This book shows King James VI and I, king of Scotland and England, in an unaccustomed light. Long regarded as inept, pedantic, and whimsical, James is shown here as an astute and far-sighted statesman whose reign was focused on achieving a permanent union between his two kingdoms and a peaceful and stable community of nations throughout Europe.

As the son of Mary Queen of Scots, born into her 'bloody nest', James had the most precarious of childhoods. Even before his birth, his life was threatened: it was rumoured that his father, Henry, had tried to make the pregnant Mary miscarry by forcing her to witness the assassination of her supposed lover, David Riccio. By the time James was one year old, Henry was murdered, possibly with the connivance of Mary; Mary was in exile in England; and James was King of Scotland. By the age of five, he had experienced three different regents as the ancient dynasties of Scotland battled for power and made him a virtual prisoner in Stirling Castle. In fact, James did not set foot outside the confines of Stirling until he was eleven, when he took control of his country. But even with power in his hands, he would never feel safe. For the rest of his life, he would be caught up in bitter struggles between the warring political and religious factions who sought control over his mind and body. Yet James believed passionately in the divine right of kings, as many of his writings testify. He became a seasoned political operator, carefully avoiding controversy, even when his mother Mary was sent to the executioner by Elizabeth I. His caution and politicking won him the English throne on Elizabeth's death in 1603 and he rapidly set about trying to achieve his most ardent ambition: the Union of the two kingdoms. Alan Stewart's impeccably researched new biography makes brilliant use of original sources to bring to life the conversations and the controversies of the Jacobean age. From James's 'inadvised' relationships with a series of favourites and Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to his conflicts with a Parliament which refused to fit its legislation to the Monarch's will, Stewart lucidly untangles the intricacies of James's life. In doing so, he uncovers the extent to which Charles I's downfall was caused by the cracks that appeared in the monarchy during his father's reign.

James VI and I was the first king to rule both England and Scotland. He was unique among British monarchs in his determination to communicate his ideas by means of print, pen, and spoken word. James's own work as an author is one of the themes of this volume. One essay also sheds new light on his role as a patron and protector of plays and players. A second theme is the king's response to the problems posed by religious divisions in the British Isles and Europe as a whole. Various contributors to this collection elucidate James's own religious beliefs and their expression, his efforts before 1603 to counter a potential Catholic claim to the English throne, his attempted appropriation of scripture in support of his own authority, and his distinctive vision of imperial kingship in Britain. Some different reactions to the king, to his expression of his ideas and to the implementation of his policies form this book's third theme. They include the vigorous resistance to his attempt to change Scottish religious practice, and the sharply contrasting assessments of his life and reign written after James's death.

The renowned historian Jenny Wormald was a ground-breaking expert on early modern Scottish history, especially Stewart kingship, noble power and wider society. She was most controversial in her book-length critique of Mary, Queen of Scots. Unfortunately, Jenny never got round to producing a similar monograph on a monarch she was infinitely more fond of, King James VI and I, before her untimely death in 2015. In the absence of such a book, this volume brings together all the major essays by Jenny on James. She wrote on almost every aspect and every major event of James' reign, from the famous Gunpowder Plot, the Plantation of Ulster, the Gowrie Conspiracy, to the witchcraft panics, as well as James' extensive writings. She wrote extensively on James' Scottish rule, but she was also keenly interested in James as the first king of all of Britain, and many of her essays unpick the issues surrounding the Union of the Crowns and James' rule over all three of his kingdoms. This book is an invaluable resource for any scholar on this crucial time in the history of the British Isles.

Sixteen leading scholars explore the richness of King James's work from a variety of perspectives, and in so doing seek to establish monarchic writing as an important genre in its own right. Best known for his landmark version of the Protestant Bible, James VI (1566-1625) of Scotland, who succeeded Elizabeth I to the English throne, was truly a monarch of the word. From religious prose and verse to political treatises and social works to love poems and witty doggerel, James used writing and the print media to inspire his subjects, govern them, keep his enemies at bay, and even examine his own authority. Until now, the full span of James's work has received little critical attention by political and literary historians. In Royal Subjects, sixteen leading scholars explore the richness of his oeuvre from a variety of perspectives, and in so doing seek to establish monarchic writing as an important genre in its own right. Through its unprecedented look at monarchic writing, Royal Subjects not only enriches our understanding of the reign of James VI and I but also offers fruitful suggestions for approaches to other Renaissance texts and other periods.

This pivotal one of a kind historical work about the true character of King James VI & I reveals rare & previously ignored documentary evidence recently brought to light & published in this revolutionary volume. Introduction by The Most Noble 10th Duke of Atholl, His Grace George Iain Murray. Coston provides a detailed account of the moral life of the most notable Price of Jacobean Great Britain & thoroughly refutes scandalous charges of His Royal Person. Walk through history & into the realm of 16th Century Great Britain, read rare documents from the King, works he authored, letters to & from contemporaries & love poetry composed to his wife. Coston uncovers the motives behind the would be assassins of the King's person & honor. All the critical, revisionist & pseudo-historian sources attacking the King's person are examined in detail in this unique book. "This work by Stephen Coston, Sr. is well timed to address the false accusations made against this Godly King...Each accusation is documented & discounted from facts not fiction."--Dr. John MacLennan. Order 1-800-659-1478.

With step-by-step projects and examples that guide the reader as well as illustrate what not to do, this book demonstrates how to create pleasing compositions--one of the most important aspects of drawing. Readers will also pick up plenty of information on applying the rules of perspective, which will help them create realistic drawings as well as balanced compositions.

Daemonologie-in full Daemonologie, In Forme of a Dialogue, Divided into three Books: By the High and Mighty Prince, James &c.-was written and published in 1597 by King James VI of Scotland (later also James I of England) as a philosophical dissertation on contemporary necromancy and the historical relationships between the various methods of divination used from ancient black magic. This included a study on demonology and the methods demons used to bother troubled men while touching on topics such as werewolves and vampires. It was a political yet theological statement to educate a misinformed populace on the history, practices and implications of sorcery and the reasons for persecuting a witch in a Christian society under the rule of canonical law. This book is believed to be one of the main sources used by William Shakespeare in the production of Macbeth. Shakespeare attributed many quotes and rituals found within the book directly to the Weird Sisters, yet also attributed the Scottish themes and settings referenced from the trials in which King James was involved.

James VI & I, the namesake of the King James Version of the Bible, had a series of notorious male favorites. No one denies that these relationships were amorous, but were they sexual? Michael B. Young merges political history with recent scholarship in the history of sexuality to answer that question. More broadly, he shows that James s favorites had a negative impact within the royal family, at court, in Parliament, and in the nation at large. Contemporaries raised the specter of a sodomitical court and an effeminized nation; some urged James to engage in a more virile foreign policy by embarking on war. Queen Anne encouraged a martial spirit and molded her oldest son to be more manly than his father. Repercussions continued after James s death, detracting from the majesty of the monarchy and contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War. Persons acquainted with the history of sexuality will find surprising premonitions here of modern homosexuality and homophobia. General readers will find a world of political intrigue colored by sodomy, pederasty, and gender instability. For readers new to the subject, the book begins with a helpful overview of King James s life."