MARIA di Lorena, queen of SCOZIA. - B. at Bar on 22 Nov. 1515, d. at Edimburgo on 10 June 1560. Daughter of Claudio di Guisa, she married Giacomo V, king of Scozia, in 1538; he died in 1542, leaving her regent for their daughter Maria. During her regency M. found herself at the centre of the struggle between Catholics and Protestants, and between English and French.
Following the advice of Card. Beaton, she thwarted the plan of Enrico VIII, who wished his son Edoardo to marry Princess Maria. The murder of the cardinal and the Regent’s French policy strengthened the position of J. Knox. The victory of the Protestants, shortly followed by the death of M., compelled the French to leave Scozia; soon afterwards, by the decision of the Parliament of Edimburgo, the Kingdom withdrew from the Catholic Church.
BBL.: Pastor, V, pp. 653-54; H. Hauser-A. Renaudet, Les débuts de l'âge moderne, 3rd ed., Parigi 1946, V. indice. Roberto Palmarocchi