On a winter night in 1437, the King of Scots was cornered in a drain beneath a Perth monastery and stabbed to death by men he had wronged. The assassination of James I is one of the most dramatic episodes in Scottish history – complete with a heroic lady-in-waiting, a blocked escape tunnel, and a revenge so terrible it shocked even a violent age. Here is the full story.
Key facts: the assassination of James I
- Date: 21 February 1437
- Place: The Blackfriars monastery, Perth
- Victim: King James I of Scotland, poet and reforming monarch
- Ringleaders: Sir Robert Graham and Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl
- The legend: Catherine Douglas barred a door with her arm to buy the king time
- Aftermath: The conspirators were hunted down and executed with extreme cruelty
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A strong and resented king
James I had spent eighteen years as an English prisoner before returning to Scotland in 1424 determined to restore royal authority. He ruled with an iron hand, crushing overmighty nobles, taxing heavily and executing rivals – including members of his own extended family. He was also a cultured man, remembered as the author of the poem The Kingis Quair. But his harshness made him dangerous enemies, chief among them a faction around his uncle, Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, who had his own designs on the throne.
The night of the murder
In February 1437 the king was lodging at the Blackfriars monastery in Perth. The conspirators, led by Sir Robert Graham, gained entry with inside help, having removed the bolts from the doors. As the assassins approached, one of the queen's ladies, Catherine Douglas, is said to have thrust her own arm through the brackets of a door to bar it, since the locking bar had been stolen. Her arm was broken as the attackers forced their way in – an act of courage that earned her the legendary name Kate Barlass.
The king, meanwhile, had prised up the floorboards and dropped into a drain or sewer beneath the chamber, hoping to escape. Tragically, the far end had recently been walled up to stop tennis balls being lost in it. Trapped, James was discovered and stabbed to death.
A terrible revenge
The plot failed in its larger aim. Queen Joan survived, and her vengeance was merciless. The assassins were hunted down and put to death over several days with calculated brutality designed to deter any future regicide. Sir Robert Graham – of the great house of Graham – and the Earl of Atholl, of the royal Stewart line, met especially gruesome ends. The throne passed to James's young son, James II, and the long, turbulent saga of the Stewart kings continued.
Frequently asked questions
When was James I assassinated?
He was murdered on 21 February 1437 at the Blackfriars monastery in Perth.
Who killed James I?
The plot was led by Sir Robert Graham and Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, who resented the king's harsh rule and had ambitions of their own.
Who was Kate Barlass?
Catherine Douglas, a lady-in-waiting, who according to legend thrust her arm through a door's brackets to bar it against the assassins, breaking her arm in the attempt.
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