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2. Church and State When King James V of Scotland (1513-42) married French-born Mary of Guise in 1538 it reinforced support for Catholicism and the “auld alliance” of 1295, when Scotland and France signed a Treaty of Friendship and mutual support against England, their common adversary. King Henry VIII of England (1491-1547), laid the foundation for the English reformation by rejecting the spiritual jurisdiction of the Pope who disagreed with his decision to divorce Catherine of Aragon (considered too old to produce a male heir for Henry, who wanted to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn). Consequently, Henry renounced Catholicism and induced Parliament to make him head of the Church in England; he dissolved the monasteries, drove out the monks and confiscated land to the benefit of his supporters. To prevent Scotland supporting France in a war against England, Henry’s army marched north and defeated the Scots at Solway Moss in 1542. In the same year, Mary “Queen of Scots” was born at Linlithgow Palace. Her father, James V of Scotland, died when she was only six days old and she became queen, with her mother, Mary of Guise, acting as regent. Hoping to disrupt an alliance between Scotland and France, Henry commended that Mary and his infant son
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