James III

By Norman Macdougall

James III is the most enigmatic of the Stewart kings of Scotland. Variously characterised as artistic, peace-loving, morbidly suspicious, treacherous, pious, lecherous and lazy, King James was much criticised by contemporaries and later chroniclers for his failure to do his job in the manner expected of him, and particularly for his reliance on low-born favourites to the exclusion of his ‘natural’ counsellors, the nobility. Specific complaints included debasement of the coinage, royal hoarding of money, failure to staunch feuds and to enforce criminal justice. Yet James III has also been seen as a major patron of the arts, as Scotland’s first Renaissance king, and as the architect of an intelligent and forward-looking foreign policy.

In this new study, the author explores all these areas and seeks to explain why King James was challenged by a huge rebellion in 1482, which he narrowly survived, and why he succumbed to a further rising in 1488, which placed his eldest son on the throne as James IV.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Donald
• Release date: Nov 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781788852425

Norman Macdougall

Norman MacDougall was formerly senior Lecturer in the Department of Scottish History at the University of St Andrews.

Reviews for James III

[lisa.schureman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

From reading this series I've come to the conclusion that being a Royal Stewart isn't a good thing. Robert III set the precedent when he set aside his father, Robert II, who lived out his life imprisoned in a Stewartry castle. Robert III's brother, the Duke of Albany, starved his nephew, who was the heir to the Scottish throne, to death after imprisoning him. His other nephew spent 19 years in English captivity while Albany ruled Scotland in Robert III's name. James I returned to Scotland and brought down his Albany relatives but in turn was assassinated by disaffected nobles. James II broke the power of the Douglas family but not before getting himself in a sticky situation by murdering a Douglas earl. Which brings us to James III who wasn't very good at following the advice of his councilors and flaunted some his favorites in the face of the Three Estates while advancing relatives who had committed flagrant acts of treason against him. He appeared to specialize in rubbing his nobility the wrong way and the last two years of his life constantly made poor decisions that led to his ruin. A very good book that I enjoyed very much.