Talk by Andrew Coulson

The battle of Pinkie Cleugh (1547) was a major turning point in the history of Scotland, and in the life of Mary, Queen of Scots.  This talk will focus on the remarkable array of contemporary accounts and images of the battle.

Pinkie Cleugh was the last and greatest battle between sovereign armies of England and Scotland: it was the culmination of Henry VIII’s strategic attempt to unite the kingdoms through the marriage of Edward VI of England to Mary, Queen of Scots.  The Scots were defeated, and many thousands were killed in the ensuing rout; but the later consequence was that Mary married the heir, not to the English, but to the French throne.  This talk will make full use of contemporary images of the battle, and of the remarkable account of the whole campaign written by William Patten, a non-combatant.

An English immigrant, Andrew Coulson has lived in Musselburgh for more than fifty years.  He became obsessively interested in Pinkie Cleugh following his retirement from lecturing at Edinburgh University.