 James also attracted the attention of international authors.The French poet Pierre de Ronsard, who had been a page of Madeleine of Valois, offered unqualified praise;

"Son port estoit royal, son regard vigoureux
De vertus, et de l'honneur, et guerre amoureux
La douceur et la force illustroient son visage
Si que Venus et Mars en avoient fait partage"

His royal bearing, and vigorous pursuit
of virtue, of honour, and love's war,
this sweetness and strength illuminate his face,
as if he were the child of Venus and Mars.James was a poet himself; his works include "The Gaberlunzieman" and "The Jolly Beggar"

When he married Mary of Guise, Giovanni Ferrerio, an Italian scholar who had been at Kinloss Abbey in Scotland, dedicated to the couple a new edition of his work "On the true significance of comets against the vanity of astrologers."