592 



SCOTLAND. 



History. o f Edinburgh, wasted the estates of Douglas. A royal 

 W-y ' army, under the king, invested Edinburgh castle, and 

 Douglas was created lieutenant-general of the king- 

 dom. 



The earl of Huntingdon and Lord Percy entered 

 Scotland with 15,000 men. They were met and de- 

 feated by a force under Douglas. The earl of Salis- 

 bury, lord-lieutenant of the north of 'England, raised 

 an army to revenge his countrymen ; but the Scots 

 attacked him, routed his army, and ravaged the north 

 of England. 



An embassy under Crichton proceeded to France, 

 to renew the ancient league, and to select a bride for 

 James, now in his sixteenth year. They accordingly 

 entered upon a matrimonial engagement with Mary, 

 daughter of the duke of Guelderland. The bride land- 

 ed at Leith, and the nuptials were celebrated with much 

 pomp. 



A truce was concluded with England, which might 

 be violated by either party, upon giving a notice of 

 180 days. James assembled a parliament at Edin- 

 A.D 1450. burgh, and enacted a variety of statutes which evince 

 his wisdom and beneficence. Douglas withdrew from 

 court, and passed to Rome to witness the celebration 

 of the jubilee. Upon his return home, he persevered 

 in his treasonable conduct, attempted to assassinate the 

 Chancellor, and formed a league with the Lord of the 

 Isles. 



Several incidents of a less important character served 

 to exhibit the cruelty of Douglas, and exasperate the 

 king, who, with the advice of his council, determined 

 upon private revenge. The earl was invited to visit 

 the court at Stirling. After supper, the king, taking 

 him into a private chamber, mildly desired him to 

 dissolve his illegal combinations. But the earl proud- 

 ly refused, and upbraided the king as the cause of the 

 confederacy. James, with fury, exclaimed, " If you 

 will not break this league, 1 shall !" and instantly 

 A'.D. 1452. stabbed him with his dagger. An attendant struck 

 the earl with a battle axe, and he fell mortally wound- 

 ed. Crawford, one of Douglas's confederates, on hear- 

 ing of his fate, rose in arms. He was met near Brechin 

 by Huntly, and defeated with great slaughter. The 

 four brothers of Douglas threatened the king with 

 vengeance, but James's forbearance and authority in- 

 duced fiiem to return to their duty. 



In the subsequent part of this reign, the most pro- 

 minent transaction is the final ruin of the house of 

 Douglas. Earl James had entered into a treasonable 

 engagement with Richard duke of York, who directed 

 the councils of England. The king of Scots was the 

 friend of Henry, and therefore displeased with the 

 usurpation of York, who necessarily availed himself 

 of the alliance with Douglas to retaliate upon James, 

 and prevent his interference in the affairs of England. 

 A.D. 145 4. upon discovering the designs of Douglas, James 

 summoned him to appear at court. The earl not only 

 disobeyed, but caused placards to be stuck charging 

 the king with the murder of the two late cViiefs of the 

 house of Douglas. An army was immediately sent to 

 ravage the lands of the contumacious earl, and to be- 

 siege his castle of Abercorn. Douglas retired to the 

 border, and applied for aid to the English ally, who 

 sent him a pecuniary remittance, on which he resolved 

 to raife all his vassals and adherents to give battle to 

 the king, or expel him from the kingdom. In this 

 extremity, the king passed over to St. Andrews, issued 

 a proclamation summoning the array of the north, and 

 offering an amnesty to all who should join his army. 



Assassina- 

 tion of 

 Douglas 

 by James. 



A considerable force speedily assembled, and the 

 king marched to Stirling, where, being joined by the 

 troops from the northern shires, his army amounted 

 to 40.000. The royal army then advanced to give the 

 rebels battle, and in one night the whole forces of the 

 Earl deserted him, on which he fled to Annandale, 

 and afterwards to England. On this, the castles of 

 Abercorn, Douglas, Strathaven, and Crieff in Gallo- 

 way were razed, and the family estates confiscated. 



A truce for nine years was concluded with England ; 

 but the civil dissensions in that kingdom rendered the 

 continuance of peace very precarious. From some un- 

 certain cause, James advanced with an army to Rox- 

 burgh castle, which had remained in the hands of the 

 English since the battle of Durham. In this siege, 

 while the king was observing the effects of his rude 

 cannon, one of them burst, and he died almost instan- 

 taneously, in the twenty-ninth year of his age, and the 

 twenty-fourth of his reign. He left three sons and 

 two daughters. 



James the Third, at eight years of age succeeded his 

 father, and was crowned at Scone. 



Henry the Sixth of England having been defeated 

 by Edward the Fourth, fled to Scotland, and engaged 

 the sympathy of the queen regent. Berwick was 

 conceded to the Scots, who, in return, sent an army 

 into England, but they were compelled to m.ke a 

 disastrous retreat. George, earl of Angus, was en- 

 .gaged to assist the unfortunate Henry by the promise 

 of a ducal dignity, with an estate in England. To 

 balance the influence of Henry in Scotland, his suc- 

 cessful rival, Edward the Fourth, entered into a ne- 

 gotiation with the Lord of the Isles, who became the 

 liege subject of Edward for a pension, and by the pro- 

 mise of ample territories when his country should be 

 subdued. James had entered his fourteenth year when 

 his venerable preceptor Kennedy died. 



Lord Boyd was appointed guardian of the king and 

 his family, and was created constable of Scotland. 



An embassy was sent to Denmark, to adjust a pro- 

 tracted dispute relative to the arrears due for the wes- 

 tern islands. At the suggestion of the king of France, 

 a marriage was concluded between the king of Scots 

 and the princess of Denmark. In lieu of dowry, her 

 father consented to cancel the arrears, and to make a 

 permanent cession to the crown of Scotland of the 

 Orkney and Shetland islands. Margaret of Denmark 

 arrived at Leith, and was married and crowned, though 

 only in her thirteenth year. James's character, upon 

 his assuming the chief authority, began to be delineat- 

 ed, in his attachment to favourites, his love of retire- 

 ment and the arts, and his consequent inattention 

 and aversion to public business. The parliament was 

 put upon the dependent footing of a mere court of 

 justice, existing by the royal pleasure, and assimilated 

 in terms of contempt with the inferior courts. 



In the fall of the houses of Douglas and Boyd, the 

 aristocracy received a severe blow. James aimed to 

 rule with absolute authority ; but his genius was ina- 

 dequate to the attempt, and he fell a sacrifice to the 

 resentment of the incensed nobility. A very import- 

 ant treaty was entered into by the English and Scot- 

 tish monarchs. The king of England offered his 

 daughter Cecilia, only four years of age, in marriage 

 to the prince of Scotland, a child of tvvo years ; and 

 with her a portion of twenty thousand roerks, to be 

 paid in ten years by annual instalments. 



Having thus secured the friendship of England, 

 James enjoyed full leisure to improve the domestic 



History. 



Fall of the 



Douglas 



Family. 



Death of 



Tames the 

 Second, and 

 accession of 

 .James the 

 Third. 

 A.D. 1460, 



A.D. 1461, 



A.D. 1462, 



A.D. 1463, 



A.D. 1467. 



A.D. 1469. 



A.D. 16T1. 



A.D. 1PT4. 



