ABSTRACT
Ludovick Stuart, second Duke of Lennox, was the most prestigious courtier in the later reign of James VI in Scotland.1 The importance of political office in the acquisition of national power is a self-evident truth, and from a young age Lennox obtained high-level government positions, including governor of the kingdom when James travelled to Denmark in 1589, and two Lieutenancies of the North in the 1590s. Lennox’s role in governance was unremarkable, but his skills in the court and his relationship with the king are what set him apart from his contemporaries. He developed a stranglehold over the chamber and bedchamber, having inherited their most high-ranking posts – Lord Great Chamberlain and First Gentleman respectively – from his father, Esmé Stewart, first Duke of Lennox. From within the chamber Lennox established a close personal relationship with James, an important intimacy few other nobles could hope for. He also established a large web of patronage, not only of political dependents but also of artists and poets, spreading his net of influence even wider. By maintaining a presence in each of these arenas of power, Lennox rapidly established himself as the premier noble of the kingdom, using these successes as a template to establish his unique role in the newly unified Britain after 1603. Despite the fact that Lennox matured and developed these skills in Scotland, there is surprisingly little in the existing historiography on his life in Scotland. This chapter will rectify this neglect through an analysis of Lennox’s political, court and chamber careers and of his unique relationship with James VI.
