Editing James II of Scotland (section)

== Death ==
[[File:Castles old and new - geograph.org.uk - 163364.jpg|thumb|upright|right|James II died outside the walls of [[Roxburgh Castle]] when one of his [[bombard (weapon)|bombards]] exploded.]]

James II enthusiastically promoted modern [[artillery]], which he used with some success against the Black Douglases. His ambitions to increase Scotland's standing saw him [[Capture of Roxburgh (1460)|besiege]] [[Roxburgh Castle]] in 1460, one of the last Scottish castles still held by the English after the [[Wars of Scottish Independence|Wars of Independence]].<ref name=Mahoney>{{Cite web |url=http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/stewart_4.htm |title=Scottish Monarchs – Kings and Queens of Scotland – James II |last=Mahoney |first=Mike |website=www.englishmonarchs.co.uk |access-date=11 October 2016}}</ref>

For this siege, James took a large number of [[cannon]]s imported from [[Flanders]]. On 3 August, he was standing near one of these cannons when it exploded and killed him. [[Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie]] stated in his history of James's reign that "as the King stood near a piece of artillery, his thigh bone was dug in two with a piece of misframed gun that brake in shooting, by which he was stricken to the ground and died hastily."<ref name="Mahoney" />

The Scots carried on with the siege, led by [[George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus]], and the castle fell a few days later. Once the castle was captured, James's widow, [[Mary of Guelders]], ordered its [[slighting|destruction]].<ref>Colvin and Brown (1963), p. 819; Salter (1985), p. 17</ref> James's son became king as [[James III of Scotland|James III]] and Mary acted as regent until her own death three years later.