James Hamilton of Finnart

Sir James Hamilton of Finnart (c. 1495 – 16 August 1540) was a Scottish nobleman and architect, the illegitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, and Mary (or Marion) Boyd of Bonshaw. Although legitimated in 1512 while still a minor, he continued to be known as the "Bastard of Arran". As a key member of the Hamilton family, and second cousin of James V, King of Scotland, he became a prominent member of Scottish society.

Hamilton was granted the lands of Finnart in 1507 and knighted at a young age in 1511. As a child he joined the king's household and was given gifts of boots and shoes. In 1513 he was accepted as his father's heir, should his father not have legitimate heirs, which he later did. During the winter 1517/18 James was in France and brought back letters from Francis I to Scotland. At the end of March 1518 he returned to France with replies concerning the murder of Antoine d'Arces, sieur de la Bastie and his father's actions against the culprits.

In 1520 Hamilton played a part in provoking the "Clear the Causeway" fight with the Earl of Angus in Edinburgh's High Street. Hamilton and his father managed to escape from the skirmish by stealing horses and crossing the Nor Loch marshes. In September 1526 Hamilton was the murderer of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox, who had surrendered to the Hamilton side following the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge. On 22 October 1526, Hamilton was made Keeper and Captain of Linlithgow Palace with a legal ceremony involving the symbolic presentation of stones and earth followed by his entry to the palace and the closure of the doors behind him.

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