15^th Great Grandfather – FFFMFFFMFFFFFFFMF

As I described in a previous article James I of Scotland was my 15^th great grandfather through the Taylors and Gordons. In this article I will describe briefly the life of James I. As with most royalty, one could write a book on their life, but I will stick to the major events.

James was born in late July 1394¹. He was the youngest of three sons of King Robert III and Queen Annabella, and he was probably born at Dunfermline Abbey. Both of his older brothers died young, the eldest David in suspicious circumstances, so by the winter of 1405-1406 there were concerns for James’s safety. While trying to escape to France, James was captured by an English ship and delivered to King Henry IV of England. His father died days after his capture and James, now the uncrowned King of Scotland, would remain a captive of the English for eighteen years.

James was educated during his captivity, where he was kept in the Tower of London, Windsor castle or other castles. He joined King Henry V in his military campaigns in France, between 1420 and 1421.

On 12 Feb 1424, James married Joan Beaufort², the daughter of John Beaufort, 1^st Earl of Somerset and grandson of King Edward III³, and a couple of months later, he was released to return to Scotland with his new English bride.

Although his return was not very popular, mainly due to his service with Henry V in France, but also because of the increased taxes needed to pay for his ransom, he and Joan were crowned on 21^st May 1424.

James and Joan had eight children, two twin boys Alexander and James, and 6 girls. The slightly older twin Alexander died the same day as he was born, so James became the heir. The youngest daughter Annabella married George Gordon, 2^nd Earl of Huntly.

James’ reign was turbulent. To secure his position he made pre-emptive strikes against some of his nobles, including his kinsmen the Albany Stewarts, the descendents of his uncle Robert, Duke of Albany⁴, who had been suspected of killing his older brother.

On the night of 20/21 February 1437, James was assassinated in Perth during a failed coup by his uncle Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl⁵. His wife Joan, though wounded escaped the attackers and reached Edinburgh castle to be reunited with their son, the new King James II.

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