James I of Scotland

James I (late July 1394 – 21 February 1437) was King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III and Annabella Drummond. His older brother David, Duke of Rothesay, died under suspicious circumstances during detention by their uncle, Robert, Duke of Albany. James' other brother, Robert, died young. Fears surrounding James's safety grew through the winter of 1405/06 and plans were made to send him to France. In February 1406, James was forced to take refuge in the castle of the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth after his escort was attacked by supporters of Archibald, 4th Earl of Douglas. He remained at the castle until mid-March, when he boarded a vessel bound for France. On 22 March, English pirates captured the ship and delivered the prince to Henry IV of England. The ailing Robert III died on 4 April and the 11-year-old James, now the uncrowned King of Scots, would not regain his freedom for another eighteen years.

James was educated well during his English imprisonment, sometimes in the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, and other English castles. He seems to have been generally well-treated, and he developed a respect for English methods of governance. The Scottish king, perhaps willingly, joined Henry V in his military campaigns in France between 1420 and 1421. His cousin, Murdoch Stewart, Albany's son, who had been an English prisoner since 1402, was traded for Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, in 1416. However, Albany refused to negotiate for James's release. James married Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, in February 1424. This was just before his release in April. The king's re-entry into Scottish affairs was not altogether popular, since he had fought on behalf of Henry V in France and at times against Scottish forces. Noble families now faced increased taxes to cover the ransom payments, and would also have to provide family hostages as security. James, who excelled in sports such as wrestling and tennis, literature, and music, also strongly desired to impose law and order on his subjects. Sometimes he applied such order selectively.

To secure his position in the Scottish court, James launched pre-emptive attacks on some of his nobles beginning in 1425 with his close kinsmen, the Albany Stewarts. This resulted in the execution of Duke Murdoch and his sons. In 1427 James called all the Highland clans to a parliament in Inverness. They came in great numbers. There, James engaged in treachery, murdering some and imprisoning others, effectively destroying any peace he might have had with them. He was said to be amused at the success of his plot. One of those imprisoned at Inverness was Alexander, Lord of the Isles, along with his mother, Mariota, Countess of Ross, who James kept prisoner on the island of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth. Because of his treachery, James was never again trusted by those in the Isles and the North.

Archibald, 5th Earl of Douglas, was arrested in 1431, followed by George, Earl of March, in 1434. The plight of the ransom hostages held in England was ignored and the repayment money was diverted into the construction of Linlithgow Palace and other schemes. In August 1436, James failed at the siege of English-held Roxburgh Castle, and subsequently faced an ineffective attempt by Sir Robert Graham to arrest him at a general council. James was assassinated at Perth on the night of 20/21 February 1437 during a failed coup by his uncle Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl. Queen Joan, although wounded, managed to evade the attackers and reached her son—now King James II—in Edinburgh Castle.