Ninian Cockburn (died 6 May 1579) was a Scottish soldier and officer of the Garde Écossaise, a company which guarded the French king. He had an ambiguous role in political relations between Scotland, France and England during the war of the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (; December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following the English Reformation, the break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland ...

and the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...

Family and early career

Ninian was the third son of William Cockburn of

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 173 ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

and Janet Somerville. In Scotland the name Ninian was used interchangeably with "Ringan". The Cockburn family had strong Protestant leanings;

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

was the tutor of his nephew, and George Wishart was arrested at Ormiston. Ninian married Elizabeth Kemp. Mary, Queen of Scots gave her a termly pension of £75. She may have been a connection of Janet Sinclair, the nurse of

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, and Henry Kemp, who had been pursemaster to

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

. Ninian was paid for travelling in connection with the King's privy purse in 1540. Ninian may also have been Alexander Crichton of Brunstane's servant "Cockburn." Brunstane worked for Cardinal Beaton at this time. Brunstane's servant was sent to France by James V in March 1540 with royal insignia borrowed from the King's pursuivant Patrick Ogilvy.

Rough Wooing

Murder of Cardinal Beaton

Ninian was among those accused of the murder of Cardinal David Beaton in 1546, and he joined the Protestant garrison during the subsequent

siege of St Andrews Castle The siege of St Andrews Castle (1546–1547) followed the killing of Cardinal David Beaton by a group of Protestants at St Andrews Castle. They remained in the castle and were besieged by the Governor of Scotland, Regent Arran. However, over 1 ...

. For this, Ninian was summoned for treason on 10 June 1546. Ninian's older brother, John Cockburn of Ormiston was also accused of involvement in the Cardinal's murder. John Cockburn was a prominent Protestant and on good terms with England. He had a licence to trade in England during the war of the

. According to the

Earl of Glencairn Earl of Glencairn was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. King James III of Scotland, James III created the title in 1488 by royal charter for Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, Alexander Cunningham, 1st Lord Kilmaurs. He held the e ...

, Ninian Cockburn was a double agent, a spy at St Andrews Castle for the Governor of Scotland,

Regent Arran In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

Assured Scot

After the

battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns, ...

in September 1547, Ninian Cockburn was involved in the handover of Broughty Castle to the English. Ralph Sadler who was treasurer of the English army gave him a reward of £4. In October 1547, Ninian was a spy for Grey of Wilton and liaised with the English captain of Broughty, Andrew Dudley and the captain of Inchcolm, John Luttrell. He was trying to build support for an English Protestant takeover of Scotland and collected names of potential supporters. In his report, Ninian lamented that these supporters were motivated for gain from England rather than by the "Word of God." Andrew Dudley hoped to distribute English bibles in Dundee from his base at Broughty. His brother John Cockburn was declared a traitor on 29 February 1548. Regent Arran had captured the House of Ormiston and the Privy Council ordered its demolition. Ninian wrote to Protector Somerset on 16 March, repeating some older news from a letter of 20 February which does not survive. He had been to

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French people, French noblewoman of the ...

with a message from Somerset but her answer was not satisfactory, and she had managed to make him the enemy of Regent Arran, his half-brother John Hamilton,

Bishop of Dunkeld The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Cormac. However, the firs ...

, and George Douglas of Pittendreich. Ninian thought he would have to stay near English-held Haddington or Broughty Castle. Arran was going to harvest Ormiston wood as a punishment, and was taking timber and stones from the house of Alexander Crichton of Brunstane for the new Spur blockhouse at

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

, (designed by Migliorino Ubaldini). Ninian had asked Andrew Dudley, the commander of Broughty, to write to Mary of Guise that he was well able to defeat any attack from French galleys. In August, Ninian told Grey of Wilton the news that Mary, Queen of Scots, had sailed for France from

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle (, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dumbarton Rock was forme ...

. In his ''History''

mentions that Ninian was involved in the trial of

John Melville of Raith Sir John Melville of Raith (died 1548) was laird of Raith in Fife, Scotland. He was active in the Scottish court in the second quarter of the 16th century, but was executed for his support of the Protestant cause. Sir John Melville, laird of Rait ...

for treason. Knox, with some uncertainty, says Ninian discovered a compromising letter at the House of Ormiston. Raith's correspondence with his son in England was deemed treasonous. Raith was beheaded in December 1548. At this time, Ninian was in favour with Mary of Guise, who was Regent Arran's rival for power in Scotland, and he told Andrew Dudley he hoped to bring her round to the English cause.

Officer of the Scots Guard

The Scottish diplomat

James Melville of Halhill Sir James Melville (1535–1617) was a Scottish diplomat and memoir writer, and father of the poet Elizabeth Melville. Life Melville was the third son of Sir John Melville, laird of Raith, in the county of Fife, who was executed for treason ...

recorded his meeting at St Germain en Laye with Ninian in 1553, now a Captain of Horse in the French king's guard.

was about to become Regent of Scotland in place of Regent Arran, and Ninian brought news from Scotland of the opinion of her political enemy John Hamilton, now

Archbishop of St Andrews The Bishop of St. Andrews (, ) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews (), the Archdiocese of St Andrews. The name St Andrews is not the town ...

, who had been ill when Arran discussed relinquishing his powers to her. The Archbishop had recovered due to the care of the Italian physician

Gerolamo Cardano Gerolamo Cardano (; also Girolamo or Geronimo; ; ; 24 September 1501– 21 September 1576) was an Italian polymath whose interests and proficiencies ranged through those of mathematician, physician, biologist, physicist, chemist, astrologer, as ...

. Melville was not pleased by Ninian's intervention and called him a "busy meddler." Melville described how Ninian tried to use him as an interpreter in an interview with Anne de Montmorency,

Constable of France The Constable of France (, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chancellor) and the commander-in ...

, and pretended Melville was his nephew. Melville conveyed his reluctance to proceed to the Constable and he dismissed Ninian from his presence in his cabinet in the

Château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

before the tale was told. In December 1553, Montmorency received a very similar report of Arran and the Archbishop's intentions to retain Edinburgh Castle and

, sent by the ambassador, Antoine de Noailles, who had heard it from a banished Scotsmen in London. In May 1557

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

wrote to her mother from the Château of

Villers-Cotterêts Villers-Cotterêts () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, France. It is notable as the signing-place in 1539 of the '' Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts'' discontinuing the use of Latin in official French documents, and as ...

on behalf of "le Cappitaine Cokborne." Ninian urgently needed to return to Scotland to conclude a property transaction with Alexander Aitchison and John Sinclair. The lands concerned at "Gosfenot" had been occupied by French forces during the war with England. However, as Ninian was fully occupied in the king's service, Mary hoped the Queen Regent would settle the matter. ("Gosfenot" was perhaps near

Gosford House Gosford House is a neoclassical country house around northeast of Longniddry in East Lothian, Scotland, on the A198 Aberlady Road, in of parkland and coast. It is the family seat of the Charteris family, the Earls of Wemyss and March. It wa ...

Longniddry Longniddry (, )
is a coastal village in East Lothian ...

). During the crisis of the

, Ninian's brother John, laird of Ormiston was involved in a major setback for the Protestant

Lords of the Congregation The Lords of the Congregation (), originally styling themselves the Faithful, were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured a reformation of the Catholic church according to Protestant principles and a Scottish ...

. Ormiston carried £1,000 or 6,000 crowns from England to aid their fight against French troops in Scotland on 31 October 1559. The Earl of Bothwell ambushed him and after a sword fight captured the money. This caused diplomatic embarrassment as the English were caught out aiding Mary of Guise's rebels. The English ambassador in Paris Nicholas Throckmorton considered sending Ninian to spy on the French at the

siege of Leith The siege of Leith ended a twelve-year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. French troops arrived in Scotland by invitation in 1548. In 1560 the French soldiers opposed Scottish supporter ...

in May 1560. Throckmorton described Ninian's rewards as an officer of the Scots Guard. He was a gentleman archer with a salary of 800 Francs, and was lord of the manor of Themis (or Captain of Feismes Castle) with an income of another 800 Francs. As an officer of the Guard, he commanded a company of 100 horsemen. Usefully, Ninian's wife, Elizabeth Kemp, was an attendant in the Privy Chamber of Mary, Queen of Scots in France. Throckmorton wanted Ninian to assume the name "Beaumont," and thereafter he continued to sign his letters to William Cecil as "George Beaumont." On 22 and 23 June 1560, Ninian (as Beaumont) met

Thomas Gresham Sir Thomas Gresham the Elder (; c. 151921 November 1579) was an English merchant and financier who acted on behalf of King Edward VI (1547–1553) and Edward's half-sisters, queens Mary I (1553–1558) and Elizabeth I (1558–1603). In 1565 Gr ...

at Antwerp. He told Gresham the French ambassador was planning on behalf of

Francis II of France Francis II (; 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also List of Scottish consorts, King of Scotland as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in ...

to write to

James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran (1537–1609) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who opposed the French-dominated regency during the Scottish Reformation. He was the eldest son of James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, sometime regent of ...

, who had been commander of the Scot's Guard. Arran would be offered the Crown of Scotland and the withdrawal of French troops if he abandoned the plan for him to marry

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

Servant of Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots made Ninian chamberlain and factor of the Priory of

Sciennes Sciennes (pronounced , ) is a district of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated approximately south of the city centre. It is a mainly residential district, although it is also well-known as the site of the former Royal Hospital for Sick Children. ...

. His wife Elizabeth Kemp joined the queen's household in Scotland and she received Ninian's royal pension of £225 per year. Thomas Randolph gave Elizabeth a letter from Ninian to give to Mary. Ninian's letter had news of the

French wars of religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

that made the queen weep. Later, Randolph wrote that his report of the siege of

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Berwick upon Tweed he met the Earl of Bedford who wrote that Ninian was "the same old man and had not changed his vein." Ninian reported to Cecil that he spoke to Mary discussing the political roles of the

Earl of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first e ...

and the Earl of Bothwell, reminding her of the difficulties her father experienced banishing the

Earl of Angus The Mormaer or Earl of Angus was the ruler of the medieval Scottish Provinces of Scotland, province of Angus, Scotland, Angus. The title, in the Peerage of Scotland, is held by the Duke of Hamilton, and is used as a courtesy title for the eldes ...

and George Douglas in 1529. He returned to France and was joined by his nephew, Christopher Cockburn, in November. George Buchanan wrote that Ninian was in Scotland in 1567. Ninian raced back to the French court in June 1567 with news of Mary's capture at the battle of Carberry Hill. On the way he overtook her ambassador, William Chisholm, Bishop of Dunblane, who was ignorant of Mary's defeat, and upstaged him in front of

Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II of France, Francis II in 1560, an ...

and Catherine de Medici.

Working for the Regents of Scotland

Ninian was mostly stationed in Dieppe, though Catherine de Medici kept him at court in January 1568. In April 1568 his fellow archers wrote they wished he had been fighting alongside them at battle of Saint Denis. After Mary Queen of Scots went into exile in England, Ninian's correspondence with her half-brother Regent Moray, the English ambassador, and others was discovered in July 1568. He became a fugitive and lost all his offices and influence in France. The English ambassador, Henry Norris, reported that his house in Paris was raided just after he fled. Another agent, Master James Gordon was keen to step in his place. Ninian returned to Scotland, and in October 1568 he travelled to York with Regent Moray for the conference discussing Mary's alleged crimes and the Casket letters. In Scotland, Ninian received payments from the Regents who ruled on behalf of

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

. In August 1572

George Buchanan George Buchanan (; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth-century Scotland produced." His ideology of re ...

mentioned the Captain in a letter to Thomas Randolph. Buchanan was joking about the news of Randolph's marriage, and said he preferred in this case Captain Cockburn's "shrewd Scottish wit" to Randolph's "English Solomoniacal sapience", Randolph being sick in the head whilst Cockburn was infirm in the feet. Ninian was sent to London on royal business carrying letters in July 1573. He was proud that he could still ride post-haste. At York the Lord President of the North looked at the date of the letters he carried from London and asked his age and marvelled. He reached Newcastle in a day and Berwick the next.

Regent Morton James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516 – 2 June 1581) was a Scottish nobleman. He played a leading role in the murders of Queen Mary's confidant, David Rizzio, and king consort Henry Darnley. He was the last of the four regents of Scot ...

wrote to the Countess of Lennox on 19 August 1573. He had asked for her help to recover the

jewels of Mary, Queen of Scots The jewels of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587) are mainly known through the evidence of inventories held by the National Records of Scotland. She was bought jewels during her childhood in France, adding to those she inherited. She gave gifts of ...

. He sent the letter with his "good friend" Ninian Cockburn, who had delivered some of the queen's jewels to Sir Valentine Browne. Cockburn served at Morton's justice ayre at

Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...

in 1574. He corresponded with the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. History Earl ...

, who discussed his letters with

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

. (Ninian warned of someone coming to Scotland from France, (possibly Esmé Stewart who arrived five years later). Morton sent Ninian to Berwick with letters in July 1575 but he broke his leg and was laid up at

Coldingham Coldingham is a village and parish in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It lies a short distance inland from Coldingham Bay, three miles northeast of the fishing village of Eyemouth. Parish The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir ...

. Morton sent the surgeon Gilbert Primrose to care for him. Ninian recovered and went to the French court and England in August 1576. For this journey, Morton requested a passport for the "old gentlemen" from Cecil. In May 1578, Mary, Queen of Scots, wrote a letter in cipher code to the French ambassador in London, mentioning her distrust of Cockburn. Ninian carried another message to Cecil from Morton, who mentioned that Ninian was Cecil's "old acquaintance, not minded yet to settle himself for any age, but to visit the world after his accustomed manner." Ninian died on 6 May 1579. He had a son, Francis Cockburn, who was granted the office of chamberlain and factor of the Nunnery of

in June 1579, which his father had held.Gordon Donaldson, ''Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland: 1575-1585'', vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1966), p. 315 no. 1919.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, Ninian Garde Écossaise officers Scottish Protestants Expatriates from the Kingdom of Scotland Scottish people of the Rough Wooing Scottish Reformation Scottish spies 1579 deaths Scottish soldiers 16th-century Scottish people Year of birth unknown 16th-century spies People from Ormiston