Raising Royal Scottish Babes: baptism rites, gossibs and godparents in late medieval and early modern Scotland

Dr Lucy Dean

Public celebrations of baptism in late medieval and early modern Europe were occasions ripe for political display and social discourse. By the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Scottish examples of elaborate celebrations for the baptisms of royal infants, particularly heirs, became increasingly prominent and featured some of Scotland’s richest Renaissance displays. Monarchs even sought, and successfully received, taxes from parliament for these events. Yet, scholarship on these royal baptisms focuses on the associated spectacular displays rather than religious rites and the social networks created through the selection of godparents of royal infants. This talk peels aside the Renaissance glamour to dig deeper into evidence of the fifteenth and sixteenth-century baptismal rites, exploring how religion either side of the Reformation manifested in such practices, and investigating the social significance of baptism in pre-modern Scotland. You can view a recording of this talk which took place on 18th June 2020.

Candles were an important part of royal baptism rites.