Tracing royal Stewart jewels in the archives

Abstract

• Imagine the impact of Mary Queen of Scots walking into the room. At nearly six feet tall, and dressed into the finest jewels, fashion and fabrics available, she will have impressed. That, after all, was the intended effect: Mary used the way she appeared to command respect, denote her regal status, and demonstrate her rightful authority. Valuable jewels, and the equally luxurious clothing that incorporated them, framed her to within the trappings that were expected of someone in her position. Jewels were not an extravagant flrippery: they were the tools of monarchy, they helped Mary enact her queenly role, they were integral to her performance of majesty.