James I of Scotland

James I (late July 1394 – 21 February 1437) was King of Scots from 1406 to 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III and his wife Annabella Drummond. His older brother David, Duke of Rothesay died under suspicious circumstances while being detained by their uncle, Robert, Duke of Albany. His other brother, Robert, died young. Fears for James's safety grew through the winter of 1405/6 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 there 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 Scotland, would not regain his freedom for another eighteen years.

James was educated well at the English Court, where he developed a respect for English methods of governance and for Henry V. The Scottish king, apparently willingly, joined Henry in his military campaign in France during 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. James had married Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, in February 1424, 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 were now faced with paying increased taxes to cover the ransom repayments, but would also have to provide family hostages as security. James excelled in sporting activities and appreciated literature and music; he also held a strong desire to impose law and order on his subjects, although he applied it selectively at times.

To secure his position, James launched pre-emptive attacks on some of his nobles beginning in 1425 with his close kinsmen, the Albany Stewarts, resulting in the execution of Duke Murdoch and his sons. In 1428, James detained Alexander, Lord of the Isles, while attending a parliament in Inverness. 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 grandiose schemes. In August 1436, James failed in his siege of the English-held Roxburgh Castle and then 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 in 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.