James V of Scotland

James V of Scotland
King of Scots
Reign	September 9, 1513 – December 14, 1542
Coronation	September 21 1513
Born	April 10 1512(1512-04-10)
	Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian
Died	December 14 1542 (aged 30)
	Falkland Palace
Buried	Holyrood Abbey
Predecessor	James IV
Successor	Mary, Queen of Scots
Consort	i) Madeleine of France ii) Mary of Guise
Royal House	Stewart
Father	James IV
Mother	Margaret Tudor

James V (April 10, 1512 – December 14, 1542) was King of Scots (September 9, 1513 – December 14, 1542). The son of King James IV of Scotland, he was born on April 10, 11 or 15, 1512, at Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, and was still an infant when his father was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field on September 9, 1513. He was crowned in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle on September 21 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, 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. 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 renewed the Auld Alliance with France, and on January 1, 1537, he married Madeleine de Valois, the daughter of King Francis I of France. Following her death a few months later, he proceeded to marry Mary of Guise, the daughter of Claude, Duke of Guise and the widow of Louis of Orleans, Duke of Longueville. Although Mary already had two children from her first marriage, both her sons by James died in infancy. King 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. He had two legitimate sons by Marie of Guise, James Stewart, Duke of Rothesay (b. May 22, 1540), and Arthur Stewart, Duke of Albany (b. 1541). However, both died in infancy in April 1541, the second just eight days after his baptism. 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 December 8 when his only living heir, a girl, was born. Before he died, he is reported to have said, "It began with a lass and it will end with a lass". 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 of Scotland who married a Stewart cousin (Lord Darnley), but with the last monarch of the House of Stewart Anne of Great Britain. James was succeeded by his infant daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. He was buried at Holyrood Abbey alongside Madeleine and his sons by Marie de Guise. James V fathered seven known illegitimate children, three of which were sired before the age of twenty; the seven include Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney by Euphame Elphinstone and John Stewart (d. 1563 in Inverness) by Elizabeth Carmichael; the families of both were to entangle themselves with the Shetland Islands and with the Bruces of Cultmalindie. James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, another son by Margaret Erskine, his favourite mistress, went on to play an important part in the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI. As part of a Language deprivation experiment, James sent two children to be raised by a mute woman in a specially-constructed cabin, to determine if language was learned or innate. Since neither child ever spoke, he determined that language must be learned.^[1] According to legend James would sometimes travel around his kingdom disguised as a common man, describing himself as the Goodman of Ballengeich. However it has been suggested that many people recognised him e.g. because of his red hair.

Ancestors

References

Donaldson, Gordon (1965). Scotland: James V to James VII. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.

•  • e Pictish and Scottish monarchs

Traditional List of Monarchs of the Picts Drest of the Hundred Battles • Talorc I • Nechtan I • Drest II • Galan • Drest III • Drest IV • Gartnait I • Cailtram • Talorc II • Drest V • Galam Cennalath • Bridei I • Gartnait II • Nechtan II • Cinioch • Gartnait III • Bridei II • Talorc III • Talorgan I • Gartnait IV • Drest VI • Bridei III • Taran • Bridei IV • Nechtan IV • Drest VII • Alpín I • Óengus I • Bridei V • Ciniod I • Alpín II • Talorgan II • Drest VIII • Conall • Constantine • Óengus II • Drest IX • Uuen • Uurad • Bridei VI • Ciniod II • Bridei VII • Drest X Traditional List of Monarchs of the Scots Kenneth I MacAlpin • Donald I • Constantine I • Áed • Giric • Eochaid (disputed) • Donald II • Constantine II • Malcolm I • Indulf • Dub • Cuilén • Amlaíb • Kenneth II • Constantine III • Kenneth III • Malcolm II • Duncan I • Macbeth • Lulach • Malcolm III Canmore • Donald III • Duncan II • Donald III • Edgar • Alexander I • David I • Malcolm IV • William I • Alexander II • Alexander III • Margaret (disputed) • First Interregnum • John • Second Interregnum • Robert I the Bruce • David II • Robert II • Robert III • James I • James II • James III • James IV • James V • Mary I • James VI* • Charles I* • Charles II • The Covenanters • The Protectorate • Charles II* • James VII* • Mary II* • William II* • Anne* * also monarch of Ireland and England