James I
1406–1437
Held prisoner as a child,
James (born in 1394) spent the first eighteen years of his reign in England and
did not return to Scotland until 1424. In his absence, the country was governed
first by his uncle, then by his cousins — both Dukes of Albany.
James was a very able man, strong, energetic, and highly educated. He had accompanied Henry V to the French wars and had learned kingship from a master. His first act on returning to Scotland was to break the power of the nobles by executing their leaders, including Albany at Stirling in 1425. He also humiliated the Highland chiefs by summoning them to a meeting and arresting the lot — an act of treachery that won him few friends. In 1437 he was stabbed to death in an attempted coup. But no coup took place and the assassins were themselves killed after being horribly tortured.
James II
1437–1460
Disfigured by a birthmark,
‘James of the fiery face’ was not quite seven when his father was
murdered. He spent the rest of his childhood as a pawn in other people’s
power struggles. At the age of nine he had to be smuggled out of
Edinburgh Castle in a trunk to
avoid capture. A year later, he hosted a dinner at which the teenage Earl of
Douglas and his brother were taken outside and beheaded.
James took control of the government in 1449 and spent much of his reign fighting to contain the power of the Douglas family. In a repeat of his childhood experience, he granted the eighth Earl a safe passage to Stirling Castle in 1452, then killed him at dinner — a betrayal that horrified the nation. He himself was killed by an exploding cannon in 1460.
James III
1460–1488
James was only eight when
he succeeded his father. He grew up cultured and artistic, with little taste
for more robust pursuits. He is known to have had a girlfriend named Daisy.
James had little interest in kingship or matters of state, preferring to spend
time with his artistic friends. He was lenient and indecisive, incapable of
learning from his mistakes. The inevitable rebellion against his rule was led
by his own family, more in sorrow than in anger. James’s favourites were
hanged and he himself was held prisoner for a while. In the civil war that
followed, James’s forces were defeated at Sauchieburn. Fleeing from the
battlefield, James fell from his horse and was taken to a mill, where he was
stabbed through the heart by an unknown assassin posing as a priest. Few people
mourned him, and he remains buried in the grounds of Cambuskenneth Abbey.
James IV
1488–1513
Unlike his father, James
(born in 1473) was strong, able, energetic, full of enthusiasm and ideas. He
travelled constantly and inspired people wherever he went — barons,
peasants, Highland chiefs and women. His was the grandest and most glamorous
court Scotland had ever seen. James wore a heavy iron chain around his waist as
penance for his youthful opposition to his father. He backed Perkin Warbeck in
his bid to seize the English throne from Henry VII, but later married Henry's
daughter, Margaret Tudor, although friction between the two nations
continued.
He built up the Scottish navy, supported universities and a college of surgeons, and backed Scotland’s first printing press. But his impetuosity got the better of him when, in 1513, after Henry VIII invaded France, James IV led an army into England. The Scots and English met at Flodden Field, where James was killed and his army routed. He was excommunicated by the Pope and denied a christian burial.
- Photos of many of the places mentioned in the text can be found in the Photo-tour.