Cultural Depictions Of James I Of England
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James VI and I has been depicted a number of times in popular culture.


Theatrical depictions

James was first depicted in depth for the modern stage in the four-act comedy '' Jamie the Saxt'' (1936) by Scottish playwright
Robert McLellan Robert McLellan OBE (1907–1985) was a Scottish renaissance dramatist, writer and poet and a leading figure in the twentieth century movement to recover Scotland’s distinctive theatrical traditions. He found popular success with plays and s ...
. Set in Scotland in the years 1592–94, McLellan's play depicts the King's various conflicts with the Kirk and his Scottish nobles, most particularly with the outlawed Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell, in the aftermath of the murder of James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray. The play '' The Burning'' (1971) by
Stewart Conn Stewart Conn (born 1936) is a Scottish poet and playwright, born in Hillhead, Glasgow.''Galaxy 2'' Maryhill Writers Group (2004) His father was a minister at Kelvinside Church but the family moved to Kilmarnock, Ayrshire in 1941 when he was five. ...
deals similarly with events in the same period, but with a greater and more serious focus on James's persecution of witchcraft. The King also plays a significant role in
Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chur ...
's '' Anne Boleyn'' (2010) depicted at the moment of his arrival in London around 1603. Of the three characterisations, Brenton's is the only one which touches comfortably on James's likely bisexuality. Common to all three characterisations, however, is a portrait, established by McLellan, of self-willed, seemingly cranky and almost arbitrary love of intellectual disputation for its own sake which belies an ultimately wily style of diplomacy.


Film and television

On screen, James has been portrayed by: * Lucien Littlefield in '' To Have and to Hold'' (1916), a silent adaptation of the novel '' To Have and to Hold'' * Raymond Hatton in '' To Have and to Hold'' (1922), another silent adaptation of ''To Have and to Hold'' *
Jerrold Robertshaw Jerrold Robertshaw (28 March 1866, in Allerton, West Riding of Yorkshire – 14 February 1941, in London) was a British stage and film actor of the silent era. Selected filmography * ''Dombey and Son'' (1917) * ''Build Thy House'' (1920) * ...
in the British silent film '' Guy Fawkes'' (1923), based on the novel by
Harrison Ainsworth William Harrison Ainsworth (4 February 18053 January 1882) was an English historical novelist born at King Street in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in ...
*
Jean Kircher Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...
and Judith Kircher in '' Mary of Scotland'' (1936) * Manfred Mackeben as a young child in the German film ''
Das Herz der Königin ''Das Herz der Königin'' (''The Heart of the Queen'') is a 1940 German historical film, making selective use of the life story of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her execution by Queen Elizabeth I for anti-English and pro-Scottish propaganda, in the c ...
'' (1940), about his mother Mary *
William Podmore William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
in ''The King's Author'' (1952), in the American TV series ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City-based greeting card company. The longest-running prime-time series in t ...
'' * Anthony Eustrel in '' Captain John Smith and Pocahontas'' (1953) *
Everett Sloane Everett H. Sloane (October 1, 1909 – August 6, 1965) was an American character actor who worked in radio, theatre, films, and television. Early life Sloane was born in Manhattan on October 1, 1909, to Nathaniel I. Sloane and Rose (Gers ...
in ''The King's Bounty'' (1955), in the American TV series ''
Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...
'' * Bill Paterson in the
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drama series ''Life of Shakespeare'' (1978) * Patrick Malahide in the "Treason" episode of the HTV West children's TV series '' Into the Labyrinth'' (1981), about the Gunpowder Plot * Hugh Ross in the Ulster Television series '' God's Frontiersmen'' (1988) *
Dudley Sutton Dudley Sutton (6 April 1933 – 15 September 2018) was an English actor. Active in radio, stage, film and television, he was arguably best known for his role of Tinker Dill in the BBC Television drama series ''Lovejoy''. Early life Sutton was ...
in '' Orlando'' (1992) * Angus MacDonald in ''
Kings and Queens of England Volume II Kings or King's may refer to: * Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The '' Shahnameh ...
'' (1994) *
Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Since beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in almost 400 roles. Cummings has frequently worked with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., including as th ...
(voice) in the straight-to-video animated film '' Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World'' (1998) *
Wayne Opie Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Anth ...
in the TV drama documentary ''Elizabeth'' (2000) * Jeremy Irons in the PBS TV series ''Freedom: A History of Us'' (2003) * Robert Carlyle in the BBC TV series ''
Gunpowder, Treason & Plot ''Gunpowder, Treason & Plot'' is a 2004 BBC miniseries based upon the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots and her son James VI of Scotland. Written by Jimmy McGovern, the series tells the story behind the Gunpowder Plot in two parts, each centred on o ...
'' (2004) * Ewen Bremner in the TV miniseries '' Elizabeth I'' (2005) * Jonathan Pryce in ''
The New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
'' (2005) * James Clyde in ''
Anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...
'' (2011) *Kevin Little at the New York Renaissance Faire (2012) *
Mathew Baynton Mathew John Baynton (born 18 November 1980) is an English actor, writer, comedian, singer, and musician best known as a member of the British Horrible Histories troupe in which he starred in the TV series ''Horrible Histories''; as well as an a ...
/
Jalaal Hartley Jalaal Hartley is a British television actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, a ...
in '' Horrible Histories'' and its later reboot * Derrek Riddell in the BBC TV series '' Gunpowder'' *Dr. Spencer M Dayton at several Renaissance Festivals throughout Northern California (2017-Present) *
Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre o ...
in the ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' episode "
The Witchfinders "The Witchfinders" is the eighth episode of the eleventh series of the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. It was written by Joy Wilkinson and directed by Sallie Aprahamian, and was first broadcast on BBC One BBC ...
" (2018)


Literature

*James features in the novel '' The Fortunes of Nigel'' by Walter Scott (1822).Daniel D. McGarry, Sarah Harriman White, ''Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels.'' Scarecrow Press, 1963 (pgs,112, 139, 152) *James is a character in the novel '' To Have and to Hold'' by Mary Johnston (1900). *James' life in Scotland is the subject of the novel ''When Love Calls Men To Arms'' (1912) by Stephen Chalmers. *James is the subject of the biographical novel ''Mine is the Kingdom'' (1937) by "Jane Oliver" (the pseudonym of Helen Christina Easson Rees). *James acts as something of the antagonist in the comic series '' Marvel 1602'' and its sequels (2003). *
Rafael Sabatini Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian-born British writer of romance and adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: ''The Sea Hawk'' (1915), ''Scaramouche'' (1921), ''Captain Blood'' (a.k.a ...
's novel ''
The King's Minion ''The King's Minion'' or ''The Minion'' is a 1930 historical novel by the British-Italian writer Rafael Sabatini.Henderson & Kirkpatrick p.570 It is based on the life of Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset charting his dramatic rise as favourite ...
'' (1930) portrays James as physically attracted to the young Robert Carr and George Villiers and implicates him in the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury.


Prints

*James I was depicted in ''
The Revells of Christendome ''The Revells of Christendome'' is an engraving by English engraver Thomas Cockson. With image size of 21.6 x 35.5 cm and overall measure of 29.2 x 37.2 cm, A copy is in the collection of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Br ...
'', an anti-pope satire print engraved by the English artist
Thomas Cockson Thomas Cockson, or ''Coxon'' (bap. 1569 – fl. 1609-30 or 1636 – 1641), was one of the earliest English engravers. He left a large number of portraits engraved entirely with the graver in a neatly and finished manner. His first and most r ...
in 1609.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James 01 Of England, Cultural Depictions Of