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| Tom outside Holyrood's front door |
This is our continuing adventure through Holyrood
House Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland. This blog will share a horrible
history, a still bloody floor, and a residual haunting!
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| Rob in one of the interior courtyards |
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| The Murder of Rizzio, by John Opie |
A HORRIBLE HISTORY - Mary, Queen of Scots had a secretary from Italy, by the name of David Rizzio. (sometimes he's referred to as David Riccio or David Rizzo (Contemporary
accounts describe him as ugly, short and hunch-backed), He was born in
1533 and met a horrible end there on Holyrood House on March 9, 1566.
Rizzio was an Italian courtier before becoming the Queen's secretary.
Mary's husband, Lord Darnley was a very jealous man, and listened to
rumors that David made the queen pregnant (apparently not true). This
was a conspiracy of Protestant nobles, led by Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord
Ruthven and Lord Darnley with Ruthven conspired to murder Rizzio The
murder was the catalyst for the downfall of Darnley
and had serious consequences for Mary's subsequent career.
A STILL-BLOODY FLOOR - 447 Years Later
It was there that we saw a large blood stain on the wooden floor, 447 years later! You can actually see the red stain on the wooden floor. Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed in Holyroodhouse, but I did find one on line (credit:
After Rizzio was stabbed, the rebels threw his body down the main staircase and stripped of his jewels and fine clothes. He was buried within two hours in the cemetery of Holyrood.
A RESIDUAL HAUNTING - Frightening and emotional events like Rizzio's murder leave a "thumbprint" of energy behind. So, it was no surprise that we felt residual energy. We both felt anxiety and heart palpitations. It was the same feeling that David Rizzio felt when the rebels were trying to drag him into the other room where they slayed him.
NEXT: Holyrood's Destroyed Abbey
