James VI and I, the king who united in his person the crowns of Scotland and England, has received a censorious press. Faults -- and he was very far from faultless -- have been given maximum treatment and virtues -- which he did not lack -- have been dismissed as being on a lesser scale. The result is that he has been derided for his failures, but not sufficiently praised for those instances where his judgment was in advance of his age, as for example in his desire for a proper union of England and Scotland, or his genuine and far-sighted love of peace. His contribution as a skilful and tenacious King of Scotland -- in many ways the most successful king Scotland ever had -- is often ignored, while the legacy of problems he inherited in England is overlooked. - Introduction.