1685 - The Mercat Cross

[This is part of  a series of articles on the year 1685.  You might want to read the Overview first.]

June 30, 1685

On this day Archibald Campbell, the 9th Earl of Argyll, was led from the Laigh Council House to the Mercat Cross of Edinburgh.  This was the normal site for public business including executions.  The Maiden had been moved out of storage and quickly erected atop an elevated platform for all to see.

Artist's rendering of the Maiden.

As would be expected a large crowd gathered.  Many of Argyll's fellow rebels were imprisoned within earshot in the Edinburgh Tolbooth.  They listened to the hubbub outside.  The Canongate prisoners, a few blocks down the road at Canongate Tolbooth, were also aware of the execution and its timing.  But other than the noise of onlookers headed in that direction and the distant din of the masses trying to talk above the roar of the crowd they could not get the real sense of the local drama.

Argyll climbed the steps to the Maiden.  He knelt, embraced the device, uttered " Lord Jesus, receive me into Thy glory" three times, raised his hand as a signal to the executioner, and it was over.

Mercat Cross  From wikipedia:  "A mercat cross is the Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scottish towns, cities and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. It therefore served a secular purpose as a symbol of authority, and was an indication of a burgh's relative prosperity."  The Mercat Cross of Edinburgh was first granted before 1365.  It became the spot for all major public events.

The Rothemayus map of Edinburgh of about 1647 gives a great feel for the location of various sites along the Royal mile in 1685 when Argyll was executed and Robert Campbell sat in the Canongate Tolbooth.

Mercat Cross today

Pavers indicate location of Mercat Cross in 1685.  Royal Mile is on the right leading to the Castle.  Straight ahead is the monument of Adam Smith.  On the left is the back of St. Giles Cathedral.  On the very left a sliver of the current Mercat Cross is visible.