[MR] Wikipedia: Death of James II

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially Fellow Scots,

On this date in 1460 King of Scots James II was killed during a siege of
English-held Roxburgh Castle. James had prominent birthmark on his face,
and is known to history as "James of the Fiery Face".

James became king at the age of six after his father was assassinated in
1437. This meant another regency, Scotland's bane. In collusion with the
Black Douglases, Alexander Livingston of Callendar became the chief regent
and kept young James a virtual prisoner in Stirling Castle until 1449. When
James reached adulthood, he used the power of the Douglasses to unseat
Livingston and break the power of their family.

Then James turned on the Douglasses, personally stabbing William, 8th Earl
of Douglas 26 times (the approved Scottish fashion in murders) while at
dinner at Stirling. Douglass' body was defenestrated, and the courtyard
where he is believed to have landed is still called the Douglas Garden. In
the civil wars that followed, James was backed by the Red Douglasses, who
were more than happy to fill the power vacuum and eliminate their distant
cousins.

Like most Scots, James loved things that went bang, or perhaps boom when it
came to large cannon. At the siege of Roxburgh James was having fun in his
artillery park. He was standing next to a particularly large gun called
"The Lion" when it exploded. A large piece of shrapnel struck James in the
thigh, and he died within minutes, likely from blood loss.

James II was succeeded by his eight-year old son, another James (there were
six altogether), and again there was a regency by power-hungry factions.
That's a sad tale in the long and tragic history of the Stewart monarchs,
but for another day.

More about James II can be found at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_II_of_Scotland . The portrait there is
believed to be the oldest surviving original of a Scottish monarch. The
birthmark seems to be on his right cheek, turned away from the artist.

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆