James V (1513 - 1542)

James V roundel, Stirling Castle

James V's coronation was more a wake for the fallen of Flodden than a celebration of his accession to the throne. He was a seventeen month old baby when his father died, which resulted in yet another minority. During this minority there were few periods of stable government due to the conflicts between the great magnates, varying relations with England and France, and the vagaries of the Queen Mother, Margaret Tudor. The Queen Mother remarried quickly after the death of James IV and James grew to hate his stepfather, Archibald Douglas, sixth Earl of Douglas. Between 1525 and 1528 Douglas practically held James a prisoner. His education was limited to the time that William Dunbar could spend with him but after the age of twelve he received no official education at all. Among the ordinary people James was popular, he sometimes dressed as a farmer and went out among his subjects, however, with the barons and nobles he was seen as mean, cruel and vindictive. An example of this was the Act of Revocation of 1537/40 in which he demanded huge sums in compensation from those who had encroached on royal estates. He also took the title of Lord of the Isles himself and imprisoned the heads of the leading families if they crossed him. Many others had their lands forfeited and he also introduced the English punishment of hanging, drawing and quartering - this was seen as an especially barbaric punishment in Scotland. In the end he could not rely on their support when he needed it most.

After the Douglas's fled the kingdom James, then 16, ruled the kingdom in his own right until his death in 1542. He was much concerned with upholding the law, although during his minority much that his father had achieved fell into disuse. An example of the lawlessness of this time is the battle, known as 'Clear the Causeway', that took place between the Douglas's and their opponents in Edinburgh's High Street in 1520. To improve matters James introduced supervised justice-ayres, he also quieted the borders with a series of hangings, including John Armstrong and 36 of his followers. The Archbishop of Glasgow, Gavin Dunbar, was involved in a reform of the 'Council and Session' court. In this he separated the functions of the court into the 'College of Justice', the experienced judges were given salaries - although the king skimmed off much of the money due to them. This was to be paid for by a new tax on the church. Parliaments met regularly and issued many laws intended to improve the economic health of the kingdom.

Following a rebellion by Donald Gorm of Sleat in 1540 where Donald was killed at Eilean Donan Castle the king made a journey around the northern part of the kingdom. There, wherever he stopped, he demanded obedience and arrests, forfeitures and executions were carried out on criminals. The king used his power to make appointments to the Church to ensure his sons were well looked after, five of them were given powerful positions. He also imposed the 'Great Tax' on the church but at the same time the clergy became more important in his council. James was fascinated by the Auld Alliance (Albany had renegociated the alliance with France in 1521 at Rouen) but in general it did little good for Scotland at this time. He was most interested in the chance of a marriage to a French princess, with the attendant dowry. He made a trip to France in 1536 to marry Marie de Vendome but he was not at all attracted to her and he managed to persuade Francis I to give him Madeleine instead. Unfortunately she died only weeks after landing in Scotland, James kept the 100,000 livre dowry, ships and valuables nevertheless. James then married Mary of Guise, who brought a 150,000 livre dowry, and gave him a daughter and two sons, both sons died in infancy, however.

James V & Mary of Guise

Henry VIII was very unpleased about the alliance between Scotland and France, afraid that Scotland could be used as a base in which attacks could be directed at England. Many in Scotland agreed that the country was too close to France and this effectively split the nobles into two factions, which played into Henry's hands. Henry and his Scottish supporters managed to get James to agree to a meeting at York but the clergy persuaded James not to turn up. This infuriated Henry who launched an attack on Scotland, James also raised an army but it was split by internal division, indeed many lords did not obey the summons. The army was led by Oliver Sinclair (although Maxwell was the official leader) and funded by the Church. At the Battle of Solway Moss of 1542, which the king did not take part in due to illness (he was left at Lochmaben),the Scottish army was routed by Lord Wharton. It was only after the attack by the English had started that Sinclair announced that the king had made him leader and this caused a wrangle with Maxwell. No orders were given, no battle plan enacted and all the while the English were harrying the Scottish flanks. The Scottish army fell into disarray with over a thousand surrendering and hundreds being killed.

James wandered for a while before finally coming to Falkland Palace where he immediately took to his bed. It was shortly before he died that he uttered his famous, but untrue, prophesy - 'It came wi a lass and it will pass wi a lass'. He then died age 31 leaving only his daughter, Princess Mary.

History Books on James V:

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Cameron, Jamie	James V	1998	£16.99	Amazon.co.uk
James V suffered the fate of many a son of a famous father in being somewhat overshadowed not only by his father James IV but also by his internationally renowned daughter Mary Queen of Scots. But no-one would deny the importance of his reign, embracing as it did the establishment of the Court of Session, the birthpangs of religious dissent, and the growth of royal power to such a remarkable extent that this king could leave his kingdom for nine months in 1536-7 without fear of rebellion. Jamie Cameron concentrates on James V's style of government and relations with his nobility, and challenges the widely held view of a vidictive and irrational king, motivated largely by greed, who antagonised most of his leading magnates and met his just deserts when they refused to support him in 1542. This book offers adifferent view, and presents us with a rounded picture of a king whose approach to government, in spite of some personal defects, closely resembles that of his supposedly more popular father; and, like James IV himself, retained impressive magnate support to the end of his reign.

History Books on this time period:

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Donaldson, G.	Scotland: James V - VII	1965	£16.99	Amazon.co.uk
The four-volume Edinburgh History of Scotland is the most important project in Scottish historical writing for more than half a century; each volume is written by an expert on the period who brings to his work the direct acquaintance with original sources on which authoritative historical writing can alone be based. This, the third volume, deals with the time when many of the most significant and familiar episodes in Scottish history took place. The period was one in which Scotland was transformed, partly as a result of conspicuous events but largely because of more subtle and less perceptible changes in the constitutional, ecclesiastical and economic structure, the end result of which was an emergence of life more akin to that we know today. Since the early years of the 20th century much research has been done into this period. Its results form the foundation of this major work, which makes available information hitherto only found scattered throughout numerous books and periodicals.
Wormald, J.	Court, King & Community: Scotland 1470-1625	1991	£9.95	Amazon.co.uk
The last period of Scotland's existence as an independent kingdom with the focus on the events and consequences of the Reformation.

Historical Fiction Books on James V:

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Tranter, Nigel	James V Trilogy	1995	£12.99	Amazon.co.uk
James V inherited the throne at only 17 months old after his father died at Flodden, and grew up surrounded by those who would plot against him.