James Somerville, 6th Lord Somerville

Last updated April 10, 2019

James Somerville, 6th Lord Somerville, (c.1518-1569) was a Lord of the Parliament of Scotland

Lord Somerville is a title in the Peerage of Scotland which is subject to a number of ambiguities. The date of creation is not known with certainty but it was probably created about 1435 for Thomas Somerville, Justiciar of Scotland. The title was omitted in 1606 when an ordered list of the Scottish peerage was produced following the union of the Scottish and English crowns, and the title was not used during the 17th century. In 1723, however, the House of Lords ratified and acknowledged the title for James Somerville the 13th Lord. The consecutive numbers ascribed to the numerous Lords differ according to which authority is consulted. The list below uses the numbers favoured by Burkes Peerage.

The Parliament of Scotland was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The parliament, like other such institutions, evolved during the Middle Ages from the king's council of bishops and earls. It is first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, during the reign of Alexander II, when it was described as a "colloquium" and already possessed a political and judicial role. By the early fourteenth century, the attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and from 1326 commissioners from the burghs attended. Consisting of the "three estates" of clergy, nobility and the burghs sitting in a single chamber, the parliament gave consent for the raising of taxation and played an important role in the administration of justice, foreign policy, war, and all manner of other legislation. Parliamentary business was also carried out by "sister" institutions, such as General Councils or Convention of Estates. These could carry out much business also dealt with by parliament – taxation, legislation and policy-making – but lacked the ultimate authority of a full parliament.

Sir James Hamilton of Finnart was a Scottish nobleman and architect, the illegitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, and Mary Boyd of Bonshaw. Although legitimated in 1512 while still a minor, he continued to be known as the "Bastard of Arran". As a key member of the Hamilton family, and second cousin of James V, King of Scotland, he became a prominent member of Scottish society.

Craignethan Castle is a ruined castle in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located above the River Nethan, a tributary of the River Clyde, at NS816464. The castle is two miles west of the village of Crossford, and 4.5 miles north-west of Lanark. Built in the first half of the 16th century, Craignethan is recognised as an excellent early example of a sophisticated artillery fortification, although its defences were never fully tested.

James and Mary of Guise

James Somerville wrote to Queen Regent of Scotland, Mary of Guise, from Cowthally Castle on 22 March 1554. He asked to be excused from a tax owed by his father from 1549.^[1] On 27 April 1560, he signed the bond of the Scottish nobility to promote the Scottish Reformation, expel French troops supporting Mary of Guise, and to join with the English army sent for that purpose. On 10 May 1560, he signed the ratification of the Treaty of Berwick, by which the Lords of the Congregation had invited the English army that was besieging Leith.^[2]

Mary of Guise, also called Mary of Lorraine, ruled Scotland as regent from 1554 until her death. A noblewoman from the Lotharingian House of Guise, which played a prominent role in 16th-century French politics, Mary became queen consort upon her marriage to King James V of Scotland in 1538. Her infant daughter, Mary, ascended the throne when James died in 1542. Mary of Guise's main goal as regent was a close alliance between the powerful French Catholic nation and smaller Scotland, which she wanted to be Catholic and independent of England. She failed, and at her death the Protestants took control of Scotland, with her own grandson achieving the Union of the Crowns a few decades later.

Cowthally Castle, also known as Couthalley, is a ruined L-plan castle near Carnwath, Lanarkshire, Scotland. The remains are protected as a scheduled monument.

The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation that took place from the sixteenth century.

Supporter of the captive Queen

With other Lords, Somerville signed three letters in support of the release Mary, Queen of Scots from England. On 28 July 1568, they wrote from Largs to Elizabeth I of England. The Lords asked Elizabeth not to let them have to take their cause to the other Princes of Europe. Another letter on 30 July 1568 appealed to the Duke of Alba to get Spanish support for the release of Mary. With no reply from Elizabeth, on 24 August Somerville signed another letter at Dumbarton Castle. As Elizabeth had persuaded Mary to instruct them not to prevent Regent Moray's parliament by force, and they had thereby lost their advantage, the Lords now asked for Mary's instatement or release to France or Scotland.^[3]

Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, reigned over Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567.

Largs is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about 33 miles (53 km) from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" in Scottish Gaelic.

Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor.

Family

James was first married in 1529 to Jean Hamilton, an illegitimate daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran. The Earl of Arran gave her a dowry of £886-13s-4d in his will.^[4] James's second wife was Agnes Hamilton, daughter of Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, they married at Craignethan Castle in 1536. Their eldest son became Hugh Somerville, 7th Lord Somerville.

James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran and 2nd Lord Hamilton was a Scottish nobleman, naval commander and first cousin of James IV of Scotland.

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References

Archbold, William Arthur Jobson (1898). "Somerville, Hugh". In Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography . 53. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 250,251.

Sir Sidney Lee was an English biographer, writer and critic.

The Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes and online, with 50,113 biographical articles covering 54,922 lives.

↑ Cameron, Annie I, ed., Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine, SHS (1927), 370.
↑ Calendar of State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (1898), no. 751, 786.
↑ Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (1900), nos. 747, 774, 781.
↑ HMC, 11th report & Appendix, part VI, Manuscripts of the Duke of Hamilton, (1887), no. 108, p. 53.

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Hugh Somerville	Lord Somerville 1549–1569	Succeeded by Hugh Somerville

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[1] Cameron, Annie I, ed., Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine, SHS (1927), 370.

[2] Calendar of State Papers Scotland, vol. 1 (1898), no. 751, 786.

[3] Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (1900), nos. 747, 774, 781.

[4] HMC, 11th report & Appendix, part VI, Manuscripts of the Duke of Hamilton, (1887), no. 108, p. 53.