Reign of James VI of Scotland

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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Inheriting the Scottish crown as an infant, James grew up to become a Protestant despite his mother, Mary Queen of Scots' deep-seated Catholicism. An early battle for ultimate power over the Scottish kingdom with the Presbyterian church led to James publishing two tracts which deified the monarchy over the ecclesiastics:

The Trew Law

and

Basilikon Doron

. The concordat of Leith in 1572 gave the monarch power to appoint bishops without the approval of ecclesiastics; this development was opposed by a Presbyterian party led by Andrew Melville (1545-1622). James' supreme power increased in 1586 when he signed a treaty with Queen Elizabeth I of England which agreed his right to inherit the English throne, thereby establishing a securely Protestant royal lineage. James' mother was executed by…

288 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Reign of James VI of Scotland". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 June 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=582, accessed 19 March 2024.]

582 Reign of James VI of Scotland 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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