James I, King of Scots

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

James I, King of Scots; Credit – Wikipedia

James I, King of Scots, along with his elder twin brother Robert who died in infancy, was born July 25, 1394, at Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland. He was the second surviving son of Robert III, King of Scots and Anabella Drummond. In 1388, two years before he became king, James’ father had been kicked by a horse and became an invalid. James’ grandfather Robert II, King of Scots died in 1390 and James’ father became King of Scots. At the time of his birth, James’ much older brother David was the heir to the throne of Scotland.

James had six siblings:

Several events occurred during James’ childhood that would eventually affect him. As time went by, Robert III’s disabilities worsened and he fell into a state of depression. There were disputes among the children of his two marriages as to who was the legitimate heir. Queen Anabella knew she had to take matters into her own hands to protect the rights of her elder son David, the heir to the throne. In 1398, Anabella arranged a tournament in Edinburgh at which her eldest surviving son 19-year-old David was knighted. Later that same year, he was created Duke of Rothesay and Lieutenant of the Realm. However, serious problems began to emerge between David and his uncle Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, who was the third in line to the throne after David and James.

Anabella, Queen of Scots died in October 1401. With the loss of his mother’s protection and his father too incapacitated to protect him, David, Duke of Rothesay fell prey to his uncle Robert’s machinations. David was accused unjustifiably of appropriating and confiscating funds and was arrested in 1402. He was imprisoned at Falkland Palace and died on March 26, 1402, at the age of 22, probably of starvation.

Eight-year-old James, now heir to the throne, was the only one in the way of transferring the royal line to the Albany Stewarts. In 1402 Albany and his close Black Douglas ally Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas were absolved of any involvement in David’s death, although it is surely likely that they were to blame This cleared the way for Albany’s re-appointed as the Lieutenant of the Realm. Eventually, fearing for the safety of his only surviving son James, Robert III sent him to France. However, the ship 12-year-old James was sailing on was captured on March 22, 1406, by English pirates who delivered James to King Henry IV of England. Robert III, King of Scots, aged 68, died at Rothesay Castle on April 4, 1406, after hearing of his son’s captivity.

12-year-old James was now the uncrowned King of Scots and would remain in captivity in England for eighteen years. Back in Scotland, his uncle Robert, Duke of Albany consolidated his power and ruled as regent in his nephew’s absence. Unsurprisingly, Albany made little effort to secure James’ ransom and return to Scotland, focusing instead on securing his power and interests. Albany died in 1420 and was succeeded as Duke of Albany and regent by his son Murdoch Stewart.

In England, James had a small household of Scots nobles. King Henry IV treated the young James well and provided him with a good education and James was able to observe Henry IV’s kingship and political control. During his captivity, James used personal visits from his nobles and letters to important people to maintain his connection to his kingdom. King Henry IV died in 1413 and his son King Henry V immediately ended James’s relative freedom, first holding him in the Tower of London with the other Scots prisoners. One of these prisoners was James’s cousin Murdoch Stewart, Albany’s son, who had been captured in 1402 at the Battle of Homildon Hill. Initially, they were held apart, but from 1413 until Murdoch’s release in 1415, they were together in the Tower of London and at Windsor Castle.

By 1420, 26-year-old James’ standing went from hostage to more of a guest. James accompanied Henry V to France where his presence was used against the Scots fighting on the French side during the Hundred Year’s War. He attended the coronation of Henry V’s wife Catherine of Valois in February 1421 and was honored by sitting on the queen’s left at the coronation banquet. In March 1421, James accompanied Henry V on a tour of important English towns. During this tour, James was knighted on Saint George’s Day. By July 1421, Henry V and James were back campaigning in France. Henry appointed his brother John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford and James as the joint commanders of the Siege of Dreux. After Henry V died of dysentery in France on August 31, 1422, James was part of the escort taking the king’s body back to London.

While in England, James met his future wife Lady Joan Beaufort. She was the third of the six children and the first of the two daughters of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset and Margaret Holland. Her mother was the daughter of Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, the eldest son of Joan, 4th Countess of Kent, known as “The Fair Maid of Kent” from her first marriage to Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent, 2nd Baron Holland. Joan of Kent later married Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince), the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and was the mother of King Richard II of England.

Joan Beaufort’s father John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset was the eldest of the four children of John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III, and his mistress Katherine Swynford. Their children were given the surname “Beaufort” after a former French possession of John of Gaunt. John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford married on January 13, 1396, at Lincoln Cathedral in England. After the marriage of John and Katherine, their four children were legitimized by both King Richard II of England and Pope Boniface IX. After John of Gaunt’s eldest son from his first marriage to Blanche of Lancaster deposed his first cousin King Richard II in 1399, the new King Henry IV inserted a phrase excepta regali dignitate (“except royal status”) in the documents which legitimized his Beaufort half-siblings which barred them from the throne.

As Joan was related to the English royal family, she was often at court. Joan is said to be the inspiration for The Kingis Quair  (“The King’s Book”), a poem supposedly written by James after he looked out a window and saw Joan in the garden. Although there may have been an attraction between Joan and James, their marriage was political as it was a condition for James’ release from captivity.

James I, King of Scots and Joan Beaufort; Credit – Wikipedia

Joan was well-connected. She was a great-granddaughter of King Edward III, a first cousin once removed of King Richard II, a niece of King Henry IV, and a first cousin of King Henry V. Her paternal uncle Henry Beaufort was a Cardinal, Bishop of Winchester, and Chancellor of England. The English considered a marriage to a Beaufort gave the Scots an alliance with the English instead of the French. Joan’s dowry of £6,000 was subtracted from James’ ransom of £40,000. The couple was married on February 12, 1424, at St. Mary Overie Church, now known as Southwark Cathedral in Southwark, London, England. James was released from his long captivity on March 28, 1424, and the couple traveled to Scotland. On May 21, 1424, James and Joan were crowned King and Queen of Scots at Scone Abbey by Henry Wardlaw, Bishop of St. Andrews.

The entrance, the only remaining part of Scone Abbey; Photo Credit – By Patrick Gruban from Munich, Germany – IMG_3910Uploaded by Kurpfalzbilder.de, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9553070

James and Joan had eight children:

Upon returning to Scotland after an absence of 18 years, James found that Scotland was in horrible condition, with much poverty and lawlessness. He vigorously set about transforming his kingdom, and made him many enemies. In addition, there were still doubts about the validity of the first marriage of Robert II, James’ grandfather, and this raised questions about James’ right to the throne of Scotland. James found himself facing challenges from descendants of his grandfather’s two marriages. He knew he had to crush the power of his cousin Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany to strengthen the crown’s power and restrain the power of the lawless nobles. A Parliament held in Perth in 1425 issued orders for Murdoch’s arrest, and in May 1425 a trial was held at Stirling where Murdoch, his sons Alexander and Walter Stewart, and his father-in-law Duncan, Earl of Lennox were all found guilty of treason and immediately executed. Murdoch’s third son James fled to Ireland, where he would spend the rest of his life in exile.

James ruled Scotland with a strong hand and made numerous financial and legal reforms. He tried to reshape the Scottish Parliament on the English model, and in 1428 renewed the Auld Alliance with France. On this occasion, James arranged for the marriage of his eldest daughter Margaret to the French Dauphin, the future King Louis XI of France. However, Margaret died before Louis became king. Although James’ measures were effective, he created many enemies.

On February 20, 1437, plotters supporting the claim to the throne of Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, a son of Robert II’s second marriage, broke into the Blackfriars Priory in Perth, Scotland where James and Joan were staying. The conspirators reached the couple’s bedroom where Joan tried to protect James but was wounded. James then tried to escape via an underground passage but was cornered and hacked to death by Sir Robert Graham. There was no strong support for the conspiracy and James’ assassins were soon captured and brutally executed.

James was buried in the Carthusian Charterhouse of Perth, which he had founded. On May 11, 1559, following a sermon by John Knox, a leader of the Scottish Reformation and the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, a mob of Protestant reformers attacked the Carthusian Charterhouse in Perth. Everything was destroyed including the royal tombs and remains.

A monument now marks the site of the Carthusian Charterhouse in Perth; Photo Credit – By kim traynor, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29398897

James I, King of Scots was only 42 years old when he was killed and left a 7-year-old son to succeed him as King James II. James I’s wife Joan served as regent for her son for a few short months and then was forced to give up the regency and the custody of her son. Joan made a second marriage, had three more children, died in 1445, and was buried with her first husband.

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Works Cited

  • Ashley, Michael, and Julian Lock. The Mammoth Book Of British Kings & Queens. London: Constable & Robinson, 2012. Print.
  • “James I Of Scotland”. En.wikipedia.org. Web. 27 May 2017.
  • “Joan Beaufort, Queen Of Scots”. En.wikipedia.org. Web. 27 May 2017.
  • “Scottish Royal Burial Sites”. Unofficial Royalty. Web. 27 May 2017.
  • Williamson, David. Brewer’s British Royalty. London: Cassell, 1996. Print.