James Earl Hamilton Marsden

He was the son of James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran and Lady Margaret Douglas. On 14 August 1546 he was deprived by Act of Parliament of rights of succession unitl he was free of his kipnapers, the murderers of Cardinal Betoun. On 9 April 1562 he was declared insane and was imprisoned. He succeeded to the title of 4th Lord Hamilton on 22 January 1575. He succeeded to the title of 3rd Earl of Arran on 22 January 1574/75. In 1579 he was attainted, and forfeited his titles. He abdicated as Earl of Arran in 1581. On 10 December 1585 his attainder was repealed. In 1586 his resignation as Earl of Arran was ‘reduced’ by the Court of Session on account of his insanity.

Eldest son of the 2nd Earl of Arran and Duke of Châtelherault, who was Regent to the young Mary, Queen of Scots. Hamilton was held prisoner by his father’s enemies, first in St. Andrews (1543) and then in France (1548-59). While there he became Commander of the Scots Guards in that country (1550-7).

Hamilton became a pawn in his father’s attempts to gain the Crown of Scotland for himself, being promised first as a husband for Elizabeth of England to seal an Anglo-Scottish Alliance and then later for Mary, to secure the Hamilton succession to the throne.

All of this had a terrible effect on Hamilton’s mental health and he was judged insane in 1562 and confined until his death. He is thought to be buried in St. Bride’s kirkyard at Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. Having no heirs, his titles passed to his younger brother John, who became 1st Marquess of Hamilton, although the Earldom of Arran had temporarily passed to James Stewart between 1581-5.

Catherine (25 May 1417 – 10 February 1479) was Duchess of Guelders. The Hours of Catherine of Cleves was commissioned for her.

Catherine of Cleves
Family
Catherine was the daughter of Adolph I, Duke of Cleves and Marie of Burgundy. She was a niece of Philip the Good.

Book of Hours
The Hours of Catherine of Cleves was commissioned for her when she married Arnold, Duke of Guelders, on 26 January 1430. It shows her lineage, as well as herself in prayer. The hours had been lost for four hundred years before resurfacing in 1856. It is one of the most richly decorated books of its kind that is preserved.

Issue

Mary (c. 1431-1463), who became Queen of Scotland by marriage to James II
William (born c. 1434), died young
Margaret (c. 1436-1486, Simmern), married on 16 August 1454 to Frederick I, Count of Palatine-Simmern.
Adolf (1438–1477)
Catherine (1439 – 1496), Regent of Guelders in 1477–1481.

Arnold, Duke of Guelders

Arnold of Egmond (14 July 1410, Egmond-Binnen, North Holland – 23 February 1473,Grave) was Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen. He was son of John II of Egmond andMaria van Arkel.

Arnold, Duke of Guelders

On 11 July 1423, Arnold of Egmond, who was still a boy in years, succeeded Duke Reinald IV. Arnold was the grandson of Reinald’s sister, Johanna. Although the Emperor Sigismund had invested the Duke of Berg with the duchy of Gelders, Arnold retained the confidence of the Estates by enlarging their privileges, and enjoyed the support of Duke Philip of Burgundy. Arnold was betrothed, and afterwards united in marriage toCatherine of Cleves née Valois, a niece of Philip of Burgundy. Subsequently, however, Duke Arnold fell out with his ally as to the succession to the see of Utrecht; whereupon Philip joined with the four chief towns of Guelders in the successful attempt of Arnold’s son Adolf to substitute his own for his father’s authority. When Charles the Bold became Duke of Burgundy in 1467, after rejecting a compromise, Adolph was thrown into prison. Arnold, against the will of the towns and the law of the land, pledged his duchy to Charles for 300,000 Rhenish florins (1471). Upon Arnold’s death two years later, Charles took possession of the duchy.

Egmond coat of arms

Family and children

He was married in Cleves on 26 January 1430 to Catherine of Cleves (1417-...

Joan Beaufort (c. 1404 – 15 July 1445) was the Queen Consort of Scotland from 1424 to 1437 as the spouse of King James I of Scotland. During part of the minority of her sonJames II (from 1437 to 1439), she served as the Regent of Scotland


Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots

Background and early life
She was a daughter of John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, and Margaret Holland and half-niece of King Henry IV of England. Joan was named after her aunt, Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland. James of Scotland fell in love with her during his time as a prisoner in England (1406–1424). She is said to have been the inspiration for James’s famous long poem, The Kingis Quair, written in his captivity after he saw her from his window in the garden. The powerful Beauforts put pressure on Henry V to release him so they could get married. Queen Catherine also urged him to do so. Discussions were held, and it was decided that her dowry would be subtracted from his ransom.

Queen of Scotland
On 2 February 1424 at Southwark Priory (now Southwark Cathedral), Joan married James I. They were feasted at Winchester Palace that year by her uncle Cardinal Henry Beaufort. She joined him on his return from captivity to Scotland that year. At his coronation atScone, when James received the allegiance of his Tenants-in-chief, he had them swear their allegiance to Joan as well, as if she was a co-monarch. As queen, she often pleaded with the...

James I, King of Scots (July 1394 – 21 February 1437), was the youngest of three sons of King Robert III and Annabella Drummond and was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline. By the time he was eight years of age both of his elder brothers were dead—Robert had died in infancy, but David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, died under suspicious circumstances in Falkland Castle while being detained by his uncle,Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. Although parliament exonerated Albany, fears for James’s safety grew during the winter of 1405–6 and plans were made to send him to France. In February 1406, James, in the company of nobles loyal to King Robert III, clashed with those of the Earl of Douglas, forcing the prince to take temporary refuge on the Bass Rock in the Forth estuary. He remained there until mid-March, when he boarded a vessel bound for France, but English pirates captured the ship on 22 March and delivered James to Henry IV of England. A few days later, on 4 April Robert III died, and the 12 year-old uncrowned King of Scots began his 18-year detention.

James I of Scotland

James was given a good education at the English court, where he developed respect for English methods of governance and for Henry V to the extent that he served in the English army against the French during 1420–1. The Duke of Albany’s son, Murdoch, held a prisoner in England following his capture in 1402, was traded for Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, in ...

James Douglas, 1st Lord Dalkeith (born ca. 1356 and died before 22 May 1441) was a Scottish nobleman born in Dalkeith,Midlothian, Scotland to Sir James Douglas and Agnes Dunbar. He married Elizabeth (Princess) Stewart, daughter of King Robert III, about the year 1387. They had four children before she died: William, James, Henry, and Margaret. He later remarried Janet Borthwick.

Sir John Hamilton of Cadzow, 4th Laird of Cadzow (b. bef. 1370 – d. c. 1402) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier.
He succeeded his father, David Hamilton of Cadzow, no later than 1392, when he appears on a charter of Andrew Murray of Touchadam as Dominus de Cadzow.
He was imprisoned, along with his brothers William and Andrew, in Norwich in 1396. Richard II of England ordered their release from the Mayor and bailies of that city on 29 June. It appears that their imprisonment was due to violations of the truce between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland. A John Hamilton, either his brother John Hamilton of Bardowie, or uncle John Hamilton of Fingalton, was released from the Tower of London on the same date. Hamilton and his uncle seem to have found themselves guests of the English again, when at a meeting of Border commissioners at Hawdenstank on 28 October 1398, the first point of business was the release of Hamilton of Cadzow, and Hamilton of Fingalton and others in their entourage. The Hamiltons had been caught at sea by English privateers, again in violation of the truce. The English were urged to release the ship and restore their goods to them, or alternatively pay suitable recompense.
There is no record of Hamilton’s death, though it is possible that he was one of the prisoner fatalities at the Battle of Homildon Hill in 1402, where a Sir John Hamilton, elder, appears on a list of captives.
Marriage and children
John Hamilton married J...

Mary of Guelders (c. 1434 – 1 December 1463) was the Queen Consort of Scotland as the wife of King James II of Scotland. She served as Regent of Scotland from 1460 to 1463.

Background
She was the daughter of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and Catherine of Cleves, a great-aunt of Anne of Cleves. She was a great-niece of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

Burgundian court
Philip and his wife Isabella of Portugal at first planned to have Mary betrothed to Charles, Count of Maine, but her father could not pay the dowry. Mary stayed on at the Burgundian court, where Isabella frequently paid for her expenses. Mary attended Isabella’s daughter-in-law Catherine of France, while she herself was attended upon by ten people. The duke and duchess then started negotiations for a Scottish marriage. Philip promised to pay her dowry, while Isabella paid for her trousseau. William Crichton came to the Burgundian court to escort her back to Scotland
Marriage and children
She landed in Scotland in June 1449 and both nobles and the common people came to see her as she made her way to Holyrood Abbey. Mary married James II, King of Scots, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh on 3 July 1449. A sumptuous banquet was given, while the Scottish king gave her several presents. It had been agreed that any sons they might have would have no right to the duchy of Guelders.
James and Mary had seven children together:
An unnamed son. {Both born and die...

James II of Scotland

James II of Scotland
James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460), who reigned as king of Scots from 1437 on, was the son of James I and Joan Beaufort. Nothing is known of his early life, but by his first birthday his only brother, Alexander, who was also older, had died, thus making James the heir apparent and Duke of Rothesay. Curiously enough, James held no other titles while Duke of Rothesay. On 21 February 1437, James I wasassassinated and the six-year-old Duke of Rothesay immediately succeeded him as James II.
In 1449, nineteen-year-old James married fifteen-year-old Mary of Guelders, daughter of the Duke of Gelderland. She had numerous royal ancestors such as John II of France and John of Bohemia. She bore him seven children, six of whom survived into adulthood. Subsequently, the relations between Flanders and Scotland became better. James’s nickname, Fiery Face, referred to a conspicuous vermilion birthmarkon his face which appears to have been deemed by contemporaries an outward sign of a fiery temper.
James was a politic, and singularly successful king. He was popular with the commoners, with whom, like most of the Stewarts, he socialized often, both in times of peace and war. His legislation has a markedly popular character. He does not appear to have inherited his father’s taste for literature, which was “inherited” by at least two of his sisters; but the foundation of the university of Glasgow during his...