ABSTRACT
John Stuart, Duke of Albany was born in France, but acted as Regent of Scotland from 1514 until 1524. From 1518, he also cultivated his ties of kinship to the Italian Medici family. Albany was, furthermore, noteworthy for his love of visual splendour and magnificence. In France, he was an astute patron of the visual arts, commissioning manuscripts, and grand architectural projects, such as the Sainte-Chapelle at Vic-le-Comte in the Auvergne. Albany’s main architectural achievement in Scotland was the fortification of his principal residence, Dunbar Castle, in the form of a great artillery blockhouse: perhaps the first such structure to have been built in the British Isles. This paper outlines Albany’s patronage of the literary arts in relation to his career and his cultural endeavours, both artistic and architectural. It is argued that Albany used his contacts with literary figures in France to bolster his career and to influence opinion; in so doing, he acted as an important conduit for the transfer of knowledge and ideas between Scotland, France, and Italy in the early sixteenth century.
