Miles Kerr-Peterson - James VI and Noble Power in Scotland 1578 - 1603

Shedding new light on both familiar and neglected episodes and issues from Jamess Scottish reign, this wide-ranging collection considerably enhances our understanding of later sixteenth-century Scottish politics, and of the personality of the first ruler of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland.

Alan MacDonald, University of Dundee, UK

James VI and Noble Power in Scotland explores how Scotland was governed in the late sixteenth century by examining the dynamic between King James and his nobles from the end of his formal minority in 1578 until his accession to the English throne in 1603.

The collection assesses James relationship with his nobility, detailing how he interacted with them and how they fought, co-operated with and understood each other. It includes case studies from across Scotland, from the Highlands to the Borders and burghs, and on major individual events such as the famous Gowrie conspiracy. Themes such as the nature of government in Scotland and religion as a shaper of policy and faction are addressed, as well as broader perspectives on the British and European nobility, bloodfeuds and state-building in the early modern period.

The ten chapters together challenge well-established notions that James aimed to be a modern, centralising monarch seeking to curb the traditional structures of power and that the period represented a period of crisis for the traditional and unrestrained culture of feuding nobility. They demonstrate that King James was a competent and successful manager of his kingdom who demanded a new level of obedience as a universal king. This volume offers students of Stuart Britain a fresh and valuable perspective on James and his reign.

Miles Kerr-Peterson recently completed a PhD in history at the University of Glasgow, his thesis being a study of the life and lordship of George Keith, fourth Earl Marischal. His research focuses on early modern Scottish noble and academic cultures.

Steven J. Reid is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Glasgow. His previous publications include Humanism and Calvinism: Andrew Melville and the Universities of Scotland, c.1560c.1625 (2011).

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Edited by Justin Colson and Arie van Steensel

First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

2017 Miles Kerr-Peterson and Steven J. Reid for selection and editorial matter, individual contributions the contributors

The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Names: Kerr-Peterson, Miles, editor. | Reid, Steven J., editor, author.
Title: James VI and noble power in Scotland 15781603 / edited by MilesKerr-Peterson and Steven J. Reid.
Description: London: Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical referencesand index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016034111| ISBN 9781138946064 (hardback: alk. paper) |ISBN 9781315270739 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: ScotlandHistoryJames VI, 15671625. | ScotlandPolitics and government16th century. | ScotlandPolitics and government17th century. | James I, King of England, 15661625Influence
Classification: LCC DA788 .J36 2017 | DDC 941.105dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016034111

ISBN: 978-1-138-94606-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-27073-9 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra

The origin of this book was a conference held at the University of Glasgow on 10 and 11 April 2015. Over two days a number of speakers and delegates held an intense but thorough exploration of James rule and his relationship to the Scottish nobility. The editors wish to thank all the contributors and attendees for such a fruitful discussion. The conference was one of a series of workshops held as part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council project, Bridging the Continental divide: neo-Latin and its cultural role in Jacobean Scotland, as seen in the Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum (1637), which looked at new perspectives on James VI (the fruits of another of these workshops, on Biography and James VI, were published in volume 67.2 of the Innes Review in late 2016). We gratefully acknowledge the funding provided by the AHRC for both the project itself and the diverse range of public events and conferences on Jacobean culture that it supported. We are glad that this volume comes to publication on the 450th anniversary of James coronation in Scotland, although we regret that one of his greatest advocates, Jenny Wormald, is no longer with us to share the occasion. This volume is dedicated to her memory.