IN 1572, an embroidered cushion was cited as evidence in a trial of treason against Elizabeth I of England. Still in existence, it displays a lace-cuffed hand emerging from clouds, wielding a sickle, to cut back a dying vine. A banner reads in Latin: “virescit vulnere virtus”, translated as “virtue flourishes by wounding”. A personal monogram and the arms of Scotland reveal its maker’s identity: Mary, Queen of Scots.
Recently forced to abdicate her throne and flee into captivity in England, Mary sent the cushion to her prospective fourth husband the Duke of Norfolk. He was involved in a plot to overthrow her royal cousin, perhaps with her collusion. The embroidery’s symbolism communicates its subversive intent: Elizabeth, unmarried with no children, is the dying vine. The wronged Mary, fertility proven by the birth of her son James, is the pruning hand bringing fecundity and a secure succession to her nations.
