Maria Stuart

Author: (Austrian) Stefan Zweig
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: A historical question often possesses an inexhaustible mysterious charm, and the life tragedy of Maria Stuart is a typical and outstanding example. In world history, probably no woman has appeared in as many literary works—plays, novels, biographies, and essays—as she has. For three hundred years, she has repeatedly attracted writers to depict her and compelled scholars to study her, and her image has always retained the same force in urging us to create anew. In this trialogue presented to you, you will see that the author strictly adheres to a principle: never to adopt any testimony obtained through torture, intimidation, or coercion, for a person truly seeking truth would never consider confessions extracted under duress to be credible. Similarly, regarding the reports of spies and envoys, the author only occasionally uses them after extremely careful selection and maintains a skeptical attitude toward every document.
Excerpt: The Queen in the Cradle Maria Stuart became Queen of Scotland just six days after her birth. From the very beginning of her life, she displayed the pattern of her future existence—often too early, before she could even smile, she accepted the gifts of fate. On a gloomy December day in 1542, she was born in Linlithgow Palace. At that time, in the nearby court of Falkland, her father, James V, lay dying on his bed. At only thirty-one, he had been overwhelmed by life, exhausted by power struggles and conflicts. He was a brave and generous man, naturally cheerful, passionate about art, and very fond of women, deeply trusted by the people. He often visited the countryside in disguise, participating in local celebrations, dancing with peasants, and joking around; some Scottish ballads he composed were passed down in his homeland for a long time. However, he came from an unfortunate family and was an unlucky heir. At that time, the world was in chaos, and the country was not at peace, which from the very beginning determined his tragic fate. His powerful and unscrupulous neighbor, Henry VIII, forced him to implement religious reforms, but James V remained loyal to the Church. The Scottish nobles, who had always caused trouble for their kings, immediately took advantage of the conflict between the two and sought to drag this optimistic and gentle king into turmoil and war. James V had clearly seen this situation four years earlier, when he proposed to Mary of Guise: facing the stubborn and greedy clans, he knew he would inevitably clash with them as king. "Madam," he wrote in his proposal letter with touching sincerity, "I am only twenty-seven, but life weighs on me as heavily as my crown. I became an orphan in my childhood and a prisoner of ambitious nobles. The powerful Douglas family had long enslaved me, and I detest this name, hating it whenever I think of it. The Earl of Angus Archibald, his brother George, and all the exiled clansmen, constantly inciting the English king to oppose us. That king is everywhere in our country, courting nobles either with promises or with gold, and not a single noble has been immune to his allure."