“Archibald Cornwall”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Archibald Cornwall (died 27 April 1601) was an officer of Edinburgh's baillie court. He was executed for attempting to display royal portraits for sale on the town's gallows.

Background

Archibald Cornwall is prominent in records of the Edinburgh Baillie's court which detail his weekly role as a court officer. He confiscated and marketed clothes and household goods belonging to defaulting debtors. Confiscated goods were displayed at the Mercat Cross on the Royal Mile and sold to highest bidder, to reimburse creditors who had obtained an order called a "decreet" from the baillies. The Scots words for confiscation were "poynding" or "apprysing" or "comprysing", the sale a "roup".^[1]

Hanging the King and Queen's portraits

On 15 April 1601 Archibald was displaying confiscated household goods including the portraits of James VI of Scotland and Anna of Denmark at the cross and was seen to be standing on a table about to hang the pictures on two nails on the gallows or gibbet. He was stopped by a crowd of passers-by who threatened to stone him. The English diplomat George Nicholson said that it was accounted "an ill presage" and a "dishonour to the king". Cornwall was arrested and later accused of the "Ignominious Dishonouring and Defaming of his Majesties". On 17 April Edinburgh Town Council passed an act against the sale of the portraits of the king or queen in private or public, and informed the king who was at Dalkeith Palace. Archibald was found guilty by an assize composed of Edinburgh tailors and condemned to be hung on Monday 27 April and remain on the same gibbet for 24 hours. Afterwards the gallows were burnt.^[2]

This harsh judgement and execution is usually regarded as motivated by the King's strong desire in these years to protect his reputation in the light of the English succession, beyond the usual limits of justice and equity, and has been linked with other cases where those who slandered him were executed. The case also shows that copies of Scottish royal portraits, now very rare, were not uncommon in Edinburgh houses. Portraits may have been made following the works of Adrian Vanson, the official court painter.

References

1. ^The record of the court is known as the "Register of Decreets" and is preserved in Edinburgh City Archives, SL234, and records several instances of Archibald's work as a court officer.
2. ^[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FqVBAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA349#v=onepage&q&f=false Robert Pitcairn, Ancient Criminal Trials in Scotland vol. 2 part 2 (Edinburgh 1833), pp.349-351]: Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 13 part 2 (Edinburgh, 1969), p. 809, 814.

5 : 1601 deaths|17th-century executions by Scotland|Executed Scottish people|People executed by the Kingdom of Scotland by hanging|History of Edinburgh