James Balfour, Lord Pittendreich (c. 1525–1583) was a Scottish legal writer, judge and politician.

Life

The son of Andrew Balfour of Montquhanny, he was educated for the legal branch of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

. Balfour was involved in the murder of

Cardinal Beaton David Beaton (also Beton or Bethune; 29 May 1546) was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish cardinal prior to the Reformation. Career Cardinal Beaton was the sixth and youngest son of eleven children of John Beaton (Bethune) of Bal ...

and the Siege of St Andrews Castle. In June 1547, following the capture of the castle by French forces he was condemned to be a galley-slave rowing galleys together with John Knox and others captured at St Andrews, Fife. He was released in 1549, denounced Protestantism, entered the service of Mary of Guise, and was rewarded with important legal appointments. He subsequently joined the

Lords of the Congregation The Lords of the Congregation (), originally styling themselves "the Faithful", were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured a reformation of the Catholic church according to Protestant principles and a Scotti ...

, a group of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

nobles who opposed the marriage of the young

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, to the Dauphin of France (later to become Francois II of France), but betrayed their plans. After Mary's arrival in Scotland he became one of her secretaries, in 1565 being reported as her greatest favourite after

David Rizzio David Rizzio ( ; it, Davide Rizzio ; – 9 March 1566) or Riccio ( , ) was an Italian courtier, born in Pancalieri close to Turin, a descendant of an ancient and noble family still living in Piedmont, the Riccio Counts di San Paolo e Solbrito ...

. He obtained the parsonage of

Flisk Flisk ( gd, Fleasg meaning "Stalk" or "Rod") was a parish in Fife, Scotland. According to the 1853 Gazetteer, in part: "Flisk parish is bounded on the north by the Tay, on the south by Creich and Abdie, on the east by Balmerino and on the wes ...

in Fife in 1561, was nominated an

Extraordinary Lord of Session Extraordinary Lords of Session were lay members of the Court of Session in Scotland from 1532 to 1762, and were part of the historical judiciary of Scotland. When the Court of Session was founded in 1532, it consisted of the Lord President, 14 ...

, and in 1563 one of the commissaries of the court which now took the place of the former ecclesiastical

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

. In 1565 he was made a privy councillor, and in 1566

Lord Clerk Register The office of Lord Clerk Register is the oldest surviving Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenance and care of the public records of Scotland. To ...

, and was knighted. According to Mary his murder was planned together with Rizzio's in 1566. An adherent of Bothwell, he was deeply implicated in the

murder of Lord Darnley The murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, took place on 10 February 1567 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Darnley's lodgings were destroyed by gunpowder; his body and that of his servant were found nearby, appare ...

, though not present at the commission of the crime. By his means Darnley was lodged at Kirk o' Field, his brothers' house. He was supposed to have drawn up the bond at Craigmillar Castle for the murder; he signed it, was made under Bothwell deputy-governor of Edinburgh Castle, and is said to have drawn up the marriage-contract between Bothwell and Mary. When, however, the fall of Bothwell was seen to be impending he rapidly changed sides and surrendered the castle to

James Stewart, Earl of Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. A supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotland for his ...

, stipulating for his pardon for Darnley's murder, the retention of the priory of

Pittenweem Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747. Etymology The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'pl ...

, and pecuniary rewards. He was appointed

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

on resigning the office of

. He was present at the

battle of Langside The Battle of Langside was fought on 13 May 1568 between forces loyal to Mary, Queen of Scots, and forces acting in the name of her infant son James VI. Mary’s short period of personal rule ended in 1567 in recrimination, intrigue, and disast ...

, and was accused of having advised Mary to leave

Dunbar Castle Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near the English-Scotti ...

to her ruin, and of having betrayed to her enemies the

Casket Letters The Casket letters were eight letters and some sonnets said to have been written by Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Earl of Bothwell, between January and April 1567. They were produced as evidence against Queen Mary by the Scottish lords who opposed ...

. The same year, however, in consequence of renewed intrigues with Mary's faction, he was dismissed, and next year was imprisoned on the charge of complicity in Darnley's murder. He escaped by means of bribery, which he is said to have paid by intercepting money sent from France for Mary's aid. In August 1571, during the regency of

Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox (21 September 1516 – 4 September 1571) was a leader of the Catholic nobility in Scotland. He was the paternal grandfather of King James VI of Scotland and I of England. He owned Temple Newsam in Yorkshire, ...

, an act of forfeiture was passed against him, but next year he was again playing traitor and revealed the secrets of his party to James, Douglas, Earl of Morton. He obtained a pardon from Morton in 1573 and negotiated the pacification of Perth the same year. Distrusted by all parties, he fled to France, where he seems to have remained till 1580. In 1579 his forfeiture was renewed by act of parliament. In January 1580 he wrote to Mary offering her his services, and in June made a similar offer to

Queen Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eliz ...

, in which he criticised the influence of the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, and proposed to make a journey to

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...

to attend

services. On 27 December the same year he returned to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and effected the downfall and execution of Morton by producing a bond, probably that in defence of Bothwell and to promote his marriage with Mary, and giving evidence of the latter's knowledge of Bothwell's intention to murder Darnley. In July 1581 his cause was reheard; he was acquitted of murder by assize, and shortly afterwards in 1581 or 1582 he was restored to his estates and received at court. His career ended shortly before 24 January 1584. He was the greatest lawyer of his day, and part-author at least of Balfour's ''Practicks'', the earliest textbook of Scottish law, not published, however, till 1754. He wrote a major work on Scots law, called ''Practicks''. This was completed about 1579 and was widely circulated in manuscript copies. It was published in 1754, and republished in 1962: Peter G B McNeil (ed), ''The Practicks of Sir James Balfour of Pittendreich'' (1962, Stair Society). He married Margaret, daughter and heir of Michael Balfour of Burleigh, by whom, besides three daughters, he had six sons, the eldest of whom, Sir Michael Balfour, was created

Lord Balfour of Burleigh Lord Balfour of Burleigh, in the County of Kinross, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1607 for Sir Michael Balfour. He was succeeded by his daughter, Margaret, his only child. She married Robert Arnot, who assumed the su ...

in 1607. His second son, Sir James Balfour, was created Baron Balfour of Clonawley in 1619.

Life

References

Further reading