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You are here: UK History > Royal History > Scottish Monarchy > James I
James I was King of Scots from his father’s death in 1406 until his assassination in 1437.
Quick Facts:
Born: 1394
Died: 1437
Reign: 1406-1437
Parents: Robert III of Scotland and Annabella Drummond
Predecessor: Robert III
Successor: James II
Spouse: Joan Beaufort
Children: Margaret, Dauphine of France; Isabella Duchess of Brittany; Eleanor, Archduchess of Austria; Mary, Countess of Buchan; Joan, Countess of Morton; Alexander, Duke of Rothersay; James II, King of Scots; Annabella, Countess of Huntly
Royal House: House of Stewart
James became heir to the Scottish throne when his older brother David, the Duke of Rothersay died under suspicious circumstances while imprisoned by their uncle, Robert Duke of Albany. As his other brother had also died young, King Robert III feared for his safety and desperate to secure the throne, James was sent to France. However, on his journey, he was attacked by the supporters of the Earl of Douglas, his brother in law, and was forced to take refuge in the castle of the Bass Rock. He remained there for a month before managing to get passage on a ship bound for France which was then attacked by pirates and he was delivered into the custody of Henry IV of England. He was eleven years old.
James would remain in custody for a further eighteen years before being allowed freedom to rule.
James spent most of his early childhood under the care of his mother at Dunfermline, where he was kept largely out of the political machinations of his much older brother David and his father, the King. When he was seven, his mother died and a year later, his brother David died in mysterious circumstances, which made James heir to the throne and the only thing standing in the way of the Albany line of Stewarts and the throne.
In a bid to protect their lands, the royal Stewart lands were given to James in regality by his father to keep them from outside interference. At that time, James was under the protection of Bishop Henry Wardlaw of St Andrews, though the Douglas family were starting to resent the royal family due to their lands being challenged by friends of the crown. The King planned to send James abroad to keep him safe from Albany’s increasing power, but no real plan was in place, only that James was to be escorted by the lords of Fleming and Orkney. The group travelled through Douglas territory, which provoked an attack on the retinue. James managed to escape and hid at the castle at Bass Rock, where he lived for a month before boarding a ship bound for France. The ship was attacked by pirates under the command of MP Hugh Fenn, who took James into custody and delivered him to the King of England. James’ father died in 1406 after hearing of the incident, making James king in name only.
While at the English court, James was educated well and developed a respect for English methods of governance and his captor, Henry IV and later his son, Henry V, even willing fighting as part of Henry V’s army against France.
James would spend the next 18 years as a hostage while also being the uncrowned king of Scotland. While in captivity, his uncle Albany transitioned from lieutenant to governor and took James’ lands under his control.
James did not seem to mind this so much, as he was treated well at the English court and was ideally placed to observe Henry’s methods of kingship and political control. He was allowed visits with his nobles and could communicate via letter.
When Henry IV died, his son Henry V, immediately placed James in the Tower of London along with a number of other Scottish Prisoners, including Albany’s son, James’ cousin, Murdoch Stewart. By 1420, James’ standing at the court had increased greatly and he returned to being regarded more of a guest than a prisoner. He was permitted to attend the coronation of Catherine of Valois as an honoured guest and accompanied the English king to France on several occasions. In March of that year, he was knighted and given power to control his own armies.
He was with Henry when he died of dysentery and was part of the convoy who took him back to London from France. The Regency committee set up to rule on behalf of Henry V’s infant son were keen to release James as soon as possible. In the early months of 1423, their attempts to resolve the issue met with little response from the Scots, likely because of Albany’s influence. On Albany’s death, his son Murdoch, who was returned to Scotland took the title and agreed to sending representatives to England to negotiate James’ release.
At the time, England was on the brink of war because of the continuing changes in allegiance from House Lancaster and House York. James’ relationship with the nobles from House of Lancaster changed when he married Joan Beaufort, Henry VI’s cousin. Eventually a treaty was drawn up agreeing to a ransom and James and his new queen were escorted by Scottish and English nobles on 5th April 1424. On reaching Melrose Abbey, they were met by the new Duke of Albany, who relinquished his governor’s seal of office.
Throughout the fifteenth century, Scotland suffered from a lack of funds, something that was exacerbated by James’ capture. His coronation took place at Scone on 21st May 1424 and the first port of call was to discuss the finance of his ransom and his position as monarch. He ensured the passing of legislation to improve income by revoking the patronage of royal predecessors and guardians, something which caused uproar with certain nobles, especially the earl of Douglas.
This did certainly help the crown’s revenue however, especially after James convinced parliament to agree to pass taxation to help pay off the ransom. James only sent some of the funds raised to England and by 1429 stopped paying completely, instead using the money raised to buy cannons and to rebuild Linlithgow Palace which had caught fire a few years previously. Work on the castle continued until James’ death.
In terms of domestic policies, James believed that King David I’s benevolence towards the church proved costly to his successors and thought that the monasteries needed improvements. He wanted to influence the church by appointing his own clerics and ordering churches to offer prayers for him and his family, should the prayers not be noted, the congregation would be fined. It would appear that his policies towards the church in particular wanted to reduce the power of the clergy.
In terms of foreign policy, James’ return to Scotland did not create a new relationship with England. The regents were hoping that on his return, he would be easy to manipulate but instead, James presented as a confident and independently minded monarch.
France’s Charles VII sent an ambassador to Scotland to persuade James to renew a generations old alliance, which included the marriage of his daughter to Louis, the dauphin of France. The treaty was signed in 1428 and elevated James’ importance in Europe. Generally, Scottish-English relations were amicable but there were difficulties with England’s ongoing difficulties with France.
In the Spring of 1436, Princess Margaret sailed to France and once she was settled, James led the Scottish into war against England. The campaign would be a disaster and the Scots would see a huge loss of artillery which proved to be the catalyst for James’ assassination.
The lead up to the king’s assassination had been building for several years.
Walter Stewart was the youngest of Robert II’s sons and the only one to not have been given an earldom during his father’s life time. He spent time administrating Strathern and aiding his brother, the earl of Fife, by enforcing law and order against another of their relatives, the Lord of Badenoch. The land at Strathern was lost when the Duke of Albany took the land out from under Walter through an advantageous marriage, in compensation, he was created Earl of Atholl.
Walter remained close to the Drummand family, his mother’s family and on James’ return to Scotland, was an ally of his, eventually being granted the Sheriff of Perth and the Earldom of Strathearn but in life rent only. This along with his oldest son being sent to England as part of the treaty to release James, where he died and his younger son dying in James’ service soured relations. James continued to show favour to Walter and appointed his grandson as his personal chamberlain but this wasn’t enough to maintain Walter’s loyalty. Following the disastrous campaign into England, general opinion of James was low and one of his council attempted to arrest him. James did not see this as an extended threat and had him banished.
The reaction against James at the general council had shown Walter that James had become weak and likely convinced him that the only viable course of action was to remove him from power. As James’ nearest adult relative, no doubt he believed that he would benefit from the death of the king.
A general council was held in Walter’s lands in Perth and the king and queen remained in the town at their lodgings at Blackfriars monastery. In the evening of 20th February 1437, the king and queen were in their rooms and separated from their servants. Walter’s grandson, Robert Stewart, allowed thirty conspirators access to the building. James was alerted to their presence and hid in a sewer tunnel without realising that the exit had been blocked off. He became trapped and was murdered.
The queen, though wounded in the attack, escaped, as did their six year old son who went on to King James II. Records do not show that there was any condemnation aimed at the conspirators, nor does it show that the queen was guaranteed to act as regent. It is generally believed that had they succeeded in also killing the queen, Walter would have taken control of the young king and ruled in his stead. He wasn’t banking on the queen’s allies, which included the Earl of Angus, would ensure that she continued to have custody of her son and by the middle of March, there was no clear end to the ascendancy, with factions supporting both Walter and James II’s claims. Walter’s position only collapsed after Robert Stewart was captured and confessed to his part in the assassination. Walter was taken prisoner by Angus and held in Edinburgh where he was tried and beheaded the day after James II’s coronation.
Queen Joan continued to pursue the Regency until 1437 when the Earl of Douglas was appointed to act as lieutenant-general of the kingdom.
James married Joan Beaufort, the daughter of the Earl of Somerset while in London. They had eight children together:
Margaret Stewart who married the future Louis XI of France
Isabella Stewart who married the duke of Brittany
Joan Stewart who married James Douglas
Twins Alexander and James Stewart, - Alexander was named Duke of Rothersay but died at birth and James would go on to become king of Scotland.
Eleanor Stewart who married the Archduke of Austria
Mary Stewart who married Wolfert of Borselen
Annabella Stewart who married Louis of Savoy and then the Earl of Huntly.
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