Be it kend {known} to all men by these present letters: We, Henry, by the grace of God, King of Scotland, and husband to the Queen's Majesty, for so much we having consideration of the gentle and good nature, with many other good qualities in her Majesty, we have thought pity, and also think it great conscience to us that are her husband, to suffer her to be abused or seduced by certain privy persons, wicked and ungodly ... especially a stranger Italian called Davie ... we have devised to take these privy persons, enemies to her Majesty, us, the nobility and commonwealth, to punish them according to their demerits, and in case of any difficulty, to cut them off immediately, and to take and slay them wherever it happeneth. And because we cannot accomplish the same without the assistance of others, therefore have we drawn certain of our nobility, earls, lords, barons, freeholders, gentlemen, merchants, and craftsmen, to assist us in our enterprise, which cannot be finished without great hazard.... We bind and oblige us, our heirs and successors, to the said earls, lords, barons, gentlemen, freeholders, merchants, and craftsmen, their heirs and successors, that we shall accept the same feud upon us, and fortify and maintain them at the uttermost of our power, and shall be friend to their friend, and enemy to their enemies, and shall neither suffer them nor theirs to be molested nor troubled in their bodies, lands, goods, nor possessions so far as lieth in us. And if any person would take any of the said earls, lords, barons, gentlemen, freeholders, merchants, or craftsmen, for enterprising and assisting with us for the achieving of our purpose, because it may chance to be done in presence of the Queen's majesty, or within her palace of Holyrood-house, we, by the word of a prince, shall accept and take the same on us now as then and then as now.... In witness whereof we have subscribed this with our own hand at Edinburgh, the 1st of March 1565.