Thomas Cochrane

Thomas Cochrane (said to have been executed and forfeited 1482), also referred to as "Robert Cochrane" in sixteenth-century chronicle accounts, was a royal servant and alleged "familiar" or favourite of King James III of Scotland. Chronicle accounts allege that his influence over the king incurred the wrath of the old aristocracy, culminating in a coup at Lauder in which James III was arrested and Cochrane was executed. There exists uncertainty about even the most basic facts of Cochrane's life. Even his correct first name has been disputed, which is given as both Thomas and Robert by different 16th century chroniclers. Contemporary sources however only mention a Thomas Cochrane as an officer of the king in the late 1470s and early 1480s. Despite his limited presence in the contemporary record, Cochrane's career as a royal favourite and man who encouraged the king's interest in unmanly pursuits not deemed appropriate for a monarch has dominated accounts of James III's reign until the present day. Life and Legend Sixteenth-century accounts such as those provided by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, John Lesley and George Buchanan portray James III as a weak king and a dilettante who surrounded himself with a group of talented but low-born "familiars" or favourites. Cochrane was the most important of these favourites. He was alleged by Pitscottie to have been first a stone-mason who became involved in the king's building projects. The later writer William Drummond of Hawthornden in his History of the 5 Jameses increased the status of Cochrane to that of an architect. Legend made him the designer of the Great Hall at Stirling Castle (built in the subsequent reign), and a hall at Falkland. The chronicles relate that he advised the king to debase the coinage in order to raise cash. He was opposed by the king's younger brothers, Alexander Stewart, 3rd Duke of Albany and John Stewart, Earl of Mar. The Earl of Mar was arrested and imprisoned, and died soon after. Albany escaped and gathered support in England. Although the king was alleged in chronicle accounts to have given Cochrane the title of Earl of Mar after his brother's death, no contemporary record of such a grant survives. Yet we do know that a Thomas Cochrane was an usher of the king's chamber door and one Thomas Cochrane was made constable of Kildrummy Castle, in the earldom of Mar around March 1482.