The reign of James VI (1567–1625) remains one of the most enigmatic in Scottish history. There are long periods within it that resemble black holes in our knowledge. This study is a concerted attempt by a group of ten scholars of the reign, drawn from three different disciplines, to shed light on its politics and government, viewed through various perspectives. These include the royal court, which is analysed through its literature, architecture and ceremony; noble factionalism; relations with England; a revised model of tensions between church and state; and the relationship between the government and the Highlands, the Borders and the south west, a future region of opposition to Charles I. This study also analyses James as a literary author, correspondent, husband and ‘universal king’.

The book offers alternatives to accepted views of the reign, dismissing both Melvillianism and ‘laissez faire monarchy’ as useful tools. It sees the centre of politics as the interaction between an expanded and increasingly expensive royal court and a phenomenal growth of the state, based on a huge increase in legislation and the business of the Privy Council.

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Illustrations
• Picture Acknowledgements
• Conventions and Abbreviations
• 1. James VI: Universal King?
• 2. Scottish politics in the reign of James VI
• 3. James VI and the Sixteenth-Century Cultural Crisis
• 4. Court Ceremony and Ritual during the Personal Reign of James VI
• 5. The Brig o’ Dee Affair, the Sixth Earl of Huntly and the Politics of the Counter-Reformation
• 6. James VI’s English Subsidy
• 7. A Meddlesome Princess: Anna of Denmark and Scottish Court Politics, 1589–1603
• 8. The Personal Letters of James VI: a Short Commentary
• 9. James VI’s Architects and their Architecture
• 10. James VI and the General Assembly, 1586–1618
• 11. The Scottish State and its Borderlands, 1567–1625
• 12. James VI and the ‘Highland problem’
• 13. James VI and the Politics of South-West Scotland, 1603–1625
• 14. ’Tis True I am a Cradle King’: the View from the Throne
• Chronology of the Reign of James VI
• Further Reading
• Contributors
• Index