James I: Scotland's King of England

by John Matusiak

Overview

Few kings have been more savagely caricatured or grossly misunderstood than England’s first Stuart. Yet, as this biography demonstrates, the modern tendency to downplay his defects and minimise the long-term consequences of his reign has gone too far.In spite of genuine idealism and fl ashes of considerable resourcefulness, James I remains a perplexing figure – a uniquely curious ruler, shot through with glaring inconsistencies. His vices and foibles not only undermined his high hopes for healing and renewal after Elizabeth I’s troubled last years, but also entrenched political and religious tensions that eventually consumed his successor.A flawed, if well-meaning, foreigner in a rapidly changing and divided kingdom, his passionate commitment to time-honoured principles of government would, ironically, prove his undoing, as England edged unconsciously towards a crossroads and the shadow of the Thirty Years War descended upon Europe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750986830
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	03/01/2018
Edition description:	New edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

JOHN MATUSIAK studied at the universities of London and Sussex before embarking upon a teaching career that eventually spanned more than thirty years. For over a third of that time, he was Head of the History Department at Colchester Royal Grammar School, founded by Henry VIII in 1539. He is the author of Henry VIII (THP, 2012), Wolsey (THP, 2013), The Tudors in 100 Objects (THP, 2015) and The Prisoner King (THP, 2017).

Table of Contents

1 Heir to Scotland's Woe 7

2 King and Pawn 26

3 Love and Liberation 45

4 Lessons in Life and Kingcraft 65

5 The Headsman and the King of Spain 79

6 'Cupide Blinde' and Wyches' Waies 98

7 The Wrath of Earls and Kirk 115

8 'King and Sovereign Lord' of Scotland 131

9 Towards the 'Land of Promise' 146

10 Scotland's King of England 169

11 The King, His Beagles, His Countrymen and His Court 189

12 Religion, Peace and Lucifer 209

13 Parliament, Union, Gunpowder 233

14 Finance, Favouritism and Foul Play 256

15 Favourite of Favourites 275

16 Faraway Realms 290

17 'Baby Charles' and 'Steenie' 305

18 Dotage, Docility and Demise 321

19 Ruler of Three Kingdoms 329

Source Notes and Bibliographic Information 336

Author's Note 346

Index 347