legend of Montrose".  The poem was written by Sir Alexander Boswell; biographer James Boswell's son, and a friend of Walter Scott's.

"IV. APPENDIX.


No. I

The scarcity of my late friend's poem may be an excuse for adding the spirited conclusion of Clan Alpin's vow. The Clan Gregor has met in the ancient church of Balquidder. The head of Drummond-Ernoch is placed on the altar, covered for a time with the banner of the tribe. The Chief of the tribe advances to the altar:

And pausing, on the banner gazed;
Then cried in scorn, his finger raised,
"This was the boon of Scotland's king;"
And, with a quick and angry fling,
Tossing the pageant screen away,
The dead man's head before him lay.
Unmoved he scann'd the visage o'er,
The clotted locks were dark with gore,
The features with convulsion grim,
The eyes contorted, sunk, and dim.
But unappall'd, in angry mood,
With lowering brow, unmoved he stood.
Upon the head his bared right hand
He laid, the other grasp'd his brand:
Then kneeling, cried, "To Heaven I swear
This deed of death I own, and share;
As truly, fully mine, as though
This my right hand had dealt the blow:
Come then, our foeman, one, come all;
If to revenge this caitiffs fall
One blade is bared, one bow is drawn,
Mine everlasting peace I pawn,
To claim from them, or claim from him,
In retribution, limb for limb.
In sudden fray, or open strife,
This steel shall render life for life."
He ceased; and at his beckoning nod,
The clansmen to the altar trod;
And not a whisper breathed around,
And nought was heard of mortal sound,
Save from the clanking arms they bore,
That rattled on the marble floor;
And each, as he approach'd in haste,
Upon the scalp his right hand placed;
With livid lip, and gather'd brow,
Each uttered, in his turn, the vow.
Fierce Malcolm watch'd the passing scene,
And search'd them through with glances keen;
Then dash'd a tear-drop from his eye;
Unhid it came--he knew not why.
Exulting high, he towering stood:
"Kinsmen," he cried, "of Alpin's blood,
And worthy of Clan Alpin's name,
Unstain'd by cowardice and shame,
E'en do, spare nocht, in time of ill
Shall be Clan Alpin's legend still!"

Gillespie Grumach

May 22. (1829)—I was detained long in the Court, though Ham. had returned to his labour. We dined with Captain Basil Hall, and met a Mr. Codman, or some such name, with his lady from Boston. The last a pleasant and well-mannered woman, the husband Bostonian enough. We had Sir William Arbuthnot, besides, and his lady.


By-the-bye, I should have remembered that I called on my old friend, Lady Charlotte Campbell, and found her in her usual good-humour, though miffed a little—I suspect at the history of Gillespie Grumach in the Legend of Montrose.
 
From Scott's Journal.
 
Lady Charlotte Campbell has not passed as a major historical figure, but she was well known to Scott and others.  Gillespie Grumach was based on Charlotte's ancestor.  An introduction by Andrew Lang to Scott's "A Legend of Montrose" (1898) includes the following comment:
 
"...and Gillespie Grumach, "gleyed Argyll," with all his wisdom, his caution, his intrigues, is hetter remembered for what never befell — his meeting with Dalgetty in the dungeon — than for his politics. Lady Charlotte Bury {nee Campbell}, it seems, did not easily forgive Scott for his attack on her celebrated ancestor. He might have made amends to the Clan Camphell by writing his Life of John Duke of Argyll, Jeanie Deans's Duke, but this, unluckily, he did not live to accomplish. "By the way, I should have remembered that I called on my old friend, Lady Charlotte Campbell, and found her in her usual good humour, though miffed a little, I suspect at the history of Gillespie Grumach, in the ' Legend of Montrose.' " The lady's resentment, then, had endured; in ten long years the sun had not quite gone down on her wrath...."

Montrose

...' There is but One,' said Allan M'Aulay ; ' and here,' he said, laying his hand upon the shoulder of Anderson, who stood behind Lord Menteith, ' here he stands !'

The general surprise of the meeting was expressed by an impatient murmur; when Anderson, throwing back the cloak in which his face was muffled, and stepping forward, spoke thus :—' I did not long intend to be a silent spectator of this interesting scene, although my hasty friend has obliged me to disclose myself somewhat sooner than was my intention. Whether I deserve the honour reposed in me by this parchment will best appear from what I shall be able to do for the King's service. It is a commission, under the great seal, to James Graham, Earl of Montrose, to command those forces which are to be assembled for the service of his Majesty in this kingdom.'...
 
Walter Scott published "A Legend of Montrose" in 1819.  His named subject, James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, was executed at Mercat Cross in Edinburgh on May 21, 1650.  The Wars of Montrose which transpired between 1639 and 1645 form a backdrop for the novel.
 
As a young man, Montrose became a Covenanter, signing the National Covenant in February 1638.  At least in part what instigated Montrose to join this cause was against the imposition of Laud's prayer book on the Scottish Kirk. 
 
Montrose is best known as a military man, and he gained his first experience leading Covenanter's troops in the First Bishop's War (1639).  After signing the Pacification of Berwick, Montrose ran afoul of Archibald Campbell, who was outwardly supportive of the Covenanters, but Montrose's suspected he had a contrary agenda.  Montrose's opposition to Campbell contributed to an invasion of England under the Second Bishop's War (1640).
 
Montrose corresponded with Charles I after the Bishop's War ended, later opposing the Solemn League and Covenant, which allied Scotland with English Parliamentarians against Charles.  He became a staunch Royalist, which is how Scott portrays him in the novel.