Mary, Queen of Scots returned from France to Scotland in 1561 after the death of her husband, Francis II. Her arrival placed a Catholic queen in a kingdom transformed by Protestant reform. The court became a charged site of diplomacy, religious suspicion, music and poetic display.

Mary's reign shaped the literary world of Scotland through courtly lyric, political ballad and later historical myth. Her life became a subject for poets and dramatists who explored gender, sovereignty, martyrdom and scandal.