Schottische Geschichte, Kapitel 4

The outstanding military success of Robert Bruce was followed by his Scottish kingdom's diplomatic overtures. After an appeal from the Scottish nobility, the new Pope of Rome lifted Bruce's. May 1328 brought about a peace treaty signed at Northampton by the weary, helpless English king that recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom and Robert Bruce as king. The Declaration of Independence signed at Arbroath was the culmination of Bruce's career. All his dreams fulfilled, he died one year later. One who for years had been an Anglo-Norman vassal of the King of England had made himself into a truly national Scottish hero. Robert Bruce's daughter had married Walter FitzAlan, the Hereditary High Steward of Scotland, also known as Walter the Steward, the later form of which became Stuart. Thrown from a horse, Marjorie was killed, but surgeons managed to deliver a son, Robert, cut from her body (in 1371, when he was 54 years old, the crippled boy became Robert II, the first of the royal line of Stuarts). Robert Bruce had then married Elizabeth de Burgh; their five-year old son, David, ascended to the throne as David II, with the Earl of Moray acting as Regent. In the meantime, in England, following the ignominious career and frightful death of Edward II, his son became King Edward III in 1327.

The new king planned to intervene in the affairs of Scotland by enlisting the support of many disaffected nobles whose lands had been forfeited in their earlier fight against Bruce. The rival Scottish army marched on Scotland and defeated the troops of the Earl of Mar, who had succeeded Moray as military commander and crowned John Balliol's son Edward as King of Scotland at Scone. This was a grievous error; Balliol was immediately sent packing by former supporters of Bruce. King Edward III's response was typical, and once again an English army was on the move in Scotland. There was to be no Bannockburn this time. King Edward's armies captured Berwick, dispersed a French fleet that had come to aid the Scots and won a strategic battle at Halidon Hill. Worse, however, for Scotland's newly won independence was the defection of large numbers of Scottish nobles and clergy to the winning side, with the result that the Lowlands were quickly overrun and garrisoned by the English. As on the borders of Wales, these garrison towns then quickly filled up with English settlers, merchants and clergy, completely transformed the social structure (and the language).

It was up to Bruce's grandson, Robert Stewart to restore the political situation. With England now finding itself heavily engaged in the Hundred Years War with France, Stewart seized his opportunity. With French help, he drove the English out of Bute, captured Perth and cleared Scotland of invaders north of the Forth. In 1341, he brought his young Uncle David back from voluntary exile in France to reclaim his Scottish throne. Things looked promising for a while, but then disaster struck once more. After the French army had been soundly thrashed at Crecy (where Welsh archers in the service of the English Crown had been very prominent), the King of France desperately needed Scottish intervention to relieve his forces. Accordingly, as a diversion, David II unwisely sent an army to England. His soldiers were defeated at Neville's Cross and David was captured. He spent the next 12 years of his life as a prisoner at the court of Edward III. Here the young Scot became thoroughly anglicized, preferring to live the easier life of an English court hanger-on than to endure the burdens of Scottish kingship.

In the interim, Scotland was ruled once again by Robert Stewart, a much stronger, forceful leader than David. Under Stewart, the English were defeated in a second diversionary attack by a Scottish army under Williams Douglas. Even Edward III, commanding his troops, was sent back south of the border humiliated. This time Edward signed a 10-year truce and received an enormous ransom for the weak, vacillating David. He then sat back to await developments. He did not have to wait long. English successes continued in France and many Scots had no stomach for further debilitating warfare. After all, it was their land that was continually being devastated by English armies and David went back to live his former life of comparative ease in England. The Scots did not wish to see David's son succeed to their throne, despite an agreement he had made with King Edward. In 1371, the Scottish Parliament gave the throne to Robert Stewart, who became Robert II, the first Stuart King. However, the unfortunate country's initial hopes of restored greatness were soon dashed - a strong and brave leader in opposition, he proved to be anything but that as King. In addition, his Norman background did not possess the authority and prestige of eight centuries of Scottish kingship.

Thus, was set in motion what became the country's curse for centuries to come - the conflict between the nobility and the Crown. Robert Stewart died in 1390 after a reign that can hardly be called peaceful. Nobles fought among themselves especially over the highly disputed lands along the English border. The battle of Otterburn, or Chevy Chase, in 1388 between the Douglas's and the Percy's only typified much of what went on in lawless Scotland. It was unable as a nation to take advantage of the English problems; trying to hold on to their possessions in France. The infighting continued during the reign of Robert III, a disabled cripple who left the governing to his younger brother, the Duke of Albany who himself virtually abdicated in 1399. Poor old Scotland!! The heir to the throne was the unfortunate Robert's son, James, who was sent to France by his father so that he would be safe from the Regents. He never reached his intended destination. His ship was captured by pirates and taken to London where he was held hostage and remained for 18 years despite being proclaimed James I at the death of his father in 1406.

The Scottish nobility took full advantage of the king's absence and built their own estates into minor, but powerful kingdoms. The Douglas family owned the strongest of these minor kingdoms. Even the monarchy could not ignore the strength of this powerful family. So, the pattern was set for years to come. In the northwest, the MacDonald lords continued to hold sway as autonomous monarchs, ignoring the central government. They had even formed a series of alliances with the English kings that were renewed by Henry IV in 1408.

The powerful MacDonalds then tried to extend their lands even further and allied with the MacLeans. They marched across Scotland to try to capture the important city of Aberdeen. However, after a battle against the forces of the Regent, they were forced to return westward. In 1413, England's Henry IV was succeeded by his son Henry V whose glorious victories in France gave him more one half of that nation. To help him in his fight against the all-conquering English, the Dauphin of France relied upon the auld alliance and called upon Scotland for help. It was immediately forthcoming. Under Albany's son Buchan, thousands of Scottish soldiers helped reverse the fortunes of the war. When Henry V died in 1422, he cursed the Scots nation. He is purported to have stated, "Wherever I go, I find them in my beard." What a pity for the future of the Celtic nations that the Welsh rebellion under Owain Glyndwr had ended in failure a decade earlier.

Owain had himself crowned Prince of Wales in 1404 at a parliament in Machynlleth. He received envoys from Scotland, France and Castile and had formed an alliance with powerful English Lord Henry Percy (Hotspur). The capture of James I of Scotland in 1406 and the failure of Percy dashed all hopes of the Welsh leader to capture the Crown of Britain from its English usurpers and restore it to its rightful owners. The death of Henry V would have been an ideal time for France, Scotland and Wales to join forces in a three-pronged attack upon England. Be as that as it may, a long tradition of mutual respect and support began between the kingdoms of Scotland and France in 1422. The fighting qualities of the Scots soldiers, no less than those of the Welsh were matched by their capacity for consuming vast quantities of food and drink: they thus earned their sobriquets Sacs a vin and Mangeurs de mouton. Buchan was aided for his help to the Dauphin by becoming Constable of France and Commander-in-Chief of the French armies. For his help, Douglas was rewarded with the Duchy of Touraine. Albany, the Regent for so many years, died in 1420. It was time for James I to return to Scotland. Conditions were favorable. Henry V was dead, James was on good terms with young Henry VI's regents who were in control of England and the English had been at with France for so long that they did not wish to get involved militarily with their northern neighbors.

In 1424, after marrying Henry VI's cousin Joan, James came back home to practice the skills of statecraft he had learned during his many years at the English Court. His expertise was sorely needed because much of his country was in complete disarray. The trouble was that Scotland had been in a state of administrative chaos for so long, that many of the nobility were not willing to surrender any of their prerogatives to a central government presided over by the new king. James had to forcibly seize property from the Regent Albany. He then ordered the Highland Chiefs to a Parliament at which he had many of them arrested and some even executed. Next, He dealt forcibly with a rebellion led by Alexander of the Isles and the Western clans, who was also in opposition to his attempts at centralizing the government. In the Lowlands, where Douglas and the Earl of March had been causing trouble, James took command of the Crown Forces himself and succeeded in restoring the situation. Following his redress of the imbalance between Crown and Nobility, James made his principal residence at Linlithgow, which he made into a magnificent palace. In 1428, he formally renewed the Auld Alliance with France, sending a large Scottish force to fight successfully for Charles VII and Joan of Arc against the armies of England.

Turning to affairs at home, James then began an ambitious program of social and legislative reform, earning the title of Rex Legifer, the Law Giver. However, King James's multi-fold activities in reforming the legal system, regulating the country's finances, raising new taxes and in general trying to make his country one of law and order brought him the inevitable enemies. The proud Scottish nobles were not going to hand over what they considered their special privileges. In 1437, in what we can only consider a disaster for Scotland, the unfortunate king was stabbed to death in a plot involving his uncle, his cousin and a close confidant. As James II, heir to the throne was only six years old, again a Regency came to inflict its damage upon Scotland. The litany of murder continued with the deaths of the young Earl Douglas and his brother by William Crichton who had succeeded the boys' father as Regent in 1439. The Regent's power destroyed the Douglas's and their vast estates were broken up. When James II reached the age of 19, he took command, attempting to continue the administrative reforms of his father, James l. Unfortunately for his plans, old resentments still smoldered and an alliance had been formed between the young Earl of Douglas, the Earl of Crawford and John of the Isles who was anxious to restore the prerogatives lost by his father Alexander at the hands of the Scottish Crown.

It seemed that a quick way to settle differences was becoming a Scottish Way, for at a dinner to which he was cordially invited in 1452, the young Douglas was killed by the dagger-wielding hand of the king himself. James II then completely routed those in opposition to his reign. The rest of the Douglas's were defeated at the Battle of Arkinholm and their estates forfeited by a decree of Parliament. John of the Isles and the Earl of Crawford saw it in their best interests to make peace with the Crown. The English were having troubles of their own with the long and bitter rivalry for the throne that became known as the Wars of the Roses. For the time being, Scotland enjoyed a period of peace. However, it was shattered by a foolish decision of James to intervene in the English civil wars on behalf of Henry VI. At the siege of Roxburgh in 1460, James stepped too close to one of his guns and was killed when it exploded.

Once again, just when conditions had seemed so very ripe for progress, the country found itself ruled by a Regency. Scotland, despite its civil turmoil and constant wars, had started on the road that would eventually lead it to become the envy of Europe for its scholasticism and scientific achievements. In 1411, the University of St. Andrews had been founded as a center for learning and the arts. It was to be followed by the Universities of Glasgow (1451) and Aberdeen (1494) which, like St. Andrews benefited greatly from close contact with seats of learning in France as well as those in other parts of Europe. Intrigue and counter-intrigue, the ambitions of greater and lesser men, and a succession of plots and counter plots mark the Regency years following the death of James II.

In 1469, James III, recently wed to the daughter of the King of Norway, assumed control of Scotland. Intelligent but unsociable, uninterested in affairs of state, the new king was hardly the one to restore the confidence and strength that the monarchy sorely needed. To safeguard his throne from the ever-present plotters, James imprisoned both his brothers, Albany and Mar. However, after killing his guards, Albany made a daring rope escape. He managed to reach London where he audaciously assumed the style of King of Scots. The English welcomed the move, once more ready to cause trouble north of the border. In 1482, Albany joined an invading English army. James III had overreached himself; he was captured by a group of his own nobles and many of his supporters were executed. Albany and Mar assumed the Regency, but when the English army returned home, Albany fled to France, eventually dying there in a tournament.

A new group of conspirators then came on the scene, this time led by Archibald Douglas and Lord Home and aided by the Chief of Clan Campbell, the first Earl of Argyll. James had no stomach to fight the rebels, but when the city of Stirling refused to give him refuge, he was forced to battle. The unfortunate king met an ignominious death after the failure of his troops at Sauchieburn. Wounded after a fall from his horse, he was stabbed to death by a passer-by claiming to be a priest. In such inauspicious circumstances, the next Stewart King now appeared on the scene. James IV, who wore an iron chain round his body for life as penance for the misfortune that brought him to the throne in 1488, was only fifteen years old.

Thus, the Regency continued with Douglas holding the reigns of power and his cronies and conspirators receiving rich rewards for their services. One of these was the minor Laird Hepburn of Hailes, who became Earl of Bothwell and Lord High Admiral. We shall read more about the Bothwells later. In the meantime, James belied the doubts about his immaturity and proved to be an able leader. Early in his reign, at the head of his own troops, he defeated those who sought to depose him. Because of his multi-faceted abilities, he was to become the most popular of all the Stewart Kings. Even the European scholar Erasmus, for a time tutor to one of James's many bastard sons, praised the Scottish king's intellect and knowledge. Though much of the Scottish nobility, especially in the Lowlands, was switching to English, James learned to speak Gaelic, a language described by the Ambassador of the Court of Spain as "the language of the savages who live in some parts of Scotland and the islands." (It was still widely spoken by most of the Highlanders and Islanders).

In Wales, at the same time, almost one hundred percent of the population used the old Celtic language. What was left of the nobility was rapidly turning to English and the reigning monarch of the Welsh house of Tudor, unlike the more enlightened Scots King, would have no part of the language. Their Welsh background simply allowed the Tudor dynasty to claim legitimacy as rulers of Britain as heirs to the old prophecies. In most of Wales, of course, the old ways continued and life went on unchanged regardless of what was taking place in London. And so it remained in the Gaelic Highlands of Scotland. King James IV had grand ambitions. His country enjoyed enormous prestige as holding the balance of power between constantly warring England and France. James believed that Scotland could lead the way in the glorious cause of freeing Constantinople from the Turks. As a start, he had a large fleet built, including the mighty warship the Great Michael, thus beginning a Scottish shipbuilding industry that would become the envy of the world in a later era. In order to carry out his grandiose schemes in Eastern Europe, James had to establish peaceable relations with England, his powerful neighbor to the south.

In 1501, James was 28 years old. It was time to marry. He chose Margaret Tudor, the 14 year-old daughter of Henry VII, after signing an agreement, which promised to be a treaty of perpetual peace. The Pope excommunicated whoever broke his pledged word. The ceremony took place at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh and was attended by many dignitaries from England. All seemed well. James continued to use his kingdom as peacemaker between England and France. His efforts gave him the title Rex Pacificator. When the Pope, the King of Spain and the Doge of Venice formed a Holy League against France, they were joined by Henry VIII of England, the father-in-law of the King of Scotland. However, James did not join the league because he was convinced that the survival of France was essential to the stability of Europe. Thus, he renewed the Auld Alliance that had begun in 1422 under the Regency of Albany.

When France appealed to Scotland for help, as it had done when Buchan responded so magnificently before, James unwisely sent an ultimatum to the English king. Henry's response must have startled James and the whole of the Scots people: He declared himself "the very owner of Scotland" a kingdom held by the Scottish king only "by homage." This was too much for a proud Scot to bear, and James answered it by marching on England at the head of a large army. So much for the peace treaty that was "to endure forever." The result was one of the most disastrous battles in Scottish history.

FLODDEN FIELD

On 9 September 1513, Good King James IV who had been so instrumental in bringing Scotland into the councils of Europe and whose ambitions for Scotland seemed close to fulfillment was slain at Flodden Edge, southeast of Braxton Hill. In the battle, (that seemed in so many ways to presage that of Culloden, over two hundred years later) Scottish bravery proved no match for superior English generalship who used artillery and the new long English bills to great advantage against the shorter Scottish spears and swords. James's own natural son, Alexander and thousands of the best and brightest young men, many of its bravest and strongest Highland chiefs, great Church leaders and many Earls and Lords lost their lives in the calamitous Battle at Flodden. Though no one knows what happened to James's body, a legend quickly developed to match those in Wales concerning Arthur and Glyndwr.

The legend goes that he was not dead at all, and that one day James would return to lead his country again. Thus, a typical Celtic myth grew out of what people saw as the refusal of a Welsh king (Henry VIII) to bury the body of a Scottish king (James IV). Scotland now had no king and no army. As James V was still a baby, Queen Margaret assumed the Regency. In 1514, in a move that brought a surprising change of fortune for the country for which she showed little affection, she married the Earl of Angus and was succeeded as Regent by the French-educated Duke of Albany, nephew of James III. Albany continued the alliance with France, a country that had somehow extricated itself from its previous grave danger by the failure of its enemies to formulate a united front. After a series of plots against Albany (who headed the National or French Party) by Margaret and her husband were foiled, the miserable Queen was forced to flee to England (the couple had planned to kidnap young James V). This gave Margaret's brother Henry one more excuse to continue his policies of interfering in Scottish affairs.

In 1524, Albany returned to France. Chaos returned to Scotland. A series of battles between the Douglas's and the Hamilton's, including one fought in the streets of Edinburgh, had left the mighty Douglas clan in control of the young king and thus of Scotland. James, however, who had declared himself ready to rule at the age of fourteen, escaped his captors and arrived at Stirling. He vowed vengeance against Angus Douglas whom he drove out of Scotland to seek refuge with the English king. James could now begin to restore order to his suffering nation. He started by agreeing to a truce with England. In the meantime, a seemingly simple act that took place in a small town in Germany began a movement that was to turn practically all of Europe into two armed camps. Scotland was once again able to act as peacemaker.

The pious and schizophrenic monk Martin Luther did not know what he was about to unleash upon the world when he nailed his Thesis to the church door at quiet, peaceful Wittenberg that momentous day in 1517. But it was not long before Europe became enmeshed in a religious struggle that, in some areas, has not yet ended as each sovereign subsequently sought to impose his own religion on his kingdom (and often on that of his neighbor as well.) The Reformation had a serious and long-lasting effect upon Scotland. In the struggle of Protestantism versus Catholicism, there was a mad scramble for a marriage alliance with James V. Keeping the idea of the Auld Alliance in mind, he chose Madeleine, the daughter of French king Francois I to be his bride.

When she died six months later, he married another French princess, Marie de Guise-Lorraine. Sadly, for future Scottish history, she bore him no sons. England's Henry VIII had the same seeming misfortune. He too lacked a male heir. He became more and more aggressive in his policies toward Scotland. By 1534 he had broken with Rome, was getting ready to totally absorb Wales into the English realm and had plans to turn Scotland against France by making it into a Protestant nation. When James was offered the crown of Ireland in 1542, Henry took an army north and proclaimed himself Lord Superior of Scotland. He met with and defeated the small, dispirited army of James at Solway Moss.

From his retreat at Falkland, the sad King James heard the news that his longed for heir was not to be; his wife had given him a daughter. Upon his consequent death, lamenting his fate, the young girl was proclaimed Queen of Scotland. Therefore, in 1542, Mary, Queen of Scots entered the world in much the same sad circumstances, as she was to leave it 45 years later. The ruthless, avaricious Henry VIII was not satisfied with adding Wales to his kingdom he wanted Scotland, too. Henry planned to marry the young, sickly Prince Edward (who died in 1553) to the infant Queen of Scotland. However, there was an obstacle in his way. Marie de Guise had the girl spirited away to Scone, had her crowned Queen and repudiated the marriage treaty. Again, the typical English response was an invasion of Scotland that was ordered "to put all to fire and sword."

This command was eagerly carried out by the pillaging English soldiers and engendered a Scottish hatred of its southern neighbor that lasted for centuries. The situation worsened when Black Donald of the Isles escaped in 1545, after 40 years of captivity and formed an alliance with the English king. The islanders' love of independence manifested itself in their proud boast that they were "Auld enemies to the realm of Scotland." Inter-clan rivalry, however, after the death of Donald later in the year, brought the Western isles more in line with the rest of the Scottish kingdom. To face the aggressive policies and forces of Henry, the Scots had turned to France for help. They would rather have Catholic France as a friend than Protestant England. Yet, in the climate of the times, with the Reformation in full swing in Northern Europe, the auld alliance could not help being fraught with difficulties and ripe with implications.

THE REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND

It is not too much of a surprise to find that the Reformation took hold of Scotland so readily while it failed to influence Ireland. The Scottish Lowlands was fertile ground for the spread of Protestantism. It was here where most of the wealth and power of Scotland was concentrated, where commerce thrived and where English influence was most felt.

Much has been written about the corruption of the Scottish Church, the wealth amassed by a few leading Bishops and the ignorance of most of the clergy. Suffice to say, that when the newly translated Scriptures were appearing in England, they were eagerly welcomed over the northern border. English influence and settlement had been so pervasive in the Lowlands that, unlike the situation in Wales, an English language Bible had an immediate impact in Scotland, fostering a spontaneous movement of popular dissent that can be called revolutionary. As in many parts of Europe, the established Church answered the spread of new ideas by executing those who brought them. Patrick Hamilton thus became an early Scottish martyr when he was slowly roasted to death on the orders of the Bishop of St. Andrews in 1528.

The fires that burned under Hamilton, however, spread throughout much of the country. It was up to Cardinal Bishop David Beaton, who had ordered them, to try to extinguish them. This proved to be a futile attempt in the face of a whirlwind: Father John Knox had arrived on the scene. The young priest Knox came to Scotland in 1544 with Protestant leader George Wishart, who had sought refuge on the continent to escape the eager clutches of Bishop Beaton. In addition to his Bible, Knox managed to carry a huge, two-handed sword. He came to conquer with the Word, however, not the sword. His zeal in winning converts gave rise to a period known as The Rough Wooing. Henry VIII (still "the defender of the faith" despite the many reforms being carried out by his lieutenant Thomas Cromwell) had offered a large reward for the murder of Cardinal Beaton. On a charge of participation in Henry's plot, and for collaboration with the English, he had Wishart burned at the stake in 1546. Two months later came revenge; the last words spoken by the Cardinal were "Fie, Fie, All is gone" as he was stabbed to death and his body thrown from a window of his castle at St. Andrews by a group of Protestant leaders.

For his part in the assassination, the young John Knox, who was captured with other conspirators with the aid of a French fleet ordered by Marie de Guise, was sentenced to slave in the ships' galleys, no doubt to await further dispensation. He was released two years later with enthusiasm undimmed. In 1548, the Auld Alliance was immeasurably strengthened when little Mary, Queen of Scots ended her period of moving from place to place for safety by going to France as future bride of the Dauphin. "France and Scotland," stated the French King, (reportedly leaping 'for blitheness') are now one country." Marie de Guise was determined to stamp out Protestantism in Scotland. She failed, for though an invading English army arrived too late to rescue the Protestant garrison holed up at St. Andrews, it crushed the Royal Scottish army at Pinkie, near Edinburgh. Further hostilities, however, were ended in 1549 by the Treaty of Boulogne between England and France that also effected the withdrawal of English troops from Scotland. Henry VIII of England died in 1547.

His son Edward VI was destined to die early. Strange as it seems in retrospect, it seemed as if the Protestant movement in Scotland would not succeed, especially since the Council of Trent had begun the Church's long-awaited, sorely needed and far-reaching reforms. More important than that, however, was the assumption of the Regency in Scotland by no other than Marie de Guise and the inauguration of a reform-minded Bishop to succeed the murdered Beaton. Yet, in Scotland, as in many countries in Northern Europe, efforts to turn back the clock and restore the old religion were all too late. Single-minded, hard-nosed individuals, determined to end the corruption of the Church, had been inspired by the Word and John Knox was, perhaps, the most inspired of all. The Treaty of Boulogne gave him the opportunity to continue his Holy work in Scotland. Thousands flocked to his call and eagerly accepted his teachings. It was thus to an austere, Protestant Scotland where, apart from a few exceptions, (even Christmas and Easter were no longer celebrated as being popish observances) that Catholic Mary returned as Queen in August 1561.

Now widowed at age 18, she was no longer Queen of France, but thoroughly French in outlook and education. Her sprightly, impulsive (and apparently highly-sexed) nature quickly put her at odds with the austere, Puritan divines who wished to keep a tight hold on the hearts and minds of the newly-converted Scottish people. In 1565, Mary's complete lack of foresight caused her to marry her younger cousin, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, who had practically nothing to commend him either as husband or king. Protestants were furious. When Darnley, immature and seemingly completely lacking in wisdom and intelligence, stabbed to death Mary's Italian secretary Riccio in a fit of teenage jealousy, the fires were lit for a never-ending saga of intrigue and misfortune.

In 1567, Darnley's body was found in the wreckage of his house at Kirk o Field that had been destroyed in a mysterious explosion. He had been strangled to death. Heavily implicated in the murder was a "bold, reckless Protestant of considerable charm" James Hepburn, fourth Earl of Bothwell, Lord High Admiral of Scotland. Mary then made her second grievous error: she married Bothwell. Now it was Mary's Catholic subjects turn to be furious. The young Queen, upon whom so many hopes had depended, had managed to alienate everybody. A Protestant army was raised to force Mary to abdicate. And at age 24, after being led in humiliation through the streets of Edinburgh, Mary Queen of Scots gave up her throne in favor of her baby son, who was immediately crowned as James VI. Bothwell's life was saved only by his escape to Norway. The Earl of Moray, James Stewart, Mary's half-brother now became Regent. Mary, who had been held prisoner by the Scottish lords, made her escape from Lochleven Castle, but the small army she managed to raise was defeated by Moray. She then made another grievous error. She fled to England seeking refuge with the proud and easily jealous Queen Elizabeth and was promptly imprisoned.

Mary should have gone to France, for her own claim to the English throne made her a potentially deadly rival to Elizabeth I. A succession of Regents was now in charge of Scotland while James VI grew and learned his statecraft. A rebellion led by Mary's supporters, the "Queen's Lords" seized strategic Edinburgh Castle in the heart of the Scottish capital; the first two Regents were murdered and one died in office. The Castle held out bravely until recaptured by Morton, the Regent and sworn enemy of the Queen before he, too, was overthrown and executed on the fourteen year-old charge of having murdered Lord Darnley. The turmoil continued. Morton's removal was the work of a cousin of James, Esme Stewart, now appointed by the minor King as Duke of Lennox and High Chamberlain of Scotland.

Despite the overwhelming success of the Protestant Reformation, Lennox was stubbornly and foolishly determined to make a Catholic of the young king and to head a Catholic rising in Britain with the help of France and Spain. His grandiose dreams were thwarted by a group of Scottish nobles who kidnapped James in the Raid of Ruthven, forcing Lennox to flee to France. The instability in Scotland continued. James escaped from Ruthven and had himself proclaimed King at Edinburgh. At first, he was completely unable to control the warring factions of Protestants and Catholics or to keep a tight reign on his nobles. What ultimately saved his reign, however, was a strong character that had, with so painful a result, eluded Mary, Queen of Scots, his unfortunate mother.

The young James had received a sound education in England. With this shrewdness and skill he began to mature as a monarch of Scotland and to assert his right as "Universal King." It seemed that better days were ahead for the Northern Kingdom of the British Isles. However, religious differences had only just begun to interfere in Scottish affairs.

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