The Douglases lose control of the King
Following the Battle of
Linlthgow (1526) ...
By gifts, which his wealth well enabled him to bestow, the primate
of St Andrews effected an apparent reconciliation with Angus; and at
the festival of Christmas (1527), he entertained the king, the queen
dowager, Angus, and others of the Douglas party, at his castle of St
Andrews. There, says Lindsay, he "made them great cheer and
merriness, and gave them great gifts of gold and silver, with fair
halkneys and other gifts of tacks and steedings, that they would
desire of him, that he might pacify their wrath therewith, and
obtain their favours. So the king tarried there a while quiet, and
used hawking and hunting upon the water of Edin." Angus at length
left Fife for the Lothians, leaving the king, who was now residing
at Falkland, under the charge of Sir Archibald Douglas his uncle,
Sir George his brother, and James
Douglas of Parkhead,
captain of the royal guard. James had long been disgusted with the
usurpation of the earl of Angus, and the Douglases, and a plot had
for some time been carrying on, in which the queen and the
archbishop were engaged, for freeing him from their control.
About the month of July, Sir Archibald Douglas went to Dundee,
and Sir George to St Andrews, for the purpose of concluding a lease
with the primate, leaving a guard of 100 men at Falkland, under the
command of Douglas of Parkhead, conceiving this to be a sufficient
check on the motions of the monarch. The opportunity was too good,
however, not to be taken advantage of; and James ordered
preparations for a great hunting party, at seven in the morning on
the following day. The king pretended to retire early to bed, and
the captain after setting watch followed his example, that he might
be ready to attend his majesty in the morning. As soon as all was
quiet in the palace, however, the king disguised as a groom, and
attended by two faithful servants, went to the stables, and speedily
mounting fleet horses, they rode off, and reached Stirling, by dawn
next day. The gates of the town were shut immediately after his
arrival, and retiring to the castle, he took some repose, giving
orders that no one should be admitted without a royal order. A
council was held the same day, at which several noblemen attended,
and proper measures were taken for securing the king and kingdom
from the farther control of the Douglases. The flight of James was
not discovered by his keepers till the following morning, when Sir
George Douglas was awakened by the unexpected tidings of his escape.
A messenger was instantly despatched to Angus, and on his arrival
they proceeded towards Stirling, but were met on the way by a herald
with a proclamation prohibiting any one of the house of Douglas, or
its adherents, under pain of treason, from approaching within six
miles of the court. Thus was the power of this ambitious house
reduced to its proper limits, and chiefly by the determination arid
energy of the young king.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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