History of the Stewarts | Battles and Historic Events
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James IV´s death at Flodden in September 1513 left his infant son as the new king, James V. This required a regency, which initially was straightforward as his mother, Margaret Tudor (Henry VIII´s sister) was declared regent in accordance with James IV´s wishes.However, in 1514 she married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and was disqualified from the regency, ceding the position to John Stewart, Duke of Albany. In May 1524, Margaret staged a coup d´état and ended Albany´s regency; he was far more interested in France and gave little resistance to her manoeuvring. Margaret now relied for support on James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, and John Stewart, the Earl of Lennox. The relationship between Margaret and Arran was strengthened by a shared dislike of Angus; Arran and Angus were long term enemies, while Margaret had discovered that Angus had installed a mistress in one of her castles and was spending her money on the mistress and the daughter they had produced. Margaret had the regency declared at an end.
In 1525, Angus returned from exile with the strong backing of Margaret´s brother, Henry VIII of England. Although Margaret tried to keep him out of Edinburgh by threatening to fire on him with the cannons of Edinburgh Castle, Angus used the backing of Henry to ensure he was a member of the Council of Regency. It was agreed amongst the Council that there should be a scheme for the physical custody of the young King to be rotated between each of four groups every three months; the rotation scheme reflected the main divisions between the magnates. Angus was one the leaders of the first group and Arran one of the leaders of the second. James Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews, was one of the leaders of the third, and Lennox one of the leaders of the fourth.
The King was now technically responsible for his own decisions, and did not need to have physical guardianship shared between the magnates. In reality, he was effectively a prisoner in Edinburgh controlled by Angus and a royal household filled with Douglas adherents who were effectively his jailers. This may not have been just a bid by Angus for sole power but a means of preserving his position as one of the lords of Scotland. By holding onto the King and declaring his majority, a tactic which Margaret´s supporters had used in 1524, Angus acquired not just a cloak of legitimacy but also a degree of protection, as an attack on him could be interpreted also as an attack on the King. The most likely source of that attack was his former wife Margaret.
In 1526, Margaret persuaded the Earl of Lennox and Archbishop James Beaton to support her cause. Lennox raised an army over 10,000 and marched on Edinburgh from his base in Stirling. By this time Archibald Douglas had won the support of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran and the latter was sent to try to delay the march by mustering the people of Linlithgow and the surrounding area. Arran arranged his force of 2,500 men on the strategically important Pace Hill overlooking Linlithgow and the River Avon. Lennox, seeing the strength of this defensive position had to rethink his plans.
Lennox intended to outflank and defeat Arran before Douglas could arrive from Edinburgh with reinforcements. Downstream from the town, the river was impassable but his scouts found a ford 1 mile (1.6 kilometres) upstream, at Manuel Convent. Lennox forced a crossing there and advanced on Arran´s flank. However, Arran saw the threat and placed his troops facing south along the ridge of Pace Hill. Lennox´s attack was across the Avon, over boggy ground and finally uphill, but he very nearly succeeded in dislodging Arran´s outnumbered men. However time ran out for Lennox as Douglas reinforcements arrived followed by the reluctant King James.
Many of the Lennox men were killed either on the ridge or along the banks of the river Avon. The Earl of Glencairn was captured and Lennox himself was wounded. It was said that Lennox surrendered to his opponents but was then murdered by James Hamilton of Finnart.
After the battle, James remained under the control of Archibald Douglas until, in 1528, aged sixteen, he escaped from Edinburgh to join his mother in Stirling and assume the reins of government himself. Douglas and his family had their lands confiscated and he was forced to seek refuge in England. James continued to reign until his death in 1542.
