[A1567/12/48]*[print] [email] [cite] [preceding] [following]
The which day, in presence of [James Stewart, earl of Moray], my lord regent's grace, and three estates of parliament, compeared personally a potent and noble lord, George [Sinclair], earl of Caithness, lord Sinclair, chancellor, chosen by the persons that passed upon the assize of James [Hepburn], sometime earl of Bothwell, then dilated and accused for the treasonable slaughter of the late Henry [Stewart, lord Darnley], late king of Scots, and protested for himself and in name and on behalf of the remaining persons that passed upon the said assize that the clearing of the said James, sometime earl of Bothwell, upon [...]† of the said slaughter be no hurt to them, and that they shall incur no hurt nor danger through that in their lives, lands nor goods in respect of the petition made by them the time they were upon the said assize and delivered, as is specified at length in their said protestation of the date aforesaid, notwithstanding that in this present parliament he shall be convicted thereof and forfeited for the same crime and others also; and that they give their votes and consent thereto, because the time of the clearing of him of the said crime there was no dittay sworn, nor they knew him in no way culpable thereof, and no sufficient verification nor testification was then produced before them that he was guilty of the same. The which protestation the said lord regent and three estates of parliament admitted and ordained, and ordain the same to be inserted and registered in the books of parliament, to remain therein for future memory, and ordain letters of publication to be directed, if need be, in the appropriate form.