James III 1452-88
King of Scotland

The eldest son of James II, whom he succeeded at the age of eight (1460), he was brought up under the guardianship of Bishop Kennedy (c.1408-1465) of St Andrews, while the Earl of Angus was made lieutenant-general. James's tutor was the leading humanist scholar Archibald Whitelaw, who inspired him with a love of culture and a sincere piety. The beginnings of the flowering of vernacular literature that marked James IV's court began in this reign. His minority, although (from 1466) marked by the rise of the Boyds at the expense of others, did not see the degree of disturbance that had marked previous reigns. By 1469, when parliament condemned the Boyds and James was married to Margaret, daughter of Kristian I of Denmark, bringing Orkney and Shetland in pledge as part of her dowry, the king was firmly in control, but he was unable to restore strong central government. Various aspects of his rule, however, created resentment: money was short, successive parliaments reluctant to grant taxes, and in the 1480s James resorted to debasement of the coinage, stigmatized as 'black money'. His efforts (1471-73) to engage in campaigns in Brittany and Gueldres fell on deaf ears, and his attempts (1474-79) to bring about a reconciliation with England were ahead of their time and almost as unpopular. In 1479 he confiscated the estates of his brothers, the Duke of Albany and the Earl of Mar, the latter dying suspiciously. The breakdown of relations with England brought war (1480), and the threat of English invasion resulted in a calculated political demonstration by his nobles, who hanged Robert Cochrane and other unpopular royal favourites at Lauder Bridge (1482). The rebellion which brought about his downfall and death at Sauchieburn (1488) resulted from a further crisis of confidence in the king but ironically was less widespread. His eldest son, who had fought against him, succeeded as James IV.