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Mary, Queen of Scots used the ‘spiral locking’ technique to maintain the secrecy of the final letter before her execution

December 11, 2021
Henry Club

written by By Sana Noor Haq, CNN

Mary, Queen of Scots Used “spiral locking” technique to seal the last Letter she wrote before her execution, indicating that she wanted the contents to remain secret, according to Research Published in the Electronic British Library Journal.

An example of letterlocking—where people doubled letters as envelopes to ensure the security of a document—the fallen emperor used a spiral locking process to seal a message that read “Last Will and Testament.” and a bid for martyrdom”. Published on Friday.

Mary was immersed in political controversy during his lifetime. She was in line to the throne after the children of Henry VIII, and was targeted by conspirators during the reign of her English cousin, Elizabeth I, Mary was placed under house arrest for 19 years, after which she was executed at the age of 44, according to the royal family Website,

‘Powerful and dynamic’

Mary wrote the letter, which was addressed to her brother-in-law, Henry III FranceAccording to research, the morning of his execution at Fatheringhay Castle in 1587.

She used a series of complex folding and slitting techniques to close the letter, which the researchers describe in the article as “one of the most spectacular examples of spiral locking.”

A “powerful and moving” testimony, the letter was probably folded by the emperor himself while she was in his prison cell. According to research, there are also spots on the letter, which some historians suggest may be evidence of Mary’s tears stained the paper.

Mary became a political target during the reign of Elizabeth I, and was executed at the age of 44. Credit: Universal History Archive / Getty Images

“Sir, my brother-in-law, by the will of God, for my sins, I think, having put myself in the power of my cousin Queen, in whose hands I have suffered so much for almost twenty years, I finally condemned has died by him and his estates,” according to an English translation in the National Library of Scotland,

“I have asked for my papers, which they have taken, so that I can make my will, but I have been unable to get back anything of my work, or even to make my will independently. I am not even able to take leave or after my death, as I wish, for your kingdom, where I have the honor of being queen, your sister and old ally,” the letter said.

The letter further said, “I have to be hanged like a criminal at eight in the morning.”

Since Mary did not have access to most of her possessions at the time, including her writing utensils, she had to cut the letter using an alternate blade – and perhaps her Lady-in-Waiting by Jane Kennedy and Elizabeth. Help was received. Curl.

letterlocking

Mary used a spiral locking technique to seal the last letter she wrote before hanging.

Mary used a spiral locking technique to seal the last letter she wrote before hanging. Credit: National Library of Scotland/Unlocking History/British Library Journal

Letterlocking was widely used in the early modern Europe, and was a necessary process to ensure the security of letters before mass-produced glue envelopes were manufactured in the 19th century.

The research paper states that it played an important role in the “history of privacy systems”, “enabling global correspondence fundamentally in the early modern period as computer coding underpins digital communications today.”

The research, which is part of the Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, the Rival Queens exhibition at London’s British Library, also reveals the use of spiral locking by other famous European emperors These include Queen Elizabeth I in 1573 and Catherine de’ Medici in 1570.

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