James I

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James I (1394-1437) was king of Scotland from 1406 to 1437. Although he was an English captive for more than half his years as king, his reign was one of the most vigorous in medieval Scottish history.

When James I was born, his father, Robert III, already rather elderly and feeble, had been reigning for 4 years but was strongly under the influence of his brother, the Earl of Fife (later Duke of Albany). James's life falls into three convenient periods: his boyhood in Scotland during the troubled reign of Robert III, the years of his captivity, and his personal rule. The young James was not brought up as heir apparent, for he had an older brother, David, Duke of Rothesay. But Rothesay, whose scandalous living had brought him many enemies, was bested in a power struggle with his uncle Albany and died shortly (and mysteriously) after being imprisoned in 1402. This thrust James into the midst of the factiousness and intrigue that characterize this period of ambitious nobles and weak monarchs in Scottish history.

English Captivity

In 1406 King Robert sent James to Scotland's ally the king of France, probably so that the boy would be out of Albany's reach; but the ship was intercepted off the English coast, and James soon found himself a prisoner of the king of England, Henry IV. The news of the prince's capture is said to have caused the death of Robert III within a few weeks, and Albany, as regent for the new prisoner-king, was in no hurry to arrange for the release of his nephew. In fact, James spent over 18 years in captivity in comfortable conditions and everywhere recognized as king of Scotland, but a prisoner nonetheless. During these years James was moved about frequently, from the Tower of London to Windsor and elsewhere in England. Henry V took him to the siege of Melun in France in 1420 (in the hope, unsuccessful, that James's presence would detach some Scottish mercenary captains from the French army).

The unexpected death of Henry V and the troubled minority situation that ensued in the English government gave James an opportunity to intensify the negotiations for his release, which had became a real possibility in Scotland since the death of Albany in 1420. James was finally released in 1424, following a treaty that provided for a large ransom, suspension of Scottish military aid to France, and an English wife for James (Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of Somerset and great-granddaughter of Edward III).

His Reign

After being solemnly crowned at Scone in May 1424, James initiated vigorous steps to try to tighten up the government of the country and to strengthen the monarchy. Strongly worded acts of Parliament provided for more stringent enforcement of law and maintenance of order, and a strong effort was made to restore the royal finances. At the same time, many important government offices were taken away from the great nobility and given to men James could trust. Apparently these measures aroused opposition, for several of the leading nobles were executed in 1425. Another means of controlling the nobility was by sending certain of their numbers to England to serve as the required hostages until the King's ransom was wholly paid (which it never was).

James's assertion of the powers of the central government was generally popular with other elements of the kingdom, if not with the nobility; and his reign is noteworthy for advances in the structure of Parliament and for reform in the law courts. His efforts both to concentrate governmental powers in the royal courts and to improve the financial position of the throne led also to laws limiting clerical appeals to the papacy and restricting payments from the Scottish Church to the papacy.

Despite James's marriage to an English noblewoman and the promise to suspend aid to France, the King's foreign policy remained basically pro-French and anti-English, especially in the latter years of the reign. In 1428 an engagement had been arranged between James's 2-year-old daughter Margaret and the 5-year-old dauphin Louis (the future Louis XI), son of Charles VII of France. The marriage took place in 1436, and in the same year war was resumed with England.

Though the last years of James's reign are somewhat obscure, it is clear that his efforts to secure effective royal government aroused bitter hostility among some of the nobility (a feeling highly aggravated by James's acquisitiveness in seizing the lands of inimical nobles). A conspiracy was formed to put the Earl of Atholl (the surviving son of Robert II's second marriage) on the throne, and James was murdered by Sir Robert Graham and others on Feb. 20, 1437. The conspirators' hopes were not fulfilled; they were hunted down and executed, and the crown passed to James II, the 6-year-old son of James I and Queen Joan.

James remains a notable Scottish hero, renowned alike for his efforts at good government and for the romantic aspects of his life. He is almost certainly the author of the King's Quair (that is, the King's Book), celebrating his love for Joan (or Jane) Beaufort in some 200 Chaucerian stanzas. The ascription of three other poems to him is dubious. He was fond of good living (some of his ransom money was diverted to buy jewels for the royal person) and was described by Aeneas Sylvius (the future Pope Pius II) as Quadratus, or foursquare.

Further Reading

The standard life of James is E. W. M. Balfour-Melville, James I: King of Scots, 1406-1437 (1936). Historical background for the period is in William Croft Dickinson, A New History of Scotland, vol. 1 (1961; 2d rev. ed. 1965).