King James VI and I

This course will examine the personality and career of James VI and I, beginning with his rule over Scotland and then turning to his reign as King of Great Britain after 1603. Labelled ‘the wisest fool in Christendom’, and long regarded as one of England’s less successful rulers, more recently James has been effectively rehabilitated by ‘revisionist’ historians who argue that he was a highly intelligent and politically astute monarch.

We will examine his life and career in a series of chronological segments, exploring his formative years in Scotland, his constitutional and religious beliefs, his relationship with Parliaments, his role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and his foreign policy. Particular attention will be paid to the nature and significance of James’s character, attitudes and beliefs. Throughout the classes, there will be extensive reference to primary sources, and each class will be accompanied by a hand-out of extracts from documents.

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"Dr Smith was a fabulous instructor...extremely knowledgeable, but explained things in a way that made the time very relevant to our current lives."