Marie de Guise, like many noble women of the Renaissance, gave up much personal happiness and freedom, to guard her daughter's throne.
As the new writer for Western European History, I was faced with the dilemma of my first article. What to write about? I choose Marie de Guise (pronounced Geese) because I have long had a fascination with this woman, who history tends to overlook. Being the mother to Mary Queen of Scots, Marie gave up the right to her own happiness, and the chance to return to France, after the death of her husband, James V. Instead she lived in the cold, wet, and sometimes unfriendly Scottish court in order to rule for her daughter, whom she sent to France.
Looking at the glamour and wealth of the Renaissance nobility, it is easy to forget that it comes with a great price. You do not marry for love; you marry to better your family’s fortunes, or your own social standing. And you marry if your king commands it. Marie de Guise knew this all too well. She left a small son, and her birthplace to live in a foreign land because King Francis declared that she was the perfect mate for the grieving James V. Imagine her horror, having just lost her husband and younger son, to be bartered off to the Scots like a brood mare. Had she been a merchant’s daughter she would have been left to grieve in peace, before considering remarriage. True, she would not have been made a queen, or live in a palace, but she would have had far more control over the major decisions of her life.
