URPoint Details
Battle of Langside
Regent Moray William Kirkaldy of Grange
Mary, Queen of Scots: Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll
Result: victory for Regent Moray
Location: Langside south of Glasgow
The Battle of Langside, fought on 13 May 1568, was one of the more unusual contests in Scottish history, bearing a superficial resemblance to a grand family quarrel, in which a woman fought her brother who was defending the rights of her infant son, part of the Marian civil war. In 1567 Mary, Queen of Scots's short period of personal rule ended in recrimination, intrigue and disaster when she was forced to abdicate in favour of James VI, her infant son. Mary was sent into captivity in Loch Leven Castle, while her Protestant half-brother, James Stewart, Earl of Moray was appointed Regent on behalf of his nephew.
In early May 1568 Mary escaped, heading west to the country of the Hamiltons, high among her remaining supporters, with the determination to restore her rights as queen.
- Type:
- Battlefields