Editing James I of Scotland (section)

== Death ==
=== Background ===
[[Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl|Walter Stewart]] was the youngest of [[Robert II of Scotland|Robert II]]'s sons and the only one not to have been provided with an earldom during his father's lifetime.<ref>Brown, ''Atholl and the Death of James I'', p. 25</ref><ref group=note>{{further|Robert II of Scotland}} 

Robert II had four sons and five daughters by [[Elizabeth Mure]] before legitimising them after receiving papal dispensation in 1347 for their marriage. The sons of this marriage were:
# John, Earl of Carrick who on becoming king chose the [[regnal name]] of Robert;
# Walter, Lord of Fife (d.1362);
# Robert, Earl of Fife and later Duke of Albany;
# Alexander, Lord of Badenoch and Ross and later Earl of Buchan.

He later married [[Euphemia de Ross]] in 1355 and had two sons and two surviving daughters. The sons from this marriage were:
# David, Earl of Caithness and Strathearn;
# Walter, who later in life became Earl of Caithness, then Earl of Atholl and finally Earl of Strathearn.</ref> Walter's brother, David, Earl of Strathearn and Caithness, had died before 5 March 1389 when his daughter Euphemia was first recorded as Countess of Strathearn.<ref>Boardman, ''Stewart, David, first earl of Strathearn and first earl of Caithness'', ODNB</ref> Walter, now guardian of his niece, administered Strathearn for the next decade and a half, during which time he aided his brother Robert, Earl of Fife and Guardian of Scotland, by enforcing law and order upon another brother, Alexander, lord of Badenoch — he again supported Robert (now Duke of Albany) against their nephew, David, Duke of Rothesay in 1402.<ref name="ReferenceA">Brown, ''Walter Stewart, earl of Atholl'', ODNB</ref> Albany most likely engineered the marriage of Euphemia to one of his affinity, Patrick Graham, and, by doing so, ended Walter's involvement in Strathearn. Duke Robert, possibly to make up for the loss of the benefits of Strathearn, made Walter Earl of Atholl and Lord of Methven.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>Brown, ''Atholl and the Death of James I'', pp. 27–28</ref> In 1413, Graham was killed in a quarrel with his own principal servant in the earldom, John Drummond.<ref>Brown, James I, p. 85</ref>

[[File:Methven Castle.jpg|left|thumb|200px|[[Methven Castle]]. The original castle was the seat of Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl]]

The Drummond kindred was close to Atholl and the Earl's renewed involvement in Strathearn as ward to Graham's son, despite strong opposition from Albany, hinted at Atholl's possible involvement in the murder. The bad blood now existing between Albany and Atholl led James on his return to Scotland in 1424 to ally himself with Earl Walter, his uncle.<ref>Brown, ''Atholl and the Death of James I'', p. 28</ref> Atholl participated at the [[Assize (Scotland)|assize]] that sat over the 24/25 May 1425 trials which found the prominent members of the Albany Stewarts guilty of rebellion — their executions followed swiftly.<ref name="Brown, James I, pp. 65–66"/>

James granted Atholl the positions of [[Sheriff of Perth]] and Justiciar, as well as the earldom of Strathearn, but this, significantly, in life-use only, acts that confirmed Earl Walter's policing remit given by Albany, and his already effective grip on Strathearn.<ref>Brown, ''Atholl and the Death of James I'', pp. 28–29</ref> Atholl's elder son, David, had been one of the hostages sent to England as a condition of James's release and had died there in 1434; his younger son Alan died in the king's service at the [[Battle of Inverlochy (1431)|Battle of Inverlochy]] in 1431.<ref group=note>Atholl's son and heir David Stewart died as a hostage for James I in 1434. At least fifteen others died in captivity as James had ceased the payments to redeem the hostages by 1429. (See Grant, ''Independence and Nationhood'', pp. 188, 189)</ref> David's son Robert was now Atholl's heir and both were now in line to the throne after the young Prince James.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> James continued to show favour to Atholl and appointed his grandson Robert as his personal chamberlain, but by 1437 after a series of setbacks at the hands of James, the earl and Robert probably viewed the king's actions as a prelude to further acquisitions at Atholl's expense. Atholl's authority over the wealthy earldom of Strathearn was tenuous, and both he and Robert would have realised that Strathearn would have returned to the crown upon Atholl's death. This meant that Robert's holdings would have been the relatively impoverished earldoms of Caithness and Atholl and amounted to no more than what was in Earl Walter's possession in the years between 1406 and 1416.<ref name="Brown, p. 29">Brown, ''Atholl and the Death of James I'', pp. 29–31</ref>

The retreat from Roxburgh exposed the king to questions regarding his control over his subjects, his military competence and his diplomatic abilities yet he remained determined to continue with the war against England.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', p. 174</ref> Just two months after the Roxburgh fiasco, James called a general council in October 1436 to finance further hostilities through more taxation.<ref name="MacQuarrieKingship">MacQuarrie, ''Kingship and Nation'', p. 219</ref> The estates firmly resisted this and their opposition was articulated by their speaker [[Sir Robert Graham]], a former Albany attendant but now a servant of Atholl. The council then witnessed an unsuccessful attempt by Graham to arrest the king resulting in the knight's imprisonment followed by banishment but James failed to see Graham's actions as part of an extended threat.<ref>McGladdery, ''The Kings & Queens of Scotland: James I'', p. 140</ref> In January 1437, Atholl received yet another rebuff in his own heartlands when James overturned the [[Chapter (religion)|chapter]] of [[Dunkeld Cathedral]] whose nominee was replaced by the king's nephew and firm supporter, James Kennedy.<ref name="Brown, p. 29"/>

=== Conspiracy and regicide ===
[[File:Blackfriars monastery perth.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The [[Blackfriars, Perth|Blackfriars]] monastery, Perth (now lost)]]
[[File:Murder of James I of Scotland in 1437.png|thumb|left|1698 [[etching]] by [[Jan Luyken]] of the assassination of James I]]

The reaction against the king at the general council had shown Atholl that not only was James on the back foot but his political standing had received a huge setback and may have convinced the earl that James's killing was now a viable course of action.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', p. 182</ref> Atholl had seen how assertive action by two of his brothers at different times had allowed them to take control of the kingdom and that as James's nearest adult relative, the earl must have considered that decisive intervention on his part at this time could prove to be equally successful.<ref>Brown, ''Atholl and the Death of James I'', p. 31</ref><ref group=note>{{further|Robert III of Scotland}}

Both of Atholl's older brothers in the senior royal line had taken matters into their own hands. In 1384 John Stewart, Earl of Carrick (the future Robert III) engineered a coup that sidelined his father, Robert II, and was appointed lieutenant to rule Scotland. In turn, Carrick was removed from power by his brother Robert Stewart, Earl of Fife (the future Duke of Albany) in 1388. Albany arrested Robert III's son David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, who was probably murdered in Albany's castle in 1402.</ref>

The conspiracy against the king seems to have been heavily influenced by the Albany Stewarts' destruction in 1425. Their judicial killing and forfeiture of their lands influenced the servants who administered and depended on these estates for their living. Atholl, under whose service several of these disgruntled Albany men appear, filled the void created by this. Among them were the brothers Robert and Christopher Chambers, and Sir Robert Graham, who only three months before had tried to arrest the king at the Perth council.<ref>Brown, ''Atholl and the Death of James I'', pp. 31–37</ref> Even though Robert Chambers was a member of the Royal household, the old Albany ties were stronger.<ref>Brown, ''Atholl and the Death of James I'', p. 35</ref>

{{see|Catherine Douglas}}
A general council was held in Atholl's heartland in Perth on 4 February 1437 and crucially for the conspirators, the king and queen had remained in the town at their lodgings in the [[Blackfriars, Perth|Blackfriars]] monastery.<ref>Brown, ''Atholl and the Death of James I'', pp. 34–38</ref> In the evening of 20 February 1437 the king and queen were in their rooms and separated from most of their servants.<ref name="MacQuarrieKingship"/><ref name="McGladdery, pp. 140, 143">McGladdery, ''The Kings & Queens of Scotland: James I'', pp. 140, 143</ref> Atholl's grandson and heir Robert Stewart, the king's chamberlain, allowed his co-conspirators — thought to number about thirty and led by Robert Graham and the Chambers brothers — access to the building.<ref name="MacQuarrieKingship"/><ref name="McGladdery, pp. 140, 143"/> James was alerted to the men's presence, giving the king time to hide in a sewer tunnel, but with its exit recently blocked off to prevent tennis balls from getting lost,<ref name="Morgan">Roger Morgan, ''The silver ball of rattray: a note on an early form of tennis, The International Journal of the History of Sport, Vol. 8, Issue 3, 1991.'' "bot he maid to stop hit well iij dayes afore hand with stone, bicause that whane he playd there at the paume [handball] the ballis that he plaid withe oft ranne yn at that fowle hole (Shirley 1837, 56)." (Shirley, J (ed) 1837 ''The Dethe of the Kynge of Scotis.'' Maitland Club. Glasgow.)</ref> James was trapped and murdered.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', p. 187–188</ref>

=== Aftermath ===
The assassins had achieved their priority in killing the king, but the queen — although wounded — had escaped. Importantly, the six-year-old prince, now [[James II of Scotland|King James II]], had been safeguarded from Atholl's control by the removal of the earl's associate, John Spens, from his role as James's custodian. Spens vanished from the records following the regicide but the re-allocation of his positions and lands immediately following the murder indicate his part in the plot. Yet, in the chaos following the murder, it appeared that the queen's attempt to position herself as regent was not guaranteed. <ref>Brown, ''James I'', pp. 195–196</ref>

No surviving documentation exists that suggests that there was any general feeling of horror or condemnation aimed at the murderers. Possibly had the botched attempt at killing the queen succeeded and had Atholl taken control of the young king his attempted coup might have succeeded.<ref>Brown, ''Atholl and the death of James I'', pp. 41–44</ref> The queen's small group of loyal supporters including the Earl of Angus and William Crichton ensured her continued hold of James. This in itself greatly reinforced her situation but Atholl still had followers. By the first week of March, neither side seemed to have the ascendancy and the Bishop of Urbino, the pope's envoy, called for the council to pursue a peaceful outcome.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

{{Quote box
| width   = 25%
| align   = right
| border  = 2px
| bgcolor = #F7F8F9
| quote   = ... Yitte dowte I nott but theat yee schulle see the daye and tyme that ye schulle pray for my sowle, for the grete good that I have done to yow, and to all this reume of Scotteland, that I have thus slayne and deliverde yow of so crewell a tyrant...<br/>&nbsp;<br/> ... ''Yet I do not doubt but that you shall see the day and time that you shall pray for my soul, for the great good that I have done to you, and to all in this realm of Scotland, that I have thus slain and delivered you of so cruel a tyrant...''
| source  = – Sir Robert Graham<ref>Brown, '' 'I have thus slain a tyrant' – The Dethe of the Kynge of Scotis'', p. 24</ref>
}}

Despite this, by the middle of March, both Angus and Crichton had probably mobilised to move against Atholl. It is equally likely that Atholl had gathered his forces to resist incursions into his heartlands — on 7 March the queen and the council entreated the [[Burgess (title)|burgess]]' of Perth to resist the forces of the "feloune traitors".<ref>Brown, ''James I'', pp. 196–197</ref>

The position of Atholl and his circle of close supporters only collapsed after Earl Walter's heir Robert Stewart had been captured and who, in Shirley's account, confessed to his part in the crime.<ref name="Brown, pp. 42–44">Brown, ''Atholl and the death of James I'', p. 43</ref> Walter was taken prisoner by Angus and held at the Edinburgh [[Tolbooth]] where he was tried and beheaded on 26 March 1437, the day after the coronation of the young James II.<ref name="Brown, pp. 197–198">Brown, ''James I'', pp. 197–198</ref> Sir Robert Graham, the leader of the band of assassins, was captured by former Atholl allies and was tried at a session of the council sitting at Stirling Castle and subsequently executed sometime shortly after 9 April.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', p. 198</ref>

Queen Joan's pursuit of the regency ended probably at the council of June 1437 when Archibald, 5th Earl of Douglas, was appointed lieutenant-general of the kingdom.<ref>Brown, ''James I'', p. 199</ref>

King James's embalmed heart may have been taken on a pilgrimage to the [[Holy Land]] following his interment at [[Perth Charterhouse]], as the [[Exchequer Rolls of Scotland]] for 1443 note the payment of £90 to cover the costs of a [[knight of the Order of St John]] who had returned it to the Charterhouse from the Island of [[Rhodes]].<ref>Cowan, ''The Ancient Capital of Scotland'', pp. 304–305</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/rotuliscaccariir05grea#page/178/mode/2up/search/Domus+Vallis+Virtutis |title=Rotuli scaccarii regum Scotorum=The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland |volume=V |page=179 |publisher=Edinburgh : H.M. General Register House |year=1878 }}</ref>