ARRAN, Earls of, the extinct Scottish title of the earls of Arran (not to be confused with the modern Irish earls of Arran— from the Arran or Aran Islands, Galway—a title created in 1762), borne by some famous char acters in Scottish history. Except the first earl, Thomas Boyd and James Stewart, all of the earls of Arran were of the Hamilton family. JAMES HAMILTON, 1St earl: b. 1475; d. 1529. He was the of James, first Lord Hamilton, and Mary Stewart, daughter of James II of Scotland. In 1479 he succeeded to his father's title. In 1489 he was made sher iff of Lanark, appointed privy councillor to James IV, and in 1503 negotiated the mar riage between the King and Margaret Tudor. In the same year he was made Earl of Arran. In 1504 he was lieutenant-general of the Scot tish realm and took an active part in reducing the Hebrides and was sent to aid John of Den mark with a large army. In 1507 he was Ambassador to France and on his return was imprisoned by Henry VII. When Henry VIII came to the throne Arran signed the treaty of peace between the two countries and was given command of a fleet equipped to aid France. The expedition proved a failure. He returned to find his rival Angus in control of the government, whereupon he turned to the French party, but became weary of it and on the departure of the Duke of Albany was chosen president of the council of regency and provost of Edinburgh. After another short absence he was kept out of Edinburgh by the Douglases and a battle was fought on 30 April 1520 in which the Hamiltons were worsted. But by allying himself with Angus' wife, the Queen-mother, he gained another op portunity for power, which he held from 1522 24, when he was forced to include Angus in the government. Angus was finally conquered in 1526 and Arran joined the King at Sterling. He was succeeded by JAMES HAMILTON, who was also Duke of Chatelherault: b. about 1515; d. 22 Jan. 1575. On the death of James V he was proclaimed protector of the realm and heir presumptive to the throne. He was a zealous supporter of the Reformation. At first he supported the English policy in opposition to Cardinal Beaton, but later joined the French party and became a Roman Catholic. In 1544 he signed a bond repudiating the English al liance. In 1545 he accepted Mary of Lorraine as a sharer in the government, and in the meantime was forced to meet the English army at Pinkie, where the Scots were defeated. He reluctantly agreed to the marriage of the Dauphin with Mary, whom he had designed for his son, and accepting a duchy in France, al lowed his title to descend to his eldest son. On 12 April 1554 he abdicated in favor of the Queen-mother, whose government he supported until the capture of Edinburgh by the lords of the congregation, when he declared himself on their side and took the covenant. After sev eral vacillations among the various factions he was declared a traitor and went into exile for five years. He went to France; returned after the murder of Mary's husband and on her abdication was nominated one of the re gents, whereupon he returned to Scotland, acknowledged James as king, but treacher ously supported the cause of Mary, and when the regency was given to Lennox called a par liament which annulled the King's coronation.
In August he was declared a traitor, lost his estates and finally in 1573 acknowledged James' authority and laid down his arms. He married Margaret, daughter of James Doug las, 3d Earl of Morton, and had several daughters and four sons. JAMES, his eldest son, succeeded him as 3d Earl of Arran: b. 1537; d. 1609. He was betrothed to the Princess Elizabeth and was early involved in political broils. He was seized as a hostage in 1546 by the murderers of Cardinal Beaton. Later he went to France in command of the Scots Guards and in 1557 distinguished himself in the defense of Saint Quentin. He was a strong adherent of the Reformed doctrine. At the wish of Mary he was declared a traitor in 1559 and to escape arrest he fled to Geneva and England. He returned to Scotland in Sep tember, supported his father against Mary of Lorraine, upheld the alliance with Elizabeth and fought the French at Dysart. He signed the treaty of Berwick, became one of the lords of the congregation and with the strong support of the Protestants and Hamiltons refused the proposals of marriage with Elizabeth and pre sented his suit for Mary without success. He became a member of her council in 1561, but took a hostile attitude toward her court be cause of the prevalence of the Roman Catho lic religion. He showed marked signs of in sanity and was confined in Edinburgh Castle, where he remained until 1566. His estates were administered by his brother John, 1st Marquess of Hamilton. Arran and his mother were besieged on the pretense of delivering him from unlawful confinement and brought to Linlithgow while the charge of his estates was taken over by the government and James Stewart was appointed his guardian. The for feiture was repealed in 1586 and the title de volved on Arran's nephew, James, 2d Mar quess of Hamilton. JAMES STEWART, son of Andrew Stewart, 2d Lord Ochiltree: b. about 1556; d. 1596. In his youth he served with the Dutch forces against the Spanish. Returning to Scotland, he became a favorite of the King. In 1581 he was the principal accuser of the Earl of Morton and for his share in the latter's destruction was ap pointed a member of the Privy Council. By a grant he became Earl of Arran and Hamil ton on the ground of the illegitimacy of the children of his grandmother's father. In the same year he married Elizabeth, daughter of John Stewart. By the raid of Ruthven in August 1582 he was deprived of office and imprisoned. In 1583 he led a force of 12,000 men against the new government and after the overthrow of the Protestant Lords was made governor of Stirling Castle and Lord Chan cellor. After executing Earl Gowrie he was made governor of Edinburgh Castle, provost of the city and lieutenant-general of the King's forces. Arran induced the English gov ernment to refrain from aiding the banished lords and further secured his power by the forfeitures of his opponents. His tyranny and insolence caused his rapid fall from power. In 1586 he was ordered to leave the country. In 1592 he returned to Edinburgh, but his at tempts to be reinstated were unsuccessful. His career was finally terminated by assassination at the hands of the nephew of the Earl of Morton, who carried his head in triumph on the point of a spear through the country.