James Balfour, Lord Pittendreich

Balfour was appointed Lord President of the Court of Session on resigning the office of Lord Clerk Register. He was present at the Battle of Langside, and was accused of having advised Mary to leave Dunbar Castle to her ruin, and of having betrayed to her enemies the Casket Letters. The same year, however, in consequence of renewed intrigues with Mary's faction, he was dismissed, and next year was imprisoned on the charge of complicity in Darnley's murder.

He escaped by means of bribery, which he is said to have paid by intercepting money sent from France for Mary's aid. In August 1571, during the regency of the 4th Earl of Lennox, an act of forfeiture was passed against him, but next year he was again playing traitor and revealed the secrets of his party to James, Earl of Morton. He obtained a pardon from Lord Morton in 1573, and negotiated the pacification of Perth the same year. Distrusted by all parties, he fled to France, where he seems to have remained until 1580. In 1579, his forfeiture was renewed by an Act of the Scottish Parliament. In January 1580, he wrote to Mary, offering her his services, and in June made a similar offer to Queen Elizabeth I of England, in which he criticised the influence of the Jesuits, and proposed to make a journey to Dieppe to attend Protestant services.

On 27 December the same year, he returned to Scotland and effected the downfall and execution of Lord Morton by producing a bond, probably that in defence of Bothwell and to promote his marriage with Mary, and giving evidence of the latter's knowledge of Bothwell's intention to murder Darnley. In July 1581, his cause was reheard; he was acquitted of murder by assize, and shortly afterwards, in 1581 or 1582, he was restored to his estates and received at Court. His career ended shortly before 24 January 1584. He was the greatest lawyer of his day, and part-author at least of Balfour's Practicks, the earliest textbook of Scots law, not published, however, until 1754.

He wrote a major work on Scots law, called Practicks. This was completed about 1579 and was widely circulated in manuscript copies. It was published in 1754, and republished in 1962: Peter G B McNeil (ed), The Practicks of Sir James Balfour of Pittendreich (1962, Stair Society).

He married Margaret, daughter and heir of Michael Balfour of Burleigh, by whom, besides three daughters, he had six sons, the eldest of whom, Sir Michael Balfour, was created Lord Balfour of Burleigh in 1607. His second son, Sir James Balfour, was created Baron Balfour of Glenawley in 1619.

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