SPENS, JAMES [SSNE 1642]
- Surname
- SPENS, SPENSE, SPENTZ, SPENCER, SPÄNTZ, SPENCE OF WORMISTON, WORMLISTON, WORMESTON
- First name
- JAMES, JACOB, JAKOB
- Title/rank
- BARON WORMISTON, WORMLISTON, WORMESTON
- Nationality
- SCOT
- Region
- FIFE, CRAIL, WORMISTON
- Social status
- NOBILITY
- Religion
- CALVINIST
Text source
James Spens of Wormiston was born in 1571, and in 1594 was a Provost in Crail in Fife. He, his stepfather (John Anstruther) and others (such as Patrick, Abbot of Lindores, Colonel William Stewart, Captain William Murray, Mr James Learmonth of Balcomie, Sir James Anstruther of that Ilk and James Forret of Fingask) were engaged in a plan to occupy and populate Lewis with Lowlanders in 1598 but the attempt failed and he was left as a hostage. The Aberdeen burgh impost accounts record on the 11 May 1605 the fee for a boat belonging to the "Lewis merchant" James Spens and this is most likely the same man. Very soon after this, Spens' attentions turned toward Sweden.
Spens' first military contact in Sweden
Spens appears to have been first approached by King Karl IX (1599-1611) in 1605 when he asked Spens and his brother David [SSNE 1156] to arrange the levy of 1600 infantry and 600 cavalry for Sweden, with the proviso that this was undertaken with King James VI & I's permission. For each 300 men Spens would receive 1600 daler. Spens was to be made a colonel over the troops he brought over. In 1608 Spens heard again from Karl IX this time offering 1700 daler per company of 200 infantry, and the same would be paid for each company of 100 cavalry. The Swedish king was obviously keen to have Spens on board as that year he sent 700 daler to Spens and the next year he provided 4500 riksdaler for the recruitment. There is a travel pass dated 17 December 1609 for Spens, Samuel Cockburn [SSNE 4219], John Wauchop [SSNE 4220], Patrick Ruthven [SSNE 3413] Hugo Cochran [SSNE 4221], Daniel Rogers [SSNE 4222], Robert Kinnaird [SSNE 4223], George Douglas [SSNE 2129], and William Horne [SSNE 4224]to go to Britain, presumably on a recruiting mission.
Spens as a diplomat
In 1610 Spens came as the Stuart Court legate to Sweden. Some of the 1200 British troops to be recruited by Spens were sent to Russia around this time under a lieutenant-colonel Calvine and another 300 went with Cockburn (see Lubimenko's printed letter of Thomas Chamberlain). The regiment strength was put at 600 horse and 1800 foot, and Spens had been the regiment's colonel some 20 years, although whether Spens himself accompanied the men to Russia is unclear. The regiment was lent to the Russians by the Swedes and placed under the overall command in Russia of General Endred Horne, senior Swedish general there. Spens became general of all British troops in Sweden that same year, and got the task of recruiting a further 3000 men. He was Swedish legate to the Stuart Court in 1611 when King Karl IX wrote him seeking recruits. As Sweden was at war with Denmark-Norway Spens was worried about his and the recruits' safety on their travel to Sweden. And in fact Karl IX had to complain to King Christian IV in April about some Danes (200 in one report) who the previous year had strayed half a Swedish mile into Swedish territory, bearing arms, attacked Spens, robbing him of letters and money, killing one of his associates and abusing 4 others. This point was specifically brought up when the Swedes confronted Christian IV in December 1612 about the perceived Danish provocation which had led to war. In addition to this Christian IV's men had detained Spens for 3 days at the Helsinborg port. Spens had a personal audience with the king at Risby on 4 September 1611, and at Jönköping on 8 July 1612. In between those meetings he had returned to London as an envoy and as diplomatic correspondent to the Stuart Court between March and June 1612. Spens also levied ca.1000 Scottish soldiers for Swedish service, implying that either he or an agent of his had been to Scotland. These soldiers were to disembark in Oslo and be met there by secret Swedish guides who would lead them to Sweden. He mediated in the double duty of Swedish-Stuart representative along with Sir Robert Anstruther [SSNE 1472], his step-father's grandson, in 1612-13 for the Knared peace treaty between Sweden and Denmark. Axel Oxenstierna, Nicolas Bielke and Gustav Stenbock wrote King James VI and I on 21 January 1613 to compliment Spens and Anstruther on their "fide, diligentia, industria" in the negotiations. Spens returned to London in 1613 and served as the Swedish ambassador to the Stuart court. During 1614 he appears to have been in Sweden as that year in September Chancellor Oxenstierna replied to him with regard to issues Spens had raised on behalf of some English merchants and their complaints. Spens was the Stuart court ambassador to Sweden in 1619, 1620, and 1624 and Denmark-Norway in 1619. Although he sometimes appeared in Denmark, his loyalty to the Swedish Crown was well-received and rewarded. Not only did he hold land in Sweden, the estate of Orreholm which he obtained in April 1622, but he was also ennobled as a baron in Sweden, and his sons subsequently enjoyed the privileges of nobility and the right to remain Calvinists. The Spens coat of arms can be seen displayed in Riddarhuset in Stockholm.
Spens and the Polish, Bohemian and 30 Years' Wars
After the Bohemian revolt, 1618-1621, the exiled King of Bohemia and Prince Charles of Wales (later King Charles I) offered monthly subsidies to cover a Swedish attack on the Imperial forces. However, the Swedes were keen to effect a confederation with Great Britain and the Netherlands and Spens was given the diplomatic missions. In December 1623 Spens was en route to the continent, via Lubeck. In June 1624 he was also engaged in the recruitment of British troops for King Gustav II Adolf and was appointed General of all British troops in Swedish service. Spens was the Stuart court ambassador to the Netherlands in 1624 and in September he left Sweden on a mission to Germany. In January 1625 Spens was sent to London via the Netherlands. Oxenstierna and the king were more than keen to learn whether Prince Charles favoured Denmark over Sweden - and Spens' letter in reply indicated that King James VI and I was fickle about the whole issue of the Common Cause. Oxenstierna preferred then to keep Spens in London, to continue to negotiate with James, and sent him copies of the correspondence between Gustav II and Christian IV. Spens returned to Sweden in May and by June 1625 it was clear that the new monarch, Charles I, did not accept Gustav II Adolf's proposals regarding military preparations for use against the Habsburgs. Spens was court councillor and Swedish legate to the Stuart court in 1626 and the Stuart court ambassador to Danzig and Brandenburg in 1627. As part of his mission, Spens was asked to raise another 1200 men for his regiment in Sweden. This he achieved when the Scottish Privy Council granted his levy on 13 February 1627 (also giving his his own chaplain, Rev Robert Douglas [SSNE 2372].
On his return to the Swedish Court, Spens delivered the order of the Garter to King Gustav Adolf in August 1627 in Dirschau. In January 1629 he wrote a report of his regiment, listing all his captains and their company strengths and locations. At this juncture (1628-1630) the regiment was based in Riga. He met his new chaplain, Rev. Eleazer Borthwick [SSNE 1064] in Elbing who was appointed to the congregation there in 1629. Spens befriended the Scottish cleric John Durie [SSNE 1243] - a cousin of his son-in-law - whom he helped to gain an audience with the Swedish king. Here he became ordinary resident ambassador to the Stuart Court in 1629 and was allowed a personal chaplain for his estate at Orreholm - Eleazer Borthwick. In August 1629 an English ship arrived at Pillau, which Spens had sent for use by the Swedish shipping companies. That year his troops were sent to Stralsund when the Swedish army stepped in to protect the town after the defeat and withdrawal of the Danes from war with the Habsburgs. There is also a reference to Spens' troops being divided and sent to Gothenburg, Kalmar and Stockholm - whether these are the troops under Spens jr [SSNE 11] or not, is hard to tell. According to the Swedish Intelligencer, three Scottish regiments fought alongside each other after the Swedish army arrived on the continent in 1630. These were the regiments of Donald Mackay Lord Reay, the Spens Regiment and the regiment of Colonel James MacDougall. Whether the colonels were with their troops is not mentioned. However, James Spens sr. had certainly returned to the continent by 1631 accompanied by Eleazer Borthwick and remained with the Court of Gustav II Adolf as they travelled around Germany. Apparently his troops, often referred to as the "English" regiment, were under the command of Earl Crawford and great tensions occurred between the leading officers, which resulted in a lack of morale amongst the soldiery. Spens died in 1632, some say in shock at the death of Gustav II Adolf at Lutzen. His burial took place on 21 May 1634 in Riddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm.
Spens' family
Spens was married to Agnes Durie [SSNE 6249] and Margareta Forrat [SSNE 6267] (her 2nd marriage was to colonel Hugo Hamilton [SSNE 2582] also ennobled in Sweden). With Agnes Durie he had the children James [SSNE 11], David and William [SSNE 3553], Cecilia [SSNE 6129], Isabella [SSNE 6263], and daughter called Elisabeth (who was married to one Alexander Livingstone). With Margareta Forrat he had the children Axel [SSNE 1643] and James [SSNE 3549].
Sources: Riksarkivets ämnessamlingar. Personhistoria https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0073861_00007#?c=&m=&s=&cv=6&xywh=195%2C82%2C3317%2C1913
Copies of Gustav II Adolf's donation (and Queen Christina's confirmation of the same are here: https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0073861_00175#?c=&m=&s=&cv=174&xywh=884%2C1300%2C2345%2C1352
That the (usually unnamed) daughter was Elisabeth is taken from a notarial record regarding William Spens's affairs where she is called his sister: https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0073861_00346#?c=&m=&s=&cv=345&xywh=3596%2C1845%2C2536%2C1463 We believe she is left out of most Spens biographies as she probably remained in Scotland.
Arne Jönsson (ed.), Letters from Sir James Spens and Jan Rutgers (Stockholm, 2007); Swedish Krigsarkiv, Muster Roll, 1624/8; 1625/3,5,6; 1626/3,4,6-9; 1629/11,14,16,18-20,22; 1630/22,24-26,37; 1632/28,31; Stockholms Stadsarkivet, Maria Församling, Register över Döda, 1654-1655, p.317; R. Monro, His Expedition with a worthy Scots Regiment called Mac-Keyes (2 vols., London, 1637), II, The List of the Scottish Officers in Chiefe, list 1; The Swedish Intelligencer: The First Part (London, 1632), p.49; See also GD334/108 for Spens' January 1629 report; Hartlib Papers, 60/5/1A-8B, Durie's Narrative of his German Travels, c.1632; Hartlib Papers, 20/11/15A-28B, Memo on Durie and Ecclesiastical Peace, 1631-1633; Svenska Adelns Attartavlor, vol 7, p.429; Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 2nd series, I, 1625-1627, p.523, 13 February 1627; Swedish Riksarkiv, Anglica vols. 3, 4, 5 and 531 contain letters to and from Spens; H. Marryat, One Year in Sweden including a visit to the Isle of Gotland (London, 1862), pp.465-466; T. Fischer, The Scots in Sweden (Edinburgh, 1907), pp.215-267; J. Berg and B.Lagercrantz, Scots in Sweden, (Stockholm, 1962); I. Waden, 'Ett kanslidiarium från Carl IX:s sista och Gustaf II Adolf:s första regeringsår', Scandia, vol. XI, 1938, p.292 and 300; British Library, letter from J. Durie to Spens, 1630 in Sloane. 654 ff.128-132 b. See also British Library, Spens (James), Envoy to Sweden, letter of 1613. in Add. 19402 f. 56; Swedish Riksarkiv, 'Svenske Sändebuds till Utländske Hof och Deras Sändebud till Sverige, (1841), pp.77 and 82-83; DNB; A.J. Loomie (ed.), Ceremonies of Charles I, The Notebooks of John Finet 1628-1641 (New York, 1987), p.317; I. Lubimenko, English Historical Review, Vol. 29, 1914; G.M. Bell, 'A Handlist of Diplomatic representatives 1509-1688' (London, 1990), p.197, 273; J.H. Schroder, Om Riks-Radet Frih. Christer Bondes Ambassad till England 1655 (Uppsala, 1851), p.1; G. Arteus, Till Militärstatens Förhistoria: Krig, professionalisering och social förändring under Vasasönernas regering (Stockholm, 1986), p.162; Swedish Riksarkiv, Riksarkivets Ämbetsarkiv, Huvudarkivet FV a:31-32 Ang. Skottar i svensk tjänst, notes compiled by Hammerskjöld; National Archives of Scotland, GD334: photocopies of documents re Spens family in Sweden 1629-1784; Swedish Riksarkiv, Strödda militiehandlingar före 1631, Armen; Rikskansleren Axel Oxenstiernas skrifter och brefvexling, first series, II, pp. 31, 39, 61, 63, 66, 70, 91, 110, 130, 206, 389, 602, 729, 735, 745, 747, 749, 752, 754, 757, 760, 767, 779, 786; ibid., III, passim; ibid, IV, p.584; ibid, VI, 42, 220; R. Frost, "Scottish soldiers, Poland-Lithuania and the Thirty Years' War" in S. Murdoch ed. Scotland and the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648 (Brill, 2001), p.199; J. Fraser, Chronicles of the Frasers, ed. W. Mackay (Edinburgh, 1905), pp.239-40; L.B. Taylor, ed., Aberdeen Shore Work Accounts, 1596-1670, (Aberdeen, 1972), p.47; Steve Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), passim; Swedish Riksarkiv, P. Sondén, Militärachefer i svenska arméen och deras skrivelser. Online copies of Spens correspondence can be found at the Riksarkivet Oxenstiernaproject: http://62.20.57.212/ra/ao/soksida_enkel.html.
Thanks to Tatiana Molchanova for the correction regarding James Balcomie.
Service record
- SWEDEN, STUART KINGDOMS
- Arrived 1605-10-01
- Departed 1607-12-31
- Capacity AGENT, purpose MILITARY
- SWEDEN, JAMES SPENS
- Arrived 1608-01-01, as COLONEL
- Departed 1608-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- Arrived 1609-01-01, as COLONEL
- Departed 1609-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN
- Arrived 1609-05-01
- Departed 1613-07-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SWEDEN, STUART KINGDOMS
- Arrived 1610-01-01
- Departed 1610-12-31
- Capacity LEGATE, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SWEDEN, JAMES SPENS
- Arrived 1610-01-01, as GENERAL
- Departed 1610-12-31, as GENERAL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- STUART KINGDOMS, RISBY, SWEDEN
- Arrived 1611-09-04
- Departed 1611-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN [KNARED]
- Arrived 1612-01-01
- Departed 1612-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, JÖNKÖPING, SWEDEN
- Arrived 1612-07-08
- Departed 1612-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SWEDEN, STUART KINGDOMS
- Arrived 1613-01-01
- Departed 1613-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN
- Arrived 1619-01-01
- Departed 1619-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, DENMARK-NORWAY
- Arrived 1619-08-01
- Departed 1619-10-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN
- Arrived 1620-08-01
- Departed 1622-07-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SWEDEN, JAMES SPENS
- Arrived 1621-08-03, as COLONEL
- Departed 1621-10-11, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN
- Arrived 1624-01-01
- Departed 1624-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, THE DUTCH REPUBLIC
- Arrived 1624-01-01
- Departed 1625-04-01
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN
- Arrived 1625-03-01
- Departed 1625-08-20
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SWEDEN, STUART KINGDOMS
- Arrived 1625-08-16
- Departed 1627-04-01
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, DANZIG
- Arrived 1627-04-28
- Departed 1628-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, BRANDENBURG
- Arrived 1627-04-28
- Departed 1628-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN [ELBING]
- Arrived 1627-04-28
- Departed 1628-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SWEDEN, STUART KINGDOMS
- Arrived 1629-03-01
- Departed 1629-06-30
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, GUSTAV II ADOLF'S COURT IN GERMANY
- Arrived 1631-01-01
- Departed 1632-11-30
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY