On February 21, 1437, King James I of Scotland was assassinated in a coup at Blackfriars Monastery in Perth by conspirators led by his uncle Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl. James, a cultured poet and reformer who had spent years as a prisoner in England, had worked to centralize royal power and curb noble influence. His death plunged Scotland into instability but led to the coronation of his young son James II. The event underscored the volatile politics of medieval monarchy, clan rivalries, and the challenges of governance in a fractious kingdom.

James I was himself a notable poet, authoring 'The Kingis Quair,' a dream-vision love poem in Middle Scots that blended courtly tradition with personal reflection, helping establish a distinctive Scottish literary voice. His assassination inspired ballads, chronicles, and later literary works like Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 'The King's Tragedy,' highlighting themes of betrayal, fate, and royal tragedy. This reinforced the role of kings as literary patrons and figures in poetry, influencing Scottish Chaucerian traditions and the broader development of vernacular poetry in the British Isles amid political turmoil.