Quaker Beard Man: James VI and I

A baby crowned in a cradle. A teenage king kidnapped by his own nobles. A husband sailing into lethal storms to bring home his bride—and returning convinced that enemies could conjure weather. Our latest deep dive follows James VI of Scotland, later James I of England, as fear, faith, and politics collide to shape a reign that still echoes today.

We start with the messy family tree that made James heir to both Scotland and the Tudor bloodline, then drop into the chaos of regents, assassinations, and the Ruthven Raid that hardened his belief in centralized royal power. From strict Calvinist tutoring to a lifetime of scanning the horizon for danger, you’ll hear how early trauma forged a scholarly, suspicious monarch who wrote about divine right and self-preservation in the same breath.

The story turns dark on the North Berwick Witch Trials, where tortured confessions, court gossip, and theological zeal fueled prosecutions—and led James to publish Demonology. Yet this same king authorized a work of peace: the King James Bible. We unpack the Hampton Court Conference, why Puritans and bishops clashed, and how 47 translators crafted the musical cadence that would define English worship and literature for centuries.

Along the way, we revisit the Gunpowder Plot through James’s own eyes, explore his controversial reliance on favorites like the Duke of Buckingham, and humanize the ruler behind the portraits: brilliant, awkward, affectionate, and endlessly wary. His end—dysentery in 1625—was humbling, but his legacy is immense: a union of crowns and a translation that outlived every factional fight.

If you love smart history with humor, nuance, and a few bar-side detours, press play. Then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review to help more curious listeners find the show. What part of James’s story surprised you most?

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) – “James VI and I”
Author: Jenny Wormald
https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/oxford_dnb_9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-14592

The National Archives (UK) – Gunpowder Plot & James I materials
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/gunpowder-plot/

British Library – King James Bible Project
https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/king-james-bible
https://www.bl.uk/treasures/kingjamesbible/introduction.html

Daemonologie (1597) – King James VI
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25929

North Berwick Witch Trials – University of Edinburgh “Survey of Scottish Witchcraft”
https://witches.is.ed.ac.uk/

Historic Environment Scotland – Mary, Queen of Scots
https://www.historicenvironment.scot/learn/learning-resources/mary-queen-of-scots/

Westminster Abbey – James I Burial & Death
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/james-i

Royal Household / Royal.uk – James VI and I Profile
https://www.royal.uk/james-i

Transcript

Banter, Bar Stories, And Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Hey!

SPEAKER_04 0:17

Oh, hey there. How are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:20

We're the History Buffoons.

SPEAKER_04 0:22

You know who you answered my question?

SPEAKER_00 0:24

I am well.

SPEAKER_04 0:25

I am Kate.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

How are you? And I am Bradley.

SPEAKER_04 0:30

And this is History Buffoons.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Yeah, I said that.

SPEAKER_04 0:33

I know.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 0:34

Oh yeah. The good times.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Oh, good times, good times. Great oldies. Am I right?

SPEAKER_04 0:39

Who are you speaking about? Me. Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

I'm a great oldie. No, it's good times, great oldies was a tagline for a radio station in the the greater Milwaukee area. And I think I don't remember which one it was. Doesn't matter. But uh yeah. Um hey. Hi. Oh, hey there. He'd where the history of buffoons.

SPEAKER_04 1:03

We went out to uh lunch today.

SPEAKER_00 1:06

Prior to recording.

SPEAKER_04 1:07

Uh our working lunch. Right before podcasting.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

100% working lunch.

SPEAKER_04 1:12

Um and our favor one of our favorite bartenders was there.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Two of our favorite bartenders. But like Jess is our like nothing against Dano. We love Dano. Jess is our favorite when we go there.

SPEAKER_04 1:24

And I didn't really listen to her before, but I really paid attention to how she was talking to other patrons. And she is so scony. She's such a really is it's oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

It's fucking great. I love I love Dano too, though. They're all great. We we hadn't gone there on a recording day in months. Like probably August. Probably three to four months at least, if I had to guess. Yeah. And when we first got there, no places at the bar. So we sat at a table. I went up and got us, was gonna get us some beers. Instantly, Dana goes, Two sudos. Yep. Yep. Gets me the beers. You want me to put some uh chips and dip in for you right away? You're too good, you're too good to meet Dana. We sure do. And then luckily, um a couple spots opened up so we were able to sit at the bar because it just it feels more right there. Yeah, that's just what we're used to, and we're chatting with uh the people that work there, Jess and Dan, and of course having our our business lunch.

SPEAKER_04 2:27

I mean, I mean we mentioned the podcast.

Addressing Criticism And Ground Rules

SPEAKER_00 2:30

I think we said it once or twice. Yeah, maybe maybe less than that, but yeah. Um so I would like to first address something. Oh, okay prior to getting into our episode. Okay. We do what we do and we like what we do. We don't expect everyone to like it. And that's okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:54

There's something out there for everybody, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Correct, and that's okay if if you don't like it. But the problem I had with a recent comment we got wasn't it wasn't so constructive. It was, hey, I'm in a name call. So for for this episode, I will be known as Quaker Beard Man. Quaker Beard Man. Because that's what this called me. Don't name call back. Well, he he name called me. And I'd also like to point out when you use a uh possessive thing, there's an apostrophe S, not just an S. I understand what we do isn't for everybody, and that's okay. We are we are literally called buffoons, not buffs. So we may get some stuff wrong. Or mispronounce or mispronounce, or whatever it might be, we get that. We we we have fun doing this. It's more or less for you and me, right? Oh, yeah. Um, we we are very grateful for everyone who listens and that subscribes and so on. We we appreciate each and every one of you. If you have a current constructive criticism, just send it to us.

SPEAKER_04 4:15

100%. Hey. But no, no need for no need for name calling.

Tasting Mead And Episode Launch

SPEAKER_00 4:19

No need for name calling. And that's that's the only reason why I did it is because thought I should give it back. That's the only time I'm gonna do it. But I am Quaker Beard Man. This is Kate. Let's get into it.

SPEAKER_04 4:31

I um we're walking through Festival's um alcohol section.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Liquor department, yes.

SPEAKER_04 4:39

The liquor department.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

And alcohol section. That's fucking awesome.

SPEAKER_04 4:46

And um, there was a beer. Nope, there was a bee. There was a bee on a wine bottle, and it it caught my attention. I'm a bee person.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

It's your favorite little animal.

SPEAKER_04 4:58

Yeah, and it's called the uh Dora County Winery Black or Dor Peninsula Winery. Dor Peninsula Winery.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Wow. You messed that up already.

SPEAKER_04 5:09

Called Blackberry Citrus Buzz.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

It sounded really interesting. Read them the little ingredients that are under the small words there.

SPEAKER_04 5:17

Mead with blackberry, lemon, and honey.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

And as your husband makes mead, makes honey mead, yeah. Well, most mead, if I'm not mistaken, is from honey. Yes, it is how you make mead.

SPEAKER_04 5:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

So this is a mead, but we saw this and we're like, that sounds interesting. Yeah. So uh cheers.

SPEAKER_04 5:37

Cheers. I want to read the back.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

All right, I'm gonna drink.

SPEAKER_04 5:40

Okay, it says, What's the buzz? It's blackberries for sure. Maybe with sweet honey made with sweet honey. Interesting. Juicy blackberries and lemon. Blackberry citrus buzz is fruit sensation. Lemon makes the blackberry pot for just the right amount of sweet, tart, and fruit. Frankly, it's the bee's knees. This is on you.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

That's not bad.

SPEAKER_04 6:01

You like it?

SPEAKER_00 6:02

I think I do.

SPEAKER_04 6:02

What was the other kind there? Do you recall?

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Oh, there was another one. Shit, what was it?

SPEAKER_04 6:08

Ooh. Yeah, it's kind of smells like pie.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

It kind of smells like pie.

SPEAKER_04 6:16

Oh, that's still it.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

I need another way. I don't recall what that other one is because that other one sounded pretty decent, too. Oh my.

SPEAKER_04 6:24

But I'm that's delicious. If I do say so much hell.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

And I also have a uh gin and tonic backup. Because I ain't no idiot.

SPEAKER_04 6:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

Let's get into the show.

SPEAKER_04 6:38

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

So appreciate everyone being here.

James VI’s Lineage And Infant Crown

SPEAKER_04 6:40

Uh yes, thank you for listening. And if you aren't already subscribed, please do so.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Yeah, and please shoot us an email if you have constructive criticism. No need to the name call. Just we're here for everybody.

SPEAKER_04 6:56

Okay, so I've got a couple of questions for you.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 7:00

Um and it's gonna be throughout.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 7:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 7:06

Um, so the first one.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Oh, we got one right away.

SPEAKER_04 7:08

Oh, yeah. We've got one right away.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_04 7:10

What is the relationship from what is the relationship of James the Sixth of Scotland to James the First of England?

SPEAKER_00 7:22

It's the same person. It's the same person! Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:25

Good job.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 7:26

Yeah. I have another question for you.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Way to spread them out. Like you said.

SPEAKER_04 7:32

I know. This one is it fact or fiction?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Fact or fiction.

SPEAKER_04 7:36

Well, I guess it's uh multiple choice. Okay. Okay, it's either one or the other. Anyway. Okay, James. We're gonna talk about James the Sixth of Scotland and James the first of England. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:49

So James once wrote a political essay outlining how kings could protect themselves from assassination attempts.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 7:58

Or B, James tried to escape his escape his tutors by climbing out of the window and getting stuck halfway. Which one is true?

SPEAKER_00 8:07

B.

SPEAKER_04 8:08

A. Really? Yeah. Okay. He wrote in a political essay on how to protect oneself from being assassinated as king. I mean, okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

But the thing is, like, yeah, hey man, I'm kidding. I wrote this essay. Can't kill me. Yeah, they can. I know things were obviously a bit different back then because it's not like you had sniper rifles and shit, but okay.

SPEAKER_04 8:35

So James was born in 1566 to Mary, Queen of Scots.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Yep. Bloody Mary. No, I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_04 8:43

Mary, was she Bloody Mary? No, that was Mary.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Mary Queen of Scots is a different.

SPEAKER_04 8:47

That was Mary Tudor. Tudor, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

I was joking.

SPEAKER_04 8:50

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Sorry. I don't want anyone to call us out on anything. I'll let it go eventually.

SPEAKER_04 8:57

Okay, so Mary was the daughter of King James V of Scotland.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 9:02

And the great granddaughter of Henry the Seventh of England.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Oh, hey. He was brought up in that. Recently. Yeah. Yeah. That's what we were called out on.

SPEAKER_04 9:14

So making James the direct heir to both the Scottish and the Tudor bloodlines. Correct. So because I am confused with all the names and they're all the same and bullshit. Yeah. I wrote down the quick uh succession.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 9:31

So it was Henry Seventh had daughter Margaret Tudor.

SPEAKER_03 9:34

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 9:35

Who had son James V of Scotland. Yep. Who had Mary, Queen of Scots, who had James VI.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

Correct. What a tangled web we weave. It is.

SPEAKER_04 9:48

Or they weave. So one year after James was born, um, Scottish nobles actually forced Mary to abdicate the throne. Um, she was in the midst of scandal and unrest, and her infant son, still, you know, in a cradle pretty much, was crowned king.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Well, yeah, I mean, that's that's how things went back then. And even it's so funny how, like, well, he's the heir, he's he's six months old.

SPEAKER_04 10:19

Like, yeah, he's still a son. Still the heir. He's male.

SPEAKER_00 10:23

Yeah, yeah. That's that's the way to go.

SPEAKER_04 10:26

I mean, but Mary, um, a pench so she was married and then he died of sickness, her first husband.

SPEAKER_03 10:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 10:35

She married a second husband.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 10:40

And who and that was James's father.

unknown 10:42

James's father.

SPEAKER_04 10:43

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:44

What was his the father's name?

SPEAKER_04 10:47

Henry. Henry of uh Darnley or something like that. Darnley? Henry of something.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

I feel like this is a piece of information you should have, not have to look up. So while while we're waiting for Kate to I don't know what you're talking about.

SPEAKER_04 11:08

It was Henry Stewart who was Lord Darnley, like I said.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Not exactly.

SPEAKER_04 11:16

He was the king of Scotland and the second husband to marry Queen of Scots. I already knew that.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Again, when you looked it up. Cheers, am I right? This is so good. Oh my gosh. This is pretty tasty.

SPEAKER_04 11:28

Oh man, we should get another one. Okay, so she potentially had her second husband killed. Oh. James's father.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 11:39

Then married the man that people suspected of killing him? Of killing him.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Really?

SPEAKER_04 11:45

Yeah. So there was a lot of what is happening with Mary?

SPEAKER_00 11:49

So a lot of controversy.

SPEAKER_04 11:52

Yeah, so she she was forced to abdicate.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

As the English would say, controversy.

SPEAKER_04 11:58

So that meant Scotland was technically under the authority of a baby.

SPEAKER_00 12:02

Well, yeah, I mean, goo gaga, am I right?

SPEAKER_04 12:05

Well, the rear real power fluctuated between regents.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 12:10

And they schemed and they fought and they occasionally died in office, and J James kind of grew up in all that tension.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

So isn't it just funny though that like so such a young king, right? We had this kind of with the whole Lady Jane Gray, right? Um people ran shit. Yes. Even though they're supposed to. Yeah. But they're oh, they're underage. Yeah. I get that. Yeah. I'm not saying a baby can run a country, obviously.

SPEAKER_04 12:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

But it's hey, let's put our fucking two cents in here and this benefits me.

SPEAKER_04 12:48

Do you want to go to war with Ireland or do you want to go with to war with France? Cry at one.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Well, he called it France. He called it.

SPEAKER_04 12:58

Okay, so he had four regents. Okay. Okay. And they ran the government for James. So the first was Earl of Moray. He was a Protestant leader. He was the first regent in James's half uncle.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

So can I ask a question real quick? Yeah. When when people when he'd be walking by, but would they be like, that's a Moray?

SPEAKER_04 13:18

That's a Moray. Like that? Yeah. That's a Moray. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

He's like, that's a Moray walking by.

SPEAKER_04 13:29

Okay. So sorry. That's okay. Earl of Moray was a Protestant leader. He was the first regent and James's half-uncle and was assassinated in 1570 by a supporter of Mary, who was very, very Catholic.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

So squ wait, Mary Tudor or Mary Queen of Scots? Queen of Scots. So was she still supporting the Catholic faith?

SPEAKER_04 13:53

So in Scotland, did they still have they were um they were in a whole bunch of turmoil between the Protestants and the Catholics as well.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

So even though like obviously there's that tie from England to Scotland, it was still kind of because like obviously England at this time is Protestant. Yes. Because of Henry VIII and all that. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 14:18

And now um Elizabeth I is queen at this time.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Around this time. Around this time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:24

I don't know when she starts her succession, but I forget the n the years, but okay. But um during this like early reign of James's, she is Queen of England.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Gotcha. Okay, that makes sense. So yeah, very Protestant. I just didn't know if Scotland was still Catholic.

SPEAKER_04 14:44

Yeah.

Tutors, Calvinism, And The Riven Raid

SPEAKER_00 14:44

Because they technically were under English rule. They were adjacent.

SPEAKER_04 14:51

They were adjacent. They weren't under under English rule until James. Correct, correct the sixth.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

That's why I meant adjacent. Like there was a lot of what's the fucking word I'm looking for? Doesn't matter. Okay. Okay. Anyways.

SPEAKER_04 15:04

So um the second regent, um, he was um Matthew Stewart, lure. Nope, Earl of Lennox. What were you first gonna say? Lure. Lure. Not Earl of Lennox. James's grandfather. He was James's grandfather on his father's side. Okay. So Lennox lasted barely a year before he was killed in an attack against the Queen supporters. Okay. So again. Queen supporters. Yeah. Then came John Erskine, Earl of Mar. His authority was immediately challenged, and he died just over a year later from poisoning, although it was never proven.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Most likely was the case, though.

SPEAKER_04 15:48

And then the last one was James Douglas, Earl of Morton. He was the fourth regent in less than four years.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

I heard I've heard of James Douglas before. Actually, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:00

Zoom type.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 16:02

So Mary Queen of Scots fled to England seeking protection from Elizabeth I. And James never saw her again.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Fucking hell. Sorry. God damn. Because didn't Mary I put Mary Queen of Scots in the Tower of London.

SPEAKER_04 16:21

You mean Elizabeth I?

SPEAKER_00 16:24

I said Elizabeth I put Mary Queen of Scots in the Tower of London.

SPEAKER_04 16:27

I don't know if she was in the Tower of London, but she was definitely held captive for a while.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

I'm not sure where. But um Motherfucker. I gotta sneeze again. If I do, I'm sorry. Sorry.

SPEAKER_04 16:41

That's all right. Um, so the loss of his mother to captivity um shaped him. James. Yep. And um, but the men who raised him were just as important to him.

SPEAKER_03 16:57

Oh, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_04 16:58

And those were also his tutors. So he had regions that ran the government and tutors that ran his like everyday educational life.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

So we're clarifying tutors with a T. T, yes.

SPEAKER_04 17:11

So he had one scholar tutor named George Buchanan.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

George Buchanan.

SPEAKER_04 17:17

And he was a strict Calvinist.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

What is Calvinist again? I forget.

SPEAKER_04 17:23

They followed teachings of John Calvin, who was a Protestant reformer. Okay. They believed that God was in charge of everything. Yeah. Um, God already know knew who was saved and who wasn't.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

See, that seems weird.

SPEAKER_04 17:40

Um, there was strict moral discipline and simple scripture-focused worship. There was no fancy rituals, no hierarchies.

SPEAKER_00 17:49

Just straight through the Bible. It said, Yeah, follow that word. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:52

Okay. So they believed elicit discipline was a moral duty, and they pushed James through intense academic education.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 18:00

And by age eight, he could read Latin fluently. Wow. By his teens, he was really comfortable in French and could translate passages of the Bible.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 18:10

Um Buchanan even wrote a Latin textbook about James' education, describing his him as intelligent but stubborn.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

Well, I mean, he is eight.

SPEAKER_04 18:20

So despite this intellectual rigor, James's upbringing was not gentle. He was surrounded by constant political threat.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Well, yeah, I mean, look at his position. So, okay.

SPEAKER_04 18:35

Scottish noble factions repeatedly comp competed for influence over him, because he's still young.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Right.

SPEAKER_04 18:43

And those power struggles occasionally turned physical. Sure. So in 1582, there was the riven raid. The ribbon raid? Riven. Riven. It's actually spelled Ruth Ven, R-U-T-H-V-E-N, Ruth Ven, but it's pronounced Riven.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

Oh, I've never heard of that. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 19:04

The Riven Raid.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Tell me more.

SPEAKER_04 19:06

Um, it was a group of Protestant lords who kidnapped the Protestant 15-year-old king and held him captive for 10 months.

Anne Of Denmark And Storms At Sea

SPEAKER_00 19:19

10 months? Holy shit.

SPEAKER_04 19:20

A Protestant lord kidnapping a Protestant king.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

Seems counterintuitive, but okay.

SPEAKER_04 19:31

Their goal was to control him and force policy changes they believed aligned with their true religion.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

Well, uh, he's already pure religion, though.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

So James had an advisor. He would later become the Earl of Lennox, so not his regent, but another Earl of Lennox. And his name was Esme Stuart.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

Esme.

SPEAKER_04 19:55

He was French. Oh. And he just Recently converted to from Catholicism.

SPEAKER_00 20:03

From? So he's very new to the Protestant world.

SPEAKER_04 20:07

He's very new. And he got very close to James.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

How did he end up doing that?

SPEAKER_04 20:13

So the kid is 15 or younger. So just influence. But this riven raid, these captors were thinking James has too much French influence coming in.

SPEAKER_03 20:26

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 20:27

Or James has too much potential Catholic influence coming in. Because he this Earl of Lennox just changed to or a combination.

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Or a combination.

SPEAKER_04 20:38

So let's kidnap the king.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Well, yeah, because then he can be like, all right, I'm Protestant, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. But I got these values from my Catholic past. And also, hey, we are Francois.

SPEAKER_04 20:53

Francois. So James was confined, monitored, lectured daily, but he eventually escaped. How did he do it? Just on the cloak of night. He just he just found an opportunity to leave the castle where he was staying. God took him 10 months. Okay. That's fucking a while. But um this experience left a really deep and obvious mark on him. He became extremely wary of overmighty nobles and determined never again to be controlled by them.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Well, and and again, that's the problem with his age, because you have these older people who want to advance their position in life, and they're like, we can manipulate this kid because he's a fucking kid.

SPEAKER_03 21:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:38

So let's do this. And obviously, clearly went to the extreme of kidnapping to try and make him like, hey, you're gonna, we're gonna teach you this. So hopefully down the road you do this. And that's fucked up.

SPEAKER_04 21:53

So the environment that he was in shaped his personality in two different ways. He had a strong belief in centralized royal authority.

SPEAKER_03 22:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 22:06

Being pushed around by regents and nobles convinced him that the monarchy should not be at the mercy of factional politics.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Well, I mean, in that time frame, no, because the monarchy is supposed to be the final say, if you will.

North Berwick Trials And Demonology

SPEAKER_04 22:21

And then he also wrote The True Law of Free Monarchies, the essays arguing that the king derived their power from God, not from the mobility, and outline how kings can protect themselves from assassination attempts.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Which is bullshit, but yeah. No, I mean, I remember even in the show, again, just a show, not historical documents, the tutor show, the um well, the tutors, I guess it's called, saying, I remember uh what's his name? Jonathan Rees Myers, right? Is that right? Something I believe. I I really like him, but um sorry if I got his name wrong. But he's like, I was ordained by God because they believe that shit. Like, I am king because God said I'm king. It's like, did he though? Yeah. Or maybe it was because you're born into a certain family.

SPEAKER_04 23:18

So the other thing that shaped James's personality was his lifelong tendency towards anxiety and suspicion. When you're kidnapped as a teenager and raised by people who expect you to justify every decision, it's not surprising that you would grow up seeing potential threats everywhere. Yeah. So it's important to know that James was not incompetent. He was not a sheltered child. He was very sharp and he was a confident debater and a well-read scholar. But even as a teen, all of these things were happening around him that he couldn't control and he was being used and so he was a master debater? Master? No, he was a confident debater.

SPEAKER_00 24:05

My bad.

SPEAKER_04 24:06

Yeah. So um, between his disrupted family life, the academic strictness, the loss of his his mother, yeah, political captivity, this pretty much created the foundation um of everything he became as a ruler. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

Okay. Let's do this.

SPEAKER_04 24:27

Question number two. Oh shit.

SPEAKER_00 24:29

Or I guess maybe this is three.

SPEAKER_04 24:30

It's technically three, I think, but James kept a trained raven at court that he claimed could detect witchcraft.

SPEAKER_03 24:38

Oh, Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 24:39

Or B, James believed witches raised storms specifically to sabotage his voyage home from Denmark.

unknown 24:48

B.

SPEAKER_04 24:48

B. Unfortunately, there's no raven. Sad.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

That would be kind of cool, actually.

SPEAKER_04 24:55

By the late 1580s, James the Sixth was in his early 20s and ready to marry.

SPEAKER_03 25:01

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 25:01

His chosen bride was Anne of Denmark.

SPEAKER_03 25:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 25:05

Sister to the Danish king. Okay. Denmark was a very strong Protestant ally. Yeah. So the match was politically sound. Yeah. Um, but the journey involved getting Anne home to Scotland, and that sparked one of the most notorious witch hunting episodes in James' life. Okay. So Anne attempted to sail to Scotland in late 1589, but her fleet was repeatedly battered by violent storms.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Witches, am I right?

SPEAKER_04 25:39

After multiple attempts, she turned back. This time to Norway, which was Denmark territory at the time. It's like, yeah, it's like Denmark is here and Norway's like right here.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Channel, all that.

SPEAKER_04 25:53

And there's a channel. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:55

How's that called? Channel.

SPEAKER_04 25:58

Um, so James was like, all right, I'll go get her, which no king has really ever done.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

No.

SPEAKER_04 26:04

So his own voyage, yeah, also pummeled by severe weather, forced detours and delays. And when he finally reached Norway, everyone was asking kind of the same question. What the hell's up with these storms, man? Am I right?

SPEAKER_00 26:20

Storms, am I right?

SPEAKER_04 26:22

Um, so together him and Anne um toured Norway together, and then they um um sailed to Denmark and they they toured Denmark together. And in Denmark at this time, witchcraft was widely accepted as a tool used by enemies or personal rivals. Danish authorities had already started investigating the storm as deliberate malice and not bad luck.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

Really?

SPEAKER_04 26:51

Mm-hmm. They pointed to suspected witches at the Danish court. And when James heard these explanations, he didn't exactly dismiss them. No, because he embraced them.

SPEAKER_00 27:04

So, can I interject something real quick? I saw a video in the last week. There was actually a witch thing in Wisconsin we needed to look into.

unknown 27:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 27:17

I don't remember the details, but let's look into it.

SPEAKER_04 27:21

Okay, cool. So his upbringing had left him wary and suspicious, and sure, sure, sure. He was pretty attuned to the idea of hidden threats and the notion that these witches could use dark forces to sabotage royal affairs kind of fit into his worldview already.

SPEAKER_03 27:40

Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_04 27:42

So when James returned to Scotland with Anne in 1590, he found Scottish ministers and magistrates equally ready to interpret the storms as supernatural.

SPEAKER_00 27:55

See, okay. I get I get the time frame we're talking about, but for the love of God.

SPEAKER_04 28:01

That winter, a local servant girl named named Gilly Duncan.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

Gilly Duncan.

Gunpowder Plot And Royal Suspicion

SPEAKER_04 28:07

And I want to say Gilly might be in the Outlander series. I don't know if it's Gilly Duncan who was if it was, but I know there is a Gilly.

SPEAKER_00 28:18

It's been a minute since I read those books.

SPEAKER_04 28:19

And she was she was a witch in the books. So this was a servant girl named Gilly Duncan, and she was arrested on unrelated suspicions. She was a healer, and that was sus.

SPEAKER_00 28:32

Please don't say that. Suspicious. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 28:36

But she confessed under torture.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

Weird how that works. We've literally talked about that on this podcast before.

SPEAKER_04 28:46

That fucking people will say anything to get out of torture.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Yeah, you know why? Because it fucking hurts. It's not like they like, hey, we're gonna serve you a prime rib. Tell us. I'm good.

SPEAKER_04 29:01

So she convinced under torture to joining a coven that supposedly plotted against the king. Oh, for fucks. Her story ballooned into a full-scale panic with accusations spreading to nobles and clerics and community members. And this became the center of what was known as the North Berwick Witch Trials, one of the major witch hunts in Scotland. Sure. And James did not sit on this side. He personally questioned accused witches, supervised interrogations, and pressed for confessions. I have to cough now. There I go.

SPEAKER_00 29:39

So what what was her name?

SPEAKER_04 29:40

Gilly Gilly Duncan.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

What happened to her?

SPEAKER_04 29:44

I didn't look it up because my story is about James. Are you my story is about James.

SPEAKER_00 29:51

I have to cough now. You didn't look no, because my story is about James. I understand your story is about Jimmy.

SPEAKER_04 30:05

Jimmy.

SPEAKER_00 30:06

Okay. How knowing me like you do? We've been doing this for a year and three months. Did you not look up how Gilly died?

SPEAKER_04 30:18

Do you want me to look it up?

SPEAKER_00 30:19

I kind of do now. Well, I enjoy this delicious gin and tonic. I'm feeling supersonic. You could have it all. But how much do you want it?

SPEAKER_04 30:32

So Gilly Duncan was executed by strangulation and then burned because apparently she wasn't dead enough.

SPEAKER_00 30:42

Isn't it wild how they did that shit? Like the whole being drawn and quartered, where they like, hey, we killed you, but now we're gonna pull you apart by horses and such and drag your body parts across the streets of the town or whatever. It's like what the fuck?

SPEAKER_04 31:00

So apparently she she was strangled to death. So she was already dead, and then they burnt her corpse.

Favorites, Court Etiquette, And Rumors

SPEAKER_00 31:06

Well no, she was strangled to death enough. Whatever, whatever.

SPEAKER_04 31:11

Okay. That's fucking wild. So I'm hesitant to tell you about this next person.

SPEAKER_00 31:18

Oh, why? Because I'm gonna ask questions.

SPEAKER_04 31:22

There was another accused individual, a noblewoman named Agnes Samson. Um, Agnes. You know Agnes? I fucking don't. So they were um Agnes as well as others were executed after being accused of participating in rituals intended to harm the king. Samson, in particular, made an impression on James when she repeated details of his private wedding night that she couldn't possibly have known. Okay. He reported that as proof of her supernatural knowledge. But there is a thing called gossip in like the servants' quarters.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

Okay, and that's what I was gonna go to. Yes, it was a private ceremony, whatever you want to call it. But there's more than two people there. One could be like hey, guess what?

SPEAKER_04 32:20

Guess what, guess what? Guess what?

SPEAKER_00 32:23

Guess what I saw.

SPEAKER_04 32:24

But of course, James took this confession at face value, so she was executed.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

How?

SPEAKER_04 32:31

Bradley.

SPEAKER_00 32:32

Come on.

SPEAKER_04 32:33

She was strangled and then burned.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

That's all I had to say.

SPEAKER_04 32:39

His experience in Denmark combined with the North Berwick trials convinced James that witchcraft was real, organized, and very dangerous. This led him to publish Demonology.

SPEAKER_00 32:53

I've heard of that.

SPEAKER_04 32:54

In 1597.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

Yes, I've heard of that, yes.

SPEAKER_04 32:57

It is a book instructing readers on the nature of witchcraft, the dangers it posed, and the proper methods for prosecuting witches.

SPEAKER_00 33:04

Demonology, yep, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_04 33:06

And unlike some mar monarchs who dismissed witchcraft accusations as super sp superstition, James believed the threat was theological, political, and personal.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

I would love to get my hands on an original demonology.

SPEAKER_04 33:24

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 33:25

Do you know how much that would fucking cost, EZ?

SPEAKER_04 33:27

Probably more than Pride of Prejudice, which I would want as first edition, because it it comes in three three volumes.

SPEAKER_00 33:33

Does it really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 33:34

The original Pride and Prejudice comes in three volumes.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

I did not know that.

SPEAKER_04 33:38

Really? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:39

I why?

SPEAKER_04 33:41

Uh-huh. That wasn't part of my research. So, which trails were happening across the What the fuck, Kate? Witchcraft was happening in um Europe, Germany, Denmark, Scotland.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

And this is like what 70?

SPEAKER_04 33:58

Almost a century before Salem. Salem and all that, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:03

Wow, that's crazy.

Why The King James Bible Was Commissioned

SPEAKER_04 34:05

But um, James's intellectual endorsement and his status give Scotland's witch hump the unusual momentum.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

You call him witch hump?

SPEAKER_04 34:14

Hunt.

SPEAKER_00 34:14

It sounded like witch hump.

SPEAKER_04 34:18

Hundreds of prosecutions during this time. Yes, yes, yes. His views did shift over time.

SPEAKER_00 34:26

Okay. Why?

SPEAKER_04 34:29

By the time James became king of England in 1603 because Elizabeth I died and she had no heir. No, he encountered a legal culture that was far more skeptical of witchcraft craft claims.

SPEAKER_02 34:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:45

So English judges demanded stricter evidence and discouraged torture. So he started to like fall in line with that. He's like, no.

SPEAKER_00 34:53

I mean, yeah, thank God for some fucking rationale there. Yeah, exactly. Um you can't just torture because you think. Yeah. We need a little more evidence as to why, a, you think they're a witch, and B, that they actually did something. Not just fucking speculation or hearsay, which is is and it's funny. So this is in 1597. Like, you know, what is it 70 to 80 years later? Salem was like, she's a witch, burner!

SPEAKER_04 35:25

What was what I think was that 1694-ish? Was it later 1600s? Yeah, okay. Yeah, it was almost a century later.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

For some reason, I was thinking like 1660s, 1670, but yeah, I think you're right. Either way, it's funny how like these certain people around James is like, we we need a little more information, yeah. And then a century later, burn them. We don't need all the information, just you you oh my god, you called her a witch. She's clearly a witch. You must burn thy witch.

SPEAKER_04 35:57

She turned me into a newt.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:00

I got beta.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

I got better. I'm not dead yet.

SPEAKER_04 36:04

I feel like James would be the type of person to Google his symptoms and then just everything is wrong with him. But I also have Googled symptoms before.

SPEAKER_00 36:12

Why?

SPEAKER_04 36:13

But I also take it with a grain of salt.

SPEAKER_00 36:15

But you're not a well, is that because Nathan loves salt?

SPEAKER_04 36:18

He does love salt. But no, I don't want to be the butt of a joke. As in, I'm the one who Googles symptoms and now I'm dying.

SPEAKER_00 36:27

It's funny, you're not the butt of the joke, you're the face of the joke.

SPEAKER_04 36:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 36:31

Oh, that was amazing.

SPEAKER_04 36:33

Okay, next question. A.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

I swallowed that wrong.

SPEAKER_04 36:38

Uh-oh. Away from the mic, if you please.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

Cheers. All right, sorry. Holy fuck.

SPEAKER_04 36:54

A James I personally reviewed the interrogations from the gunpowder plot and followed the investigation as if it was a royal true crime case. Or B, James I was so terrified of assassination that he refused to travel anywhere more than three miles from London.

SPEAKER_00 37:16

B.

SPEAKER_04 37:17

A.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

Fuck off, really?

SPEAKER_04 37:20

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 37:21

He actually reviewed the Remember, remember the 5th of November?

SPEAKER_04 37:25

He was the target of the gunpowder plot.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

Oh, so when he was in Parliament? Yes. Really? Yeah!

SPEAKER_04 37:33

We're just bringing them full circle here.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

Oh my god. Listen to our second episode. Because Juno about the Juno was the first. Yeah. Really?

SPEAKER_04 37:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:45

I did not know that. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 37:47

So.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

And if you mentioned that episode. Sorry.

SPEAKER_04 37:53

What?

SPEAKER_00 37:54

Stop talking about that.

SPEAKER_04 37:55

The gunpowder plot of 1605 was a group of Catholics attempting to blow up the king, the parliament, and much of the um English political elite. Yep. The plot was discovered before it could be carried out, but the experience vindicated James's long-held belief that conspiracies were always possible. Well, I mean. So he took a personal interest in the aftermath regarding interrogations, tracking the details.

SPEAKER_02 38:23

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 38:24

And James's vigilance extended to interpersonal relationships as well. He struggled to trust many nobles and was very wary of those who displayed ambition or independent power. Can you blame the dude? Not at all. Not at all.

SPEAKER_00 38:43

Well, for 10 months, fucking months, but like a lot of these people, like, hey man, we can extend our station within this monarchy and get get fucking rich so we can live lavish lives. So yeah, I don't fucking blame him.

SPEAKER_04 38:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:59

Kidding me.

SPEAKER_04 39:00

So he relied heavily on his close favorites. Okay. And those favorites were his favorites. Like he had a small, small inner circle. Of favorites. So he had a guy named Robert Carr, um, George Villers, and and um George Villers was the Duke of Buckingham.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

Oh, good old Buckingham, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:24

There is rumor that suggests they were more than friends. Friends.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

They were lovers.

SPEAKER_04 39:32

Yes. Um, that has been speculated throughout time that he was bisexual.

SPEAKER_00 39:37

I never knew that. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 39:38

Yeah. Um, but he wanted these people close to him because he felt that they were less likely to turn on him.

SPEAKER_00 39:47

He's very, he's very do you think it's funny that they're less likely to turn on him, but they're more likely to turn him on? Wow. Am I wrong? Wow. With what you just said?

SPEAKER_04 40:05

So court. Wow, you're I'm gonna pass right over that. Court critics often mocks mocked his reliance on his favorite, but to James, the alternative was exposing himself to factions that could manipulate or threaten him. Right. So despite these fears, though, James was not a recluse. He participated in hunting, public events, diplomatic meetings.

SPEAKER_00 40:28

He was just scared. Is it ri He was still brave, but he was scared. Is it recluse or recluse?

SPEAKER_04 40:34

I've heard both.

SPEAKER_00 40:36

I've heard both too.

SPEAKER_04 40:37

He organized his daily life with rules intended to minimize risk. Right. He disliked surprise entrances. Okay. He preferred predictable routines.

SPEAKER_00 40:49

I mean, I'm with him there. I have a fucking routine every day. So yeah, I get it.

SPEAKER_04 40:54

When traveling, he sometimes altered plans at the last moment or refused to use certain routes if they f if he felt that they posed a danger.

SPEAKER_00 41:02

So to kind of keep keep the the bitches guessing, if you will.

SPEAKER_04 41:05

So and then of course all of this attributed to James's image as a nervous or jumpy monarch. Right, right, right. But he he was, but on the outside, he's like, Yeah, everything's fine.

SPEAKER_00 41:19

He was cool as a cucumber.

SPEAKER_04 41:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 41:22

He he lived in a world where kings were vulnerable. He was personally threatened. Yeah. Um, his mother was was punished and upheld in Towers of London somewhere. So his security concerns were not a product of fantasy.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

No, I mean he he clearly had that on the forefront of his mind. Yes. Because this isn't the first time it's even been brought up. He's very like, I gotta protect my shit, yeah, kind of kind of guy.

SPEAKER_04 41:54

So I get it. Okay. Next question. Yeah. A James authorized the King James Bible because he he was tired of listening to religious groups argue about translations, or B, James personally translated the book of Revelation over a single weekend.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

A.

SPEAKER_04 42:13

A. James did not translate a single thing. No, no.

SPEAKER_00 42:18

That's why it's the King James Bible. That's that's literally known very well.

SPEAKER_04 42:24

It is, but he didn't do anything.

SPEAKER_00 42:26

No, but it's it was named after him. It was named after him. Are you kidding me? A king didn't actually fucking put his hands on something but put his name on it? Weird.

SPEAKER_04 42:36

So by the time James reached the English throne in 1603, he inherited not just a crown, but the deeply divided religious landscape. England had spent decades swinging between Catholic and Protestant monarchs.

SPEAKER_00 42:49

Well, it didn't help that you know Bloody Mary and then back to Elizabeth I and all that good stuff.

SPEAKER_04 42:54

So and while the country was officially Protestant at the time that James arrived, many divisions still remained.

Decline, Dysentery, And Legacy

SPEAKER_00 43:00

Well, you you can't kill Catholicism. I mean, you have people that practice it for families that practice it for centuries, if you will, and it's not be like, oh, hey, uh by the way, uh King so and so said we're we're not this anymore, so blah blah blah. Yeah, they're gonna still teach it within within their family, but hey, keep it on the down low, right? Kind of bullshit. So yeah, I mean, fucking hell.

SPEAKER_04 43:27

So amongst the loudest and the most persistent were the were the Puritans. It was a group of reform-minded Protestants who felt the Church of England still looked far too Catholic.

SPEAKER_03 43:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 43:37

So shortly after his coronation, a group of these Puritans presented James with the Millenary Petition, a long list of reforms that he hoped he would enforce. So many requested changes that were about church governance and ceremony, clerical dress, the role of bishops. But tucked amongst the grievances was a request for a new, more accurate Bible translation.

SPEAKER_00 44:04

So And this is what becomes the King James Bible. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 44:10

So this request led to the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, where James met with bishops and Puritan representatives to discuss the future of the English church.

SPEAKER_03 44:22

That's wild.

SPEAKER_04 44:24

Both sides wanted change and not the same changes. Right. The Puritans pushed for greater reform, and the bishops resisted. So in the midst of this meeting, someone suggested creating a new English Bible, one that would replace earlier transitions, like the Bishop's Bible, the Geneva Bible.

SPEAKER_00 44:44

Translations.

SPEAKER_04 44:46

The Geneva Bible and the Great Bible, all of which had their own theological biases or translation quirks.

SPEAKER_00 44:53

Because you said transitions.

SPEAKER_04 44:54

Sure. Translations. The Geneva Bible contained marginal notes that leaned heavily towards Calvinist interpretation.

SPEAKER_00 45:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 45:06

Some notes openly criticize monarchy, which James disliked. Obviously. So a new translation, he realized, could achieve multiple goals. It could unify the clergy by give everyone one authoritative text. Okay. It could remove inflammatory notes that questioned royal authority.

SPEAKER_03 45:26

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_04 45:26

And it could promote religious stability, one of James's primar primary political goals, and it could quiet constant arguments about which translation was best.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Isn't that crazy how much like they looked into this? Like, hey, we gotta figure this shit out. God damn.

SPEAKER_04 45:45

So James approved the project, not because he wanted to study scripture more, but because he wanted to reduce conflict. Sure. So he appointed a team of 47 scholars divided into six committees working in Oxford, Cambridge, and Westminster.

SPEAKER_00 46:01

Okay.

Wrap-Up, Drinks Review, And CTA

SPEAKER_04 46:02

And each group was assigned specific books of the Bible. The translators were not radicals, not innovators. They were highly educated, deeply conservative scholars trained in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Their goal wasn't to create a brand new style of English, but to refine existing translations and produce something defined or dignified, clear, and authoritative. Authoritative.

SPEAKER_00 46:52

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_04 46:53

Traditional terms like church and bishop would remain and not be replaced with more Puritan-friendly words like congregation. Translators were encouraged to consult earlier versions, including the Geneva Bibles, to present a unified final product. Okay. The process of this new Bible took seven years.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

Jesus Christ. I mean, sorry. I get the time frame we're talking about, but could you be like, hey, we're gonna do this on it, sir. Seven years. You finished it? Yeah. Fucking hell. I mean, again, I get this is where what we're at the early 1600s right now.

SPEAKER_04 47:34

1604.

SPEAKER_00 47:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:35

And it's like well, plus seven years.

SPEAKER_00 47:38

But it's like, holy fuck, seven fucking years. Yeah. That's wild.

SPEAKER_04 47:43

So their scholars compared manuscripts, debated phrasing, and polished drafts, and their goal was readability and rhythm.

SPEAKER_02 47:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 47:51

Something suitable for both private devotion and public worship. And this is why the King's J King James Bible has a distinct, almost musical cadence to it, as it was meant to be spoken aloud.

SPEAKER_00 48:04

I mean, okay, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 48:07

So when the authorized version was published in 1611, it dot did not immediately erase older translation transition translations. Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_00 48:19

I hate when they do that translations.

SPEAKER_04 48:21

The Geneva uh Bible remained popular, it's popular for decades among the Puritans.

SPEAKER_00 48:27

So what brought the popular popularity back on to the King James Version had royal backing and church support.

SPEAKER_02 48:39

Sure.

SPEAKER_04 48:40

And then that became the standard text. Alright. For worship. So weird. Yes. It's important to emphasize James did not translate any part of this. This is your uh PSA.

unknown 48:56

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 48:57

Next question.

SPEAKER_00 48:58

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_04 48:59

A. James regularly greeted ambassadors with embraces that left them visually visibly uncomfortable. Or B, James once delivered a 45-minute speech about cats because he believed they symbolized divine wisdom.

SPEAKER_00 49:15

B.

SPEAKER_04 49:16

A.

SPEAKER_00 49:18

I was so open it was B. That's why I picked it.

SPEAKER_04 49:21

I didn't think it was, but I'm like, my official my official question was he once delivered a 45-minute speech on octopuses, and then I changed it to cats.

SPEAKER_00 49:33

To pie. Yeah. I was so hoping it was cats. I knew it wasn't, but I'm like, I gotta pick this.

SPEAKER_04 49:39

So in most portraits of King James the Sixth and First, same guy. He looks composed, he looks confident, he looks dignified, he's a king at ease. Okay. Great monarchy. Great job. Well, real court accounts, however, reveal a man whose social behavior often baffled, startled, or alarmed the people around him. That's fucking wild. He was intelligent and articulate, but he struggled with the subtleties of court etiquette.

SPEAKER_03 50:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 50:08

He was physically awkward, prone to rambling speeches, and had mannerisms that diplomats described as unusual or excessively familiar.

SPEAKER_03 50:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 50:20

One of the most frequently mentioned habits was James's tendency to greet important visitors with overly affectionate physical gestures, usually embraces.

SPEAKER_00 50:31

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 50:32

Not standard royal behavior.

SPEAKER_00 50:34

Not even close. Seriously. I mean, what the fuck?

SPEAKER_04 50:39

Ambassadors expected a bow, a handshake, or a polite nod. Right. Nod. Nod.

SPEAKER_00 50:50

Are you not gonna laud to me? That's fucking great. Okay. Nod, yes, nod, nod, nod, nod.

SPEAKER_04 50:57

Nod, nod, na, nod, na, nod. So some compared his greetings to the enthusiasm of a long-lost uncle rather than a restrained monarch.

SPEAKER_00 51:06

Oliver's like, can I get out?

SPEAKER_04 51:08

Oh, hey.

SPEAKER_00 51:11

Whoa, that door opened way weirder.

SPEAKER_04 51:13

Come on, buddy.

SPEAKER_00 51:14

Go, buddy.

SPEAKER_04 51:15

Okay. James loved talking. He was passionate with speaking at length about theology and law and hunting and political theory.

SPEAKER_00 51:27

Anything that he was basically resolved in, right?

SPEAKER_04 51:31

Yeah, and he struggled at noticing when the audience was ready to move on.

SPEAKER_00 51:35

Oliver, please don't.

SPEAKER_04 51:39

So observers recorded instances where he spoke for long stretches without pause, hoping, hopping from one idea to the next.

SPEAKER_03 51:47

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 51:48

Um, one ambassador noted that James changed subjects with unusual swiftness.

SPEAKER_00 51:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 51:56

James reliance on favorites added another layer to court life. His closest companions, Robert Carr and George Villers, the Duke of Buckingham, played enormous roles in his day-to-day affairs. And these relationships were politically controversial. Yeah. Not this, not necessarily because of the romantic um speculation, but because they gave these young men influence far beyond their experience. Sure. So James valued their loyalty and their warmth and their presence. And the court filled with factions and different interests, he trusted those who made him feel secure and genuinely liked.

SPEAKER_00 52:34

Right. Yeah. Yes. I get that.

SPEAKER_04 52:36

So his his awkwardness might have raised some eyebrows, but it also made him more human out of all the monarchs.

SPEAKER_00 52:44

Human, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 52:46

Okay, next question.

SPEAKER_00 52:47

Oh, let's do this.

SPEAKER_04 52:50

James died after falling off a horse during a hunting accident.

SPEAKER_00 52:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 52:56

James died of dysentery after years of declining health.

SPEAKER_00 53:00

A.

SPEAKER_04 53:01

B. Fucking He fucking died of dysentery.

SPEAKER_00 53:05

Are we on the fucking trailer? Are we on the Oregon trailer trail here?

SPEAKER_04 53:09

No.

SPEAKER_00 53:09

Get the Sagar kids. They got a new monarch. What the really?

SPEAKER_04 53:16

Yes. So by 1620.

SPEAKER_00 53:19

That okay. Hold on. The reason why I picked A is because I thought you put B in as a joke because of our recent Oregon trail fucking.

SPEAKER_04 53:28

No, and that's why I did that.

SPEAKER_00 53:29

So fuck you. Kidding, obviously.

SPEAKER_04 53:33

So by the 1620s, James had been king of Scotland for nearly 60 years and king of England for two, for two decades. Mm-hmm. He was a baby. I get that, but damn, fucking hell. And he was king of England for two decades. So his 1600s, yeah. So his later years were shaped by three major themes. Declining health, ongoing political strain, and increased uh resilience on excuse me, increased reliance on his favorite, the Duke of Buckingham.

SPEAKER_00 54:08

He really liked the Duke.

SPEAKER_04 54:10

Mm-hmm. Bisexual Duke. From middle age onward, James struggled with a variety of ailments.

SPEAKER_03 54:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 54:17

He had chronic joint pain, arthritis, kidney issues, and recurring fevers. Oh boy. Many of these were common at the time, but James's physical condition dip deteriorated faster than expected.

SPEAKER_00 54:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 54:33

Um accounts um mention gout and slow healing sores and weakness in his legs. He was prone to respiratory infections and suffered bouts of illness that left him bedridden for days. He disliked exercise and had a notorious sweet tooth. He favored rich foods and wine. Hello.

SPEAKER_00 55:02

Wine.

SPEAKER_04 55:03

I just so the combination of his diet, his sedentary lifestyle, chronic illness made him weak.

SPEAKER_00 55:13

Right.

SPEAKER_04 55:13

So his relationship with parliament had repeatedly broken down over issues like taxation, foreign policy, and rural prerogative. He continued writing, issuing political statements and guiding religious policy.

SPEAKER_03 55:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 55:29

But his capacity for sustained leadership was not that it had been in earlier decades.

SPEAKER_00 55:35

No, I'm I'm I would imagine not at this point, but okay.

SPEAKER_04 55:38

So observers noted that he seemed more tired, more easily overwhelmed by disputes, dispute, and more reliant on his trusted advisors to manage the state of affairs. Sure. By early 1625, James fell seriously ill. Ill or the illness was described as fever accompanied by severe gastrointestinal systems, which physicians of the time called tertian fever or bloody flux.

SPEAKER_00 56:08

So that first term you said they didn't know that at the time. That's what we called it now applying.

SPEAKER_04 56:14

Modern historians call it dysentery. Just so fucked up. It caused dehydration, abdominal pain, and rapid weakness.

SPEAKER_00 56:24

And he never made it to Oregon.

SPEAKER_04 56:27

As his condition worse, he moved to like a different house.

SPEAKER_00 56:32

Well, I'm sure he had plenty of them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 56:34

So he drifted in and out of consciousness, surrounded by attendants and doctors and members of his household. Yep. Duke of Buckingham remained close, which fed additional rumors, both affectionate and political, but in truth, James was simply slipping away after years of chronic illness.

SPEAKER_00 56:51

Of course. Oh my God, he's closing up to the camp. Blah, blah, blah. It's like he's related. Let him do his thing.

SPEAKER_04 57:03

James died on March 27, 1625, uh, from a combination of dysentery fever and organ failure. That's a good year. He was 58 years old.

SPEAKER_00 57:12

Wow. I mean, that's pretty good.

SPEAKER_04 57:14

For a man who survived kidnapping.

SPEAKER_00 57:16

So if he was 58, how did he rule for 60 years in Scotland? It's almost 60 is what nearly I said nearly 60.

SPEAKER_04 57:23

Sorry, I missed that. That's okay. My apologies. So he survived kidnappings, assassination plots, paranoia, political upheaval, court drama. He was ready to just be freaking human and die.

SPEAKER_00 57:37

Yeah, at this point, because he's like, I'm good.

SPEAKER_04 57:40

James was buried in Westminster Abbey next to his wife Anna of Denmark. Oh he they did have a son, Charles I, who did succeed him, and he had additional challenges that he had to face, and maybe we'll go into him in the future.

SPEAKER_00 57:52

Every king did, but yeah.

SPEAKER_04 57:53

Um he James left behind an interesting legacy. Right. A united crown of England and Scotland, a massive literary influence through the King James Bible, and a reign defined by intellect, anxiety, and earnest, sometimes awkward attempts at stability. No, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 58:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 58:16

So out of all the ways a king could go out, dysentery is probably the most humbling, wouldn't you think?

SPEAKER_00 58:21

I mean I did not expect that. I thought that was a joke with the Oregon Trail episodes.

SPEAKER_04 58:28

But you know what a joke is? A joke is that we're all out of this wine.

SPEAKER_00 58:36

Can I finish what I was gonna say?

SPEAKER_04 58:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 58:40

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 58:41

No, it's it's it's funny that like because obviously with most kings, they hope to live a long, happy life and rule and all that time, and it doesn't always happen that way. But for him to die of dysentery, it's like seriously. Where's my oxen cart? That's fucked up. I didn't know he died of dysentery.

SPEAKER_04 59:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:01

That's wild.

SPEAKER_04 59:02

So there's obviously a lot more to James's life. Of course. I just kind of cherry pick some things like the witch hunts and the Bible A to B kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 59:13

There's a plethora of more.

SPEAKER_04 59:16

There is so much more. I had a really hard time narrowing down what I wanted to talk about.

SPEAKER_00 59:22

Well, because we we try to keep it, you know, our ish, give or take, obviously, but I understand that. I did not know that this particular King James was the product or the King James Bible was the pro Bible was the product of him. I didn't I did not know that. Yeah. So okay. That's crazy. Yeah. I did know that he was King of England and Scotland at the same time. I did know that. But I didn't know that he was the the King James Bible James. So no, that was cool.

SPEAKER_04 59:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:57

Fucking wild.

SPEAKER_04 59:58

How did you like the The uh blackberry citrus buzz from Dwar Peninsula Winery.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:04

It was delicious. So is my channel tonic.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:08

Good.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:12

Yeah, it was it was it was really good. It was very tasty.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:14

It's definitely sweet.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:17

It was on the sweeter side.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:18

But so good.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:19

Oh my goodness. But not like, oh my god, I can't drink this sweet. I've had some some beverages where it's like too sweet. Fuck that. Yeah. Yeah, but this wasn't bad, no. Yeah. It was really good. And I enjoyed the story. So.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:33

And good job with all the questions. Well, thank you. I tried. Yeah. Well. I suppose.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:38

Alright, buffoons. That's it for today's episode.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:41

Buckle up because we've got another historical adventure waiting for you next time. Feeling hungry for more buffoonery? Or maybe you have a burning question or a wild historical theory for us to explore?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:53

Hit us up on social media. We're History Buffoons Podcast on YouTube, X, Instagram, and Facebook. You can also email us at HistoryBuffoonspodcast at gmail.com. We are Bradley and Kate, music by Corey Akers.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:07

Follow us wherever you get your podcasts and turn those notifications on to stay in the lube.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:12

Until next time, stay curious and don't forget to rate and review us.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:15

Remember, the buffoonery never stops.