JAMES I. king of Scotland in 1423, the first of the house of Stuart, was not only the most learned king, but the most learned man, of the age in which he flourished. This ingenious and amiable prince fell into the hands of the enemies of his country in his tender youth, when he was flying from the snares of his unnatural ambitious uncle, who governed his dominions, and was suspected of designs against his life. Having secretly embarked for France, the ship was taken by an English privateer off Flamborough-head; and the prince and his attendants (among whom was the earl of Orkney), were confined in a neighbouring castle until they were sent to London. See (History of) SCOTLAND.
The king of England knew the value of the prize he had obtained, and kept it with the most anxious care. The prince was conducted to the Tower of London immediately after he was seized, April 12. A. D. 1405, in the 13th year of his age, and there kept a close prisoner till June 10. A. D. 1407, when he was removed to the castle of Nottingham, from whence he was brought back to the Tower, March 1. A. D. 1414, and there confined till August 3. in the same year, when he was conveyed to the castle of
Windfor, where he was detained till the summer of A. D. 1417; when Henry V. for political reasons, carried him with him into France in his second expedition. In all these fortresses his confinement, from his own account of it, was so severe and strict, that he was not so much as permitted to take the air. In this melancholy situation, so unsuitable to his age and rank, books were his chief companions, and study his greatest pleasure. He rose early in the morning, immediately applied to reading, to divert him from painful reflections on his misfortunes, and continued his studies, with little interruption, till late at night. James being naturally sensible, ingenious, and fond of knowledge, and having received a good education in his early youth, under the direction of Walter Wardlaw, bishop of St Andrew's, by this close application to study, became an universal scholar, an excellent poet, and exquisite musician. That he wrote as well as read much we have his own testimony, and that of all our historians who lived near his time. Bowmaker, the continuator of Fordun, who was his contemporary, and personally acquainted with him, spends ten chapters in his praises, and in lamentations on his death; and, amongst other things, says, that his knowledge of the scriptures, of law, and philosophy, was incredible. Hector Boece tells us, that Henry IV. and V. furnished their royal prisoner with the best teachers in all the arts and sciences; and that, by their assistance, he made great proficiency in every part of learning and the fine arts; that he became a perfect master in grammar, rhetoric, poetry, music, and all the secrets of natural philosophy, and was inferior to none in divinity and law. He observes further, that the poems he composed in his native tongue were so beautiful, that you might easily perceive he was born a poet; but that his Latin poems were not so faultless; for though they abounded in the most sublime sentiments, their language was not so pure, owing to the rudeness of the times in which he lived. This prince's skill in music was remarkable. Walter Bower, abbot of Inchcolm, who was intimately acquainted with that prince, assures us, that he excelled all mankind in that art, both vocal and instrumental; and that he played on eight different instruments (which he names), and especially on the harp, with such exquisite skill, that he seemed to be inspired*. King James was not only an excellent performer, but also a capital composer both of sacred and secular music; and his fame on that account was extensive, and of long duration. Above a century after his death, he was celebrated in Italy as the inventor of a new and pleasing kind of melody, which had been admired and imitated in that country. This appears from the following testimony of Alessandro Tassoni, a writer who was well informed, and of undoubted credit. "We may reckon among us moderns, James king of Scotland, who not only composed many sacred pieces of vocal music, but also of himself invented a new kind of music, plaintive and melancholy, different from all other; in which he hath been imitated by Carlo Gesualdo, prince of Venosa, who, in our age, hath improved music with new and admirable inventions†." As the prince of Venosa imitated King James, the other musicians of Italy imitated the prince of Venosa. "The most noble Carlo Gesualdo,
James. Do, the prince of musicians of our age, introduced such a style of modulation, that other musicians yielded the preference to him; and all singers and players on stringed instruments, laying aside that of others, everywhere embraced his*. All the lovers, therefore, of Italian or Scotch music, are much indebted to the admirable genius of King James I. who, in the gloom and solitude of a prison, invented a new kind of music, plaintive indeed, and suited to his situation, but at the same time so sweet and soothing, that it hath given pleasure to millions in every succeeding age.
As James I. of Scotland was one of the most accomplished princes that ever filled a throne, he was also one of the most unfortunate. After spending almost 20 years in captivity, and encountering many difficulties on his return into his native kingdom, he was murdered by barbarous assassins in the prime of life. In the monuments of his genius, he hath been almost equally unfortunate. No vestiges are now remaining of his skill in architecture, gardening, and painting; though we are assured by one who was well acquainted with him, that he excelled in all these arts†. Many of the productions of his pen have also perished; for he tells us himself that he wrote much‡, and we know of only three of his poems that are now extant, viz. Christ's Kirk on the Green—Peebles at the Play—and the King's Quair, which was lately discovered by Mr Warton, and hath been published by another gentleman§. But slender as these remains are, they afford sufficient evidence, that the genius of this royal poet was not inferior to that of any of his contemporaries; and that it was equally fitted for the gayest or the gravest strains.