Special Collections - Abbotsford

A letter from Archibald Campbell, ninth Earl of Argyle (1629-1685) to the king, pleading for his life. Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyle, was the eldest son of the Marquis of Argyle who was accused of complicity with the regicide of Charles I and executed by the Maiden in 1661. Unlike his father, the Earl of Argyle was a royalist, but he too was to meet his end at a public execution in Edinburgh, after taking part in the ill-fated rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth against James VII and II.

This undated letter, written in a shaky hand, is compressed at the end as the writer runs out of paper. There is no way to tell to which death sentence it refers. If it was written in 1661 or 1681 the appeal is being made to Charles II. If it was written before his execution in 1685 it is addressed to James VII and II.