James V of Scotland

About James V of Scotland

James V, King of Scots from 1513 to 1542, inherited the throne as an infant following the disastrous Battle of Flodden. As a monarch of the early modern period, his reign was crucial for Scottish sovereignty, as he worked to maintain independence from the ambitions of his uncle, Henry VIII of England, and navigated complex internal politics with powerful nobles. His diplomatic maneuvering and efforts to centralize royal authority secured Scotland’s position as a distinct nation during a turbulent era, earning him an HPI Rank of #656 among influential historical figures.

In the context of modern internet attention, James V presents a noticeable gap. While historically significant, he garnered an annualized total of 256K Wikipedia views in 2025. This level of attention is roughly proportional to his historical standing, as his calculated Attention Gap is approximately 1x. For contrast, the much less historically important politician Al Capone (#992 HPI) attracted over 2.6M views in the same year, illustrating how niche historical figures struggle to compete with more sensationalized or modern topics online.

Further analysis of recent digital interest shows a slight cooling of focus, with a Year-over-Year Change of -38.6% in views, suggesting his contemporary relevance is waning, despite his foundational role in securing the Scottish crown prior to Mary, Queen of Scots.