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King James I of Scotland ... he raised taxes and exchanged hostages to pay for his own ransom ... but ended up spending the money on building a new capital city at Perth, Scotland.
THE murder of King James I of Scotland was a move worthy of Game of Thrones. It had intrigue. It had betrayal. It has mystery. Now archaeologists are reconstructing his palace to try and find his forgotten tomb.
The project aims to forensically scan the remains of his court in the modern-day city of Perth, some 64km outside Edinburgh, kicked off at the weekend.
“It’s like ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Outlander’ all rolled into one — except this story is real,” said digital visualisation project leader Paul Wilson of the Glasgow School of Art.
From the scars in the landscape, he and archaeologists hope to build up a virtual-reality picture of what King James’ extravagant palace and grounds looked like when he was killed in a failed coup
Amid it all they hope to find clues pointing to his final resting place.
An artist's impression of the Charterhouse and palace of King James I in Perth, Scotland. Picture: Glasgow School of ArtSource:Supplied
GRAND AMBITIONS
King Kames I was murdered on February 21, 1437.
It’s a familiar story.
King James I was met with an air of resentment when he ascended the throne. He had been a hostage of the English until an enormous ransom was paid. Upon his return to Scotland he raised taxes to pay his debts, and sent surrogate hostages from noble families south.
King James also had admirable qualities. He was loyal to his wife. He was athletic and enjoyed sports. He also believed in the rule of law — most of the time.
But there was a rival claim to the Scottish throne. And he had powerful supporters. And the Highlander clans refused to accept his rule.
King James was aware of this. He’d had the rival Duke of Murdoch and his sons executed. He had also imprisoned several other leading nobles over their questionable loyalty.
But King James’ star was to fall after a humiliating defeat in the siege of a British castle.
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He was murdered in Perth — which he had hoped to establish as the capital of Scotland — in a coup attempt by his uncle and close ally Walter Stewart.
His queen, Joan, was wounded. But her loyal guards helped her escape. She would take up residence in Edinburgh castle with her son, James II.
His plans for Perth were forgotten. His court eventually fell into ruin.
EARTHLY REMAINS
The dead king was interred among the architecture his new taxes had paid for, even though the money was meant to free those hostages whom had taken his place.
His mausoleum was inside a Perth priory called the Charterhouse. It was also the final resting place of his queen, Joan, and several other figures of royalty.
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“James built it to be the spiritual focus of his dynasty and poured huge sums of money into it to create a splendid setting for his tomb,” says project lead Professor Richard Oram of the University of Stirling. “Medieval descriptions speak of the magnificence of the church, but nothing of it remains above ground to be seen today — the whole monastery was plundered and demolished at the Reformation.”
It’s all now under a carpark in Leicester.
This is to be the centre of archaeological digs and geophysical scans over the next two years. Researchers hope to map its floorplan and recover artefacts — such as floor and roof tiles, indications of paint and decorative patterns. These will be used to assemble the virtual reality recreation.
“Unearthing this almost forgotten building will transform understanding of Perth’s place in James I’s ambitions: locating the royal tombs within the church would be the icing on the cake,” Professor Oram says.