ABSTRACT
On 24 April 1558, Mary Queen of Scots married François, the French Dauphin, in Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. Even before her marriage, Mary, through her striking physical appearance and her personality—not to mention her political significance—had attracted the attention and admiration of many at the French court. There are many descriptions of the festivities surrounding the 1558 marriage, but the original documents on which these are based are few in number. In fact, there are three main contemporary accounts. One tells the story from the stand-point of the French court. Another relates the events from the point of view of the Paris town councillors, the echevins. The third, a fragmentary text, describes the events through the eyes of a Scot. Overall there is no cast-iron case for asserting a deliberate parallel between Edinburgh and Paris for this triumph. Both the Planets and the vegetation are common enough elements of civic and courtly pageantry.
