James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last British monarch to be killed in battle.

Early life

James IV was the son of James III and Margaret of Denmark, probably born in Stirling Castle. As heir apparent to the Scottish crown he became Duke of Rothesay. His father was not a popular king and faced two major rebellions during his reign. During the second rebellion the rebels set up the 15-year-old James as their nominal leader. His father was killed fighting the rebels at the Battle of Sauchieburn on 11 June 1488, and James took the throne and was crowned at Scone on 24 June. When he realised the indirect role which he had played in the death of his father, he decided to do penance for his sin. From that date on, he wore a heavy iron chain cilice around his waist, next to the skin, each Lent as penance.

Reign

James IV quickly proved to be an effective ruler. He defeated another rebellion in 1489, took a direct interest in the administration of justice and finally brought the Lord of the Isles under control in 1493. He established good diplomatic relations with England, at that time emerging from a period of Civil War, and in 1502 signed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Henry VII. He also saw the importance in building a fleet that could provide Scotland with a strong maritime presence. James founded two new dockyards for the purpose and acquired a total of 38 ships for the Royal Scottish Navy, including the Margaret, and the carrack Michael or Great Michael. This latter, built at great expense at Newhaven and launched in 1511, was in length, weighed 1,000 tons and was, at that time, the largest ship in Europe.

Arms of James IV

James was well educated and a fluent linguist. In 1499 the Spanish envoy Pedro de Ayala reported that he was able to "speak Latin, French, German, Flemish, Italian and the barbarian Gaelic, the native tongue of nearly all his subjects"^[1]. The king's interest extended beyond aquisition of languages; as part of a language deprivation experiment, James sent two children to be raised by a mute woman alone on an island, to determine if language was learned or innate.^[2] [This citation needs checked]

Marriage

For a time, he supported Perkin Warbeck, the pretender to the English throne, and carried out a brief invasion of England on his behalf. However, James recognized that peace between Scotland and England was in the interest of both countries, and so signed the Treaty of Perpetual Peace (1502) and married Henry VII's daughter Margaret Tudor, on 8 August 1503, at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh.

The union produced around six children^[3]:

• James, Duke of Rothesay, who died at barely a year old
• An unnamed daughter, stillborn at Holyrood Palace on 15 July 1508
• Arthur, Duke of Rothesay, who died before his first birthday
• James V, the only one to reach adulthood
• A second stillborn daughter in November 1512 at Holyrood Palace
• Alexander, Duke of Ross, born after James's death, and died before his second birthday

Illegitimate children

James also had seven illegitimate children with four different mistresses:

• with Marion Boyd:
  • Alexander, later Archbishop of St Andrews
  • Catherine Stewart, who married James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton
• with Margaret Drummond:
  • Margaret
• with Janet Kennedy:
  • James, created Earl of Moray
  • two children who died in infancy
• with Isabel Buchan, daughter of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan:
  • Lady Janet Stewart

Later life

When war broke out between England and France as a result of the Italian Wars, James found himself in a difficult position as his obligations under the Auld Alliance with France conflicted with the treaty made with England in 1502. The new king of England, Henry VIII, attempted to invade France in 1513, and James reacted by declaring war on England. Hoping to take advantage of Henry's absence, he led an invading army southward, only to be killed, with many of his nobles and common soldiers, at the disastrous Battle of Flodden Field on 9 September, ending Scotland's involvement in the War of the League of Cambrai. A body, thought to be his, was recovered from the battlefield and taken to London for burial. Because he was excommunicated, the embalmed body lay unburied for many years in the monastery of Sheen in Surrey, and was lost after the Reformation. James' bloodstained coat was sent to Henry VIII of England (then on campaign in France) by his queen Catherine of Aragon.^[4]

Rumours persisted that James had survived and had gone into exile, but there is no evidence to support them.

Legacy

James's decision to invade England is often seen as ill-considered. However it has been argued that it can be criticised only if Scotland was not entitled to pursue an independent foreign policy, and the military force was adequate for the task, but the Battle of Flodden was lost through poor generalship. Undoubtedly his death ushered in a period of prolonged instability in Scotland.

James IV is also significant in Scottish history as the last King of Scots who is known to have spoken Scottish Gaelic.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 17 March 1473?11 June 1488: The Duke of Rothesay

• 11 June 1488?9 September 1513: His Grace The King

Ancestors

Notes

References

• James the Fourth, Norman MacDougall (2006 with two earlier issues, regarded as definitive).
• King James IV of Scotland, R.L. Mackie (1958, the most important previous biography).

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