The trail and execution of mary queen of scots

HIS 121: Europe to 1815

Paper # 1

The Trial of Mary Queen of Scots

Choose one of the following topics, and support your argument with reference to the primary documents as edited in Jayne Elizabeth Lewis’s ​The Trial of Mary Queen of Scots. It is essential that you use and cite these documents as evidence for your argument. These documents are uploaded to the Moodle page for this section of the course.

Topics 1) A Fair Trial? Were the legal proceedings at Fotheringay Castle fair to Mary Queen of Scots and appropriate to her situation? To what extent can they be seen as unfair and inappropriate? 2) Mary Queen of Scots execution at Fotheringay Castle on the 8​th​ of February 1587 was in so many ways extraordinary. As you examine the narrative of the execution, describe the ways in which both side tried to frame it as theatre to support their cause. Who would you argue won the execution display(Yes I know Mary was beheaded)? 3) Ultimate Responsibility? What individuals shaped Mary Queen of Scot’s ultimate fate? Could Mary herself be considered one of them? What role did contemporary negative images of the female play in her ultimate fate?

Format

1. Your submission should be at least four pages long (that is at least four pages of interpretation), double-spaced, and have one inch margins top and bottom, one inch margins left and right. 2. The paper title, your name, the course and section number, and your year (freshman, junior, etc,) should be included on a separate title page. 3. You should proof read your finished product carefully. ​Your grade will be diminished if you have more than four typos in the entry. 4. Please do not include fancy folders or binders. These do little for the content and only waste your money. 5. ​PLEASE NOTE THAT ENDNOTES OR FOOTNOTES ARE THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE FORM OF CITATION FOR THIS PAPER, 6. A SHORT GUIDE TO ENDNOTES IS INCLUDED WITH THIS ASSIGNMENT SHEET, FOR MORE EXTENDED HELP SEE, Mary Lynn Rampolla, ​A Pocket Guide to Writing in History ​ (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2007). 7. PLEASE READ THE ADVISE ON PLAGIARISM IN YOUR SYLLABIS, IT IS THERE FOR A SPECIFIC REASON! SOME ADVICE ON QUOTATIONS, FOOTNOTES AND ENDNOTES 1. General statements of accepted fact (common knowledge) do not require documentation. A statement in your own words of factual matters on a given question does not require a footnote or endnote, but sometimes a note is desirable to refer readers to more detailed accounts of the question under discussion. When in doubt, it is best to footnote. 2. Quotations never replace good prose. Don't use quotations for straight factual presentation, but limit them as much as possible to:

* especially apt ways of stating something which you feel cannot be put better in your own words; * delineation in short form of a particular author's interpretation; * a prime example of an historic figure's views.

3. Short quotations (four or fewer lines) are integrated into the regular text. Longer quotations normally are single-spaced and indented without quotation marks. 4. To document your sources, you can use footnotes (at the bottom of the page) or endnotes (at the end of the paper). Footnote or endnote form is a matter of personal preference within certain defined limits. You should observe the following rules: * All notes should be numbered consecutively.

* The number in the text should follow the quotation or other statement(s) to which the citation refers. * The first reference to a source should occur in the following order:

1. author's name -- first name or initials followed by the last name; 2. title -- underlined, if a book; in quotation marks, followed by the title of the periodical underlined, if an article; 3. if a book, indicate place, publisher, and date of publication; if a periodical article, indicate the date of publication only; in both cases, enclose bibliographical information in parenthesis; and 4. volume number if required; and page number(s).

For example: 1. ​Niccolò Machiavelli, ​The Prince​ (New York: Penguin, 1999), p. 56.

* Subsequent references to the same source may appear in shortened form: 2. ​Machiavelli, ​The Prince​, 79.

For further information on footnote and endnote form, on the question of when to document, and on plagiarism, students can consult Mary Lynn Rampolla, ​A Pocket Guide to Writing in History​ (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001).