James VI of Scotland

“ It was introduced by James VI. of Scotland when he ascended the throne of England, on account of the Scottish royal supporters being two unicorns rampant argent, crowned with imperial, and gorged with antique, crowns, with chains affixed to the latter passing between their forelegs and reflexed over their backs, unguled, armed, and crined, all or; the dexter one embracing and bearing up a banner of gold charged with the royal arms ”

“ After the French Revolution, at the end of the eighteenth century, the English system began to become popular on the continent, and it has now replaced the older absolute monarchy in all the kingdoms of western Europe.
Accession of James I, 1603–1625.
On the death of Elizabeth in 1603, James I, the first of the Stuarts, ascended the English throne. He was, it will be remembered, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, and was known [Pg 476] in Scotland as James VI; consequently England and Scotland now came under the same ruler. ”

“ From 1497 to 1503 Henry VII. was negotiating for the marriage of James to his daughter Margaret Tudor; the marriage was celebrated on August 8, 1503, and a century later the great grandson of Margaret, James VI. came to the English throne. But marriage does not make friendship. There had existed since 1491 a secret alliance by which Scotland was bound to defend France if attacked by England. Henry’s negotiations for the kidnapping of James were of April of the same year. Margaret, the young queen, after her marriage, was soon involved in bitter quarrels over her dowry with her own family ”

“ Siege of Roxburgh.—As the strife which was at this time going on between the Yorkists and Lancastrians kept the English busy at home, there was comparative peace on the Border, broken only by an inroad from Percy and the banished Douglas. James took the part of Henry VI., and raised a large army with the intention of invading England in his favour. But there was no serious war, and James saw that there was now a good chance of winning back the towns which the English still held in Scotland. ”

“ The return fell so very short of his expectation that he abandoned the design in disgust; but several years after he made a tour over the whole kingdom himself, the result of which appeared in the first volume of his 'History and Antiquities of Scotland from the earliest account to the Death of James I ... 1437; and from that period to the Accession of James VI to the Crown of England, 1603, by another hand,' 2 vols, fol., London, 1757, a posthumous work. ”

“ The year 1461 saw Edward IV placed on his uneasy throne, and a boy of ten years reigning over the turbulent kingdom of Scotland. The Scots had regained Roxburgh a few days after the death of King James, and they followed up their success by the capture of Wark. But a greater triumph was in store. When Margaret of Anjou, after rescuing her husband, Henry VI, at the second battle of St. Albans, in February, 1461, met, in March, the great disaster of Towton, she fled with Henry to Scotland, where she had been received when preparing for the expedition which had proved so unfortunate. ”

“ The accession of James VI. in 1603 gave a favourable turn to his fortunes: he was knighted, and endeavoured to set himself right with the new powers by writing his Apologie (defence) of his proceedings in the case of Essex, who had favoured the succession of James. In the first Parliament of the new king he sat for St. Alban's, and was appointed a Commissioner for Union with Scotland. In 1605 he pub. The Advancement of Learning, dedicated, with fulsome flattery, to the king. The following year he married Alice Barnham, the dau. ”

“ Preferably then one goes from Edinburgh (even though never does one go from that city, "mine own romantic town," but with regret; not even finally when one leaves it and knows [Pg 25] one will not return till next time) to Melrose; as Scottish kings of history and story have passed before. There was James II going to the siege of Roxburgh, and not returning; there was James IV going to the field of Flodden and not returning; there was James V going to hunt the deer; there was James VI going up to London to be king; Mary Queen on that last journey to the South Countrie ”

“ Albans, a revival of active hostilities with England. In 1456, James invaded England and harried Northumberland in the interests of the Lancastrians. During the temporary loss of power by the Duke of York, in 1457, a truce was concluded, but it was broken after the reconciliation of York to Henry VI in 1458, and when the battle of Northampton, in July, 1460, left the Yorkists again triumphant, James marched to attempt the recovery of Roxburgh. [57] James I, as we have seen, had abandoned the siege of Roxburgh Castle only to go to his death ”

“ How little is it known to him who makes the visible the measure of nature's existence and power, that every step he makes, or thinks he makes, in his progress, the farther he removes from the great landmarks of those great truths on which is founded our holy religion. James III. was killed in open day: who killed him? History is mute; but tradition is eloquent, and fearfully impressive. The reign of this unfortunate monarch was marked by more rebellion and murder than any period of the same extent in the history of Scotland. ”

“ The kingdom of Scotland had not yet attained that state which distinguishes a civilized monarchy, and which enables the government, by the force of its laws and institutions alone, without any extraordinary capacity in the sovereign, to maintain itself in order and tranquillity. James III., who now filled the throne, was a prince of little industry and of a narrow genius; and though it behoved him to yield the reins of government to his ministers, he had never been able to make any choice which could give contentment both to himself and to his people. ”

“ His time, besides, fell at a crisis in Scottish history—the meeting of the counter currents of the old order and the new in the Reformation. Whatever the causes, the fact remains that from his birth at Linlithgow on 10th April, 1512, till his death at Falkland on 14th [142] December, 1542, the career of James V. presents a continuous series of personal episodes as dramatic as anything on the historic stage. Dating his reign from the most tragic disaster in Scottish history, he was crowned King of Scotland before he could speak, a month after his father’s death on the battlefield. ”

“ All his trusty adherents in England were without power or influence, and in Scotland the Duke of Gordon was the only nobleman who openly stood out for the interests of his sovereign. He had been created a duke by Charles II. James had appointed him governor of the castle of Edinburgh, and he had been thereafter made a privy-counsellor and one of the lords of the treasury. Though a firm and conscientious Catholic, he was always opposed to the violent measures of the court, as he was afraid that however well meant, they would turn out ruinous to the king ”

“ James appears to have been a brave and generous man, and a wise and energetic king. According to one account, he was possessed of considerable learning; during his reign the Scottish court attained some degree of refinement, and Scotland counted in European politics as she had never done before. Literature flourished under the royal patronage, education was encouraged, and the material condition of the country improved enormously. ”

“ Thus have we attempted to describe one of those wild frolics in which the young King James V. of Scotland occasionally indulged. If he had lived to an advanced age, his subjects might have had as much reason to admire the king as they had to love the royal gaberlunzie, who, wherever he took up his quarters, whether "in a house in Aberdeen," or in the barn of Cairnkibbie, sent the fire of his spirit of love and fun throughout all with which he came in contact. ”

“ James’s work as a ruler can be divided, without violating any sound rule of criticism, into black and white—into the part which was a failure and a preparation for future disaster, and the part which was solid achievement, honourable to himself and profitable to his people. His native kingdom of Scotland had the benefit of the second. Between 1583 and 1603 he reduced the anarchical baronage of Scotland to obedience, and replaced the subdivision of sovereignty and consequent confusion, which had been the very essence of feudalism, by a strong centralized royal authority. ”

“ The poet-king and his noble queen were very kindly received in Scotland, and lived for some time very happily and peacefully, always dearly loving one another. But James found the kingdom in great confusion from misgovernment, and the common people very much oppressed. He bravely set himself to reform matters, trying to relieve and protect the poor, and restrain and humble the rich and powerful. ”

“ It was hoped that this alliance [Pg 12] would be the means of ending the bitter hostility which had existed between Scotland and England since the time of Edward I. A temporary peace ensued, but it was not till a century later that a descendant of the Scottish James sat on the throne of England.
The only son of James IV. and Margaret who survived infancy was James V. (James Fitz-James of the poem) . He was born in 1513, and crowned when less than ten years old, his father having been slain at the battle of Flodden Field, which had resulted so disastrously for Scotland. ”

“ The absence of any fear of an outbreak of hostilities with the "auld enemy" was a great boon to the borders, but there was little love lost between the two countries. The union of the crowns did not, of course, affect the position of Scotland to England in matters of trade, and beyond some thirty years of peace, James's ancient kingdom gained but little. King James, who possessed considerable powers of statesmanship, if not much practical wisdom, devised the impossible project of a union of the kingdoms in 1604. "What God hathe conjoyned", he said, "let no man separate. ”

“ James II., king of Scotland from 1437 to 1460, son of preceding; during his minority the country was torn by rival factions amongst the nobility, the chief point of contest being the wardship of the young king; an attempt on the part of the conspirators who had murdered James I. to place their leader, the Earl of Athole, on the throne, was frustrated; in 1449 James assumed the duties of his kingship, and in the same year married Mary, the daughter of the Duke of Gueldres ”

“ According to the law of Scotland, the heir to the throne was not allowed to be brought up by his parents, but was sent to Stirling Castle, to be under the care of the Earl of Mar, who held the right to be the hereditary guardian, and this accounts for the many letters which passed between the little prince and the king and queen. When Elizabeth died and James became king of Great Britain, he had to go hastily to London, but about a year later he sent for the queen to come "with the bairns to Windsor, where he prayed God they should all have a blyth meeting." ”

“ When Philip the Second was preparing his Armada for the conquest of England, he spared no pains to induce James of Scotland to favor his enterprise. Elizabeth, on her part, was not less active to secure the friendship of a neighbor, who, by opening or closing his ports, might do so much to assist or to counteract the projects of her enemy. James had the [Pg 215] wisdom to see that it was not for his interest to ally himself with a power that sought the extinction of the faith which he professed, and the subjugation of a kingdom to which he was the heir. ”

“ Mary’s entrance into, 117; quarrel of James VI. with, 120; James revisits, 122; resistance to episcopacy in, 182; occupied by Prince Charles Edward, 292 Edinburgh Castle, 126; an ancient royal residence, 127; the regalia in, 127 Edward, King, the elder, 40 Edward the Confessor, 48 Edward I., arbitrator on claims to Scottish crown, 64; decides for Baliol, 65; conquers Scotland, 66; his death, 68 Edward II. invades Scotland, 69; is defeated at Bannockburn, 71 Effects, Administration of, 149 Elizabeth becomes Queen of England, 105; her hatred of Mary, 106; causes Mary’s execution, 109 ”

“ Under his wise rule, Scotland was at peace and prosperous, the Court maintained a higher level of refinement and luxury, and science and art were encouraged. Unfortunately, James's chivalrous and rash temperament led him into war with England and the disaster at Flodden Field. Before starting on the expedition, a council was held at Linlithgow, after which the King attended evensong in the church. ”

“ The liberal members of the Convention took advantage of this movement to summon the people to arms for their protection, and they were instantly surrounded by hundreds of armed Cameronians, who completely overawed the adherents of the late government. The Convention then declared King James to have forfeited the crown, by his attempts to overcome the religion and liberties of his subjects. The sovereignty of Scotland was settled, like that of England, upon the next Protestant heirs, the Prince and Princess of Orange, who were accordingly proclaimed at Edinburgh on the 11th of April. ”

“ The second peculiarity in the reign of James V., is the countenance and support he bestowed upon the clergy. This he did, not from any [Pg 8] motives of bigotry, but solely as a matter of sound policy. He saw that he could not stand alone against his nobles, and he was therefore anxious to raise into an engine of power, a body of men whose interests he thus identified with his own. It is remarkable, that even in the most flourishing days of Catholicism, when the Pope’s ecclesiastical authority extended itself everywhere, Scotland alone was overlooked. ”