Life

Young was the second son of John Young, burgess of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 and Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

, and of Margaret, daughter of Walter Scrymgeour of Glasswell, and was born at Dundee on 15 August 1544. His mother was related to the Scrymgeours of Dudhope (later ennobled with the title of Earl of Dundee

Earl of Dundee

Earl of Dundee is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1660 for John Scrymgeour, 3rd Viscount Dudhope. At his death in 1668, Duke of Lauderdale declared that the first Earl had no heirs-male, and had the crown seize all of his lands...

), and his father settled in Dundee at the time of his marriage (1541). John Young's eldest son, John (1542–1584), was provost of the collegiate church of Dysart

Dysart

Dysart is a former town and royal burgh located on the south-east coast between Kirkcaldy and West Wemyss in Fife. The town is now considered to be a suburb of Kirkcaldy. Dysart was once part of a wider estate owned by the St Clair or Sinclair family...

; the third son, Alexander, usher of the king's privy chamber to James VI, died on 29 December 1603. From Isabella, the elder daughter, descended the Youngs, baronets, of Baillieborough Castle, County Cavan

County Cavan

County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...

, the family of John Young, Baron Lisgar.

Peter Young was educated at the Dundee Grammar School

High School of Dundee

The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in the city of Dundee, Scotland which provides both primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils...

, and probably matriculated at St. Andrews University, though no record of his attendance there has been found. When he was admitted burgess of Dundee he was designated ‘Magister,’ a title exclusively used by masters of arts. In 1562 he was sent to the continent to complete his studies under the care of his uncle, Henry Scrimgeour

Henry Scrimgeour

Henry Scrimgeour or Scrymgeour was a diplomat and book collector.-Biography:He was born in Dundee, most likely in 1505, but possibly in 1508 or 1509, since Andrew Melville gives Scrimgeour's age at death as sixty-three....

, by whom he was recommended to Theodore Beza

Theodore Beza

Theodore Beza was a French Protestant Christian theologian and scholar who played an important role in the Reformation...

, then professor of theology at Geneva. Scrymgeour was appointed to the newly-founded chair of civil law at Geneva in 1563, and Young resided with him until in 1568 he returned to Scotland. His reputation as a scholar was so great that in the beginning of 1569–70 the regent Moray appointed him joint-instructor of the infant James VI along with 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...

. As Buchanan was then advanced in years, it is probable that the chief share of teaching the infant king fell upon Young; and he is referred to in complimentary terms in Buchanan's ‘Epistolæ.’ From the account given by Sir James Melville of Halhill

James Melville of Halhill

Sir James Melville was a Scottish diplomat and memoir writer.Melville was the third son of Sir John Melville, laird of Raith in the county of Fife, who was executed for treason in 1548. One of his brothers was Robert, 1st Baron Melville of Monimail . James Melville in 1549 went to France to become...

 it appears that while Buchanan was ‘wise and sharp,’ Young was more of the courtier. This attitude won the affection of the king, and Young was his favourite counsellor up till the king's death. A relic of the education of the king is in the British Museum (Addit. MS. 34275) in 1893, in the form of a fragment of the king's books written in Young's handwriting, interspersed with exercises by the royal pupil. This manuscript was published in the ‘Miscellany’ of the Scottish History Society in 1893, with notes by George F. Warner.

On 25 October 1577 Young was made master almoner, and received numerous gifts and pensions, several of which are recorded in the acts of parliament. In August 1586 he was sent on his first embassy to Frederick II of Denmark

Frederick II of Denmark

Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.-King of Denmark:Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father, he...

 on business concerning Orkney, and on his return he was admitted to the privy council (7 November 1586). From that date until July 1622 he attended the meetings of the council. In June 1587 he was sent with Sir Patrick Vans of Barnbarroch on a second embassy to Denmark, mostly with a view to the marriage of one of the king's daughters with James VI. Young recommended Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Frederick II, as the most suitable match; but in 1588 the overtures for the hand of this princess were declined as she had been promised to another. It was then suggested that the king should wed the second daughter, the Princess Anne

Anne of Denmark

Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...

, but the death of Frederick in 1588 delayed the negotiations. Early in 1589, Young was sent once more to Denmark to complete the marriage negotiations, and on his return he set out with James VI on 23 October 1589 to attend the nuptials at Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

.

In 1593 Prince Henry

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales

Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...

, the first son of this marriage, was born, and among the letters of Christian IV preserved at Copenhagen there is one dated 12 May 1594, acknowledging the arrival of Young as ambassador sent to convey official information of this event. In 1595, when the king found it expedient to commit the charge of his affairs to eight councillors (hence called Octavians

Octavians

The Octavians were a financial commission of eight in the government of Scotland first appointed by James VI in January 1596. James's minister John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane had died a few months earlier, and his financial situation was troubled. They were a reforming body, eager...

), Young was one of the number.

When James VI was invited to Denmark in May 1596 to attend Christian's coronation, he sent Lord Ogilvy and Young as his ambassadors, and they were accredited by Christian in a letter dated 6 August 1596. The question of the succession to the throne of England was then on the mind of James VI, and as he was anxious to gain the support of his brother-in-law Christian, he sent David Cunningham

David Cunningham

David Cunningham lives and works in London. Cunningham's work has ranged from pop music to gallery installations, including work for television, film, contemporary dance, and a number of collaborations with visual artists...

, bishop of Aberdeen, and Young on a special embassy for this purpose in 1598. While on their way there the ambassadors met, at Rostock

Rostock

Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...

, David Chytræus (1530–1600), who had published an attack on Mary, Queen of Scots, based principally on Buchanan's Detectio; and by the king's instructions Young remonstrated with Chytræus and obtained a recantation. Dr. Smith asserts that when Young returned to Scotland he wrote an abridged ‘Life of Queen Mary,’ which he sent to Chytræus.

When commissioners were appointed in 1598 to report on the state of the Scottish universities, Young was chosen as one of the number. He accompanied the king to London in 1603, and before they reached the capital James desired to mark his appreciation of Young's services by appointing him dean of Lichfield, but he soon found that the office was not in his free gift. Young retained his post in the royal household as chief almoner, but resigned his office of keeper of the privy purse to the queen. In November 1604 he was made tutor and ‘chief overseer’ in the establishment of Prince Charles

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

. The post carried with it a pension of £200, which was increased to £300 when Young was knighted on 19 February 1605.

In November 1616 Young was appointed master of St Cross Hospital, Winchester, a special license being granted to permit him to hold the office though he was not in holy orders nor resident. Either in 1620 or 1623 Young desired to ‘retrait home into Scotland, there to dye where his barnes may see him buried in the land of his forefathers,’ and at this time the king exerted himself to procure the payment of the arrears of pension due to Young. He had purchased the estate of Easter Seaton, near Arbroath

Arbroath

Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus in Scotland, and has a population of 22,785...

, Forfarshire in 1580, and three years later built a mansion there, of which only one stone, with the date and the initials of himself and his first wife, is in existence, built into the farmhouse that occupies its site. In this place he spent his declining years, and here he died on 7 January 1628, in his eighty-fourth year.

He was buried in the vault of St. Vigean's Church, near Arbroath, where a mural tablet bearing a Latin inscription is preserved.

Works

It is stated that besides the ‘Life of Queen Mary,’ Young wrote a ‘Life of George Buchanan;’ but Thomas Smith

Thomas Smith (scholar)

Thomas Smith was an English scholar, expelled Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and non-juring divine.-Early life and academic career:...

, writing in 1707, could find no trace of it.

Family

Young was three times married. By his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John Gibb, a gentleman of the king's bedchamber (m. 1577, d. 1595), he had twelve children, seven sons and three daughters. The fifth son was Patrick Young

Patrick Young

Patrick Young was a Scottish scholar and royal librarian to King James VI and I, and King Charles I. He was a noted Biblical and patristic scholar.-Life:...

; another son, John (1585–1655), graduated B.A. from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, in 1600–1, M.A. in 1604, and B.D. in 1611, being incorporated at Oxford on 9 July of that year; he held various livings, a canonry in Wells Cathedral

Wells Cathedral

Wells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lives at the adjacent Bishop's Palace....

 from 1611, and the deanery of Winchester from 1616. His gift of ground for the erection of a school in St. Andrews has erroneously been credited to his brother Patrick.

Sir Peter's second wife was Dame Joanna Murray, widow of Lord Torphichen

Lord Torphichen

Lord Torphichen is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created by Queen Mary in 1564 for Sir James Sandilands , with remainder to his heirs and assigns whatsoever. Sandilands had previously served as Preceptor of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta in Scotland, and...

, who survived her marriage for only six months, dying in November 1596. In 1600 Sir Peter married his third wife, Marjory, daughter of Nairne of Sandfurd, Fifeshire, by whom he had four daughters. She survived him, and in 1642 made application to the House of Lords for payment of arrears of pension. Previous to this time (in 1631) Charles I had directed that a pension of two hundred marks conferred on Young should be paid to his son, Sir Peter Young.