James Douglas,4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516 – 2 June 1581) was aScottish nobleman. He played a leading role in the murders of Queen Mary's confidant,David Rizzio, andking consortHenry Darnley. He was the last of the fourregents ofScotland during the minority ofJames VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four since he won thecivil war that had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiledMary, Queen of Scots. However, he came to an unfortunate end, executed by means of theMaiden, a predecessor of theguillotine.
James Douglas was the second son of SirGeorge Douglas of Pittendreich, Master of Angus, and Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of David Douglas of Pittendreich. He wrote that he was over 61 years old in March 1578, so was probably born around 1516.[1] Before 1543, he married Elizabeth, daughter ofJames Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton, and became known as the "Master of Morton". In 1553, James Douglas succeeded to the title and estates of his father-in-law, includingDalkeith House in Midlothian andAberdour Castle in Fife. His wife, Elizabeth Douglas suffered from mental illness, as did her two elder sisters Margaret and Beatrix, who were married toRegent Arran andRobert Maxwell, 6th Lord Maxwell.[2] James and Elizabeth's children did not survive to adulthood, except three daughters who were declared legally incompetent in 1581. James also had five illegitimate children.[3]
At the start of theRough Wooing war, James and his brother David communicated withHenry VIII of England on the possibility of their surrenderingTantallon Castle to theEnglish army that burnt Edinburgh in 1544. The English commanderLord Hertford wrote to the Master of Morton in April 1544, discussing his journey towardsBerwick-upon-Tweed, and hoping he could leave the castles ofDalkeith and Tantallon in the hands of allies.[4]
However, four years later he defended Dalkeith Palace against the English and was captured in June 1548, "sore hurt on the thigh", and taken as a hostage to England. After theTreaty of Boulogne in 1550, James was exchanged for the English soldierJohn Luttrell, returned from captivity in England, and began to use his title of "Earl of Morton".
James's political activities and allegiances during theScottish Reformation were at first equivocal in 1559, but in February 1560 he signed theTreaty of Berwick which invited an English army into Scotland to expel the Catholic regime ofMary of Guise.[5] He took part in the unsuccessful embassy to England in November 1560 to treat for the marriage ofElizabeth I of England toJames Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran.[6] On their way back from London,Grey de Wilton hosted the Scottish ambassadors at Berwick and gave James a personal tour of the latest fortifications there.[7]
In 1563 he becameLord Chancellor of Scotland. Though his sympathies were with the reformers, he took no part in the combination ofProtestant reformers in 1565, but he headed the armed force which took possession ofHolyrood Palace in March 1566 to effect the assassination ofDavid Rizzio, and the leading conspirators adjourned to Morton's house while a messenger was sent to obtain Queen Mary's signature to the "bond of security".
The Queen, before complying with the request, escaped toDunbar, and Morton and the other leaders fled toEngland. Having been pardoned, Morton returned to Scotland early in 1567, and with 600 men appeared beforeBorthwick Castle, where the Queen had taken refuge after her marriage to Bothwell. Morton attended the remarkable stand-off at thebattle of Carberry Hill in June 1567, where Mary's new husband,James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell offered to settle the matter by single combat. WhenPatrick, Lord Lindsay took up the challenge, Morton gave Lindsay the sword of his ancestor,Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus. Mary vetoed a fight and surrendered.[9] Morton took an active part in obtaining the consent of the queen, while she was imprisoned atLochleven Castle, to her abdication in July 1567. When Mary escaped from Lochleven, he led the vanguard of the army which defeated her forces at theBattle of Langside in 1568, and he was the most valuedprivy counsellor of theEarl of Moray during the latter's brief term of office asRegent of Scotland.
Scotland was now ruled by regents on behalf of Mary's infant son,James VI, who faced acivil war.James Stewart, Regent Moray, Mary's half-brother, was assassinated in Linlithgow in January 1570. Morton was worried that Mary might escape and make her way back to Scotland, by feigning sickness during a dance and disguising herself in male apparel, riding away in disguise with a messenger, or cutting her hair and smearing dirt on her face so she looked like a scullion who turned the spit in the kitchen. He wrote to William Cecil, and Queen Elizabeth in April 1571 wrote to theEarl of Shrewsbury atSheffield Castle to be vigilant.[10]
Matthew Stewart, Regent Lennox died from a gunshot wound after a struggle on the streets of Stirling. On 18 November 1571, the new Regent,John Erskine, Earl of Mar, sent Morton withRobert Pitcairn,Commendator of Dunfermline andJames MacGill of Nether Rankeillour to negotiate with Elizabeth's representativeHenry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, Governor ofBerwick upon Tweed. Mar wanted English help to captureEdinburgh Castle from SirWilliam Kirkcaldy of Grange who held it for Mary. Regent Mar hoped that Morton could arrange for 12 cannons, 3,000foot soldiers, and wages for the 800 Scottish foot soldiers and 200 horsemen already in the field. Morton was instructed to offer six hostages to England from the sons of the nobility who supported James VI. He also discussed returning theEarl of Northumberland, who was a fugitive after the failedRising of the North, to England.
A week later Morton wrote to Hunsdon with the same request, urging an attack in winter because the Castle was vulnerable when theNor Loch was frozen. Hunsdon replied that Elizabeth still hoped for a peaceful settlement, but he would send an estimate of the expedition's cost to Elizabeth. Morton received a token payment. The English rebels were handed over. The treaty for military aid was still not finalised when Mar died at Stirling in October 1572.[11]
On 24 November 1572, a month after the death of Regent Mar, Morton, who had been the most powerful noble during Mar and Lennox's rule, at last reached the object of his ambition by being elected regent. As Regent of Scotland, Morton expected the support of England andElizabeth, and a week after his election, he wrote toWilliam Cecil, Lord Burghley following his discussions with the English ambassadorHenry Killigrew:
The knowledge of her Majesty's meaning has chiefly moved me to accept the charge (the Regency), resting in assured hope of her favourable protection and maintenance, especially for the present payment of our men-of-war their bypast wages, "without the quhilk I salbe drevin in mony great inconvenientis."[12]
In many respects, Morton was an energetic and capable ruler. His first achievement was the conclusion of the civil war in Scotland against the supporters of the exiled Mary. In February 1573 he effected a pacification withGeorge Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly, the Hamiltons and other Catholic nobles who supported Mary, atPerth with the aid of Elizabeth's envoy, Henry Killigrew.[13] Edinburgh Castle still held out for Mary under the command of William Kirkcaldy of Grange andWilliam Maitland of Lethington, and after a long siege the castle was taken on 27 May 1573, aided by English artillery and soldiers which finally arrived underWilliam Drury. Due to the subsequent execution of the leaders of the castle garrison, there was now no longer any chance of Mary's restoration by native support.
In July 1573 Morton had the king's chamber at Stirling Castle panelled, 60 new gold buttons made for his clothes, and gave him a football.[14] He made efforts to recoverjewels belonging to Mary, including theGreat H of Scotland, which were held byAgnes Keith, Countess of Moray and others.[15][16]
In 1575 Morton obtained six "snaphaunce"musket hand guns from Flanders to serve as patterns for long guns called "calivers". The Edinburgh gunmakers were ready to make 50 every week, they also made pistols called "dags" which equipped most of the gentlemen of Scotland. He sent goldsmithMichael Sym to London for tools for the royal mint. Sym was also sent to buy silver plate for Morton and have some rubies cut for him.[17] Morton made a leisurely progress in September 1575, travelling fromDalkeith Palace withLord Claud Hamilton toLinlithgow,Torwood Castle,Lochleven, andStirling Castle where he hunted in the park. He then went toKincardine Castle,Tullibardine Castle,Ruthven Castle, andBallinbreich in Fife, before arriving at his ownAberdour Castle.[18]
While all now seemed to favour Morton, under-currents combined to procure his fall. ThePresbyterianclergy were alienated by his leaning toEpiscopacy, and all parties in the divided Church disliked his seizure of its estates.Andrew Melville, who had taken over as leader of the Kirk fromJohn Knox, was firmly against any departure from the Presbyterian model and refused to be won by a place in Morton's household. Morton rigorously pursued the collection of a third of the income from every Church benefice, a revenue that had been allocated to finance the King's household. Morton had discretion to exempt persons and institutions from paying these thirds, and the historian George Hewitt found no striking evidence of bias in Morton's exemptions.[19]
In 1577 Morton was granted thebarony of Stobo. However, over the next few months, opposition to Morton grew, led by theEarl of Argyll and theEarl of Atholl, both leadingRoman Catholics and members of the Queen's party, in league withAlexander Erskine of Gogar, governor ofStirling Castle and custodian of the young James VI.
Morton was finally forced to resign as Regent in March 1578 but retained much of his power. He wrote a memorandum setting out his service to King James, including swearing his coronation oath, recovering Edinburgh Castle from his enemies, and spending £10,000 rebuilding it.[20] He surrendered Edinburgh Castle,Holyrood Palace, theGreat Seal and the jewels andHonours of Scotland, retiring for a while toLochleven Castle, where he busied himself in laying out gardens. On 10 March, James VI issued a proclamation recognising that many in Scotland "misliked" the regiment of Morton, who had now resigned, and James would now accept the burden of the administration. The King was eleven years old.[21]
Queen Elizabeth wrote to her agents in Scotland expressing her astonishment and displeasure because, as she was convinced her influence had brought Morton to the regency, his forced resignation reflected badly on her. If Morton was now to be accused of bad government, she instructed her diplomatsThomas Randolph andRobert Bowes to defend him by saying that his accusers should have first appealed to England to pressure Morton to reform his administration.[22]
On 27 April 1578, by the action ofJohn Erskine (son ofRegent Mar) and his brothers, theCommendators ofCambuskenneth andDryburgh, Morton gained possession ofStirling Castle and the person of the king, regaining his ascendancy. On 12 August 1578, the forces of his opponents faced his army atFalkirk, but a truce was negotiated by two Edinburgh ministers, James Lawson and David Lindsay, and the English residentRobert Bowes. A nominal reconciliation was effected, and aparliament at Stirling introduced a new government. Morton, who secured anindemnity, was president of the council, but Atholl remained a privy councillor in an enlarged council with the representatives of both parties. Shortly afterwards Atholl died (allegedly ofpoison) and suspicion pointed to Morton. His return to power was brief, and the only important event was theprosecution of the two Hamiltons who still supported Mary. In the spring of 1579, the Scottish government's forces moved to crush the power of theHamilton family in the west, andClaude Hamilton and his brotherJohn Hamilton fled to England. Morton would later deny that this was his initiative.[23] The final fall of Morton came from an opposite quarter.
In May 1579, atSt Andrews, an eccentric called Skipper Lindsay publicly declared to Morton in the King's presence during the performance of a play that his day of judgement was at hand. In September,Esmé Stewart, Sieur d'Aubigny, the king's cousin, came to Scotland fromFrance, gained the favour of James by his courtly manners, and received the lands andearldom of Lennox, the custody ofDumbarton Castle, and the office ofchamberlain. The young James VI was declared to have reached his majority and formally began his personal rule with some ceremony in Edinburgh in September 1579, and the period of the Regents was concluded.
On 31 December 1580, an associate of Lennox,James Stuart, Earl of Arran, son ofLord Ochiltree and brother-in-law of John Knox, accused Morton at a meeting of the council in Holyrood of complicity in the murder ofDarnley, and he was at once committed to custody in Holyroodhouse and taken toDumbarton Castle in the Lennox heartland.[24]
Morton was brought back to Edinburgh and lodged atRobert Gourlay's house on 27 May. He was condemned by anassize at the Tolbooth on 1 June, presided over byJohn Graham, Lord Hallyards, for having taken part in the Darnley's murder. He confessed that theEarl of Bothwell had revealed to him the design, although he denied participation, "art and part", in its execution. TheEarl of Montrose pronounced him guilty.[25]
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Morton was brought to Edinburgh on 30 May 1581 and confined in the house ofRobert Gourlay on theRoyal Mile. He was accompanied by a servant, William Stewart, who witnessed that he slept well on the night after he was condemned.[26] Before his execution Morton made a confession in a conversation withJohn Durie andWalter Balcanquhall.[27][28]
He was executed on 2 June 1581, attended byJames Lawson of St Giles.[29] The method of his execution was themaiden, an early form ofguillotine modelled on theHalifax gibbet. According to tradition, Morton brought it personally from England, having been "impressed by its clean work", but records show that it was made at the order of Edinburgh's Town Council in 1564 byPatrick Schang.[30][31]David Hume of Godscroft appears to have initiated the legend of Morton's maiden in hisHistory of the House of Angus (1644), writing "the axe (of the Maiden, which he himself had caused make after the patterne which he had seen in Halifax in Yorkshire) falling upon his neck, put an end to his life".[32]
Morton's corpse remained on the scaffold for the following day, until it was taken for burial in an unmarked grave atGreyfriars Kirkyard. His head, however, remained on "the prick on the highest stone", (a spike) on the north gable of theTolbooth of Edinburgh (outsideSt Giles Cathedral) for eighteen months, until it was ordered to be reunited with his body in December 1582.[33]
Morton's final resting place is reputedly[34] marked by a small sandstone post incised with the initials "J.E.M." for James Earl of Morton. The post is more probably aVictorian marker for alairage. In the very unlikely event that a marker was permitted for an executed criminal, the inscribed initials would have been "J.D." and, secondly, it would have been cleared away in 1595 when all stones were removed from Greyfriars.[citation needed]
After the execution of her husband, Morton's wife, Dame Elizabeth Douglas was found by an inquest to be incapable of managing her affairs, as she was "idiot and prodigal" in the language of the time. King James VI signed a warrant to appoint a legal guardian called an "administrator and tutor" to supervise and protect her property.[35]
The title ofEarl of Morton passed by charter to the son of Dame Elizabeth Douglas's sister Beatrix,John Maxwell, 8th Lord Maxwell. Maxwell had been in dispute with Regent Morton over the title, and while the former Regent was in prison, Maxwell had made a contract with the Duke of Lennox on 29 April 1581. Lennox would work to give Maxwell rights over the Morton earldom, and make him the legal guardian of James Douglas and Dame Elizabeth's three daughters. The three sisters, like their mother, would be declared incapable by a "brieve of idiotry". In 1586, however, the title was given toArchibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus, a nephew and legal heir of Regent Morton. Maxwell was still able to use the title, though it did not descend to his heirs.[36]
Regent Morton had sons (includingJames Douglas of Spott) by other women. Thebarony of Stobo was confiscated by the Crown and was granted to theChancellor of Scotland,John Maitland, in 1587.[37]
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James Douglas started buildingDrochil Castle for his own use in 1578, three years before his death. It was no more than half built and never finished. The ruins of the castle overlookPeebles and the valleys of theTarth Water,Lyne Water, andRiver Tweed. AtAberdour Castle inFife, Morton's lodging survives with its terrace overlooking theFirth of Forth. Morton also extended his residence atDalkeith Palace, but these works have long since been demolished. Wreaths Tower, Kirkbean Parish,Dumfries and Galloway, is said to have belonged to Morton.[38]
Morton commissioned extensive reconstruction at Edinburgh Castle after the siege, including the Portcullis Gate where his heraldic insignia of a heart can still be seen, and the iconic half-moon battery which fronts the castle and conceals the remains of buildings destroyed in 1573. On his orders, galleries, stables, and other new buildings were constructed at Stirling Castle and Holyroodhouse, and rooms refurbished and furnished for the use of the King.[39] During his resignation in March 1578, Morton pointed out to the officers of the Scottish exchequer that the royal houses were "now in better case than they were at the beginning of his regiment."[40]
Morton is a character in Liz Lochhead's playMary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off.
Nigel Tranter's novelLord and Master (originally calledThe Master of Gray, the first part of a trilogy of that name) includes an account of Morton's fall from power and his execution.
Morton was played by the actorBruce Purchase in the 1971 period dramaMary, Queen of Scots.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Morton, James Douglas, 4th Earl of".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 880–881.
Media related toJames Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton at Wikimedia Commons| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Regent of Scotland 1572–1578 | Last regent |
| Military offices | ||
| Unknown | Lord High Admiral of Scotland 1567– | Unknown |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Chancellor of Scotland 1563–1566 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Chancellor of Scotland 1567–1573 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
| Preceded by |  Earl of Morton 1553–1581 | Succeeded by |
