Editing James II of Scotland (section)

== Struggles with the Douglases ==
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In 1449, James II reached adulthood, but he had to struggle to gain control of his kingdom. The Douglases, probably with his cooperation, used his coming of age as a way to throw the Livingstons out of the shared government, as the young king took revenge for the arrest of his mother that had taken place in 1439, and the assassination of his young Douglas cousins, in which Livingston was complicit. Douglas and Crichton continued to dominate political power and the king continued to struggle to throw off their rule. Between 1451 and 1455, he struggled to free himself from the power of the Douglases. Attempts to curb it took place in 1451, during the absence of [[William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas]] from Scotland, and culminated with the murder of Douglas at [[Stirling Castle]] on 22 February 1452.

The main account of Douglas's murder comes from the ''[[Auchinleck Chronicle]]'', a near-contemporary but fragmentary source. According to its account, the king accused the Earl (probably with justification) of forging links with [[John Macdonald, 11th Earl of Ross]] (also [[Lord of the Isles]]) and [[Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford]]. This bond, if it existed, created a dangerous axis of power of independently minded men, forming a major rival to royal authority. When Douglas refused to break the bond with Ross, James broke into a fit of temper, stabbed Douglas 26 times and threw his body out of a window. His court officials (many of whom would rise to great influence in later years, often in former Douglas lands) then joined in the bloodbath, one allegedly striking out the earl's brain with an axe.

This murder did not end the power of the Douglases but rather created a state of intermittent [[civil war]] between 1452 and 1455. The main engagements were at [[Brodick]], on the [[Isle of Arran]]; [[Inverkip]] in [[Renfrew]]; and the [[Battle of Arkinholm]]. James attempted to seize Douglas's lands, but his opponents repeatedly forced him into humiliating climbdowns, whereby he returned the lands to [[James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas]], and a brief and uneasy peace ensued.

Military campaigns ended indecisively, and some have argued that James stood in serious danger of being overthrown, or of having to flee the country. But James's patronage of lands, titles and office to allies of the Douglases saw their erstwhile allies begin to change sides, most importantly the Earl of Crawford after the [[Battle of Brechin]], and in May 1455, James struck a decisive blow against the Douglases, and they were finally defeated at the Battle of Arkinholm.

In the months that followed, the [[Parliament of Scotland]] declared the extensive Douglas lands forfeit and permanently annexed them to the crown, along with many other lands, finances and castles. The earl fled into a long [[Kingdom of England|English]] exile. James finally had the freedom to govern as he wished, and one can argue that his successors as kings of Scots never faced such a powerful challenge to their authority again. Along with the forfeiture of the Albany Stewarts in the reign of James I, the destruction of the Black Douglases saw royal power in Scotland take a major step forward.<ref>McGladdery, ''James II'', Chapter 4, Appendix 2 (The Auchinleck Chronicle)</ref><ref>Brown, ''The Black Douglases'', chapter 13</ref><ref>Tanner, ''Scottish Parliament'', Chapter 5</ref>