|
|
Showing 1 - 25 of
35 matches in All Departments
The life of King James VI who united England and Scotland under one
crown and became James I in 1603 is marked by contradictions.
Generally praised as a good king of Scotland and a poor English
one, James was a deep theological thinker, but he also inspired a
superstitious frenzy which resulted in the North Berwick witch hunt
and trials in the 1590s. Scholar and pedant, he was in his own view
God's appointed ruler, yet also a foul mouthed sloven and forever
tarnished with the title of the Wisest Fool in Christendom. The
most glaring contrast in his personal life was between his image as
a married family man and as a ruler who lavished indiscreet
affection on a series of men whom he invested with considerable
power. This book approaches James through the lens of his
relationships with his major favourites. First was Anglo-French
lord Esme D'Aubigny, then Scottish squire Robert Carr (later Earl
of Somerset), and finally the consummate nobleman George Villiers,
Duke of Buckingham. 'A king will have need to use secrecy in many
things,' the king wrote in one of his books. Although his private
life was sometimes astonishingly visible, there are still many
mysteries about James I as a man rather than a ruler. This work
tracks the king's life from a barren childhood through a succession
of plots, intrigues and conspiracies in Scotland which largely
forged, or deformed, his character. Beyond his complex and disputed
connection with these men the book looks at his relationship with
his wife, sponsorship of the arts, and contains a reappraisal of
the first and most neglected historical mystery of his first reign,
the Gowrie Conspiracy.
|
|
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
