J ames VI and I

Abstract

James Stuart (1566–1625), king of Scotland and England, was not only an important literary patron but also a prolific author in his own right. Born in Edinburgh in 1566, he was crowned King James VI of Scotland when he was only 13 months old. Upon the death of Elizabeth I of England in 1603, James acceded to the English throne, adding to his first title the second of James I of England. James reigned over England and Scotland until his death in 1625. He wrote in a wide range of genres, including poetry, scriptural exegeses, and social and political treatises. To a degree unprecedented among early modern monarchs, he exploited writing and print as a means of representing himself to his subjects.