[1] Ten days after the death of Bishop William de Lamberton in 1328, the chapter held an election to fill the vacancy.
James, although absent at the court of Pope John XXII at Avignon, stood against Alexander de Kyninmonth, Archdeacon of Lothian, and won.
However, before news of his victory reached Avignon, Pope John, who had previously reserved his right to do so, had already provided James to the see.
In the aftermath of the Battle of Dupplin Moor on 12 August 1332, after roughly two years back in Scotland as chief-bishop of the kingdom, James fled to Flanders.
The bishopric then lay vacant for over nine years, due to the turmoil of repeated invasion from England and civil war within Scotland.