Chapter XIII: Poison Mysteries in Early Scottish History

According to ancient historical records Scotland had its poison mysteries in early times.

In the year 1332 Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, who on the death of Robert Bruce was appointed Regent during the minority of the young King David the Second, is said to have been a victim to poison.

Hector Boece, in his _Cronikles of Scotland_, boldly attributes his death to the malice of Edward III, King of England, who, he states, “tuk purpos to sla him be venome.” The fatal draught is said to have been administered to the Earl by a monk who had been sent by the English King as a physician, with the result that the unfortunate Moray found “certaine dolouris ilk day mair increasing in his wame,” and died very suddenly.

The Duke of Albany, younger son of James III, according to a chronicler, was also “posonit in oure Souverane lordis presens and palas,” which caused “a sclandir and murmur rising in the cuntre,” but by whom it was administered it is not known.

In 1497 Margaret Drummond, mistress of James the Fourth, is said to have been poisoned, with her two sisters, at the instigation of the nobles who wished the king to marry.

In 1536 Jean Douglas, Lady Glamis, grand-daughter of “Bell-the-Cat,” was tried for having removed her husband some years before _per intoxicationem_, and for having conspired to dispose in the same way of King James the Fifth, who had put the whole Douglas family under ban. She was _convicta de arte et parte proditorie conspirationis et imaginationis interfectionis sive destructionis nobilissime personne serenissimi domini nostri Regis per pessimum venenum lie poysone_, and condemned to “be had to Castell hill of Edinburghe and their Brynt in ane fyre to the deid, as ane Traytour.”

Another case of alleged poisoning famous in Scottish history is that of the Earl of Atholl, Treasurer of the Kingdom, who died suddenly after a reconciliation feast given by the Regent, Morton. Atholl, a near kinsman of the King, was a Catholic; Morton “a licentious man, but a fervent Protestant”: the two men were, besides, rivals in the State. It was generally believed at the time that Atholl was poisoned by Morton, and so clamorous did the popular indignation become, that by order of the Privy Council an inquest was held in the presence of the King and his Councillors. Six surgeons were appointed to make a post-mortem examination. James Owhegarty, “Ireland man born leiche that ministratis medicine in the mouth and curis outward be herbis,” testified that the cause of death was “rank venom” introduced by the mouth. The testimony of Alexander Prestoun, “Doctour in Medicine,” and George Boswell, “Mediciner and Chirurgiane in Perty,” was to the same effect. Gilbert Moncrieff gave a more guarded opinion; he considered the humour in the stomach to be venomous, but was unable to say whether it was exterior or interior grown within the body. David Rattray, “Chirurgiane in Conpare,” gave it as his opinion, that death was caused by “ane extraordinarie poyson,” adding that “ane spune put in the humour change it in the cullour of brass.” R. Craig, “Burgess of Edinburgh, chirurgiane,” cautiously opined that the Earl “to all appearance” had died of poison. A non-medical witness thought that a red matter shown to him by Dr. Prestoun was “a cauld poyson.” Several ministers also gave testimony, one of them stating that he saw “strange and unnatural tokens in the stomach, black and red, as it were the dregs of bread and wine mixed, and that he had heard the dead man say that he had got offence, and God forgive them that had done it.” Bernardino de Mendoza, the Spanish Ambassador, writing to his King, gives the following description of the inquest:—

They had opened the body in the presence of five doctors, three of whom said he had been poisoned, and two that he had not. One of the latter, to assure them that he was right, by proof, took some of the contents of the stomach on his finger, and put it into his mouth. The effect was that in a few hours he was thought to be dying. It is not known whether the order to poison him came from Morton or some private person.

In the end “the physicians did upon their oath declare that his death was not caused by any extraordinary means.” The result of the inquest did not, however, allay the general suspicion, and Morton thought it necessary, when he was about to die on the scaffold in 1581, to make a solemn declaration, that he “would not for the Earldom of Atholl have either ministered poison unto him or caused it to be ministered unto him.”

Shortly after the death of Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney, who was an illegitimate brother of Queen Mary, a quarrel arose between his eldest son Patrick and his young brothers, John, James, and William Stewart. Eventually the latter were suspected of conspiring to poison their brother, who had succeeded to the title, and in 1596 we find the three brothers, John, James and William, were brought to trial and accused of having “conspyrit and dewysit how to murthour the said Patrick Erl of Orkney his brother, be poysoning or utherwayes be craft and guylt dealing,” in November, 1593.

The Earl, it appears, captured his brother’s servant, who confessed he was hired to do the deed. This confession, however, was only extorted from him after being tortured eleven days and nights in the “cashie-lawis,” put in the “buitis” twice a day, and “skargeit with towis.”

Tried on the charge of plotting to murder the Earl at a banquet in the house of David Moncriefis of Kirkwell in Orkney, John was acquitted.

Another Scottish noble, George Home, Earl of Dunbar, is said to have been poisoned by “tablets of Sugar given him for expelling the cold” by Secretary Cecil in 1611. A post-mortem examination was made by one Martin Souqir, a doctor, who is said to have tried the poison by laying his finger on the subject’s heart and touching it with his tongue (a curious clinical test for poison on which apparently great reliance was placed at that period), with the result that he died within a few days thereafter.