Editing James I of Scotland (section)

=== Highland problem ===
The king called a general council in July 1428 in Perth to raise funds for an expedition into the Highlands against the semi-autonomous [[Lord of the Isles]]. The council initially resisted granting James the funds — even with royal support from the powerful Earls of Mar and Atholl — but eventually gave in to the king's wishes. Although it seemed that an all-out attack on the Gaels of the north was not the king's intention, James had resolved to use a degree of force to strengthen royal authority.<ref>Brown, James I, pp. 95–96</ref> He told the assembly:<ref>Brown, James I, p. 96</ref>

{{blockquote|I shall go and see whether they have fulfilled the required service; I shall go I say and I will not return while they default. I will chain them so that they are unable to stand and lie beneath my feet.}}

The leaders of the Gaelic kindreds in the north and west were summoned by James ostensibly to a sitting of parliament in [[Inverness]]. Of those assembled the king arrested around 50 of them including [[Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross|Alexander]], the third Lord of the Isles, and his mother, [[Mariota, Countess of Ross]], around 24 August.<ref>Brown, James I, pp. 96–97</ref> A few were executed but the remainder, except Alexander and his mother, were quickly released.<ref>Brown, James I, p. 99</ref>

During Alexander's captivity, James attempted to split [[Clan Donald|Clann Dòmhnall]] — Alexander's uncle John Mór was approached by an agent of the king to take the clan leadership but he refused to have any dealings with the king while his nephew was held prisoner led to John Mór's arrest and murder by the king's agent.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', p. 100</ref>

[[File:Alexander of Islay.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Seal of [[Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross|Alexander, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles]].]]

The king's need for allies in the west and north led him to soften his approach towards the Lord of the Isles and, hoping that Alexander would now become a loyal servant of the crown, he was given his freedom.<ref>Brown, James I, p. 100</ref>  Alexander, probably under pressure from his close kinsmen Donald Balloch, John Mór's son, and Alasdair Carrach of [[Lochaber]], led an attack on the castle and burgh of Inverness in the spring of 1429.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', pp. 100–101</ref> The crisis deepened when a fleet from the Lordship was dispatched to bring James the Fat back from Ulster 'to convey him home that he might be king'. With James's intention to form an alliance with the Ulster O'Donnells of Tyreconnell against the MacDonalds, the English distrusted the Scottish king's motives and tried to bring James the Fat to England.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', p. 101</ref> Before he could become an active player, [[James the Fat]] died suddenly, releasing James to prepare for decisive action against the Lordship.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', pp. 101–102</ref>

The armies met on 21 June in Lochaber and Alexander, suffering the defection of Clan Chattan (the MacKintoshes) and Clan Cameron, was heavily defeated. Alexander escaped probably to [[Islay]] but James continued his assault on the Lordship by taking the strongholds of Dingwall and Urquhart castles in July.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', pp. 102–103</ref> The king pushed home his advantage when an army reinforced with artillery was dispatched to the Isles. Alexander probably realised that his position was hopeless and tried to negotiate terms of surrender but James demanded and received his total submission.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', p. 103</ref> From August 1429 the king delegated royal authority to Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar to keep the peace in the north and west.<ref>Brown,''James I'', p. 104</ref>

The Islesmen rose again in September 1431 and inflicted two important defeats on the king's men — Mar's army was beaten at [[Battle of Inverlochy (1431)|Inverlochy]] and Angus Moray's in a fierce battle near [[Tongue, Highland|Tongue]] in Caithness.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', pp. 138–139</ref> This was a serious setback for James and his credibility was adversely affected.<ref name="Brown, p. 139">Brown, ''James I'', p. 139</ref>

In 1431, before the September uprising, the king had arrested two of his nephews, John Kennedy of Carrick and Archibald, Earl of Douglas, possibly because of a conflict between John and his uncle, Thomas Kennedy in which Douglas may have become involved.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', pp. 133–134</ref> Douglas's arrest had raised tensions in the country and James acted to reduce the unrest by freeing the earl on 29 September — it was quite likely that the king made the earl's release conditional on support at the forthcoming parliament at Perth at which James intended to push for further funding for the campaign against the Lordship.<ref name="Brown, p. 139"/> Parliament was in no mood to allow James unconditional backing — he was allowed a tax to fund his Highland campaign but parliament retained full control over the levy.<ref name="Brown, pp. 139–140">Brown, ''James I'', pp. 139–140</ref> The rules parliament attached to the taxation indicated a robust stand against further conflict in the north and probably led to the turnaround that took place on 22 October when the king 'forgave the offence of each earl, namely Douglas and Ross [i.e. Alexander]'. For Douglas, this was a formal acknowledgement of his having been freed three weeks earlier, but for Alexander, this was a total reversal of crown policy towards the Lordship. Four summer campaigns against the Lordship were now officially at an end with James's wishes having effectively been blocked by parliament.<ref name="Brown, pp. 139–140"/>