James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570),^[1] a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V, was Regent of Scotland for his nephew, the infant King James VI of Scotland, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570. Before 1562 he was known as 'Lord James.'

Life and career

Moray was born in about 1531, the most notable of the many illegitimate children of King James V of Scotland. His mother was the King's favourite mistress, Lady Margaret Erskine, daughter of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine, and wife of Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven. James was appointed Prior of St Andrews in his youth. This position supplied his income. As early as May 1553, the imperial ambassador to England, Jean Scheyfve, heard that Mary of Guise planned make him Regent of Scotland in place of James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault.^[2]

On 5 August 1557, Moray, his half-brother Lord Robert, and Lord Home led a raiding party from Edinburgh towards Ford Castle in Northumbria and burnt houses at Fenton before retreating on the approach of an English force led by Henry Percy.^[3] James attended the wedding of his legitimate half-sister, Mary, Queen of Scots, in Paris. To fund this trip his mother obtained credit from Timothy Cagnioli, an Italian banker in Edinburgh.^[4] At Perth in June 1559 James plucked down the images in various churches.^[5] An English commentator praised James for his virtue, manhood, valiantness and stoutness as a leader of the Scottish Reformation and a Lord of the Congregation.^[6] Moray became the chief advisor to Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1561 after her return from France. She was the only surviving child of his father's marriage to Mary of Guise. Although he disturbed her priests celebrating mass at Holyroodhouse in September 1561,^[7] she made him Earl of Moray the following year. With the earldom came Darnaway Castle with its medieval hall, notable even then as 'verie fayer and large builded.'^[8] On 8 February 1562, Moray married Agnes Keith, daughter of William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal. The marriage produced three daughters:

• Elizabeth (wife of James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray)
• Annabel
• Margaret (wife of Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll).

In October 1562, he defeated a rebellion by George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, at the Battle of Corrichie near Aberdeen.

After Moray opposed the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to Lord Darnley in 1565, he embarked upon the unsuccessful 'Chaseabout Raid', together with the Earl of Argyll and Clan Hamilton. He was subsequently declared an outlaw and took refuge in England. Returning to Scotland after the murder of David Rizzio, he was pardoned by the Queen. He contrived, however, to be away at the time of Darnley's assassination, and avoided the tangles of the marriage with Bothwell by going to France. After Mary's abdication at Loch Leven, in July 1567, he was appointed regent of Scotland. When she escaped from Loch Leven (2 May 1568) the Duke of Chatelherault and other nobles rallied to her standard, but Moray gathered his allies and defeated her forces at the Battle of Langside, near Glasgow (13 May 1568), and compelled her to flee to England. For this and the subsequent management of the kingdom he secured both civil and ecclesiastical peace, and earned the title of "The Good Regent". Moray was responsible for the destruction of Rutherglen castle which he burned to the ground in 1569, in retribution against the Hamiltons for having supported Mary, at the Battle of Langside.

Death

On Thursday 19 January 1570 Moray was at Stirling Castle where he had invited the English diplomat Sir Henry Gate, Marshall of Berwick, and the soldier Sir William Drury for dinner in the Great Hall. Later in his bedchamber he told the English visitors he would meet with them and certain Scottish nobles at Edinburgh on Monday or Tuesday to discuss the rendition of English rebels. Moray was troubled by the problem of Dumbarton Castle, which was held against him by supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots.^[9] On 21 January, he sent letters to summon Morton, Lindsay and Home to the meeting in Edinburgh,^[10] but Moray was assassinated in Linlithgow on 23 January 1570 by James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh, a supporter of Mary. Hamilton, using a gun, shot and fatally wounded Moray from a window at his uncle John Hamilton's house as Moray was passing in a cavalcade in the main street below.^[11] It was the first recorded assassination by a firearm.^[12] The Regent's body was shipped to Leith then taken to Holyrood Abbey.^[13] He was buried on 14 February 1570 in St. Anthony's aisle at St. Giles, Edinburgh. Seven earls and lords carried his body; William Kirkcaldy of Grange held his standard, and John Knox preached at the funeral.^[14] Moray's tomb was carved by John Roytell and Murdoch Walker, with a brass engraved by James Gray.^[15] His wife, Agnes was buried inside his tomb when she died in 1588.^[16]

Moray was succeeded by his eldest daughter and heir, Elizabeth Stewart, 2nd Countess of Moray, whose husband, James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray acquired the earldom on their marriage.

Moray in popular culture

Notable media depictions of Moray include Patrick McGoohan's portrayal of James Stewart (pre-Regency) in the 1971 film Mary, Queen of Scots. He also features in Sir Walter Scott's 1820 novel The Monastery.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.