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James V of Scotland
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James V (c. 10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his premature death at the age of thirty, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss. His only surviving legitimate child, Mary, Queen of Scots, who succeeded him to the throne was just six days old at the time.
son of King James IV of Scotland, he was born on 10 April 1512, at Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, and was just a few months over a year old when his father was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field on 9 September 1513.
He was crowned in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle on 21 September 1513.
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Encyclopedia
James V (c. 10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his premature death at the age of thirty, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss. His only surviving legitimate child, Mary, Queen of Scots, who succeeded him to the throne was just six days old at the time.
Early life
The son of King James IV of Scotland, he was born on 10 April 1512, at Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, and was just a few months over a year old when his father was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field on 9 September 1513.
He was crowned in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle on 21 September 1513. During his childhood, the country was ruled by regents, first by his mother, Margaret Tudor (sister of King Henry VIII of England), until she remarried in the following year, and thereafter by John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, who was himself next in line for the throne after James and his younger brother, the posthumously-born Alexander Stewart, Duke of Ross. In 1525, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, the young king's stepfather, took custody of James and held him as a virtual prisoner for three years, exercising power on his behalf. James finally escaped in 1528 and assumed the reins of government himself.
Reign
His first action as king was to remove Angus from the scene, and he then subdued the Border rebels and the chiefs of the Western Isles. James V increased his royal income by tightening control over the royal estates and from the profits of justice, customs and feudal rights. He also gave his illegitimate sons lucrative benefices, thereby diverting substantial church wealth into his coffers. James spent a large amount of his wealth on building work at Stirling, Falkland, Linlithgow and Holyrood.
James V did not tolerate heresy, and during his reign a number of outspoken supporters of church reform were executed. The most famous of the reformers sentenced to death was Patrick Hamilton who was burned at the stake as a heretic at St Andrews in 1528.
Illegitimate children
James V fathered nine known illegitimate children, at least three of whom were sired before the age of twenty. The most notable were:
- Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney, son of Euphame Elphinstone
- John Stewart of Darnley (b circa 1531, d. November 1563 in Inverness), son of Elizabeth Carmichael, both of whose families were to entangle themselves with the Shetland Islands and with the Bruces of Cultmalindie. John Stuart was the 1st Lord Darnley and Prior of Coldingham. He was the father of Francis Stewart, 1st Earl of Bothwell.
- James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, son of Margaret Erskine, James' favourite mistress, who went on to play an important part in the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI
Marriages
James renewed the Auld Alliance with France, and on 1 January 1537, he married Madeleine of Valois, the daughter of Francis I of France.
Following her death a few months later, he proceeded to marry, on 12 June 1538, Mary of Guise, the daughter of Claude, Duke of Guise and the widow of Louis of Orleans, Duke of Longueville. Mary already had two children from her first marriage, and the union produced two legitimate sons, James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay (b. 22 May 1540), and Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (b. 1541). However, both died in infancy in April 1541, the second just eight days after his baptism. In 1542, their only child to survive to adulthood, Mary, later Queen of Scots, was born.
War with England
The death of his mother in 1541 removed any incentive for keeping peace with England, and war broke out. Initially the Scots won a victory at the Battle of Haddon Rig in 1542, but later in the year they suffered a more serious defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss. Although this is now disputed by some historians, by some accounts he experienced a nervous collapse after this defeat, and he was on his deathbed at Falkland Palace on 8 December when his only living heir, a girl, was born. Before he died, he is reported to have said, "it came wi' a lass, it'll gang wi' a lass" ("It began with a girl and it will end with a girl"). This was a reference to the Stewart dynasty, and how it had come to the throne through Marjorie, the daughter of Robert the Bruce. As it happened, his words came true, although not with his daughter Mary I who married a Stewart cousin (Lord Darnley), but with the last monarch of the House of Stewart, Queen Anne.
Outside interests
According to legend James would sometimes travel around his kingdom disguised as a common man, describing himself as the Gudeman of Ballengeich ('Gudeman' means 'landlord' or 'farmer', and 'Ballengeich' was the nickname of a road next to Stirling Castle - meaning 'windy pass' in Gaelic), and sometimes even seducing women. However it has been suggested that, if he did do this, many people may have recognised him e.g. because of his red hair.
James V so liked red clothing that during the festivities in Paris in 1537 he upset the city dignitaries who had sole right to wear that colour in processions. They noted he could not speak a word of French.
Later life
James was succeeded by his infant daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. He was buried at Holyrood Abbey alongside Madeleine and his sons by Mary of Guise.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 10 April 1512–9 September 1513: The Duke of Rothesay
- 9 September 1513–14 December 1542: His Grace The King
James' full style prior to acceding the throne was Prince James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Lord Renfrew, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland
Ancestors
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