James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran (c1532–1609) was a Scottish

Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...

nobleman and soldier who fought against French troops during the Scottish Reformation

Scottish Reformation

The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...

.
Born in 1532 or 1536, James was the eldest son of James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran

James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran

James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault and 2nd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the eldest legitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....

who was next in line for the Crown of Scotland after Mary, Queen of Scots. Through his mother Margaret Douglas he was descended from James IV and Joan of Scotland, daughter of James I

James I of Scotland

James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...

.
As a potential royal heir he was involved in various marriage negotiations which all foundered. James went to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

in July 1548, possibly with, or soon after, Mary, Queen of Scots, where he became Commander of the Scots Guards

Garde Écossaise

The Garde Écossaise was an elite Scottish military unit founded in 1418 by the Valois Charles VII of France, to be personal bodyguards to the French monarchy. They were assimilated into the Maison du Roi and later formed the first Company of the Garde du Corps du Roi...

. When his father, then known as 'Regent Arran,' became a French Duke, James was made Earl of Arran. The 1549 French edition of Andrea Alciati's

Andrea Alciato

Andrea Alciato , commonly known as Alciati , was an Italian jurist and writer. He is regarded as the founder of the French school of legal humanists.-Biography:...

Emblemes D'Alciat.

Emblem

An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...

was dedicated to him. One of his personal devices was a heart pierced with an arrow pointing down. He fought for the Scottish Reformation

Scottish Reformation

, but spent the last 45 years of his life in seclusion.

To marry Mary

Mary of Guise

Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...

told the English ambassador Ralph Sadler

Ralph Sadler

Sir Ralph Sadler, PC, Knight banneret was an English statesman of the 16th century, and served as a Secretary of State for King Henry VIII.-Background:...

in March 1543 that James's father, Regent Arran, "mindeth to marry" her daughter, Queen Mary I, to his son, something she was anxious to avoid. Yet, in December 1543, French envoys heard his father wanted him to marry King Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

's daughter, Lady Elizabeth

Elizabeth I of England

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...

.

Although James's father, who was Governor of Scotland after the death of James V

James V of Scotland

James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...

publicly supported the marriage of the infant Queen to the English Prince Edward

Edward VI of England

Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...

, and then to the French Dauphin

Dauphin

The Dauphin of France —strictly, The Dauphin of Viennois —was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830...

Francis

Francis II of France

Francis II was aged 15 when he succeeded to the throne of France after the accidental death of his father, King Henry II, in 1559. He reigned for 18 months before he died in December 1560...

, he hoped that his son James would marry the Queen of Scots. To this effect, the Abbot of Paisley

Abbot of Paisley

The Abbot of Paisley was the head of the Cluniac monastic community of Paisley Abbey and its property. The monastery was founded as a priory at Renfrew in 1163, but moved to Paisley in 1169. It became an abbey in 1219. The founder was Walter fitz Alan, Seneschal of Scotland...

, John Hamilton

John Hamilton (archbishop)

The Most Rev. Dr. John Hamilton , Scottish prelate and politician, was an illegitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....

planned to meet Lord Somerville

Hugh Somerville, 5th Lord Somerville

Hugh Somerville, 5th Lord Somerville was a lord of the Parliament of Scotland. He is sometimes reckoned to be the 4th Lord Somerville. He succeeded his brother, John Somerville, 4th Lord Somerville...

and the Earl of Angus

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus was a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots...

on 28 October 1545, to gain their support for the Hamilton marriage. Somerville's son John wrote to Mary of Guise

Mary of Guise

saying they would not be persuaded.

After the assassination of Cardinal Beaton

David Beaton

The Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.-Career:...

in 1546, James was held prisoner by his father's enemies at St Andrews Castle

St Andrews Castle

St Andrew's Castle is a picturesque ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger...

, who offered him as a hostage for the assistance of an English fleet at the siege

Siege of St Andrews Castle

The Siege of St Andrews Castle followed the killing of Cardinal David Beaton by a group of Protestants at St Andrews Castle. They remained in the castle and were besieged by the Governor of Scotland. However, over 18 months the Scottish besieging forces made little impact, and the Castle finally...

. Henry VIII was willing to provide support but it never materialised. In order to limit potential problems, on 14 August 1547, the Parliament of Scotland

Parliament of Scotland

The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...

declared James was no longer the third person in the Scottish succession for the duration of his captivity. Despite Henry's promises, the siege was relieved by a French naval intervention.

French brides

In April 1548, Henry II of France

Henry II of France

Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...

offered Françoise, daughter of the Duke of Montpensier

Louis III de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier

Louis de Bourbon was the second Duke of Montpensier. He was the great great grandfather of la Grande Mademoiselle.-Biography:...

to be Arran's bride. James joined Queen Mary in France in July 1548. There, he was made captain of the Garde Écossaise

Garde Écossaise

. On 24 January 1553, the French royal armourer Bénédict Claye contracted to supply him with an armour decorated with engraved and gilded borders, a morion

Morion (helmet)

A morion is a type of open helmet used during the 16th and early 17th centuries, usually having a flat brim and a crest from front to back. The morion, though generally identified with Spanish conquistadors, was common among foot soldiers of European nationalities, including the English; the first...

and a bourguignon

Burgonet

The burgonet helmet was a Renaissance-era and Early modern combat helmet. It was the successor of the sallet....

, and accessories before the 8 April 1553.

After Mary was betrothed to the Dauphin, a number of ladies of the court were suggested as brides for James, including in May 1557 the Mademoiselle de Bouillon, daughter of Diane de Poitiers

Diane de Poitiers

Diane de Poitiers was a French noblewoman and a prominent courtier at the courts of kings Francis I and his son, Henry II of France. She became notorious as the latter's favourite mistress...

and Henry II, Claude and Louise de Rieux, who married René, Marquis of Elbeuf

René, Marquis of Elbeuf

René of Guise,Marquis d'Elbeuf was the youngest son of Claude, Duke of Guise and Antoinette de Bourbon....

, and Jeane de Savoie. Nothing came of any of these marriage plans.

Elizabeth's consort

In 1558, with the support of John Knox

John Knox

John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...

and John Jewel

John Jewel

John Jewel was an English bishop of Salisbury.-Life:He was the son of John Jewel of Buden, Devon, was educated under his uncle John Bellamy, rector of Hampton, and other private tutors until his matriculation at Merton College, Oxford, in July 1535.There he was taught by John Parkhurst,...

, Bishop of Salisbury, he became a pawn in his father's aspirations who tried to negotiate his marriage to Elizabeth I to seal an Anglo-Scottish alliance. Although Bishop Jewel remained in favour of the marriage as late as June 1560, and Elizabeth's own opinion is not known, the Earl's friends Ralph Sadler

Ralph Sadler

Sir Ralph Sadler, PC, Knight banneret was an English statesman of the 16th century, and served as a Secretary of State for King Henry VIII.-Background:...

and Thomas Randolph

Thomas Randolph (diplomat)

Thomas Randolph was an English ambassador serving Elizabeth I of England. Most of his professional life he spent in Scotland at the courts of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her son James VI. While in Scotland, he was embroiled in marriage projects and several upheavals...

could not mask their growing awareness of his unstable character in their official correspondence. Elizabeth formally declared her rejection of his suit on 8 December 1560 to the Scottish ambassadors William Maitland

William Maitland of Lethington

Sir William Maitland of Lethington was a Scottish politician and reformer, and the eldest son of the poet Richard Maitland....

, the Earl of Morton and the Earl of Glencairn

Earl of Glencairn

The title of Earl of Glencairn was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1488 for the first Lord Kilmaurs .On the death of the fifteenth earl in 1796, there existing no original Letters Patent of the creation nor a given remainder in the various confirmations in title of previous earls the title...

. A later chronicler, David Hume of Godscroft

David Hume of Godscroft

David Hume was a Scottish historian and political theorist, poet and controversialist, a major intellectual figure in Jacobean Scotland. He also spent a decade as pastor of a Protestant congregation in France.-Life:...

, believed the marriage proposal 'so unprobable, and such a proposition as Morton knew would not be very acceptable to her', but it was mooted by the Parliament of Scotland

Parliament of Scotland

Lady Catherine Gray

In September 1560, it was rumoured that Mary's council proposed another marriage plan for him, with the English royal heiress Lady Catherine Grey

Lady Catherine Grey

Lady Catherine Grey , Countess of Hertford, was the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey. A granddaughter of Henry VIII's sister Mary, she was a potential successor to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, but incurred Elizabeth's wrath by her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford...

, daughter of the Duchess of Suffolk. Arran was found to be enjoying the company of an Edinburgh merchant's daughter, Alison Craig, described by Randolph as 'a good handsome wench', and the interference of the Earl of Bothwell

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell

James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney , better known by his inherited title as 4th Earl of Bothwell, was hereditary Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He is best known for his association with and subsequent marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third husband...

, Lord John Stewart, Prior of Coldingham

Coldingham

Coldingham is a historic village in Berwickshire, Scottish Borders, on Scotland's southeast coastline, north of Eyemouth.As early as AD 660, Coldingham was the site of a religious establishment of high order, when it is recorded that Etheldreda, the queen of Egfrid, became a nun at the Abbey of...

, and the Marquis d'Elbeuf led to an armed stand-off.

Mary again

Following the death of Mary's husband Francis II of France

Francis II of France

Francis II was aged 15 when he succeeded to the throne of France after the accidental death of his father, King Henry II, in 1559. He reigned for 18 months before he died in December 1560...

in 1560, and the apparent failure of the English marriage plan, his father tried to arrange for his marriage to the Queen of Scots, first suggested in their infancy. George Buchanan

George Buchanan

George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...

, who was unsympathetic to Mary, suggested she had exploited his real affection for her in November 1561 by spreading a rumour that he planned to abduct her from Holyroodhouse

Holyrood Palace

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...

to his house at Kinneil

Kinneil House

Kinneil House is a historic house to the west of Bo'ness in east-central Scotland. It was once the principal seat of the Hamilton family in the east of Scotland. The house was saved from demolition in 1936 when 16th-century mural paintings were discovered, and it is now in the care of Historic...

, and used this to justify strengthening the armed royal guard. Though Arran's father disputed the rumour, and Thomas Randolph's findings confirm Buchanan's view, physical security was tightened at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Monsieur de Beaufort

It has been suggested that Arran was imprisoned in France as a Protestant 1557–1558. When his father changed his allegiance from the Catholic to Protestant cause in June 1559, Arran was at his father's French estates in Châtellerault

Châtellerault

Châtellerault is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in France.It is located to the north of Poitou, and the residents are called Châtelleraudais.-Geography:...

, perhaps at the Chateau de la Brelandiere, and became a fugitive from Henry II of France

Henry II of France

. He made his way to safety in Switzerland by July, reportedly spending 15 days hiding in a wood on the way, arriving at Geneva, moving to Zurich where he was the guest of Peter Martyr

Pietro Martire Vermigli

Peter Martyr Vermigli , sometimes simply Peter Martyr, was an Italian theologian of the Reformation period.-Life:...

, and to Lausanne. He joined up with the English agent Thomas Randolph (alias Barnaby) and they travelled incognito to Scotland via Flanders. In London he came to William Cecil's

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , KG was an English statesman, the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572...

house at Westminster and had an interview with Queen Elizabeth in the garden at Hampton Court. His escape from France was masterminded by Cecil and the English ambassador in Paris, Nicolas Throgmorton.

At the end of June 1559, Throckmorton wrote to Cecil describing how Arran had been unkindly handled in France. After Arran had left some of his Scots guards had fought with some French soldiers. One of the French commissioners charged to arrest Arran had tried to apologise to Mary, Queen of Scots, as he was her close relation. Throckmorton heard that Mary had denounced him as an "arrant traitor," and he hoped that this this news would advance pro-English policy in Scotland. Throckmorton hoped the Scottish bearer of the letter, Sandy Whytelaw, would do this, and though Sandy was not a friend of Arran's father he would raise support for the marriage of Arran and Elizabeth.

The Earl's journey to Scotland was noted in the letters of John Jewel to Peter Martyr and Henry Bullinger. In their correspondence, Arran was known by the codename 'Crito', Randolph as 'Pamphilus' and Elizabeth as 'Glycerium.' The name used by the Earl travelling north through England was Monsieur de Beaufort. Despite this secrecy, an English commander at Berwick, Sir James Croft

James Croft

Sir James Croft PC , Lord Deputy of Ireland and MP for Herefordshire in the Parliament of England.He was born the second but eldest surviving son of Richard Croft of Croft Castle, Herefordshire, inheriting the estate on his father's death in 1562.He was elected seven times as knight of the shire ...

was aware of the plan by 14 June. Although Elizabeth was personally sympathetic to the earl's plight, for English policy the rescue was a step towards the objective of ending the Auld Alliance

Auld Alliance

The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...

, knowing that on Arran's return his father as 'second person' of the realm would become leader of the Lords of the Congregation

Lords of the Congregation

The Lords of the Congregation were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured reformation of the church along Protestant principles and a Scottish-English alliance.- Historical events :...

.

Arran went first to the castle of Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....

and met the Scottish reformer, Henry Balnaves of Halhill

Henry Balnaves

Henry Balnaves was a Scottish politician and religious reformer.-Biography:Born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, around 1512, he was educated at the University of St Andrews and on the continent, where he adopted Protestant views. Returning to Scotland, he continued his legal studies and in 1538 was appointed...

. After a midnight ride by the Cheviot Hills

Cheviot Hills

The Cheviot Hills is a range of rolling hills straddling the England–Scotland border between Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.There is a broad split between the northern and the southern Cheviots...

, he arrived at one or two o'clock in the morning on Sunday 10 September 1559 in Teviotdale, and was re-united with his father at the castle of Hamilton

Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace was a large country house located north-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it was built in 1695 and subsequently much enlarged. The house was demolished in 1921 due to ground subsidence despite inadequate evidence for that...

. His younger brother, Lord David Hamilton, was not so fortunate. David, aged 15, was imprisoned in the Château de Vincennes

Château de Vincennes

The Château de Vincennes is a massive 14th and 17th century French royal castle in the town of Vincennes, to the east of Paris, now a suburb of the metropolis.-History:...

and transferred in March 1560 to the Château d'Amboise

Château d'Amboise

The royal Château at Amboise is a château located in Amboise, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France.-Origins and royal residence:...

wrapped in a blanket.

Valiant and Stout in the Cause

Arran joined the Lords of the Congregation and fought tirelessly against the French and Mary of Guise

Mary of Guise

in the cause of the Scottish Reformation. With his cousin, Robert, Master of Maxwell

Earl of Nithsdale

Earl of Nithsdale was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1620 for Robert Maxwell, 9th Lord Maxwell, with remainder to heirs male. He was made Lord Maxwell, Eskdale and Carlyle at the same time...

,on his father's orders, he attacked Crichton Castle

Crichton Castle

Crichton Castle is a ruined castle situated at the head of the River Tyne, near the village of Crichton, Midlothian, Scotland. The castle lies two miles south of the village of Pathhead, and the same distance east of Gorebridge, at . A mile to the south-west is Borthwick Castle.-History:In the late...

the home of the Earl of Bothwell, and Falkland Palace

Falkland Palace

Falkland Palace in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a former royal palace of the Scottish Kings. Today it is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and serves as a tourist attraction.-Early years:...

. On 10 October 1559 Arran and his accomplices took money and silver ware from the place of Daldowie

Daldowie

The lands of Daldowie lie astride the River Clyde on the south and the North Calder Water to the east, and stretch to the present area of Baillieston in the north...

and on the 9 November 1559 raided the Palace of the Bishop

William Chisholm (d. 1564)

William Chisholm , bishop of Dunblane, was the second son of Edmund Chisholm of Cromlix, near Dunblane, a son of Chisholm of that ilk in Roxburghshire, and half-brother of James Chisholm, who was bishop of Dunblane from 1486 to 1527, when he resigned his see, with the consent of Pope Clement VII...

of Dunblane

Dunblane

Dunblane is a small cathedral city and former burgh north of Stirling in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The town is situated off the A9 road, on the way north to Perth. Its main landmark is Dunblane Cathedral and the Allan Water runs through the town centre, with the Cathedral and the High...

, taking a gold necklace belonging to Jane, Lady Fleming

Earl of Wigtown

The title of Earl of Wigtown was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation was in 1341, and was surrendered in 1372, when the second earl sold the earldom and territory to Archibald the Grim , Lord of Galloway...

, and removing the Bishop and his silver to Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...

. The sixty-year-old Bishop was then imprisoned at Castle Campbell

Castle Campbell

Castle Campbell is a mediæval castle situated above the town of Dollar, Clackmannanshire in central Scotland. It was the seat of the Earls and Dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell.- History :...

till Christmas and forced to pay for his lodging. In January 1559 Arran was leading the war in Fife

Fife

Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

, writing reports to Ralph Sadler

Ralph Sadler

Sir Ralph Sadler, PC, Knight banneret was an English statesman of the 16th century, and served as a Secretary of State for King Henry VIII.-Background:...

and Sir James Croft

James Croft

from Dysart, Wemyss

Wemyss Castle

Wemyss Castle is situated on the cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland.- History :Accounts date the construction of the castle to the year 1421 when Sir John Wemyss decided to build a fortified castle to replace one destroyed by the Duke of Rothesay at...

, Cupar

Cupar

Cupar is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town is situated between Dundee and the New Town of Glenrothes.According to a recent population estimate , Cupar had a population around 8,980 making the town the ninth largest settlement in Fife.-History:The town is believed to have...

and Aberdour

Aberdour Castle

Aberdour Castle is located in the village of Easter Aberdour, Fife, Scotland. Parts of the castle date from around 1200, making Aberdour one of the two oldest datable standing castles in Scotland, along with Castle Sween in Argyll, which was built at around the same time.The earliest part of the...

. The French ambassador in England, Gilles de Noailles

Gilles de Noailles

Gilles de Noailles, abbé de l'Isle was French Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1575 to 1579. He was the brother of his predecessor as ambassador, François de Noailles, and was succeeded by Jacques de Germigny...

, reported that the Scottish rebels had told Queen Elizabeth that if they were victorious Arran would become King of Scotland by consent of Scottish lords with England as its superior kingdom. Scotland would pay England an annual fee and Elizabeth would add the arms of Scotland to her heraldry.

Elizabeth then sent a fleet to Scotland. At the end of January Arran conferred with the English Admiral William Winter at Burntisland

Burntisland

Burntisland is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland on the Firth of Forth. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 5,940....

, saying he was about to return to his father's lands in the West, and by 4 February 1559, Fife was won over to the Congregation and pacified.

Later in February, Thomas Randolph posed as a Scot to gain the confidence of a French agent at Dumbarton Castle

Dumbarton Castle

Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton, and sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high.-Iron Age:...

but Arran clumsily revealed his identity. During the Spring the centre of the conflict in Scotland moved to the Siege of Leith

Siege of Leith

The Siege of Leith ended a twelve year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Scotland. The French troops arrived by invitation in 1548 and left in 1560 after the English arrived to assist in removing them from Scotland...

with the intervention of an English land army enabled by his father's Treaty of Berwick

Treaty of Berwick (1560)

The Treaty of Berwick was negotiated on 27 February 1560 at Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was an agreement made by the representative of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Scottish Lords of the Congregation...

. Before the English army arrived, the French raided Glasgow

Battle of Glasgow (1560)

The Battle of Glasgow, 18 March 1560, was fought by supporters of the Scottish Reformation against French troops.-Background:The rule of Mary of Guise as Regent of Scotland was challenged by the Protestant Lords of the Congregation. Guise obtained French military support, and the Lords invited an...

and attacked the Bishop's Palace, Arran shadowed their return to Leith with a force of 800 horsemen. He then joined the besiegers in the camp at Restalrig

Restalrig

Restalrig is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located east of the city centre, west of the A199 road, and to the east of Lochend, with which it overlaps. Restalrig Road is the main route through the area, running from London Road at Jock's Lodge, to Leith Links at the south edge of...

. On 4 March he met the Earl of Huntly

George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly

George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the son of John Gordon, Lord Gordon, and Margaret Stewart, daughter of James IV. George Gordon inherited his earldom and estates in 1524 at age 10...

, who seemed likely to join the Congregation, at Perth. He retired from the camp at Leith by the 10 April, 'evil at ease,' to rest at Holyroodhouse. Within a week, Arran was in control of Blackness Castle

Blackness Castle

Blackness Castle is a 15th century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blackness was the main port serving the Royal Burgh of...

, and returned to Edinburgh for the peace negotiations after the death of Mary of Guise in June, which led to the Treaty of Edinburgh

Treaty of Edinburgh

The Treaty of Edinburgh was a treaty drawn up on 5 July 1560 between the Commissioners of Queen Elizabeth I with the assent of the Scottish Lords of the Congregation, and French representatives in Scotland to formally conclude the Siege of Leith and replace the Auld Alliance with France with a new...

. After the Protestant religion was established by the Reformation Parliament

Scottish Reformation Parliament

The Scottish Reformation Parliament is the name given to the Scottish Parliament commencing in 1560 that passed the major pieces of legislation leading to the Scottish Reformation, most importantly Confession of Faith Ratification Act 1560; and Papal Jurisdiction Act 1560 .right|thumb|[[John...

, he went with Lord James to Dalhousie Castle

Dalhousie Castle

Dalhousie Castle is a castle in Midlothian, Scotland. Dalhousie Castle is situated near the town of Bonnyrigg, 8 miles south of Edinburgh. The castle was the seat of the Earls of Dalhousie, the chieftains of Clan Ramsay.-History:...

and burnt church books and vestments.

Long twilight

All these manoeuvrings upset the balance of his mind and at Easter 1562, his father tried to confine him to his bedchamber at Kinneil House while he was unwell. James escaped using a rope made from his bedsheets, and made his way across the Forth to Halyards Palace

Halyards Palace

Located to the north-west of the village of Auchtertool, the Palace of Halyards is reputed to have been a hunting seat of Malcolm Canmore...

and then to Falkland Palace. After accusing his enemy the Earl of Bothwell of conspiring to abduct Queen Mary, and speaking strangely of witches and devils, he was judged insane and confined for the rest of his life. George Buchanan, who thought the abduction plot was real and Arran a hero, said Arran was imprisoned first at St Andrews Castle

St Andrews Castle

, then at Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...

where Bothwell was also held. Randolph wrote to Arran's old ally Throckmorton that the Earls had fallen into a 'cesspit of their own making.' Arran was released in April 1566 and went to Hamilton, sick and without the power of speech.

In 1575 he inherited his father's estate, but because of his insanity he was placed under the care of his brother John

John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton

John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Hamilton was a Scottish nobleman.-Life:Hamilton was the third son of James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran by his wife Margaret Douglas, a daughter of James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton...

. John and his brother Claude, Abbot of Paisley

Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley

Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley was a Scottish politician. He was a younger son of James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran. In 1553, he received the lands of the abbey of Paisley...

kept him a prisoner at Craignethan Castle

Craignethan Castle

Craignethan Castle is a ruined castle in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located above the River Nethan, a tributary of the River Clyde, at . The castle is two miles west of the village of Crossford, and 4.5 miles north-west of Lanark...

, and though it was reported in August 1575 that if he were well-used and at liberty there was hope of recovery, he was never again allowed any freedom.

His mother Margaret Douglas, and aunts Elizabeth Douglas (the wife of Regent Morton) and Janet or Beatrix Douglas wife of Lord Maxwell

Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell

Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell , A member of the council of Regency of the Kingdom of Scotland. Regent of the Isle of Arran and like his father before head of the clan Maxwell. A distinguished Scottish nobleman, politician, soldier and in 1513 Lord High Admiral...

, his sister Anne

Anne Hamilton, Countess of Huntly

Anne Hamilton, Countess of Huntly , was a Scottish noblewoman and a member of the powerful Hamilton family which had a strong claim to the Scottish crown...

(mother of the Earl of Huntly

George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly

George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman who took a leading role in the political and military life of Scotland in the late 16th century and around the time of the Union of the Crowns.-Biography:...

), and youngest brother David were all also affected by mental ill-health. Hamilton and Craignethan were attacked by the army of James VI and the former Regent Morton in May 1579, and the Earl, his mother, and Lord David were taken to Linlithgow

Linlithgow Palace

The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are situated in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the...

. In 1581 his Earldom was taken by James Stewart

James Stewart, Earl of Arran

Captain James Stewart, Earl of Arran was created Earl of Arran by the young King James VI, who wrested the title from James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran...

(d. 1595), but later restored in 1585. Little is recorded of James in these later years: he died in 1609.

Ancestors

Footnotes

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To marry Mary

French brides

Elizabeth's consort

Lady Catherine Gray

Mary again

Monsieur de Beaufort

Valiant and Stout in the Cause

Long twilight

Ancestors

Further reading

Footnotes