Mary, Queen of Scotland executed: Monarch uses ‘spiral lock’ technique to keep her last letter secret

news7g12/12/2021

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Mary, Queen of Scotland executed: Monarch uses 'spiral lock' technique to keep her last letter secret

Written by By Sana Noor Haq, CNN

Mary, Queen of Scotland used the “spiral lock” technique to seal letter she wrote before the execution, indicating that she wanted the content to be kept secret, according to search published in the British Library Electronic Journal.

An example of letter locking – where people double letters as envelopes to ensure the security of documents – the fallen monarch used a spiral locking process to seal a message is ” wills and last wills and the payment of martyrdom,” the study published on Friday said.

Mary was buried political controversy throughout her life. She was the successor to the throne after Henry VIII’s children, and was the target of conspirators during the reign of her English cousin, Elizabeth I. Mary was imprisoned for 19 years, then she was executed at the age of 44, according to the royal family website.

‘Strong and moving’

Mary wrote the letter, addressed to her brother-in-law, Henry III of France, on the morning of her execution at Fothering Castle in 1587, according to the study.

She used a series of intricate folding and slitting techniques to close the letter, which the researchers describe as “one of the most spectacular examples of spiral locking” in the paper.

A “powerful and moving” testimony, the letter could have been folded by the king himself while she was in her cell. According to the study, there were also smudges on the letter, which some historians say may be evidence of Mary’s tears staining the paper.

Mary became a political target during the reign of Elizabeth I, and was executed at the age of 44. Credit: Universal History Archives / Getty Images

“Your Majesty, my brother-in-law, by the will of God, for my sins, I think, has thrown himself into the power of the Queen, my cousin, at the hands of whom I have suffered so much for almost twenty years, I was finally sentenced for the death of her and her possessions,” the letter read, according to an English translation in the National Library of America. Scotland.

“I asked for my papers, which they took away, so that I could execute my will, but I have not been able to restore anything to my use, or even get a leave of absence. to exercise my will freely or the letter reads: “The body is transferred after my death, as I wish, to your kingdom, where I have the honor of being queen, sister and your old ally”.

“I will be executed like a criminal at eight o’clock in the morning,” the letter added.

Since Mary did not have access to most of her possessions at the time, including her writing utensils, she would have had to cut the letter with a blade instead – and was probably assisted by her two waiting ladies, Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth Curled.

Lock letters

Mary used the spiral locking technique to seal the last letter she wrote before her execution. Credit: National Library of Scotland / Unlock History / British Library Journal

Keypads were widely used throughout the early modern period Europe, and was an essential process to ensure the security of letters before mass-produced glued envelopes were produced in the 19th century.

It played an important role in the “history of secret systems”, enabling “global correspondence in early modernity in essentially the same way as computer encryption underpinning technical communication.” number today,” the article said.

The study, which was part of the exhibition Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens at the British Library in London, also revealed the use of spiral locks by other famous Europeans King including Queen Elizabeth I in 1573 and Catherine de’ Medici in 1570.

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