James I by Michael Brown;

Author:Michael Brown;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC

Like Mons Meg, made in the Low Countries in the 1440s for his son, James’s Lion was more than an instrument of war. The words on the barrel proclaimed the might ofboth the Lion and the king. Although in the attack on the Islesmen, James had used ‘ballistae’, probably wooden catapults rather than guns, the artillery he bought in 1430 had a purpose, both military and political, which looked beyond the borders of Scotland.17

For Scotland’s neighbours, the artillery made James appear more valuable as an ally and more dangerous as an enemy. In other ways too James sought to reform the military structure of his realm. Drawing on his experiences before his release, in 1424 he passed legislation designed to increase the use of the longbow in Scotland. He may already have been encouraged by the fact that the army taken to France by Douglas and Buchan in 1424 contained a high proportion of archers who played a significant part at both Baugé and Verneuil. There is also scattered evidence that the king raised paid troops in small numbers, suggesting more external influence. James was to associate his kingship with the success of a campaign of reconquest, including the capture of the English-held castle of Roxburgh. The guns were, in part at least, symbols of royal strength and of his resources as a leader in war. As such, they formed part of the Scots’ view of their ruler.18

James’s attitude to the church and to the spiritual wellbeing of his kingdom was equally based on renewed royal authority. As with the secular affairs of Scotland, James saw his role as establishing order through his personal control. According to Bower:

with an eye to supplying and husbanding the needs of the regular clergy . . . he often visited their habitations and monasteries in person: and only after he had re-established peace there did he turn to other matters which were threatening the harmony and . . . utility of the state.19

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