Pierre de Bocosel de Chastelard (1540–1563), French poet, was born in

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

; a scion of the house of Bayard, grandson of Chevalier de Bayard. His name is inseparably connected with

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 ...

, for whom he conceived an insane passion.

Career

From the service of the Constable Montmorency, Chastelard, then a page, passed to the household of Marshal Damville, whom he accompanied in his journey to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in escort of Mary (1561). He returned to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the marshal's train, but left for Scotland again shortly afterwards, bearing letters of recommendation to Mary from his old protector, Montmorency, and the Regrets addressed to the Queen Dowager of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet known in his generation as a "Prince des poètes, prince of poets". His works include ''Les Amours de Cassandre'' (1552)'','' ''Les Hymnes'' (1555-1556)'', Les Disco ...

, his master in the art of song. He attempted to deliver to the poet the service of plate with which Mary rewarded him. By now, he had developed an obsessive love for the queen. The young man was welcomed in her cabinet room. One day he hid himself under her bed 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 ...

, where he was discovered by her maids of honour, or two male grooms of the chamber. Mary pardoned the offence, but Chastelard was foolish enough to violate her privacy again. He was discovered a second time under her bed at

Burntisland Burntisland ( , ) is a former Royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. It was previously known as Wester Kinghorn or Little Kinghorn. The town has a population of 6,269 (2011). Burntisland is known ...

, seized, sentenced and beheaded the next morning at

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 ...

on 22 February 1563. He met his fate valiantly and consistently, reading, on his way to the scaffold, his master's noble ', and turning at the instant of doom towards the palace of Holyrood, to address to his unseen mistress the famous farewell "" ("farewell to you, so beautiful and so cruel, who kill me and whom I cannot cease to love"). This at least is the version of the ''Memoirs of Brantôme'', who is, however, a notoriously untrustworthy source. A "Madame de Curosot" was said to be a Huguenot sponsor of the poet. It has been suggested that she was Charlotte de Laval, the wife of

Gaspard II de Coligny Gaspard de Coligny, seigneur de Châtillon (; 16 February 1519 – 24 August 1572), was a French nobleman, Admiral of France, and Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion. He served under kings Francis I and Henry II during the ...

. The name "Curosot" may have a cipher name substituted for "Châtillon" in original correspondence.

Randolph's account

The English diplomat Thomas Randolph described the arrest of Chastelard in his letters to William Cecil. He notes Chastelard as a servant of Monsieur D'Anville. When he arrived in Scotland in November 1561, Mary showed him her favour by letting him ride a horse that was a present from her half-brother Lord Robert Stewart. He gave her a book of his own poems. On 14 February 1563,

St Valentine's day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a martyr named Valentine, and through later folk traditions it ha ...

, Chastelard was discovered in the Queen's chamber under her Great Bed at Rossend Castle at

. Mary ordered her half brother the

Earl of Moray The title Earl of Moray, or Mormaer of Moray (pronounced "Murry"), was originally held by the rulers of the Province of Moray, which existed from the 10th century with varying degrees of independence from the Kingdom of Alba to the south. Until ...

to execute him on the spot. Instead, the unfortunate poet was taken to St Andrews. Randolph wrote that Chastelard had made a similar attempt at Holyroodhouse. In his defence, Chastelard claimed he had been caught in the Queen's privy but witnesses insisted he was under the bed. He was beheaded a week later at the Market Cross of St Andrews on market day. Mary was consoled by the company of Mary Fleming.James Emerson Phillips, ''Images of a Queen: Mary Stuart in Sixteenth-century Literature'' (University of California, 1964), p. 21: Joseph Bain, ''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 669, 684-6, 686.

Notes

References

* *

External links

''Chastelard, a tragedy''
by

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

* Brantome's account of Chastelard is quoted with an example of his verse in
Laboureur, Jean de, ed., ''Les memoires de Messire Michel de Castelnau, seigneur de Mauvissiere'', vol.1 (1731)
pp. 547–550 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chastelard, Pierre de Bocosel de 1540 births 1563 deaths French poets Court of Mary, Queen of Scots Scottish royal favourites People executed by Stuart Scotland Executed French people People executed by the Kingdom of Scotland by decapitation French male poets