James IV of Scotland

James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was <a href="/facts/List_of_Scottish_monarchs/ICagnHIG">King of Scotland</a> from 11 June 1488 until his death at the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Flodden/Aft0IyRW">Battle of Flodden</a> in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, <a href="/facts/James_III_of_Scotland/34FfufrG">James III</a>, at the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Sauchieburn/Et0XGdLn">Battle of Sauchieburn</a>, following a rebellion in which the younger James was the figurehead of the rebels. James IV is generally regarded as the most successful of the <a href="/facts/House_of_Stuart/f6I50p8V">Stewart</a> monarchs of Scotland. He was responsible for a major expansion of the <a href="/facts/Royal_Scots_Navy/lFEX32mF">Scottish royal navy</a>, which included the founding of two royal dockyards and the acquisition or construction of 38 ships, including the <a href="/facts/Great_Michael/VHsrBCTk">Great Michael</a>, the largest warship of its time.
James was a patron of the arts and took an active interest in the law, literature and science. With his patronage the <a href="/facts/Chepman_and_Myllar_Press/EClrn9IM">printing press</a> came to <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Scotland/sAac4KdX">Scotland</a>, the <a href="/facts/University_of_Aberdeen/F6X2yVXk">University of Aberdeen</a> and the <a href="/facts/Royal_College_of_Surgeons_of_Edinburgh/LaNKNabI">Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh</a> were founded, and he commissioned the building of the <a href="/facts/Palace_of_Holyroodhouse/7Rodystb">Palace of Holyroodhouse</a> and <a href="/facts/Falkland_Palace/GFMQB0VQ">Falkland Palace</a>. The <a href="/facts/Education_Act_1496/JtqNvRF2">Education Act 1496</a> passed by the <a href="/facts/Parliament_of_Scotland/3s7jzNkD">Parliament of Scotland</a> introduced <a href="/facts/Compulsory_schooling/5BQkVEJh">compulsory schooling</a>. During James's twenty-five-year reign, royal income doubled, <a href="/facts/The_Crown/ILkl7GNU">the Crown</a> exercised firm control over the Scottish church, and by 1493 had overcome the last independent <a href="/facts/John_of_Islay%2c_Earl_of_Ross/UF08f7KF">Lord of the Isles</a>. Relations with <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_England/1VqdIuFc">England</a> improved with the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Perpetual_Peace/XA2BdxcG">Treaty of Perpetual Peace</a> in 1502 and James's marriage to <a href="/facts/Margaret_Tudor/ySqFhGxA">Margaret Tudor</a> in 1503, which led to the <a href="/facts/Union_of_the_Crowns/IE4jlMcW">Union of the Crowns</a> in 1603.
The long period of domestic peace after 1497 allowed James to focus more on foreign policy, which included the sending of several of his warships to aid his uncle, <a href="/facts/John%2c_King_of_Denmark/muNUhzBn">John of Denmark</a>, in his conflict with <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Sweden</a>; amicable relations with the <a href="/facts/Pope/9zVokNjn">Pope</a>, <a href="/facts/Holy_Roman_Emperor_Maximilian_I/4f8SjFsX">Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I</a> and <a href="/facts/Louis_XII_of_France/weKUDmoR">Louis XII of France</a>; and James's aspiration to lead a European naval <a href="/facts/Crusade/mblv9nwI">crusade</a> against the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a>. James was granted the title of <a href="/facts/Defender_of_the_Faith/EXhJGDFe">Protector and Defender of the Christian Faith</a> in 1507 by <a href="/facts/Pope_Julius_II/DNdsWPXC">Pope Julius II</a>.
When <a href="/facts/Henry_VIII_of_England/LFgGAjh0">Henry VIII of England</a> invaded <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_France/Ul6rT7cQ">France</a> in 1513 as part of the <a href="/facts/Holy_League/7eK1hhbN">Holy League</a>, James chose the <a href="/facts/Auld_Alliance/zKIylpHv">Auld Alliance</a> with the French over the "Perpetual Peace" with the English, and led a large army across the border into England. James and many of his nobles were killed at the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Flodden/Aft0IyRW">Battle of Flodden</a> on 9 September 1513, fighting against the English forces of <a href="/facts/Catherine_of_Aragon/5xnWq5WS">Catherine of Aragon</a>, Henry VIII's wife and regent. James was the last monarch in <a href="/facts/Great_Britain/TNgGQRPj">Great Britain</a> to be killed in battle and was succeeded by his son <a href="/facts/James_V/mHrcPX76">James V</a>.

James IV of Scotland open-in-new

James IV of Scotland