The Response to the Regent Moray’s Assassination

This piece examines the immediate contemporary response to the assassination of James Stewart, earl of Moray and regent of Scotland. Moray's funeral and tomb are considered alongside the series of popular printed responses to his demise, largely written by the prolific King's party propagandist Robert Sempill. It is argued that Sempill developed a sophisticated response to Moray's death which drew on three key themes: Moray's royal lineage; an Old Testament imperative to revenge the slaughtered innocent; and references to conventions of bloodfeud. Moray's blood is shown to be the image which unified and connected these three rhetorical strands into a potent call for political action. Propaganda has been increasingly recognised as an important component of the Scottish Civil War. This article concludes that Sempill's discussion of Moray's assassination and posthumous eulogisation of Moray constituted a powerful and effective aspect of King's party rhetoric, which dominated discussion during the first six months of 1570, the urgency and efficacy of which deserves recognition.