The reign of King James V of Scotland (1512–42) marked the arrival of reformed ideas and evangelical beliefs in the country, particularly from Germany and England. This paper addresses James’ attempts to control and take advantage of the events, challenging and defying the rising expectations of his Protestant subjects in the context of his own personal Catholic piety, of foreign pressures, and of Scotland’s political and economic circumstances. James’ efforts to stabilise the country included the publication of anti-heresy legislation and the burning of heretics at the stake, but also attempts to protect and reform the Scottish Catholic church from within. In particular, this paper will discuss how the creation of a flexible but papal-friendly iconography of power allowed James to make a statement of defiance against the most unsettling aspects of the Reformation, looking back to and attempting to recreate a politically stable, religiously orderly, and hierarchically organized world.