Person:Peter Semple (1)

Mr. Peter Semple

• The Scots Peerage by Paul, James

Page 538 – Mr. Peter, On 17 July 1526 he was included in a respite granted by King James V. for the slaughter of Cornelius de Mathetema, Dutchman, at the Tolbooth of Edinburgh. Peter is mentioned in 21 August 1533. In May 1544 he was for a time Constable of Edinburgh Castle. (Note: His duty would have been in the Constable's Tower during the Burning of Edinburgh (1544). He was still alive on 18 October 1558 when he appears as a witness.

• A history of the county of Renfrew from the earliest times (1905) by Metcalf, William M.

Page 136, 137 - On June 12, 1527, Parliament assembled in Edinburgh. Lord Semple had already been concerned with the Earl of Eglinton, Sir Neil Montgomery, and Stirling of Keir, in the death of the laird of Lochleven, and on the 21st of the month the Lords Temporal thought it expedient that Semple and his associates should be indicted for treason. While Parliament was sitting, Semple whether aware of this resolution or not, entered Edinburgh at the head of a strong force. With his men he set upon on Corenlius de Mathetema, a Dutchman, near the Tolbooth, and put him to death. The affair created a great stir, but on the 17th of the following month the King issued a letter of respite, protecting Semple and his followers against all that might follow from this “treasonable slaughter” for nineteen years. The letter gives the names of Semple’s accomplices. In all they number 586.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Paul, James Balfour. The Scots peerage: founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's ‘Peerage of Scotland’ containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, with armorial illustrations. (Edinburgh: D. Douglas, 1904-1914).

   Page 538 – Mr. Peter, On 17 July 1526 he was included in a respite granted by King James V. for the slaughter of Cornelius de Mathetema, Dutchman, at the Tolbooth of Edinburgh. Peter is mentioned in 21 August 1533. In May 1544 he was for a time Constable of Edinburgh Castle, and he was still alive on 18 October 1558 when he appears as a witness.

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Metcalfe, William Musham. A history of the county of Renfrew from the earliest times: with a map of the county. (Paisley [Scotland]: A. Gardner, 1905).

   Page 136, 137 - On June 12, 1527, Parliament assembled in Edinburgh. Lord Semple had already been concerned with the Earl of Eglinton, Sir Neil Montgomery, and Stirling of Keir, in the death of the laird of Lochleven, and on the 21st of the month the Lords Temporal thought it expedient that Semple and his associates should be indicted for treason. While Parliament was sitting, Semple whether aware of this resolution or not, entered Edinburgh at the head of a strong force. With his men he set upon on Corenlius de Mathetema, a Dutchman, near the Tolbooth, and put him to death. The affair created a great stir, but on the 17th of the following month the King issued a letter of respite, protecting Semple and his followers against all that might follow from this “treasonable slaughter” for nineteen years. The letter gives the names of Semple’s accomplices. In all they number 586.

   Note: Wikipedia's List of parliaments of Scotland shows a parliament on 12 June 1526 in Edinburgh, but none on 12 June 1527. It is likely that the date was originally given as 12 June in 13 James V, which would make it June 1526, but someone might have added 13 to the start of James' reign (Sep 1513) and come up with June 1527 by mistake.