Scotland

Although some statesmen advocated having a common monarch for Scotland and England as the only way of ending the debilitating conflict between them, that goal was not accomplished until the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. During the Renaissance, Scotland was an independent country with its own parliament, ruled locally by some of the fiercest knights in western Europe. James IV along with many of Scotland’s knights, died in the 1512 Battle of Flodden fighting the English. His son, James V (1512-42), had a long minority, during which commerce flourished and the merchant class began to gain political leverage in Scotland. Protestantism vied with Catholicism as the state religion. As the new religion began to influence political decisions, many Scots leaned toward England. Hostile to Henry VIII of England, James V promoted members of the Catholic party, and his French wife, Mary of Lorraine (Marie of Guise, 1515-60), raised their, daughter, Mary (1542-87), as a Catholic. Because Mary, queen of Scots, was only an infant when she inherited the throne, her mother ruled as regent. England, which repeatedly attempted diplomatic negotiations to control Scotland, succeeded only when Elizabeth I agreed to have her cousin, Mary, executed. Mary’s son James VI (1566-1625) became king of both England and Scotland, but the countries were not united as a single kingdom until 1707.

Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe