Mary Stuart as a bibliophile

Abstract

Few rulers of sixteenth century Europe are better known or more discussed than Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Highly praised by some writers for her charm and talents, she has also been sharply denounced by others for the general ineptness of her reign and the political problems she failed to solve. 'The daughter of debate, that eke doth discord raise,' was the apt characterization that Queen Elizabeth I made of her arch rival, and time has not essentially changed the validity of this judgment. Although the complexities of sixteenth century politics in which Mary Stuart became deeply involved have been carefully studied by historians, very little attention has been given to the Scottish Queen as a book collector, The purpose of this short paper is to suggest that she might well be considered as one of the noted bibliophiles of Western Europe in the turbulent period of the Reformation.