Unit 1 - Alexander III 1249-86 - source knowledge - establishing royal authority

Question 1

Omissions part 1 (economy, justice)

Answer 1

• used the booming economy to increase the defences of the country as well as significant building work; cathedrals of Dunblane and castle in Kildrummy
• key officers of state to help government, like the chancellor, and divided the land into sheriffdoms with royal castles to improve law and order
• relied on elite nobles to extend his authority into difficult regions, Galloway, Moray

Question 2

Establishing royal authority - historians

Answer 2

– Barrow - Alexander was a strong and prosperous king who created such political cohesion among his magnates and churchmen that he could enforce loyalty to an unknown infant female heir and that governing could continue unabated upon his sudden death.
– Oram - although Alexander was a successful ruler governing a stable and peaceful realm in alliance with his nobility, he does not deserve his golden reputation due to immoral behaviour and failure to provide lasting solutions to key problems.

Question 3

Omissions part 2 (political, external succession)

Answer 3

• Alexander held political meetings, called colloquia, with his political community as necessary for key decisions, for example the tailzie in 1284
• Alexander had tried to negotiate taking control over the Isles without force and eventually negotiated the Treaty of Perth (1266) to take control over the Isles in return for payment of 4000 merks and annual rent of 100 merks a year, and a marriage alliance between his daughter and Eric II.
• Alexander could be judged as ineffective in terms of establishing a lasting dynasty through his failure to remarry immediately after his first wife died, or for marrying Yolande (for love or attraction) rather than a more suitable political match