Issue 1: The succession problem (revision) Flashcards
The death of king alexander the III
· Alexander III died on 19 March 1286 when he was thrown from his horse on his way to visit his wife, Queen Yolande, in Kinghorn, Fife.
· When Alexander died there was no obvious heir to the Scottish throne.
· The powerful Bruce and Balliol families saw an opportunity to seize power and it seemed that civil war was likely.
· Alexander III’s granddaughter Margaret, Maid of Norway, was his only direct, living descendent.
The maid of norway
Margaret was too young to rule personally and a regent would need to govern Scotland on her behalf.
· The decision of who would become regent would inevitably lead to further disagreement amongst the nobles.
· The young queen was vulnerable to kidnap plots.
· Many at the time believed that women were incapable of carrying out the duties of a monarch.
· A suitable husband would therefore need to be chosen for Margaret. Again, this would lead to disagreement within the nobility.
· The threat of civil war was immediately removed with the decision to accept Margaret as Queen; however the future of Scotland remained uncertain.
The guardians
A council of 6 Guardians, representing different parts of Scottish society, were selected at the Palace of Scone in 1286 to govern on behalf of the Maid of Norway.
· The Guardians were: Fraser of St Andrews (Bishop), Wishart of Glasgow (Bishop), John Comyn of Badenoch (Baron), James the Steward (Baron), Alexander Comyn (Earl of Buchan), Duncan (Earl of Fife.)
· The Guardians would oversee the coronation of the Maid of Norway and consider the selection of a regent.
· The Guardians would also select an appropriate husband for Margaret.
The Treaty of Birgham
The Treaty of Birgham was signed between Scotland and England in 1290.
· The treaty included a marriage agreement between Margaret, Maid of Norway, and Edward, son of the ruling Edward I of England.
· In negotiating the treaty, the Guardians took care to include a number of clauses to ensure that Scotland would remain ‘separate, free in itself and without subjection.’
· These clauses related to the Scottish Church, Parliament, Scots’ Law and the nobility.
· The Treaty of Birgham demonstrates that the Guardians were committed to maintaining the independence of Scotland.
The succession problem
In the autumn of 1290 the news arrived that Margaret had died on her journey from Norway to Scotland.
· This meant that the Treaty of Birgham was no longer valid – it was not certain that Scotland would remain on good terms with England or that Scotland’s independence would be guaranteed.
· The death of Margaret also opened up the possibility of civil war again.
The scot’s appeal to the english
In order to avoid civil war, Bishop Fraser of St Andrews (one of the six Guardians), wrote a letter appealing to King Edward of England for help.
· By 1291 Robert Bruce and John Balliol both anticipated the support of the English King.
· In April 1291 Edward came north to the border with a large army who he based at Norham Castle.
· Edward then demanded that the Scots accept him as their feudal overlord before he judged who should become King of Scots.
· It is unclear exactly what Edward’s intentions were at this point; however, it is generally agreed that his attitude towards Scotland changed following the death of the Maid of Norway and that he saw an opportunity to exploit Scotland during a time of weakness.
The great cause
The term ‘Great Cause’ refers to the task of choosing the new king.
· There were officially 13 claimants; however, only three had a serious claim to the throne.
· John Balliol, Robert Bruce and John Hastings were all descendants of the daughters of David, Earl of Huntingdon, who was a descendant of David I of Scotland.
· Due to the law of primogeniture, which stated that inheritance should be passed down the eldest line, John Balliol legally had the strongest claim to the throne of Scotland.
· However, Robert Bruce argued that his claim was stronger because he was one generation closer to the Earl of Huntingdon than John Balliol.
· Edward demanded that all claimants accepted that he would be overlord of Scotland before he passed judgement on any of them.
The award at norham
· The agreement by all claimants that Edward I would become overlord Scotland is known as the ‘Award of Norham.’
· The Award of Norham was significant because it gave Edward legal possession of the kingdom.
· This infuriated the Guardians who had intended for Edward to simply act as a neutral judge.
· Edward finally made his decision on 17 November 1292, more than a year after the initially meeting at Norham. His decision is known as the ‘Award of Berwick.’
· Historians have suggested that Edward took a long time to make his decision so that the new King of Scots would find it hard to establish his authority over the kingdom.
