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David Rizzio ( ; ; – 9 March 1566) or Riccio ( , ) was an Italian courtier and the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary's husband, Lord Darnley, is said to have been jealous of their friendship because of rumours that Rizzio had impregnated Mary, and he joined in a conspiracy of Protestant nobles to murder him, led by Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven. Mary was having dinner with Rizzio and a few ladies-in-waiting when Darnley joined them, accused his wife of adultery and then had a group murder Rizzio, Mary, Queen of Scots, by Antonia Fraser, 1969 who was hiding behind Mary. Mary was held at gunpoint and Rizzio was stabbed numerous times. His body took 57 dagger wounds. The murder was the catalyst of the downfall of Darnley, and had serious consequences for Mary's subsequent reign.Michael Questier, Dynastic Politics and the British Reformations, 1558-1630 (Oxford, 2019), p. 58.
Rizzio (whose name appears in Italian records as Davide Riccio di Pancalieri in Piemonte) went first from Turin to the Court of the Duke of Savoy, then at Nice. However, finding no opportunities for advancement there, he found means in 1561 to get himself admitted into the train of Carlo Ubertino Solaro, Count of Moretta, who was about to lead an embassy to Scotland.Alexandre Labanoff, Lettres de Marie Stuart, 7 (London, 1844), p. 65: John Parker Lawson, History of Scotland by Robert Keith, 2 (Edinburgh, 1845), pp. 125–6Alexandre Teulet, Papiers d'État Relatifs à l'Histoire de l'Écosse, 2 (Paris: Plon, Bannatyne Club, 1852), p. 50. thanks to his connections with Gerolamo della Rovere and Jean Morel— the latter being the recipient of the only extant letter written by him.Antonio Antico, "Nota sul rinvenimento di una lettera di Davide Riccio (1533–1566), piemontese e segretario di Maria Stuart", in Centri Studi Piemontesi, LIII:2 (2024), pp. 525–532. The Count in Scotland had no employment for Rizzio, and dismissed him. Rizzio however, had made friends with the Queen's musicians, who had come with her from France. James Melville, a friend of Rizzio, said that "Her Majesty had three valets in her chamber, who sung three parts, and wanted a bass to sing the fourth part".
Rizzio and Mary's musicians were employed as valets of her chamber and the royal accounts also call Rizzio her "chamber child". Other valets who were musicians include Adrian Lefeau, John Adesoun (who played the lute), and James Lauder. Mary bought matching clothes for three lute players in February 1562.Gordon Donaldson, Accounts of the Thirds of Benefices (Edinburgh: SHS, 1949), pp. 100–102, James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, 11 (Edinburgh, 1916), pp. 108–109, 158, 217. One of the "sangstaris" was called Missall.Alma Calderwood, Buik of the Kirk of the Canagait (SRS: Edinburgh, 1961), p. 35.
George Buchanan wrote about events and plots in June 1565 before the royal wedding. He claims that Mary summoned her brother, the Earl of Moray, to meet her at Perth. There, a quarrel between Moray and Darnley would escalate, Rizzio would strike the first blow, and others would ensure Moray was killed.James Aikman, History of Scotland by George Buchanan, 2 (Glasgow, 1827), pp. 468–69. Thomas Randolph described this plan differently, and his version does not involve Rizzio. Moray however did not come to Perth, but stayed at Lochleven Castle. Rumours followed that Moray and the Earl of Argyll planned to kidnap Mary and Darnley as they passed by Kinross.Robert Keith, History of the affairs of church and state in Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1844), pp. 300, 309–311David Hay Fleming, Mary Queen of Scots (London, 1897), 109, 354.Aeneas James George Mackay, Historie and cronicles of Scotland, 2 (Edinburgh: STS, 1899), p. 182
Before the wedding of Mary and Darnley, Rizzio was with the couple when they walked in disguise or masque costume on Edinburgh's Royal Mile.Joseph Stevenson, Selections from unpublished manuscripts illustrating the reign of Mary Queen of Scotland, pp. 119–120. After the marriage in July 1565, rumours became rife that Mary was having an adulterous affair with Rizzio.Robert Stedall, The Challenge to the Crown: The Struggle for Influence in the Reign of Mary Queen of Scots (Book Guild Publishing, 2012), p. 191. It was said (in 1568) that Mary and Darnley's love decayed after they returned from the campaign against Moray's rebellion, known as the Chaseabout Raid, when Mary was "using the said David more like a lover than a servant, forsaking her husband's bed".Thomas Finlayson Henderson, Mary, Queen of Scots: Her Environment and Tragedy, 2 (New York, 1905), p. 654, modernised here According to the report of a French diplomat, Paul de Foix, Darnley discovered Rizzio in the closet of Mary's bedchamber at Holyrood house in the middle of the night dressed only in a fur gown over his shirt.Alexander Teulet, Relations Politiques, 2 (Paris, 1862), p. 267 George Buchanan included a similar story in his History, that Darnley had a key to a secondary door to Mary's bedchamber, but found it locked or barred against him. Thereafter, he resolved to be revenged on Rizzio.James Aikman, History of Scotland by George Buchanan, 2 (Glasgow, 1827), p. 478: Ane Cronickill of the Kingis of Scotland (Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club, 1830), p. 103.
Following Darnley's murder, Lord Ruthven, in the account known as Ruthven's Relation, revealed that Darnley had described the circumstances of his jealousy to Mary. This account also focusses on Rizzio's presence in Mary's bedchamber:
Since yon fellow Davie fell in credit and familiarity with your Majesty, you regarded me not, neither treated me nor entertained me after your wonted fashion; for every day before dinner, you would come to my chamber and pass time with me, and thus long time ye have not done done so; and when I come to your Majesty's chamber, you bear me little company, except Davie had been the third "marrow" companion: and after supper your Majesty hath a use to sit at cards with the said Davie till one or two of the clock after midnight; and this is the entertainment that I have had of you this long time.David Hay Fleming, Mary Queen of Scots (London, 1897), 384 fn.41 quoting Ruthven's Relation (London, 1699), p. 30 British Library Cotton Caligula B.IX (2) f.270.
The chronicle account, the Historie of James the Sext, tells the story in a different way, asserting that Mary's secretary, William Maitland of Lennoxlove, was jealous of Rizzio's increasing power. Maitland made Darnley jealous of Rizzio, hoping that the naive king-consort would destroy his rival. Historie of KIng James the Sext (Edinburgh, 1825), 4
Mary gave him gifts of rich fabric from her wardrobe, including black velvet figured with gold, and five pieces of gold cloth figured with scales.Clare Hunter, Embroidering Her Truth: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Language of Power (London: Sceptre, 2022), pp. 157-8: Joseph Robertson, Inventaires de la Royne Descosse (Edinburgh, 1863), pp. 155, 159, 161: Thomas Thomson, Collection of Inventories (Edinburgh, 1815), pp. 147 item 118, 149 item 146. It was said that Rizzio took bribes. William Douglas of Lochleven Castle wrote that he offered Rizzio £5,000 to prevent the forfeit of the Regent Moray, but Rizzio refused saying he would not act for £20,000.Margaret Sanderson, Mary Stewart's People (James Thin, 1987), p. 57: David Hay Fleming, Mary Queen of Scots (London, 1897), p. 382. Rizzio's involvement with pardons for the Chaseabout rebels sparked Darnley's envy.Thomas Finlayson Henderson, Mary, Queen of Scots: Her Environment and Tragedy, 2 (New York, 1905), p. 654
According to a letter of Thomas Randolph, Rizzio took part in a costumed masque in February 1566, celebrating the arrival of Nicolas d'Angennes, seigneur de Rambouillet, who brought the Order of Saint Michael for Darnley. A Narrative of the Minority of Mary Queen of Scots by James Maitland (Ipswich, 1842): W. Park, 'Letter of Thomas Randolph to the Earl of Leicester, 14 February 1566', Scottish Historical Review, 34:118 Part 2 (October 1955), pp. 135-139 at 138: National Library of Scotland MS 3657.
Mary had given Rizzio £200 in January 1566 to refurbish his chamber at Holyrood Palace.James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, 11, p. p. 462. After his murder, it was noted that Rizzio had been living in wealthy circumstances. He was said to have £2,000 Sterling in gold coins, good clothing including 18 pairs of velvet hose, and his chamber at Holyroodhouse was well-furnished with a variety of hand-guns described as daggs, pistolets, and arquebuses, and 22 swords. He was said to be wearing a very rich jewel at his neck when he was killed, and was wearing a satin doublet and a furred damask night gown, perhaps the garment mentioned in the earlier French report.Henry Ellis, Original Letters, series 1 vol. 2 (London, 1824), p. 218.
On the night of the murder the royal guards were overpowered and the palace was turned over to the control of the rebels. According to James Melville, the Earls of Bothwell and Huntly escaped from the palace by jumping from the window into the "little garden where the lions are lodged".Thomas Thomson, Memoirs of his own life (Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club, 1827), pp. 148–149. The Queen was six months pregnant (with James VI) at the time, and some accused Rizzio of having impregnated her. The rebels burst into the supper room, led by Lord Ruthven and George Douglas, and demanded that Rizzio be handed over. The Queen refused. Rizzio then hid behind Mary, or held her about the waist, but was nevertheless seized.Thomas Thomson, Memoirs of his own life (Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club, 1827), p. 149.
Mary would allege that one of the intruders, Patrick Bellenden (brother of the Lord Justice Clerk), pointed his gun at her pregnant belly,Peter Anderson, Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney Lord of Shetland (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1982), p. 48. while Andrew Ker of Faldonside threatened to stab her. Lord Ruthven denied this.Thomas Wright, Queen Elizabeth and her Times, vol. 1 (London, 1838), pp. 229-30. Anthony Standen later wrote that Bellenden drew his dagger at the Queen's left side and Standen disarmed him, while another man had a snaphance pistol which failed to fire. HMC Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield, vol. 16 (London, 1933), p. 16.Henry Ellis, Original Letters Illustrative of English History, 1 (London, 1824), p. 213.
After this violent struggle, Rizzio was dragged through the bed-chamber into the adjacent audience chamber or outer hall.Thomas Thomson, Memoirs of his own life (Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club, 1827), p. 149. He was stabbed an alleged 57 times. His body was thrown down the main staircase nearby (now disused) and stripped of his jewels and fine clothes.Daniel, William S. (1852), History of The Abbey and Palace of Holyrood (Edinburgh, 1852), p. 75. The location of Rizzio's murder is marked with a small plaque in the Audience Chamber, underneath which is a red mark on the floorboards, which reportedly was left when Rizzio was stabbed to death. Mary, Queen of Scots at the Palace of Holyroodhouse: A Creative Writing Resource for Teachers – Palace of Holyrood House
Rizzio was first buried in the cemetery of Holyrood Abbey.Joseph Stevenson, The History of Mary Stewart: From the Murder of Riccio Until Her Flight Into England by Claude Nau (Edinburgh, 1883), pp. 16, 227. Buchanan states that shortly afterwards his body was removed by the Queen's orders and deposited in the tomb of the kings of Scotland in Holyrood Abbey.Daniel, William S. (1852), History of The Abbey and Palace of Holyrood (Edinburgh, 1852), p. 76. This strengthened the previous rumours of her familiarity with him. Rumours circulated about the motive for the murder: that Darnley was jealous, or that powerful lords sought to manipulate Darnley and remove an irritating presence at court.
Robert Melville arrived in Edinburgh from London and reported back to Elizabeth and Cecil on the aftermath of the murder. He noted that Regent Morton, Lord Ruthven, Lord Lindsay, William Maitland of Lethington, the Clerk Register James Balfour, the Lord Justice Clerk John Bellenden (whose brother was alleged to have pointed a gun at the queen), and some gentlemen of Lothian, who were all suspected of having knowledge of the plan had fled. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), 267, 272, 274-5. Mary wrote to Elizabeth I asking that Ruthven, Morton, and their accomplices should be returned to Scotland from Newcastle. Elizabeth asked Sir John Forster to tell them to find refuge outside England.Henry Ellis, Original Letters Illustrative of English History, series 1 vol. 2 (London, 1824), pp. 223–224.
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and a French diplomat, Paul de Foix discussed the news. De Foix seems at first to have been misled about the events, thinking that Darnley had killed Rizzio because he found such a lowly servant having an adulterous relationship with Mary, an idea not present in the reports of the murder.John Hosack, Mary, Queen of Scots, and her Accusers, 2 (Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1874), pp. 78–80: Allan Crosbie, Calendar State Papers Foreign, 1566–1568 (London, 1871), xi, 37 no. 217.
Rizzio's brother, Joseph, arrived in Scotland with Michel de Castelnau and was appointed secretary in David's place by 25 April 1566. Joseph and an Italian colleague, Joseph Lutyni, had some trouble over coins taken from the queen's purse, and in April 1567 he was accused and acquitted with Bothwell of Darnley's murder. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), 276, 311, 320. Castelnau brought letters for Darnley, and he wrote to Catherine de' Medici to thank her, taking the opportunity to insist he was innocent of the "horrible crime".Joseph Stevenson, The History of Mary Stewart by Claude Nau (Edinburgh: Paterson, 1883), p. cxxiii.
George Buchanan wrote in 1581 that David was first buried outside the door of Holyrood Abbey, and then Mary arranged for him to be buried in the tomb of her father James V and Madeleine of France within. Buchanan described this circumstance as reflecting badly on the Queen. Fearing that Mary's son, James VI, would suppress his book, Buchanan's friend James Melville tried to get Buchanan to rewrite the passage while the book was at the printers. Buchanan asked his cousin, Thomas Buchanan, a schoolmaster in Stirling, if he thought the story was true, and the cousin agreed. The story was published.Buchanan, George, History of Scotland, book 17 chapter 65: James Aikman, History of Scotland, vol. 2 (Glasgow, 1827), p .483 & footnote: The Diary of Mr James Melville (Bannatyne Club, 1829), p. 86.
It is sometimes said that Rizzio was buried at the Canongate Kirk and burying ground. Holyroodhouse is within the old Canongate jurisdiction, and Rizzio's death was recorded in the Canongate registers. This pre-dated the building of the Canongate Kirk in 1688, and it is unlikely he could be buried there.A. Francis Steuart, Life of Seigneur Davie (London, 1922), p. 110 fn
The murder of Rizzio and the subsequent downfall of Darnley form the main subject of the 1830 play Maria Stuart by Juliusz Słowacki.
Rizzio's life and death are a key plot element in Caleb Carr's Sherlock Holmes story The Italian Secretary, Holmes vocally dismissing the idea that Rizzio was ever anything more than entertainment.
Arthur Conan Doyle used the death of Rizzio as a plot point in his 1908 story, “The Silver Mirror”.
Rizzio's murder is also the subject of Scottish author Denise Mina's 2021 novella, "Rizzio".
On 19 March, the Privy Council sent letters summoning several men who were suspected of involvement, requiring they attend in Edinburgh to answer questions and charges. These included those in Randolph's list and others such as Clan Tweedie, and John Somerville of Cambusnethan.John Hill Burton, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 436–437.
On 8 June, the Queen's advocates John Spens of Condie and Robert Crichton of Eliock proclaimed some the suspects were rebels and had had fled. It would be unlawful to help them. The lawyers included the names of some Edinburgh craftsmen, William Jonston, a bow maker, a shoemaker Thomas Broun, and the cutler James Young who made sword blades.John Hill Burton, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 462–464.
John Carmichael of Meadowflat, later Captain of Crawford, was given a remission or pardon in 1574 for his "art and part" in the detention of Mary at Holyrood from the 9 to 11 March 1566.Gordon Donaldson, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, 6 (Edinburgh: HMSO, 1963), p. 485 no. 2684.
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