Abstract :
When James VI and I arrived in London in 1603, he created a new bedchamber, which he
filled with Scottish courtiers. This he positioned, antagonistically as it turned out, between himself and the
more English privy chamber. These Scottish courtiers thus had the most intimate access to James, and were
able to exercise great influence over the distribution of James’s favour. Whilst their importance has been
debated within an English context, their significance within James’s government in Scotland has not yet been
addressed. These Scotsmen became the focus for patronage networks stretching from Whitehall, through the
privy council in Edinburgh, to the Scottish regional elites, and helped James retain the co-operation of those
elites. Against the background of attempts to gain fuller union, James sought to demonstrate the benefits of
regnal union by prosecuting a pacification of crime within the Scottish and English Borders, now rechristened
the Middle Shires. Patronage networks from Whitehall to Roxburghshire secured the co-operation of the
Scottish Borders elite, whilst acting as conduits for information and advice back to Whitehall. This article
will suggest that these relationships were integral to Scottish governmental processes in James’s absence,
providing a much-needed cohesive force within his fragile new multiple monarchy.
