James IV

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: 1488-1513, King of Scots

Notes:

James IV (March 17, 1473 ? September 9, 1513) was King of Scots from 1488 to 1513.

The son of King James III and Margaret of Denmark, he was probably born in Stirling Castle. When his father was killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn on June 11, 1488 (or possibly assassinated a few hours later) the fifteen-year-old James took the throne and was crowned at Scone, Perthshire on June 24. The rebels who had gathered at Sauchieburn had done so with James supposedly as their figurehead. When James 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.

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. James was well educated and it was claimed that he was fluent in Lowland Scots, English, Scottish Gaelic, Latin, French, German, Italian, Flemish, Spanish and Danish.

He was a true Renaissance prince with an interest in practical and scientific matters. James granted the Edinburgh College of Surgeons a royal charter in 1506, turned Edinburgh Castle into one of Britain's foremost gun foundries and welcomed the establishment of Scotland's first printing press in 1505.

James also loved ships and saw the importance in Scotland having a large navy. He acquired thirty-eight ships for the Royal Scottish Navy and founded two new dockyards. His finest creation was the carrack Michael. Launched in 1511 she weighed 1,000 tons, was 240 feet in length and was then the largest ship in Europe.

For a time he supported the pretender to the English throne Perkin Warbeck and carried out a brief invasion of England on his behalf. Despite this, James finally recognized that peace between Scotland and England was in the interest of both countries, and so agreed treaty of "perpetual peace" in 1502 and marrying Henry VII's daughter Margaret Tudor, on August 8, 1503, at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh. The couple's first three children all died in infancy. Their son James V survived, and he also had a posthumous son, Alexander, who died in infancy.

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 September 9, 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. As he was excommunicated, the embalmed body lay unburied for many years in the monastery of Sheen in Surrey, and was lost after the Reformation. [1]

Rumors persisted that he had survived and had gone into exile, but there is no evidence to support them. James IV's ill-considered invasion of England and his subsequent death, ushered in a period of prolonged instability in Scotland.

James also had seven illegitimate children by four different mistresses. With Janet Kennedy he had James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (1501 creation) and two children who died in infancy. With Marion Boyd he had Alexander Stewart (Archbishop of St Andrews), and Catherine Stewart, who married James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton. With Margaret Drummond he had Margaret. With Isabel Buchan, daughter of James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan, he had Lady Janet Stewart, who became the mistress of Henry II of France.

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

James married Margaret TUDOR on 08 Aug 1503. Margaret (daughter of Henry VII King Of ENGLAND and Elizabeth PLANTAGENET) was born on 28 Nov 1489; died on 18 Oct 1541. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Margaret STEWART was born in 1497.
2. James V King Of SCOTLAND was born on 10 Apr 1512 in Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian; died on 14 Dec 1542.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 10 Jul 1452, Stirling
• Fact: 1460-1488, King of Scots

James married Margaret Of OLDENBURG on 13 Jul 1469 in Holyrood. Margaret (daughter of Christian XIV (I) and Dorothea Of BRANDENBURG) was born in 1456; died on 14 Jul 1486 in Stirling; was buried in Cambuskenneth Abbey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reigned: Between 1437 and 1460, King of Scots
• Crowned: 25 Mar 1437, Holyrood "in the Parliament of Edinburgh"

James married Mary Of GUELDRES on 2/3 Jul 1449 in Holyrood. Mary (daughter of Arnold Duke Of GUELDERS and Catherine of CLEVES) died on 1 Dec 1463. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden
• Fact: Count of Oldenburg

Christian married Dorothea Of BRANDENBURG on 28 Oct 1449. Dorothea (daughter of Johann The Alchemist and Barbara Of SAXONY) was born in 1430; died in 1495. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]