Mary of Guise, the Queen Dowager and Regent of Scotland,
was incited by the French king to invade England. The disposition to
hostilities was accompanied by a furious outbreak of the Scottish
borderers. They were driven back. But the desire of the Queen Dowager
that England should be invaded was resisted by the chief nobles, who
declared themselves ready to act on the defensive, but who would not
plunge into war during their sovereign's minority. The alliance of
France and Scotland was, however, completed, in the autumn of 1558, by
the marriage between the Dauphin and the young Queen Mary, which was
solemnized at Paris, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
The Duke of Guise, the uncle of the Queen of Scots, at the beginning of
1558, was at the head of a powerful army to avenge the misfortune of St.
Quentin. The project committed to his execution was a bold and patriotic
one--to drive the English from their last stronghold in France. Calais,
over whose walls a foreign flag had been waving for two centuries, was
to France an opprobrium and to England a trophy. But it was considered
by the English government as an indispensable key to the Continent--a
possession that it would not only be a disgrace to lose, but a national
calamity. The importance of Calais was thus described by Micheli, the
Venetian ambassador, only one year before it finally passed from the
English power:
"Another frontier, besides that of Scotland, and of no less importance
for the security of the kingdom, though it be separated, is that which
the English occupy on the other side of the sea, by means of two
fortresses, Calais and Guines, guarded by them (and justly) with
jealousy, especially Calais, for this is the key and principal entrance
to their dominions, without which the English would have no outlet from
their own, nor access to other countries, at least none so easy, so
short, and so secure; so much so that if they were deprived of it they
would not only be shut out from the Continent, but also from the
commerce and intercourse of the world.
Pages:
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42