By far, & hands down - amongst the most interesting King's (with the most recognised name) - to ever live!!!  How many King's, have a Bible named after them.. But not ONLY that.. But the most RECOGNISED, & AGREED, ACCURATE.. versions of the Bible.. How many King's were authors??  How many King's took the reins at the TENDER YOUNG age of 13 MONTHS?!?!?  There is ONLY one!!

 

It's the ONE, the ONLY.. King James

Here is, HIS story...

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He was born James Charles Stuart, June 19th, 1566, @ Edinburgh Castle, in Edinburgh, Scotland..  Born to  Mary, Queen of Scots, and was  the great-great-grandson of Henry VII, King of England and Lord of Ireland, positioning him to eventually be seated on all three thrones.  He was a momma's boy.. (or maybe it was a case of that 'she' was a 'sons mother), for James succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of 1 year, one month, at the Church of the Holy Rude, (no kidding - that's REALLY the name of it), in Stirling, England!!  His mother was compelled to renounce her throne, in his favor.  He was an only child which, no doubt, made his life of pomp & pamphilly, even more so!!  No problemo finding room to romp and play on these grounds...  The care of young James was entrusted to the Earl, (regent of Scotland), and Countess of Mar, "to be conserved, nursed, and upbrought.."  He was born into royalty, however, under the guidance of the Earl - he was strictly taught "morality & manners," in the security of Stirling Castle.   In accordance with the religious beliefs of most of the Scottish ruling class, James was brought up as a member of the Protestant Church of Scotland, the Kirk.

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The Privy Council selected George Buchanan, to be the young King's tutor.  As the young king's senior tutor, Buchanan subjected James to regular beatings but also instilled in him a lifelong passion for literature and learning.  Buchanan sought to turn James into a God-fearing, Protestant king who accepted the limitations of monarchy..  Little did Buchanan know, he was tutoring a future Biblical legend!  FoSho!!  

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Young James grew in stature & in learning.  In August 1582, just as James was getting increasingly popular.. Frenchman Esmé Stewart, Sieur d'Aubigny, first cousin of James's father, Lord Darnley and future Earl of Lennox, arrived in Scotland and quickly established himself as the first of James's powerful favourites..  Apparently, Lennox was (unofficially; out of jealousy), but 'officially,' out of accusations  by Scottish Calvinists who 'purportedly,' noticed the physical displays of affection between him and the king and alleged that Lennox "went about to draw the King to carnal lust". In what became known as the Ruthven Raid, the Protestant earls of Gowrie and Angus lured James into Ruthven Castle, imprisoned him, and forced Lennox to leave Scotland.  During James's imprisonment, here, (September 19 1582), John Craig, whom the king had personally appointed full-time Royal Chaplain in 1579 (mmbut part-time prick), rebuked him so sharply from the pulpit for having issued a proclamation so offensive to the clergy "that the king wept"

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After James was liberated in June 1583, he assumed increasing control of his kingdom. He discerned his popularity, & used it to his advantage, (who wouldn't??).. He pushed through the Black Acts to assert royal authority over the Kirk, and denounced the writings of his former tutor Buchanan.. 

 

Between 1584 and 1603, he established effective royal government and relative peace among the lords, ably assisted by John Maitland of Thirlestane who led the government until 1592.

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James survived two conspiracies in the first year of his reign, despite the smoothness of the succession and the warmth of his welcome: the Bye Plot and Main Plot, which led to the arrest of Lord Cobham and Sir Walter Raleigh, among others.  Those hoping for a change in government from James were disappointed at first when he kept Elizabeth's Privy Councillors in office, as secretly planned with Cecil, but James soon added long-time supporter & the popular Henry Howard, and his nephew Thomas Howard to the Privy Council, as well as five Scottish nobles.. To which those hoping for a change's disappointment - turned to joy!  

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King James was an exceptional author.. Writing several books &/or columns.. He published his treatise 'Some Rules and Cautions to be Observed and Eschewed in Scottish Prosody,' in 1584, at the age of 18. It was both a poetic manual and a description of the poetic tradition in his mother tongue of Scots, applying Renaissance principles.

 

In 1602, James commissioned that the Bible be printed in English, and oversaw every part of it.. With a panel of translators assembled, James gave the translators instructions intended to ensure that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology of, and reflect the episcopal structure of, the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy.  Accuracy was of the UTMOST importance, he would say! The translation was done by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. In common with most other translations of the period, the New Testament was translated from Greek, the Old Testament from Hebrew and Aramaic, and the Apocrypha from Greek and Latin. After the translation completion - King James, himself, put a 'forward', in the Bible, (& some printings of the KJV (King James Version) - still today, include this forward. In the Book of Common Prayer (1662), the text of the Authorized Version replaced the text of the Great Bible for Epistle and Gospel readings (but not for the Psalter, which substantially retained Coverdale's Great Bible version), and as such was authorised by Act of Parliament.  With the development of stereotype printing at the beginning of the 19th century, this KJV (King James Version) of the Bible became the most widely printed book in history..

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In his later years, James suffered increasingly from arthritis, gout and kidney stones... (THAT musta been HELL!!)  He took to drinking, quite heavily - which I am sure was mostly to alleviate the pain by arthritis, gout, & kidney stones.  He also lost his teeth, & was often seriously ill during the last year of his life, leaving him an increasingly situated on the edge figure, rarely able to visit London, while Buckingham consolidated his control of Charles to ensure his own future. One theory is that James may have suffered from porphyria, a disease of which his descendant George III of the United Kingdom exhibited the same symptoms. James described his urine to his physician, as being the "dark red colour of Alicante wine". The theory is dismissed by some experts, particularly in James's case, because he had kidney stones which can lead to blood in the urine, colouring it red.

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early 1625, James was plagued by severe attacks of arthritis, gout, and fainting fits, and fell seriously ill in March with tertian ague and then suffered a stroke. He died at Theobalds Houseon,  March 27th, during a violent attack of dysentery, with Buckingham at his bedside..  

For being, "who he was," his  funeral on 7 May 7th, was a magnificent, but disorderly affair.  Mainly blamed on the service in which Bishop John Williams, of Lincoln, preached a sermon, observing, "King Solomon died in Peace, when he had lived about sixty years ... and so you know did King James". The sermon was later printed as Great Britain's Solomon.. Not even close!!  Adding to that - James was buried in Westminster Abbey... But the location was never recorded.. The tomb was lost for many years - until his lead coffin was found in the Henry VII vault in the 19th century, during an excavation.

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His tomb, located here, today, in Westminster Abbey, London, United Kingdom... Photos are NOT allowed - though Biblical Legends.net friend, Charlton JoHansen, sends this in, from Westminster Abbey..  Very niiice with a printing of the King James version, of the Bible, upon the tomb!!  Nice touch, and thank you, Charlton.  The perks of working there - I guess!! 😉

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R.I.P King James!!  Your contribution to the Bible, opened the door to MANY, that had ALWAYS longed to 'know' God's word!!  Still also, is the most popular.. Just ask Donnie Swaggart.  😆J/K

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TRIVIA:

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The KJV Bible is the 'best selling book of all-time!'... Unfortunately, it is also the most 'stolen' Book, of all-time!!

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Interesting story on KJV (King James Version), Bible...

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kingjamesbibleonline.org/

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