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JAMES FRANCIS EDWARD, THE CHEVALIER DE ST. GEORGE (1688— 1765).
The legitimate son of James II., and by birth heir to the British throne. Unfortunate from his cradle, he bravely struggled throughout a long life to assert rights which the faults of his father had alienated.
Painted by B. Gennari. The property of Stonyhurst College.
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STUART DYNASTY: :
BHOBI STUDIES 0]
ITS RISE. COURSE, AND EARL V EXILE.
THE LATTEB
FROM PAPERS IN HER MAJESTY'S POSSESSION AT
WINDSOR CASTLE
BY
PERCY M. THORNTON,
AUTHOR OF
1 FOREIGN SECRETARIES OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY ' ; ' HARROW SCHOOL AND ITS SURROUNDINGS'; 'THE BBUNSWIOB A.I
ETC., ETC.
LONDON: WILLIAM KIDGWAY, 169, PICCADILLY, W.
1890.
70S
on HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY,
VICTOBIA,
QUEEN OF GBEAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, EMPRESS OF INDIA,
THESE RESEARCH IS AMONG ANCESTRAL RECORDS OF
THE ROYAL HOUSE OF STUART
ARE, BY PERMISSION, INSCRIBED BY
HER MAJESTY'S
DUTIFUL AND DEVOTED SUBJECT AND SERVANT,
PEECY MELVILLE THORNTON.
• *t»
^ Ll*o
r i; E P \ 0 i:.
The 1 1 1 ^ < < > 1 1< *; 1 1 chapters on the Stewards of Scotland ami on the earlier Kings of the Stuarl race, precedi those papers of Her Majesty's al Windsor, which form the main attraction of this work — were com- piled tor the most pari before thai exhibit ion of pictures and relics which became so popular during the winter of 1888-9. A prolonged illness made it Impossible to produce1 any book in time for I; year's Stnart Exhibition, and now on the eve of public attention being directed to the Tudor epoch in English history, these studies appear.
That the time is not, however, inopportune, a survey of the conflicting ambitions and consequent rivalries of the two families of Tudor and Stuart will pro\ while the fact that Margaret, sister of Henry VIII., by her marriage with James IV. of Scotland, linked the two dynasties together by the ties of kinship, and brought it about that their respective interests should soon become identical under one crown, made each of those historical subjects attractive in con- nection with the other.
That the present short studies should be extended over more than 400 years, when students will intui- tively turn to the Cardinal of York's papers, which
vni l'llEFACE.
deal with a few years of the seventeenth century, and the two first decades of the eighteenth, may in these days of universal instruction, appear to be superfluous.
On the other hand it seemed to the author neces- sary, if the Stuart Papers at Windsor were to he ' duly appreciated, and their contents fully understood, that readers should there and then be enabled to realise thoroughly the nature of the heritage wrested from the Dynasty in question at the Revolution of 1688. Moreover, no complete account of the Stewards of Scotland, from whom the Stuarts originated, has previously been given in narratives dealing with this hapless but engaging race.
The author has followed accredited authorities (with full acknowledgments of his obligations) in endeavouring to render his account of the Stuarts in the earlier stages of their sway, both succinct and comprehensive.
As, however, there are exhaustive histories which deal with the life of Mary Queen of Scots ; the union of the three crowns which accompanied the Acces- sion of her son, James I., to the thrones of England and Ireland ; together with the vast subjects of the great Rebellion, the Restoration, and the Revolution of 1688, it has been found practically impossible, within prescribed limits, altogether to preserve the promised outline.
Ordinary thought and research cannot do justice to such subjects, when the full elucidation of each one by itself has become the lifework of more than one gifted man.
/■/;//■. \< I
h w.'i.s nece • an , in the ution <>l i In litei design, t<> describe briefly tho e evenl on winch the Marian controversy turns, and t<> pa an opinion upon iln' vital question of Mary Stuart's innocence of (>!• complicity in Darnley's murder; and without adding other Fresh data t<> tin* partial unravelmenl of a perpetual mystery, the attention which its im- portance deser\ e . ba \ been directed i<> the i ery by Mr. Henderson of Morton's declaration concern- inff the finding of the Casket Letters. Il does not, however, by any means settle the controversy. For not only were (lie* signatories to Morton's official account of how he seized the silv( r casket containing the- disputed letters, men previously antagonistic to their sovereign, but the initial part of the story, to which Mr. Henderson barely alludes, is scarcely credible. If Sir James Balfour, Governor of Edin- burgh Castle, had desired to apprise Morton of the Casket and its contents being in danger of removal, he would have taken steps to detain Dagleish, Both- well's servant (who came to claim his master's property), and not have waited to convey his infor- mation after the silver receptacle had been taken away he knew not where, but really into a back street of populous Edinburgh, called the Potter Row. Nor would Sir James Balfour have stood in greater danger of Bothwell's future enmity and consequent revenge, if the seizure had been effected inside the castle instead of out of it. An enemy he was cer- tain henceforth to be considered.
With regard to the hopes of any fresh discovery
- ' #k
x PREFACE.
being made which might once, and for all set at rest the question whether the Casket Letters were forged or genuine, it is interesting; to know that Mr. Edward Scott, Keeper of the MSS. at the British
Museum, believes that given sufficient funds to place the enormous mass of Elizabethan and early Jacobean correspondence collected by Sir Robert Cotton into decipherable order, there would be reasonable hope of throwing light upon the hitherto darkened page.
In the chapters on the earlier history of the Stuart family the writer has endeavoured to emphasise the distinguished character of several of the Stewards of Scotland who held office before the year 1370. In particular, Walter, the husband of Marjory Bruce, and King Robert L, before he ascended the throne after his life's real work was done, might both have been chosen by Scott as heroes of poems or romances.
It is, moreover, interesting to reflect that when the Stuarts became kings, the ancient Stewardship fell to the next heir, and this honour being still hereditary the present holder is H.R.H. the Prince of Wales.
Of the Stuart kings of Scotland, James I. stands out not only pre-eminent in ability and reputation, but appears as a statesman far ahead of his own rude times.
When sketching, so far as space allows, the more prominent events after the Stuarts came to St. James's, it has not been found possible entirely to endorse Professor Rawson Gardiner's later con-
/7;/ /' \Cl
clu li ii''' ( 'li.i rlea I . en becau
present writer Fails !<> perceive any malignant onoi mil \ in I he haras ed m< ma rein pa endeavours to save the Crown, either when it - Boughl to employ Roman Catholic frish to swell the Cavalier ranks, or even to entice the Duke of raine's mercenaries to the royal standard.
Civil war is a terrible scourge ; but, when once the Rubicon has been passed, history records few instant o\' patriotic self-denial when effective help of any description could be procured. On the other hand, those horrible massacres of helpless [rish women after Naseby and Kilsyth which I' >r Gardiner
narrates, seem to merit a censure which the hatr< ;iiul prejudices i^\' the seventeenth century forbade the triumphant Parliamentarians to expr«
The reign and exile of James LL would have been merely given in outline Imt for the Stuart Papers at Windsor disclosing communications between the last Kim;' of that dynasty and his agents at Rome, several of which letters, given here at length, have historical importance.
The selected part of the Stuart Papers have been analysed in a special introduction to Appendix I. The object aimed at was to cull from this large mass of MSS. the most important documents, ranging between 1685 and 171(5, which had not hitherto been utilised for historical purposes ; while it is interesting to reflect that as Lords Macaulay and Stanhope drew inspiration from facts recorded in this collection, so was Sir Walter Scott originally chosen in 1 829 to
xn PREFACE.
edit this priceless collection, failing health however precluding Ihe necessary sojourn in London.*
The additions to historical knowledge hitherto derived from the Stuart Papers are three. First, Sheridan's memorandum containing the views of James II. upon Ireland previous to the siege of Londonderry and the campaign of the Boyne, a source out of which Lord Macaulay compiled several pages of his history,! eliciting the fact that in this crisis of his fortunes the last Stuart king declined to appoint an Irish Lord Lieutenant, fearing for the integrity of Great Britain. Secondly, the letters which appear in the Appendix to Lord Stanhope's History ; and thirdly, the volume of correspondence between the Chevalier de St. George and Bishop Atterbury which appeared in 1847, edited by the late librarian to Her Majesty, Mr. Glover.
The descriptions of and allusions to passing events in the Stuart Papers now selected for publication indicate the development of that Jacobite movement which resulted in the Rebellion of 1715. The more we learn of this epoch, the blacker and more numerous seem the clouds which enveloped the throne of George I., and threatened to darken permanently the hopes of his dynasty. The Stuart Letters show that in 1715, Marlborough, the Captain-General, thought so gravely of the situation, that with his accustomed adroitness he had both striven to dis- count that long chain of offences registered against
* Lockharf s ' Life of Sir Walter Scott,' edition 1836, p. 706. t Macaulay's ' History of England,' first edition, vol. ii. p. 137.
him ;ii St. Germain l»\ Bending 2000/. i" defray tli- Chevalier's expenses when benl on attacking Gr< Britain, while he also stipulated for a pardon should i In- son of James 1 1 . ascend the I hrone.
The general tenor of the tetters of the Duke Berwick, Lord Bolinghroke, and fche Duke of Or- mond, as well as those of I be Chevalier bimself, point to a belief in the materials for an insurrection being to hand in England in July 17l.~>. provided thai the expedition came attended by a small French force such ns Louis X I \\, despite the Treaty of Utrecht, might well have allowed to leave his shores bul for the ailment which carried him off in the autumn.
Lord Mar's efforts in Scotland were vigorous and well designed, as is proved by papers preserved at Windsor, which tell in substance his dealings with all the Highland clans, extracts from which are given forthwith. Taken with a letter of Lord Mar's at Aboyne in the possession of Lord Huntly, written to an anonymous correspondent just before the standard was raised at Braemar, these records show that the Jacobite leader surmounted obstacles which less able men never would have aj^proached at all. The divisions and differences amongst the clans seemed simply inadjustable. Lord Mar, it is true, was not an experienced general, but it is open to question whether the Duke of Berwick, with all his great military prestige, could have induced the Highlanders to sink their differences and put faith in his European reputation.
The following excerpts from Lord Mar's cor-
xiv PREFACE.
respondence with Gordon of Glenbucket — the Marquess of Huntly's Bail; or Factor — and with the
Laird of Glengarry, appears in the Preface instead of the body of the book because it came to light when the work was on the point of being printed off, while it contained matter far too interesting to be either omitted or relegated to a false chronological position at the end of Appendix I. Nor is it at all out of place here.
An extract from a letter, now at Windsor, of Lord Mar to Gordon of Glenbucket, dated September 9, 1715, will serve to illustrate the Jacobite leader's perplexities. Writing from Invercall (Invercauld), Lord Mar sarcastically laments the moral defection of the Farquharson chieftain, the general co-operation of whose followers was necessary to the prosecution of the opposed campaign.
" Invercall, fryday night, " Sept. 9, 1715.
" That good friend of the King's Invercall has used all the tricks he could to intimidat the people of this country, Bromar (Braemar) and Strathdon, from comeing out, but non of his story s or insinua- tions have done so much towards it as his makeing them believe that non of our neighbours are to stirr, and particularly my Lord Huntly's men."
Gordon of Glenbucket, as has been said, was Baily to the Marquess of Huntly, and in the absence of the Duke of Gordon, detained by the Government of George I. at Edinburgh, it was of the last importance that the clansmen generally should know of the
/•/://■ U i
( Gordon fidelity to the < M u • \ alier'fl can e. II the following appeal on Mar's pari .
u I <e1 me know b i r !<i whal I may
expeol in this, and for G-odsake make Dispatch a our general meeting, for I have now . men bere and out of Strathdone together. I'm un- willing to lei them seperal again, and if will be hard keeping them if they lay still here long and do nol maroh, and 1 cannol go into A— le (Athole) w1 tl few men of mine alone, or until I know certainly the day von can join me there.
ik Tinas more depends on our drawing to a head and meeting togither soon than most of our friends seem to be awarr (^\\ wcb makes me the more anxious and pressing about if.
" They are so weak at Stirling and so ill-payed that they scarce know what to do, insomuch thai their general, Whitham, is gone for London to represent it and is not a thousand pitys that we should loose luokie an opportunity.
"My most humble service to my Ld Huntly if he be w* yon I know I need not bid you show him this, and if he be not, vou'll take care to send him an
*
account of it. I'll be impatient to hear from you and 1 am
"Your most humble servant,
" Mar."
He had written to the same correspondent a day previously :
u You must say nothing of it to anybody except it
xvi PREFACE.
be Ld Iluntly, but I have accounts from Atliole that ihey expect (as they beg) that we may come that way, and much depends on our being soon there, else the Duke may do something' to be uneasie to us."
On September 11th Mar thus ably summarises his brightening prospects, when writing from Invercauld to the Laird of Glengarry : —
" By all the accounts I have, I hope, in God, our affairs are going well. They write me that the Duke of Orleance (sic) has declaird that he'll assist the King more than ever his Unckle did, and that it is not doubted but he's by this time at sea.
" I have mett w* aboundance of difficultys and disappointments since you left me, and mostly oc- cationd by my ungratefull landlord, who beside his own withdrawing, has done all the mischife by his bad example, malicious storys, and otherwise his weak understanding was capable of, tho now, blest be God, I hope the worst of it is over.
" Lord Huntly acts the honourable parte I expected of him, and Glenbucket, his Baily, is very diligent. I have reason to hope that some of the Strathpay people will join him.
" Lord Huntly's men of Badenoch, Strathavine, Glenlivet, Glenrinis, Auchindoun, and Cabrack, as Glenbucket just now writes me, were in armes yesterday, and he writes me too of Clunies diligence, wch w* you write makes me long to see him and give him thanks in our master's name. The Athole people are reddy against we come near them, and L. Drummond is gone about his men, as I hope, Ld
1*1
Bredalbain and Borne others in Pel th about fcheii ,
M The low oountry gentlemen are i redd;
join us upon the Srs1 ach erl i ement, . . .
" There on thing in our scheme of the midle district wch we Found necessary to alter since you was here, and that is the makeing our first rendevous in the Eighlands and then to march down togither in a body to be joind by the gentelmen in the low country, when we will be able to protect them and ourselves too, wch had we mett in the low country, we would probablie have come in stragling and separat parties, and so been exposed to some jer, and beside, by this way we are now to follow we will take some of our neighbours along w* ns."
Such was the scheme propounded in 1715 when the Chevalier's standard was erected at Braemar, which in unison with simultaneous insurrections in the West of England and in Lancashire — whence the rising centres of Manchester and Liverpool were threatened — seemed likely to shake the throne of George I. to its foundation. How far Lord Mar was responsible for subsequent failure the reader must decide after a study of the other Stuart Papers in Appendix I.
Lord Mar had been gratuitously alienated from the English Government by the refusal of George I. to receive the Highland addresses at his hands when the new monarch arrived at Greenwich. The King's Whig advisers declared that these lists were prepared at St. Germain,* an averment not proved by any
* Sir Walter Scott's ' Tales of a Grandfather,' edition 1880, p. 324.
xvni PREFACE.
documentary evidence yet forthcoming ; but even if true, scarcely reason for casting all policy to the winds. But to the evil, because uninformed, course of Bothmar and Robethon, the Hanoverian advisers of George I., and to the savage spirit of revenge ani- mating the triumphant Whigs, may be traced much unnecessary bloodshed in Scotland.
Amongst the many Stuart Papers in Appendix I. which will interest every reader, will be found an account of a futile attempt to gain the British fleet on December 7, 1714, at Port Mahon, Minorca. It is shown that Marlborough sued for a pardon at St. Germain on March 13th, 1714. Again, Mary of Modena's letter, dated April 5th, 1715, to the mysterious German princess who both admired and was admired by the Chevalier, is very curious.
There is likewise a rumour, apparently credited at St. Germain in October 1715, that an Irish Pro- testant, one Kelly, was about to assassinate James Francis Edward, which is worthy of mention here.
It is in a certain sense satisfactory to learn that this titular sovereign had a good deal of human nature about him ; for, on his arrival at Boulogne from Scotland on February 23rd, 1716, he addressed a friend (one Mr. Russell) at St. Germain thus jovially, " Roger and I have been drinking your health in Burgundy."
The Chevalier was master of a striking and pic- torial style of writing which he was skilful enough to utilise with effect when the occasion required. The words, written several days after landing. " My
PR) FAC1
safe arrival in this m\ ancient kingdom." form an attracth e heading to any roj al letter. Of thii phi we have another notable instance ; alth< >ugh the earlier letter of the Chevalier, written on December 22nd from Peterhead to Lord Bolingbroke, and quoted by Lord Stanhope, Is of minor historical import
The necessity of securing Inverness as a I operations upon which to retreat after Perth v> abandoned, forms the burden of each Jacobite epistle ; and It is Btrange to reflect how, bul for the decision of Simon Lord Lovat to adhere openly to the cause of George I., Gulloden might have been antedated some thirty years.
Thai the Duke of Argyll, reinforced by 3000 Dutch, would have crushed Mar in or around the Highland capital, and rendered the son of James II. a fugitive amongst the mountains, it is impossible to doubt, after comparing the rival forces still in the field when the campaign closed with their titular King's flight in Lord Mar's company.
From Paper 118 to the close of the Stuart Letters in Appendix I., will be found an account of the situation as it appeared to the Jacobites in Perthshire, and also to the wily Simon, Lord Lovat, who, like Marlborough, kept a foot in either camp, and clothed at his own expense 400 clansmen, serving surrep- titiously in the Jacobite army under one Alexander Fraser, an apparently renegade kinsman.
How General Stanhope's commendation of this nobleman's conduct, written from Whitehall, together with the evidence of his double dealing, can
xx PREFACE.
have readied St. Germain, and appeared amongsl the Cardinal of York's papers, it is difficult to say.
For pure literary interest, it is doubtful whether the incisive style of the Duke of Berwick's writing does not overshadow that of his able half-brother, the pseudo-King, bat the letters of either are of course less attractive, both as regards style and eloquence, than Lord Bolingbroke's matchless prose compositions, by preserving which this book will at least deserve one title to favour.
Any one desiring to gauge fairly the ability of James Francis Edward Stuart, should read three days' thoughts embodied (astat. 28) in one letter to Lord Bolingbroke, which detail the Chevalier's own plans before setting out from Commercy to the coast of France. They are elated October 21, 22, and 23, 1715, and appear here in Appendix I. as Papers 90, 91, and 92.
Papers 86, 87, 93, 106, 114, and 116, on the other hand, present Lord Bolingbroke at his best, and cannot be read without admiration for his genius ; while for a comprehensive self-defence against those who blamed the Duke of Berwick for not leading the Jacobites into Scotland, we may instance that soldier statesman's letter to Lord Mar of February 12, 1716, Paper 108.
He had, he said by way of peroration, used all his influence to induce the Regent Orleans of France to allow him to serve as the Chevalier's general, but nevertheless " 'tis neither consisting with my honour
PREFACE,
my duty, my oathsj dot •■\«,n with the King'i inte or reputal ion, i bal i Bhould desei i like a ti oopei .
The spelling of the word from which the dynasty described in this boot takes its name, has been the subjecl of much ooni roversy, a plausible made out for Stewart, as the natural corruption of "Steward," from which the proper name is derived.
But the writer has been happily relieved from arguing the case by the decision of last year's Exhibi- tion Committee, who adopted in their cataloj and programmes the French spelling u Stuart," and the method then adopted has been adhered to closely, in onlor not to perplex the render. Sonic apology is due for reference having been often made to differenl editions of works by the same authors, but the exi- gencies of research carried on in various libraries, and pursued in different literary centres, must be pleaded in extenuation.
The writer holds himself behoven to his Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, for conducting an exhaustive search at Gordon Castle for the original of that letter written to his ancestor, the Duke of Gordon, by the Chevalier de St. George, on December 28, 1715, and also to the Marquess of Huntly for consulting his family archives with a similar object. Nor can the author forget the un- failing and sympathetic courtesy of Mr. R. Holmes, Her Majesty's librarian, without whose co-operation the Stuart Letters could not have been deciphered.
It is desired also to acknowledge the joint efforts of Messrs. Emery Walker, of the firm of Walker and
xxn PREFACE.
Boutell, of 1G, Clifford's Inn, and of M< srs Cameron and Smith, Mortimer Street, Regent Street, the photographers who have secured the right of copying certain portraits which were shown at the Stuart Exhibition held in the New Gallery during the winter of 1888-9. The former firm stands respon- sible for the reproductions which adorn this volume. It is hoped on a future occasion to publish, with Her Majesty's approval, such of the Stuart Papers at Windsor as bear on the events of 1745, when Prince Charles Stuart strove to recover his grand- father's throne.
PERCY M. THORNTON.
Battersea Rise, S.W. December 1889.
CO XT E NTS.
• •
PkEFAOI \ ii
OHAPTEB I. Thi Stewards of Scotland, 1 LJ 1—1370 .. .. . . .. 1
CHAPTER II. Undeli Two Kings: —
Robert II., 1870-1390 17
Robert III., 1390-1406 23
CHAPTER III. Two Successive Regents, and One Great Monarch: —
Robert, Duke of Albany, 1406-1419 35
Murdoch, Duke of Albany, 1419-1421 40
James I. of Scotland, 1424-1437 41
CHAPTER IV.
Stuart, or Douglas? —
James II., 1437-1460 56
King, or Nobility? —
James III., 1460-1488 71
! L t
xxiv CONTENT^.
CHAPTER V.
The Ancient League with France: —
James IV., 1488-1513 84
Childhood of James V., 1513-1528 103
CHAPTEE VI.
The Church at Bay: —
James V.3 King in Fact, 1528-1542 117
Minority of Mary Stuart, 1542-1560 132
CHAPTER VII. Mary Queen of Scots. Her Reign. 1560-1567 . . . . 147
CHAPTER VIII.
Mary Stuart's Captivity and Death, 1567-1587 . . . . 179
CHAPTER IX.
Feudalism on the Wane : —
James I. and Charles I., 1587-1649 210
CHAPTER X.
Broken Purposes: —
Charles II., 1649-1685 244
CHAPTER XL
King and Exile : —
James II. of England and VII. of Scotland, 1685-1702 268
XXV
APPENDIX I.
In rBODUOTIOK, rOLLOWlD Bl Si:u OTIOM
IVmtks in P0MH8IOM Of I In: M\.ii. iv \i Wim-h: Casti.i: 17
APPENDIX II.
Tin; Birth and Childhood of Jamii \'I. oi Scotland
and I. 01 Great Britain and [bblamd 446
APPENDIX III.
THI Casket LxTTIBfl .. .. 450
APPENDIX IV.
Dying Declaration of Margaret Dawson, Bedchamber Woman of Mary of Modena, regarding the Birth of the Chevalier de St. George 455
Index .. .. 457
LIST OK PORTRAITS.
.1 \mi:s Fit w. is I ] i >w led, the OheTalier de St. ( i. org 1 1
Punted l>y B. <J; invabl The property of Stonyhvrsi Colli
va'.v. JAM1B, Diki: i)V MoVMOUTH, nut ural Son of Charles II.
(1649-1685). Painted hySir Peter Lely. The property
of the Duke of Bucelcuch to face
James II. of England and VII. of Scotland, in youth, as Duke of York (1633-1701). Painted by Dobson. The property of Her Majesty 268
John Graham of Clave rhouse (1650-1689). Artist unknown. The property of Lady Elizabeth Leslie Melville Cartwright 292
Prince Henry Benedict, Cardinal Dcke of York, in Childhood (1725-1807). Painted by T. Blanchet. The property of W. J. Hay, Esq 327
James, Duke of Berwick (1670-1731) 424
Henry II. of England.
Matilda m. Henry the Lion.
Winchester
Otho the Child.
Sir John Howard (afterwai; '
Ernest, D. of Cello.
illiam, D. n| Luneburi:.
|
^2-,— - |
va |
„,„,,,. |
on |
||
|
,, |
; ,,. .- |
ring Hie |
ew |
||
|
an, created I-on |
|||||
|
of Scotland. |
|||||
|
} Thli Hut's w |
|||||
|
titular klog. Ch.rU |
wufd |
li..vnl, E. "i" Huntingdon.
K. Aleiandei HI I K. Eric of Norway m. Margaret.
Mnryim-t, Maid -I' Norway.
in. 1, Elizabeth Mure;
Walter Duke of Albany, of Atholc.
Murdoch,
1). nl' Albany, Regent.
Mary (daughter
of Arnold, D. of
Gueldres).
■ of K. Edward
2. Margaret Logic,
Margaret (daughter
hi. James, 1st Ld. Hamilton.* Elizabeth. John, E. of Athoie-t K. Henry VII. of England.
Margaret (daughter
of K. Henry VII.
Of England).
Alexander, D. of Albany.
John, D. of Albany,
Protector and Gorernoi
of Scotland.
Magdalen, daughtoi of K. Francia of France;
j, Marv "*' Lorraine,
daughter of D. of Guise.
I egent of Scotland,
Ernest Augustus,
Frederic, P. of Wales (d. 1757) m. Augueta of S K. George III. (d. 1820)
\
. George IV. (d. 1830) m. Carolina of Dr Charlotte Augusta,
iviok-WoltenbUttal.
John, E, of Lennox
MutlieW, 1l. <jf Lennox ij
«i. 2, Henry, Ld. Darnley ; i I. of Gt. Britain (d. 1625)
James, E. of Both well.
e (daughter of K. Frederic of Denmark).
K. Louis XIII
. 'J Maria "1 Mi-Ji'ii i
K. William III., P. of Orange
Charles Edward Lou;
' '.(..-inn] Stuart
(d. 1788).
s Frederic, I>. »f Sase-Ci't.urg Saalk-ld
Henry Benedict || Marri Clement Stuart. Cardinal of York
h ol Meckleiiburg-Strelit
1. P. Charlotte;
Ernest I.. D ol Saxe-0 I
William IV. (d. |S:17).
H. ol Kent (.1. 1820)
Victoria Maria Louise. K, Leopold H
VICTORIA, Qaeeii of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, &c., &c.
(b. May 24, 1819 ; acceded June 20, 1837)
THE 8TUAET DYNASTY.
OHAPTEB I.
THE STEWARDS OF SCOTLAND.
1 L24-1370.
The founder of the Stuar I Family, first known as the Stewards of Scotland, is said to have been Fleance, son of the Banquo who is believed to have been murdered by Macbeth a.i>. 1043 ; but tbe tradition lias no sure foundation.*
Lord Hailes, perhaps better known as Sir David Dalrymple, the distinguished student of antiquities, exploded this theory early in the eighteenth century, and at the same time showed several fabulous narra- tives concerning this family to be incompatible with ascertained facts.
Walter, son of Fleance, and Alan his successor, who have been assumed to be the earliest of these shadowy Stewards of Scotland, were — the former a courtier at Edward the Confessor's court, the latter a Crusader under Godfrey de Bouillon. f
In fact, the origin of the royal Stuarts cannot be
* Stuart's 'Genealogical History of the Stuarts,9 pp. 1, 2. t Ibid., p. 4.
B
2 THE STUART DYNASTY.
traced on firm ground further back than the reign of David I., who governed Scotland between the years 1121 and 115.'), but from that epoch onward the pa tli is safe and the tracks are clear, the truth of the record being beyond all question. In short, Walter Fitzalan, Steward of Scotland in this reign, is a genuine historical personage.
Alan, the son of Flaald or Flathald, a Norman, obtained from the Conqueror the castle of Oswestry in Shropshire. He was a person of great con- sequence when Henry I. came to the throne in 1100. It is believed that he came over from Nor- mandy with William the Conqueror, and was one of his leading men. Alan married the daughter of Warine, sheriff of Shropshire, and had three sons : — (1) William, progenitor of the Fitzalans, Earls of Arundel and Lords of Oswestry (from whom the Dukes of Norfolk inherit — through an heiress — the title of Earls of Arundel) ; (2) Walter, High Steward of Scotland, who married Eschina de Lon- diniis, heiress of Molla and Huntlaw in Roxburgh- shire ; and (3) Simon, alleged ancestor of the family of the Boyds, Earls of Kilmarnock, now represented by the Earls of Erroll.*
The descent of the House of Stuart from Alan is established as follows : —
Richard Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, the eighth in descent from Alan, Lord of Oswestrv, beins; in Scotland with King Edward III. in 1335, and claiming to be Steward of that realm by hereditary
* Douglas's ' Peerage,' vol. i. p. 42.
I III II ii \i,h 01 COTi ' />
rights made ovei his whole title thereto, foi
of I (MM) imc i k 3, to be received out of i he King I . oheq uer \\\ I Jaernn n on, I Kigda le' I » > 1 1 >i i he mi! hority relied on, bul i he late M r I !halm< noi trusting Dugdale for such a transaction, found in the Tower of London a verification of the record m question, and in addition discovered thai King Edward had obtained the confirmation of his pur- chase, so anxious was he to secure this title of Steward of Scotland.*
How such a title could be substantiated when no direct descent from Walter, who is culled the first Steward, was possible, and the dignity deemed to be the sole property o\' a younger branch, it is difficult to comprehend. Possibly Richard Pitzalan may have invented or believed the tradition connecting Ban quo and his son Fleance with the origin of Stewards of Scotland. Be that as it may, Edward III. thought the position of Steward worth acquiring when seeking to assert a suzerainty over the Scottish king ; while in the transaction whereby he became possessed of this questionable title, lie acknowledged Richard Fitzalan's strange claim.
The title of Seniscalcus (steward) is said to have been derived from the German seniscalc, " oldest of the servants," and signified not only the office of chief of the household, but also entailed much power, pro- vided that the sovereign retained confidence in the holder. For in feudal times the collection and management of the revenue, together with admin is-
* Douglas's 'Peerage,' vol. i p. 43.
B 2
4 77/ E STUART DTNA8TT.
tration of justice, and even chief direction of war, combined with constant contiguity to the throne in elevating the individual enjoying sucli advantages to a very exalted position in the realm. And, indeed, in France this office was considered to be too vast a one to be filled by one man.*
King Malcolm IV; of Scotland, who reigned between 1153 and 11G3, confirmed a charter in favour of Walter, son of Alan, conferring on him lands in Renfrewshire, together with the Steward- ship, both originally granted by David I.
It is also known that the first Steward of Scotland founded the Abbey of Paisley in 1164.f
The traveller proceeding from Grlasgow down the lovely Clyde would pass within sight of the ancient patrimony of the Stuart Kings ; and when the shores of Renfrewshire sink out of sight, the fair prospects in and around Bute may recall other memories of the same royal line, inasmuch as that attractive island became in 1255 a portion of the Stuart property. Indeed it is probable that the geo- graphical position of Renfrewshire, intermediate between the Highlands, the Isles of the West, and the Lowlands, gave the Stuarts an original advan- tage in their rivalry with the House of Douglas, whose reputation for conducting forays into England, and as supreme lords of the Border, was scarcely realised amongst the wild warriors who, living north
* Douglas's ' Peerage,' vol. i. p. 43.
t Stuart's ' Genealogical History of the Stuarts,' p. 3 ; also Sir David Dalrvmple's (Lord Hailes) ' Annuls of Scotland,' third edition, 1819, vol. i. p. 363.
'////• ST/ II. I It hi "/ • " i •
oi I n\ eraray, had 3 ei from 1 ime to 1 ime come persona] contact wit 1 1 several of the ~ Scot land.
Alan, the Becond Steward, succeeded hi mentioned Father Walter, holding his position for twenty-seven years; being twice married, firsl to Eva, daughter of Swan, son of Thor, Lord of Tippermuir and Tranent, progenitor of the Ruthvens; bu1 by this marriage the Steward had no children, and b Becond time entered the marriage state with Alesta, daughter of Morgand, Earl of Mar, the origin of whose house is [osl in the mist- of antiquity. The son and heir, Walter, by this marriage, was third holder of the Stewardship, and flourished in thai capacity betw< L204 and L246, being himself allied to Beatrix daughter of Gilchrist, who then held the title of Angus.*
Walter's son, Alexander, the fourth Steward, appears to have developed military talent, for lie commanded the Scottish army at the battle of Largs bn Oct. 2, 1263.1 This Alexander, serving Alex- ander III. as General on this occasion, was, in all probability, defending his own interests when Haco, King of Norway, made himself master of Bute and Arran, and then appeared with a great navy off the village of Largs in Cunningham, where, the weather proving unpropitious, many of the vessels either got stranded or entangled one with another. Haco, how-
* Stuart's ' Genealogical History of the Stuarts,' p. S ; also Doug1. ' Peerage,' vol. i. p. 44.
f Douglas's ' Peerage,' vol. i. p. 44.
4 THE STUART DTNA8TY.
tration of justice, and even chief direction of war, combined with constant contiguil^ to the throne in elevating the individual enjoying such advantages to a very exalted position in the realm. And, indeed, in France this office was considered to be too vast a one to be filled by one man.*
King Malcolm IV; of Scotland, who reigned between 1153 and 11 03, confirmed a charter in favour of Walter, son of Alan, conferring on him lands in Renfrewshire, together with the Steward- ship, both originally granted by David I.
It is also known that the first Steward of Scotland founded the Abbey of Paisley in 1164.J
The traveller proceeding from Glasgow down the lovely Clyde would pass within sight of the ancient patrimony of the Stuart Kings; and when the shores of Renfrewshire sink out of sight, the fair prospects in and around Bute may recall other memories of the same royal line, inasmuch as that attractive island became in 1255 a portion of the Stuart property. Indeed it is probable that the geo- graphical position of Renfrewshire, intermediate between the Highlands, the Isles of the West, and the Lowlands, gave the Stuarts an original advan- tage in their rivalry with the House of Douglas, whose reputation for conducting forays into England, and as supreme lords of the Border, was scarcely realised amongst the wild wrarriors who, living north
* Douglas's ' Peerage,' vol. i. p. 43.
t Stuart's c Genealogical History of the Stuarts,' p. 3 ; also Sir David Dnlrymple's (Lord Hailes) 'Annnls of Scotland,' third edition, 1819, vol. i. p. 363.
■/■/// s n ii Aitn "i < <> i
oi I n\ sraray, had j el I p< >m time to time come into persona] contacl faith several of the Sool land.
Al;ui, the second Steward, succeeded his abovi mentioned Father Walter, holding hi position for twenty-seven years ; being twice married, first to Eva, daughter of Swan, son of Thor, Lord of Tippermuir and Tranent, progenitor of the Ruthvens; bul by this marriage the Steward had no children, and b >nd time entered ih<i marriage state with A.L sta, daughter of Morgand, Earl of Mar, the origin of whose house is [osl in the mists of antiquity. The son and heir, Walter, by this marriage, was third holder of the Stewardship, and flourished in thai capacity betwe L204 ami L246, being himself allied to Beatrix daughter of Gilchrist, who then held the title of Ajigus.*
Walter's son, Alexander, the fourth Steward, a]) pears to have developed military talent, for he commanded the Scottish army at the battle of Largs on Oct. 2, 1263.f This Alexander, serving Alex- ander III. as General on this occasion, was, in all probability, defending his own interests when Haco, Kino- of Norway, made himself master of Bute and Arran, and then appeared with a great navy off the village of Largs in Cunningham, where, the weather proving unpropitious, many of the vessels either got stranded or entangled one with another. Haco, how-
* Stuart's ' Genealogical History of the Stuarts/ p. S ; also Douglas's ' Peerage,' vol. i. p. 44. f Douglas's ' Peerage,' vol. i. p. 44.
6 THE STUART DYNASTY,
ever, landed what troops lie could collect, and tliey being in a disorganised state and much outnumbered by their foes, the Norwegians Buffered a great disaster, and their King escaped to the Orkneys with the remnant of his fleet, only to die there under the shadow of St. Magnus's shrine.*
Alexander, the fourth Steward, married, in the year 1255, Jean, daughter and heiress of James, son of Angus Macroryr, or Roderick, Lord of Bute.y
A brother of Alexander, the fourth Steward, was Walter of Menteith, who adopted his wife's name, by which his family has been known ever since ; a representative existing in the person of Sir James Stuart Menteith, Bart.
In the year 1283, at the age of sixty-nine, the successful general, Alexander, the fourth Steward, died a natural death and was buried at Paisley. He was succeeded by his eldest son James, the fifth Steward, who held the office from 1283 to 1309, when he died, aged sixty-six. James was one of the Regents after the death of Alexander III. in 1287, when his infant grandchild — known in history as the Maid of Norway — was sole heiress to the Scottish throne. J
Never in the history of nations has any more anxious dynastic crisis threatened to disintegrate a nation by reason of disputed succession than that which menaced Scotland when the Maid of Norway, landing in Orkney on her way to take possession of
* Burton's ' Hi&tory of Scotland,' vol. ii. pp. 34, o*>.
t Douglas's ' Peerage,' p. 44.
% Burton's ' Histor}^ of Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 43.
//// // ii i ///' OF I 0 I 7
her 01 ■< w iu died i hei e during S< ptemhei L2 0, II' grandfather, Alexander III., by an alliance with .|,i ughter of I [enry III. of England, bad pa ved t be w.i\ as it were For the union of the two ,-i which the prescient Edward I. thoughl mighl afford :i shorl ciii to the practical po on of Scotland, iti endeavouring to gain which obi i much of thai greal English sovereign's life was Bpent. When, therefore, amidst circumstances of muoh national bopeand rejoicing, the sad tidings reached Scotlac shores, a feeling akin to despair look- p ion of
her rulers, who saw in the ensuing contest betwe Robert Bruce and John Baliol — the Cumyns havi resigned their claim in favour of the latter the of future civil war, the fomenting of which Edward I. made thenceforth a leading part of his policy.
James, the fifth Steward, like his father before him, served the monarchy with courage, skill, and fidelity, for we find him associated with Sir William Wallace in 1297, and subsequently standing* surety for Rol Bruce's good behaviour, when that monarch had undertaken to deliver up his only daughter Marjory to the English. His recognition of Bruce's right to the throne, doubtless strengthened his family position in the State. His wife was Cecilia, daughter of Patrick, Earl of Dunbar and March.
A brother of the fifth Steward, James, Sir John by name, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Alexander Bonkyl, and became progenitor of several noble houses, including that of Darnley, Earls of Lennox, to which house belonged Henry, Lord
8 THE 8TUABT DYNASTY.
Darnley, Queen Mary's husband. Sir John Stuart was also ancestor of the Earls of Galloway.
Walter, the second son of James, the fifth Steward, became the sixth of his race who served the royal line of William the Lion, and was destined himself to be the means of founding a dynasty, although the purple never descended on to his shoulders. Andrew, his elder brother, being sent as a hostage to Edward L, in England, and dying there, Walter Stuart became the head of the family. He had a great reputation for bravery, and held a prominent command at Bannockburn in 1314, when, under the shadow of Stirling's fortressed height, the nationality of Scotland was saved. His prowess on this great occasion is thus celebrated by the poet Barbour, once chaplain to David II. : —
" Walter Stewart of Scotland fyne. That then was but a beardless hyne, Came with a rout of noble men That might by countenance be ken." *
The Steward's contingent was evidently composed of aristocratic elements ; while Barbour further tells us : —
" And syne the third battle they gave To Walter Stewart for to lead, And to Douglas doughty of deed." t
After Bannockburn, Walter, the sixth Steward of Scotland, was appointed to receive Elizabeth, Queen of Robert Bruce, Marjory his daughter, and other
* Barbour's ' Kobert Bruce,' p. 228.
f Ibid., p. 232; Stuart's 'Genealogical History of the Stuarts,' pp. 17-18.
I'll II !/,'/< . D,
illusi lions pri oners then r< I n 'I From captivity in Kncrland. 1 1«' 1 1 1 « - 1 1 !< irmed the ul lachmenl I* > Marjory Bruce which led in L315 to their marriaj the issue whereof became entitled to the throne in his mol her* s right.*
Traditions of Walter and Marjory Stuart' deuce at Paisley live to this day, and in il tre
of the semi-ruined A.bbey church may be seen the tomb of the u lass,*' as James V. had it, with whom the crown came to the Stuarts. This Princ was riding between Paisley and Renfrew on Shrove Tuesday, 1316, and (ailing from horseback fractured her neck, the child, afterwards Roberl II., coming into the world by means of whal is known as the Csesarean operation.*)1 In the bitterness of this ter- rible sorrow Walter Stuart went to the Border wars, seeking- to drown his grief by serving- the national cause. He survived his wife, formerly Marjory Bruce, ten years, and died in 1326, aged thirty-thre
Sir Walter Scott has rendered apt testimony to the bravery of Walter the sixth Steward J — a quality which may be considered hereditary, as the course of this narrative must show.
One of the results of Bannockburn seems to have been the capture of Berwick by the Scots in 1318, a place of arms which the English resolutely endeavoured to recapture, encountering Walter Stuart as governor of the fortress, in which capacity
* Douglas's ' Peerage,' vol. i. pp. -io-46. This was a second marriage. t Crawford and Semple's ' History of Renfrewshire,' part i. p. 25. % ' Tales of a Grandfather,' edition L880, p. 55.
10 THE STUART DYNASTY.
he displayed great courage, rushing through the flames of a burning gate, and by his example rallying the Scots, and saving the place.*
The child of Walter Stuart and Marjory Bruce was named Robert, and could not be considered as born to higher destiny than that of his predecessors in the Stewardship, because, although his contingent right to the succession had been proclaimed at Brace's suggestion shortly before the national hero expired, yet his son David II., Marjory Bruce's brother, having a prior claim, had all the world before him.
It could scarcely be expected that neither of this King's wives — Joanna, Princess of England, and the mysterious Margaret Logie — should bear children, but such was the case ; and in consequence of this failure of issue, when David died, at the age of forty- seven, in the Castle of Edinburgh, Feb. 22, 1370,f the male line of the Bruces became extinct, and that of Stuart inherited the throne in the person of Robert the seventh Steward. His early career was brilliant and full of interest.
When only seventeen years of age, in 1333, the youthful Robert Stuart led a division of Scots against the English at Halidon Hill, and was afterwards one of the first leading men wdio made a stand against Baliol, when, in the following year, he invaded Scotland. The Stuart property in Renfrew had been
* Sir David Dalrymple's (Lord Hailes) 'Annals of Scotland,' third edition, 1819, vol. ii. p. 112.
f Scott's ' Tales of a Grandfather,' edition 1880, p. 54.
mi i ii ii i/,/' OF SCO'i /> II
confiscated, .'IN' I 1 1"' Steward forced i<> tal n ruler concealment in I lute.* Thence he ; •« ■ I
to I Kimbn rton I tasl le in ;i I" >al I >r< tught to I »< »i li< l»\ two <>l.| Cm i n 1 1 v \ a al , Gibson and Eleriot. On learning this intelligence the n tainen of the Stuai in and around the district, fle^ to arm forthwith. Roberl pul himself al their bead, and, acting in con- junction with Colin Campbell of Lochow, Btorna and look the Castle of Dunoon. Nor did the re- action again si Baliol stop there, for, continuing his advance and gathering adherents daily, the Steward o[' Scotland regained for David II. Annandale and the lower pans of Clydesdale, while Renfrew, Car- rick, and Cunningham were freed from the enemy's occupation.!
For these services, rendered in the years 1336 and 1337, Robert Stuart, although only twenty years o£ age, reaped the high reward of becoming joint Regent over loyal Scotland with Sir Andrew Moray. The Steward's success, however, proved to be but temporary; for in 1337 Baliol and Edward III. swept away all opposition, and overran most of the kingdom.
In 1338, on Sir Andrew Moray's death, the Steward became sole Eegent,J whereupon he immedi- ately applied to Philip of France, the first King of the House of Valois, for assistance, which promptly
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. ii. p. 35.
t Ibid., p. 37.
t Ibid., p. 55. Burton speaks as if the Steward had not previously
been co-regent. — ' History of Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 323. He gives no reference.
\'Z THE STUART DYNASTY.
came in 1330, when five French men-of-war, having on board a body of men-at-arms under the command of Arnold Audineham, Marshal of France, appeared in the Forth. A sanguinary and devastating
struggle followed, wherein the country around Perth being absolutely desolated, the Steward took pos- session of the city for David II., then an exile in France.
A siege of Stirling followed, which resulted favourably for the Steward's arms in 1341, although, despite a strategic success which every one acquainted with the country will appreciate, no well-wisher of Scotland could do otherwise than commiserate her dreadful condition at this period. Law and order obtained only where armed forces existed to preserve the country from rapine and consequent confusion,* while the very deer of the forest browsed where man had formerly fixed his dwelling. However, the situation, for all its gloom, contained the elements of a settlement favourable to the national party. In the first place, Edward Baliol had taken his departure into England, conscious that, with Perth, Fife, and the north in Scots hands, and Stirling in dire peril of capture, the future of Scotland was to be decided by its own inhabitants. The Steward cap- tured Stirling late in 1339, a few months after Baliol left Scotland. Edinburgh was recovered in 1341, and Roxburgh in 1342.f This consummation became inevitable when Edward III. determined to
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. ii. p. 59. t Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 325.
nil ii ii \i;i> 01 i 0 i> 13
in\ ade France, and concent rated hi r< oun The Steward bad now arrived al b critical period his eventful career. Fordun, the Scotch historian ol the fourteenth century, thus describes the you Kegenl who became King Robert II.: uHe ws comely youth, tall and robust, modest, liberal, and courteous.'1 Fordun adds thai he was much beloved amongst his countrymen.*
This irresistible young hero, in the full flush of hope, mel Elizabeth, the beautiful daughter of Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan, representative of an old Ayrshire family. The two young people fell violently in love with one another, overlooking the fact that they were distant cousins in the third and fourth degrees of affinity, and in the fourth degree of consanguinity ,1 and therefore, by the existing canon law oi' the Church, prohibited from marriage unless a dispensation were given from Rome. There is no reason to think that the Pope would have hesitated. had the lovers consented to await his decision, but, heedless of the future and conscious only of the affection which bound them together, they ventured upon a step which threatened in after years to disturb the Succession.
It is said that one Roger Macadam, a priest, probably about 1337, married Robert Stuart and Elizabeth Mure at Dundonald Castle, near Ayr.j where the bridegroom lived in early youth ; and,
* Stuart's ' Genealogical History of the Stuarts,' p. 33.
f Riddell's ' Stewartia,' p. 1.
t Crawford and Semple's ' History of Renfrewshire,' p. 14.
14 THE STUART DYNASTY.
indeed, I lie distance of the relationship being so great, the fact itself was probably, if not forgotten altogether, at least passed over in silence, when there must have been a disposition evinced to ignore such extravagant Papal pretensions, inasmuch as not a word appears in any of the chronicles threatening the young Steward's title to the throne, although Clement VI., elected Pope in 1342, gave the mar- riage dispensation about 1347. Indeed the Regency must have been conferred within a very few months of the marriage.
The chroniclers are silent as to the precise age of John, known as Robert III., eldest child of this marriage ; but his brother, the famous Duke of Albany, was born in 1330,* and it seems probable that Robert Stuart and Elizabeth Mure joined their fortunes in 1337, just after the campaign against Baliol, which gained for the Steward of Scotland the position of joint Regent with Sir A. Moray. It is curious that the Papal dispensation was lost, and not put in evidence until 1789, after the Stuarts had ceased to strive for the recovery of the British throne ; and the fact gave rise to some strange quibbles from time to time.
In 1341 King David returned from France with his Queen Joanna, and received obeisance from the Regents, who straightway rendered up the govern- ment— despite the fact that a youth of seventeen was manifestly unequal to the cares of an unsettled
* Burton's 'History of Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 395, says he died in 1419, aged 80.
7/// t it ii i///' 01 \ND 16
State, such .1 Sc( -I !:i in I wa al thi | >erii "I. 1 1
well know n In >\\ I >;i Vl(] II., I'm 'I Willi lli<- uii|.i:i<i
1 1 mih of »'lii\ ;ili \ with which he ha< I I n <•< >me imb in Pi ance, nnd incited by I he k ing i >f 1 1 » : » i <■< >unl his ally, was fatuous enough to advance ac the Border with an army in the year L346, and attempt to emulate on English soil the deed • of hi Father Robert Bruce a project which ended d astrously at Nevil's Gross, near Durham.
Tlw defeat of the Scots was Buch that their King fell into the enemy's hands, and only one division remained intact under the Steward's command, that enemies to the dynasty soon to be found averred that Robert Stuart (ailed to do Ids duly
towards his royal uncle on that occasion.
«
How Scotland could have benefited by the almost certain loss of its remaining armed force, together with the drath or captivity of its chosen alternative rider, it would be difficult to show. But it is not to be wondered at that the Steward should have b judged harshly by Day id II., who had suffered the disgrace of being paraded through London as a set- off against the English humiliation at Bannockburn.
It is said that David II. never forgave this assumed desertion, and his subsequent desire to place the English Dnke of Clarence next in the Scotch Succession has been thus accounted for; but we know on the other hand, as the result of later research, that Robert Stuart honourably preserved the kingdom for his uncle until he returned from captivity in 1357, although the general unsettlement which then
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L6 THE STUART DYNASTY.
prevailed might have furnished excuse for a more ambitious course.* Tin's fidelity was maintained even when David's marriage with Margaret Logie rendered the Stuart prospects more uncertain ; although, as David II. manifested distrust and dislike of his heir-presumptive, due security was taken to provide that the Succession, as determined by Robert Bruce, should not be disturbed. However, in 13G3, the King cherished the design of setting the Stuarts aside, with the result that the country came into imminent danger of civil war.
A bond was entered into between the Steward, the Earls of March and Douglas, the Steward's sons, and others, who warned David II. that he must stand by the legitimate Succession or himself aban- don the throne. The controversy, however, ended amicably, as the Steward renewed his vow to the King, who in turn recognised that the royal title was to descend from Bruce through the female line to the Stuarts, and conferred the Earldom of Carrick on the prince who afterwards became Robert III.j
Divorced mysteriously from Margaret Logie, and still childless, David II. reigned until February 1370, but, during the last seven years of his life, nothing happened which is worthy of note.
* Burton's 'History of Scotland,' Dew edition, vol. ii. p. 330. t Tytler's < History of Scotland,' edition 1841 , vol. ii. p. 120.
( I
CHAPTEH II.
UNDER two KING
L370-] 106. Robert II., L870 90; Etoberl III., L890 1 K>6.
[t certainly speaks volumes for the fidelity to Robert Brace's memory which his countrymen displayed, thai they acquiesced quietly in the elevation of Robert II., first sovereign of the house of Stuart. Not only was the country generally in apparently inextricable confusion, but a war with England had been now raging, now smouldering, for nearly eighty years ; while it was whispered that William, Earl of Douglas — the head of that romantic family, himself a prominent warrior, and acknowledged as military leader of the nation — was ready to take also upon his shoulders the royal cares of State. The late Mr. Hill Burton* speaks to this effect of the candi- dature of the Earl of Douglas, while other autho- rities regard it as an established fact, though it does not appear in the chronicles.
King Robert had reached fifty-five years of age when he was crowned at Scone, and the narrative of that eventful and warlike life given in the last chapter will itself tell the reason why he desired thus com- paratively early, as regards age, to take refuge from
* ' History of Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 343.
0
18 THE 8TUAB1 D7NA81 F.
camps and seek such ease as his position might confer. But this shrinking from active responsi- bility was totally out of place at the time in Scotland, and it is wonderful that things went on so well as they did during the reign of Robert II. There were, it is true, perpetual combats on and around those wild Border lands so justly renowned in Scotch story. Moreover, in some quarters, as future events were to show, there was a doubt as to the Succession.
It will be remembered that Robert II. had married Elizabeth Mure, his distant cousin, and so needed a Papal dispensation to confirm their union, the issue of which numbered no less than four sons and six daughters, the latter married to men of influence in the realm. There was, however, another family by his second wife, Euphemia Ross, two sons and four daughters, the assumed claims of which branch of the Stuarts were destined more than once in future times to threaten commotion and incite to civil war. They seem to have known nothing of the Pope's dispensa- tion, which is first mentioned in literature by Sir A. Stuart, in his 'Genealogical History of the Stuarts.'
The reign opened by the traditional connection between France and Scotland being confirmed by Charles V. of France and his newly elevated brother Robert II. of Scotland. The old league between the kingdoms was renewed with solemnity, an embassy going to Paris, under Sir Archibald Douglas, for the purpose.*
* Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 348.
/ \ /</ // /'ll 0 A / \< 10
Edward III. of England had on hand . in ooping with the French on t heir own terrifc that the combats and Border fi which occurred al
the oommencemenl of the Stuari regime were unim- portanl and practically withoul result, ending as they did in a welcome truce between L381 Bind L384. At the conclusion o\' the truce in L381 John 61 Gaunt marched to the Border with a powerful army pro- fessedly to preserve pea< The y< ar following however, John de V^ienne, Admiral of France and her mosl famous soldier, appeared in the Firth of Forth with 20(H) men, half of them mounted, together with a thousand stand of armour and arms, A.8 a set-off against the gathering of the Lowlands, which look place around this nucleus of a formidable Franco-Scotch army, the young King Richard II. put himself at the head of seventy thousand men, and marched to the Border.
Fortunately for those interested in the period, Froissart, the French chronicler, was a witness of the events that ensued, and it is to his attractive pages that the facts here related owe their preservation. After a dispute between Vienne and Douglas as to the mode of campaign, it was resolved to ignore the approaching English. King Robert II. appears on this occasion as a respectable figure-head, surrounded bv — according to Froissart — " nine sons who loved arms ; " f but his state of health precluded the
* Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 350. f Froissart, translated edition, 1808, vol. vii. p. 53. Three natural sons according to Tytler.
c 2
20 THE 8TUAB1 DYNASTY.
monarch from taking the field in person, as lie was
suffering from an affection of the eyes — " red bleared eyes " as the chronicler has it * — so that when by summons he had collected thirty thousand men, he bade them god-speed and awaited results in Edin- burgh.
Vienne and his Scotch allies proceeded to the south through Melrose and Roxburgh, the fortress of which they disregarded, and ultimately halting half- way between Berwick and Newcastle, burned several villages of the Percys on the route. Thence, how- ever, hearing that the English were advancing, they made an uneventful retreat over the same ground.!
It is not generally realised, because historians have minimised the facts, that King Richard II. entered Scotland in this year 1385, at the head of seventy thousand men, burnt Melrose, wasted the country around, and quartered himself in Edinburgh, whence after five days he took his departure, having de- stroyed the city by fire, the castle alone remaining intact for Robert II. The English then marched on Dunfermline, and afterwards besieged Stirling, which resisted them successfully ; so that if the King o' Scots was a fugitive his handiwork was apparent in the salvation of the State, for as Steward of Scot- land he had wrested the fortress from the party of Baliol during the year 1339.
After burning Perth, Richard sent an advanced guard to Aberdeen, which however, feeling insecure so far from its base of operations, did no damage
* Froissart, translated edition, 1808, vol. vii. p. 53. f Ibid., p. 57.
/ a/'/ H i n " KISi
t< i i In- oil \ , and rei ired on the ma io body. 1 hil a each iiiva ion of Scotland \\ was alwai found diffi- cult to pass Qorthward without taki on this occasion did the Englii h, unsuccessful in their endeavours before thai fortre b, learn the ne< of
makings retrograde movement, or running the risk of having their communications cul oflf, for they had put the river Forth between themselves and England.*
Nor were the French and Scots idle, for they made raids into Cumberland and Westmoreland, burning villages and laying the country waste until, the district having been drained of its reeoui by the English army, they sat down before Carlisle. Finding themselves unable to subdue this place, they retired across the I>order. Truly an inconsequent conclusion for both nations. But the poor French fared worst of all, inasmuch as the Scots declared they had injured their allies much more than the English enemy they were present to repel, because in crossing the fields crops had been destroyed. In requital for these losses they detained John de Tienne and the other French barons, who had narrowly escaped annihilation by the returning English. But the opportunity was missed owing to inaction, caused by the internal dissensions of King Richard's followers.f Little wonder that the French were glad to return to their own country.
These details, belonging more to the national records of the sister kingdom than to a history of the
* Froissart, translated editiou, 1808, vol. vii. pp. 69, 70. t Ibid., p. 74.
22
THE STUART DYNA
Stuart dynasty, have been given here in order that the state of Scotland at the close of the fourteenth century may be apparent, and those interested may form an idea of the turbulent state of the kingdom which Robert II. nominally governed.
The following extract gives a vivid picture of the condition of the peasantry. " The French and Scots marched back the way they had come. When arrived in the lowlands, they found the whole country ruined ; but the people of the country made light of it, saying that with six or eight stakes they would soon have new houses, and find cattle enow for provision." *
Froissart tells us that advantage was taken of a quarrel between the Percys and Nevilles to invade Northumberland in 1388, without consulting the King at all, on the ground that " he knew nothing about war." y But the charge of negligence as regards the interests of his kingdom, to which this amounts, cannot be substantiated, because, in all pro- bability, this combination of the barons for an invasion of England in 1388 was that designed and led by Robert, Earl of Fife, second son of Robert II., afterwards famous as the Regent Albany, who, a year after the battle of Otterbourn had been fought, received as a reward at his father's hands, when fifty years of age, the formal governorship of the kingdom. J
* Froissart, translated edition, 1808, vol. vii. p. 75.
t Ibid., vol. ix. p. 238.
| Tvtler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iii. p. 54.
/ \ /'/// TWO K1SUS.
■
Tins is imi the place to any detailed account
of i tie i "in.iiii ic moonlight defence >i 1 1 • mp
of ( )i terboui ii, near Newcai tie, ic I Eai I I k>ug I,i , after cap! tiring i he Pei ennon, died a hero's deal Ii in i he \ ery hour of \ ict< victory gained by the display of his famous banner. The story of this interesting battle has been inimi- tably narrated by Frou art, During the latter portion of this reign the executive government was guided by this mysterious but able member of the Stuarl family, who never really lost grasp of power until his death in 1419. He seems to have conducl a raid into England in L389, but the incidents wi unimportant ; and a truce which followed in the same year cheered the last days of the old King, who, dying in L390, aged 74 years, in the words of Scot- land's latest historian, " left the character of a peace- ful ruler over a quarrelsome people/' * He is known in history more especially as the first sovereign of the Stuart line, although the previous chapter contains evidence that before his elevation to the throne, and when Steward of Scotland, this high-minded, peace- loving King underwent a career of hardship and warlike adventure, which made him a prominent figure in the times wherein he lived. The remains of Robert II. were buried in the Abbey of Scone on August 13, 1390, and the following day saw the coronation of Robert III. celebrated with great pomp and solemnity. Next day, his wife Annabella, a daughter of the noble house of Drummond, was
* Burton's 'History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 369.
11 THE 8TI ART DYNASTY.
Si unit dynasty, have been given here in order that the state of Scotland at the close of the fourteenth century may be apparent, and those interested may form an idea of the turbulent state of the kingdom which Robert II. nominally governed.
The following extract gives a vivid picture of the condition of the peasantry. " The French and Scots marched back the way they had come. When arrived in the lowlands, they found the whole country ruined ; but the people of the country made light of it, saying that with six or eight stakes they would soon have new houses, and find cattle enow for provision." *
Froissart tells us that advantage was taken of a quarrel between the Percys and Nevilles to invade Northumberland in 1388, without consulting the King at all, on the ground that " he knew nothing about war." f But the charge of negligence as regards the interests of his kingdom, to which this amounts, cannot be substantiated, because, in all pro- bability, this combination of the barons for an invasion of England in 1388 was that designed and led by Robert, Earl of Fife, second son of Robert II., afterwards famous as the Regent Albany, who, a year after the battle of Otterbourn had been fought, received as a reward at his father's hands, when fifty years of age, the formal governorship of the kingdom. J
* Froissart, translated edition, 1808, vol. vii. p. 75.
t Ibid., vol. ix. p. 238.
% Tytler's 'History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iii. p. 54.
UNDKH VWO KINi
Tins is not i he plaoe b i bdj detaile I >uui
of the romantic moonlight defence >f the Scotch camp of Otterbourn, near X« wca tie, in L388, where bra Earl Dougla , after capturing the l>(i ennon,
dud ;i hero's deal li in i he \ ery hour of s ictorj a victory trained bv the display of Ins famous banner. The Btory of this interesting battle ha been inimi- tably narrated by Proit art. During the latter portion of this reign the executive government was guided by this mysterious but able member of the Stuart family, who never really loei grasp of pow< r until his death in L419. He seems to have conducted a raid into England in L389, but the incidents were unimportant ; and a truer which followed in the same year cheered the last days of the old King, who, dying in 13D0, aged 71 years, in the words of Scot- land's latest historian, " left the character of a peace- ful ruler over a quarrelsome people." * He is known in history more especially as the first sovereign of the Stuart line, although the previous chapter contains evidence that before his elevation to the throne, and when Steward of Scotland, this high-minded, peace- loving King underwent a career of hardship and warlike adventure, which made him a prominent figure in the times wherein he lived. The remains of Robert II. were buried in the Abbey of Scone on August 13, 1390, and the following day saw the coronation of Robert III. celebrated with great pomp and solemnity. Next day, his wife Annabella, a daughter of the noble house of Drummond, was
* Barton's 'History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 369.
24 THE STUART DYNASTY.
anointed Queen ; and then the assembled prelates and nobles took the oath of allegiance to the new sovereign, who rejected the name of John because it had been that of the anti-national claimant for the sovereignty, Baliol, and was consequently adjudged " ominous and unpopular." *
When quite a youth the King received a kick from a horse at a tournament, and was rendered little better than a cripple for life, and so was doomed to inactivity when war's alarms were sounded. More- over, his character was in some degree similar to that of Robert II. Amiable and full of good sense, the second Stuart sovereign did not lack discretion, although a love of pacific, not to say domestic, life tended to make him hesitate sometimes when decision was most needed. f
Trusting, then, the affairs of State generally to the Earl of Fife, his brother, and appointing a half- brother, the Earl of Buchan, with his son (the King's nephew), to control the Highlands and the north, Robert III. sank into a state of dignified repose which enabled him to display to his subjects the gentleness and chivalric nature which made mankind love him, but did not realise the ideal which those best able to judge longed to behold in a King o' Scots at this period.
The weakness of the situation thus created became apparent when in the first place the northern Viceroy, the Earl of Buchan, displayed a savagery which
* Tytler's ■ History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iii. p. 60. t Ibid., pp. 60, 61.
seriouslv damaged fche popularity of the throne which he misrepresented : * :i n< 1 had il nol been tor the address with which the Earl of Fife renewed the
true with France, whereby truce between the thi countries was prolonged and ratified by the Kii Scotland micrhl have been confronted with the dii peril.f
The public Bafety seems to have been preser i d a1 this time by the forethoughl of the Earl of Fifi — a statesman whose record can by no means be purged of all self-seeking, or cleared decisively of stains which suspicion casts upon his character, bui whose hand is visible in securing many benefits for his country. But the state of barbarism tol>e dealt with was simply inconceivable in a land where Christianity had held sway for more than eight hundred years, and where the dictates of chivalry wrere recognised, and its civilising influence admired and welcomed.
Indeed we find the high-minded King persuaded to preside over an exhibition of barbarism early in his reign. A quarrel between the Highland clans Kay and Quhete (or Chattan) threatened to con- vulse the mountain country above Perth, so thirty champions from each bellicose faction were mar- shalled on the North Inch at Perth. It is a beautiful piece of level ground, by which the river Tay passes
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iii. p. 64. Evidence of the Buchan's vandalism is, alas, apparent in Elgin Cathedral, which this so-called Wolf of Badenoch partially gave to the flames. He burnt the beautiful choir, and much of Elgin itself, in June 1390, to revenge a private grudge against the Bishop, Barr by name. — ' Survey of Province of Moray,' edition 1808, p. 81.
t ' Records of the Parliament of Scotland,' a.d. 1390, p. 130.
26 THE 8TUABT DYNASTY.
rippling on with music sweet. The spectacle of the Scottish King* enthroned on a platform as umpire in these strange Highland games was doubtless impres- sive. But the bloodshed which ensued must have been revolting to the gentle King Robert III., who doubtless commiserated in his heart the recalcitrant deserter from the clan Chattan who cast himself into the Tay, and swimming across fled to the woods. Nor, with all knightly respect for bravery such as that of the Perth armourer, Henry of the Wynd, who filled up the gap, could the merciful sovereign of Scotland rejoice over a carnage which left the clan Quhete or Chattan supreme — the Perth tradesman and ten other stout men at arms surviving, while one solitary individual remained to carry tidings of defeat to the men and women who fought under the Kay tartan.* This strange event occurred on October 23, 1396. About this time the chronicles are full of complaints on the part of the poorer people who needed protection from the marauding parties of dis- banded soldiery which infested the country. Such protection could alone be received from a strong Government, and not therefore from that of King Robert ; for, in addition to his ordinary causes of em- barrassment, a rivalry was fast rising up between the heir to the throne, the young Earl of Carrick, who became the Steward of Scotland, and the Earl of Fife, on whom the King relied for the direction of
* Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 369. Tytler's { History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. ii. p. 67. This incident is em- ployed to great advantage by Sir Walter Scott in the * Fair Maid of Perth.'
i be roj :>l polioi , I ! real b p ere the difficult ie of the Stuarl dynasty atthal period, an earlj mitigation
mi" In L;i\ e Itch expecte I from I he inci ea e o inter- course between England and Scotland, which v
sine to ie ulj from peace be1 ween 1 1 ount ri<
Xoi only was there coming and going <»i the nobility, merchants, and Btudents, and Churchmen,
which for a century had been Impossible, by i o\' the perpetual state <>f warlike confusion on the Border, bul the spread of chivalry rendered Scotland the chosen arena for magnificenl tournaments and mock trials of arms, such as were calculated t<» bring money into the country, ami temporarily providi healthy substitute lor the perpetual feudal conflicts which had plagued the land.
Prominent amongst these chivalric displays ap- peared the person of the youthful heir to the throne, whose manly bearing, gentle manners, and knightly accomplishments combined with great personal beauty to enlist the sympathies of his father's subjects.
A fondness for poetry, and a certain acquaintance with literature, on the other hand alienated this youth of high birth, but woful destiny, from the fierce barons who made up the court of Robert III., and hence it was that Fife, the Governor, always had a party amongst the nobility favourable to the con- tinuance of his sway. Nor did the spoilt and petted son of the recluse king, Robert III., fail to give ample cause of offence which might warrant a prescient statesman in withholding from the lawful heir to the
2& THE STUART DYNASTY.
throne the rights and privileges which were his birthright.
The young Earl of Carrick was terribly profligate, and by his disregard of ordinary restraints to which even monarchs' sons were subjected in the fourteenth century, gave occasion for his enemies to plot and conspire against him.
The King attempted to satisfy the ambition both of brother and son by importing the title of Duke from France and England into Scotland, creating Fife Duke of Albany, and the prince Duke of Rothesay ; but the latter, having been initiated into acts of government in the Highlands, was not in a mood to brook his uncle's continued pre-eminence. This Albany recognised by calling a Parliament at Perth on January 27, 1308, whereat the Duke of Rothesay was made the King's lieutenant, and Albany relegated to a principal place in the royal council.*
Duke Robert of Albany has been charged by most historians who have undertaken the narration of succeeding events, with the crime of supplanting, ruining, and at last cruelly doing to death this attractive but erring nephew, his rival. TTynton, prior of Lochleven — a contemporary — alone of the chroniclers gives denial to the averment, although later writers, Hill Burton especially, have in the absence of direct evidence spoken with uncertainty. The facts are as follows.
The Queen very naturally thought that a well-
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' vol. iii. p. 76.
/ \/>/ i; i ii 0 KISi
cIiiim'ii wife mi" lit be i !"• means oi beadj the Duke of Rothesay, and bringing to an end the period of his | >r< » 1 1 1 ■ - • < ■ \ , and b da lighter « >f I be powerful Bar] of March was ohosen for the bride; Imi a stronger olaimani for the royal alliance appeared in the person of Archibald, Bar! of Doug whose daughter Elizabeth became Roth* • wife. This disappointment so weighed on ili«i Bar! of March thai he Bought an interview with the K whereal he is Baid to have expressed himself m< intemperately than became a Bubject, demanding redress and the restoration of a sum of money he had paid as a dower.* King Robert's answer being of an evasive character, March repaired to Bngland and offered his services to the new King, Henry IV., who had usurped the throne and imprisoned Richard II. Henry, at the moment bent on invading Scotland, proceeded to do so with a large army, summoning Robert of Scotland to appear before him as a liege- man and vassal. How far the exceptional informa- tion regarding the country which March could give helped the English on this occasion is not recorded.
Henry IV. conducted a processional invasion up to the gates of Edinburgh in this year 1400, refraining, however, from burning or pillage, but was unable to capture the castle, in which the Duke of Rothesay was ensconced as commander. After some hesitation the English sovereign retired, while Albany, who was posted with an army within a day's march at Calder Moor, adopted a Fabian policy and fought no
* Preface to Prummond's ' History of Scotland.'
30 THE STUART DTNA8TT.
decisive battle for tlie relief of Rothesay, a cause of abiding* offence to the partisans of that unfortunate prince. But the military position by no means warranted their charges against his uncle, whose tactics were undoubtedly justified by the result. However, the bad blood between these two princes was destined to bring about a terrible tragedy, the circumstances connected with which are known but in outline. The conduct of Rothesay did not, unfor- tunately, improve with marriage, but by reason of the neglect with which he treated his wife, he alienated the favour of his powerful father-in-law, Archibald Douglas, whose influence was henceforth thrown into the scale against him when the re-estab- lishment of Albany's authority was in question. Hearing, therefore, from influential men of his court, Douglas amongst the number, that it was necessary to subject the Duke of Rothesay to some restraint, the King gave way in the matter so far as to tolerate his son's temporary captivity, and to leave the future practically to Albany's guidance.
By the assistance of a certain Sir John Ramorny, the prince was captured on the road to St. Andrews, and committed to prison in the castle of Falkland in Fifeshire.
The Queen had died early in this ill-omened year 1401, and the poor prince was bereft of his noble mother's powerful advocacy, and left to the mercy of his aggrieved father-in-law the Douglas, and his ancle Albany, the two acting in concert for the occasion.
( Wl H I ii 0 KINi
It is said thai the prince wvb lefl without i"<"l Foi lil'd en daj b, and t ha1 for ;i short inten al he nrvi after i hal period, becau e a poor \\ < mar | ititiou
broughl food i<> the dungeon; bui ;ii last nature gave way, and the inanimate bod) whs found in an emaciated Btate too horrible for mention.*
Public indignation against Albany risii t, a
Parliament was called at Bolyrood in May 1402. before which assembly Albany and Douglas were i amined and acquitted, but in language which did not clear their characters from the foulest suspicions. It isdeclared by the Parliament kk that the young prince died by the visitation of Provid< snce," Albany and Douglas being indemnified, and persons forbidden to repeat calumnious rumours regarding tliem.j
Unfortunately the dictum of a Scotch Parliament at tin's period is open to two objections. In the first place, each gathering was determined by the needs of Government to enable them to proceed in their executive task, or remove some present difficulty, rather than by reason of any legal obligation to discuss the affairs of the nation, and it was a recur- rence to such a state of things which injured the Stuart prospects so sorely when they ruled England in the seventeenth century. Secondly, the assemblage of barons, Churchmen, and commoners holding of the King, which made np Parliament in Scotland, sat in a single chamber, and no second House could check
* Fordun, Goodall's edition, vol. ii. p. 431.
t Burton's 'History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 381. The late historiographer for Scotland thought this matter very obscure.
32
THE STUART DYNASTY.
its proceedings in any way. Hence its rulings were always liable to tlie suspicion of having been prompted by some great noble whose royal favour enabled him to gain a majority, and for this reason men will continue to look askance on the conduct of Robert Duke of Albany and the famous fighting Douglas (who was afterwards taken prisoner at Shrewsbury) regarding the Duke of Rothesay, al- though the amount of provocation, and the measure of danger which the country encountered through the wild levities of the heir-apparent, should be weighed in the balance. As to the King himself, historians are at one in absolving him from any complicity in his son's death ; although the pliability which led him to listen to Douglas and Albany was unfortunate in the same proportion as were the monarch's disabilities, natural and acquired, which prevented him from fulfilling the rough duties of his position.*
The concluding years of Robert III. were indeed gloomy. His army was defeated at Hornildon Hill, by the skill of the English archers, on September 14, 1402, both the Earl of Douglas and Murdoch Stuart, the Duke of Albany's son, becoming the prisoners of Henry IV., while — direst stroke of all — a similar fate awaited the Scotch monarch's surviving son.
* Tradition, in Edinburgh at least, is adverse to the Duke of Albany in this matter, for a graceful chapel in St. Giles's, which takes the name of Albany's Aisle, is said by Mr. Cameron Lees, historian of that cathedral, to have been erected by the Regent in expiation of Rothesay's murder. — St. Giles's Church and Cathedral, Edinburgh,' by J. Cameron Lees, D.D. (W. & R Chambers, 1889).
/ \hl I; TWO A / V<
James who had just been despatched to France for education there, as well ac to place him beyond the reaoh of hosl il<i inl rigue a1 h< »me w b capl ured on his outward voyage bj an armed merchantman off Flamborough I [ead, and taken to I K>ndon.
This <>\ cni occnrifl on Palm Sunday, I 105, which fell on the 12th of April, Wynton the chronicler showing thai the truce bad nol expired.*
Prince James bad been placed by his guardian, Sir David Fleming, upon the Bass Rock opposite to North Berwick, pending his removal by ship to Fran Sir David, returning through Haddingtonshire, w attacked and murdered by James Douglas of Bal veny, Tl ie prince embarked on a ship from Leith, and off Flamborough, as has been said, fell into English handaf
Although the narrative of the young prince's life will be told in due course, it is necessary to mention tliis fact here, as bearing on the closing days "1" his father's life ; and to pay a passing tribute to the loyal service which Wardlaw, Bishop of St. Andrews, performed, both as faithful friend to the dying Stuart King, and as counsellor of his child.
It cannot be doubted that James I. had the foun- dations of his great learning laid when under the influence of this remarkable man. J The news of his son's captivity was brought to Robert III. when about to sup in his ancestral home at Rothesay in
* Chalmers's ' Poetical Remains of the Scottish Kings,1 edition 1824, p. 3,
t Ibid.
% Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' second edition, vol. x. p. 141.
32 THE STUART DTNASTT.
its proceedings in any way. Hence its rulings were always liable to the suspicion of having been prompted by some great noble whose royal favour enabled him to gain a majority, and for this reason men will continue to look askance on the conduct of Robert Duke of Albany and the famous fighting Douglas (who was afterwards taken prisoner at Shrewsbury) regarding the Duke of Rothesay, al- though the amount of provocation, and the measure of danger which the country encountered through the wild levities of the heir-apparent, should be weighed in the balance. As to the King himself, historians are at one in absolving him from any complicity in his son's death ; although the pliability which led him to listen to Douglas and Albany was unfortunate in the same proportion as were the monarch's disabilities, natural and acquired, which prevented him from fulfilling the rough duties of his position.*
The concluding years of Robert III. were indeed gloomy. His army was defeated at Hornildon Hill, by the skill of the English archers, on September 14, 1402, both the Earl of Douglas and Murdoch Stuart, the Duke of Albany's son, becoming the prisoners of Henry IV., while — direst stroke of all — a similar fate awaited the Scotch monarch's surviving son.
* Tradition, in Edinburgh at least, is adverse to the Duke of Albany in this matter, for a graceful chapel in St. Giles's, which takes the name of Albany's Aisle, is said by Mr. Cameron Lees, historian of that cathedral, to have been erected by the Regent in expiation of Rothesay's murder. — St. Giles's Church and Cathedral, Edinburgh,' by J. Cameron Lees, D.D. (W. & R Chambers, 1889).
i \l>i I; TWO KIM
James wh< i had ju I I eeii despn tched to I E <\
education there, as well as to place him beyond the reach of hostile intrigue al home wa captured on his outward voyage by an armed merchantman off Flamborough Head, and taken to London.
This evenl occurred on Palm Sunday. I W5, which Fell on the L2th of April, Wynton the chronicler showing I bal the truce bad no1 expire !
Prince James had been placed by his guardian, Sir David Fleming, upon t he Bass Rock opposite to Norl li Berwick, pending his removal by ship to Franc Sir David, returning through Haddingtonshire, was attacked and murdered by James Douglas of Bal« veny. The prince embarked on a ship from Leith, and off Flamborough, as has been said, fell into English hands.*)1
Although the narrative of the young prince's life will be told in due course, it is necessary to mention this fact here, as bearing on the closing days of his father's life ; and to pay a passing tribute to the loyal service which Wardlaw, Bishop of St. Andrews, performed, both as faithful friend to the dying Stuart Kino- and as counsellor of his child.
It cannot be doubted that James I. had the foun- dations of his great learning laid when under the influence of this remarkable man. J The news of his son's captivity was brought to Robert III. when about to sup in his ancestral home at Rothesay in
* Chalmers's ' Poetical Remains of the Scottish Kings," edition 1S24, p. o.
t Ibid.
% Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' second edition, vol. x. p. 14 L
P
34 THE STUART DYNASTY.
Bute. The unhappy widower lived but a few months afterwards, so dire was the shock inflicted by the intelligence of the greatest family calamity which, short of the heir's death, could have overtaken the second Stuart King at this crisis. For, whatever else might be hidden in the darkness of the future, Robert III. could not hope to look on his boy's face again.
Thus died the second sovereign of the Stuart line, and was buried amongst his forefathers in the Abbey Church at Paisley.
In person, says Tytler, "Robert III. was tall and of a princely presence ; his countenance was some- what florid, but pleasing and animated ; whilst a beard of great length and silvery whiteness flowed down his breast, and gave a look of sanctity to his appearance." *
Excessive humility, a virtue estimable at all times, seems to have been carried to such an extent that it destroyed his usefulness as a feudal ruler, although as a Christian man his record stands clear.
It is said that Queen Annabella once desired that, like his father and grandfather, he should provide a monument for himself, but that the King declined " a proud tomb for his miserable remains." " Cheer- fully (said he) would I be buried in the meanest shed on earth, could I thus secure rest to my soul in the day of the Lord."f
* ■ History of Scotland,' edition 1841, p. 136. t Ibid.
OHAPTEB III.
rwO BUOCKS8IV] REGENTS, kND ONI GREA1
Mn\ \i:cii.
Robert, Dukt of Albany, L406 1 U rdoch, Duke of Albany, 1 H9 L424; James !., 1 124 l 137.
It remains uncertain whether the elder branch of the
Stuart dynasty was or was not al this period in
danger of succumbing to a kindred usurpation to thai which had taken place in England when Henry IV., by popular favour and as the result of an insurrec- tion which ushered in the fifteenth century, became King of England. Robert, Duke of Albany, in com- plete possession of power, might find specious excuses for holding the same when he scanned the horizon of Scottish politics ; to say nothing of the example afforded him by the success of Henry IV. in elevating a third branch of the Plantagenets over the second, when the nation had rejected the first of that name.
In Scotland the executive Government needed a strong arm to guide its course, and the heir was a prisoner in England ; the Duke of Albany being helpless to deliver him, in spite of all that has been written to the contrary. For in the year 1413, a negotiation was set on foot for the deliverance of the King, and a safe-conduct granted by the new English
d 2
36 THE STUART DYNASTY.
sovereign Hemy V. (for Henry IV. had passed away on March 20, 1413), to five commissioners from Scotland to remain in England to treat. But these efforts proved ineffectual.*
That the Regent must have been cognisant of sucli action, the commanding position he held in the Government shows : and the fact that the English did in 1415, in exchange for Hotspur, release Albany's son Murdoch — a prisoner of less importance than the King of Scotland — by no means warrants the common assumption that the Regent was privy to his sovereign's continued detention in a foreign country.
It is scarcely possible to improve on Dr. Hill Burton's summing up of this matter. The heir to the throne was taken prisoner, as if exactly to suit his (Albany's) projects ; yet he could well say to any accuser, " Thou canst not say I did it." f Nor is it surprising that the dark rumour of the manner in which the late Duke of Rothesay had been starved to death at his uncle's instance, or at least with his silent concurrence, should blind men to the loyal services which Robert Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, subsequently performed. Chief amongst these stands the energy whereby the Earl of Mar was sent to cope with the wild hosts of Donald of the Isles, who was brought to bay at the ever-to-be-remembered village of Harlaw, on the water of Urie, close to its junc- tion with the Don not far from Aberdeen. The
* Henry's c History of Great Britain,' second edition, vol. ix. p. 297 ; Dr. Henry quotes Rymer, vol. ix. p. 5.
t Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 395.
./I Ml I
batl le fcher* oonte tod on .J ul\ - 1, Mil,
of the in" i important Fought within tin; limits <>\'
( y,\ ledon tan b< Ah
1 lonald of the I les, checked in b lUthwai d prog retired baffled and cowed to his mountain fori resses ; while A Ibany, disj >ur,
conducted an army to Dingwall in the following year, and secured the earldom of Ross, which Donald claimed, to his own sen the Earl of I>ucli:m.*
The question al issue was whether Euphemia, Countess of Ross, could resign the earldom in favour of the Earl of Buchan when she bad retired in1 convent. Donald of the fsles contended that by taking the veil she became civilly dead, and, as brother-in-law of the late earl, claimed the title and estates himself.f
The Regent Albany supported the Earl of Buchan's claim with all the resources of Scotland, apparently not being anxious for Donald's particular form of Home Rule in the Isles, but the conflict which ensued at liar law checked the encroachments of a barbarous domination.
On the whole, Robert Duke of Albany's regime must be characterised as successful so far as the con- dition of Scotland allowed, although the cruel burning of John Resby, the Wyclifiite preacher, in 1408, conspired with an ineffectual raid on Roxburgh and Berwick in 1416 to give hostile writers ground for criticism.
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iii. p. 153. t Ibid., p. 146.
T
6 i
38 THE STUART DYNASTY.
On the other hand, contemporary testimony of Wvnton, prior of Lochleven, affords ground for taking a more lenient view of the Duke's conduct than history has hitherto allowed ; but it is necessary to follow the example of Dr. Hill Burton, and, while fully admitting the force of such considerations, to relegate this controversy to those who make a special study of the matter in question, and who are not merely giving an account in outline of a long period.
It is certainly strange that through the whole of his actual regency, Albany should have held an assumed counterpoise to the captivity of James I. in England, inasmuch as within the dominions of Donald of the Isles appeared, in 1404, an individual styling himself Richard IT. of England, who was said to have escaped from Pontefract Castle instead of having died therein mysteriously four years before.
To Donald himself, the ally of England, the pre- tended English King asserted no such identity ; but as neither Tytler nor Hill Burton were satisfied that this mysterious captive was not Richard II., it is impossible to settle the question here.*
On the other hand, the fact of a pretender to their throne being in Albany's hands probably rendered both Henry IV. and Henry V. of England obdurate when the question of rendering up James I. was mooted.
In the same year, 1419, which saw the Regent Robert of Albany's long life of eighty years closed
* See Barton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 383.
./ I Ml
.it Sin ling, i In pr< tend I (or bond jv&i » i >n of the Blaok Prinoe w as buried in the I Dominican Fi i ohurofa in the same royal burgh. The in cription «>n bis tomb was as follows: "Angliao Ricardu bio Rex ipse sepull us/1 *
It will be Been thai the \i<\\ indicated as possibly tenable but yel deprecated by Dr. Hill Burton has been avoided here. No attractive picture has been painted of Robert, Duke of Albany, in a stainless garb of innocence — depicted, in short, as bis clerical admirer, Prior Wynton of Lochleveni would nave desire. 1. It is enough to Bay thai considerable ob- scurity still surrounds the events of this lengthei I career. It is indeed impossible to deny that the Government made itself respected at home, while maintenance of tlie French League formed the keystone of Albany's foreign policy. Learning the while advanced in some degree, and was nurtured by the foundation of St. Andrews University in the year 1411. This fact is attested in Fordun's chronicle ' Scoticron.,' hook xv. ch. xxii.
Duke Rohert of Albany married first, the Countess o( Menteitli, a distant cousin, the union requiring a Papal dispensation similar to that given in 1361 at Avignon by Pope Innocent YI. The Earls of Castle- Stewart claim to be representatives of this branch. Secondly, the Regent Robert of Albany married in 1407 Muriella, daughter of Sir William de Keith. Although a son by this marriage was the famous Earl of Buchan, who won the battle of Beauge in
* Sec Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 383.
in THE STUART DYNASTf.
I 121 and fell at Venn-nil in 1121, the line id extinct.*
Dnke Murdoch of Albany called no Parliament together when his father died, and therefore com- mitted an act of treason when he calmly assumed a regency which his abilities precluded him from exercising as his father had done. The Government was therefore only held together by allowing certain supporters amongst the nobles to seize estates and hold them without legal title, so that illegality was rampant throughout the land.
But for the fact that James I. in his prison at Windsor was from time to time in correspondence with leading men amongst his own subjects, this state of things might have lasted much longer, but the King o' Scots, armed with his conspicuous abilities, was a match for the feeble Regent, who whiled away his time in hawking and other amuse- ments, while the honour and fame of Scotland were lowered, at least at home.
For at Beauge, in France, in March 1421, it is right to record, did the Earl of Buchan, Duke Murdoch's half-brother, score the first success achieved in this generation against the English invaders of France. At the head of six thousand Scots he over- came the Duke of Clarence ; a triumph obliterated, however, in August 1424 by the Duke of Bedford, when Buchan and most of his army died on the field of Yerneuil.f
* See ' Pedigree of the House of Stuart,' compiled by W. A. Lindsay, Esq., for the Stuart Exhibition in London. Also Burke's ' Peerage.'
t For a succinct account see Sir W. Scott's ' Tales of a Grandfather, edition 1880, p. 61.
Bui i In a latter e> enl occurred (-\ era! month tho uccession of James I., which had been ha I because the R •■■ tit Murdoch could neither guide the State nor conl rol his om i and Indeed, acc< 'i-1!
io Sir Walter Scott and Drummond, in the pre! to his 'History of Scotland,1 ii was the wanton
i rucl ion of r fav< write falcon by M urdoch' Walter, who had asked for the bird and had I refused, which led to the final and successful negotia- tions with England for the rel of James I. in consideration of a large ransom. a Since thou wilt give me neither reverence nor obedience, I will fetch home one whom we musl all obey," is said to hi
n the sentence announcing tin's decision. The retiring Re ent li;ul gauged the character of his sovereign aright.
James I., 1424-1437.
It is no exaggeration to say that James I. of Scot- land was the most illustrious Stuart sovereign who ruled over the northern kingdom before the two
crowns were united. The King of England, con- scious of the value of the prize that had fallen into his hands, guarded the future sovereign of Scotland during his captivity with the greatest care.
He was taken in the first instance, on April 12, 1405, to the Tower of London, and kept a close prisoner there until June 10, 1407, when Nottingham was chosen as the place of confinement, wherein nearly seven years were destined to be spent.*
The first day of March 1414 saw James Stuart
* Henry's 'History of Great Britain,1 edition 1788. vol. x. p. L 40.
12 nil- >//,!///' DYNASTY.
relegated back to the Tower, where he was kept for five months. In the following August he found a refuge at Windsor, and there first saw his future Queen, Jane Beaufort. It happened that the royal captive inhabited the tower which is known as that of Edward III., and casting his eyes towards the garden, he beheld walking therein with her ladies the fair one whose destiny was to be so closely linked to his own. The mutual attachment which ensued gave the romantic flavour to this transaction which the Scots looked for when their sovereign married ; while as an affair of State the alliance promised to bring strength and influence to the northern throne. Jane Beaufort was daughter of the Earl of Somerset, brother of Henry IV. of England, so that the two reigning families of England and Scotland became very closely allied in blood by means of this love-match. For love-match it certainly was, cele- brated by the royal bridegroom in graceful verse couched in the ancient language of his own nation, and therefore ill-adapted for popular criticism, al- though adjudged worthy of a more advanced school of poetry than that in vogue during the fifteenth century in Britain. Speaking of the first glimpse of Jane Beaufort, the royal poet says, in the ' King's Quhair ' (as quoted in Chalmers's ' Poetical Remains of the Scottish Kings,' p. 40) : —
"And therewith cast 1 down mine eye again, Where as I saw walking under the tower full secretly
* * * *
The fairest or the freshest young flower That ever I saw methout before that hour."
h w;is in February of the year I i-i that Jame I. married Jane Beaufort in the Church ol 8k Man 0 very, South wark. the alliance beincr celebrated !>v ;i feast given in the palace of the bride's uncle, I lardinal Beaufort, a man of v b I wealth and arabil ion.*
I n the year I 120 the captii e K ing Jam< aa panied Henry V. into France as a counterpoise to the presence in that kingdom of 7000 under John
Stuart, Earl of Buchan, who afterwards, by his victory ;ii Beauge on March 22, I 121, demonstrated the po bility of stemming the tide of English invasion.
Henry's aim was to interpose the King of S land's authority to oblige the Scots to return home, and although the Earl of Buchan repudiated an authority urged by his sovereign when acting under compulsion, an excuse was afforded for Henry V. treating all Scotchmen opposed to him in France as rebels.^
This period of James's life spent across the Channel is little commented on by the chroniclers, French or English, and presents one of the by-paths of history open to the efforts of modern explorers. He is known to have been at the coronation of Catherine, Queen of France, in 1420, while two years later Rymer the chronicler speaks of the captive King o' Scots as being in that country. J Nor was the return of James I. to his own dominions effected without long
* Ty tier's 'History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol iii. p. 169. t Rapin's ' History of Englaud,' fourth edition, vol. iv. p. 281. X Chalmers's ■ Foetical Remains of the Scottish Kings,' edition 1824, p. 9.
44 THE STUART 1>) NASTY.
negotiations, resulting in a treaty which called for considerable sacrifice on the part of t lie smaller kingdom.
It is difficult to realise how highly the Scotch people in the fifteenth century valued their mon- archical institutions. Strong evidence of their loyal devotion remains, however, recorded. For we know that the following individuals of title and station were prepared to enter England as hostages for pay- ment of the 40,000/. which James I. had engaged to render to the sovereign of that country. James himself gave a bond for the full amount, while the nobility amongst them guaranteed the debt more than twice over. The actual hostages were : —
Marks. £
David, heir to Earl of Athole, guaranteed 1,200, about 8,000
|
Earl of Moray |
55 |
1,000 |
J5 |
6,666 |
|
Earl of Crawford |
)5 |
1,000 |
5» |
6,666 |
|
Duncan, Lord of Argyll |
?5 |
1,500 |
?5 |
10,000 |
|
William, heir of Lord Dalkeith |
?> |
1,500 |
»» |
10,000 |
|
Eldest son of William, Constable) of Scotland ) |
99 |
800 |
99 |
5,338 |
|
Eobert, Marischal of Scotland |
i» |
800 |
V |
5,338 |
|
Eobert, Lord Erskine |
?> |
1,000 |
?» |
6,666 |
|
Walter, Lord Dirleton |
35 |
800 |
»l |
5,338 |
|
Thomas Boyd, Lord Kilmarnock |
)5 |
500 |
5? |
3,333 |
|
Patrick, Lord Cumnock |
?> |
500 |
5? |
3,333 |
|
Alexander, Lord Gordon |
M |
400 |
?3 |
2,666 |
|
William, Lord Abernethy |
If |
500 |
5> |
3,333 |
|
James Dunbar, Lord Frendrath |
?? |
500 |
»» |
3,333 |
|
Andrew Gray of Eonlls |
») |
600 |
5» |
4,000 |
|
Eobert, Lord Livingstone |
5J |
400 |
»» |
2,666 |
|
John Lindesay |
i> |
500 |
15 |
3,333 |
|
Eobert, Lord Lisle |
ed for |
300 ward |
3> |
2,000 |
|
Carri |
£92,009 |
|
1 Wll ■ 1 |
||||||
|
;• lit forward |
1 |
|||||
|
.! B iih.s, 1 .< 'i '1 <>f ( 'i l(loi |
( ; i, |
|||||
|
.l.i iin- , 1 .i 'i 1 1 ' '1 CftU |
• > |
i » |
||||
|
\\ illiam, Lord Rul b^ en Ru t h van e) |
(or] 1 |
'» |
M |
|||
|
George, beir of Hugh (' | or Campbell) |
.i in pel i I |
M |
• • |
|||
|
Robert, b( it of Lord Rffaitland |
•' |
100 |
1 1 |
2,1 |
||
|
David Menziee |
M |
n |
i |
|||
|
1 ),i\ i<l 1 Igilby (or Ogil1 |
•■ |
200 |
||||
|
1 ).i\ LI, beir of John Lynn |
M |
1 |
2,< |
|||
|
U 1 |
All these men Bwore thai they would remain in the power of I [enry VX until the various parts of the treaty were fulfil led, so that some were committed to
tin4 Tower of London, Dover Castle, and other fortresses in the south of England.
The towns of Perth, Dundee, and Aherdeen also gave bonds equal to 50,000/.. so the English held pretty good security for payment of the 40,000/. demanded to indemnify them for the expenses of James I. during his captivity.
The above table gives an idea of the means which the Scotch aristocracy possessed ; and, when we con- sider the enormous difference in the value of a pound in the fifteenth century and of the same amount in our own day, it will be seen that broad acres con- ferred wealth as well as responsibility in Scotland. Moreover, loyalty north of the Tweed is clearly hereditary. The details are to be found in Henry's 1 History of Great Britain,' vol. ix. pp. 306-8, quoting
L6 THE STUART DYNASTY.
Ryincr's l Poedera,' vol. x. pp. 294-300 ; he(Ryraer)
was historiographer to Charles [I., and mad'- deep researches into Scotch history.
James I. found Scotland a veritable nest of rohbers, and cannot be blamed for the resolve to subjugate independent chieftains, Lowland and Highland, wbo carried on their lawless depredations openly before the world. Moreover, to effect this it was natural that he should seek to guard himself against the intrigues of Murdoch, Duke of Albany, his cousin, who had for five years tolerated the complete subservience of Scotland to England, while Henry V. agreed in return to retain James in captivity.
The retribution which fell on Murdoch and his supporters was not limited to loss of political power, but extended to loss of life.
The King appears to have made his position sure by means of the Lords of Articles, whereby measures were presented to the Scotch Parliament in a prac- ticable form after previous preparation by the Royal Council, the Constitution enabling the King to utilise such means before striking at these enemies of his own household ; and if compelled to doubt the justice of the severe reprisals which ensued, we cannot deny the worldly wisdom of the sovereign's pro- ceedings.
Unfortunately no record of the trial wdiich Murdoch, Duke of Albany, and his associates under- went is forthcoming, so that we are left in doubt as to the facts, while enough is known to present the story in that outline which appeal's here, although
J I Ml 17
w e lea rn in fragments ry form i hal he wa tried cA robboria ( for robl >en i
The Regonl M urd( >oh of A [bany, and i wo of sons, were beheaded on the heading-hill at Stirli in Max I 125.
1 1 is whispered I hal their refusal to ad as I in England before the King's return had awakened suspicion as to their loyalty, l»ui James I. scarcely the man to be moved bj such a mean object as revenge.
Tin* firs! to Buffer was Walter Stuart, the I R gent's eldest son, whose 6ne presence and general dignity of demeanour had for some time attracted the poorer subjects of the Stuart dynasty, who Beem to have regarded this branch of the royal family with unusual favour, and there can he little doubl that the King on this occasion generated some hostility in unexpected quarters.
The spectacle of a sovereign, crowned and in the purple, dispensing this rude justice in the national forum before Stirling Castle is illustrative of the times, and might well attract the brush of a histo- rical artist, as it must the pen of each writer who tells this sad story of rapine, family discord, and death.
It is fair to James I. to add that notwithstanding the lack of detailed evidence regarding the crimes of Duke Murdoch and his sons, they were judged and condemned by a tribunal containing several of their own kinsmen. 7
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iii. p. 191. t Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' vol. ix. p. 312, quoting Foidan'f ' Scoticron.,' bk. xvi. ch. x.
48 THE STUART DYNASTY.
But it was in the contest wliicli ensued with the refractory Highland chiefs that the King gathered
most of the ill-will which was; destined to prove fatal to him. Undoubtedly he did put down disorder cruelly, and in a summary fashion, savouring of injustice towards certain of the individuals con- cerned.
James had imbibed in England the opinion that public order formed the only sure foundation whereon a civilised society could build up the most ordinary prosperity. He was accustomed to say, " Let God but grant me life, and there shall not be a spot in my dominions where the key shall not keep the castle and the furze-bush the cow, though I myself should lead the life of a dog to accomplish it." *
This design was certainly in some degree realised, but involved its author in sterner penalties than even he had anticipated. For indeed the wThole of the reign, with the exception of some months spent in a futile attempt to take Roxburgh Castle from the English, was occupied in wrestling with the barons and chieftains.
First it was the Western Islanders, under Alaster Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, who felt the weight of James's sword; and then in 1431, after a victory over Lord Mar, the same hardy people dispersed, and their leaders were driven to seek refuge in Ireland. These events were followed by resolute attempts to reduce the power of the great nobles, who, joining together from time to time, waged wrar on the King
* Ty tier's c History of Scotland,' edition 18 II, vol. iii. p. 174.
./ i i// / 19
linn df. Thus b certain amount of i ranq uillil . restored, and James I. then addr< ud him oil to
nl.-ii ing commerce and rend* ring more perfi the administration of justi* ll<- was al the Bame time constrained to colled taxes From the peopl measure which, in the poverty-stricken state of ; landj rendered lukewarm a personal popularity of which, to the very last, James I. could boast
The general discontent found venl in a plot in which one Sir Robert Graham was chief actor, as the agent of the second family of Robert [I., wh< presenta-
tive, the Earl of Athole, claimed the throne.*
King J anifs gave the younger family of Robert II. substantial grounds for dissatisfaction, seeing thai he resumed the earldom of Strathearn because male heirs were extinct, thus rendering desperate the Grahams, one of whom had married the heiress; nor could this manifest injustice be rendered tolerable by the grant of the earldom of Monteith to Malise Graham, the representative of thai family, the resent- ment of the Grahams being embittered by the artifices o[' Walter, Marl of Athole, the King's uncle, who, blinded with ambition, thought he saw his way to gaining a crown. f
Sir Robert Graham himself, a mere cadet of the Stuart family, had small concern in this matter; but, posing as the instrument whereby the King should suffer for his encroachments on the territorial aristo- cracy, he succeeded in surrounding himself with a
* Burton's 'History of Scotland/ new edition, vol. ii. p. 407. f Ibid.
R
50 THE STUART DYNASTY
band of wild and lawlc.-s men ready to follow wher- ever their desperate and adventurous fader desired.
Perth, or St. Johnston, as it was called in those days, is situated at the entrance to the Highlands, and the interesting events which occurred in that city might fill several volumes; but the place has under- gone such changes that few monuments remain to attest its historical importance. Not the f striking incident which marked the history of the place was the ever-to-be-regretted assassination of King James I., who, heedless of the peril which threatened him — although a caution had reached him when at Roxburgh — repaired to the monastery of the Black Friars in Perth for the Christmas of 1436.*
It was customary for the Court to quarter itself on one of the religious houses from time to time, and James I. spent the evening of February 20, 1437, at this retreat, and indulged in converse with the womankind of his household. In a garb which denoted that he felt fully at ease, when preparing to retire to rest, he discoursed with his beloved wife, and warmed himself at the fire of the room to which the ladies resorted. Suddenly, sounds familiar to Highland ears told of the approach of many armed men, and before there was time to make due prepara- tion, three hundred wild clansmen were forcing their way into the monastery. Brave indeed were the women, for Catherine Douglas fruitlessly thrust her arm into the staples designed for the insertion of an
* Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 407.
./ 11/// I
iron bolt, while the pecrle Queen nevei In (ink before the pu \\ oJ < < ra liam1 men who the Kb bodyguard being away quartered in the town Btraightwaj invaded the apartment, Bui \i may be imagined thai women, however brave and devoted, were powerle i to Btein this long-planned onslaught. The King descended into b .-« wer which ran beneath the room, an entrance into which had, alas! I barred l>v his own order a day or two pr< jlv, because the ball with which he played tennis had been wont to Pall I herein.
The ruffians searched the whole building, and for a moment believed thai their prej had escaped. By a chance, however, one of the party descended be- neath the flooring and discovered the King help] before his enemies. It is said that in the agony of threatened separation from the Queen, he asked for mercy and was laughed at, being told that he had shown none to those of bis own race.
It is moreover reported that, though short of stature, the King of Scotland nevertheless left the mark of a strong arm on the persons of his murder "There were sixteen stabs in his body when it was taken Up." *
The resolute action of James I. in keeping order amongst his wild mountaineer subjects, and as Monarch of Scotland relegating their chiefs to sub- ordinate positions in the State, did not injure his reputation with the people.
The popular verdict passed upon his murderers
* Burton's • History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 409.
F. 2
f>2 THE STUART DYNASTY.
was not that hoped for and expected by the partisans of A thole, but is contained in the popular ballad, wherein it is said —
" Robert Graham That slew our king, God give him shame."
Endowed With a kingly presence, strength, and good looks, James I. will be best remembered for his mental capacity. A graceful writer both of poetry and prose, wherein a comparison with Chaucer has been instituted, his productions have been for the most part lost, although those we possess are of themselves sufficient to ensure a niche in the temple of literary fame for this unfortunate sovereign.
James had a great knowledge of the Bible, which, nevertheless, did not lead to his tolerating the AVycliffites who appeared in Scotland during his reign. Otherwise this King seems to have excelled in everything to which he applied himself, and to have perpetrated few errors.*
The Abbot of Inch-colm, who was his familiar friend, tells us that the King was a proficient in eight different instruments, and of excellence in playing the harp, while his vocal skill was consider- able.
He also, when in the solitude of prison, in- vented a new style of romantic music, which, through one Carlo Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, became popular in Italy.f
* Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' edition 1788, vol. x. p. 231. t Ibid., p. 232.
./ 1 1//
1 Irummond of 1 1 -• » \n i bornden, in hi ' 1 1 I Scotland ' (pp. 24, 26), i led bj hi mention of the Kincr's musical talents to record the fact thai "i • were first generally used in Scotland during Jam reig n, and to poinl <>ni how scienl i ts of vai ious departments crowded into the realm, and thai skilled artisans found employment in b state oi ty
created by one man, but, alas ! not destined to pr< permanent,
Wise measures regarding trade and the coinage of the rr;ilin occupie 1 much time during this remarkable reign, and tin4 metal of Scotland was restored to the same weight and quality as thai of England,
This sovereign is likewise said to have excelled as an athlete — in putting the stone, running, riding, and shooting with a bow* — to such a degree, that he surpassed most of his contemporaries ; so that, it' this is to be believed, Ave may look upon him as a veritable Crichton of the fifteenth century.
Put perhaps the consideration which mosl of all commends the reign of James to students, is the fact that, despite the imperfect machinery with which he had to deal, James taught his people to rely, more than had hitherto been customary, upon the support of Parliament, and it will be hereafter evident that resort to such natural relief became more frequent in times of national peril or disturbance. He is said to have held thirteen Parliaments in thirteen years, and
* Fordun's ' Scoticron.,' bk. xvi. ch. xxviii. Fordim was a chronicler of events in Scotland at this period, whose work is valuable, but needs careful scrutiny before use.
M TEE 8TUART DYNASTY.
the universal appreciation of his regime by posterity might well have been used as an argument by certain obsolete theorists who desired to institute such a con- dition of tilings during the nineteenth century.
Truly the memory of this monarch should ever remain prominent amongst the sovereigns of the world ; while, as regards the fifteenth century, no royal competitor disputes pre-eminence in wisdom or ability with the first King James of Scotland, bar- barously slain at Perth by ignorant, jealous savages, who were incapable of understanding the prescient policy whereby he hoped to restore peace to the Highlands and security to the whole country under his care.
One incident of the great King's life and expe- rience deserves special mention, viz. the giving in marriage of his beautiful and interesting daughter Margaret to the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XI. Taken prematurely from home, she was neglected abroad by her husband, and died in 1444 at Chalons before he came to the throne.
Margaret, daughter of James I., married the Dauphin of France at Tours, on June 25, 1436. She was a poetess and a spirited woman. Walking through the gallery of the palace and seeing Alain Ohartier (the French writer) asleep, she kissed him, and, on being told of her impropriety, replied " that she did not kiss the man, but the mouth which had uttered so many fine sayings." " That kiss," says Menage, " will immortalise her." *
' Chalmers's ' Poetical Remains o\' the Scottish Kings,' pp. 13, 19.
./ 11// • /
Puttenham tell i this pre! tj l
I ij 19) i »i am »i her princei ;, name] \ A tine <»f Bril U\ wife "l" ( !ha rles \ 1 1 1. wh< i i licc< eded M husband as King, bu1 this is clearly an anachronism.
James I. never lived fco ee the ad end of tl daughter, whose charms and sorrows have intere ted mankind ever since
There is, unfortunately, qo portrait of King James existing the fidelity of which can be relied on. inasmuch as thai valuable life was cui short bef artists of repute had followed the example of pro- minenl experts in science and music, in visiting Scotland. [deal representations, however, exi based on the following description adopted by Drummond of Hawthorndon, the substance of which is as follows : —
James I. was of middle stature, and although of a somewhat square build possessed a graceful manner and majestic presence, while his limbs were well shaped. It is also recorded that he had auburn hair. Drummond, who was one of his great' admirers, wrote thus regarding his hero in the first half of the seventeenth century.
Of former Scottish sovereigns and of James I. it lias been well said " the nation made them kings, but this king made that people a nation." j
James I. was murdered in his forty-fourth year.
* The story is discussed in 'Notes and Queries,' 7th S. viii. Sept. 21, 1889, p. 237/1. t Drummond's ' History of Scotland,' p. 50.
56 THE STUART DYNAS1 Y.
CHAPTER IV.
STUART, OR DOUGLAS? James II., 1437-1460.
KING, OR NOBILITY? James III., 1460-1488.
James II. of Scotland, having originally been de- clared the younger of twins born at Holyrood on October 16, 1430, was only seven years of age when his father was murdered.
The two infants were knighted at the font by their father, and with them other youthful members of the aristocracy.*
Prince Alexander having died in infancy, James became the heir, and succeeded to the throne amidst a tumult of revengeful violence which had nothing akin to civilisation in its nature, nor is it possible to justify the horrors which ensued, even by urging the necessity for paralysing forces which were banded together against the Crown. Indeed, no other evi- dence is required to prove the prior necessity of good King James's efforts to subdue the unquiet portion of his dominions than was furnished by the confusion which ensued during the pursuit, capture,
* Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' second edition, vol. ix. p. 317, • juoting Fordun, bk. xvi. cb. xvi.
•
i/;/; OH DOl G
and punishment of bis tnurdei ei . Robei i 1 1 mi,
Willi BODCie «»l" III «'«»;i.|jl||«»| . , Mlll'.-| «<| (|.;il|| ;,t
Stirling after torturei boo horrible to relate; while Ailmli' and others paid the penalty of their crime a1 Edinburgh, where the would-be monarch tortured with a paper crown on his head, pla thereon in bitter derision.4
There is little wonder thai amidsl the turmoil accompanying these reprisals the young Kb. coronation should take place al Holyrood, instead of Scone;t Perth and its environs being adjudged close to the wild Highlands, whence had issued forth (he untutored clansmen who had wrought bo much
ill to Scotland, aye, and to civilisation in the two
kingdoms. Por had King James I. survived bul
;i few years longer his broad and wide views as to domestic and foreign policy must have ex- ercised beneficent influence far outside Scotland's realm.
A strong secular arm had been urgently needed during the last reign, inasmuch as comparative weakness in the executive, as gauged by its relative strength in other nations, had prevailed in a certain degree ever since the Smarts came to the throne in the year 1^70. Eight years later had occurred that great Schism of the West which, rending the Church asunder, removed the restraints hitherto imposed on the clergy, by an authority none dared dispute. Men stood aghast to see three spiritual authorities all
* Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 413. t Ibid.
u
-
THE STUART DYNASTY.
claiming headship and infallibility at one time, when before t.lie Council of Constance in 1414 ( * regory XII., Jolm XXIII., and Benedict XIII., had all assumed
the Papal tiara. Not until 1420, after the resigna- tion of Clement VIII., were these divisions even nominally brought to a close; and in a country where Churchmen claimed to be so generally consulted in the conduct of affairs as Scotland, their discipline and training, which necessarily suffered under such in- explicable conditions, had enormous influence over the lives and conduct of future generations. And to this laxity, when the healing panacea of Wyclif was refused even the barest discussion across the Tweed, may be possibly traced the deterioration of clerical morals in later reigns, bringing about the startling local changes of religious practice and opinion which ushered in the Reformation.
A minority such as began upon the death of James I., even when guided by the strongest regent, has always proved prejudicial to a feudal State depending on regular monarchical succession. It was doubly dangerous when rivals of equal influence were employed in striving to overreach one another.
One Sir William Crichton, a friend of the late King, being governor of Edinburgh Castle, detained the young prince in that stronghold ; but the Queen dowager, having greater confidence in Sir Alexander Livingston, governor of Stirling, another confidant of James I., concealed her son in a bale of luggage, in order that when the article was shipped at Leith
■ it i /; / OH DOl 0 / I
ita preciou content might like^ ise b od up
the Fori h near to Scol land*fl ok i I cenl ral tr< >n/2 hold
;il Slirlin
Livingston having thus triumphed over bi rival ;ni.| Becured I be per i >n of I be beir, < Irichton, w ho was Chancellor of ili<v kingdom, seems Bilentl) if grudgingly to have acqu I, an ati tude which, in the presence of a superior in the Earl of Dougl cfovernor of Mm* kingdom, was only relaxed when thai nobleman died in I 139, leaving a son only seventeen years of age to succeed him.* Crichton, unrestrained by any superior genius, Bchemed to gel the young King into his power again, and making a successful raid towards Stirling, M kidnapped ' the boy when taking exercise in the royal nark.
But the new Ear] of Douglas, despite his youth, displayed a character which made his enemies treml Accepting homage from all who approached him, this haughty young noble never appeared in public without a thousand men-at-arms, and it was rumoured that he intended to set up a Parliament of his own.y
Sir Alexander Livingston, although exceedingly irritated at the King's capture and removal to Edin- burgh Castle, thought it wiser to hide his resentment towards Crichton, whom, by the intermediation of the bishops of Aberdeen and Moray, lie met secretly in the church of St. Giles at Edinburgh,! in the year
* Burton's 'History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 414.
t Ibid., p. 415.
X Buchanan's ' History of Scotland,' vol. ii. p. 201,
GO THE 8TUABT DTNAJ31 ) .
1410; the substance of tlie agreement then arrived at being that the King was to remain with the Chancellor in the noble castle overlooking the capital, while Livingston retained the emoluments of his place as governor of Stirling.
But the bond which allied the two conspirators together was not loyalty to the King, but dread of the Douglas power, which it was resolved forthwith to break. A Parliament having been summoned at Edinburgh during this same year 1440, nominally to adjust complaints made by numbers of the people against exactions suffered at the hands of the Douglases, two of them, Earl William and his brother David, were cajoled into accepting an in- vitation, couched in friendly and flattering terms, from Crichton, who set forth the mutual advantage to the King and his powerful visitors which would ensue from the proposed meeting. And so the flies were straightway entangled in the spider's web. A magnificent feast having been prepared, the young Douglases were received in the ancient castle with gracious affability by the unsuspecting King, while the scene of wassail and rejoicing went on to its settled conclusion. After a boar's head had been placed on the table, according to the method of the times, the murderous intentions of the two men who held power were disclosed, and the Douglases were suddenly seized by armed retainers, who, dragging them before a mock tribunal, despatched the repre- sentatives of a line which was nevertheless vet to rise to the apex of its power.
■' \l; /'. OR DOUi 'I
Thai i be j i >ung James II.. al nine | was as ignorant ol this bn e and murderou breach of honour and hospitality, as we know hinu to ha been distressed al its bloody outcome, ha* b attested by all writers; bul he was neverthel destined, in the capacity of King o' Scots, to spend the besl years of a reiffn riding over
twenty-three years in deciding once and for .-ill that his family, and not that of Douglas was to rule norl b of Tweed.
Two years1 breathing space were Becured to the oligarchy enthroned in Edinburgh; because Jan the fat Earl of Douglas, elected not to disturb Crichton and Livingston in their custody of the young King. But when that phlegmatic representa- tive of the princes of the Border died, his son William displayed all the pride and ambition of his race, com- bined with a statesmanlike address which did him good service.
Coming to Stirling, Douglas demanded of Living- ston the right to do homage to the sovereign. The young King on that occasion and with Livingston's acquiescence, conferred the Lieutenant-Governorship of the kingdom on the Earl, who straightway married, by papal license, his cousin, the fair maid of Galloway, a child of eleven. This alliance im- mensely increased the Douglas wealth and influence.* From that moment the issue was placed before Scotland for decision, whether Stuart or Douglas
* These details occur in Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. pp. 421, 422. They are substantiated by other authorities.
62 THE STUART DYNASTY.
should hold the aatioDal Bceptre and occupy the throne of Kenneth, William the Lion, and Robert Bruce.
Space does not admit of any detailed account of the events which occurred. Suffice it to say that the King strengthened his position abroad and the ho; of his dynasty at home by a marriage with Mary, daughter of Arnold, Duke of Gueldres and Cleves, whose early family history has delighted the readers of Froissart.
By taking this beautiful woman for his consort, James II. united his family indirectly with the line of the Dukes of Burgundy, then a powerful de- pendency of France. The marriage took place at Holyrood in June 1449. A year later all Scotland was aflame with the violence, murder, and rapine which the Douglas was perpetrating. In revenge for a murder punishable by ordinary law, Earl William stormed Lord Colvill's castle and put every soul therein to death. Moreover the rebel tyrant executed a captive named Maclellan for the crime of loyalty to the Stuart line, holding King James's letter entreating mercy unopened in his hand while he gave the order to despatch his victim.*
But the Earl of Douglas, in common with nearly all other members of his family, stood exonerated in the eyes of the people, because the name represented the chivalry which threw a cloak over crime itself, and breathed the very spirit of the field, whether displayed in gorgeous tournament or sterner modes
* Burton's 'History of Scotland/ new edition, vol. ii. p. 424.
VI i ft /. "/,' /"</ '
• >r i rife, T( i u i fche word i >f i he Sc< >tcli pool II >ine in liis i raged} "I ' I ( —
*• I lou -l.i i ' I ii mi. through A 1 1 : 1 1 1 1 - • thai rou ■ i lil ad.
( Mi have your tit h
\ I lougln follower] through the bloodj Ho fa have Itch known at thai dread sound ' \ : I, 1 1 la : i, his nam.1 hath woo t he field !"
In the year I I !'• a notable tournamenl was held in a hollow, called iluv Valley, in the Ca fcl hill al Stirling, where James [Land the Courl assembled to view the jousl From a mount known at the Lad Hill. The rival combatants were three champions of Flanders and three of Scotland, two of the latter bearing the Dame of Douglas. The Earl himself witnessed the contest, which was well maintained, for one Flemish knight, Meriadet, alone prevailed over his antagonist. The Douglas escort on this occasion consisted of five thousand men.*
Such was the man who at this crisis of his fortunes made a pilgrimage to see the papal jubilee ai Rome, and gave an opportunity to those whose kinsmen he had injured at home to combine against him during his absence. Soon, however, lie returned on being informed of the hostile feeling evinced in Scotland. At first Douglas appeared anxious to propitiate his justly indignant sovereign and so underwent the formality of repentance when already committed to a course subversive of the established throne.
We have seen how, when formerly supreme on the
* Sir Walter Scott's « Tales of a Grandfather,' edition 1880, p. 67 ; see also Tytler.
(1-1 THE STUART DYNASTY.
borders, the Douglases had been inferior to the Stuarts in authority over the northern clansmen, since the Stuarts, by reason of their authority in Renfrew and Bute, were better able to guide the wild Highlanders who resided in those rugged and distant territories.
Douglas now proposed to make an alliance, such as, rendering his authority supreme north of Perth and in the Isles, would give him the opportunity of assembling a force in the field superior to that of the King.
The allies who were potent enough to bring about this threatening situation for the Stuarts were Earl Crawford (the Tiger Earl, who was supreme in Perth- shire, Angus, and Kincardine), while the third col- league in this triumvirate which Douglas had devised was the Earl of Ross, whose authority in the north of Scotland was undisputed.
It is not difficult to appreciate the magnitude of the dangers which beset the reigning dynasty at this moment, and James II. clearly saw that his throne was at stake. Being, however, but ill-prepared for the conflict, he took the questionable course of dissembling his dreads and doubts, giving a free-conduct under the Great Seal to Douglas and a numerous retinue, which allowed him by this means to come to Court at Stirling and pre- sumably take counsel with his sovereign as to the national condition. Now, under ordinary circum- stances, no fault could have been found with such a parley between a feudal sovereign and a dissatisfied
// \l; I. OR VOi I
,i J noble. Bui in ill- uridei deration
\\ illiam, Eai I of I >oug la , appeared ab olutelj red- m.mmI d rrom the Blaug bter of foea \\ ho w of the sovereign be pretended to Berve. It wai iin-
ible thai anj real confidence could exist bel w i the King and Douglas under these circura and mutual suspicions were doubtless uppermo I when the long procession of the Border princ retinue filed into the town of Stirling. James II. iiiri his rival in the castle which crowns the rocky eminence overlooking Scotland's fairesi plain, bul the followers of Douglas were quartered in the town. There seems to have been a friendly meeting al supper, followed by an interview in another apart- ment whore Douglas convers d with his royal master. One subject succeeding another without producing irritation, the King* ventured on the delicate question of the Bandy which, if unbroken, gave Scotland practically into Douglas's power; and the discussion seems straightway to have changed its character, each disputant becoming irritated. At last, when he could secure no concession, James II., aflame with excite- ment and goaded into temporary madness, asked authoritatively that Douglas should break his agree- ment with the two great northern Lords, the Earl of Crawford and the Earl of Ross, and upon Douglas's refusal the King cried out, " Then this shall," and twice stabbed his guest,* whereupon an adherent
* Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 425. Accord- ing to Buchanan, edition 1752, vol. ii. p. 35, Douglas hesitated and was silent when the league with Crawford and Ross was named, but aoquic
P
66 THE STUART DYNASTY.
# of the King's, who was al hand, finished the bloody
work !>v striking Douglas on the head with a pole- axe ; and his body was thrown from the window- in to the court below.*
It has not been suggested that tin's terrible event was the outcome of any settled purpose. It was rather inspired by unbridled rage, indulgence in which might, on behalf of a private person, have been pleaded amongst half-civilised beings in con- donation of bloodshed. But, even in those rude times, the sin of Cain ill fitted the monarch's role, and a deep stain remains on the name of a Stuart sovereign otherwise distinguished throughout his career for the display of better qualities.
The Douglases made a great effort to arouse the country against the King, and their retainers burnt the town of Stirling, beating in vain against its famous stronghold, which stood like a rock in mid- ocean above surging and raging billows.
It is said, moreover, that James II., for a time, meditated flight into France, aghast at the crime he
as regards other matters under discussion. The King, reverting to the main object of the meeting so far as he was concerned, lost command over him- self when he iailed to move Douglas to reply, and hastily said, " If thou wilt not break it I will." Hence the tragedy which ensued. Drummond, in his 'History of Scotland,' pp. 83-86, apparently endeavouring to offer some excuse for this hideous crime, gives a lengtny dialogue which the King and his rebellious subject are assumed to have carried on. No authority, however, is cittd, and the account, although worth perusal, cannot be accepted as history. Drummond, as a sixteenth century chronicler, must nevertheless be accounted a generally conscientious and reliable writer, in spite of his tendency to palliate the shortcomings of the Stuarts.
* In 1797, during some alterations, a skeleton, believed to be that of William, Earl of Douglas, was found in the garden.
OH i>"i <> i I
had <■< wiiini! te< I, as well 8 at the pros] conflict wiili >><> |M)\\ erful a eel i< >n oi In u ; j< For the d readed compact, fidelil \ to which had « William, Earl of Douglas, his life, had partially d< its work, the north being uneasy and hostile to the cn>\\ ii.
A i this crisis, however, James 1 !. consult Kennedy, Bishop of St. Andrews, whom he elevated
to tin* \u)>{ of 6rs1 minister. We are told thai thu wise counsellor asked him to break r bundle of arrows, and on this being found impossible, the Bishop suggested thai the destruction should attempted separately, a process perfectly simple and successful, which the prelate straightway applied by analogy to the rebel hosts arrayed in opposition to the Scotch King. If this be true, the worthy Bishop utilised a very old story. At any rate, the result of the policy recommended by Kennedy was that, fin< and flattery working upon the jealousy inspired by the greatness of the Douglas, a much smaller force appealed in the field against the King's retainers. For the Earl of Crawford, prostrating himself before the sovereign, craved pardon ; while the Earl of Angus, himself a Douglas, withdrew from the family camp.
James, brother of the lately slain Earl of Douglas, reigned in his stead, and strengthened his financial position by marrying his brother's widow, declaring that he needed no papal dispensation, and yet claiming her share of the possessions held by this wonderful family. At the same time he made some
F 2
68 TEE TUABT DYNASTY.
Borl of treaty with the Yorkists, who, in I L54, were striving to overthrow the house of Lancaster in
England.
According to the chroniclers, King James raised 40,000 men and took the Douglas stronghold of Abercorn, near the Forth, in Linlithgowshire; and
a battle would have been fought, had not the Hamiltons, important allies of the Douglases, with- drawn from the conflict owing to the intrigues of Kennedy, who secretly assured Hamilton of the King's forgiveness and future favour. The conse- quence was that, to use Sir Walter Scott's expressive words, the army of the Douglas dispersed like a melting snowball, and notwithstanding that he and his brother made a final and ineffectual stand at Arkinholme, in the valley of Esk, on May 1, 1455, it was with difficulty that the Earl escaped into England, while the head of Archibald Douglas was brought to the King at Abercorn, another brother, Hugh, Earl of Ormond, losing his life in the battle.* Thus at last this great rivalry between Stuart and Douglas for supremacy terminated in the prostration of the latter, although the several branches of the defeated and divided clan subsequently sustained leading parts in the several reigns which ensued before the two kingdoms of England and Scotland wrere united under one crown.
James II. seems to have done all that lay within his power to improve the breathing space which the
* Sir W. Scott's ' Tales of a Grandfather,' edition 1880, p. 70 ; also Burton's ' Histoiw of Scotland,' new edition, vol. ii. p. 429.
1 1: r. OR DOl ■
conclusion of this <-i\il war afforded I
r. aim Parlia nl r as freely oon ulted, and la ■••■
w ere pai ed \\ hich were c< >n i< lered aeedful for i he occasion ; \\ bile the ablest of the cl< i B lop
Kennedy al their head, acted as his mini I fn
fortunately his engagements with the reigni English dynasty of Lancaster involved James II. in enmity with the Xbrkisl party, Boon to attain the throne by overthrowing Henry VI. [ndeed,th< to the King o1 Scots1 foreign policy lies in the re© nition of his overstrained fidelity to the reigning sovereign in England when events hung poised in ill*1 balance, so thai when, in the year 1 L60,he broke through a truce and endeavoured to seize the Border castle of Roxburgh, it was enmity to the house of York, not to England, which impelli d him. The castle in question was situated on an eminence near where the .Tweed and Teviot join their waters, and had been long held to be a bulwark of the Scotch nation. It was in English, nay, in Yorkist hands, ior Neville, Lord Fauconberg, who commanded the held the place for the future King- Edward IV.
James determined to proceed to regular siege, and brought into position, amongst other of the rude cannons then in vogue, a large piece of hooped ordnance, which went by the name of '• the Lion," being of the same type as Mons Meg, the pride of Edinburgh Castle in our own day. But when put to the test of firing, this clumsy weapon burst, and a piece of iron broke King James's thigh-bone. He fell, never to rise again, ending prematurely, when
,n THE STUART DYNASTY.
only twenty-nine years old, a life lull of promise for his country. A thorn-tree in the Duke of Roxburgh's park marks the place of his death.
This monarch did not live long enough to expiate the great crime of his life, the murder of William, Earl of Douglas, though the furious temper which prompted that lamentable deed was subdued before he died ; but he imitated his illustrious father in endeavouring to consolidate the resources of Scot- land, and so render her strong before the foe. To effect this, the practice of archery was enjoined, and that of golf and football — strange as it appears to us — discouraged,* lest they should occupy too ex- clusively popular attention. The King also re- served to himself the right of exercising ecclesiastical patronage, although he reverenced the Holy See, and hailed with satisfaction the accession of Pius II. (the famous iEneas Silvius Piccolomini), who had resided in Scotland during part of the reign of James I.f
The person of James II. w^as robust and wrell- adapted for those warlike and knightly exercises in which he excelled, while his countenance was mild and intelligent, but disfigured by a large red mark on the cheek,! wdiich gained for him the name of "James with the fiery face," an index, as some writers have suggested, of his fiery temper. He was interred at Holyrood, where early in the nineteenth century the royal vault was visible to every visitor who cared to pay a few pence for access thereto.
* A.D. 1457, "that fute baU and golfe be utterly cryit downe." + Tvtler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iv. p. 130. X Ibid., p. 155.
a /\<,, OH V0BI1 II) . I
1 1\ M.n j of G ueld res he lefl tin •• . Jam< III.,
i be I > u k « • of A Iba ny and Mar, and two d Marj and Cecilia. The brave and able Queen W of ( lueldres Found b n b1 ing-i lace by her 1 1 1 husband
King, or Nobility? James III., L460-148
James 1 1 1 ., a prince of sis years and seven months old, was brought to Roxburgh after his fathers death, which had been concealed from the army until they had gained | 3ion of thai torn. For, thanks
to the Queen dowager's resolution, it soon fell and was dismantled. When al length the death of the King was announced, his young son and successor appeared in the camp, and received homage of his barons at Kelso.
Another minority being- unavoidable, it was for- tunate that the first six years of the new monarch's reign should be passed under the guidance of so v. a minister as Bishop Kennedy, who, in spite of the hospitality shown to the exiled Henry VI. of England, was successful in propitiating the Govern- ment oi' Edward IV., and securing a long truce the Border. Just before Bishop Kennedy's death in 14(H), he had appointed Sir Alexander Boyd, an accomplished gentleman of high family, to instruct the King in martial exercises. This new friend, together with his brother, Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock, gained, alter the Bishop's death, a complete influence over the youthful James III. ; so that, in the face of
i'l THE STUART DYNASTY
an Act of Parliament passed in the previous reign, which declared such a deed to be treasonable, the
Boyds forcibly seized the King's person and conveyed him to Linlithgow. This happened in the same year, 140(>, wherein James lost his guardian; and the abduction was carried out under the pretence that Gilbert Kennedy, the tutor, brother of the late prelate, was too strict a disciplinarian to be entrusted with the youthful sovereign's education ; so that, taking the opportunity of meeting the King on a hunting party, the Boyds turned his horse towards Edinburgh. Having thus got the royal minor into their j3ower, they proceeded to govern Scotland in his name.
No wonder need be expressed that James III., eager to forestall the privileges of manhood and get his own way in small things, should declare before Parliament in October 1466 that he approved Lord Boyd's action, which " should never be called in question." *
Small marvel, likewise, that two years later the young King, smarting under the yoke which his new favourites imposed, should strive to free himself as best he could. For the Boyds had arrogated to themselves all the power of the crown, and employed it to aggrandise their own family, facts which enemies were not slow to make manifest to the royal mind, mingling such complaints with artful suggestions that the Lord Boyd himself aspired to the crown.f
* Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' second edition, vol. ix. p. 371. t Ibid., p. 375.
KJNOx OR \"i:ii 1 1 )
V »r did i he Fad I lial the dominant Fact ion ecui ed ;i I >eau1 i Mil bride fi >r K ing Ja me III. id the poi <>f Margaret, only daughter of Chri tian I .. King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, |>i <>eiirm<_r :it same time ili<' sovereignty oi ili<- Orkney and Shet- hind Isles For the Scotch throne, hinder their in- evitable fall. \a>h\ Boyd's son, the Earl of Arran, broughl the royal lady home to Scotland, yel he wraa oompelled to take to Sighl before landing his precious Freight, while the sovereign called a Parliament a1 Edinburgh in November I 169, and summoned his late Favourites to answer the accusations made againsl them.
Lord Boyd Bed to England, where he died, bu1 his brother, Sir Alexander, was beheaded on the Castle Hill of Edinburgh for having brought the King to that city against his will.
James was only thirteen years old when he appeared to acquiesce in conduct which he con- demned and punished so severely at fifteen years of age; his youth in each case excusing an in- stability of character which reappeared in a different form later in life.
If, however, he really did act of his own free will in 1466 when taken from Linlithgow, his conduct deserves strong condemnation.
After the Boyds had fallen from power the royal marriage was celebrated with great public jov on June 15, 1470, the bridegroom being in his seven- teenth and the bride in her sixteenth year. She charmed all with her beauty and elegance, and still
74 THE STUART DYNAS1 )'.
more by her prudence, piety, modesty, and sweet temper.*
Temporary freedom from the trammels of his
nobility by no means brought peace to James III., for his tendency to make favourites was straightway indulged amongst men of inferior rank and position, a course which, alienating the King from his two brothers, the Dukes of Albany and Mar, ultimately ranged the majority of his nobles against him.
This jealousy felt by James III. against his royal brothers, Albany in particular, was believed to have been fanned by Cochran, the King's leading favourite, in return for bribes given him by the dissatisfied nobility. On the other hand an un- wonted parsimony led the monarch to prefer the increase of his gold and silver hoards to attaching powerful nobles and chieftains to the royal person by that generosity which his exalted position de- manded. Add to this that James III. was looked on amongst his barons as a timorous recluse, totally out of sympathy with their warlike habits and love of martial parade, and we need look no further for the cause of those dissensions which characterised the reign.
The brothers of James III., the Dukes of Albany and Mar, possessed the very manners requisite for the sustenance of royal authority at this time. While the former was well-proportioned and of tall stature, stern in temper, and warlike in mien, the
* Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' second edition, vol. ix. p. 378, quoting Ferrarius.
KJNOx OR S0B1L1TI
latter al o hone :ii the tournami il ai d huntii and haw k ing pari ie , well b In - bi other i I luke of A Ibanj , j el gained much fa> our I of In gentle mannei ,
Now James III. could boa i of no such . and
seems very readily to have lenl an ear to the repi broucrhl i<> him by ( lochran and ol bei
li was pretended thai the Earl of Mar had on consulted a witch as to how the King Bhould die, and received for answer, that in Scotland a Lion should be killed by his own whelp- — a prognosti- cation freely translated into fraternal enmil dread of which Mar was pui ou1 of the v. mysteriously in the Canongate al Edinburgh, .\.i>. 1177.*
Drummond, who transcribed tin's portion of his history from a manuscript of a contemporary writer, avers thai Mar, indignant at being confined in Craigmillar Castle, fell into a fever, and that in order to be near medical aid, the King removed him to the Canongate in Edinburgh, where, to relieve the frenzy which had supervened, according to the manner then in vogue, the physicians bled him ; but that the operation being performed unskilfully, the unhappy Prince sank and never rallied. f
The Duke of Albany, moved by the fate of Mar, gave rein to his indignation, and so drew on him- self the hostility of those who designed his brother's
* Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' vol. ix. \\ 3S2, quoting Ferrarius and Buchanan.
t Drummond's 'History of Scotland,' p. 137.
7<! THE STUART DYNASTY.
imprisonment, but, being warned in time, made a romantic escape from Edinburgh Castle during 1478, ultimately reaching France, where Louis XI. pro- cured for this fugitive prince a daughter of the Earl of Boulogne in marriage, ensuring him thereby an ample fortune.* Moreover, Albany was afterwards destined to give trouble to his royal brother by means of intrigues with England, acting at the same time in collusion with the discontented Scotch nobility.
Nothing but confusion seemed in. store for the ill-fated James III.
The first episode in this revolutionary drama was as follows. A section of the nobility held a con- clave in the church of Lauder during the year 1482 to decide whether they should obey the order of James III. to array the kingdom against Edward IY. of England, who meditated an invasion on the pretext of placing Albany on the throne of Scot- land. The result of these deliberations was a resolve to deal summary justice upon Cochran and the other royal favourites before parleying with the English, the recital of a fable by Lord Gray bring- ing about this determination. " The mice/' he said, " being much annoyed by the persecution of the cat, resolved that a bell should be hung about puss's neck to give notice when she was coming." But who was to bell the cat formed an anxious subject of discussion amongst the diminutive enemies of
* Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' vol. ix. p. 383, quoting Ferrarius and Buchanan.
KINO, OH \ "/;//// ) I
the felin( i aoe ; while r n anal< difficulty j
sen ted itself to the Scotch nobility til Lauder ivl they contemplated i!i»' power and royal favour <>i Cochran and hie b ociates. However, Archibald, Earl of Aliens, :i man of great strength and coura ciii ilic m;ii ter shorl direct l\ < i i ay had c to
s|u^k, declaring that he would I. .-II the cat ; and was called "Archibald Bell the rat" t<> his dying day, Cochran, Leonard, ITommel, and Torphichen, together with Preston, ;i man of good birth, wi forthwith handed over the bri f Lauder; and
James III. only succeeded in saving one of tl detested favourites, namely, Jolm Ramsay of Bal- main, who was Bpared because of his youth, being only sixteen years of age. Archibald Bell the Cat went after this tragedy to the borders, and concluded peace with England on the condition that Albany came back to Scotland, where he remained and kept on good terms with his brother James III. until, in 1484, fresh dissensions drove the duke, first to England and finally to France, where his wife resided. Albany was killed at a tournament. Albany's son was regent in the reign of James V.*
There is reason to believe that James III. was honestly desirous of living on good terms with Albany, or the King would not have elevated his rebellious brother to the Lieutenant-generalship of
* The above account of the deaths of the favourites of James III., and the career of Albany, we owe to Sir Walter Scott's ' Tales of a Grandfather,' edition 1880, pp 74—70. Buchanan, Hill Burton, and the younger Tvtler have also been consulted; also the general account in Henry's 'History oi Great Britain,' vol. ix. pp. 382-391.
Ts THE STUART DYNASTY.
Scotland, after the mock siege of Edinburgh Castle in I Ij82 by that prince, on which occasion not adrop of blood was Bhed on either side, and yet the frown- ing stronghold yielded. As events turned out James III. regarded his brother as a deliverer, until Albany's treasonable correspondence with the Court of England, and his complicity with the enemies of the King, Archibald Bell the Cat and Andrew Lord Gray, became apparent. There was every evidence of reconciliation between the two sons of James II., who rode on one horse from the Castle of Edinburgh to Holyrood House amidst the acclama- tions of the people*
It is true, as Dr. Hill Burton has observed, that very little is known for certain regarding the talents of these defunct favourites of James III. ; nor is it by any means certain that the encouragement given to architecture, music, and the fine arts, did not tend to elevate Scotland at a moment when that country was lagging behind in the march of civilisation. But allowing for all this it is not to be wondered at that the proud, untutored barons, who attended the Court, should revolt at the elevation of architects, masons, and fiddlers to a high estate unheard of at the period, their influence being regarded as by no means salutary.
The full weight of trouble did not overtake this
unfortunate sovereign James III. until, for the
pursuit of his architectural designs at Stirling —
where he beautified the castle hall exceedingly, and
* ' Pitscottie Chronicles,' p.
KINGt OR SOIilLITl
built r chapel he confi cnte I, about i he j ear I I I he i v\ enuea due to the Priorj of < '< >lding ham. I powerful families, i he 1 1 um< and I [epbm i affected by this proceeding, swelled the couieden of disloyal barons, and rendered div< rs i Hbrt on the King's part to hold his own on the Border a England futile. In truth, the special faculties of James III., which raised him above the ordinary run i)\' those who lived in the fifteenth century, were the cause of his ruin. The student King who takes no active part in affairs without an alter ego in the shape of regent to direct the policy of his govern- ment, is certain to forfeit his just influence, unless
the constitutional machinery lie should employ be in a
» i
fair Btate of regularity. The despotic monarch who takes his ease, be it of mind or both' is condemned to oertain failure.
According to Buchanan,* John Ramsay, saved by James's own intervention at Lauder Bridge, who had been elevated to be master of the household, was the
immediate cause of this quarrel breaking out, the favourite procuring an edict that none but he and his retinue "should wear a sword or other weapon in those places where the King lodged," while the Earl oi' Angus gave out that a plot of James III. to destroy the nobility had been revealed to him during the Parliament which assembled in Edinburgh at the end of January 1488.J-
The King faced the storm with unexpected energy, and after committing his son and heir ro Shaw, the ~ Edition L752, vol. ii. pp. 88-90. t ItridL, p. !
80 Till 8TUART DYNASTY.
governor of Stirling, proceed* d northward, issuing his proclamation to the Earl of Crawford, the Earls
of Iluntly, Errol, Atliole, Rothes, Sutherland, and Caithness, together with the Lords Forbes, Ogilvie and Fraser. Every one of these noblemen prepared to join the King, but the royal preparations were in an incomplete state, when it was announced to James III. that the confederate Lords had succeeded in getting the young prince James into their hands by means of an intrigue with Shaw, the governor of Stirling. When, therefore, after a parley with the rebels at Blackness near Linlithgow, their head- quarters, the King arrived at his boasted stronghold, never captured since Robert the seventh Steward, as a youth, won it for the cause of King David II., he found himself excluded, and so denied the opportunity of forming a nucleus for a host sufficiently strong to cope with this dangerous rebellion.
Roughly speaking the north stood by James III. and the south by his barons. The two armies, each with the royal standard, met near a small stream called Sauchieburn, between Bannockburn and Stir- ling, and it soon became apparent that the borderers of the south, who were for the prince and the rebel Lords, were more than a match for the King's rudely armed Highlanders. When the King saw that the young prince's banner was opposed to him, he became sorely troubled, and, if his enemies are to be credited, showed no stomach for fighting. He was, however, mounted upon a fine grey horse given to him by the Lord Lindsay, which, when the action commenced,
A /\' . OH VOBTJ in • I
I ii ■( -in 1 10 unmanageable. James, beinp n his charger, and being m< >n i w er dazed I • ■. anfa- miliar and distasteful Bights and • ■ and , ■■ b carried at full gallop r cross the Bannockburo, and then down lull to a house called Beaton'* mill, where he was dashed to the ground in his heavy armour and much bruised. The King asked the miller's wife to tend his injuries. Placing him on the humble bed the cottage, the good wife learnt with amazemenl thai she was ministering to her King, who desi her to get a priesl to shrive him. A passer-by declared himself to be in holy orders, and stooping down, as if to perform the sacred offices required, plunged a dagger again and again into the King's body, and when certain that his victim was di retired, never to be seen or heard of again.* In the meantime the royal army had been thrown into complete confusion. So died James III. of Scotland, bearing a character variously estimated, but of interest to the student even to this day. The murdered sovereign was eminently handsome, tall, athletic, and well proportioned, his countenace com- bining intelligence and sweetness, his deep brown complexion and black hair telling of his Gueldres connection with the Burgundy family rather than with that of Stuart. Such indeed are the features of that portrait in the famous Holy rood diptych, which created such a sensation at the Stuart Exhibi- tion in London during the winter of 18SS-9. It is
* Buchanan, Scott, Tytler, and Burton have all been consulted for this short account of James* death, and agree substantially.
G
82 THE STUART DYNASTY.
ascribed by connoisseurs to an unknown painter of the school which Mabuse subsequently represented. Dignified, cold, and distant in manner, the King v never in touch with the nobility, whose support v necessary for his government. But what contributed more than all to make James III. unpopular in the quarter indicated, was a tendency to hoard riches rather than spend his money in supporting the rude splendour of a feudal court, such as had been associated with kingship all through the middle ages, even in semipauperised Scotland.
When, therefore, in his despair, just before the clash of arms at Sauchieburn, James visited the recluse warrior James Earl of Douglas, at the monastery of Lindores in Fife, and asked him to change his mode of life for a short time, receiving his sovereign's forgiveness, and striking for the crown, he received the reply, — "Ah, sir, your grace has kept me and your black casket too long,"* implying that the time when either Douglas or the treasure hoarded in Edinburgh Castle could be of use, was gone for ever.
Admitting James III. to have been alienated from the Scotch aristocracy towards the close of his reign, it is probable that the feeling of the masses — could it have been elicited bv their suffrages — would have been largely in his favour.y Honours were bestowed and confidence given to men of low estate whose talents attracted the King's notice, and
* Sir W. Scott's ' Tiles of a Grandfather,' edition 1880, p. 76. t Burton's ' History of Scotland,' new edition, vol. iii. p. 38.
A/\<,. <>l; SOJill 1 1 I ■
who would nave remained in obscurity under an
.urine rule Midi as the I [ume i and I le\ >bui using ilif young prince's name, wished to maintain. Jamei it Fault in i he ej e of men uch ac thi
seems to have been a devotion to studies and accom- plishments which in this unsettled, not U barbarous, age, were held to be unworthy of one of highest rank and dignity. Bis real culpability, on 1 he oilier hand, lay in his neglect i m. at,
which he lefl to others, and those untried inch.
For a considerable time it was believed that the unfortunate King still lived, and Pitscottie the Scotch chronicler has an account of events subsequent to Sauchieburn which is of great interest. Sir Andrew Wood, the celebrated sailor whom James III. had patronised and advanced, was waitingin the Firth of Forth with some ships of war during that battle, and sending on shore to find the King, was oblig to be contented with bringing off a few wounded loyalists in the vain hope that he might be anion the number. Nothing could at first be heard of the missing monarch. His mangled body was, however, soon discovered, and buried at Cambuskenneth — Queen Victoria being afterwards destined to erect a monument there to his memory, together with that of his Queen, Margaret of Denmark, also buried in that romantic Abbey, under the shadow of Stirling and near the sluggish waters of the river Forth.
g 2
84 THE STUART DTNAS1 I
CHAPTEE V.
THE ANCIENT LEAGUE WITH PRANCE.
James IV., 1488-1513; Childhood of James V., 1513-1528.
It was expected by observers of the events which brought about the destruction of James III. that the fruits of successful rebellion would be enjoyed by the Lords who, in the fashion of feudal times, had banded against the late monarch. But the rebels reckoned without their host. Although the young King was only sixteen years old, yet he possessed much youthful ambition, and, indeed, cannot be altogether absolved from the charge of trying to supplant his father, even if we take into account the undeniable pressure put upon him by the Hume and Hepburn faction who had raised this rebellion. Soon were these men to know that, beyond a parlia- mentary absolution for their treason, then attainable in the single legislative chamber by each dominant party, they were to get for their pains little more than the yoke of a fresh master, whose activity and watchful energy kept them in check, while he raised his country to a commanding position by means of their enemies, counsellors of the late King.
./I Ml l\
\i first, m is true, the recreant nobility who were re pon ible For the oatastrophe al Sauchieburn were seen close to the person of James W ., who e coronation took place a1 Edinburgh on June 24, L488 ; the Castle, hitherto hostile to the confed being secured and committed to the custody of Lord Bailee, Bui when, in the enforced seclusion "I Stirling Castle, the sovereign had leisure to reft his Borrow and remorse for unfilial condud towards James III. overcame any natural misgivings as to !n's own future; and al the instance, il is Baid, of the Dean of the Chapel Royal al Stirling, be wore in penitential sorrow a chain of iron about his body, and resolved to add a new link thereto year by year.*
Moreover, at this juncture, ominous expressions of dissatisfaction were heard amongst the chieftains of the north ; so that had not the so-called Healina Parliament^ held at Edinburgh on October 6, 1488, made, so to speak, things pleasant all round, scattered explosions — such as the revolts of Lord Lennox, Lord Gordon, and Lord Forbes, the latter of whom carried the late King's shirt, all torn and bloody, as an ensign at the head of his forces — would have de- veloped into a general civil war.
It is clear also that the commanding personal gifts of James IV. were such as to preclude subordi- nation to his father's enemies, who onlv held their supremacy in council during the sovereign's minority by pandering to vices which were destined to blot
* ' Pitscottie Chronicles,' p. 96.
Si; THE STUART DYNASTY.
and darken an otherwise engaging character. It is
well known, for instance, that the noble family of Ihmnmond, which had already given a Qui en to the Stuart dynasty, namely the wife of Robert III., had every right which justice and morality could urge, to see the crown set upon the head of a fair daughter of their race, whom James adored with characteristic knightly devotion, wdiile the head of the Drummonds, presuming on James's affection for his child, rode roughshod over the laws.* This intimacy was only brought to an end by the sudden death both of the Lady Margaret and her sisters Euphemia and Sybilla, at Drummond Castle, just before the King espoused an English princess, Margaret, daughter ot Henry YII. This was the most important matri- monial alliance recorded in the history of the house of Stuart .f
But the degrading influence of the cabal amongst the nobility of James III. was likewise evident in the ill blood which existed between England and Scotland throughout the succeeding reign, despite the peaceful designs of that " inscrutable " statesman Henry VII., so styled by Lord Bacon. Had the English King desired to enter into hostilities with Scotland, he might have embraced the opportunity given him in 1491 by two of the late King's adherents, John Ramsay and Sir Thomas Todd, who proposed to deliver up the new monarch to England, provided some pecuniary consideration was forth-
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iv. p. 297. t Ibid., edition 1*34, vol. v. p. 15.
./.i i// y /i .
coming, but recei \ ed do definite r< ph From
] lr:n \ V 1 1. This plot \\ .1 never i I to
public ken urn il M i . Rj mer, I he auf hor (»t i be famous ' Feeders,' unearthed il in 1711.*
As inn! u;il .hi in i ed bet w een i be i
is, though apparently they were on irrins, ii is not to I"' wondered at thai Jai encouraged and protected the impostor, Perkin War- beck, who pretended to be the Duke of York, of Edward [V., known to have been murdered with his brother in the Tower of London by the Duke of Gloucester, This claim, if sustained, would have transferred the crown of England from the house of Lancaster to that of York; and, strange to say, James IV., after duo deliberation, endorsed this preposterous pretension, and gave Perkin Warbeck to wife the Lady Catherine Gordon, daughter of Earl Buntly, and granddaughter to James I. She was known as the White Rose of Scotland, and her sad position, after James IV. perceived the im- position foisted upon him, is almost unique in history.
Henry YLl. was wise enough not to resent this provocation, but, giving good for evil, endeavoured to cement the interests of the twin countries of England and Scotland by the family union to which reference has been made. By so doing he frustrated the schemes of Ferdinand and Isabella, then reigning in Spain, who, although their only legitimate daughter Catherine was contracted to Arthur, the English
* Henry's * History of Groat Britain,' second edition, vol. xi. p. 381.
88 THE 8TUABT DTNASTT.
Prince of Wales, endeavoured to palm off a natural daughter on James IV., as if she were really a princess of Spain and the Indies, a device which was part of the policy of the league formed to support the claims of the Church of Rome against those of France* — a quarrel which threatened to shake western Christianity to its foundation, when the Reformation supervening- absorbed the attention of Europe.
It is time now to pause and discover what sort of man James IV. of Scotland was, whose individual endeavours brought Scotland to the front amongst nations. All accounts tally in recording the attrac- tive person which the King possessed, being, accord- ing to Don Pedro de Ayala, the Spanish ambassador, " of noble stature, neither tall nor short, and as hand- some in complexion and shape as a man can be." He was a finished scholar, speaking Latin, French, German, Flemish, Italian, and Spanish ; besides boasting a familiarity with the Gaelic tongue spoken in the Highlands.
Like his great-grandfather, James I., the King o' Scots was well read in the Bible and in other de- vout books. He was also a good historian, having a retentive memory, while once at least in his life is he known to have indulged in poesy.f The " neglected Burns " of Scotland, Dunbar, received the following stanza from. James IV. in answer to many petitions for a benefice. Dunbar had urged his
* Burton's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1867, vol. iii. p. 217.
t Ibid., p. 213, quoting Bergenroth's ' Simancas Papers,' pp. 169, 170.
J 11// /I
request somewhal quainth in the bumorou charactei of an old grey horse. James replied —
" \. to our tnand
Bi in", in thli grej bor <•, old I Kinb tr,
\\ li:i in m\ an. lit, fl li u<-
To l\ 11 1 cli mi hue ;
< . :i r ihMi ie him doo, ibI the 5fule
And Imi -k luni like I bithop'l innlr ; For w il li ni\ hand I liavt- ii
I o | av w bate'er bii trapping ooat.*1 *
Add to these intellectual accomplishments the fad thai James was a fine horseman, and thai his power to endure fatigue Beems almosl incredible, and it will be understood why all Scots, high and low, rich and poor, adored him so greatly. Such was the romantic devotion of dames IV. to the laws of chivalry, thai he was led to adopt unwise measures of policy: as when, for instance, according to the custom of the day, an appeal was made to him by some lady of high position to contest her cause against all comers; and notably when, before the fatal battle of Flodden, he yielded to the request which the crafty Anne of Brittany made, that he should become her knight and champion, and in that character advance into English territory.*!*
The marriage with Margaret of England took place in 1502, and was the occasion of high festival being; held in Scotland — the Kino- advancing to meet her at Newbattle, and entertaining her with music on the clavichord and lute ; while just before she entered Edinburgh he again saluted her at
* Chalmers's " Poetical Remains of the Scottish Kings/ chapter on tames IV. t Tytler'a 'History of Scotland,' edition 1834, vol. v. p. 59.
90 THE STUART DYNASTY.
Dalkeith, this time displaying his horsemanship and that of his nobles by riding at full gallop, and suddenly throwing their horses on their haunches to exhibit firmness of seal.*
Princess Margaret was married to James JY ". on August 8, at Holyrood, by the Archbishop of St. Andrews. Tournaments, feasting, masques, morris dances, and dramatic entertainments went on con- tinuously for several days, and to all appearance the much required peace between England and Scotland was at last assured.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of James's career was his pacification of the Highlands, which he brought about by subjugating the Lord of the Isles, and rendering his sway but nominal, with the result that a balance of power was skilfully arranged amongst the Highland chiefs by which their warlike propensities were henceforth made hurtful to them- selves alone ; as a body they became, in the main, loyal to the crown.
On the occasion of one of these expeditions to the north, James is said to have ridden from Stirling to Elgin, a distance of 130 miles, in a single day during the winter, a feat possible, may be, nowadays, with relays of horses posted in advantageous positions for the occasion, but none the less an extraordinary evidence of hardihood and endurance. James rode unaccompanied by even a groom, with a riding-cloak around him ; the first stage being from Stirling to Perth, and thence over the mountains to Aberdeen, * Ty tier's 'History of Scotland,' edition 1834, vol. v. p. 18.
./ I Ml '& /I .
and bo i" Kl" in. Mi ol joci wa to • whet hei the country had been tranquil]) ed.* Wiih the interna I | k >r1 ion of hi domini ell in hand Ja i
turned an attention to foreign affairs which the fi ii"- condition oi iln* nation necc itated. I great popularity had enabled him gradually to dis- pense with the services of the clique who rebelled against his father, and to prefer the wiser of th< surviving counsellors who served James III. Pre- eminent amongst these stood the able sailor statesn Sir Andrew Wood of Largo, whose talents w< utilised to create a navy worthy of the nation. Sir Andrew Wood, leaving his ship, had nol hesitated to appear amongsl the rebel Lords after the assassi- nation of James III., and boldly charged them with treason before lie returned to Leith. Nor had i ln- loyal servant of the late King feared to rebuke James IV. by courtly imputation for the share taken in that unseemly engagement, alter which Sir Andrew's old master had lost his life. Forgiving and forgetting in a spirit of loyalty and patriotism, Wood aeted with the two Bartons, Sir Alexander Matheson, William Merrimonth of Leith. called "the Kino* of the Sea," and others, when endeavouring to assist James IV. to elevate the navy. Nor was personal inspection neglected by the King, who superintended each minuter detail, conversed with artisans of every country who flocked in from France, Italy, and the Low Countries ; while, under the tuition of Wood and Andrew Barton, the Kino-
o * Tytler's ' History oi Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. v. p. 30.
92 THE STUART DYNASTY.
received lessons in navigation during the trips along the coast and to the Isles, which were from time to time indulged in for the purpose of gaining famili- arity with the harbourage and general character of the sea-board.*
In the 'Pitscottie Chronicle' (pp. 257, 258) will be found an interesting account of the great leviathan vessel of those days, the Michael, which James IV. constructed at this period of his reign. She is said to have been 240 feet long, the hull of oak 10 feet thick. u When this ship," says the chronicler, " passed to the sea and was lying in the road, the King caused shot ane canon at her, to essay if she was wight, but the canon deered (injured) her not." Truly the counterpart of some modern trial at Portsmouth or Plymouth of the strength and invul- nerability of a modern ironclad.
Nor did the vigour and energy of James IV. stop at naval preparations ; for there remained no portion of his dominions wherein a wrongdoer could feel sure that his sovereign might not appear and in person demand an account of the talents committed to him ; the consequence being that property had not ever been so secure across the Border as at this moment, when the geographical discoveries of the Portuguese, and the rapid introduction of the printing-press in Europe threatened to change the world altogether. Anxious to see Scotland in the van when progress such as this was in question, James IV. was never called on to make up his mind
* Tytler's 'History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iv. p. 317.
/ I Ml l\
re fa rdinc ;i nv "I the burning pr< >blem winch
nlU'il on 1 In' (list oiiiinsil i( >ii ol -ill ref< inn
Bpiril ; bul the K ing w ra b ked V i decide w he1 her be would or would not preserve the ancient l< wnh Prance which had hitherto remained the very corner-stone of Btuarl foreign policy. The necessity for "yea" or "nay1 being pronounced with regard to this important matter, came about in this wise.
During the vear L507 Pope Julius II. endeavoured to entice James over to the enemies of Louis XII., bu1 received a decided rebuff, after which confide] in llio Sing o* Scots was never evinced al Rome, while, as years passed by, it became apparent thai neither family connection with England, nor offers of compensatory alliances elsewhere were likely to divert him from the traditional alliance of his family.*
Henry VII. became conscious of this before he died in L509, leaving his youthful son and namesake to decide whether he would accede to the solicitations of Pope Julius, which his brother of Scotland had refused two years previously, and take arms against France.
Ominous preliminary threatening^ of war between Scotland and England had accompanied the silent understanding between James and Louis. Not only were there combats and disorders on the Border, but a semi-piratical expedition of Andrew Barton's, for which that brilliant sailor had taken out letters of marque against the Portuguese in the year 1511, * Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. v. p. 20.
9 I THE STUART DYNASTY.
was brought to a premature close; by Sir Edward
Howard, Lord Admiral of England, who surprised the two privateers in the Downs, the ships and crews
being taken in triumph to London.*
Barton, who died of his wounds, is said not to have discriminated between Portuguese,' and English vessels, and although the survivors were sent home, the whole affair displayed a disposition to adopt high-handed conduct on the part of Henry VIII. and his counsellors, which boded ill for the hoi of peace. Little wonder then that when, a year later, Louis XII. of France did appeal to James IV. for assistance against England, although the latter employed one Andrew Forman, an accomplished churchman, to mediate between the contending parties, the considerable power of Scotland was cast in favour of France, inasmuch as letters of naturalisation were then pending, whereby every Scotsman could claim French citizenship.*!* James, moreover, seems to have been spurred on to action by the previously mentioned wiles of Anne of Brittanv, and when he knew that the forces of Henry VIII. were engaged in France, sent to that monarch a formal proclamation by herald detailing his wrongs. The English King's contemptuous refusal, however, never reached the fatuous Scotch monarch who, calling his vassals around him at Morningside, near Edinburgh, sent a fleet of thirteen ships, under the Earl of Arran, to aid Louis ; while
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. v. p. 41. t Burton's l History of Scotland,' edition 1867, vol. iii. p. 239.
./.1 1// ^^ /I
he made no secret of Iuh di to i
\r.w • viip I iii person. The fate oi the mngnifi fl< el w hich, by means of th< i >i W( n n I and
I he Bartons, James I V . had created, ne^ i r
known.
The huge ship previously mentioned, the Mici was afterwards said to have been sold by the Duke
of AlUmv lo the French,' but whal became of the Margaret and James, together with their companion vessels, has nol been discovered. We know, how- ever, thai by the appointment of tli»i Earl of Arran, a landsman, to command the navy of Scotland, when such notable sailors stood available, a great opi tunity of harassing English commerce was de- liberately disregarded.
By land James IV. appeared even more un- fortunate. Although his determined character, aided by the stock of ready money which had hern saved by his lather, enabled this monarch to present a formidable front to his foes, yet it has never been contended, despite his powers of organising and consolidating scattered resources, that he had the slightest claim to be called a general. And indeed the Spanish ambassador, Don Pedro de Avala, had observed this, when he summed up the King's warlike pretensions in early life thus : — " He is not a good captain, because he begins to fight before he has given his orders." He acted thus on the ground that as his subjects served him at will with their persons and goods, he was bound to be
* Burton's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. iii. p. 23S.
06 THE STUART DYNASTY.
"first in danger."* On this principle be went when invading England at the head of a large army, the exact number of which has not been precisely estimated. The chroniclers all speak of a hundred thousand men, a total altogether beyond any other Scotch army ever known. Dr. Hill Burton, while allowing that the personal popularity of the King would induce a larger number than usual on these occasions to join the royal standard, thinks it hardly possible that the number is correctly given.
Nor was this headstrong conduct unopposed by the wisest heads amongst James's subjects, the Queen and the aged Lord Angus joining in the chorus of disapproval which prevailed when the project became notorious.
It was at this time that these dissentients — probably prompted by the Queen herself — attempted to play upon the well-known mysticism of James IV., so that a venerable and weird figure is said to have appeared before the King during devotion in the church of Linlithgow, and warned him to desist from his warlike purpose, avoiding also the counsel of women.f The vision of James IV. in the church at Linlithgow while at vespers is thus described by Buchanan. J
"Leaning upon the chair on which the King sat was an old man, the hairs of his head being red,
* Burton's 'History of England,' new edition, vol. iii. p. 52, quoting Bergenroth's ' Simancas Papers.'
t The story appears at length in ' Pitscottie Chronicles,' pp. 264, 265, and is adopted by all writers on this period.
% Edition 1752, vol. ii. p. 119.
/ I Ml H /I
inclining to \ < ■ 1 1 • » w urn I banc inc «l« iwn on In ihouldei . In Forehead fleck through baldness, ban headed, in a 1< >at of ;i ru i I wit h
i 1 1 in mi girdle aboul Ins loii In ili»' real <»l h apparel ho \\ as \ en \ enerable."
All attempts to restrain tin- E£ing, howei being in vain, the armj advanced to the bordi reducing Norham and Werk CastleSj tin- Former most, unexpectedly; and, crossing the Tweed, i n camped near Ford, where ;i delay ensued during which James IV. is said to have Forgotten the spectra] advice vouchsafed him at Linlithgow, yielding: both \o the counsel and domestic influence i)[' the Lady oi' thai Castle, wife of the English governor, Sir William Heron, a prisoner in Scotland. Tin's inaction became injurious to an army such James [V. led, because the Highlanders, for the firsl time brought from their fastnesses, were prone to desert and return home to secure the booty seized on the march — an experience repeated again and again in after ages. The delay likewise gave opportunity for Lord Surrey to concentrate his army. But the King made up, so tar as personal disregard of dan- could do, for this temporary inaction at Ford, and thereby tried to atone for the needlessly desperate character of the engagement which he resolved should take place. Despising any kind of tactics, he only sought to meet the foe, agreeing to fix Friday, September 9, as the day of battle. Lord Surrey only failed to tempt the King o' Scots to engage at greater disadvantage, because when asked by herald
jj
Inn v: ■ ■ >- the anae*. h* iifniM.il
U^htj fee: w
of kid own
Kb
9 .V
Ce lo
- - k .
e mar eri will onl
Jarne befbr- j
emphatic protest
gut, bea who urged that *
Jam> - IV. an*\*
hon. a rehafi
'U am
Ur--
Jc---
JAMES IV.
99
The infi concession position i tb Burton i river Till, a the King the Eno-1 i 9th of Si of Twisell, a James never skilful archei
The chronic mander bridge of T from the i up a p< proved Jam mil
K J I : '_
forces,
fair i he doul victo T and in c on the I'
monarch would make but one
idvisers, and that was to take up
i est of Flodden, described by Hill
ng ground strengthened by the
tream with broken banks." Here
remained with his men, while
under Surrev, on that memorable
1513, filed across the little bridge
ult military operation with which
fered, although both artillery and
r his disposal.
aver that Borthwick, the com-
\\ begged for leave to fire on the
and received a peremptory refusal
but unless the Scots had taken
than Plodden, this must have
. because the distance between
md the foe (at Twisell) was four
difficulty does not excuse the
net advancing with all available
tad his enemy at such palpable
was to give the English
own countrymen no favour, and
ti'd to gain an easy and glorious
clash of arms between England
quenl contests were minor
the i'wM, occasion
I i ared in the field during
for supremacy in the north ;
1 ''. edition L867, vol. iii. p. 244,
ii 2
«V u c<*.
M8 THE STUART DYNASTY.
to descend into the vale of Millfield that lay between
the armies, he refused to receive the communication, " because it did not become an Earl to dictate to a King."* And indeed it is strange to reflect that when replying to the English general in thifl haughty fashion, he was in fact telling the elder representative of his own ancestral race — the Fitz- alans — of that supremacy which the younger branch claimed as occupant of the throne.
No account of Flodden Field will ever be read in preference to that given in glorious verse by Sir Walter Scott in ' Marmion/ and the general features not differing in the many histories dealing with the event, they will only be delineated in outline here.
James IV., before going to his doom, received an emphatic protest from the aged Bell-the-Cat, Earl of Angus, head of the senior branch of the Douglases, who urged that the King would serve his ally Louis XII. better by detaining Surrey and his army on the frontier, than by risking all the flower of Scotland's chivalry in a single encounter. To which argument James IV. answered, " Angus, if you are afraid, you may go home," a rebuff which that aged Border warrior took sorely to heart. In spite of his chagrin and distress he left two sons at the head of the Douglas vassals to fight for Scotland and the Stuarts, while he sorrowfully owned his body to be useless from age.f
* Henry's ' History of Great Britain,' second edition, vol. xi. p. 433, quoting Hall, fol. 41.
t Tytler's * History of Scotland,' edition 1834, vol. v. p. 74.
/ I Ml /I.
The mfal naied m< march w < >ul< I ma Ice l>u1 • conce i "i i to his advisers, and thai ■ i fake up
posit ion on i he ere I ( >i I* l< tdden, i le cril >e< I by 1 1 ill Burton as "gentle rising ground strengthened by the riser Till, ;t deep stream with broken banks." He the King <>' Scots remained with liis inch, while the English army under Surrey, on thai memorable 9th of September, L513, 61ed across the little brid of Twisell, a difticull military operation with which James never interfered, although I »< >t ] i artillery and skilful archers were a1 his disposal.
The chroniclers aver that Borthwick, the com- mander of artillery, begged for leave to fire on the bridge of Twisell,* and received a peremptory refusal from the King; but unless the Scots had taken up a position nearer than Plodden, this must have proved ineffectual, because the distance between James's standard and the foe (at Twisell) was four miles. But this difficulty does not excuse the King o' Scots for not advancing with all available forces, when lie had his enemy at such palpable disadvantage. His object was to give the English fair field, and his own countrymen no favour, and be doubtless expected to gain an easv and glorious victory.
This last great clash of arms between England and Scotland — for subsequent contests were minor in character — is famous as being the first occasion on which artillery appeared in the field during the long struggle for supremacy in the north :
* Bin-ton's 'History of Scotland,5 edition 1867, vol. iii. p. 244.
11 2
100 THE STUART DYNASTY.
while it is remarkable that after all, the skill of Lord Surrey's archers decided the day.
Sheer hard hand-to-hand fighting on each flank culminated in a death-struggle around the King o' Scots himself, where, in the heart of the fray, he fell pierced with an arrow, and mortally wounded in the head with a bill, within a few yards of his fighting kinsman and antagonist the Earl of Surrey. The Highlanders had been too eager to advance under the showers of arrows which enveloped their battalions, while Sir Edward Stanley, after com- pleting their discomfiture, turned from the pursuit and placed his column in rear of the Scottish centre, where, fighting to the last, this proud Stuart King James IV. died, in the prime of manhood, being but forty-one years of age.
Around the mangled remains of their sovereign were found those of thirteen Earls and fifteen Lords or chieftains, together with many landed gentry of minor position, and in all ten thousand men. Near the King's body were stretched those of the Earls Crawford, Montrose, Huntly, Lennox, Argyll, Errol, A thole, Morton, Cassilis, Both well, Rothes, Caithness, and Glencairn, together with James's natural son, the Archbishop of St. Andrews, who had been educated abroad under Erasmus.* A very slight knowledge of Scotland and her historic families will be sufficient for a reader of the above to gauge the extent of this disaster. There were, indeed, few families of note in which there was not mourning for relatives after
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1834, vol. v. p. 81.
/ I I" /I . I II I
this terrible ba ftle; a nd in counl rie where t he monarchical principle was less honoured than in Scotland, the dynasty itself musl have been expo to ;i peril winch, strange to say, did not threaten n on this occasion.
Willi ;i knowledge of the character of James i \ '., it cannot be desired that be should have lefl the field of Flodden alive, but un aful. A< It is, he
stands out as one of the lasi representatives of kii who have died al the head of ;i nation in arms, that the weaknesses of his character have no1 been much dwelt on, nor has 1 1 10 negleci of tactical skill which he evinced in this campaign been censured by posterity as it certainly merited. For James IV. was setting aside the best military traditions of his family, as well as ignoring the teachings of more modern tacticians; inasmuch as the great Bruce never joined battle with an enemy on the Border except in self-defence, or with a prospect of gaining some definite strategic advantage. Neither of these conditions affected the movements of James's army before Flodden, and therefore it is reasonable to esteem him happy, that, unlike his successor James V., after Solway Moss, he was not, as a baffled sur- vivor, obliged to drink the bitter cup of humiliation to the very dregs.
The body of James IV. was recognised and taken by the English to Berwick, and there embalmed, and then sent to the monastery of Sheen, near Richmond, in Surrey, where it remained for some time unburied, because the late King had been excommunicated by
L02 THE STUAIIT DYNASTY.
the Pope for opposition to the holy league and conse- quent adherence to the King of France. Strange incident in a rapidly moving drama! The Pope relented so far as to allow his opponent to receive sepulture, which even then seems to have been with- held; for Stowe, the English historian, saw, as he says, writing during the reign of Edward VI., "the same bodie so lapped in lead, close to the head and bodie, throw ne into a waste room amongst the old timber, lead, and other rubble." *
Doubtless the confusion which accompanied the monastic dissolution at Sheen as elsewhere is ac- countable for this neglect and the decapitation of the royal corpse by one Young, glazier to Queen Eliza- beth, who, after removing the head to London, had the Grace to bury it at the church of St. Michael, Wood Street.!
For a long time there was doubt as to the death of James IV. in the minds of his loyal people, and it is strange to read in a historical tract written in the Stuart interest during the reign of James II. of England and Scotland, how the Scots declared the dead body found at Floclden was that of Sir Alexan- der Elphinstone, who resembled their slain master in habit, stature, and figure ; while it was elsewhere contended that the King had been murdered near Kelso by the Earl of Hume's retainers. Men were also found to say that dazed with horror at the over- throw of his arms, and the great slaughter among
* Stowe's ' Survey of London, ' p, 459. t Ibid.
// />//<")/> t>j .1 I i// i . in::
nobilil v und «.' « * 1 1 1 ry . Jjirn had tra\ elled
:i pilgrim bo JeniRfl I' m and died i her<
Stowe's chronicle was clearly no1 familiar to tliiH « w 1 1 ( * w I in I i)li:i:ii court writer of the seventeenth cenl in\ .
James IV. had four sons by his Queen : ( I) James, born February 25, L508, died July I I, L510 ; Arthur. born October 20, L509, died in infanc (3) James \ '., born April 5, L511,who succeeded to the throne; (4) Alexander, a posthumous son, born \pril 30, I 5 I 1, died January l">, L517.
Childhood of James V., L513 — L528,
The I'u 11 measure of this disaster at Flodden cannot be gauged by the agonising distress of a bigh-minded and humiliated people, nor by the loss of life, de- struction of national resources, and unproductive
expenditure which accompanied the fourth Jam chivalric but foolish adventure. Scotland may be said to have been thrown back at least a quarter of a century at a moment when its prosperity had been advancing by leaps and bounds.
The revival of learning which Walter Chepman — a servant of the fourth James's household — had in- itiated when he introduced north of Tweed, in 1509, the art of printing, practised by Caxton in England so
* * Memories of the Family of the Stuarts and the Remarkable Provi- dences of God towards them.' Printed at the Bishop's Head, St. Paul's Churchyard, 1683. The details therein are very curious, but not to be relied on, where the Stuarts' dynastic interests are in question.
1 0 1 THE STUART DYNASTY.
early as 1171, was necessarily checked wlien confusion reigned in the counsels of an impoverished and de- feated State. Nor were the circumstances such as to lead men to hope for speedy recuperation from the losses incurred.
Scotland was in the first instance subjected to another long minority, the heir being only two years and five months old, and although events turned out more propitiously than had been ex- pected, a time of intrigue and disorder was necessarily in store.
The inhabitants of Edinburgh, whose provost lay dead on Flodden Field, rose to the occasion when expecting the Earl of Surrey with his army to besiege the capital, around which they built a wall for defence, while a steady resolve to repress private sorrow and defend their homes animated each afflicted citizen. But these preparations were never tested, inasmuch as, after sending a few foragers over the Tweed, Lord Surrey disbanded his victorious army, and returned to London.*
The events which occurred during the minority of James V., belong to the domain of our national history rather than that of the dynasty whose fortunes are under consideration, so the barest outline must suffice to keep the thread of the story complete.
One leading result of this overthrow on Brank- some Moor by Flodden Field, was the altered nature of the Parliament, which it was necessary to call for
* Tytler's ' History of Scotland,' edition 1841, vol. v. p. 73.
r
'7/// DIfOOD OF JAM! '
ol i line i he r< ncy. I m tead of i he Earl and Barons killed in I he l<»