James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran

James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran (1537–1609) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who opposed the French-dominated regency during the Scottish Reformation. He was the eldest son of James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, sometime regent of Scotland. He was of royal descent, and at times was third or fourth in succession to the Scottish crown; several royal marriages were proposed for him, but he eventually never married. He went to France with Mary, Queen of Scots, and commanded the Scots Guards. After returning to Scotland, he became a leader of the Protestant party against Mary and her French supporters. However, he went insane in 1562 and was confined for the rest of his life.

James Hamilton
Earl of Arran
Reign	1575–1609 (de jure)
Predecessor	James, 2nd Earl of Arran
Successor	James, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton
Born	1537
Died	March 1609
Buried	Isle of Arran
Father	James, 2nd Earl of Arran
Mother	Margaret Douglas

Birth and origins

James was most likely born in 1537.[1][2] However, the year 1532 has also been cited for his birth.[3] His place of birth probably is Hamilton, Scotland. He was the eldest son of James Hamilton and his wife Margaret Douglas. His father was the 2nd Earl of Arran, who was to be created Duke of Châtellerault in France in 1548. The 2nd Earl also was the grandson of Mary Stewart, eldest daughter of James II of Scotland. The second Earl was at this time, after King James V, the most senior, legitimate male descendant of King James II and, so heir presumptive for much of King James V's reign and the future 3rd Earl of Arran was next in succession after him.

James's, mother, Margaret Douglas, descended from James IV through an illegitimate daughter, and Joan of Scotland, daughter of James I. Both parents were Scottish. They had married in September 1532.[4]

Family tree

James Hamilton with parents and other selected relatives. He never married. James 1st Earl c. 1475 – 1529 Janet Bethune c. 1490 – c. 1522 James 2nd Earl c. 1516 – 1575 Margaret Douglas b. c. 1510 James 3rd Earl 1537–1609 John 1st Marquess 1540–1604 Claud 1st Ld Paisley 1546–1621 James 2nd Marquess 1589 – 1624/25 James 1st Earl 1575–1618 James 1st Duke 1606 – 1648/49 James 2nd Earl d. c. 1670 Legend XXX James Hamilton XXX Earls of Arran XXX Marquesses & dukes of Hamilton XXX Earls of Abercorn This family tree is partly derived from the Abercorn pedigree pictured in Cokayne.[5] Also see the lists of siblings in the text.

James listed among his brothers
He heads the list of his brothers as the eldest son: James (1537–1609); Gavin, died young;[6] John (1540–1604), became the 1st Marquess of Hamilton;[7] David (died 1611);[8][9] and Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley (1546–1621), from whom descend the earls, marquesses, and dukes of Abercorn.[10]

James's sisters
Barbara, married in 1553 James Fleming, 4th Lord Fleming;[11][12] Jean, married Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton in 1555;[13][14] Anne (c. 1535 – before April 1574), married George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly;[15] and Margaret, married Sir Alexander, eldest son of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly.[16]

In 1542, James and his father were displaced in the royal succession by the birth of James V's daughter, Mary (the future Mary, Queen of Scots) - until James V died only six days later. James's father became regent for the baby queen.

Regent Arran's marriage plans

The Regent proposed various royal marriages for his son, who was second in line for the crown.

In March 1543, James V's widow, Mary of Guise told the English ambassador Ralph Sadler that the Regent "mindeth to marry" her daughter Queen Mary to his son, something she was anxious to avoid.[17] In December 1543, French envoys heard that the Regent wanted to marry James to Henry VIII of England's daughter Lady Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I).[18] This may have been offered by Henry himself as a price of the earl's allegiance, but nothing came of the proposal either.[19] Henry wanted to marry the baby queen to his son Edward. The Regent was a Protestant, and initially supported this in public, despite widespread opposition in Scotland.

Then in 1543 the Regent became Catholic and joined the pro-French faction of Cardinal Beaton. Henry responded with the "Rough Wooing", nine years of war to make Scotland accept the English marriage. In October 1544, James was taken to St Andrews Castle, where he was Cardinal Beaton's guest and a pledge for the alliance of the Regent and the Cardinal.[20]

The Regent still wanted to marry Mary to James. His half-brother, John, Abbot of Paisley, met with Lord Somerville and the Earl of Angus on 28 October 1545, to get their support. Somerville's son John wrote to Mary of Guise that they would not be persuaded.[21] Alexander Crichton of Brunstane and a diplomat in France, Johannes Sturm, also sent warnings of this marriage proposal to England. Sturm realised the marriage would hinder Anglo-French peace treaty negotiations.[22] James remained in the Cardinal's custody. In February 1546 he was sent a book of Latin exercises and a copy of Aesop's Fables.[23]

In 1546, a Protestant band seized St Andrews Castle and murdered the Cardinal. James was held prisoner. The Regent besieged St Andrews; the Protestants offered to give James to Henry VIII, in return for the help of an English fleet. Henry VIII was willing, but never actually sent the fleet.[24] On 14 August 1547, the Parliament of Scotland excluded James from the royal succession (he was then third) for the duration of his captivity.[25] Despite Henry's promises, the castle was finally taken with the help of French ships.[26]

The Regent now agreed to the marriage of Mary to the Dauphin Francis, son and heir of King Henry II of France.

In France

Queen Mary was sent to France in August 1548. James went with her or shortly earlier in July.[27] Though only a boy of 16, he was appointed captain of the royal Garde Écossaise (Scots Guard),[28], and in 1557 distinguished himself in the defence of St. Quentin.[19] For arranging the marriage of Mary and Francis, the Regent was made Duke of Châtellerault, and James succeeded him as Earl of Arran. He would not inherit the French title, his father having forfeited it in 1559.[19]

James became admired in France. In 1549, Emblemata (a collection of illustrated Latin proverbs and mottos compiled by Italian jurist Andrea Alciato) appeared in a French edition (Emblemes D'Alciat.),[29] which was dedicated to James.[30] One of his personal devices was a heart pierced with an arrow pointing down.[31]

On 24 January 1553, the French royal armourer Bénédict Claye received an order for a suit of armour for James, to be delivered before 8 April 1553. The armour was decorated with engraved and gilded borders, and included a morion, a bourguignon, and accessories .[32]

In April 1548, Henry II offered Françoise, daughter of the Duke of Montpensier, as a bride for Arran.[33] Later, after Mary was betrothed to the Dauphin, a number of ladies of the court were suggested as brides for James. One was Mademoiselle de Bouillon, daughter of Henry II and his mistress Diane de Poitiers, In May 1557.[34] Others were Claude de Rieux, Louise de Rieux (who married René, Marquis of Elbeuf), and Jeane de Savoie. But again James did not marry.[35]

Queen Elizabeth

James' father gave up the Regency in 1556, and switched to a pro-English policy. It has been suggested that James was imprisoned in France as a Protestant in 1557–1558.[36]

In 1558, Châtellerault proposed the marriage of James to Queen Elizabeth I of England to cement an Anglo-Scottish alliance. This proposal was supported by John Knox, the leading Protestant cleric in Scotland, and by John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury.[37] Bishop Jewel remained in favour of the marriage as late as June 1560,[38] and Elizabeth's own opinion is not known.

In 1559, Châtellerault and James openly declared themselves Protestants. James returned to Scotland escorted by English diplomat Thomas Randolph, and met another, Ralph Sadler, in Scotland. Both considered themselves his friends, but in their official correspondence, they noted signs of mental instability. Elizabeth formally declared her rejection of his suit on 8 December 1560 to the Scottish ambassadors William Maitland, the Earl of Morton and the Earl of Glencairn.[39] A later chronicler, David Hume of Godscroft, believed the marriage proposal "so unprobable, and such a proposition as Morton knew would not be very acceptable to her,"[40] but it was mooted by the Parliament of Scotland.[41]

"Monsieur de Beaufort"

When his father turned Protestant in June 1559, James was at his father's French estates in Châtellerault, perhaps at the Chateau de la Brelandiere, and became a fugitive from the French authorities.[42] He made his way to safety in Switzerland by July, reportedly spending 15 days hiding in a wood on the way.[43] His escape from France was masterminded by Elizabeth's counselor William Cecil and the English ambassador in Paris, Nicolas Throckmorton.

He went first to Geneva, then to Zurich where he was the guest of Peter Martyr, and then to Lausanne.[44] There he met Thomas Randolph (alias Barnaby), and they travelled incognito to England via Flanders. In London he stayed at Cecil's Westminster home.[45] He had an interview with the Queen herself in the garden at Hampton Court.[46]

At the end of June 1559, Throckmorton wrote to Cecil describing how James had been unkindly handled in France. After James had left some of his Scots Guards had brawled with some French soldiers. One of the French commissioners charged with his arrest tried to apologise to Mary, Queen of Scots, as he was her close relation. Throckmorton heard that Mary had denounced James as an "arrant traitor," and he hoped that this news would advance pro-English policy in Scotland. Throckmorton hoped the Scottish bearer of the letter, Sandy Whytelaw, would do this, and though Whytelaw was not a friend of James's father, he would raise support for the marriage of James and Elizabeth.[47]

Although Elizabeth was personally sympathetic to James's plight,[48] for English policy the rescue was a step towards the objective of ending the Auld Alliance, knowing that on Arran's return his father as 'second person' of the realm would become leader of the Lords of the Congregation.[49] William Cecil acknowledged Chatelherault's thanks for the rescue, writing on 24 August, "this one thing I covet, to have this isle well united in concord."

The name used by James while traveling through England was "Monsieur de Beaufort".[50] His journey to Scotland was noted in the letters of Bishop Jewel to Peter Martyr and Henry Bullinger. In their correspondence, Arran was known by the codename Crito, Randolph as Pamphilus and Elizabeth as Glycerium.[51] Despite this secrecy, the English commander at Berwick, Sir James Croft was aware of the plan by 14 June.[52]

Back in Scotland

James went first to the castle of Berwick-upon-Tweed and met the Scottish reformer, Henry Balnaves of Halhill.[53] After a midnight ride through the Cheviot Hills,[54] At one or two o'clock in the morning of Sunday 10 September 1559, he arrived in Teviotdale, and was re-united with his father at Hamilton Palace.[55] His younger brother, Lord David Hamilton, was not so fortunate. David, aged 15, was arrested on 17 July 1559.[56] He was first imprisoned in the Château de Vincennes and transferred in March 1560 to the Château d'Amboise wrapped in a blanket.[57]

Lady Catherine Grey

In September 1560, Sarlabous, the French Captain of Dunbar Castle, tried to spread a rumour that Elizabeth's council proposed an alternative marriage plan for Arran, with the English royal heiress Lady Catherine Grey, daughter of the Duchess of Suffolk.[58]

Arran was found to be enjoying the company of an Edinburgh merchant's daughter and daughter-in-law of Cuthbert Ramsay, Alison Craig.[59] She was described by Randolph as "a good handsome wench" in December 1561, and the interference of the Earl of Bothwell, Lord John Stewart, Prior of Coldingham, and René, Marquis of Elbeuf led to an armed stand-off.[60]

Valiant and Stout in the Cause

James joined the Lords of the Congregation and fought tirelessly against the French and Mary of Guise in the cause of the Scottish Reformation.[61] With his cousin, Robert, Master of Maxwell, on his father's orders, he attacked Crichton Castle the home of the Earl of Bothwell,[62] and Falkland Palace.[63] On 10 October 1559 James and his friends took money and silverware from Daldowie[64] and on 9 November 1559 raided the Palace of the Bishop of Dunblane, taking a gold necklace belonging to Janet, Lady Fleming, and removing the Bishop and his silver to Stirling Castle.[65] The sixty-year-old Bishop was then imprisoned at Castle Campbell till Christmas and forced to pay for his lodging.[66] In January 1559 Arran was leading the war in Fife, writing reports to Ralph Sadler and Sir James Croft from Dysart, Wemyss, Cupar and Aberdour. The French ambassador in England, Gilles de Noailles, reported that the Scottish rebels had told Queen Elizabeth that if they were victorious Arran would become King of Scotland by consent of Scottish lords with England as its superior kingdom. Scotland would pay England an annual fee and Elizabeth would add the arms of Scotland to her heraldry.[67]

A later English document of 1583 represents the possibility that the Scottish nobility were intent on making Arran King of Scotland, because of their dissatisfaction with Mary and her French links. The nobles were;

"fullie resolved to have deprived her of her government, and established the same in the eldest sonne of the Duke of Chatteleroy, the Erle of Arreyne, beinge then a gent of verie great hope and towardnes."[68]

Elizabeth sent a fleet to Scotland. At the end of January Arran conferred with the English Admiral William Wynter at Burntisland, saying he was about to return to his father's lands in the West, and by 4 February 1559, Fife was won over to the Congregation and pacified.[69] Later in February, Thomas Randolph posed as a Scot to gain the confidence of a French agent at Dumbarton Castle but Arran clumsily revealed his identity.[70] The centre of the conflict in Scotland moved to the Siege of Leith. An English army came to the rebels' support, arranged by the elder Arran in the Treaty of Berwick (1560). Before the English army arrived, the French raided Glasgow and attacked the Bishop's Palace, Arran shadowed their return to Leith with 800 horse.[71] He then joined the besiegers in the camp at Restalrig. On 4 March he met the Earl of Huntly, who seemed likely to join the Congregation, at Perth.[72] He retired from the camp at Leith by 10 April, "evil at ease," to rest at Holyrood.[73] Within a week, Arran was in control of Blackness Castle, and returned to Edinburgh for the peace negotiations after the death of Mary of Guise in June, which led to the Treaty of Edinburgh.[74] After the Protestant religion was established by the Reformation Parliament, he went with Lord James to Dalhousie Castle and burnt church books and vestments.[75]

Mary again

Following the death of Mary's husband Francis II of France in 1560, and the apparent failure of his English marriage plan, James's father again tried to marry his son to Mary, as first suggested in their infancy.[76] Mary resisted such efforts.

Mary returned to Scotland in August 1561. James was chosen a member of her council on her arrival, but took up a hostile attitude to the court in consequence of the practice of the Roman Catholic religion.[19] George Buchanan, who was unsympathetic to Mary, suggested that in November 1561, she exploited young Arran's real affection for her by spreading a rumour that he planned to abduct her from Holyrood Palace to his residence, Kinneil House, to justify strengthening the royal bodyguard.[77] Though James' father disputed the rumour, and Thomas Randolph's findings confirm Buchanan's view, physical security was tightened at Holyrood.[78]

On 17 January 1562 Arran rode from Kinneil to Linlithgow Palace to meet with Mary, Queen of Scots, and discuss how he and his father might be remunerated for their services.[79] The queen's half-brother, James Stewart, now Earl of Mar, married Agnes Keith on 8 February 1562. Arran escorted Mary to the feasts on Shrove Tuesday at Holyrood Palace, but became ill before the triumphs or masques on the following days.[80] A few days later it was said that Arran had critcised Mary, and Randolph offered his opinion to the Duke that Arran had a high opinion of his own own achievements, but a tendency to fail to reciprocate well-wishers, and ought to have thanked those who favoured his suite of marriage to Elizabeth. Randolph found this flaw in his behaviour "strange". Arran now wondered if he had been better off in France seving in the Royal Guard, and spent eight days in bed in Edinburgh, tormented in his imaginations.[81]

Arran had a mistress in Edinburgh, Alison Craik, who stayed in the house of a merchant Cuthbert Ramsay. Bothwell, John Stewart Commendator of Coldingham, and the Marquis of Elbeuf, broke into the house to annoy Arran.[82]

Long twilight

The strain of all this activity caused a mental breakdown.[83] At Easter 1562, his father confined him to his bedchamber at Kinneil House. Arran escaped using a rope made from his bedsheets, and made his way across the Forth to Hallyards Castle and then to Falkland Palace. After accusing his enemy the Earl of Bothwell of conspiring to abduct Queen Mary, and speaking strangely of witches and devils, and "fearing that all men round about came to kill him," he was judged insane and confined for the rest of his life.[84] George Buchanan, who thought the abduction plot was real and Arran a hero, said Arran was imprisoned first at St Andrews Castle, then at Edinburgh Castle where Bothwell was also held.[85] Randolph wrote to Arran's old ally Throckmorton that the Earls had fallen into a "cesspit of their own making."[86] Arran was released in April 1566 and went to Hamilton, sick and without the power of speech.[87] He was to remain within four miles of Hamilton Castle.[88]

James Hamilton was kept at Craignethan Castle by his brother John, Lord Hamilton

His father died at Hamilton on 22 January 1575.[89] He inherited his father's estate, but because of his insanity, he was placed under the care of his brother John.[90] John and his other brother Claude, Abbot of Paisley kept Arran prisoner at Craignethan Castle, and though Henry Killigrew reported in August 1575 that if he were well-used and at liberty there was hope of recovery, he was never again allowed any freedom.[91]

His mother, Margaret Douglas, and aunts Elizabeth Douglas (the wife of Regent Morton) and Janet or Beatrix Douglas wife of Lord Maxwell, his sister Anne (mother of the Earl of Huntly), and youngest brother David were all also affected by mental ill-health. Thomas Randolph wrote that Arran "has twice before been in the same case," and his mother and aunts were "certain times or the most part of the year distempered with an unquiet humour."[92][93] Randolph's description of Arran's symptoms sound akin to modern diagnoses of mania and bipolar disorder although details of his psychological condition will remain unknown.

John and Claud were supporters of Mary Queen of Scots, and so in May 1579 the former Regent Morton seized Hamilton and Craignethan on the pretence of rescuing James from his imprisonment.[94] John and Claud fled to England, but Arran, his mother, and Lord David were taken to Linlithgow,[95] and his estates were taken over by the government. In 1581 his Earldom was taken by James Stewart (died 1595), but restored in 1585 along with his estates.[19] Little is recorded of James in these later years: he died in 1609.[96][97] and, as he was unmarried, his title passed to his nephew James, 2nd marquess.[19]

Timeline
Age	Date	Event
0	1537	Born, probably in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland.[1]
11	1548, Aug	Sent with Queen Mary to France.
25	1562	Pronounced insane[83]
38	1575, 22 Jan	His father died a Hamilton[89] and he succeeds as 3rd Earl of Arran, but as he is insane, John becomes earl de facto.[90]
42	1579	The earldom is declared forfeit and the Council decided to arrest John and Claud Hamilton.
66	1603, 24 Mar	Accession of King James I, replacing Queen Elizabeth I.[98]
72	1609, Mar	Died.[96]

Ancestors

Ancestors of James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran

Sir James Hamilton of Cadzow, 5th Laird of Cadzow James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton Janet Livingston James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran James II of Scotland Mary Stewart, Princess of Scotland Mary of Guelders James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault, Regent Arran, 2nd Earl of Arran, John Beaton, 6th Laird of Balfour Sir David Beaton of Creich Marjory Boswell Janet Beaton of Creich, Lady of Easter Wemyss Stephen Duddingston Janet Duddingston James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton Joan of Scotland, Countess of Morton James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton Sir Patrick Crichton Janet Crichton Lady Margaret Douglas James III of Scotland James IV of Scotland Margaret of Denmark Catherine Stewart Archibald Boyd Marion Boyd Christian Mure

Notes and references

1. Paul 1907, p. 368, line 34: "... who was born in 1537 or in 1538 as he was under twenty-three on 15 April 1560 when Randolph wrote to Cecil recommending his good qualities."
2. Bain 1898, p. 362, line 41: "I cannot recommend too much the 'vertu' of three noble young men, the eldest of which passes not 26 years ... those are Arran and Argyll, both under 23, the third is Lord James Steward ... "
3. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (1936), 31, says he was 57 in 1589.
4. Cokayne 1910, p. 221, line 31: "He m., shortly before 23 Sep. 1532, Margaret 1st da. of James (DOUGLAS), EARL OF MORTON [S.], by Catherine illeg. da. of James IV."
5. Cokayne 1910, p. 4: "Tabular pedigree of the Earls of Abercorn"
6. Paul 1907, p. 369, line 11: "Gavin, styled second son ... appears to have died before August 1547 in his youth."
7. Debrett 1828, p. 443, line 10: "John, 2d son of the Duke of Chatelherault, succeeded on his father's death to the family estates ..."
8. Chatellherault's will, NAS ECC8/8/4
9. Burke 1869, p. 2, right column, line 37: "d. unm. 1611."
10. Debrett 1828, p. 443, line 9: "Claud, ancestor of the marquess of Abercorn ..."
11. Dunlop 1890, p. 170, line 32: "Barbara, who married James, fourth lord Fleming, high chamberlain of Scotland."
12. Paul 1907, p. 370, line 4: "Barbara, the eldest daughter, was first contracted to Alexander, Lord Gordon ... but it is not certain that the marriage took place ... She mas married (contract dated 22 December 1553) to James, Lord Fleming, chamberlain of Scotland."
13. Dunlop 1890, p. 170, right column, line 37: "Jane, who married Hugh Montgomery, third earl of Eglintoun."
14. Paul 1907, p. 370, line 15: "Jean or Jane ... was married (contract dated 13 February 1553-4) to the earl of Eglinton."
15. Dunlop 1890, p. 170, right column, line 36: "Anne who married George, fifth Earl of Huntly."
16. Dunlop 1890, p. 170, right column, line 34: "Margaret, who married Alexander, lord Gordon, eldest son of George, fourth earl of Huntly;"
17. Clifford, Arthur ed., Sadler State Papers, vol. 1 (1809), 86.
18. Dickinson, Gladys, ed., Two Missions of de la Brosse, SHS (1942), 40–41.
19. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Arran, Earls of s.v. James Hamilton, 3rd earl" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 643–644.
20. Hannay (1921), p.260: Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 8, p.319
21. Cameron, Annie I., ed., Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine, SHS (1927), 147–148.
22. Letters & Papers, Henry VIII, vol.20 part 2 (1907), nos. 622, 927
23. Hannay (1921), p.260: Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 8, p.440
24. State Papers Henry VIII, vol. 5, (1836), 560–561, 565, 572, 576
25. Letters & Papers Henry VIII, vol. 21 part 1, (1908), no. 1456
26. Bonner, Elizabeth. "The Recovery of St Andrews Castle in 1547", English Historical Review, June (1996), 578–598, Bonner is dismissive of Arran's significance at St Andrews, p 597.
27. Marcus Merriman, The Rough Wooings (Tuckwell, East Linton, 2000), p. 309.
28. Calendar State Papers Spanish, vol. 9 (Edinburgh, 1912), p. 269.
29. Alciati (1549), web presention by Glasgow University, "Prefatory matter for Emblemes (1549)".
30. Bath, Michael, "Alciato and the Earl of Arran”, Emblematica. An Interdisciplinary Journal for Emblem Studies, 13 (2003), pp. 39-52.
31. Bain 1898, p. 286, line 26: "Signed: by a heart pierced by an arrow, point downward."
32. Cathérine Grodecki, Documents du Minutier Central des Notaires de Paris: Histoire de l'Art au XVIe siècle, 1540-1600, vol. 2 (Archives Nationales, 1986), p. 279 no. 959.
33. Merriman, Marcus, The Rough Wooings, Tuckwell (2000), 301–302.
34. Labanoff, A., Lettres de Marie Stuart, vol.1 (Dolman, London, 1852), pp. 42–43.
35. Durkan (1986), 159.
36. Durkan (1986), 160.
37. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 215, 216, June 1559, assent of Lords of the Congregation.
38. Hastings-Robinson ed., The Zurich Letters 1558–1579( Parker Society, Cambridge, 1842), pp. 82–83.
39. Adams, Simon ed., Household Accounts of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, CUP, (1995), 146 note.
40. Reid, David, Hume of Godscroft's History of the House of Angus, vol. 1, STS (2005), 135–136.
41. Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1814), pp. 605–606, Commission for the marriage, August 1560: HMC 11th Report & Appendix, part vi, Hamilton Manuscripts (London, 1887), p. 43.
42. CSP Scotland, vol, 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), 223, 334.
43. Nicholas Throckmorton to Elizabeth, 27 July 1559, Forbes, Full View, vol. 1 (London, 1740), p. 173.
44. CSP Scotland, vol.i (1898), 234, Cecil to the Lords of the Congregation 28 July 1559.
45. Calendar State Papers Foreign Elizabeth, vol.i, no. 1274, 1290, 1293.
46. CSP Scotland, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), p. 375:Calendar State Papers Foreign Elizabeth, vol. 2 (London, 1865), p. 33n; Teulet, Papiers, vol. 1, p. 357.
47. Stevenson, Joseph, ed., Calendar of State Papers Elizabeth: 1558-1559, vol.1 (London (1863), p. 340, no. 888: Forbes, Patrick, ed., A Full View of the Public Transactions of the Reign of Elizabeth, vol.1 (London, 1740), p. 147.
48. Forbes, Full View, vol. i (1740), 166
49. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (1898), 231 (22 July, Croft to Cecil), p.241, no. 521: Buchanan, George, trans. Aikman, James, History of Scotland, vol. 2 (Glasgow, 1827), pp. 414–415 (Bk 16, cap. XL)
50. Clifford, Arthur ed., Sadler State Papers, vol. 1, Constable, Edinburgh (1809), 422, 437, 447
51. Hastings-Robinson ed., The Zurich Letters 1558–1579, vol.1 (Cambridge, 1842), pp. 56–57, 79; citing also Forbes, A Full View of the Public Transactions in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, vol. 1 (London, 1740), pp. 136, 147, 162, 166, 171, 183, 212; (letters to Bullinger do not survive)
52. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), 215, Croft to Thomas Parry.
53. Clifford, Arthur ed., Sadler State Papers, vol. i, Constable, Edinburgh (1809), 405, 435–436, Sadler and Croft to Cecil, 8 September 1559.
54. Clifford, Arthur ed., Sadler State Papers, vol. i, Constable, Edinburgh (1809), 519, Sadler and Croft to Cecil, 25 October 1559.
55. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (1898), 251
56. Dynfnallt Owen, ed., HMC 58, Manuscripts Marquess of Bath, vol. 5 (London, HMSO, 1980), p. 144
57. Calendar State Papers Foreign Elizabeth, 1559–1560, Longman (1865), 24 note; 437 text has 'muffled.'
58. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), 483.
59. David Laing, Works of John Knox, ii (Edinburgh, 1848), p. 315.
60. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 582–583.
61. Clifford, Arthur ed., Sadler State Papers, vol. 1, Edinburgh, Constable (1809), 447
62. CSP Scotland, vol. i (1898), 262
63. G. Dickinson, Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, ix, (1958), 'Report of De La Brosse and D'Oysel', 95 (in French)
64. HMC 11th Report & Appendix part VI, Hamilton Manuscripts, (1887), 223, 'Daildowe'
65. Alexander Laing, "An incident in the reformation" (PDF)., Proceedings Society Antiquaries Scotland, vol. 11 (1874–76), 517–525,
66. G. Dickinson, Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, ix, (1958), 'Report of De La Brosse and D'Oysel', 103.
67. Calendar State Papers Foreign Elizabeth, vol. 2 (1865), p.251 n, Report of M. de Noailles, 4 Jan. 1560: Teulet, Papiers, vol. 1, 396.
68. C. Read, ed., Bardon Papers, (1909), p. 13, Conyers Read notes that there is little contemporary evidence of this plan to make Arran King.
69. CSP Scotland, vol. i (1898), 286, 287, 288, 300, 304, 308, 310.
70. Calendar State Papers Foreign Elizabeth, (1559–60), 399–400.
71. McCrie, Thomas, Life of John Knox, vol. 2, Edinburgh (1814), 410–412, Appendix no. 18 'A Historie of the Estate of Scotland 1559–1566'.
72. Clifford, Arthur, ed., Sadler State Papers, vol. 1 (1809), 709.
73. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 349, 355
74. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 357, 364.
75. Keith, History of Scotland, vol. iii, 7–8.
76. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), 476, 31 August 1560.
77. Buchanan, George, trans. Aikman, James, History of Scotland, vol. 2 (Glasgow, 1827), pp 450–451 (Bk. XVII, cap XXIII)
78. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 574.
79. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 597.
80. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 603.
81. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 605-6, 609.
82. David Laing, Works of John Knox, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1848), p. 315: Sarah Carpenter, 'Masking and politics: the Alison Craik incident, Edinburgh 1561', Renaissance Studies, 21:5 (November, 2007), pp. 625-636.
83. Paul 1907, p. 369, line 4: "... Unhappily, in April 1562, he showed signs of disordered intellect, and was soon after pronounced insane."
84. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), pp. 614–615.
85. Buchanan, George, trans. Aikman, James, History of Scotland, vol. 2 (Glasgow, 1827), pp. 453–456, (Bk. XVII, cap. XXIX–XXX).
86. CSP Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), 616, 'inciderunt in foveam quam fecerunt.'
87. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 277: Marguerite Wood, 'The Imprisonment of the Earl of Arran', in Scottish Historical Review, vol. 24, no. 94 (January, 1927), pp. 116–122.
88. John Hill Burton, Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1545-1569, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), pp. 452-4.
89. Paul 1907, p. 368, line 28: "... died at Hamilton on 22 January 1574-75."
90. Henderson 1890, p. 176, left column: "On the death of his father in 1575, he came into nominal possession of his estates, which were, however, administrated by his second brother, John ..."
91. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), p. 179 no. 187.
92. Bain 1898, p. 615: "It is now said he has twice before been in the same case; and takes it of his mother ..."
93. Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 31.
94. Marshall 2004, p. 836, left column: "Forfeated along with his brothers in 1579 for their support of Queen Mary, he lost his earldom to his cousin's son, Captain James Stewart in 1581."
95. CSP Scotland, vol. 5 (Edinburgh,1907), p. 338.
96. Cokayne 1910, p. 222, line 20: "He d. s.p., Mar. 1609, aged about 71."
97. Durkan, John, James, Third Earl of Arran, the Hidden Years, in Scottish Historical Review, Vol. LXV, 2, no. 180 (October 1986).
98. Smyth 1839, p. xiii, line 17: "James I. . [Accession] 24 March 1603"

• Bain, Joseph, ed. (1898), Calendar of the State Papers Relating to Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots 1547–1603, 1 A. D. 1547–1563, Edinburgh: H M General Register House
• Burke, Bernard (1869), A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire (31st ed.), London: Harrison
• Cokayne, George Edward (1910), Gibbs, Vicary (ed.), The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant, 1 (2nd ed.), London: St Catherine Press – Ab-Adam to Basing
• Debrett, John (1828), Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 2 (17th ed.), London: F. C. and J. Rivington – Scotland and Ireland
• Dunlop, Robert (1890), "HAMILTON, JAMES, second EARL OF ARRAN and DUKE OF CHÂTELHERAULT (d. 1575)", in Lee, Sidney (ed.), Dictionary of National Biography, 24, New York: MacMillan and Co., pp. 167–170
• Henderson, Thomas Finlayson (1890), "HAMILTON, JAMES, third EARL OF ARRAN (1530–1609)", in Lee, Sidney (ed.), Dictionary of National Biography, 24, New York: MacMillan and Co., pp. 173–176
• Marshall, Rosalind K. (2004), "Hamilton, James, third earl of Arran (1537/8?–1609)", in Matthew, Colin; Harrison, Brian (eds.), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 24, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 834–836, ISBN 978-0198614111
• Paul, Sir James Balfour (1907), The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, 4, Edinburgh: David Douglas – Fife to Hyndford (for Hamilton)
• Smyth, Constantine (1839), Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland, London: Henry Butterworth (for Table of reigns)

Further reading

• Durkan, John, 'James, Third Earl of Arran, the Hidden Years', in Scottish Historical Review, Vol. LXV, 2, no. 180, October (1986)
• Hannay, Robert Kerr, 'The Earl of Arran and Queen Mary' in Scottish Historical Review, vol. 18, Glasgow (1921), 258-276 (Internet archive)
• Hastings-Robinson, ed., Zurich Letters 1558–1579, vol. 1, Parker Society, Cambridge (1842) for 'Pamphilius', 'Crito', and 'Glycerium,' see pp. 82–83.
• Stevenson, Joseph, ed., Calendar of State Papers Elizabeth, 1558-1559, vol.1, London (1863)
• Wood, Marguerite, 'The Imprisonment of the Earl of Arran', in Scottish Historical Review, vol. 24, no. 94, January (1927), 116–122

External links

• Genealogy of James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran on The Peerage website

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by James Hamilton	Earl of Arran 1548–1609	Succeeded by James Hamilton