The fate of James IV’s body, while sad to us, might have been one the king himself felt to be appropriate. He suffered a great deal of guilt over his father’s death, wearing a heavy chain belt around his waist, under his clothes, as a form of penance for his participation in the rebellion against James III. The ignominious treatment meted out to his mortal flesh, ultimately reduced to complete dissolution and scattered to the winds like a felon’s remains, he might have seen as a righteous judgment.
That’s an interesting way to look at it – and certainly possible. I *really* need to read more about James IV. I have Norman Macdougall’s bio of him but of course it is one of many waiting to be read…
The fate of James IV’s body, while sad to us, might have been one the king himself felt to be appropriate. He suffered a great deal of guilt over his father’s death, wearing a heavy chain belt around his waist, under his clothes, as a form of penance for his participation in the rebellion against James III. The ignominious treatment meted out to his mortal flesh, ultimately reduced to complete dissolution and scattered to the winds like a felon’s remains, he might have seen as a righteous judgment.
That’s an interesting way to look at it – and certainly possible. I *really* need to read more about James IV. I have Norman Macdougall’s bio of him but of course it is one of many waiting to be read…