JAMES III., King. of Scotland (1460-88), was the son of James II. and Mary of Gel derland, and was b. in 1453. On the death of his father, the government appears to have been conducted by his mother, guided by the wisdom of bishop Kennedy. On the death of the latter in 1465, the young king fell into the hands of lord Boyd and his family. In 1467 so great influence had they acquired that James gave his sister in marriage to sir Thomas Boyd, son of lord Robert, sir Thomas being at the saint; time created earl of Arran. On the king's marriage, however, in 1469, with Margaret of Denmark, power changed hands: loi'd Boyd was obliged to flee, and even Arran was driven into exile; in which condition he died. In 1474 his widow married lord Hamil ton; of which marriage were born James, created earl of Arran in 1503, and Elizabeth, \vim married Matthew, earl of Lennox. James was all his life under the influence of favorites. Conspicuous among these was a man named Cochran, originally a mason. Through his means the duke of Albany, brother of James, was fdrced to flee from the kingdom, having been charged with witchcraft; while the earl of Mar, also a brother of the king, was actually putt to death on the same absurd accusation. The rule of Cochran and other low-born favorites became intolerable to the haughty Scotch nobility. Disputes having arisen with England, and an English force having advanced on Berwick, James put himself at the head of an army to oppose the invaders. Angus, Crawford,
Argyle, and others resolved to profit by this opportunity to rid themselves of the obnox ious favorite. They met in council to deliberate upon their plans. It was on this occasion that Angus acquired his well-known sobriquet of " Bell the Cat." The result was that Cochran and Live other of the leading favorites were seized and summarily hanged. The king himself was imprisoned within the castle of Edinburgh. The banished duke of Albany had joined the English army. On a treaty being made, he was, by some unknown means, restored to his brother's favor. He did not long hold it, however. In 1487 Margaret of Denmark died. James's love of pursuits which, for the age in which he lived, were intellectual, brought upon him the contempt of a warlike and illiterate nobility—a contempt on which the weakness of his moral character imposed no check. A conspiracy, whose origin is obscure, ended in a rebellion, having for its avowed object the dethronement of the king. Many of the peers, however, remained loyal, so that James was enabled to put himself at the head of a considerable force. But, mainly through the cowardice of the king, the royal army was defeated at Sanchie, June 1488. ,Tames escaped from the field; but he was afterwards discovered by one of the rebels, and murdered. He died at the age of 36.