General Notes

James IV (b. March 17, 1473--d. Sept. 9, 1513, near Branxton, Northumberland, Eng.), king of Scotland from 1488 to 1513. An energetic and popular ruler, he unified Scotland under royal control, strengthened royal finances, and improved Scotland's position in European politics.

James succeeded to the throne after his father, James III, was killed in a battle against rebels on June 11, 1488. The 15-year-old monarch immediately began to take an active part in government. He extended his authority to the sparsely populated areas of western and northern Scotland and by 1493 had humbled the last lord of the Isles.

Although his reign was internally peaceful, it was disturbed by wars with England. Breaking a truce with England in 1495, James prepared an invasion in support of Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English throne. The war was confined to a few border forays, and a seven-year peace was negotiated in December 1497, though border raids continued. Relations between England and Scotland were further stabilized in 1503, when James married Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of the English king Henry VII; this match resulted, a century later, in the accession of James's great-grandson, the Stuart monarch James VI of Scotland, to the English throne as King James I.

James IV's growing prestige enabled him to negotiate as an equal with the rulers of conti nental Europe, but his position was weakened as he came into conflict with King Henry VIII of England (ruled 1509-47). In 1512 James allied with France against England and the major continental powers. When Henry invaded France in 1513, James decided, against the counsel of his advisers, to aid his ally by advancin g into England. He captured four castles in northern England in August 1513, bu t his army was disastrously defeated at the Battle of Flodden, near Branxton, o n Sept. 9, 1513. The King was killed while fighting on foot, and most of his no bles perished. James left one legitimate child, his successor, James V (ruled 1 513-42); in addition, he had many illegitimate children, several of whom became prominent figures in Scotland.

True to the ideal of the Renaissance prince, James strove to make his court a centre of refinement and learning. He patronized literature, licensed Scotland's first printers, and improved education. His career is recounted in R.L. Mackie's King James IV of Scotland (1958). [Britan nica CD '97]

James IV (1488-1513) James IV, born on 17 March 1473, was 15 when his father's enemies forced him to ride with them to the Battle of Sauchieburn, and for the rest of his life he wore an iron belt as a penance. For the first time in a century, Scotland had a king who was able to start ruling for himself at once for, as Erasmus once commented, 'He had wonderful powers of mind, an astonishing knowledge of everything, an unconquerable magnanimity and the most abundant generosity.' He spoke Latin (at that time the international language ), French, German, Flemish, Italian, Spanish and some Gaelic, and took an active interest in literature, science and the law, even trying his hand at dentistry and minor surgery.
Under James' vigorous rule, he extended royal administration to the west and north - by 1493, he had overcome the last independent lord of the Isles.

With his patronage the printing press came to Scotland, and the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, St Leonard's College, St Andrews an d King's College, Aberdeen were founded. He commissioned building work at the r oyal residences of Linlithgow Palace, Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle, and developed a strong navy led by his flagship, the Great Michael, said to be the largest vessel of the time.

To begin with, relations with England were difficult: in 1495, James supported the pretender Perkin Warbeck in his claim to the English throne. Even so, he was anxious to maintain peace with England and concluded a peace treaty in 1502.