MARY, Queen of Scots paved the way for the Geneva Conventions – international agreements covering armed forces’ behaviour during times of war – 300 years before it came into force, according to a newly-released documents.
The world’s oldest surgical college – the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) – said a letter of exemption dating from 1567 showed how Mary protected and preserved the status of surgeons and made it law that they should not have to bear arms in battle, and should focus on helping the wounded. It is unclear if this also referred to injured enemy soldiers.
The document was released as cinema audiences clamour to see the new BAFTA-nominated film, starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, charting the power politics of Mary Stuart and Elizabeth I as young rival queens.
Mary’s letter can be viewed on the website archiveandlibrary.rcsed.ac.uk – a new resource launched by the RCSEd which, for the first time, allows people to delve easily into the world of medical history. Its full library and archive holds institutional records dating from the 1460s and extensive archival material relating to college membership and the history of medicine and surgery in Scotland.
The perception of medical staff as non-combatants in warfare is usually ascribed to the first Geneva Convention from 1864.
However, this document shows that three centuries earlier, Mary, Queen of Scots clearly set down the right of surgeons to be exempt from bearing arms.
Chris Henry, director of heritage at RCSEd, said: “This unique artefact is one of the College’s treasured possessions.
“It gives us a fantastic insight into the ethics and civilisation of 16th century Scotland as well as the standing of surgeons in the capital back then.”
Signed “Mary by the Grace of God, Queen of Scots”, it is thought to be intended for the whole population.
It puts a responsibility on surgeons, writing that they must always be “present with our armies ready to do their cure and duty to all sick persons”.
The letter is dated May 1567, meaning that Mary signed the documents during a time of turmoil in her life – just after her son was born and when her husband tried to take her throne and murdered her secretary in front of her.
Her husband was then murdered before she was abducted and allegedly raped just months before she signed the letter of exemption.
The RCSEd can trace its roots back to July 1, 1505 and, throughout its history, the college library and archive have accumulated one of the most significant collections of medical documentation in the UK.
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