Edward I now turns his attention northwards- Scotland, the Brave!

The fact that Edward was in a position to turn his attention to Scotland came about due to a number of tragedies which befell the Scottish royal family.

The coronation of King Alexander III of Scotland.

 

King Alexander of Scotland had three children, but all had died in quick succession during the early-mid 1280’s. He had taken the precaution of acquiring a second wife in order to produce an heir, but he was killed in a riding accident in 1284 before one could be born.

‘King Alex would bitterly lament the three children that he had lost!

But it was the poor people of Scotland who would eventually bear the heaviest cost!’ 

However, Alexander did have a granddaughter, the eight year old Margaret, the Maid of Norway, daughter of the king of Norway, Eric II.

Margaret, Maid of Norway.

Margaret was now the heir to the throne of Scotland. This is where King Edward I saw a golden opportunity for Scotland to come, in time, under the control of the Plantagenet dynasty. He had already reached an agreement with King Eric whereby his own son and heir, Edward should marry Margaret who was now about to be crowned Queen of Scotland. King Edward was ecstatic, the Plantagents were now on course to rule the entire area of the British Isles. The Gaels of the British Isles, whether Irish, Scottish or Welsh would eventually come under the jurisdiction of the English crown. The House of Plantagenet would become the most powerful monarchy in European history, second to none.

‘Plantagenet rule would extend to cover each and every Gael!

But unfortunately, Edward’s lofty plan was destined to fail!’

However, this wonderful arrangement fell apart when Margaret died in Orkney in September 1290 en route to her coronation. The line of succession to the throne of Scotland was now left very unclear, but there were two main claimants. The two men were the English noble, John Balliol and the Scots baron, Robert Bruce.  A council was established to determine which of the two was the rightful heir to the crown. Edward was to oversee the selection procedure and the council subsequently found in favour of John Balliol.

The decision pleased Edward and Balliol was crowned as King of the Scots on St Andrews Day, 1292.

The Seal of John Balliol.

John Balliol would soon find himself in an extremely awkward situation. King John had to accept the domineering Edward as his feudal overlord. Worse still, Edward’s method of overlordship and treatment of King John would rankle badly with the Scottish nobility.

‘Balliol, now King John, on St Andrew’s Day, settles into a coronation feast at his royal palace!

However, in time he discovers that Scotland’s crown has become a veritable poisoned chalice!’

The roots of the English – Scots war.

Edward treated Scotland as very much a vassal state with King John in the role of a subordinate. John was expected to pay homage to the English king, and more importantly, Edward insisted upon hearing appeals against decisions made by Scottish courts and claimed the authority to overturn the verdicts if he thought it necessary. Matters came to a head in 1294 when Edward demanded that King John provide knights for his war against the French king, Philip IV. The Scottish nobles were incensed at what they regarded as Edward’s contempt for Scotland’s autonomy. They were even more angry when King John agreed to send the soldiers to Edward. Disgusted at King John’s weakness, they formed a governing council to conduct matters of state, and which stripped John of his royal authority. The Scots would eventually come to refer to King John as ‘Toom Tabard’, which means ’empty coat’.

‘Toom Tabard!

Have you no sword in your scabbard!

A sixteenth century image of King John wearing a broken crown and bearing an empty coat of arms.

The council decided to open negotiations with Philip IV, and agreed an alliance which would last three hundred years and become known as the ‘Auld Alliance’. In April 1296 the council forced King John to renounce his fealty to King Edward I.

Edward, furious at what he regarded as blatant  Scottish disloyalty, prepared for an invasion of Scotland.