Gavin Douglas had finally attained to the bishopric of Dunkeld in 1516, although only after a bitter struggle.

Douglas after July 1516 appears to have been in possession of his see, and to have patched up a diplomatic peace with the Duke of Albany, with whom he had proceed on May 17, 1517, to France to conduct the negotiations that ended in the Treaty of Rouen.

He was back in Scotland towards the end of June.

Albany's longer absence in France had permitted the party faction of the nobles to come to a head in a plot by James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, to seize the Earl of Angus, the Queen's husband.

The issue of this plot is the well-known street fight known as Cleanse the Causeway, in which Gavin Douglas's part stands out in picturesque relief.

The skirmish is the result of enmity between the House of Hamilton and the "Red" Angus line of the House of Clan Douglas, both powerful noble families jealous of each other's influence over King James V.

The Hamiltons, led by Sir Patrick Hamilton of Kincavil, half-brother of the Earl of Arran, and Sir James Hamilton of Finnart, the earl's bastard son, attempt to apprehend the Earl of Angus.

The Earl of Arran in 1517 had become Lord Provost of Edinburgh.

In a dispute over the sale of a cargo of timber from a Dutch ship, he had sided with Leith merchants over the Edinburgh burgesses.

The Leithers, supported by Robert Barton, had ignored any of the rights of the burgesses, but Arran had still given them his support, enraging the Edinburgh traders.

The burgesses of Edinburgh during the skirmish see the opportunity for revenge, and take the side of Angus.

The fight goes badly for the Hamiltons, and Sir Patrick Hamilton and about seventy others are killed in the incident.

The Earl of Arran and Sir James fight their way out, and escape along a narrow close.

Stealing a nearby pack horse, they flee through the shallows of the Nor Loch marshes.

Queen Margaret had sought to regain the regency, but in vain.

Young King James is kept a virtual prisoner by Albany, and Margaret is allowed to see her son only once between 1516 and 1524, the end of Albany's regency.

The triumph over the Hamiltons has had an unsettling effect upon the Earl of Angus.

He has made free of the Queen's rents and abducted Lord Traquair's daughter.

The Queen has set about to obtain a divorce, and has used her influence, secretly, for the return of Albany as a means of undoing her husband's power.

When Albany returns in November 1521, with a large body of French men-at-arms, Margaret now sides with him against her husband.

Thus Albany is able to keep an upper hand in regard to the ambitious Angus.

The regent takes the government into his own hands, compelling Angus, with the Bishop of Dunkeld and others, to flee to the Borders.

From this retreat Gavin Douglas is sent by the earl to the English court, to ask for aid against the French party and against the queen, who is reported to be the mistress of the regent.

Meanwhile, he is deprived of his bishopric, and forced, for safety, to remain in England, where he effects nothing in the interests of his nephew.

The declaration of war by England against Scotland, in answer to the recent Franco-Scottish negotiations, prevents his return.

His case is further complicated by the libelous animosity of James Beaton, Archbishop of Glasgow (whose life he had saved in the "Cleanse the Causeway" incident), who is anxious to put himself forward and thwart Douglas in the election to the archbishopric of St Andrews, left vacant by the death of Forman.

Albany in December 1521 puts Angus under charges of high treason.

Another attempt later this year at the battle of Linlithgow Bridge on September 4 fails again to relieve the young King James from the clutches of Angus.

Margaret had persuaded the Earl of Lennox and Cardinal Beaton to support her cause.

Lennox has raised an army over ten thousand and marches on Edinburgh from his base in Stirling.

By this time Archibald Douglas has won the support of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran and the latter is sent to try to delay the march by mustering the people of Linlithgow and the surrounding area.

Arran arranges his force of twenty-five hundred men on the strategically important Pace Hill overlooking Linlithgow and the River Avon.

Lennox, seeing the strength of this defensive position, has to rethink his plans.

Lennox intends to outflank and defeat Arran before Douglas can arrive from Edinburgh with reinforcements.

Downstream from the town, the river is impassable, but his scouts find a ford a mile upstream, at Manuel Convent.

Lennox forces a crossing there and advances on Arran’s flank.

However, Arran sees the threat and places his troops facing south along the ridge of Pace Hill.

Lennox’s attack is across the Avon, over boggy ground and finally uphill, but he very nearly succeeds in dislodging Arran’s outnumbered men.

However, time runs out for Lennox as Douglas reinforcements arrive, followed by the reluctant King James.

Many of the Lennox men are killed either on the ridge or along the banks of the river Avon.

The Earl of Glencairn is captured and Lennox himself is wounded.

Lennox surrenders to his opponents but is subsequently murdered by James Hamilton of Finnart.

The location of Lennox’s murder is commemorated with a cairn that stands at the entrance to the Kettilstoun estate.

Lennox is succeeded by his son Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, the father of Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley and grandfather of James VI of Scotland.