1 March 1546: Cardinal Beaton has the Protestant reformer George Wishart burned at the stake for heresy. This brutal execution takes place at St Andrews in front of a gathered crowd. Consequently, the martyrdom of Wishart fuels the growing fire of the Scottish Reformation and leads to a violent retaliation against the Cardinal.
9 March 1566: David Rizzio is murdered at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in a savage act of political violence. A group of conspirators, including Lord Darnley, stabbed Mary Queen of Scots’ private secretary over fifty times in her presence. However, the attempted coup fails when Darnley helps Mary escape to the safety of Dunbar.
10 March 520: St Kessog is killed at Bandry on the western shore of Loch Lomond. As the original patron saint of Scotland before Saint Andrew, his death was a significant blow to the early Celtic church. Legend suggests he was martyred, and his memory remains tied to the haunting beauty of the Loch.
19 March 1286: King Alexander III dies after falling from his horse during a stormy night in Fife. He was travelling to reach his new bride, Yolande de Dreux, when he vanished in the darkness. Because of this, his granddaughter Margaret becomes heir to the throne at age three. Unfortunately the child died en route from Norway plunging Scotland into a period of dangerous political instability.
18 March 1752: Edinburgh’s first anatomy murderers are executed. Helen Torrance and Jean Waldie murder 9-year-old John Dallas and sell his body to anatomy students for a few shillings.
22 March 1406: King James I is captured by pirates off Flamborough Head while sailing toward sanctuary in France. The twelve-year-old prince is promptly handed over to Henry IV of England to begin a long captivity. Therefore, Scotland is left without its rightful monarch for eighteen years while the English crown holds him for ransom.
24 March 1603: King James VI of Scots becomes King James I of England following the death of Elizabeth I. This Union of the Crowns marks a pivotal shift as the monarch moves his court from Edinburgh to London. Although he promised to return often, he only visited his northern kingdom once more in his life.
24 March 1848: Donald MacAulay and Ann Matheson are evicted from Badanluig during the height of the Highland Clearances. This forced removal was part of a wider systematic displacement of the Gaelic-speaking population. Consequently, many families were left homeless or forced to board ships for the colonies across the Atlantic.
25 March 1306: Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scotland at Scone in a defiant ceremony. Despite being an outlaw in the eyes of the English, he claimed his ancestral right to the throne. This bold move initiated a long and bloody struggle for independence that would eventually define his legacy.
27 March 1625: King James I/VI dies at the age of fifty-eight and is succeeded by his son, Charles I. The new king ascends the throne with a firm belief in the Divine Right of Kings. Unfortunately, his lack of understanding regarding Scottish religious and political sensitivities eventually leads the nation toward civil war.
29 March 1298: William Wallace is titled “Guardian of Scotland” following his military successes against the English. He continues to act officially in the name of the exiled King John Balliol. Despite his new title, he faces immense pressure from the Scottish nobility who remain wary of his rising influence.
30 March 1296: King Edward I of England attacks Berwick-upon-Tweed and initiates a horrific massacre of the inhabitants. Thousands of men, women, and children are slaughtered as the town is reduced to ruins. In response, William Wallace and his followers retaliate with their own atrocities across the border in Hexham.
March 1662: The witch-pricker Christian Caddell arrives in Elgin under the alias John Dickson. Her presence signals the beginning of a wave of witch trials across the north-east. Consequently, many accused individuals face examination, torture, and execution based on her “evidence.”
