James I., king of Scotland (1406-37), the second and only surviving son of Robert III., was born at Dunfermline in 1394. His education was entrusted to the learned Bishop Wardlaw of St Andrews. His elder brother, David, Duke of Rothesay, a reckless and dissipated youth, had died at Falkland—it was strongly suspected, but not proved, a victim to the unprincipled ambition of his uncle, the Duke of Albany, and King Robert resolved in 1406 to send his younger son for safety to France. But, though a truce at that time existed between England and Scotland, the vessel in which the young prince had embarked was seized by an English cruiser, and James and his attendants were carried to London, and committed to the Tower. He was detained a prisoner in England for the long space of eighteen years, no doubt with the connivance of the Duke of Albany, on whom the government of Scotland had devolved on the death of Robert III. in 1406. Henry IV. made some compensation for his cruel injustice to the young prince by carefully instructing him in all the knightly accomplishments of the age, and he not only became distinguished for his dexterity in martial exercises, but he could play well on the lute and harp and other musical instruments, was a skilful calligrapher, illuminator, and painter in miniature, and had also a considerable knowledge of medicine. On the death of the Duke of Albany in 1420, his son Murdoch succeeded to the regency. Under his feeble rule the country fell into a state of disorder, almost of anarchy, till at length Murdoch himself grew weary of his position, and took steps to procure the return of the lawful sovereign. The conditions of his release were definitely arranged May 12, 1423. It was stipulated that £40,000 was to be paid to defray the expense of his maintenance and education. James had in a singularly romantic manner gained the affections of Jane Beaufort, a daughter of the Earl of Somerset, niece of Richard II., and granddaughter of John of Gaunt; and on February 12, 1424, they were married with all the pomp befitting the occasion. The royal pair then set out for Scotland, and were welcomed with joyous acclamations.
James found his kingdom a scene of lawless excess and rapine, mainly owing to the weakness of the government and the turbulence of the nobles. He at once set himself to restore the legitimate authority of the crown, and to rescue the commons from oppression and plunder; but in carrying out these praiseworthy objects he sometimes lost sight of both mercy and justice. Eight months after his restoration he suddenly swooped down upon his cousin the former Regent Albany, two of his sons, and his aged father-in-law, the Earl of Lennox. They were brought to trial, but the nature of the charges against them is not known. They were found guilty and executed amid general compassion and regret; the people believed that it was simply an act of cruel revenge. James then seized and imprisoned fifty of the Highland chiefs, and put to death the most obnoxious ringleaders. He deprived the powerful Earl of March of his estates, and on the death of the Earl of Mar, the victor at Harlaw, he seized the earldom and annexed its immense estates to the crown. Meanwhile, into the parliament he introduced the principle of representation, and for the first time caused its acts to be published in the language of the common people. Its enactments, which were judicious and enlightened beyond the age, comprehended the subjects of agriculture, commerce, foreign and domestic manufactures, the regulation of weights and measures, the impartial administration of justice, and the police of the country. He renewed commercial intercourse with the Netherlands, and concluded a satisfactory treaty with Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. He drew closer the ancient bond of alliance with France, and gave his eldest daughter in marriage to the Dauphin. But he unfortunately persisted in carrying out harshly, and sometimes unjustly, his measures for curbing the power of the nobles, which excited not without cause strong discontent and apprehension among the whole body.
His confiscation of the earldom of Strathearn, which had devolved on Patrick Graham, brought matters to a crisis. A conspiracy was formed against the king's life, headed by his uncle, the Earl of Athole; Sir Robert Stewart, his grandson; and Sir Robert Graham, uncle of the Earl of Strathearn, who had personal as well as family injuries to revenge. The plot was carried into effect at Perth on the 20th of February 1437. The king was about to retire for the night, when there was a great noise and clashing of arms heard, and a band of assassins led by Graham broke into the monastery of the Dominicans where the court was residing. The bolts had been removed from the chamber door, but Catharine Douglas heroically thrust her arm into the staple. It was instantly broken, and the ruffians burst into the chamber. The king, who had sought refuge in a vault under the floor, was discovered, and after a desperate resistance was cruelly murdered. The murderers were all apprehended in less than a month, and put to death by tortures shocking to humanity. By his wife, the heroine of the Kingis Quair, he left one son (his successor) and five daughters, one of whom, Marguerite d'Ecosse, dauphine of France, was a gifted poetess. James was unquestionably the ablest of the Stewart sovereigns, and was possessed of high poetical genius. His principal poem, entitled The Kingis Quair (i.e. the king's quire or book), is remarkable for elegance of diction and tender delicacy of feeling. The humorous pieces Christ's Kirk on the Green and Pebbles to the Play are much later compositions; but a 'Ballad of Good Counsel,' written, unlike The Kingis Quair, strictly in the Scottish dialect, is ascribed by Professor Skeat to James. See Professor Skeat's edition of The Kingis Quair (Scottish Text Soc. 1884), and Rossetti's noble ballad, 'The King's Tragedy.'