loved solitude, and desired nevir to hear of warre, bot delighted more
in musick and policie and building nor he did in the government of the
realme."
JAMES IV. (1473-1513), king of Scotland, eldest son of James III., was
born on the 17th of March 1473. He was nominally the leader of the
rebels who defeated the troops of James III. at the Sauchieburn in June
1488, and became king when his father was killed. As he adopted an
entirely different policy with the nobles from that of his father, and,
moreover, showed great affability towards the lower class of his
subjects, among whom he delighted to wander incognito, few if any of the
kings of Scotland have won such general popularity, or passed a reign so
untroubled by intestine strife. Crowned at Scone a few days after his
accession, James began at once to take an active part in the business of
government. A slight insurrection was easily suppressed, and a plot
formed by some nobles to hand him over to the English king, Henry VII.,
came to nothing. In spite of this proceeding Henry wished to live at
peace with his northern neighbour, and soon contemplated marrying his
daughter to James, but the Scottish king was not equally pacific. When,
in 1495, Perkin Warbeck, pretending to be the duke of York, Edward IV.'s
younger son, came to Scotland, James bestowed upon him both an income
and a bride, and prepared to invade England in his interests. For
various reasons the war was confined to a few border forays. After
Warbeck left Scotland in 1497, the Spanish ambassador negotiated a
peace, and in 1502 a marriage was definitely arranged between James and
Henry's daughter Margaret (1489-1541). The wedding took place at
Holyrood in August 1503, and it was this union which led to the
accession of the Stewart dynasty to the English throne.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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