Stirling Castle, its place in Scottish history

by Eric Stair-Kerr

On the evening of the 3rd of September, 1571, these chiefs, accompanied by three or four hundred men, rode out of Edinburgh and took the road to Jedburgh in order to deceive their enemies as to the object of their journey. In the gathering darkness they wheeled to the right and made their way swiftly to within a mile of Stirling, where they halted and left their horses.[43] One of the party, a native of the place, knowing of the existence of a secret passage, guided the raiders into the town at an early hour in the morning. There was not even the bark of a dog to give the citizens alarm; the burghers and nobles were aroused by the cries of “A Hamilton” and “God and the Queen.” Houses were instantly broken into and most of the lords were captured with ease, but at Morton’s lodging some fighting took place, resulting in the slaughter of two of the Earl’s retainers. Morton, however, eventually gave himself up to the Laird of Buccleuch, the Regent Lennox surrendered to Spens of Wormiston, and the Earls of Glencairn and Eglinton also submitted themselves to the adventurers.

The Queen’s party seemed to have triumphed completely, but their easily-won victory led to their defeat. The Borderers, unable to resist the temptation of plunder, rushed in all directions in search of booty, so that when the Earl of Mar sallied forth from the castle with a band of musketeers, a panic at once ensued. The citizens armed themselves and turned on their despoilers, while the castle soldiers kept up a fire from behind the walls of Mar’s unfinished house. The raiders were demoralised and quickly took to flight, but rather than allow the Regent Lennox to be rescued, a man named Calder fired his pistol at the Earl. By throwing himself in front of his distinguished prisoner, Spens of Wormiston was shot, and the bullet passing through his body, mortally wounded Lennox. The dying Regent was conveyed to the castle, where in the evening he passed away. His death was deplored not only by his friends but by his foe, Kirkcaldy of Grange, who had desired the Raid of Stirling to be, if possible, a bloodless triumph.[44]

Little more than a year had elapsed when another Regent died in Stirling Castle. This was the King’s hereditary keeper, John, Earl of Mar, who had been elected to govern the realm in the room of James’s grandfather, Lennox.[45] The cares of state and the worries of the civil war seem to have been responsible for the Regent’s premature decease, although the usual report of poisoning was given circulation at the time. Mar left the charge of the King and the castle to his brother, Alexander, Master of Erskine, for his son, the new Earl, a companion of James, was a boy not much older than the King.

The next governor, the Regent Morton, was in favour of the young sovereign’s continuing his residence at Stirling. His education was meanwhile receiving attention from George Buchanan and Peter Young, the former a brilliant scholar and a strict disciplinarian, the latter too full of respect for the Lord’s Anointed to oppose his pupil’s wayward will. “My Lady Mar was wise and sharp,” wrote Sir James Melville, “and held the King in great awe; and so did Mr. George Buchanan. Mr. Peter Young was gentler and was loath to offend the King at any time, and used himself warily, as a man that had mind of his own weal, by keeping of His Majesty’s favour; but Mr. George was a Stoic philosopher, and looked not far before the hand.”

In June, 1574, Killigrew, the English ambassador, visited Stirling Castle, and heard James translate into French a chapter, chosen at random, of a Latin version of the Bible; while to show that his accomplishments were not confined to intellectual pursuits, the King delighted the English envoy by an exhibition of dancing.[46] Weldon, in his oft-quoted description of James, writes: “His legs were very weak ... that he was not able to stand at seven years of age.”[47] Weldon’s unflattering portrait of the King is held by some to be a faithful representation; but the statement regarding James’s physical weakness seems to be untrue, for if he could not stand at seven, he would surely be unable to give a display of dancing when exactly eight years of age. Later in the same year the two famous Melvilles—Andrew and his nephew James—were presented to their sovereign at Stirling. The younger man notes in his Diary that the boy monarch, on account of his strange and extraordinary gifts, was the sweetest sight in Europe that day. The writer goes on to say: “I heard him discourse, walking up and doun in the auld Lady Mar’s hand, of knowledge and ignorance, to my great marvel and astonishment.”[48]

James had companions at work and play in those schooldays at the castle. The young Earl of Mar, Lord Invertyle and others learnt their lessons with their King at Stirling. That Buchanan showed no favouritism in his dealings with his pupils will be seen by the following story, originally told by Invertyle: The Earl of Mar possessed a tame sparrow which the King was anxious to obtain. On the young nobleman’s refusing to hand over the bird to his sovereign, a struggle between the two playmates ensued, ending in the death of the sparrow. Mar burst into tears at the loss of his pet, and Buchanan, being informed of the cause of the weeping, gave the King a box on the ear, and told him he was a true bird of the bloody nest of which he was come.[49]

That the stern preceptor was not devoid of humour the following anecdote will show. The young King’s readiness to grant requests thoughtlessly was noted by Buchanan with distress. Determined to teach the boy a lesson, he requested him to sign two documents, the purport of one being to transfer the regal power to Buchanan for fifteen days. After asking one or two random questions, the sovereign willingly signed the papers without taking trouble to read their contents; and that same day the tutor acted the part of King to the astonishment of the courtiers and the utter amazement of James. At length Buchanan informed his pupil that he had temporarily resigned his crown, and as the King continued to appear bewildered, the document was produced. Before James had time to recover from his discomfiture, the tutor followed up his practical lesson by a discourse on the evils that are likely to accrue from the rashness and carelessness of kings.[50]

Buchanan’s interest in education during the Stirling period of his life was not confined to the training and instruction of the monarch and his companions. He was appointed president of the commission which met in Stirling Castle to consider the question of a standard Latin grammar, as teachers had been complaining of the confusion arising from the various manuals in use throughout the country. The result of the proceedings was that Buchanan and two commissioners, Andrew Simson and James Carmichael, schoolmasters, undertook to produce a new book which was to supersede all the others. In due time the joint work of these eminent scholars appeared, but it never became established as the one and only grammar.[51]

The room still exists in the Keep of the castle where George Buchanan and Peter Young are believed to have discharged their pedagogic duties, and a terrace below is called the Prince’s Walk, where James, it is said, was wont to take the air before returning to his studies. Doubtless the young King and his comrades romped on this narrow playground, but it owes its name more likely to James’s son, Prince Henry, for the father was a crowned monarch before his education began, and the terrace is known not as the King’s but as the Prince’s Walk.