Wednesday, February 08, 2006
"In My End Is My Beginning"
Mary, Queen of Scots' last words were magnificent - and indicative of her great faith. She knew the Truth and feared not death in the least. Life had not been kind to her - her loves had been disappointing, her royal rights had been negated, her freedom had been taken away from her... When her end finally came, in this life, on this date in 1587 (although sometimes things cannot be so well pinned down - such is the inexact "science" of history; at the mercy of documents left behind - written records that can be doctored...) she departed without any hesitation whatsoever; and even looking her executioner in the eye...She died so that another queen could keep her crown - Queen Elizabeth the First, of course. A temporary and elusive reign - not meant to last. What does last, is the soul. Mary Stuart, rightful queen of Scotland, (and of England and France too) knew so much. Ironically, it was to be her descendency that would remain - as Elizabeth the 1st died heirless. The current British Royals are the descendents of the Stuart line indeed. Her last words were hence proven to be prophetic in that sense too...
A great subject that I was always fascinated by - Mary, Queen of Scots! Misfortune with a capital M - and yet a glorious end and legacy. Surely she is a saint.
It was my term paper's subject one time - and I garnered an A+ for it. As they say; when you've got it - flaunt it!
More on the Queen of Scots
And still more on the Queen of Scots
Another truly great beginning on this date is that of Afonso, King of Portugal. The beginning of his sojourn on earth, that is! Afonso IV, also known as Afonso The Brave, was born today in 1291. He would be King from 1325 until his death in 1357. He was born on the 8th - and would be succeeded to the throne by the 8th king of Portugal as he had been lucky number 7 of a still burgeoning young empire. Afonso IV actually laid the groundwork for that empire to become one, as he invested a lot in the building of a naval fleet. That set the stage for Portugal to eventually become a great sea power - and the discoverer of almost the entire world. They would not hold on to their discoveries though - as evidenced by their very first, made during Afonso IV's reign too; the Canary Islands! Those belong to Spain now...
Not a big deal, for, as Mary Stuart surmised so well, in our end is our true beginning...
Note that the main link today is about King Afonso IV - much more on him there!
Link
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I'd share more... I need to scan my term paper on Mary Stuart...
Actually, I need to TRANSLATE IT first!
The title was "Le Procès de Marie Stuart"
It is also interesting to note that it was during her short stay in France (with her heir to the crown of France husband who died prematurely - had he lived, maybe the French Revolution would have started earlier...?) that her name's spelling changed - going from "Stewart" to "Stuart"... It is much easier for the Frenchies to pronounce it properly with the latter spelling!
Blessings!
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Actually, I need to TRANSLATE IT first!
The title was "Le Procès de Marie Stuart"
It is also interesting to note that it was during her short stay in France (with her heir to the crown of France husband who died prematurely - had he lived, maybe the French Revolution would have started earlier...?) that her name's spelling changed - going from "Stewart" to "Stuart"... It is much easier for the Frenchies to pronounce it properly with the latter spelling!
Blessings!
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