James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six. James began his personal rule in 1449 after a turbulent minority dominated by the ambitions of successive Earls of Douglas. Tensions between James and William, 8th Earl of Douglas, led to Douglas's murder in 1452 and an ensuing civil war. James defeated the Douglas family in 1455, seizing its lands and forcing its surviving members into exile. James pursued an aggressive foreign policy in the remaining years of his reign; he exploited the Wars of the Roses to launch repeated attacks against England, and sought territorial concessions from France and the Kalmar Union. James summoned frequent parliaments to pass legislation, but faced criticism from these bodies over his judicial policies. He was killed by an exploding bombard at Roxburgh Castle in 1460. James has been described as a largely successful king who strengthened the Scottish monarchy. He was succeeded by his son, James III.
Birth and accession James was born at Holyrood Palace on 16 October 1430, the younger of the twin sons of James I and Joan Beaufort. The twins' birth was greeted with public celebrations in Edinburgh. According to the contemporary Book of Pluscarden, "bonfires were lighted, flagons of wine were free to all and victuals publicly to all comers, with the sweetest harmony of all kinds of musical instruments all night long proclaiming the praise and glory of God for all his gifts and benefits." James I knighted his newborn sons, together with the heirs of various noblemen. The elder of the twins, Alexander, died before 22 April 1431, leaving James as the king's only surviving son and heir to the Scottish throne. James was styled Duke of Rothesay, a title previously held by his elder brother, from 1431 until his accession in 1437. James was born with a large red birthmark that covered one side of his face, a characteristic described by the contemporary Auchinleck chronicle as "the fyre mark in his face".
Little is known about James's early childhood. He was resident at Doune Castle in 1431, while in 1434 the king ordered Edinburgh Castle to be repaired to accommodate him. Michael Ramsay, the keeper of Lochmaben Castle, served as James's guardian during his infancy. Ramsay was removed from this position in 1431, after which John Spens of Glendouglas, an adherent of Walter, Earl of Atholl, became James's guardian. The king trusted Spens, who had previously served as comptroller, probably because of his connections with the Earl of Atholl.
James became King of Scots on 21 February 1437, after his father's assassination at the Blackfriars monastery in Perth. The king's death was orchestrated by his uncle, the Earl of Atholl. The earl's plans against James I were the culmination of longstanding disputes between the two men. Atholl was forced to surrender various lands, for example in the lordship of Methven, to James I, and may have feared the future loss of his liferent titles to the earldoms of Atholl and Strathearn; Brown, pp. 179-181. Atholl, an elderly man, was anxious over the king's interference in his estates, which threatened the effective disinheritance of Robert Stewart, his grandson and heir. Atholl may have sought to secure his own position by becoming regent on behalf of the young James II, which necessitated the removal of both the king and queen. Atholl's contemporary, Walter Bower, accused the earl of attempting to seize the throne for himself in fulfillment of an alleged prophecy.
Atholl's attempt to seize power ended in abject failure. Although James I was killed by Atholl's assassins, the queen managed to escape to safety and travelled quickly to Edinburgh, where she secured custody of her son and expelled Atholl's adherent, John Spens, from his household. Spens' lands had been distributed among the queen's loyalists by the end of 1437, and he may have been executed for his involvement in the conspiracy. The queen's success in gaining custody of James II stabilised her position, and Atholl surrendered the following month to her ally, William, Earl of Angus. Atholl was taken to Edinburgh and beheaded on 26 March. The earl's fellow conspirators were tortured and executed.
Royal minority James II was crowned at Holyrood Abbey on 26 March 1437 by Michael Ochiltree, Bishop of Dunblane. Parliament assembled in Edinburgh on the previous day, 25 March. This has been named as an alternative date for James II's coronation; see McGladdery, page 8. Concerns over the king's safety forced the coronation celebrations to be held within Edinburgh Castle. Queen Joan, who had received an oath of "retinence and fidelty" from parliament in 1435, likely planned to leverage her victory against Atholl to assume power as regent for James II. The queen's hopes were disappointed in May 1437, when a general council appointed Archibald, 5th Earl of Douglas, as regent with the title of "lieutenant-general". The general council allowed the queen to retain custody of James II, who was to be kept at Stirling Castle alongside his sisters. Despite these arrangements, the king was brought to Edinburgh before 1439 in the custody of William Crichton, one of his father's former courtiers. For Crichton's service to James I, see Brown 1994, pp. 132-133, 145.
Douglas's regency witnessed a period of disorder in Scotland, in contrast to the relative stability of James I's reign. General councils in 1438 and 1439 complained about open rebellion and widespread theft in the kingdom. A general council held at Edinburgh on 24 December 1438 complained about "open and public reif and spoilation", while another council, held at Stirling on 13 March 1439, asked the Earl of Douglas to ride to "where there is any rebel or unruly men reset within or holding any castle or fortalice, or where there is any violent presumption of rebellion [...] pass to such houses and arrest those persons to the law [...]". Scotland also suffered from famine and outbreaks of plague during these years, causing great suffering among the population. In reference to these events, Walter Bower reported that "even I who am writing these things have seen and heard this very day the poor people of my own neighbourhood being stripped of their garments and inhumanly despoiled of their utensils." Concerns over law and order persisted beyond Douglas's death in 1439; in August 1440, a general council asked the ten year-old James II to "ride throughout the realm immediately" to suppress instances of rebellion and violent crime. The council's request was likely directed against the king's justiciars for failing to fulfill their duties. The same council asked the justiciars at that time, James, Earl of Avandale, and Alexander, Earl of Ross, to hold justice ayres "according to the old use and custom", suggesting that the two men had not fulfilled their expected duties.
Douglas died on 26 June 1439, of fever during an outbreak of plague, after which no successor as lieutenant-general was appointed. Queen Joan recognised Douglas's death as an opportunity to seize power for herself, and was able to remove James II from Crichton's custody in Edinburgh, establishing the king at Stirling instead. The queen's plans were opposed by various councilors, including Crichton and James, Earl of Avandale, Douglas's younger brother. These men endorsed the decision of Alexander Livingston of Callendar, the keeper of Stirling, to arrest Queen Joan and her second husband, James Stewart of Lorn, in the castle on 3 August. A general council convened at Stirling in September to formalise the new state of affairs. Although the queen was released from confinement, she was forced to surrender custody of James II to Livingston.
Black Dinner and aftermath From the autumn of 1439, the Scottish regency council was dominated by Crichton, Avandale, Livingston, and their allies. The growth of William, 6th Earl of Douglas, the son of the late lieutenant-general, into adulthood provided a new source of political tension in 1440. The young earl may have sought to claim the regency as his father's heir. Faced with a potential crisis in their exercise of power, Crichton and Avandale decided to kill Douglas. Crichton invited Douglas to Edinburgh Castle on 24 November 1440, where the earl was taken by surprise and beheaded in an event known as the "Black Dinner". Douglas's younger brother, David, was also executed, allowing Avandale to inherit the prestigious earldom of Douglas. See ibid, p. 207, for the "unique status and role of the Douglas earl" as expressed in contemporary literature.
The new Earl of Douglas, known as James the Gross due to his great weight, spent the rest of his life attempting to enhance his family's position in Scotland. His weight was described by the contemporary Auchinleck chronicle; John Lesley called him "ane man of gryit stature and verrey fatt". In the years following the Black Dinner, he secured Galloway and the earldom of Moray for his sons through marriage to their heiresses. The earl's eldest son, William, married Margaret, the "Maid of Galloway", while his third son, Archibald, married Elizabeth Dunbar, the younger daughter of James Dunbar, 4th Earl of Moray. Earl James's ambitions in Moray provoked conflict with Crichton, now serving as chancellor, who had planned to gain the earldom for his eldest son. Crichton's eldest son, James, had married Janet Dunbar, the elder daughter of James Dunbar, 4th Earl of Moray. Tensions between the two men erupted into open violence in 1442. In the wake of these events, Crichton joined the growing faction gathered around Queen Joan and her ally, James, Earl of Angus.
The queen's return to politics occurred amid ecclesiastical controversy in Scotland. In 1439, the Council of Florence, then meeting at Ferrara, had elected Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, as an antipope under the name of Felix V. James the Gross recognised Felix V and the council, while Queen Joan and her clerical allies supported Eugene IV, the legitimate pope. In July 1442, the earl intimidated a provincial council of papalist bishops, led by the queen's ally, Bishop Kennedy of St Andrews, into dissolving by night. James the Gross died in March 1443, after which Scottish support for Felix V was largely abandoned. A general council decreed on 4 November 1443 that "ferme and fast obedience" should be maintained to Eugene IV.
Factional conflict (1443–1445) James the Gross was succeeded by his eldest son, William, 8th Earl of Douglas, who continued his father's conflict with Crichton. In August 1443, Douglas destroyed a tower house at Barnton belonging to George Crichton of Blackness, the chancellor's cousin. Douglas brought the twelve year-old James II to Barnton, displaying the royal banner to ensure the tower's surrender. This was merely the first stage of the new earl's campaign against the Crichton family. Douglas convened a general council on 4 November 1443 to outlaw Crichton and his relatives and removed the chancellor from the regency council. Crichton responded to this condemnation by attacking Douglas's estates. The events of 1443 marked a period of renewed disorder in Scotland, as local disputes erupted in various parts of the kingdom.