John Mosman or Mossman was a Scottish goldsmith based in Edinburgh who served the royal court and was involved in gold mining. James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise

Family background

There is some confusion between the John Mosman who served

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 ...

and the activities of other members of the family. Another John Mosman of a previous generation was an Edinburgh

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

. A branch of the family including a John Mosman and his son Robert Mosman was recorded in February 1490 in connection with their tenancy of the lands of "Easter Gledstanis". In 1508, a John Mosman and his servant John Bykat were involved in a violent struggle involving several Edinburgh goldsmiths. Daggers were drawn and William Currour cut James McCalyean's lip with a goldsmith's file. This John Mosman was married to Agnes Bartholmew in 1512. Alan Mosman was also a goldsmith in Edinburgh at this time. Another John Mosman was a public notary in Glasgow. He worked for Agnes Sinclair, Countess of Bothwell, the mother of

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell ( – 14 April 1578), better known simply as Lord Bothwell, was the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was accused of the murder of Mary's second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord ...

in the 1550s.

Career

One of John Mosman's early recorded works was a set of silver clasps for the king's

haubergeon A hauberk or byrnie is a Chain mail, mail shirt. The term is usually used to describe a shirt reaching at least to mid-thigh and including sleeves. A haubergeon ("little hauberk") refers to a smaller mail shirt, that was sometimes sleeveless, but ...

, a piece of chain-mail armour in February 1534. Mosman made gold buttons for king's clothes, some sewn to his hats and bonnets.

Scottish gold

Mosman was involved in gold mining in Scotland. In 1538 Mosman made a hat badge or ensign, called in the Scots language, featuring a mermaid, set with diamonds, from the "Kingis awne gold" with some gold provided by James V. Mosman also made a gold heart from the king's "own gold", although it is not clear if this phrase means only that James V provided the gold used by Mosman. In 1539 French-speaking miners arrived from the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

sent by the

Duchess of Guise Lady of Guise Non hereditary, 950–? Elder House of Guise, ?–1185 House of Avesnes, 1185–1244 House of Châtillon, 1244–1404 House of Valois-Anjou, 1404–1417 Countess of Guise House of Valois-Anjou, 1417–1425 House of Luxe ...

. Mosman paid their expenses from Edinburgh to the mines at Crawford Moor and for their equipment. The royal accounts specify that several pieces made by Mosman were fashioned from Scottish gold. He made "chafferonys", gold ornaments for coifs or

French hood French hood is the English name for a type of elite woman's headgear that was popular in Western Europe in roughly the first half of the 16th century. The French hood is characterized by a rounded shape, contrasted with the angular "English" or ...

s for gentlewomen, using "gold of hemynd" mixed with gold from coins. Mosman was paid for a nugget of gold, "unwrocht gold of the mynde", that was sent to the

Duke of Guise Count of Guise and Duke of Guise ( , ) were titles in the French nobility. Originally a Fiefdom, seigneurie, in 1417 Guise was erected into a county for René I of Naples, René, a younger son of Louis II of Anjou. While disputed by the House of ...

, the father of the queen consort

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 ...

Queens of Scotland

In May 1538 the fool of

Madeleine of Valois Madeleine of Valois (10 August 1520 – 7 July 1537) was a French princess who briefly became Queen of Scotland in 1537 as the first wife of King James V. The marriage was arranged in accordance with the Treaty of Rouen, and they were marrie ...

was bought a green velvet gown and Mosman made her a "chaffron" of gilded silver. In April 1539 Mosman was given gold coins and gold from a Scottish mine to make hair pieces called "chafferonys" for the women of the court of

. He made a "chafferoun" of gold in "Paris work" or fashion for a " hood of the French sort" one of the daughters of James V, probably Lady Jean Stewart. This was a Scots word for a jewelled strip bordering the front of a hood or coif. In an inventory of Margaret Tudor's jewels in 1516 a "chaffron" comprises the jewelled border and also the velvet hood or hair bag, embroidered with pearl. Another goldsmith, Thomas Rynd, who was based in

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

sold a "chaffron" to Mary of Guise in May 1539, when she was staying at Pitlethy near

Leuchars Leuchars (pronounced or ; "rushes") is a town and parish near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by Nati ...

, and James V bought chains and pendants from Rynd to give to the queen's gentlewomen at this time. The gifts to the women of the queen's household bought from Mosman and Rynd were occasioned by the queen's pregnancy. In December 1539 Mosman made a

zibellino A zibellino, flea-fur or fur tippet is a women's fashion accessory popular in the later 15th and 16th centuries. A zibellino, from the Italian (language), Italian word for "sable", is the Fur, pelt of a sable or marten worn draped at the neck or ...

for Mary of Guise from Scottish gold, comprising the head and feet of a

marten A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...

fashioned in gold to be worn with the fur.

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 ...

gave this fur with a gold head and feet to Mademoiselle Rallay in December 1561 to mend and re-line, described as an item to wear around her neck. Mosman made Mary of Guise a belt from Scottish gold with a sapphire. He supplied a fastening for her belt called a "cleik" on 4 March 1540. Mosman was given gold coins called by "riders" by the king's pursemaster John Tennent to make some items. Mosman made rings for James V from Scottish gold and stones described as "Scottish diamonds." He also made silver reliquaries for bones of

St Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. The walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the All ...

and

Adrian of May Saint Adrian of May (sometimes given as "Magridin") (d. 875) was a martyr-saint of ancient Scotland, whose cult (religious practice), cult became popular in the 14th century. He is commemorated on 3 December. He may have been a bishop of Archbishop ...

. He made at least two whistles for the king from Scottish gold, and one had a dragon coloured with enamel. The whistles may have been used by the king on his ships, including the ''

Salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...

''. Mosman made a silver whistle for the "patroun", the commander of the king's new ships. James V was also fond of hawking, and Mosman fashioned a silver clam shell as a luxurious accessory to hold the meat used to train the birds. He made a second clam shell for hawk meat in December 1541 with another, half the size, for the king's tooth powder. In February 1541 he made the king two gold bells for hawks and a silver case for tooth-picks. In June 1542 he was asked to enlarge the second clam shell for hawking.

Armour

Mosman made or decorated several items of armour for James V. He gilded a copper horse armour in March 1539. The

barding Barding (also spelled ''bard'' or ''barb'') is body armour for war-horses. The practice of armoring horses first developed extensively in antiquity in the Asian kingdoms of Parthia and Pahlava. After the conquests of Alexander the Great in ...

for the king's great horse of velvet was completed by the

silkwoman A silkwoman was a woman in medieval, Tudor, and Stuart England who traded in silks and other fine fabrics. London silkwomen held some trading rights independently from their husbands and were exempted from some of the usual customs and laws of cov ...

Helen Ross who made tassels and

passementerie Passementerie (, ) or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, ) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings. Styles of passementerie include the tass ...

. Her work also decorated the king's books. Decorative metalwork made William Forrest and gilded by Mosman for use on tournament armour and horse trapping included buckles, thistles, lion's heads, and pendants.

Gifts for kings

In 1540 James V sent hackney riding horses as gifts to Francis I, the Dauphin, and the

. The horses were equipped with elaborate harnesses and cover cloths, fitted with buckles, and decorative thistles and lion's heads, which Mosman gilded using mercury. The weaver Helen Ros made silk fringes for this horse tack, and she also made

for chairs. The king's former favourite

James Hamilton of Finnart Sir James Hamilton of Finnart (c. 1495 – 16 August 1540) was a Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish nobleman and architect, the illegitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, and Marion Boyd (mistress), Marion Boyd of Bonshaw. Although legitim ...

was executed in August 1540, and his silver was brought from Craignethan Castle to Edinburgh, where Mosman engraved it with the heraldry of the king's infant eldest son, James, Duke of Rothesay. The Queen at the Scottish Parliament - crop

The Queen at the Scottish Parliament - crop

John Mosman was bought clothes like others regarded as members of the royal household, including black satin for a doublet, and a black cloak. He was not an exclusive maker or supplier of jewelry to the Scottish royal court, the king frequently bought pieces from the goldsmith Thomas Rynd, especially for the New Year's Day gifts which he distributed to courtiers. Thomas Rynd was a relation of Jonet Rynd, who founded Edinburgh's Magdalen Chapel.

The crown of Scotland

James V employed Adam Leys to repair and augment the crown in the 1530s. Mosman is known for making and refurbishing the

crown of Scotland The Crown of Scotland (, ) is the centrepiece of the Honours of Scotland. It is the crown that was used at the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland, and it is the oldest surviving crown in the British Isles and among the oldest in Europe. A ...

in January 1540. He included ciphers of "JR5". The crown is kept 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 ...

with other items known as the

Honours of Scotland The Honours of Scotland (, ), informally known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, are the regalia that were worn by List of Scottish monarchs, Scottish monarchs at their Coronation_of_the_British_monarch#Scottish_coronations, coronation. Kept in the ...

. The treasurer's accounts mention Scottish "gold of the mine", three great

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

stones and a great emerald or amethyst. Mosman delivered the finished crown to James V at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

on 7 February. The tailor Thomas Arthur made a bonnet to line the crown from purple velvet. John Paterson made a case to keep it in. Mosman made and gilded a silver sceptre and made a crown for the coronation of Mary of Guise in Edinburgh on 22 February 1540. This crown, which does not survive, may have been used in 1590 at the coronation of Anna of Denmark. Mosman was given Scottish gold, from Crauford Moor, to augment the king and queen's crowns in June 1542.

Regent Arran

Mosman also worked for

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 ...

and was rewarded in May 1550 for his "diligent labours" in making the gold chain presented to "Fumet", François de Seguenville-Fumel, sieur de Thors, the French envoy who brought the peace treaty at the end of the war with England known as 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 ...

. Mary of Guise paid for half of the gold used in this chain. In January 1552 he made chains and "target" hat-badges and other pieces for Regent Arran, and he probably made the jewellery which was distributed at the wedding of his daughter Barbara Hamilton in February 1549, gold rings, hat-badges, and bracelets costing £156. Barbara Hamilton died in 1577, and her effects included a locket or "tablet" which opened with leaves on which the inscription "Obsecro Te Sancta Maria Mater Dei Amen" was engraved and highlighted with white enamel. In 1552 he gilded a silver bell for Regent Arran.

Mary of Guise, Queen Regent

John Mosman was appointed in September 1556 with

Michael Gilbert Michael Francis Gilbert (17 July 1912 – 8 February 2006) was an English solicitor and author of crime fiction. Early life and education Gilbert was born on 17 July 1912 in Billinghay, Lincolnshire, England, to Bernard Samuel Gilbert, a writ ...

, William Ure, and Robert Rynd to collect and oversee contributions from members of Edinburgh incorporation of goldsmiths to a tax levied by

for the defence of the

Scottish borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. In October 1558, he provided Mary of Guise with a gold chain for Monsieur Delaforce, the French admiral of the ships that returned Scottish lords from Mary's marriage to the Dauphin. The workmen in his "buith" were given a

drinksilver Drinksilver was a kind of tip or gratuity given to artisans in Early Modern Scotland, a sum of money suitable for buying drinks and celebrating. Records of payments give insights into labour, service, and patronage. Payments and contexts Buildin ...

reward for a quick turnaround. Mosman probably died soon after.

Marriage and family

Edinburgh - John Knox House - 20140421164207

John Mosman married Katherine Sym. Their children included: * John Mosman, burgess of Edinburgh from September 1564. He married Susanna Wilson (d. 1593) a daughter of the merchant Luke Wilson, their children included Susanna and John Mosman. He made a cup in 1586 used at Rosneath Kirk in Dunbartonshire, and now in the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a museum of Scottish history and culture. It was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, ...

. In 1593 the stock of their shop included a number of rings set with precious and counterfeit or "slight" stones, and a "tablet" or locket with the miniature portraits of

James VI James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

worth £57 Scots. * James Mosman, who married Mariota Arres, and secondly in 1571, Janet King, and rebuilt the " John Knox House" on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

in Edinburgh. On 16 December 1558 he weighed and valued the treasures of St Giles' Kirk including the reliquary of the saint's arm bone. James Mosman and his workshop made gold chains for

to give as diplomatic gifts. In April 1566 he sold the queen rings and other pieces which were probably intended as presents to her attendants. He was an assay master in the mint and made dies for the coinage. With another goldsmith James Cockie, he helped raise money on the security of 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 ...

during the "lang siege" of Edinburgh castle and was executed in 1573.Bruce Lenman, 'Jacobean Goldsmith-Jewellers as Credit-Creators: The Cases of James Mossman, James Cockie and George Heriot', Scottish Historical Review, 74:198 (1995), pp. 159–177. ** The children of James Mosman included Marion Mosman (d. 1599), who married Andrew Meikle; and John Mosman younger, who had daughters, Elspeth and Marion Mosman.

External links

The crown of Scotland, Historic Environment ScotlandSally Rush, 'Looking at Marie de Guise', ''Études Epistémè'', 37 (2020)
*Reed Hudson
The Crown of Scotland: A History of Craft and Care, HES

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosman, John Businesspeople from Edinburgh Court of James V of Scotland Gold mines in Scotland Mosman family Scottish goldsmiths Scottish jewellers 16th-century Scottish businesspeople