The Royal Standard of Scotland
Over the course of the fifteenth century from 1406 onwards Stewart kings all named James ruled Scotland. This period was marked by a strengthening of royal authority and an increase in the wealth controlled by the crown. Beginning with King James I they were.
James I (1406-37)
James I’s official reign started in 1406 however the reality was that he was captured at sea while journeying to France and was brought as a prisoner to England where he stayed until his release in 1424 on the death of his uncle, the Duke of Albany. He had assumed the regency on James’s capture and had ruled Scotland since then. The Duke of Albany, younger brother of James’s father Robert III was a successful ruler who also failed to secure his nephew’s return to Scotland. On Jame I’s return in 1424. he proceeded to attack all surviving members of the Albany Stewarts before falling out with many members of the Scottish aristocracy. He was assassinated in Perth in February 1437 being succeeded by his son as King James II.
James II (1437-60)
King James II succeeded to the throne at the age of six. He was an able and popular ruler though his reign was marked by a ruthless struggle for power and property with the House of Douglas. Beginning in 1451 with the attacks of James II on Douglas lands. It continued with the murder of the 8th Earl of Douglas after he had been issued with a safe conduct by the king at Stirling castle in February 1452. This lead to a small-scale civil war between the king and the Douglas family which culminated in the Battle of Arkinholm in May 1455. Though only involving a few hundred participants it was a decisive engagement in that it broke the power of the Douglas family in Scotland. Their lands and castles were declared forfeit to the crown by the Scottish parliament causing the surviving 9th Earl of Douglas to flee to England. As elsewhere in Europe these victories marked a considerable strengthening of Royal power and authority in Scotland. After 1455 James continued to increase his authority and he then decided to besiege the last English held castle in Scotland at Roxburgh in 1460. During the actual siege while observing the firing of his cannon at the castle, one of the pieces exploded killing the king.
James III (1460-1488)
James III through history has been regarded as a failure as king by historians. He came to the throne on the death of his father King James II in 1460 when he was eight years old. The principal complaints against him concerned his wild international schemes involving armed intervention in areas of Europe such as Brittany. He was also criticized for his alleged debasing of the Scottish coinage and for pursuing an overly friendly policy towards England. James III also fell out badly with the nobility including with his younger brother Alexander, Duke of Albany. His one success was through his marriage to Margaret, the daughter of the King of Denmark/Norway, Christian I. In place of providing a dowry for his daughter the Orkney and Shetland Islands were pledged by him to James III. However the promised dowry was never paid and the islands were forfeited to the Scottish crown. James III’s reign was marked by a continuing falling out the king with the nobility and with Parliament. This intense acrimony resulted in two rebellions in 1482 and 1488. The rebellion in 1482 resulted in James’s imprisonment in Edinburgh castle though in spite of this he managed to return to power by 1484. Again James failed to reform his previous bad ways and in early 1488 another rebellion broke out which led to the Battle of Sauchieburn near Stirling in June of that year. The details of the battle are unclear but King James III was killed during it and was immediately succeeded by his son as King James IV.
James IV (1488-1513)
King James IV is regarded as the most popular and successful of the Stewart Kings of this period by historians. He inherited the throne at the age of 15 following the death of his father James III at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. James IV had been used as a figurehead by the rebels after he had fallen out with his father. Something which he continued to to do penitence for many years afterwards. As well as many building projects, James IV also caused the establishment of the College of Surgeons and Scotland’s first printing press in Edinburgh. He also massively expanded the size and role of the Scottish navy including his building of the ‘Great Michael’, the largest warship of its era. James IV also abolished the Lordship of the Isles in 1503 and in the same year married Margaret Tudor, daughter of the King of England, Henry VII. However, ten years later King Henry VIII of England invaded France and responding to an urgent appeal for help from the French king Louis XII, James led an invasion of the north of England with a large army. In September the Scottish army was defeated at the Battle of Flodden and King James IV killed in the battle.