Editing James III of Scotland (section)

== Rebellion and death at Sauchieburn ==
{{main|Battle of Sauchieburn}}
[[File:The grave of King James III and Queen Margaret, Cambuskenneth Abbey.jpg|thumb|300px|The tomb of King James III and Queen Margaret, [[Cambuskenneth Abbey]]]]

In January 1488, James III used a meeting of Parliament to publicly reward those who had been loyal to him in the past and tried to gain supporters by creating four new [[Lords of Parliament]]. He also raised his second son, [[James Stewart, Duke of Ross|James, Marquess of Ormond]], to the dignity of [[Duke of Ross]]. Coming after the king's negotiations in 1486 and 1487 for a marriage alliance for his second son, it was clearly designed to enhance his status and make him a more attractive prospect as a bridegroom, and only furthered the perception amongst the king's opponents that he was favouring his second son at the expense of the heir to the throne.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 219.</ref> But opposition to James was led by the Earls of [[Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus|Angus]] and [[Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll|Argyll]], and the [[Clan Home|Home]] and Hepburn families. James's heir, the fifteen-year-old [[James IV of Scotland|James, Duke of Rothesay]], left [[Stirling Castle]] without his father's knowledge on 2 February 1488, marking the beginning of a four-month rebellion against James III.

Prince James became, perhaps reluctantly, the figurehead of the rebels, whose aim seems to have been the establishment of a council of regency, with the Prince as its figurehead and the king in protective custody.<ref>Lynch, Michael, ''Scotland: A New History'' (Pimlico, 1992), p. 157.</ref> The rebels claimed that they had removed Prince James from Stirling to protect him from his vindictive father, who had surrounded himself with wicked Anglophile counsellors.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James IV'', p. 39.</ref> Like the Prince, many of the rebels also feared for their safety if James III continued to rule.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James IV'', p. 40.</ref> The king made more enemies among his nobles by dismissing the Earl of Argyll from the [[Lord Chancellor of Scotland|Chancellorship]], for reasons which remain a mystery, and replacing him with [[William Elphinstone]], the [[Bishop of Aberdeen]].<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 227.</ref>

James III sought armed assistance from [[Henry VII of England]] and moved north from Edinburgh to [[Aberdeen]] in March, probably realising that his position in Edinburgh was becoming precarious, with the Duke of Rothesay and the rebel army nearby, either at Linlithgow or Stirling.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 228.</ref> The king failed to raise support for the royal cause in the north-east and then made the mistake of agreeing to negotiate a settlement with the rebels, before promptly breaking his word and, on the advice of his half-uncle the [[James Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan|Earl of Buchan]], marching south from Aberdeen to settle the rebellion by force, which lost him the support of several more nobles.<ref>Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 229.</ref> Following an inconclusive skirmish between the royal and rebel forces at [[Blackness Castle]], James III retreated to the safety of Edinburgh Castle, where he rewarded his supporters and attempted to gain new ones by distributing cash, jewels and land.<ref name="auto5">Macdougall, Norman, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), p. 234.</ref> Matters came to a head in June 1488 when James III left Edinburgh Castle and led his army towards Stirling. The royal and rebel armies joined battle south of Stirling on 11 June 1488 at the [[Battle of Sauchieburn]], on what contemporaries described as the "field of Stirling".<ref name="auto5"/><ref>Mackie, R.L., ''James IV'', (1958), pp. 36–44.</ref>

James III was killed at some stage during the course of the battle, although the circumstances of the king's death are unclear, and it took some time to establish with certainty that the king had been killed. The 16th century chroniclers [[Adam Abell]] and [[John Lesley]] alleged that James III was slain in Milton mill on the [[Bannock Burn]].<ref>[http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/search_item/index.php?service=RCAHMS&id=293913 Recent archaeological survey of Milton, alleged site of assassination] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303150959/http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/search_item/index.php?service=RCAHMS&id=293913 |date=3 March 2012}} Scotlandsplaces.gov.uk Retrieved on 2011-10-02.</ref> Each new account added unflattering, but probably invented, details. [[Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie]], writing in 1576, states that the king fled to Stirling, but was thrown from his horse and fainted near Milton mill, where he was cared for by the miller and his wife. As the retreat of the royal forces to Stirling was taking place, the king came to and called for a priest to make his confession. A priest (possibly a servant of Lord Gray, one of the rebel lords) who was passing by asked where the king was and, on being led to the king, stabbed him to death. [[George Buchanan]] says that James fell from his horse whilst fleeing to one of his ships, stationed in the Forth, rather than to Stirling. He took refuge in some mills but being overtaken, he was slain there, with a few attendants. There is no evidence available to corroborate any of the sixteenth century allegations of cowardly behaviour, and the subsequent parliamentary account stated only the king "happened to be slain" as a result of his own poor decisions. In effect, it argued, the king killed himself, a convenient conclusion for the new regime to reach. Yet Norman Macdougall's modern biography notes the indictment of John Ross of Montgrenan at the same parliament alleged the king left the field on Ross's advice and was then killed by unknown vile persons.<ref>Macdougall, ''James III'' (John Donald, 2009), pp. 507–508</ref>

James III was buried beside his queen in front of the high altar of [[Cambuskenneth Abbey]]. His son and successor, James IV, attended the ceremony and in atonement for his involvement in his father's death, from 1496 appointed a chaplain to sing for the salvation of their souls; records of this continued until the [[Scottish Reformation]].<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=14589|first=Norman|last=Macdougall|title=James III}}</ref> The remains of James and Margaret were re-interred under a new stone monument at [[Queen Victoria]]'s expense in 1865.<ref>Grave of James III inscription</ref>