Entry of Mary, Queen of Scots into Edinburgh
On 19 August 1561, the 18-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots returned to Scotland from France. On 2 September the town of Edinburgh organised a celebration of royal entry for her. Events. On the day, Mary rode from Holyrood Palace to Edinburgh Castle where she had dinner. After the meal, she went to the Castlehill on the High Street and joined an escort of 50 young men from Edinburgh who were dressed as "Moors", a disguise representing imagined African people, with rings in their mouths and gilded chains about their necks  and arms. The costumes of some of this "Convoy of Moors" were made of white taffeta. Mary made her progress under a paill or canopy of purple velvet with gold fringes held up by twelve townsmen dressed in black velvet. At the Butter Tron (where dairy products were weighed for sale) at the head of the West Bow there was a pageant stage. A boy dressed as an angel emerged from a globe and gave her the keys to the town, a bible, and a psalter. At the Tolbooth, on a double stage, four damsels (male actors) represented Fortitude, Justice , Temperance, and Prudence. At the Cross, wine poured from a fountain, and four maidens performed an allegory. At another stop at the Salt Tron a pageant representing the Scottish Reformation was abandoned in favour of the destruction of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. At the Netherbow, the boundary between Edinburgh and the Canongate, the queen was addressed by a dragon which was then burnt. At Holyrood Palace, a cartload of school children spoke in favour of the Reformation and sang a psalm. A cupboard of gilt plate, bought by the town council from the Earl of Morton and Richard Maitland of  Lethington, was presented to the queen in her outer chamber in Holyrood Palace, by the "honest men" who had carried and walked beside the canopy. The chronicle history of Scotland called the "Diurnal of Occurrents" describes the elaborate costume worn by some of the "Moors": "their bodies and thighs covered with yellow taffeta, their arms and legs from the knee down bare, coloured with black, in manner of Moors, upon their heads black hats, and on their faces black visors (masks), in their mouths rings, garnished with countless precious stones, about their necks, legs, and arms 'infynit' of chains of  gold". The English diplomat Thomas Randolph mentioned the substitution and negotiation of content alluding directly to the Scottish Reformation. John Knox wrote that Mary seemed dismissive when she was presented with the Bible in vernacular, and this is repeated in a chronicle attributed to the Catholic Lord Herries. It is thought that the presentation of the triumph of the Reformation during the Entry was displeasing to the Catholic queen. A month later, after burgh council elections, she required the dismissal of the Provost and four bailies of the town council. The new Provost, Thomas McCalzean, proved to be a supporter  of the queen. This Entry included features differing from other Edinburgh Entries, with no mention of a ceremony at the West Port, an actual entry to the town, and the presentation of the gilt plate within the royal palace. These differences may suggest interventions in the theatrical programme and conflict between civic and royal authority. Burgh records. The town council had met on 26 August and resolved to hold a banquet for the queen and her cousins, and a "triumph" of "her grace's entry within this town". The Provost of Edinburgh, Archibald Douglas of Kilspindie, discussed methods of funding  the event, countering objections raised by the goldsmith Thomas Ewyn who spoke on behalf of the town's craftsmen. The treasurer, Luke Wilson, was appointed to organise the banquet and the "triumph". Wilson also supplied the costumes for the men bearing the canopy and town's sergeants. A carpenter Patrick Schang made the stages for the "triumphs and farces" at the Over or Butter Tron, Tolbooth, Cross, Salt Tron, and Netherbow. The stages were painted by Walter Binning. The young men (playing the "Moors") were expected to devise their own costumes to wear while they made "convoy before the cart  triumphant". The banquet was held in Cardinal Beaton's house in the Cowgate. Verses. The verses spoken when the boy appeared out of a globe to give gifts of books to the queen survive. The English diplomat Thomas Randolph sent a copy to William Cecil. According to John Knox, Mary smiled at verses in her praise but passed the Bible to her attendant Arthur Erskine of Blackgrange. Civic and court drama in Scotland. The events staged at the Edinburgh Entry were closely paralleled in other festivals, including: Royal baptisms also included elements of masque, drama, and formal processions: Entry of