August 8 1503
King James IV married Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England. July 1 1505
Edinburgh
Council granted a charter to the "Barber Surgeons" enabling them to practise surgery within the city boundary and creating the basis for the Royal College of Surgeons.
October 9 1506
King James V ratified the Charter incorporating the Surgeons and Barbers.
September 14 1507
Edinburgh merchants granted exclusive privilege of running a printing press.
October 11 1511
Ship "Great Michael" launched for King James IV.
April 15 1512
King James V born.
September 9 1513
James IV killed in battle at Flodden Field, near Branxton, in the English county of
Northumberland.
September 21 1513
King James V crowned at Stirling Castle 1513.
July 25 1526
Battle of Melrose in which Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch attempted to rescue King James V from the clutches of
Douglas, Earl of Angus.
February 29 1528
Patrick Hamilton, a Protestant martyr, was burned at the stake in St Andrews.
January 1 1537
King James V married Magdalene of France.
November 24 1542
Rout
of Solway Moss in which King James V sent a force of 10,000 into England which was defeated by an English force led by Sir Thomas Wharton.
December 8 1542
Mary, Queen of Scots, born Linlithgow Palace. "It cam wi' a lass; it gang wi' a lass"
December 14 1542
James V died at Falkland Palace.
July 1 1543
Treaty of Greenwich, between Henry VIII and
Earl of Arran, Regent of Scotland, agreeing betrothal of Mary Queen of Scots (aged 6 months) and Edward Prince of Wales (aged 6 years). The treaty was repudiated by the Scots Parliament.
September 9 1543
Mary Queen of Scots crowned at Stirling Castle.
July 3 1544
Battle of the Shirts between members of the Clan Fraser and Clans Ranald, Cameron and Donald. One of the bloodiest clan battles - only 12 men out of
1,000 combatants are said to have survived.
February 17 1545
Battle of Ancrum Moor in which Scottish forces, led by Earl of Douglas, defeated an English army twice their size.
August 1 1545
Birth of Andrew Melville, "true father of Presbyterianism in Scotland".
May 30 1546
David Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews, assassinated.
September 10 1547
English defeated Scots at Battle of
Pinkie Cleugh, near Edinburgh. The battle was sparked by English demands that Edward VI of England (aged 10) should marry Mary Queen of Scots (aged 5) - an event known as the "Rough Wooing". It is estimated
that 15,000 Scots were killed, 1500 captured and English losses amounted to only 500.
July 7 1548
Treaty of Haddington, between France and Scotland, confirming the betrothal of Mary Queen of Scots and Dauphin of
France.
October 4 1552
Members of the Kerr family from the Scottish Borders and enemies of the neighbouring Scott family, attacked and killed Sir Walter Scott (an ancestor of the writer) in the High Street of
Edinburgh.
May 3 1557
John Knox began the Reformation in Scotland.
April 24 1558
Mary, Queen of Scots, married French Dauphin, Francis Valois (he was aged 14) at Notre Dame in Paris.
April 28 1558
Walter Mylne, burned to death in St Andrews, the last pre-Reformation martyr.
July 10 1559
King Henri of France died. Mary Queen of Scots' husband, Francis, becomes King of France.
February 27 1560
Second
Treaty of Berwick between England and Scotland, providing English assistance to remove French forces of Mary of Guise from Scotland.
June 6 1560
Treaty of Edinburgh between France and England, recognising
sovereignty of Mary Queen of Scots and her first husband Francis II.
August 11 1560
Latin Mass prohibited in Scotland by Parliament as Protestant faith gained the ascendancy.
December 5 1560
King Francis II of France, husband of Mary Queen of Scots, died.
December 20 1560
First General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
July 6 1560
Treaty of Edinburgh between Scotland and England.
August 19 1561
Mary Queen of Scots lands at Leith on her return from France, after the death of her husband, King Francis II
October 28 1562
Battle of Corrichie, Earl of Moray defeated Catholic Gordons of
Huntly who were attacking Aberdeen.
February 14 1565
Mary Queen of Scots meets Lord Darnley for the first time. They married in July 1565.
March 9 1566
David Rizzio murdered by Ruthven in the Palace of Holyrood.
June 19 1566
Mary Queen of Scots gives birth to the future King James VI of Scotland and I of England.
February 10 1567
Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots, assassinated.
May 15 1567
Mary, Queen of Scots, married Earl of Bothwell (at 4am).
June 15 1567
Mary Queen of Scots' last night in Edinburgh, at the house of
Sir Simon Preston, the Lord Provost, on the Royal Mile, prior to her imprisonment at Loch Leven castle.
July 24 1567
James VI ascended the throne.
July 29 1567
James VI crowned at Stirling (but aged just over one year).
May 2 1568
Mary Queen of Scots escaped from Loch Leven castle.
May 13 1568
Mary, Queen of Scots, defeated at Battle of Langside.
January 23 1570
James Stewart, the Regent Moray on the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots, murdered in Linlithgow, triggering civil war.
July 12 1570
Earl of Lennox appointed Regent of Scotland.
September 4 1570
Earl of Lennox, Regent of Scotland, murdered.
April 1 1571
Dumbarton Castle, under siege since January 1570, captured by Captain Thomas Crawford scaling the walls.
November 24 1572
John Knox, leading reformer of Church of Scotland, died.
December 12 1574
Anne of Denmark, wife of James VI, born.
July 10 1576
First Bible (New Testament) printed in Scotland by Bassandyne.
September 14 1580
Birth of Robert Gordon of Straloch, Aberdeen, cartographer.
June 2 1581
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, beheaded in Edinburgh Grassmarket, accused of the murder of Lord Darnley.
September 28 1581
George Buchan, humanist, poet, historian and tutor of King James VI, died.
April 14 1582
University of Edinburgh founded.
December 13 1585
William Drummond, poet, born.
June 16 1586
Mary, Queen of Scots recognised Philip II of Spain as her heir.
February 8 1587
Mary Queen of Scots beheaded at Fotheringay Castle.
February 7 1592
Earl of Moray murdered at Donibristle.
April 2 1593
Marischal College, second University in Aberdeen, founded.
December 6 1593
Battle of Dryffe Sands between the Border families of Maxwell and Johnstone, one of the bloodiest "clan"
fights.
October 3 1594
Battle of Glenlivet, George Gordon, Earl of Huntly, defeated a Royalist force under 7th Earl of Argyll.
September 15 1595
City Baillie shot when Edinburgh High School pupils rioted when refused a holiday
