James I, King of Scotland

(1394-1437)

   The son and heir of King Robert III (reigned 1390-1406) was born in Dunfermline and educated at St. Andrews University. Fearing for his son's safety from rebel lords, the king sent James to France in 1404-5, but on the way, the ship was intercepted by an English ship. James spent eighteen comfortable years in strict custody by courtesy of Henry IV. James married Lady Jane Beaufort, the daughter of the Earl of Somerset, in 1424 and was restored to his kingdom. He immediately had many of the rebel lords executed and confiscated their property and improved the administration of justice for common people. On the night of 20 February 1437, in Perth, a group of conspirators assassinated him; his widow had the conspirators captured and executed. He was buried at the Convent of the Carthusians in the Holy Land. While in prison he wrote the vernacular poem The Kingis Quair (The King's Book), inspired by Jane; it was published in 1783. Some of his poems: "Christis Kirk on the Green," "Peblis to the Play," "Spring Song of the Birds," "The Ballad of the Good Counsel."

   Sources: An Anthology of Catholic Poets. Shane Leslie, ed. Macmillan, 1952. Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, 2006. Encyclopedia of Britain. Bamber Gascoigne. London: Macmillan, 1994. The National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk). Poemhunter (www.poemhunter.com). The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000. The Scottish Collection of Verse to 1800. Eileen Dunlop and Kamm Antony, eds. Richard Drew, 1985.