The Wisest Fool in Christendom

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In fact, both of these famously intelligent men are not famous for intelligent things they did or said, or even for possessing a modicum of ordinary common sense. They're famous for actually stupid things that they did and said. In fact, as far as I can tell, the career trajectories of nearly everyone commonly regarded as a "genius" seem to be marked by one boneheaded blunder after another. James enjoyed the pomp and circumstance of the English court, and returned to Scotland only once, in 1617. He liked to boast that he now ruled his northern kingdom with a stroke of his pen, but in his later years he lost something of his grasp of the Scottish situation. Bergeron, David M. (1999). King James and Letters of Homoerotic Desire. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. p.348.

This course will examine the ideas and writings of King James VI & I, beginning with his rule over Scotland and including England after 1603. Labelled 'the wisest fool in Christendom', and long regarded as one of the British Isles' less successful rulers, more recently he has been effectively rehabilitated by 'revisionist' historians who argue that he was a highly intelligent and politically astute monarch. The focus here will be mainly on James' ideas, as expressed though his own writings and those of his contemporaries. English and Scot, James insisted, should "join and coalesce together in a sincere and perfect union, as two twins bred in one belly, to love one another as no more two but one estate". [97]Perhaps his finest legacy is the The King James Bible, published in English in 1611. This was the authorised version of the Bible in English, translated by bands of scholars. It was a hugely influential outcome of the 1604 Hampton Court conference, called by the King to debate differences in religion. James Stuart, the only son of Elizabeth's old nemesis, Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley, long had a bad press among English historians. This was, in part, because he possessed an unconventional personality for a king, especially after the forthright authoritarianism of the Tudors. For example, unlike the last two Henries, he was not a military man: in fact, a military salute on the Isle of Wight once frightened him. Rather, he fancied himself a Rex Pacificus (peaceful king) who would bring peace and concord not only to the three kingdoms, but, as a moderator among his fellow monarchs, to all Europe. In this, he was ahead of his time. He was also a relatively tolerant man, preferring, like Elizabeth, to let Catholics and Puritans live in peace if they maintained their political loyalty to him. His failure to engage in military adventures against the Catholic powers or to enforce the penal laws against Catholics at home would be controversial with his subjects. In fact, his decision to end the war with Spain in 1604 was precisely what the English economy needed, while his flexibility over religion promoted sectarian peace for 20 years.

James’s controversial reign over two countries saw him in constant struggles with Parliament particularly when it came to spending treasury money. Parliament on the other hand was determined to control taxation. But James believed that he was only answerable to God alone and should be able to do as he liked. As James ignored Parliament for most of the decade, his personal relationships with favourites - offering them expensive gifts and high ranking titles - also irked the authorities. But few at the time were aware of the intimate nature of some of these relationships. Gay lovers Towards the end of his life, James was known as a slobberer and semi-incoherent speaker – his tongue was too big for his mouth. He was also known as the ‘wisest fool in Christendom’, but he was far wilier than his ‘fool’ tag suggests. James I was the most academically gifted monarch, being both stoic and practical. He had once hoped to bring peace to Europe but had to settle with peace between England and Scotland.

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Cogswell, Thomas (2005) [1989], The Blessed Revolution: English Politics and the Coming of War 1621–24, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-5210-2313-9 Letter of Mary to Mar, 29 March 1567, quoted by Stewart 2003, p.27: "Suffer nor admit no noblemen of our realm or any others, of what condition soever they be of, to enter or come within our said Castle or to the presence of our said dearest son, with any more persons but two or three at the most." His childhood was constantly disturbed by the struggles of the nobles who vied for control of him. Given a demanding academic education by his tutor George Buchanan (who tried to teach him to hate his mother) and advised by four successive regents, he grew up to be a shrewd, wary intellectual who managed to reconcile the warring factions among his nobility with such success that he has been described as 'the most effective ruler Scotland ever had'. Villiers in turn showered honours on his own family, all of which James benignly approved, for, said he one day in the presence of the entire Villiers family, “I desire to advance you above all others.” When this kind of lead was being given by the King, bribery and corruption became understandingly rife in high places. Krugler, John D. (2004), English and Catholic: The Lords Baltimore in the Seventeenth Century, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-7963-0

Barroll 2001, p.136: "Rumours of foul play involving Rochester and his wife with Overbury had, however, been circulating since his death. Indeed, almost two years later, in September 1615, and as James was in the process of replacing Rochester with a new favourite, George Villiers, the Governor of the Tower of London sent a letter to the king informing him that one of the warders in the days before Overbury had been found dead had been bringing the prisoner poisoned food and medicine"; Lindley 1993, p.146. Keay, John; Keay, Julia (1994), Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland, London: HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-0025-5082-6 James's queen, Anne of Denmark, gave birth to seven children who survived beyond birth, of whom three reached adulthood: [196] demonstrate a detailed and critical command of the body of knowledge concerning the ideas and writings of James VI & IHe was so crafty and cunning in petty things, as the circumventing of any great man, the change of a Favourite, &c. insomuch as a very wise man was wont to say that he believed him the wisest fool in Christendom, meaning him wise in small things, but a fool in weighty affairs.