Part 9

James was the author of two poems, the _Kingis Quair_ and _Good Counsel_ (a short piece of three stanzas). The _Song of Absence_, _Peblis to the Play_ and _Christis Kirk on the Greene_ have been ascribed to him without evidence. _The Kingis Quair_ (preserved in the Selden MS. B. 24 in the Bodleian) is an allegorical poem of the _cours d'amour_ type, written in seven-lined Chaucerian stanzas and extending to 1379 lines. It was composed during James's captivity in England and celebrates his courtship of Lady Jane Beaufort. Though in many respects a Chaucerian _pastiche_, it not rarely equals its model in verbal and metrical felicity. Its language is an artificial blend of northern and southern (Chaucerian) forms, of the type shown in _Lancelot of the Laik_ and the _Quair of Jelusy_.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The contemporary authorities for the reign of James I. are Andrew of Wyntoun, _The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland_, edited by D. Laing (Edinburgh, 1872-1879); and Walter Bower's continuation of John of Fordun's _Scotichronicon_, edited by T. Hearne (Oxford, 1722). See also J. Pinkerton, _History of Scotland_ (1797); A. Lang, _History of Scotland_, vol. i. (1900); and G. Burnett, _Introduction to the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1878-1901). _The Kingis Quair_ was first printed in the _Poetical Remains of James the First_, edited by William Tytler (1783). Later editions are Morison's reprint (Perth, 1786); J. Sibbald's, in his _Chronicle of Scottish Poetry_ (1802, vol. i.); Thomson's in 1815 and 1824; G. Chalmers's, in his _Poetic Remains of some of the Scottish Kings_ (1824); Rogers's _Poetical Remains of King James the First_ (1873); Skeat's edition published by the Scottish Text Society (1884). An attempt has been made to dispute James's authorship of the poem, but the arguments elaborated by J. T. T. Brown (_The Authorship of the Kingis Quair_, Glasgow, 1896) have been convincingly answered by Jusserand in his _Jacques I^{er} d'Écosse fut-il poète? Étude sur l'authenticité du cahier du roi_ (Paris, 1897, reprinted from the _Revue historique_, vol. lxiv.). See also the full correspondence in the _Athenaeum_ (July-Aug. 1896 and Dec. 1899); W. A. Neilson, _Origins and Sources of the Court of Love_ (Boston, 1899) pp. 152 &c., 235 &c.; and Gregory Smith, _Transition Period_ (1900), pp. 40, 41.

JAMES II. (1430-1460), king of Scotland, the only surviving son of James I. and his wife, Jane, daughter of John Beaufort, earl of Somerset, was born on the 16th of October 1430. Crowned king at Holyrood in March 1437, shortly after the murder of his father, he was at first under the guardianship of his mother, while Archibald, 5th earl of Douglas, was regent of the kingdom, and considerable power was possessed by Sir Alexander Livingstone and Sir William Crichton (d. 1454). When about 1439 Queen Jane was married to Sir James Stewart, the knight of Lorne, Livingstone obtained the custody of the young king, whose minority was marked by fierce hostility between the Douglases and the Crichtons, with Livingstone first on one side and then on the other. About 1443 the royal cause was espoused by William, 8th earl of Douglas, who attacked Crichton in the king's name, and civil war lasted until about 1446. In July 1449 James was married to Mary (d. 1463), daughter of Arnold, duke of Gelderland, and undertook the government himself; and almost immediately Livingstone was arrested, but Douglas retained the royal favour for a few months more. In 1452, however, this powerful earl was invited to Stirling by the king, and, charged with treachery, was stabbed by James and then killed by the attendants. Civil war broke out at once between James and the Douglases, whose lands were ravaged; but after the Scots parliament had exonerated the king, James, the new earl of Douglas, made his submission. Early in 1455 this struggle was renewed. Marching against the rebels James gained several victories, after which Douglas was attainted and his lands forfeited. Fortified by this success and assured of the support of the parliament and of the great nobles, James, acting as an absolute king, could view without alarm the war which had broken out with England. After two expeditions across the borders, a truce was made in July 1457, and the king employed the period of peace in strengthening his authority in the Highlands. During the Wars of the Roses he showed his sympathy with the Lancastrian party after the defeat of Henry VI. at Northampton by attacking the English possessions to the south of Scotland. It was while conducting the siege of Roxburgh Castle that James was killed, through the bursting of a cannon, on the 3rd of August 1460. He left three sons, his successor, James III., Alexander Stewart, duke of Albany, and John Stewart, earl of Mar (d. 1479); and two daughters. James, who is sometimes called "Fiery Face," was a vigorous and popular prince, and, although not a scholar like his father, showed interest in education. His reign is a period of some importance in the legislative history of Scotland, as measures were passed with regard to the tenure of land, the reformation of the coinage, and the protection of the poor, while the organization for the administration of justice was greatly improved.

JAMES III. (1451-1488), king of Scotland, eldest son of James II., was born on the 10th of July 1451. Becoming king in 1460 he was crowned at Kelso. After the death of his mother in 1463, and of her principal supporter, James Kennedy, bishop of St Andrews, two years later, the person of the young king, and with it the chief authority in the kingdom, were seized by Sir Alexander Boyd and his brother Lord Boyd, while the latter's son, Thomas, was created earl of Arran and married to the king's sister, Mary. In July 1469 James himself was married to Margaret (d. 1486), daughter of Christian I., king of Denmark and Norway, but before the wedding the Boyds had lost their power. Having undertaken the government in person, the king received the submission of the powerful earl of Ross, and strengthened his authority in other ways. But his preference for a sedentary and not for an active life and his increasing attachment to favourites of humble birth diminished his popularity, and he had some differences with his parliament. About 1479, probably with reason both suspicious and jealous, James arrested his brothers, Alexander, duke of Albany, and John, earl of Mar; Mar met his death in a mysterious fashion at Craigmillar, but Albany escaped to France and then visited England, where in 1482 Edward IV. recognized him as king of Scotland by the gift of the king of England. War broke out with England, but James, made a prisoner by his nobles, was unable to prevent Albany and his ally, Richard, duke of Gloucester (afterwards Richard III.), from taking Berwick and marching to Edinburgh. Peace with Albany followed, but soon afterwards the duke was again in communication with Edward, and was condemned by the parliament after the death of the English king in April 1483. Albany's death in France in 1485 did not end the king's troubles. His policy of living at peace with England and of arranging marriages between the members of the royal families of the two countries did not commend itself to the turbulent section of his nobles; his artistic tastes and lavish expenditure added to the discontent, and a rebellion broke out. Fleeing into the north of his kingdom James collected an army and came to terms with his foes; but the rebels, having seized the person of the king's eldest son, afterwards James IV., renewed the struggle. The rival armies met at the Sauchieburn near Bannockburn, and James soon fled. Reaching Beaton's Mill he revealed his identity, and, according to the popular story, was killed on the 11th of June 1488 by a soldier in the guise of a priest who had been called in to shrive him. He left three sons--his successor, James IV.; James Stewart, duke of Ross, afterwards archbishop of St Andrews, and John Stewart, earl of Mar. James was a cultured prince with a taste for music and architecture, but was a weak and incapable king. His character is thus described by a chronicler: "He was ane man that loved solitude, and desired nevir to hear of warre, bot delighted more in musick and policie and building nor he did in the government of the realme."

JAMES IV. (1473-1513), king of Scotland, eldest son of James III., was born on the 17th of March 1473. He was nominally the leader of the rebels who defeated the troops of James III. at the Sauchieburn in June 1488, and became king when his father was killed. As he adopted an entirely different policy with the nobles from that of his father, and, moreover, showed great affability towards the lower class of his subjects, among whom he delighted to wander incognito, few if any of the kings of Scotland have won such general popularity, or passed a reign so untroubled by intestine strife. Crowned at Scone a few days after his accession, James began at once to take an active part in the business of government. A slight insurrection was easily suppressed, and a plot formed by some nobles to hand him over to the English king, Henry VII., came to nothing. In spite of this proceeding Henry wished to live at peace with his northern neighbour, and soon contemplated marrying his daughter to James, but the Scottish king was not equally pacific. When, in 1495, Perkin Warbeck, pretending to be the duke of York, Edward IV.'s younger son, came to Scotland, James bestowed upon him both an income and a bride, and prepared to invade England in his interests. For various reasons the war was confined to a few border forays. After Warbeck left Scotland in 1497, the Spanish ambassador negotiated a peace, and in 1502 a marriage was definitely arranged between James and Henry's daughter Margaret (1489-1541). The wedding took place at Holyrood in August 1503, and it was this union which led to the accession of the Stewart dynasty to the English throne.

About the same time James crushed a rebellion in the western isles, into which he had previously led expeditions, and parliament took measures to strengthen the royal authority therein. At this date too, or a little earlier, the king of Scotland began to treat as an equal with the powerful princes of Europe, Maximilian I., Louis XII. and others; sending assistance to his uncle Hans, king of Denmark, and receiving special marks of favour from Pope Julius II., anxious to obtain his support. But his position was weakened when Henry VIII. followed Henry VII. on the English throne in 1509. Causes of quarrel already existed, and other causes, both public and private, soon arose between the two kings; sea-fights took place between their ships, while war was brought nearer by the treaty of alliance which James concluded with Louis XII. in 1512. Henry made a vain effort to prevent, or to postpone, the outbreak of hostilities; but urged on by his French ally and his queen, James declared for war, in spite of the counsels of some of his advisers, and (it is said) of the warning of an apparition. Gathering a large and well-armed force, he took Norham and other castles in August 1513, spending some time at Ford Castle, where, according to report, he was engaged in an amorous intrigue with the wife of its owner. Then he moved out to fight the advancing English army under Thomas Howard, earl of Surrey. The battle, which took place at Flodden, or more correctly, at the foot of Brankston Hill, on Friday the 9th of September 1513, is among the most famous and disastrous, if not among the most momentous, in the history of Scotland. Having led his troops from their position of vantage, the king himself was killed while fighting on foot, together with nearly all his nobles; there was no foundation for the rumour that he had escaped from the carnage. He left one legitimate child, his successor James V., but as his gallantries were numerous he had many illegitimate children, among them (by Marion Boyd) Alexander Stewart, archbishop of St Andrews and chancellor of Scotland, who was killed at Flodden, and (by Janet Kennedy) James Stewart, earl of Moray (d. 1544). One of his other mistresses was Margaret Drummond (d. 1501).

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. Prominent both as an administrator and as a lawgiver, the king by his vigorous rule did much to destroy the tendencies to independence which existed in the Highlands and Islands; but, on the other hand, his rash conduct at Flodden brought much misery upon his kingdom. He was specially interested in his navy. The tournaments which took place under his auspices were worthy of the best days of chivalry in France and England. James shared to the full in the superstitions of the age which was quickly passing away. He is said to have worn an iron belt as penance for his share in his father's death; and by his frequent visits to shrines, and his benefactions to religious foundations, he won a reputation for piety.

JAMES V. (1512-1542), king of Scotland, son of James IV., was born at Linlithgow on the 10th of April 1512, and became king when his father was killed at Flodden in 1513. The regency was at first vested in his mother, but after Queen Margaret's second marriage, with Archibald Douglas, 6th earl of Angus, in August 1514, it was transferred by the estates to John Stewart, duke of Albany. Henceforward the minority of James was disturbed by constant quarrels between a faction, generally favourable to England, under Angus, and the partisans of France under Albany; while the queen-mother and the nobles struggled to gain and to regain possession of the king's person. The English had not followed up their victory at Flodden, although there were as usual forays on the borders, but Henry VIII. was watching affairs in Scotland with an observant eye, and other European sovereigns were not indifferent to the possibility of a Scotch alliance. In 1524, when Albany had retired to France, the parliament declared that James was fit to govern, but that he must be advised by his mother and a council. This "erection" of James as king was mainly due to the efforts of Henry VIII. In 1526 Angus obtained control of the king, and kept him in close confinement until 1528, when James, escaping from Edinburgh to Stirling, put vigorous measures in execution against the earl, and compelled him to flee to England. In 1529 and 1530 the king made a strong effort to suppress his turbulent vassals in the south of Scotland; and after several raids and counter-raids negotiations for peace with England were begun, and in May 1534 a treaty was signed. At this time, as on previous occasions, Henry VIII. wished James to marry his daughter Mary, while other ladies had been suggested by the emperor Charles V.; but the Scottish king, preferring a French bride, visited France, and in January 1537 was married at Paris to Madeleine, daughter of King Francis I. Madeleine died soon after her arrival in Scotland, and in 1538 James made a much more important marriage, being united to Mary (1515-1560), daughter of Claude, duke of Guise, and widow of Louis of Orleans, duke of Longueville. It was this connexion, probably, which finally induced James to forsake his vacillating foreign policy, and to range himself definitely among the enemies of England. In 1536 he had refused to meet Henry VIII. at York, and in the following year had received the gift of a cap and sword from Pope Paul III., thus renouncing the friendship of his uncle. Two plots to murder the king were now discovered, and James also foiled the attempts of Henry VIII. to kidnap him. Although in 1540 the English king made another attempt to win the support, or at least the neutrality, of James for his religious policy, the relations between the two countries became very unfriendly, and in 1542 Henry sent an army to invade Scotland. James was not slow to make reprisals, but his nobles were angry or indifferent, and on the 25th of November 1542 his forces were easily scattered at the rout of Solway Moss. This blow preyed upon the king's mind, and on the 14th of December he died at Falkland, having just heard of the birth of his daughter. His two sons had died in infancy, and his successor was his only legitimate child, Mary. He left several bastards, among them James Stewart, earl of Murray (the regent Murray), Lord John Stewart (1531-1563) prior of Coldingham, and Lord Robert Stewart, earl of Orkney (d. 1592).

Although possessing a weak constitution, which was further impaired by his irregular manner of life, James showed great vigour and independence as a sovereign, both in withstanding the machinations of his uncle, Henry VIII., and in opposing the influence of the nobles. The persecutions to which heretics were exposed during this reign were due mainly to the excessive influence exercised by the ecclesiastics, especially by David Beaton, archbishop of St Andrews. The king's habit of mingling with the peasantry secured for him a large amount of popularity, and probably led many to ascribe to him the authorship of poems describing scenes in peasant life, _Christis Kirk on the Grene_, _The Gaberlunzie Man_ and _The Jolly Beggar_. There is no proof that he was the author of any of these poems, but from expressions in the poems of Sir David Lindsay, who was on terms of intimacy with him, it appears that occasionally he wrote verses.

JAMES I., the Conqueror (1208-1276), king of Aragon, son of Peter II., king of Aragon, and of Mary of Montpellier, whose mother was Eudoxia Comnena, daughter of the emperor Manuel, was born at Montpellier on the 2nd of February 1208. His father, a man of immoral life, was with difficulty persuaded to cohabit with his wife. He endeavoured to repudiate her, and she fled to Rome, where she died in April 1213. Peter, whose possessions in Provence entangled him in the wars between the Albigenses and Simon of Montfort, endeavoured to placate the northern crusaders by arranging a marriage between his son James and Simon's daughter. In 1211 the boy was entrusted to Montfort's care to be educated, but the aggressions of the crusaders on the princes of the south forced Peter to take up arms against them, and he was slain at Muret on the 12th of September 1213. Montfort would willingly have used James as a means of extending his own power. The Aragonese and Catalans, however, appealed to the pope, who forced Montfort to surrender him in May or June 1214. James was now entrusted to the care of Guillen de Monredon, the head of the Templars in Spain and Provence. The kingdom was given over to confusion till in 1216 the Templars and some of the more loyal nobles brought the young king to Saragossa. At the age of thirteen he was married to Leonora, daughter of Alphonso VIII. of Castile, whom he divorced later on the ground of consanguinity. A son born of the marriage, Alphonso, was recognized as legitimate, but died before his father, childless. It was only by slow steps that the royal authority was asserted, but the young king, who was of gigantic stature and immense strength, was also astute and patient. By 1228 he had so far brought his vassals to obedience, that he was able to undertake the conquest of the Balearic Islands, which he achieved within four years. At the same time he endeavoured to bring about a union of Aragon with Navarre, by a contract of mutual adoption between himself and the Navarrese king, Sancho, who was old enough to be his grandfather. The scheme broke down, and James abstained from a policy of conquest. He wisely turned to the more feasible course of extending his dominions at the expense of the decadent Mahommedan princes of Valencia. On the 28th of September 1238 the town of Valencia surrendered, and the whole territory was conquered in the ensuing years. Like all the princes of his house, James took part in the politics of southern France. He endeavoured to form a southern state on both sides of the Pyrenees, which should counterbalance the power of France north of the Loire. Here also his policy failed against physical, social and political obstacles. As in the case of Navarre, he was too wise to launch into perilous adventures. By the Treaty of Corbeil, with Louis IX., signed the 11th of May 1258, he frankly withdrew from conflict with the French king, and contented himself with the recognition of his position, and the surrender of antiquated French claims to the overlordship of Catalonia. During the remaining twenty years of his life, James was much concerned in warring with the Moors in Murcia, not on his own account, but on behalf of his son-in-law Alphonso the Wise of Castile. As a legislator and organizer he occupies a high place among the Spanish kings. He would probably have been more successful but for the confusion caused by the disputes in his own household. James, though orthodox and pious, had an ample share of moral laxity. After repudiating Leonora of Castile he married Yolande (in Spanish Violante) daughter of Andrew II. of Hungary, who had a considerable influence over him. But she could not prevent him from continuing a long series of intrigues. The favour he showed his bastards led to protest from the nobles, and to conflicts between his sons legitimate and illegitimate. When one of the latter, Fernan Sanchez, who had behaved with gross ingratitude and treason to his father, was slain by the legitimate son Pedro, the old king recorded his grim satisfaction. At the close of his life King James divided his states between his sons by Yolande of Hungary, Pedro and James, leaving the Spanish possessions on the mainland to the first, the Balearic Islands and the lordship of Montpellier to the second--a division which inevitably produced fratricidal conflicts. The king fell very ill at Alcira, and resigned his crown, intending to retire to the monastery of Poblet, but died at Valencia on the 27th of July 1276.

King James was the author of a chronicle of his own life, written or dictated apparently at different times, which is a very fine example of autobiographical literature. A translation into English by J. Forster, with notes by Don Pascual de Gayangos, was published in London in 1883. See also _James I. of Aragon_, by F. Darwin Swift (Clarendon Press, 1894), in which are many references to authorities.

JAMES II. (c. 1260-1327), king of Aragon, grandson of James I., and son of Peter III. by his marriage with Constance, daughter of Manfred of Beneventum, was left in 1285 as king of Sicily by his father. In 1291, on the death of his elder brother, Alphonso, to whom Aragon had fallen, he resigned Sicily and endeavoured to arrange the quarrel between his own family and the Angevine House, by marriage with Blanca, daughter of Charles of Anjou, king of Naples.

JAMES II. (1243-1311), king of Majorca, inherited the Balearic Islands from his father James I. of Aragon. He was engaged in constant conflict with his brother Pedro III. of Aragon, and in alliance with the French king against his own kin.

JAMES III. (1315-1349), king of Majorca, grandson of James II., was driven out of his little state and finally murdered by his cousin Pedro IV. of Aragon, who definitely reannexed the Balearic Islands to the crown.