ABSTRACT
The Scottish court of James VI is one of the most complex of the loci of Reformation. The King’s family connections and the complexity of his diplomatic manoeuvrings – conducted with one eye on the English succession, and the delicate balance of power on the European continent – add a further layer of complication to the difficult and debated issues of survivalism and recusancy which existed even when a monarch pursued an unambiguous programme of Reformation.1 In spite of this complexity, Alexander Montgomerie, soldier, poet, ambassador and outlaw, is an outstandingly problematic figure.2 Both ‘the Jacobean paragon and the Jacobean excommunicate’, Montgomerie was an intimate of the King, his
1 The author wishes gratefully to acknowledge the generous support of the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Studies. I would also like to thank Prof. Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin for her insightful and helpful comments on an earlier draft of this work.
