Mariotta or Maryon or Marion Haliburton, Lady Home (c.1500 – c.1563) was a 16th-century Scottish noblewoman. She varied the spelling of her forename between ''Mariotta'', ''Marion'', and ''Mary''. She is remembered for her defence and negotiation of the surrender of

Hume Castle Hume Castle is the heavily modified remnants of a late 12th- or early 13th-century castle of enceinte held by the powerful Hume or Home family, Wardens of the Eastern March who became successively the Lords Home and the Earls of Home. The vi ...

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, ...

when the castle was surrounded by an English army. Afterwards she continued to struggle for the rights of her people at the village of Hume in 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 ...

, writing both to the English commander and the Scottish leader.

Family

Mariotta was the daughter of Patrick Haliburton of

Dirleton Castle Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around west of North Berwick, and around east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by th ...

and Christine Wawane. She and her sisters Janet and Margaret were Patrick's heirs when he died in 1515. She married George, Lord Home before 7 April 1529. Their children included; *

Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home (died 1575) was a Scottish nobleman and Warden of the Eastern March. Early life Alexander Home was the son of George Home, 4th Lord Home and Mariotta Haliburton. He became Lord Home on the death of his father who ...

. * Andrew Home, Commendator of Jedburgh and Restenneth. * John Home of Coldenknowes (Cowdenknowes). * Margaret Home, who married Alexander Erskine of Gogar, mother of

Thomas Erskine, 1st Earl of Kellie Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

. * two other daughters. Mariotta's eldest sister, Janet, married

William Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven William Ruthven, 2nd Lord Ruthven (died December 1552) was a Scottish nobleman. He served as an Extraordinary Lord of Session and Keeper of the Privy Seal. Life The 2nd Lord Ruthven was the son of William, Master of Ruthven (who was known as ...

. Margaret married George Ker of Faldonside. On 22 June 1535,

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 ...

confirmed Mariotta and George's ownership of lands forfeited by

Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home (died 1516) was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, Chamberlain of Scotland and Warden of the Eastern March. He fought at the Battle of Flodden where his forces defeated the English right wing before the Scottish army ...

in return for their good service against the English enemy.

At war

As 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 ...

escalated,

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 ...

sent soldiers and guns to help defend their Castle at Hume. The English defeated the Scottish army at Pinkie near

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

on Saturday 10 September 1547. Alexander Home was taken prisoner, and George was injured, and while he lay sick in Edinburgh, the English army arrived at Hume on 20 September. Mariotta herself negotiated the surrender of Hume Castle with the

Earl of Somerset Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

. Her instructions were brought to the castle by

Somerset Herald Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an Officer of Arms, officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. In the year 1448 Somerset Herald is known to have served Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, but by the time of the coronation of Henr ...

and her sons Andrew and John agreed to surrender. The 78 Scottish soldiers within were allowed to leave, and Andrew handed the keys to the new English captain, Sir Edward Dudley. George and her eldest son, Alexander, were taken to England and the Tower of London. Mariotta continued to write to the Earl of Somerset seeking a better deal for her own family and the border people. She complained that people in Scotland said she had given up Hume Castle for money, and marvelled that they thought she could the keep the ''sober barmkin'' of Hume against the whole English army, while the whole Scottish nobility could not keep the field. Mariotta told the Earl that she dared not show her husband his letter and the pledges her people had made to England, and asked him to make new agreements that risked only their possessions, not their loyalty to Scotland. Eventually Alexander was allowed back to Scotland, and soon on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

1548, Hume Castle was taken from the English by a night raid. Edward Dudley was kept prisoner at Spynie Palace. On 28 December Mariotta sent the news from Edinburgh 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 ...

, who had left

Holyroodhouse 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 ...

for New Year at

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

. She wrote that her son Andrew Home had taken part in the successful assault, with John Home of Coldenknowes and John Haitlie of

Mellerstain Mellerstain House is a Scottish country house around north of Kelso in the Borders, Scotland. It is currently the home of George Baillie-Hamilton, 14th Earl of Haddington, and is designated as a historical monument. History The older house ...

. She claimed that if more men had joined her son they could have expelled the English from Kelso. By March 1549, Mariotta was back at Hume Castle. Now she wrote to Mary of Guise that the troops were disturbing the villagers because they would not pay for their groceries; Mariotta insisted Guise pay the soldiers so they would not trouble the poor folk of Hume. In another letter she advised Guise to maintain discipline amongst the soldiers at this crucial time for the

Auld Alliance The Auld Alliance ( Scots for "Old Alliance") was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France against England made in 1295. The Scots word ''auld'', meaning ''old'', has become a partly affectionate term for the long-lasting asso ...

;

"Your grace maun be very scherp batht on the Franch men and on the Scottis men, or it will nocht be weill; yet ader (either) to do as aferis to tham or lat it be, they mecht never getin sa gud ane tym. Pardon me that writtis sa hamly to your grace for in gud feth it cumis of gud hart as nythat loifis bath the honour of Scotland and Frans."

In a letter to Guise written at Home Castle on 28 March 1549 she mentions a Spanish captain called the "Mour", "as sharp a man as rides". She hopes that Mary of Guise will be a "good Princess" to him and other captured Spanish soldiers. The man called the "Mour" is understood to be of African origin, and has been identified with a soldier named Pedro de Negro. Mariotta's original letters to Somerset and Guise are kept in the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

and the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

. An English eyewitness, William Patten, described the bloodless siege after Pinkie and Mariotta's role. Patten cited a French proverb, that the siege was ended by a "talking castle, and a woman who listens".

Jean de Beaugué Jean de Beaugué, was a French soldier who served in Scotland in the 1540s during the war of the Rough Wooing. He wrote a memoir of the fighting, which first published in 1556 is still an important source for historians. Much of the book concerns t ...

, who later joined the French army at the

Siege of Haddington The sieges of Haddington were a series of sieges staged at the Royal Burgh of Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, as part of the War of the Rough Wooing, one of the last Anglo-Scottish Wars. Following Regent Arran's defeat at the battle of Pi ...

, also gave an account of the siege, which praises Lady Home's resolve and emphasises the role her fears for her eldest son may have played in the negotiation.

Legacy

Mariotta's grandson,

Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home and 6th Lord Home (c. 15665 April 1619), was a Scottish nobleman and Lord Warden of the Marches, Lord Warden-general of all the March. He succeeded as the 6th Lord Home, a Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scot ...

married Mary (Dudley) Sutton a granddaughter of Edward Dudley the English captain of Hume. In 1617 this Anglo-Scottish marital union was celebrated by her kinsman and poet David Hume of Godscroft in the ''Muses Welcome to the High and Mighty Prince James''. Godscroft pictured the marriage as an epitome of the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, writing that Mary Dudley's hand now restored the houses and castles formerly destroyed in border warfare.''Muses Welcome'', (Edinburgh 1617), p. 14: Se
Dana Sutton, ed., and trans., ''Lusus Poetici'', (1639)
/ref>

Family

At war

Legacy

References

Further reading