I
born 1394
died Feb. 20/21, 1437, Perth, Perth, Scot.
King of the Scots (1406–37).
The son and heir of Robert III, he was captured by the English in 1406 and held prisoner in London until 1424. During the 13 years in which he truly ruled Scotland (1424–37), he established the first strong monarchy the Scots had known in nearly a century. He weakened the nobility but did not entirely subdue the Highland lords, and he greatly improved the administration of justice for the common people. His murder in a Dominican friary by a group of rival nobles led to a popular uprising in favour of his widow and six-year-old son, who succeeded him as James II.
II
born June 19, 1566, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scot.
died March 27, 1625, Theobalds, Hertfordshire, Eng.
King of Scotland, as James VI (1567–1625), and first Stuart king of England (1603–25).
He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots , and Lord
Roman Catholics, who sought to bring his mother back to the throne, and Protestants. In 1583 he began to pursue his own policies as king, allying himself with England. On the death of Elizabeth I , he succeeded to the English throne as great-great-grandson of Henry VII . He quickly achieved peace and prosperity by ending England's war with Spain (1604). He presided over the Hampton Court Conference (1604), rejecting most of the Puritans' demands for reform of the Church of England but permitting preparation of a new translation of the Bible, the King James Version. His policies toward Catholics led to the Gunpowder Plot , and his growing belief in royal absolutism and his conflicts with an increasingly self-assertive Parliament led to his dissolution of Parliament from 1611 to 1621. With the death of Robert Cecil , he came under the influence of incompetent favourites.
III
Spanish Jaime known as James the Conqueror
born Feb. 2, 1208, Montpellier, County of Toulouse
died July 27, 1276
King of {{link=Aragon">Aragon and Catalonia (1214–76).
The most renowned of the medieval kings of Aragon, he was educated by the Knights Templar , and his great-uncle ruled as regent until 1218. James helped to subdue rebellious nobles and took over the government of his kingdoms in 1227. He reconquered the Balearic Islands (1229–35) and Valencia (1233–38) but renounced his claims to lands in southern France. He also helped Alfonso X to suppress a Moorish rebellion in Murcia (1266), and he undertook an unsuccessful Crusade to the Holy Land (1269).