Andrew Mansioun, or Mentioun or Manschone or Manson, (d. 1579) was a French artist who worked at the court of James V, King of Scots. He was the master carpenter of the Scottish artillery for Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI of Scotland.'Mansioun, Andrew (1535-1579)', British and Irish Furniture Makers Online, BIFMO
Works Andrew is recorded carving decorative wood-work, engraving metal, making moulds for cast-iron decorations, and gun-founding.Stephen Jackson, Scottish Furniture, 1500–1914 (National Museums of Scotland, 2024), p. 16. He may have worked on the surviving 34 "Stirling Heads", oak medallion portraits made c.1540 at Stirling Castle with John Drummond of Milnab and other furnishings.G. Hay, 'Scottish Renaissance Architecture', in David Breeze, Studies in Scottish Antiquity presented to Stewart Cruden (Edinburgh, 1984), pp. 205, 207: John G. Dunbar, Scottish Royal Palaces (East Linton, 1999), p. 162: Michael Pearce, 'A French Furniture Maker and the 'Courtly Style' in Sixteenth-Century Scotland', Regional Furniture, XXXII (2018), pp. 129-30. His projects included; the fittings of the royal suite on the yacht Unicorn; an engraved brass for the tomb of David Beaton's parents at Markinch in 1541;Hannay, Robert Kerr, Rentale Sancti Andree (STS: Edinburgh, 1913), pp. xxxviii, 125. and a carved lion and a Latin inscription for the tomb of James V in 1542.Rosalind K. Marshall, Mary of Guise (London: Collins, 1977), p. 106. He made a cradle for Prince James, the short-lived son of James V and Mary of Guise,Thomas, Andrea, Princelie Majestie (Tuckwell, 2005), p. 78: Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1907), p. 307. and a bed for Regent Arran.Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 163. Andrew made moulds for use in the gun-foundry at Edinburgh Castle, for placing the royal arms and ciphers on cannon barrels, and also engraved ciphers and dates on the guns. He was appointed a gunner in the Scottish artillery on 3 August 1543 with a monthly salary of £3.Register Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 62 no. 428.
On the basis of the commission for Cardinal Beaton at Markinch, the historian David McRoberts raised the possibility that Mansioun was responsible for the carved oak "Beaton panels" now in the National Museum of Scotland, which carry the Cardinal's heraldry.McRoberts David, & Holmes, S. M., ed., Lost Interiors: Rhind Lectures 1969-70 (Aquhorthies Press, 2012), pp. 73-77.
Stirling Heads
The Stirling Heads, the portrait roundels made for the ceiling of the King's Presence chamber at Stirling Castle in 1540, were carved from oak grown in forests in Poland. They were originally painted, and traces of blue-grey paint made with indigo which depicted the steel armour of some figures were identified by conservators. Some similar carvings, in stone, can be seen on the facades of Falkland Palace. The stone medallions at Falkland may have been the work of Nicolas Roy.John G. Dunbar, Scottish Royal Palaces (Tuckwell, East Linton, 1999), p. 36. The subjects depicted may relate to the ancestry of the Stewart kings, classical mythology, and Bible stories. For the restoration of the palace at Stirling in 2010, a new set of medallions was carved by John Donaldson, and they were painted by a team led by John Nevin and Graciela Ainsworth.John G. Harrison, Rebirth of a Palace: The Royal Court at Stirling Castle (Historic Scotland, 2011), pp. 131-161, 142–143.
During the examination and conservation of the Stirling Heads a drawing made by one of the original carvers was discovered by a conservator-restorer on the reverse of one medallion (a woman in masque costume (STC029), depicting a baluster flanked by mermaids holdings masks, a typical renaissance design. This drawing may have been the work of Andrew Mansioun.Michael Pearce, 'A French Furniture Maker and the 'Courtly Style' in Sixteenth-Century Scotland', Regional Furniture vol. XXXII (2018), p. 130.
Carved roundels with the coats of arms of Mary of Guise, Henry II of France, and Regent Arran decorated a house in Blythe's Close on the Castlehill, the upper stretch of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. It is thought the house may have been a lodging used by Mary of Guise.Daniel Wilson, Memorials of Edinburgh, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1891), p. 195. These carvings were acquired by the National Museums of Scotland in 2021.Anna Groundwater: Acquiring the Armorial RoundelAlison Campsie, 'Auld Alliance marriage panel of Mary Queen of Scots' parents bought for nation', Scotsman, 8 December 2021Anna Groundwater, Decoding the Jewels: Renaissance Jewellery in Scotland (Sidestone Press, 2024), pp. 24–25. Perhaps in 1558, similar roundels were carved for the audience chamber of Holyrood Palace.Thorsten Hanke, 'The Ceilings', Gordon Ewart & Dennis Gallagher, With Thy Towers High: The Archaeology of Stirling Castle and Palace (Historic Scotland, 2015), p. 121. These armorials were originally painted with bright colours using orpiment and azurite. No documentation survives to name the carvers of the Edinburgh armorials.Henry Laing, 'Remarks on the Carved Ceiling and Heraldic Shields of the Apartments in Holyroodhouse, commonly known as 'Queen Mary's Audience Chamber', PSAS, vii (1868), pp. 381-384.
Making and decorating cannon Andrew Mansion made moulds or patterns for six cannon with lion heads and fleur-de-lys, cast under the direction of Hans Cochrane in December 1540.James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 7 (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 343-4 the transcription has "Mastertoun" for "Man'sioun". James V employed French, Flemish, Danish, and German gunners. A French master of ordinance, Christopher Grandmaseaw, was sent to France and other countries in 1541 to buy equipment.Denys Hay, Letters of James V (Edinburgh, 1954), p. 432.
The gun foundry was in Edinburgh Castle. The Treasurer's accounts detail Andrew Mansioun's work engraving the royal cannon in March 1542 in these words;Gevin to Andres Mensioun for graving of the Kingis grace armes with unicornis, thrissillis, and flour de lyces upoune the samin piece, and graving of the dait of yere upoune the mouth thairof, and upoun ..., sindry utheris pieces sett in task by Johnne Drummond to him, £13-6s-8d.Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 127.
Four Scottish falconets with 'IRS' (Iacobus Rex Scotorum) royal ciphers were captured by the English at the battle of Solway Moss,Letters & Papers Henry VIII, vol. 17 (London, 1900), no. 1143. and another was recovered from Castle Semple Loch and is now in the collection of Glasgow Museums.Glasgow Art Galleries and Museum (Accession no: 10-46)
St Giles' Kirk Andrew Mansioun also worked for Edinburgh town with an annual retainer of 10 merks. He made stools for St Giles Cathedral and in 1554 he completed the quire stalls and a new door to the quire. During this work Mansioun had a team of three carpenters working for him, described as his servants, and the town employed two labourers, Home and Hainslie, to fetch and carry for him.James Marwick, Extracts from the Burgh Records of Edinburgh: 1528-1557 (Edinburgh, 1871), pp. 174, 196, 337-9. In July 1559, during the crisis of the Scottish Reformation, the new stalls were removed for safety to the Nether Tolbooth. In June 1560, the Dean of Guild, James Barroun, was asked to organise the making of new seating from the timber stored at the Tolbooth.Extracts From the Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh, 1557–1571 (Edinburgh: Scottish Burgh Records Society, 1875), pp. 45, 67.
Edinburgh tolbooth and the fortress on Inchkeith The gunners' expertise with ropes lifting cannon was also used by the town council. On 22 February 1555, Andrew and two Flemish colleagues from the royal artillery met the town's master wrights to discuss how the new timberwork of Tolbooth belfy and steeple would be hauled into position. The following Monday the work began, and in the next week the framework of the belfry, called a "brandrauth" was raised by 28 men "by force at once."Robert Adam, Edinburgh City Old Accounts, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1899), pp. 147, 149: Extracts Edinburgh: 1528-1557, p. 308.
In the autumn of 1555, Mansioun was based on the island of Inchkeith where he was in charge of horses and winches during the building of a fortress designed by a Siennese architect Lorenzo Pomarelli for Mary of Guise.Michael Pearce, 'A French Furniture Maker and the 'Courtly Style' in Sixteenth-Century Scotland', Regional Furniture vol. XXXII (2018), pp. 129-30.
An altarpiece for Chapel Royal at Holyrood Palace In May 1559 Mary of Guise had a new altarpiece installed in the Chapel Royal at Holyrood House.Henry Paton, Accounts of the Master of Works, vol. 1 (HMSO: Edinburgh, 1957), p. 298. Exchequer documents show that she ordered paintings from Flanders for the altarpiece, and Andrew Mansioun contributed to making the frame.Michael Pearce, 'A French Furniture Maker and the 'Courtly Style' in Sixteenth-Century Scotland’, Regional Furniture, 32 (2018), p. 130.
Mary, Queen of Scots On 28 December 1561, Mary, Queen of Scots made him 'Master Wrycht and Gunnare ordinare' for life.Beveridge & Donaldson, ed., Register of the Privy Seal vol. 5 part 1 (Edinburgh, 1957), p. 236 no. 942. For this, Andrew had a monthly salary of £8-6s-8d. In August 1579, on his death, the position was given to his son Francis.Murray, Athol, ed., Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 13 (Edinburgh, 1978), p. 283.
Andrew Mansioun and several of the royal gunners and wrights went north to Aberdeen at the time of the battle of Corrichie in October 1562.Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, 11 (Edinburgh, 1913), p. 217.
The queen is known have had the configuration of some of her beds altered.Michael Pearce, '"Beds of 'Chapel" form in sixteenth-century Scottish inventories: the worst sort of beds', Regional Furniture, vol. 27 (2013), pp. 78-91 It has been suggested a payment of £120 Scots to Mansioun in May 1566 was for making a cradle in expectation of the birth of Prince James at Edinburgh Castle.Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1916), pp. lxxvii, 504.
Nicholas Guillebault the upholsterer Mary, Queen of Scots had her own French carpenter or upholster in her household to make and mend her furniture, beds, coffers and palace fixtures, Nicolas Guillebault. He was described as a valet de fourriére and menusier. His companion was Pierre Somville or Domville. There are several payments to "Nycolas Guillebank" in the treasurer's accounts, which show that he did some upholstery, but they do not give much detail of his work.Andrew Laing, 'The Household of Mary Queen of Scots in 1573', Scottish Historical Review, 2:8 (July 1905), pp. 345-355 at p. 353: Alexandre Teulet, Relations Politiques, vol. 2 (Paris, 1862), p. 273: Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1916), pp. 160, 166, 408, 432, 467, 504. Another menusier, Mathieu, lined boxes and covered bed posts in November 1562.Joseph Robertson, Inventaires (Edinburgh, 1863), p. 134.
In June 1564, Nicholas worked with an embroiderer to cover and line a casket with black velvet and black satin which Mary used to keep her papers in.Joseph Robertson, Inventaires (Edinburgh, 1863), p. 148. Guillebault upholstered chairs, stools, and a close stool in October 1566, and covered stools and chairs with "peaux de marroquy", Morocco leather, in October.Joseph Robertson, Inventaires (Edinburgh, 1863), pp. 169-170, 172–173. He was paid for upholstering a chair for James VI at Stirling Castle with blue velvet in October 1567.Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1970), p. 84.
Life and family