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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND,
CHAPTER I. ALEXANDER THE THIRD.
1249—1292.
Alexander the Third had not com pleted his eighth year, when the death of the king, his father, on the 8th July 1249, opened to him the peace able accession to the Scottish throne.1 He was accordingly conducted by an assembly of the nobility to the Abbey of Scone, and there crowned.2
A long minority, at all times an un happy event for a kingdom, was at this time especially unfortunate for Scotland. The vicinity of Henry the Third of England, who, although in dividually a weak monarch, allowed himself sometimes to be directed by able and powerful counsellors, and the divisions between the principal nobility of Scotland, facilitated the designs of ambition, and weakened the power of
1 Winton, vol. i. p. 380, book vii. chap. x. Mathew Paris Hist. p. 770.
2 Alexander the Third was son of Alexan der the Second, by Mary, daughter of Ingel- ram de Couci. Imhoff. Regum Pariumque Magnæ Britt. Histor. Genealogica, part i. p. 42. The family of De Couci affected a royal pomp, and considered all titles as beneath their dignity. The Cri de Guerre of this In- gelram, or Enguerrand, was—
Je ne suis Roy, ni Prince aussi. Je suis le Seigneur de Couci.
On account of his brave actions, posses sions, and three marriages with ladies of royal and illustrious families, he was surnamed Le Grand.—Winton, vol. ii. p. 482. VOL. I.
resistance; nor can it be doubted, that during the early part of this reign, the first approaches were made towards that great plan for the reduction of Scotland, which was afterwards at tempted to be carried into effect by Edward the First, and defeated by the bravery of Wallace and Bruce. But in order to shew clearly the state of the kingdom upon the accession of this monarch, and more especially in its relations with England, it will be necessary to go back a few years, to recount a story of private revenge which happened in the conclusion of the reign of Alexander the Second, (1242,) and drew after it important consequences.
A tournament, the frequent amuse ment of this warlike age, was held near Haddington, on which occasion Walter Bisset, a powerful baron who piqued himself upon his skill in his weapons, was foiled by Patrick, earl of Athole.3 An old feud which existed between these families embittered the defeat; and Athole was found mur-
3 Henry, earl of Athole, had two daughters, Isobel and Fernelith. Isobel married Thomas of Galloway. Their only son was Patrick, earl of Athole. Fernelith married David de Hastings. — Hailes’ Annals, vol. i. p. 157. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 72. Math. Paris. p. 586.
A
2 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
dered in his house, which, probably for the purpose of concealment, was set on fire by the assassins. The sus picion of this slaughter, which, even in an age familiar with ferocity, seems to have excited unwonted horror, im mediately fell upon the Bissets; and although Walter was the person pre sent at the tournament, the popular clamour pointed to William, the chief of the family.1 He was pursued by the nobility, who were incited to ven geance by the Earl of March and David de Hastings; and would have been torn to pieces, had not the interfer ence of the king protected him from the fury of the friends of Athole. Bisset strenuously asserted his inno cence. He offered to prove that he had been fifty miles distant from Had- dington when the murder was com mitted ; he instantly procured the sen- tence of excommunication against the assassins to be published in every chapel in Scotland; he offered combat to any man who dared abide the issue; but he declined a trial by jury on account of the inveterate malice of his enemies. The king accepted the office of judge : the Bissets were condemned, their estates forfeited to the crown, and they themselves compelled to swear upon the Holy Gospel that they would repair to Palestine, and there, for the remaining days of their lives, pray for the soul of the murdered earl.
Walter Bisset, however, instead of Jerusalem, sought the English court.2 There, by artfully representing to the king that Alexander owed him fealty, and that, as lord superior, he ought to have been first consulted before judg ment was given, whilst he described Scotland as the ally of France and the asylum of his expatriated rebels,3 he
1 Lord Hailes remarks, vol. i. p. 157, that Fordun says the author of the conspiracy was Walter. Fordun, on the contrary, all along ascribes it, or rather says it was ascribed, to William Bisset.—Fordun a Gloodal, vol. ii, pp. 72-74. The name of the Bisset banished from Scotland, as shewn in the Patent Rolls of Henry the Third, is Walter.
2 Chronicon Melross a Stevenson. Ban- natyne edition, p. 156.
3 Math. Paris, pp. 643, 645. Speed’s Chro nicle, p. 527. Speed ascribes the disagree ment between Henry and Alexander to the
contrived to inflame the passion of the English monarch to so high a pitch, that Henry determined on an imme diate invasion. Nor was the temper with which Alexander received this information in any way calculated to promote conciliation. To the com plaints of the King of England, that he had violated the duty which he owed to him as his Lord Paramount, the Scottish monarch is said to have answered, that he neither did, nor ever would, consent to hold from the King of England the smallest portion of his kingdom of Scotland. His reply was warmly seconded by the spirit of his nobility. They fortified the castles on the marches; and the king soon found himself at the head of an army of i nearly a hundred thousand foot and a thousand horse. Henry, on the other hand, led into the field a large body of troops, with which he proceeded to Newcastle. The accoutrements and discipline of these two powerful hosts, which were commanded by kings, and included the flower of the nobility of both countries, are highly extolled by Mathew Paris.4 The Scottish cavalry, according to his account, were a fine body of men, and well mounted, al though their horses were neither of the Spanish nor Italian breed; and the horsemen were clothed in armour of iron network. In the number of its cavalry the English army far surpassed its rival force, including a power of five thousand men-at-arms, sumptu ously accoutred. These armies came in sight of each other at a place in Northumberland called Ponteland; and the Scots prepared for battle, by con fessing themselves to their priests, and expressing to each other their readi ness to die in defence of the indepen dence of their country. As Alexander,
influence of Ingelram de Couci; and adds, that on the death of this nobleman, the hu mour of battle—this is Nym’s phrase—ceased. De Couci, in passing a river on horseback, was unseated, dragged in the stirrup, run through the body with his own lance, and drowned.
4 M. Paris, p. 645. Chron. Melross, p. 156. Rapin is in an error when he says, vol. i. p. 318, that Alexander sent Henry word, he meant no longer to do him homage for the lands he held in England.
1249-51.] ALEXANDER III. 3
however, was much beloved in Eng land, the nobility of that country coldly seconded the rash enterprise of their king, and shewed no anxiety to hurry into hostilities. Richard, earl of Corn wall, brother to Henry, and the Arch bishop of York, thought this a favour able moment for proposing an armis tice; and, by their endeavours, such great and solemn preparations ended in a treaty of peace, without a lance being put in rest. Its terms were just, and favourable to both countries.1
Henry appears prudently to have waved all demand of homage from Alexander for the kingdom of Scot land; and the Scottish monarch, on the other hand, who possessed land in England for which, although the Eng lish historians assert the contrary, he does not appear to have ever refused homage, consented, for himself and his heirs, to maintain fidelity and affection to Henry and his heirs, as his liege lord, and not to enter into any league with the enemies of England, except in the case of unjust oppression. It was also stipulated, that the peace for merly signed at York, in the presence of Otto, the Pope’s legate, should stand good; and that the proposal there made, of a marriage between the daugh ter of the King of England and the son of the King of Scots, should be carried into effect. Alan Durward, at this time the most accomplished knight and the best military leader in Scot land, Henry de Baliol, and David de Lindesay, with other knights and pre lates, then swore on the soul of their lord the king, that the treaty should be kept inviolate by him and his heirs.2
Thus ended this expedition of Henry’s into Scotland, formidable in its commencement, but happy and bloodless in its result; 3 and such was the relative situation of the two
1 Rymer, vol. i. pp. 374, 428. Rapin’s Acta Regia, by Whately, vol. i. p. 28.
2 The original charter granted to Henry by Alexander may be found in Mathew Paris, p. 646, and in Rymer, Fœd. vol. i. p. 428. See Illustrations, A. It is curious, as shew ing the state of the Scottish peerage in 1244. Neither Lesley nor Buchanan take any notice of this expedition and treaty.
3 Tyrrel, History of England, vol. ii. p. 930.
countries when Alexander the Third, yet a boy in his eighth year, mounted the Scottish throne.
The mode in which the ceremony of his coronation was performed, is strikingly illustrative of the manners of that age. The Bishops of St An drews and Dunkeld, with the Abbot of Scone, attended to officiate; but an unexpected difficulty arose. Alan Durward, the great Justiciary, re marked that the king ought not to be crowned before he was knighted, and that the day fixed for the ceremony was unlucky. The objection was sel fish, and arose from Durward, who was then at the head of the Scottish chivalry, expecting that the honour of knighting Alexander would fall upon himself.4 But Comyn, earl of Menteith, insisted that there were frequent examples of the consecration of kings before the solemnity of their knighthood; he represented that the Bishop of St Andrews might perform both ceremonies; he cited the in stance of William Rufus having been knighted by Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury; and he earnestly urged the danger of delay. Nor was this danger ideal. Henry the Third, in a letter to Rome, had artfully repre sented Scotland as a fief of England; and had requested the Pope to iuter- dict the ceremony of the coronation until Alexander obtained the permis sion of his feudal superior.5 Fortu nately the patriotic arguments of the Earl of Menteith prevailed. The Bishop of St Andrews girded the king with the belt of knighthood, and ex plained to him the respective oaths which were to be taken by himself and his subjects, first in Latin, and afterwards in Norman French.6 They then conducted the boy to the regal chair, or sacred stone of Scone, which stood before the cross in the eastern division of the chapel. Upon this he sat: the crown was placed on his head, the sceptre in his hand; he was in vested with the royal mantle ; and the
4 Fordun a Hearne, p. 759.
5 Hailes, vol. i. p. 162. Rymer, vol. i. p. 463.
6 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 81.
4 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
nobility, kneeling in homage, threw their robes beneath his feet. A High- land sennachy or bard, of great age, clothed in a scarlet mantle, with hair venerably white, then advanced from the crowd; and, bending before the throne, repeated, in his native tongue, the genealogy of the youthful mon arch, deducing his descent from the fabulous Gathelus. It is difficult to believe that, even in those days of credulity, the nobility could digest the absurdities of this savage genea logist.1
Henry the Third, at this time in fluenced by the devotional spirit of the age, had resolved on an expedi tion to the Holy Land; and in order to secure tranquillity to his dominions on the side of Scotland, the marriage formerly agreed on, between his daugh ter Margaret and the young Scottish king, was solemnised at York on Christmas day with much splendour and dignity.2 The guests at the bridal were the King and Queen of Eng land; Mary de Couci, queen-dowager of Scotland, who had come from France, with a train worthy of her high rank; 3 the nobility, and the dignified clergy of both countries, and in their suite a numerous assemblage of vassals. A thousand knights, in robes of silk, attended the bride on the morn of her nuptials; and after some days spent in tournaments, feast ing, and other circumstances of feudal revelry, the youthful couple, neither of whom had reached their eleventh year, set out for Scotland. “ Were I,” says Mathew Paris, in one of those bursts of monastic eloquence which diversify his annals, “to explain at length the abundance of the feasts,
1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 80-82. Chron. Melross, p. 219. Lord Hailes has omitted the anecdote of the Highland sen- nachy ; but there seems no reason to doubt its authenticity. It was probably relying on this story that Nisbet has asserted, (Heraldry, vol. ii. p. iv. p. 155.) that it was a part of the coronation ceremony to repeat six genera tions of the king’s ancestry. Martin’s Western Isles, p. 241.
2 Math. Paris, p. 829. Rymer, vol. i. p. 466. Fordun a Hearne, pp. 761, 762.
3 Rymer, vol. i. edit. 1816, p. 278. Fordun a Hearne, p, 762.
the variety and the frequent changes of the vestments, the delight and the plaudits occasioned by the jugglers, and the multitude of those who sat down to meat, my narrative would become hyperbolical, and might pro duce irony in the hearts of the absent. I shall only mention, that the arch bishop, who, as the great prince of the North, shewed himself a most serene host to all comers, made a donation of six hundred oxen, which were all spent upon the first course ; and from this circumstance, I leave you to form a parallel judgment of the rest.” 4
In the midst of these festivities, a circumstance of importance occurred. When Alexander performed homage for the lands which he held in Eng land, Henry, relying upon the facility incident to his age, artfully proposed that he should also render fealty for his kingdom of Scotland. But the boy, either instructed beforehand, or animated with a spirit and wisdom above his years, replied, “ That he had come into England upon a joyful and pacific errand, and that he would not treat upon so arduous a question with out the advice of the states of his kingdom; “ upon which the king dis sembled his mortification, and the ceremony proceeded.5
Alan Durward, who, as High Justi- ciar, was the Scottish king’s chief counsellor, had married the natural sister of Alexander; and, during the rejoicings at York, was accused, by Comyn, earl of Menteith, and William, earl of Mar, of a design against the crown. The ground on which this accusation rested, was an attempt of Durward, in which he was seconded by the Scottish chancellor,6 to procure from the court of Rome the legitima tion of his wife, in order, said his accusers, that his children should suc ceed to the crown, if the king hap pened to die without heirs. From the ambitious and intriguing character of
4 Math. Paris, p. 830. Winton, book vii. chap. x. vol. i. p. 383.
5 Math. Paris, p. 829. Rapin’s History, by Tindal, vol. iii. p. 392, 8vo.
6 Fordun a Hearne, p. 762. Chron. Mel ross, p. 179. Winton, vol. i., book vii. chap. x. p. 384.
1251-56.
ALEXANDER III. 5
Durward, this story probably had some foundation in fact, and certain persons who were accused, actually fled from York; upon which Henry made a new appointment of guardians to the young king, at the head of whom were placed the Earls of Menteith and Mar.
The peace of Scotland was for many years after this interrupted by that natural jealousy of England, so likely to rise in a kingdom its equal in the sense of independence, although its inferior in national strength. Henry, too, adopted measures not calculated to secure the confidence of the Scottish people. He sent into Scotland, under the name of guardian to the king, Geoffry de Langley, a rapacious noble, who was immediately expelled. He procured Innocent the Fourth to grant him a twentieth of the ecclesiastical revenues of that kingdom, nominally for the aid of the Holy Land, but really for his own uses; and he de spatched Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester, on a mission, described as secret in his instructions,1 but the object of which may be conjectured from the increasing animosity of the disputes between the Scottish nobility. Many English attendants, some of them persons of rank and consequence, ac companied Margaret into her new kingdom; and between these intruders and the ancient nobility of Scotland, who fiercely asserted their privileges, disputes arose, which soon reached the ears of the English court. The young queen, accustomed to the indulgence and superior refinement of her father’s court, bitterly lamented that she was immured in a dismal fortress, without being permitted to have her own at tendants around her person, or allowed to enjoy the society of her husband, the king.2
These complaints, which appear to have been highly exaggerated, and a still more horrid report that the queen’s physician had been poisoned by the same party because he ventured to remonstrate against the confinement of his mistress, were not lost upon Alan Durward, the late justiciar. He
1 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. i, p. 523. 2 Math. Paris, p. 908.
had accompanied Henry in his expe dition to Guienne, where, by his courage and address, he regained the confidence of that capricious monarch; and he now prevailed upon the king to despatch the Earl of Gloucester and Maunsell his chief secretary, to the Scottish court, for the purpose of dismissing those ministers who were found not sufficiently obsequious to England.4 In sending these noblemen upon this mission, Henry solemnly engaged to attempt nothing against the person of the Scottish king, and never to insist upon his being disin herited, or upon the dissolution of the marriage settlement;5 promises, the particular history of which is involved in much obscurity, but which strongly, though generally, demonstrate, that the English king had been accused of designs inimical to the honour and independence of Scotland. At the head of the party which steadily op posed the interested schemes of Henry, was Walter Comyn, earl of Menteith, whose loyalty we have seen insisting on the speedy coronation of the young king, when it was attempted to be deferred by Alan Durward. Many of the principal nobility, and some of the best and wisest of the clergy, were found in the same ranks.
The Earl of Gloucester and his asso ciates accordingly repaired to Scot land; and, in concert with the Earls of Dunbar, Strathern, and Carrick, surprised the castle of Edinburgh, relieved the royal couple from the real or pretended durance in which they were held, and formally conducted them to the bridal chamber, although the king was yet scarcely fourteen years of age.6 English influence ap pears now to have been predominant ; and Henry, having heard of the suc cess of his forerunners Maunsell and Gloucester, and conceiving that the time was come for the reduction of Scotland under his unfettered control, issued his writs to his military tenants,
3 Chron. Melross, p. 183.
4 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. i. pp. 558, 559. See Illustrations, B.
5 Rymer, vol. i. p. 559.
6 Math. Paris, p. 908. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 90, book x. chap. ix.
6 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
and assembled a numerous army. As he led this array towards the borders, he took care to conceal his real inten tions, by directing, from Newcastle, a declaration, that in this progress to visit his dear son Alexander, he should attempt nothing prejudicial to the rights of the king, or the liberties of Scotland.1 In the meantime, the Comyns collected their forces, and the opposite faction suddenly removed the king and queen to Roxburgh, in which castle Alexander received Henry, who conducted him, with pomp and accla mation, to the Abbey of Kelso. The government of Scotland was there remodelled; a new set of counsellors appointed; and the party of the Comyns, with John Baliol and Robert de Ross, completely deprived of their political influence. In the instruments drawn up upon this occasion, some provisions were inserted, which were loudly complained of as derogatory to the dignity of the kingdom; the abet tors of England were stigmatized as conspirators, who were equally obnox ious to prelates, barons, and burgesses; and the Bishop of Glasgow, the Bishop elect of St Andrews, the chancellor, and the Earl of Menteith, indignantly refused to affix their seals to a deed, which, as they asserted, compromised the liberties of the country.2
A regency was now appointed, which included the whole of the clergy and the nobility who were favourable to England,3 to whom were intrusted the custody of the king’s person, and the government of the realm for seven years, till Alexander had reached the age of twenty-one. Henry assumed to himself the title of
1 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. i. pp. 560, 561. The instrument is dated 25th August 1255.
2 The Chronicle of Melrose, p. 181, calls the deed “nefandissimum scriptum.” See Fordun a Goodal, book x. chap. ix. Winton, book vii. chap. x. vol. i. p. 385.
3 Richard Inverkeithen bishop of Dunkeld, Peter de Ramsay bishop of Aberdeen, Mal colm earl of Fife, Patrick earl of Dunbar or March, Malise earl of Strathern, and Nigel earl of Carrick, Walter de Moray, David de Lindesay, William de Brechin, Robert de Meyners, Gilbert de Hay, and Hugh Gifford de Yester, were the heads of the English | party. Rymer, Fœdera, vol. i. pp. 565-567.
“ principal counsellor to the illustrious King of Scotland;” and the Comyns, with Bishop Gamelin, the Earl of Mar, Baliol, Ross, and their chief accom plices, were removed from all share in the government of the kingdom.4
Alexander, upon his part, engaged to treat his young queen with all honour and affection; and the Earl of Dunbar, according to a common solem nity of this age, swore upon the soul of the king, that every article of the agreement should be faithfully per formed. Thus ended a negotiation conducted entirely by English influ ence; and which, although the ambi tion of the Comyns may have given some plausible colour to the designs of their enemies, was generally and justly unpopular in Scotland.5 Alex ander and his queen now repaired to Edinburgh; and Henry, after having attempted to recruit his exhausted coffers, by selling a pardon to John de Baliol, and confiscating the estates of Robert de Ross, returned to com mit new attacks upon the property of his English subjects.6
Upon his departure, Scotland be came the scene of civil faction and ecclesiastical violence. There were at this time in that kingdom thirtytwo knights and three powerful earls of the name of Comyn;7 and these, with
4 Rotul. Patent. 39 Hen. III. m. 2, in pro- tectionibus duabus pro Eugenio de Ergadia.
5 Winton, book vii. chap, x.— Thare wes made swylk ordynans, That wes gret grefe and displesans Till of Scotland ye thre statis, Burgcns, Barownys, and Prelatis.
Nothing can be more slight or inaccurate than the account of the early transactions of Alexanders reign, to be found in Buchanan, Boece, and Major. Nor are our more modern his torians, who have not submitted to the task of examining the original authorities, free from the same fault. Maitland gives almost a transcript of Buchanan. Lingard, the author of a valuable history of England, has advanced opinions regarding the conduct of Henry the Third and the once keenly-contested subject of homage, which do not appear to me to be well founded: and even Hailes has not ex posed, in sufficiently strong colours, that cunning and ambition in the English king, which, under the mask of friendship and protection, concealed a design against the liberties of the kingdom.
6 Mathew Paris, p. 911.
7 Fordun a Goodal. vol. ii. p. 92.
1256-59.] ALEXANDER III. 7
their armed vassals, assisted by many of the disgraced nobility, formed an effectual check upon the measures of the regency. Gamelin, the Bishop elect of St Andrews, and the steady enemy of English influence, unawed by his late removal, procured himself to be consecrated by the Bishop of Glasgow : and although placed with out the protection of the laws, he yet, in an appeal to the court of Rome, induced the pope to excommunicate his accusers, and to declare him worthy of his bishopric.1 Henry, enraged at the bold opposition of Gamelin, pro hibited his return, and issued orders to arrest him if he attempted to land in England; while the regents per formed their part in the persecution, by seizing the rich revenues of his see.2
In the midst of these scenes of fac tion and disturbance, the King and Queen of Scotland proceeded to Lon don on a visit to their father, and were received with great magnificence. They were entertained at Oxford, Woodstock, and in London. Tents were raised in the meadows for the accommodation of their followers; and Henry renewed to Alexander a grant of the honour of Huntingdon, which had been held by some of his predecessors.3 The party of the Comyns, however, were slowly regain ing ground. The pope, by his judg ment in favour of Gamelin, espoused their quarrel; and they soon received a powerful support in Mary de Couci, the widow of Alexander the Second, and John of Acre her husband, who at this time passed through England into Scotland.4 This was indeed a favourable conjuncture by the dele gates of the pope, to publish the sen tence of excommunication against the counsellors of the king. The cere mony, in those days an affair of awful moment, was performed by the Bishop of Dumblane, and the Abbots of Jed- burgh and Melrose, in the abbey
1 Chron. Melross, p. 181. Hailes, vol. i. p. 170, 4to. 2 Rymer, Fœd. vol. i. p. 652. 3 Math. Paris, p. 930. 4 Rymer, vol. i. p. G25.
church of Cambuskenneth, and re peated, “ by bell and candle,” in every chapel in the kingdom.5
To follow this up, the Comyns now assembled in great strength : they de clared that the government of the kingdom had been shamefully mis managed,—that foreigners were pro moted to the highest offices,—that their sovereign was detained in the hands of excommunicated and ac cursed persons,—and that an inter dict would soon be fulminated against the whole kingdom.6 Finding that their party increased in weight and popularity, they resorted to more desperate measures. Under cover of night they attacked the court of the king, which was then held at Kinross; seized the young monarch in his bed ; carried him and his queen before morning to Stirling; made themselves masters of the great seal of the king dom ; and totally dispersed the oppo site faction. Nor were they remiss in strengthening their interest by foreign alliance. They entered into a remark able treaty with Wales—at this time the enemy of England—which, with a wisdom scarcely to be looked for in those rude times, included in its pro visions some important regulations regarding the commerce of both coun tries.7
Alan Durward meanwhile precipi tately fled to England;8 and the Comyns, eager to press their advan tage to the utmost, assembled their forces, and marched with the king against the English party. A nego tiation at length took place at Rox burgh ; and the nobility and principal knights, who had leagued with Henry, engaged to submit themselves to the king and the laws, and to settle all disputes in a conference to be held at Forfar. This was merely an artifice to gain time, for they immediately fled to England; and the Earls of Hereford and Albemarle, along with John de Baliol, soon after repaired to Melrose, where the Scottish king
5 Chron. Melross, p. 182.
6 See Illustrations, C.
7 Ibid. D.
8 Chron. Melross, p. 182.
8 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
awaited the arrival of his army. Their avowed purpose was to act as media tors between the two factions : their real intention to seize, if possible, the person of the king, and to carry him into England.1 But the plot was suspected; and Alexander, with the Comyns, defeated all hopes of its suc cess, by appointing for the scene of their conference the forest of Jed- burgh, in which a great part of his troops had already assembled.
The two English earls, therefore, resumed their more pacific design of negotiation. It was difficult and pro tracted ; so that, in the interval, the king and the Comyns, having time to collect a large force, found themselves in a situation to insist upon terms which were alike favourable to their own power and to the liberty of the country. The King of England was compelled to dissemble his ani mosity, to forget his bitter opposition against Bishop Gamelin, and to re serve to some other opportunity all reference to the obnoxious treaty of Roxburgh. A new regency was ap pointed, which left the principal power in the hands of the queen-mother and of the Comyns, but endeavoured to reconcile the opposite parties, by in cluding in its numbers four of the former regents.2 Meanwhile the country, torn by contending factions, was gradually reduced to a state of great misery. Men forgot their re spect for the kingly authority, and despised the restraint of the laws; the higher nobles enlisted under one or other of the opposite parties, plun dered the lands and slew the retainers of their rival barons ; churches were violated, castles and hamlets razed to the ground, and the regular returns of seed-time and harvest interrupted by the flames of private war. In short, the struggle to resist English interference was fatal, for the time, to the prosperity of the kingdom ; and what Scotland gained in independence, she lost in improvement and national happiness.3
1 Chron. Melross, p. 183.
2 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. i. p. 670.
3 Fordun a Groodal, vol. ii, p. 85.
At this crisis, when they had effec tually succeeded in diminishing, if not destroying, the English influence, the Comyns lost the leader whose courage and energy were the soul of their coun cils. Walter Comyn, earl of Menteith, died suddenly. It was reported in Eng land that his death was occasioned by a fall from his horse;4 but a darker story arose in Scotland. The Countess of Menteith had encouraged a criminal passion for an English baron named Russel,5 and was openly accused of having poisoned her husband to make way for her paramour, whom she mar ried with indecent haste. Insulted and disgraced, she and her husband were thrown into prison, despoiled of their estates, and at last compelled to leave the kingdom.6
Encouraged by the death of his op ponent, and anxious to regain his lost influence, the English king now became desirous that Alexander and his queen should pay him a visit at London; and for this purpose he sent William de Horton, a monk of St Albans, on a secret mission into Scotland. Horton arrived at the period when the king and his nobles were assembled in coun cil, and found them jealous of this per petual interference of England. They deemed these visits incompatible with the independence of the country; and the messenger of Henry met with great opposition.7 The nature of the mes sage increased this alarm. It was a request that Alexander and his queen should repair to London, to treat of matters of great importance, but which were not communicated to the parlia ment; and it was not surprising that the nobility, profiting by former expe rience, should have taken precautions against any sinister designs of Henry.
4 Math. Paris, p. 660.
5 Buchanan, copying Boece, as he generally does, calls Russel” ignobilis Anglus. But I suspect that the paramour of the countess was John Russel, one of the witnesses, in 1220, who signs the agreement for the mar riage of Johanna, sister of Henry the Third, to Alexander the Second, giving his obliga tion to Alexander for the fulfilment of the treaty, and who could not be an obscure indi vidual. Fœdera, vol. i. p. 240.
6 Hailes’ Hist. vol. i. p. 172, 4to.
7 Math. Paris, p. 985.
1259-63.] ALEXANDER III. 9
Accordingly, the Earl of Buchan, Dur- ward the Justiciar, and the Chancellor Wishart, were in their turn despatched upon a secret mission into England; and the result was, that Alexander and his queen consented to visit London, under two conditions: first, an express stipulation was made that, during their stay at court, neither the king, nor any of his attendants, were to be required to treat of state affairs; and, secondly, an oath was to be taken by the English monarch, that if the Queen of Scot land became pregnant, or if she gave birth to a child during her absence, neither the mother nor the infant should be detained in England;1 so great, at this moment, in the minds of the Scottish nobility, was the jealousy of English ambition and intrigue.
In fulfilment of this promise, the King of Scotland repaired with a con course of his nobility to the court of England; and left his queen, whose situation now speedily promised an heir to the Scottish throne, to follow him, by slow stages, with the Bishop of Glasgow. On her approach to St Albans, she was met by her younger brother Edmund, who received her with a splendid retinue, and conducted her in the morning to London. The object of this visit of Alexander was not solely to gratify the King of Eng land. He was anxious to exercise his rights over the territory of Hunting don, which he held of the English crown; and the payment of his wife’s portion had been so long delayed, that he wished to reclaim the debt. The reception of the royal persons appears to have been unusually magnificent; and the country round the court was greatly exhausted by the sumptuous entertainments, and the intolerable ex penses which they demanded.2 In the midst of these festivities, the queen drew near her time; and, at the press ing instance of her father, it was agreed that she should lie-in at the court of England : not, however, without a re newed stipulation, sworn upon the soul of the king, that the infant, in the
1 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. i. pp. 713, 714. Math. Westminster, p. 376.
2 Math. Westminster, p. 376.
event of the death of its mother or of Alexander, should be delivered to an appointed body of the Scottish no bility.
Having secured this, Alexander re turned to his kingdom; and in the month of February 1261 his young queen was delivered at Windsor of a daughter, Margaret, afterwards mar ried to Eric, king of Norway.3
In the beginning of the following year, Henry seems to have interposed his good offices to prevent a rupture between Alexander and Haco, king of Norway, regarding the possession of the Western Islands, the petty chiefs of which had for a long period been feuda tory to the Norwegian crown.4 Their habits of constant war and piratical ex cursion had at this time rendered the Norwegians a formidable people; and their near vicinity to Scotland en abled them, at a very early period, to overspread the whole of the Western Archipelago. The little sovereignties of these islands, under the protection of a warlike government, appear to have been in a flourishing condition. They were crowded with people; and the useful and ornamental arts were carried in them to a higher degree of perfection than in the other European countries. A poet of the north, in describing a dress unusually gorgeous, adds, that it was spun by the Sudre- yans.5 And even in science and litera ture, this remarkable people had, in their colonies especially, attained to no inconsiderable distinction.6
The vicinity of such enterprising neighbours was particularly irksome to the Scottish kings, and they anxiously endeavoured to get possession of these islands. When treaty failed, they en couraged their subjects of Scotland to invade them; and Alan, lord of Gal loway, assisted by Thomas, earl of
3 Math. Westminster, p. 377. The Chron. Melross, p. 185, places her birth in the year 1260. She certainly was not born as late as the 16th November 1260.
4 Macpherson’s Geographical Illustrations of Scottish History, under the word “ His.” A valuable work.
5 Johnstone’s Lodbrokar-Quida, stanza xv. and explanatory note.
6 Macpherson’s Illustrations, ut supra, voce “ His.”
10 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
Athole, about thirty years before this, I carried on a successful war against the isles, and expelled Olaf the Black, king of Man, from his dominions.1 These Scottish chiefs had collected a large fleet, with a proportionably nu merous army; and it required all the exertions of the Norwegian king to re-establish his vassal on his island throne. After this, the authority of Norway became gradually more and more precarious throughout the isles. Some of the chiefs were compelled, others induced by motives of interest, to renounce their allegiance, and to embrace the nearer superiority of Scotland: some, who held lands of both crowns, were uncertain to whom they should pay their paramount al legiance; and Alexander the Second, the immediate predecessor of Alex ander the Third, after an unsuccessful attempt at negotiation, prepared an expedition for their complete reduc tion. The expressions used in threat ening this invasion may convince us that the Norwegians had not only ac quired the sovereignty of the isles, but had established themselves upon the mainland of Scotland; for the Scottish king declares, “ that he will not desist till he hath set his standard upon the cliffs of Thurso, and subdued all that the King of Norway possessed to the westward of the German Ocean.”2 Alexander the Second, however, lived only to conduct his fleet and army to the shores of Argyle- shire; and, on the king’s death, the object of the expedition was aban doned.3
During the minority of Alexander the Third, all idea of reducing the isles seems to have been abandoned;
1 Johnstone, Antiquitates Celto-Norman- nicæ, p. 30. See also a Memoir, by Mr Dil lon, in the Transactions of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries, p. 356, vol. ii. p. 2. The fleet of Earl Alan alone consisted of 150 ships : small craft, of course, but formidable in piratic warfare.
2 Chronicle of Man, p. 43.
3 Math. Paris, p. 770. Mathew describes Alexander as having sailed on this expedi tion, for the purpose of compelling Angus of Argyle to do him homage for certain lands which were held of Norway : Alexander's ob ject was to compel all the vassals of Norway to renounce their allegiance.
but when the king was no longer a boy, the measure was seriously re sumed ; and after an unsuccessful embassy to the Norwegian court,4 the Earl of Ross and other island chiefs were induced to invade the reguli, or petty kings of the Hebrides, in the western seas. Their exp dition was accompanied with circumstances of extreme cruelty. The ketherans and soldiers of the isles, if we may believe the Norwegian Chronicles, not content with the sack of villages and the plun der of churches, in their wanton fury raised the children on the points of their spears, and shook them till they fell down to their hands : barbarities which might be thought incredible, were we not acquainted with the horrid atrocities which, even in our own days, have accompanied piratic warfare.5
Such conduct effectually roused Haco, the Norwegian king. He de termined to revenge the injuries offered to his vassals, and immediately issued orders for the assembling of a fleet and army, whilst he repaired in person to Bergen to superintend the preparations for the expedition. The magnitude of these spread an alarm even upon the coasts of England. It was reported, that the Kings of Den mark and Norway, with an overwhelm ing fleet, had bent their course against the Scottish islands; 6 and although the apparent object of Haco was no thing more than the protection of his vassals, yet the final destination of so powerful an armament was anxiously contemplated.
On the 7th of July, the fleet set sail from Herlover. The king commanded in person. His ship, which had been built at Bergen, was entirely of oak, of great dimensions,7 and ornamented
4 Chronicle of Man, p. 45.
5 The Chronicle of Man, p. 45, says the Earl of Ross was assisted by Kearnach and the son of Macalmal. Macalmal is conjec tured to be Macdonald. Who was Kearnach ? As to the inhuman practice mentioned in the text, see Johnstone, Notes to the Norwegian Expedition.
6 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. i. p. 772. Letter from Ralph de Nevil, captain of Bamborough castle.
7 Norse Account of this Expedition, with its translation, published by Johnstone, p. 25.
1263.] ALEXANDER III. 11
with richly-carved dragons, overlaid with gold. Everything at first seemed to favour the expedition. It was mid summer, the day was fine, and in numerable flags and pennons flaunted in the breeze; the decks were crowded with knights and soldiers, whose ar mour glittered in the sun; and the armament, which was considered as the most powerful and splendid that had ever sailed from Norway, bore away with a light wind for Shetland, which it reached in two days.1 Haco thence sailed to Orkney, where he proposed to separate his forces into two divi sions, and to send one of these to plunder in the Firth of Forth; whilst he himself remained in reserve, with his largest ships and the greater part of his army, in Orkney. It happened, however, that the higher vassals and retainers, who appear to have had a powerful influence in the general direction of the expedi tion, refused to go anywhere with out the king himself; and this pro ject was abandoned.2 The fleet, therefore, directed its course to the south; and, after being joined by a small squadron which had previously been despatched to the westward,3 Haco conducted his ships into the bay of Ronaldsvoe, and sent messengers to the neighbouring coast of Caithness to levy contributions. This country, ex posed from its situation to perpetual piratic invasions, was, as we have seen, in 1249 under the dominion of Nor way. But this did not long continue. The exertions of the Scottish govern ment had succeeded in reducing the inhabitants; hostages were exacted for their fidelity; and now we find this remote district in the state of a Scot tish province, exposed to the exactions of Norway.
No aid, however, appeared from Scot land; and the Caithnessians quietly
According to this work, Haco’s ship had twenty-seven banks of oars ; that is, twenty- seven seats for the rowers.
1 Norse Account of the Expedition, pp. 38, 39. It calls it a mighty and splendid arma ment. Haco anchored in Breydeyiar Sound.
2 Norse Account, p. 43. 3 Observations on the Norwegian Expedi tion, Antiquarian Transactions, vol. ii. p. 363.
submitted to the tribute which Haco imposed upon them. It is remarked by the Norwegian Chronicle, that when their king lay with his fleet in Ronaldsvoe, “a great darkness drew over the sun, so that only a little ring was bright round his orb.” The ancient historian thus unconsciously afforded to modern science the means of exactly ascertaining the date of this great expedition. The eclipse was cal culated, and it was found to have taken place on the 5th of August 1263,4 and to have been annular at Ronaldsvoe in Orkney: a fine example of the clear and certain light reflected by the exact sciences upon history. Early in August, the king sailed across the Pentland Firth, having left orders for the Orkney men to follow him when their preparations were completed; thence he proceeded by the Lewes to the Isle of Skye, where he was joined by Magnus, the lord of Man; and from this holding on to the Sound of Mull, he met Dugal and other Hebri- dean chiefs with their whole forces.
The united armament of Haco now amounted to above a hundred vessels, most of them large, all well provided with men and arms; and, on the junc tion of the fleet, the business of piracy commenced. A division of the forces first took place.5 A squadron of fifty ships, under Magnus and Dugal, was sent to plunder in the Mull of Kantire; five ships were de spatched for the same purpose to Bute; and the king himself, with the rest of the fleet, remained at Gigha, a little island between the coast of Kantire and Islay. He was here met by King John, one of the island chiefs, whom Alexander the Second had in vain attempted to seduce from his fidelity to Norway. John was now, however, differently situated; and a scene took place which is strongly illustrative of feudal manners. Haco desired him to follow his banner, as was his duty; upon which the island prince excused himself. He affirmed that he had taken the oaths as a
4 The Chronicle of Melrose is thus evidently wrong in placing this expedition in 1262.
5 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 49. .
12 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
vassal of the Scottish king; that he held of him more lands than of his Norwegian master; and he entreated Haco to dispose of all those estates which he had conferred on him. This reasoning, although not agreeable to his powerful superior, was apparently such as Haco could not dispute; and after a short time John was dismissed, not only uninjured, but with pre sents.1
Many of these island chiefs found themselves, during this northern inva sion, in a very distressing situation. On one hand, the destroying fleet of Haco lay close to the shores of their little territories, eager to plunder them should they manifest the slightest resistance. On the other, they had given hostages for their loyal be haviour to the King of Scotland ; and the liberty, perhaps the lives, of their friends or their children were forfeited if they deserted to the enemy. In this cruel dilemma was Angus, lord of Kantire and Islay, apparently a person of high authority in these parts, and whose allegiance the Scottish king seems to have adopted every method to secure. He held his infant son as a hostage ; an instrument had been drawn out, which declared his terri tories subject to instant forfeiture if he deserted; and the barons of Argyle were compelled to promise that they would faithfully serve the king against Angus of Islay, and unite in accom plishing his ruin, unless he continued true to his oaths.2 But the power of the King of Scotland was remote; the vengeance of piratical warfare was at his door; and Angus, with another island prince, Murchad of Kantire, submitted to Haco, and delivered up the whole lands which they held of Alexander. A fine of a thousand head of cattle was esteemed a proper punishment for their desertion from Norway; and when they renewed their oaths to Haco, he promised, what he did not live to perform, to re-
1 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 51. See also p. 69.
2 Observations on the Norwegian Expedi- tion, Antiquarian Transactions, pp. 367, 368. See Ayloffe’s Calendar of Ancient Charters, pp. 336, 342.
concile them to the offended majesty of Scotland.3
In the meantime, the squadron which had been despatched towards the Mull of Kantire made a desolat ing descent upon the peninsula; but in the midst of their havoc, and when they were proceeding to attack the greater villages, they received letters from Haco, forbidding them to plunder, and commanding them to rejoin the king’s fleet at Gigha. Haco next de spatched one of his captains, with some small vessels, to join the little squadron which had sailed against Bute; and intelligence soon after reached him that the castle of Rothe- say, in that island, had been taken by his soldiers, and that the Scottish garrison had capitulated. A pirate chief, named Roderic, who claimed Bute as his inheritance, but who had been opposed by the islanders and outlawed by Alexander, was at this time with Haco. His knowledge of the seas in these quarters made him useful to the invaders, and the power of Haco enabled him to gratify his revenge. He accordingly laid waste the island, basely murdered part of the garrison of Rothesay, and leading a party of plunderers from Bute into Scotland, carried fire and sword into the heart of the neighbouring country.4
While the king’s fleet lay at Gigha, Haco received messengers from the Irish Ostmen, with proposals of sub mitting themselves to his power ; under the condition that he would pass over to Ireland with his fleet, and grant them his protection against the attacks of their English invaders, who had acquired the principal towns upon the coast. In reply to this pro-
3 Norse Account of the Expedition, pp. 55, 56.
4 Norse Account of the Expedition, pp. 63, 67. This valuable historical chronicle is in terspersed with pieces of poetry, descriptive of the events which occurred, The invasion of Bute and the inroad of Rudri into Scotland are thus sung :—
“ The habitations of men, the dwellings of the wretched, flamed. Fire, the devourer of halls, glowed in their granaries. The hapless throwers of the dart fell near the swan-fre quented plain, while south from our floating pines marched a host of warriors.”
1263.] ALEXANDER III. 13
posal, the king despatched Sigurd, one of his chief captains, to communicate with the Ostmen;1 and in the mean- time he himself, with the whole fleet, sailed round the point of Kantire, and, entering the Firth of Clyde, anchored in the Sound of Kilbrannan, which lies between the island of Arran and the mainland.
Hitherto the great body of the Norwegian fleet had remained in the Hebrides, and Scotland was only made acquainted with this formidable inva sion by the small squadrons which had been despatched for the purposes of plunder. But the whole naval arma ment of Haco, amounting to a hundred and sixty ships, as it entered the Firth of Clyde, became conspicuous from the opposite shores of Kyle, Carrick, and Wigtown; and the more imme diate danger of a descent induced the Scottish government to think seriously of some terms of pacification. Accord ingly, there soon after arrived from Alexander a deputation of Prædicant, or Barefooted Friars, whose object was to sound Haco regarding the con ditions upon which a peace might be concluded; and, in consequence of these overtures, five Norwegian com missioners2 were sent to treat with the King of Scotland. They were honourably received by Alexander, and dismissed with a promise that such terms of accommodation as the Scottish king could consent to should be transmitted to Haco within a short time; and in the meanwhile a tem porary truce was agreed on.
This was wise: for to delay any pacification, without irritating their
1 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 67. These Ostmen, or Easterlings, appear to have been the descendants of the Norwegians, or Ostmen. who long inhabited the eastern coast of Ireland, and founded some of its best towns. They were still, in 1201, so consider able, that, at a recognition taken of the dio cese of Limerick, the arbitrators were twelve English, twelve Irish, and twelve Ostmen. Edward the first gave Gilmorys, and other Ostmen of the county of Waterford, particular privileges.—Johnstone’s Notes on p. 66 of the Norse Expedition.
2 These were Gilbert, bishop of Hamar, Henry, bishop of Orkney, Andrew Nicolson, Andrew Plytt, and Paul Soor.—Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 69.
enemy, was the manifest policy of Scotland. Every day gave them more time to levy and concentrate their army; and as the autumn was drawing to a close, it brought the Norwegians a nearer prospect of wreck and dis aster from the winter storms. Envoys were now despatched from Alexander to Haco ; and the moderate demands of the King of Scotland made it ap parent that, at this moment, he was not prepared to resist the fleet and army of Norway. He claimed Bute, Arran, and the two islands of the Cum braes, all lying in the Firth of Clyde, as the property of Scotland; but it appears that he was willing to have given up to Norway the whole of the isles of the Hebrides.3 These terms, so advan tageous to Haco, were, fortunately for Scotland, rejected : no pacification took place; and the fleet of Norway bore in through the narrow strait between the larger and the lesser Cum- brae, thus menacing a descent upon the coast of Ayrshire, which is scarcely two miles distant.
The crews had now run short of provisions, the weather was daily be coming more threatening, a strong Scottish force of armed peasants had gathered on the shore, and Haco was anxiously exhorted by his officers to give orders for a descent on the coast, were it only to recruit, by plunder, the exhausted state of their provisions.4 This measure, it seems, he was un willing to adopt, without a last mes sage to the King of Scotland ; and for this purpose he sent an ambassador 5 to Alexander, whose commission was worded in the true style of ancient chivalry. He was to propose, “ That the sovereigns should meet amicably at the head of their armies, and treat regarding a peace, which if, by the grace of God, it took place, it was well; but if the attempt at negotia tion failed, he was to throw down the gauntlet from Norway, to challenge the Scottish monarch to debate the matter with his army in the field, and let God, in his pleasure, deter-
3 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 71.
4 Ibid. pp. 73, 75.
5 Kolbein Rich was his name.
14 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
mine the victory. Alexander, how ever, would agree to no explanation; but “seemed,” says the Norse Chroni cle, “in no respect unwilling to fight;”1 upon which the envoy returned from his unsatisfactory mission, and the truce was declared at an end.
Haco next despatched a fleet of sixty ships up the Clyde, into Loch Long, under the command of Magnus, king of Man, and with him four He- bridean chiefs, and two principal Nor wegian officers. They penetrated and plundered to the head of Loch Long ; they then took to their boats, and dragging them across the narrow neck of land between Arrochar and Tarbet, laLtnched them into Loch Lomond, the islands of which lake were then full of inhabitants. To these islands the Scots had retreated for security, no doubt; little anticipating the mea sure which the lightness of the Nor wegian craft, and the active persever ance of that bold people, enabled them to carry into execution. Their safe- holds now became the scenes of plun der and bloodshed; the islands were wasted with fire, the shores of this beautiful lake completely ravished, and the houses on its borders burnt to the ground.2 After this, one of the Hebridean chiefs made an expedition into the rich and populous county of Stirling, in which he slew great num bers of the inhabitants, and returned, driving herds of cattle before him, and loaded with booty.3
But the measure of Norwegian suc cess was now full: the spirit of the Scottish nation was highly exasperated —time had been given them to collect their forces—and, as had been fore seen, the elements began to fight on their side. Upon returning to their ships in Loch Long, the invaders en countered so dreadful a storm, that
1 Norse Account of the Expedition.
2 Ibid. pp. 78, 79. Sturlas sings of this : —“ The persevering shielded warriors of the thrower of the whizzing spear drew their boats across the broad isthmus. Our fear less troops, the exactors of contribution, with flaming brands wasted the populous islands in the lake, and the mansions around its winding bays.”
3 Excerpt, e Rotul. Compot. Temp. Alex. III. p. 38.
ten of their vessels were completely wrecked.4 King Haco still lay with the rest of the fleet in the Firth of Clyde, near the little islands of the Cumbraes, when, on Monday the 1st of October, a second tempest came on, accompanied with such torrents ef hailstones and rain, that the Nor wegians ascribe its extreme violence to the powers of enchantment—a pre valent belief at this period.5 The wind blew from the south-west, mak ing the coast of Ayrshire a lee-shore to the fleet, and thus infinitely in creasing its distress. At midnight a cry of distress was heard in the king’s ship ; and before assistance could be given, the rigging of a transport, driven loose by the storm, got en tangled with the royal vessel, and carried away her head. The transport then fell alongside, so that her anchor grappled the cordage of the king’s ship; and Haco, perceiving the storm increasing, and finding his own ship beginning to drag her anchors, ordered the cable of the transport to be cut, and let her drift to sea. When morn ing came, she and another vessel were seen cast ashore. The wind still in creased ; and the king, imagining that the powers of magic might be con trolled by the services of religion, rowed in his long boat to the islands of the Cumbraes, and there, amid the roaring of the elements, ordered mass to be celebrated.6 But the tempest increased in fury. Many vessels cut away their masts; his own ship, al though secured by seven anchors, drove from her moorings; five galleys were cast ashore, and the rest of the fleet violently beat up the channel towards Largs.7
Meanwhile, Alexander had neglected no precaution which was likely to in-
4 Norse Account of the Expedition, pp. 81-84.
5 “Now our deep-inquiring sovereign en countered the horrid powers of enchantment. The troubled flood tore many fair galleys from their moorings, and swept them anchor less before its waves. . . . The roaring bil lows and stormy blast threw shielded com panies of our adventurous nation on the Scot tish strand.”—Norse Account, p. 87.
6 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 85.
7 Ibid.
1263.] ALEXANDER III. 15
sure the discomfiture of this great armament. Before it appeared on the coast, the warders in the different castles which commanded a view of the sea were directed to keep a strict lookout; a communication by beacons was established with the interior of the country;1 and now, when the tempest seemed to threaten the total destruction of their enemies, a mul titude of armed peasants hovered on the surrounding heights observing every motion of the Norwegian fleet, and ready to take instant advantage of its distress. Accordingly, when the five galleys, with their armed crews, were cast ashore, the Scots rushed down from the heights, and attacked them. The Norwegians de fended themselves with great gal lantry ; and the king, as the wind had somewhat abated, succeeded in sending in boats with reinforcements; but as soon as their crews landed, the Scots retired, satisfying themselves with re turning during the night, to plunder the transports.2
When morning broke, Haco came on shore with a large reinforcement, and ordered the transports to be light ened, and towed to the ships. Soon after, the Scottish army appeared at a distance, upon the high grounds above the village of Largs; and as it advanced, the sun’s rays glancing from the lines made it evident to the Nor wegians that a formidable body of troops were about to attack them. The cavalry, although they only amounted to fifteen hundred horse men, had a formidable appearance on the heights, most of them being knights or barons from the neigh bouring counties, armed from head to heel, and mounted on Spanish horses, which were clothed in complete ar mour.3 All the other horses were defended with breastplates ; and be sides this cavalry, there was a nu merous body of foot soldiers, well accoutred, and for the most part
1 Observations on the Norwegian Expedi tion against Scotland, pp. 390, 391. Also, Excerpt, e Rot. Compot. Tempore Regis Alexandri III. pp. 9, 31, 48.
2 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 91. 3 Ibid. pp. 94, 95.
armed with spears and bows. This force was led by the king in person, along with Alexander the High Stew ard of Scotland.4
On the shore, at this time, was a body of nine hundred Norwegians, commanded by three principal leaders; two hundred men occupied in advance a small hill which rises behind the village of Largs, and the rest of the troops were drawn up on the beach. With the advance also was the king, whom, as the main battle of the Scots approached, his officers anxiously en treated to row out to his fleet, and send them further reinforcements. Haco, for some time, pertinaciously insisted on remaining on shore; but as he became more and more exposed, the barons would not consent to this, and at last prevailed on him to return in his barge to his fleet at the Cum- braes. The van of the Scottish army now began to skirmish with the ad vance of the Norwegians, and greatly outnumbering them, pressed on both flanks with so much fury, that, afraid of being surrounded and cut to pieces, they began a retreat, which soon changed into a flight. At this critical moment, when everything depended on Haco’s returning with additional forces before the main body of the Scots had time to charge his troops on the beach, a third storm came on, which completed the ruin of the Nor wegian fleet, already shattered by the former furious gales. This cut off all hopes of landing a reinforcement, and they were completely routed. Indeed, without a miracle, it could not have been otherwise. The main body of the Scots far outnumbered the force of the Norwegians; 5 and their advance, under Ogmund, flying back in con fusion, threw into disorder the small squadrons which were drawn up on the beach. Many of these attempted to save themselves, by leaping into their boats and pushing off from land ; others endeavoured to defend them-
4 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 95. Winton, vol. i. p. 387. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 98.
5 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 97, says that ten Scots fought against one Nor wegian. This is no doubt exaggerated.
16 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
selves in the transport which had been stranded; and between the anger of the elements, the ceaseless showers of missile weapons from the enemy, and the impossibility of receiving succour from the fleet, their army was greatly distressed. Their leaders, too, began to desert them ; and their boats be came overloaded and went down.1 The Norwegians were now driven along the shore, but they constantly rallied, and behaved with their accus tomed national bravery. Some had placed themselves in and round the stranded vessels; and while the main body retreated slowly, and in good order, a conflict took place beside the ships, where Piers de Curry,2 a Scottish knight, was encountered and slain. Curry appears to have been a person of some note, for he and the Steward of Scotland are the only Scottish sol diers whose names Lave come down to us as acting a principal part upon this occasion. His death is minutely de scribed in the Norwegian Chronicle. Gallantly mounted, and splendidly armed, his helmet and coat of mail being inlaid with gold, Sir Piers rode fearlessly up to the Norwegian line, attempting, in the chivalrous style of the times, to provoke an encounter. In this he was soon satisfied; for a Norwegian, who conducted the re treat, irritated by his defiance, engaged him in single combat; and after a short resistance, killed him by a blow which severed his thigh from his body, the sword cutting through the cuisses of his armour, and penetrating to his saddle.3 A conflict now took place round the body of this young knight, the plunder of whose rich armour the retreating Norwegians could not re sist ; their little square was thrown into confusion; and, as the Scots pressed on, the slaughter became great. Haco, a Norse baron, and near in blood to the king, was slain, along with many others of the principal leaders; and the Norwegians would have been entirely cut to pieces, if
1 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 97.
2 Winton, vol. i. p. 388. “ Perrys of Curry call’d be name.”
3 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 99.
they had not at last succeeded in bringing a reinforcement from the fleet, by landing their boats through a tremendous surf.4
These new troops instantly attacked the enemy upon two points ; and their arrival reinspirited the Norsemen, and enabled them to form anew. It was now evening, and the day had been occupied by a protracted battle, or rather a succession of obstinate skir mishes. The Norwegians, although they fought with uncommon spirit, had sustained severe loss; and they now made a last effort to repulse the Scots from the high grounds imme diately overhanging the shore. The impetuosity of their attack succeeded, and the enemy were driven back after a short and furious resistance.5 The relics of this brave body of invaders then re-embarked in their boats, and, although the storm continued, arrived safely at the fleet.
During the whole of this conflict, which lasted from morning till night, the storm continued raging with un abated fury, and the remaining ships of Haco were dreadfully shattered and distressed. They drove from their anchors, stranded on the shore, where multitudes perished — struck against shallows and rocks, or found equal de struction by running foul of each other; and the morning presented a beach covered with dead bodies, and a sea strewed with sails, masts, cordage, and all the melancholy accompaniments of wreck.6 A truce was now granted to the king; and the interval employed in burying his dead, and in raising above them those rude memorials, which, in the shape of tumuli and huge perpendicular stones, still remain to mark the field of battle. The Norwegians then burnt the strand ed vessels; and, after a few days, having been joined by the remains of the fleet, which had been sent up Loch Long, their shattered navy
4 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 101.
5 Ibid. p. 103. “ At the conflict of corslets on the blood-red hill, the damasked blade hewed the mail of hostile tribes, ere the Scot, nimble as the hound, would leave the field to the followers of our all-conquering king.”
6 Fordun, chap. xvi. book x. vol. ii. p. 98.
1263.]
ALEXANDER III.
17
weighed anchor, and sailed towards Arran.1
In Lamlash Bay the king was met by the commissioners whom he had sent to Ireland, and they assured him that the Irish Óstmen would willingly maintain his forces, until he had freed them from the dominion of the Eng lish. Haco was eager to embrace the proposal. He appears to have been anxious to engage in any new expedi tion which might have banished their recent misfortunes from the minds of his soldiers, whilst it afforded him another chance of victory, with the certainty of reprovisioning the fleet; but their late disasters had made too deep an impression ; and, on calling a council, the Irish expedition was op posed by the whole army.2
The shattered squadron, therefore, steered for the Hebrides ; and in pass ing Islay, again levied a large contri bution on that island. The northern monarch, however, now felt the differ ence between sailing through this northern archipelago, as he had done a few months before, with a splendid and conquering fleet, when every day brought the island princes as willing vassals of his flag, and retreating, as he now did, a baffled invader. His boat crews were attacked, and cut off by the islanders. He appears to have in vain solicited an interview with John, the prince of the Isles. The pirate chiefs who had joined him, disappoint ed of their hopes of plunder, returned to their ocean strongholds; and al though he went through the forms of bestowing upon his followers the is lands of Bute and Arran, with other imaginary conquests, all must have seen that the success and power of Scotland rendered these grants utterly unavailing.3 The weather, too, which had been his worst enemy, continued lowering, and winter had set in. The fleet encountered in their return a severe gale off Islay; and, after doub ling Cape Wrath, were met in the Pentland Firth by a second storm, in
1 Observations on the Norwegian Expedi tion, Antiq. Trans, vol. ii. p. 385. 2 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 109. 3 Ibid. pp. 1ll, 113, 117. VOL. I.
which one vessel, with all on board, went down, and another narrowly es caped the same fate. The king’s ship, however, with the rest of the fleet, weathered the tempest, and at last arrived in Orkney on the 29 th of Oc tober.4
It was here found advisable to grant the troops permission to return to Norway ; as, to use the simple expres sion of the Norwegian Chronicle, “ many had already taken leave for themselves.” At first the king re solved on accompanying them ; but anxiety of mind, the incessant fatigues in which he had passed the summer and autumn, and the bitter disappoint ment in which they ended, had sunk deep into his heart, and the symp toms of a mortal distemper began to shew themselves in his constitution. His increasing sickness soon after this confined him to his chamber; and although for some time he struggled against the disease, and endeavoured to strengthen his mind by the cares of government and the consolations of religion, yet all proved in vain. At last, feeling himself dying, the spirit of the old Norse warrior seemed to revive with the decay of his bodily frame ; and, after some time spent in the services of the Church, he com manded the Chronicles of his ancestors the Pirate Kings to be read to him. On the 12th of December, the princi pal of the nobility and clergy, aware that there was no hope, attended in his bedchamber. Though greatly debili tated, Haco spoke distinctly, bade them all affectionately farewell, and kissed them. He then received ex treme unction, and declared that he left no other heir than Prince Magnus. The Chronicle of King Svverar was still read aloud to him when he was indisposed to sleep, but soon after this his voice became inaudible; and on the 15th of December, at midnight, he expired.5
Such was the conclusion of this memorable expedition against Scot land, which began with high hopes and formidable preparations, but ended
4 Norse Account of the Expedition, p. 119. 5 Ibid. p. 131.
B
18 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
in the disappointment of its object, and the death of its royal leader. It was evidently a fatal mistake in Haco to delay so long in petty expeditions against the Western Islands. While it was still summer, and the weather fair, he ought at once to have at tempted a descent upon the mainland; and had he done so, Alexander might have been thrown into great difficul- ties. Delay and protracted negotia tion was the policy of the Scots. They thus avoided any general battle; and they knew that if they could detain the Norwegian fleet upon the coast till the setting in of the winter storms, its destruction was almost inevitable. Boece, in his usual inventive vein, covers the field with 25,000 dead Nor wegians, and allows only four ships to have been saved to carry the king to his grave in Orkney. But all this is fiction; and the battle of Largs ap pears to have been nothing more than a succession of fortunate skirmishes, in which a formidable armament was effectually destroyed by the fury of the elements, judiciously seconded by the bravery of the Scots.
The accounts of the death of Haco, and the news of the queen having been delivered of a son, were brought to King Alexander on the same day ;1 so that he was at once freed from a rest less and powerful enemy, and could look forward to a successor of his own blood. Nor did he lose any time in following up the advantages already gained by completing the reduction of the little kingdom of Man, and the whole of the Western Isles. For this purpose, he levied an army with the object of invading the Isle of Man, and compelled the petty chiefs of the He brides to furnish a fleet for the trans port of his troops. But the King of Man, terrified at the impending ven geance, sent envoys with messages of submission ; and, fearful that these would be disregarded, set out himself, and met Alexander, who had advanced
1 Winton, vol. i. pp. 389, 390. Mackenzie, in his Lives of Scottish Writers, vol. ii. p. 86, mentions a fragment of the records of Colm- kill, which was in possession of the Earl of Cromarty, as containing an account of the battle of Largs.
on his march as far as Dumfries.2 At this place the Island Prince became the liegeman of the King of Scotland, and consented that, in future, he should hold his kingdom of the Scot tish crown; binding himself to furnish to his lord paramount, when required by him, ten galleys or ships of war,— five with twenty-four oars and five with twelve.
A military force, commanded by the Earl of Mar, was next sent against those unfortunate chiefs of the Western Isles, who, during the late expedition, had remained faithful to Haco.3 Some were executed, all were reduced, and the disputes with Norway were finally settled by a treaty, in which that country agreed to yield to Scotland all right over Man, the Æbudæ, and the islands in the western seas. The is lands in the south seas were also in cluded, but those of Orkney and Shet land expressly excepted. The inhabi tants of the Hebrides were permitted the option of either retiring with their property, or remaining to be governed in future by Scottish laws. On the part of the King and the Estates of Scot land, it was stipulated that they were to pay to Norway four thousand marks of the Roman standard, and a yearly quit-rent of a hundred marks sterling for ever. The King of Man received investiture as a vassal of Alexander; and all parties engaged to fulfil their obligations, under a penalty of ten thousand marks, to be exacted by the Pope.4
Ottobon de Fieschi was at this time
2 Fordun a Goodal, book x. chap, xviii. vol. ii. p. 101. In Ayloffe’s Calendar of Ancient Charters, p. 328, we find the letter of the King of Man to the King of Scotland, quod tenebit terram Man de rege Scotice. It was one of the muniments taken out of Edinburgh Castle, and carried to England by Edward the First.
3 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. pp. 101, 102. Excerpt, e Rotul. Compot. Temp, Alex. III. p. 18.
4 The treaty will be found in Fordun by Hearne, p.1353-5. It is dated 20th July 1266. In the account of the treaty, Lord Hailes has made a slight error when he says that the pa tronage of the bishopric of Sodor was reserved to the Archbishop of Drontheim. The patron age was expressly ceded to Alexander, but the ecclesiastical jurisdiction was reserved in favour of the Archbishop of Drontheim.
1263-74.] ALEXANDER III. 19
the Papal legate in England, and to defray the expenses of his visitation, he thought proper to demand a con tribution from each cathedral and parish church in Scotland. The king, however, acting by the advice of his clergy, peremptorily refused the de mand; appealed to Rome; and, when Ottobon requested admittance into Scotland, steadily declared that he should not set a foot over the Border. The legate next summoned the Scot tish bishops to attend upon him in England whenever he should hold his council; and he required the clergy to despatch two of their number to appear as their representatives. This they agreed to; but the representa tives were sent, not as the vassals of the Papacy, but as the members of an independent Church. Such, indeed, they soon shewed themselves; for when the legate procured several canons to be enacted regarding Scot land, the Scottish clergy resolutely disclaimed obedience to them. In censed at this conduct, Clement the Fourth shifted his ground, and de manded from them a tenth of their benefices, to be paid to Henry of Eng land, as an aid for an approaching crusade. The answer of Alexander and his clergy was here equally de cided : Scotland itself, they said, was ready to equip for the crusade a body of knights suitable to the strength and resources of the kingdom, and they therefore rejected the requisi tion. Accordingly, David, earl of Athole, Adam, earl of Carrick, and William, lord Douglas, with many other barons and knights, assumed the cross, and sailed for Palestine.1
In consequence, howewer, of the Papal grant, Henry attempted to levy the tenth upon the benefices in Scot land. The Scottish clergy refused the contribution, appealed to Rome, and, in addition to this, adopted measures, which were singularly bold, and well calculated to secure the independence
1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 109, book x. chap. xxiv. Holinshed, vol. i. p. 406, gives as the names of the crusading nobles, the Earls of Carrick and Athole, John Steward, Alex ander Cumin, Robert Keith, George Durward, John Quincy, and William Gordon.
of the Scottish Church. They assem bled a provincial council at Perth, in which a bishop of their own was chosen to preside, and where canons for the regulation of their own Church were enacted. This they contended they were entitled to do by the bull of Pope Honorius the Fourth, granted in the year 1225; and, aware of the importance of making a vigorous stand at this moment, by their first canon it was appointed that an annual coun cil should be held in Scotland; and by their second, that each of the bishops should assume, in rotation, the office of “Protector of the Sta tutes,” or Conservator Statutorum. These canons remain to this day an interesting specimen of the ancient ecclesiastical code of Scotland.2
About this time happened an inci dent of a romantic nature, with which important consequences were connect ed. A Scottish knight of high birth, Robert de Bruce, son of Robert de Bruce, lord of Annandale and Cleve- land, was passing on horseback through the domains of Turnberry, which be longed to Marjory, countess of Car- rick.3 The lady happened at the moment to be pursuing the diversion of the chase, surrounded by a retinue of her squires and damsels. They encountered Bruce. The young coun tess was struck by his noble figure, and courteously entreated him to re main and take the recreation of hunt ing. Bruce, who, in those feudal days, knew the danger of paying too much attention to a ward of the king, declined the invitation, when he found himself suddenly surrounded by the attendants; and the lady, riding up, seized his bridle, and led off the knight, with gentle violence, to her castle of Turnberry. Here, after fifteen days’ residence, the adventure concluded as might have been antici pated. Bruce married the countess
2 These canons were printed by Wilkins in his Concilia, and in a small 4to by Lord Hailes. See Hailes’ Hist. vol. i. p. 149.
3 Although all the historians call this lady Martha, yet she is named Marjory by her son, King Robert Bruce. Register of the Great Seal, p. 108; and Marjory was the name of King Robert’s daughter.
20 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. 1.
without the knowledge of the relations of either party, and before obtaining the king’s consent; upon which Alex ander seized her castle of Turnberry and her whole estates. The interces sion of friends, however, and a heavy fine, conciliated the mind of the mon arch. Bruce became, in right of his wife, Lord of Carrick; and the son of this marriage of romantic love was the great Robert Bruce, the restorer of Scottish liberty.1
Two years previous to this (1272) died Henry the Third of England,2 after a reign of nearly sixty years. His character possessed nothing that was great; his genius was narrow ; his temper wavering; his courage, happily, seldom tried; and he was addicted, like many weak princes, to favouritism. At times, however, he had permitted himself to be guided by able ministers; and the vigour, talents, and kingly endowments of his son, Edward the First, shed a lustre over the last years of his reign, which the king himself could never have imparted to it. At the coronation of this great prince, who succeeded Henry, Alexander, and his queen, the new king’s sister, attended with a retinue of great pomp and splendour. He took care, however, to obtain a letter under the hand of the English monarch, declaring that the friendly visit should not be construed into any thing prejudicial to the independence of Scotland,3—a policy which the peculiarities of feudal tenure made frequent at this time; for we find Edward himself, when some years afterwards he agreed to send twenty ships to the King of France, his feudal superior for the duchy of Normandy, requiring from that prince an acknow ledgment of the same description.
The designs of Edward upon Scot land had not yet, in any degree, be trayed themselves, and the kingly brothers appear to have met on cor dial terms. Both were in the prime of manhood, Alexander having entered,
1 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 114, book x. chap. xxix.
2 On 16th Nov. 1272.
3 Ayloffe’s Calendar of Ancient Charters, 328, 342. Leland’s Collectanea, vol. ii. p. 471.
and Edward having just completed, his thirty-fourth year. Scotland, still unweakened by the fatal controversies between Bruce and Baliol, was in no state to invite ambitious aggression. The kingdom was peaceful, prosperous, and loyal, possessing a warlike and at tached nobility, and a hardy peasantry, lately delivered, by the defeat of Haco and the wise acquisition of the West ern Isles, from all disturbance in the only quarter where it might be dread ed; and from the age of Alexander, and his queen, who had already born him three children, the nation could look with some certainty to a suc cessor. Edward, on the other hand, who had lately returned from Pales tine, where he had greatly distinguish ed himself, received his brother-in-law with that courtesy and kindness which was likely to be increased by his long absence, and by the perils he had undergone. About this time the Pope sent into Scotland an emissary named Benemund de Vicci, corrupted into Bagimont, to collect the tenth of all the ecclesiastical benefices, the esti mate being made not according to the “ ancient extent, but the true value.” The tax appears to have been strictly exacted, and went by the name of Bagimont’s Roll.4
All went prosperously on between Edward and Alexander for some time. A dispute which had occurred between the King of Scots and the Bishop of Durham, in which that prelate com plained that an encroachment had been made upon the English marches, was amicably settled; and Edward, occupied entirely with his conquest of Wales,—and according to his custom, whenever engaged in war, concentrat ing his whole energies upon one point, —had little leisure to think of Scot land. The domineering disposition of the English king first shewed itself regarding the feudal service of homage due to him by his Scottish brother, for the lands which he held in Eng land; and he seems early to have formed the scheme of entrapping Alex ander into the performance of a hom age so vague and unconditional, that 4 Fordun a Hearne, p. 780.
1277-86.] ALEXANDER III. 21
it might hereafter be construed into the degrading acknowledgment that Scotland was a fief of England.
In 1277 we find him writing to the Bishop of Wells that his beloved brother, the King of Scotland, had agreed to perform an unconditional homage, and that he was to receive it at the ensuing feast of Michaelmas.1 This, however, could scarcely be true ; the event shewed that Edward had either misconceived or misstated the purpose of Alexander. He appeared before the English parliament at West minster, and offered his homage in these words :—“ I, Alexander, king of Scotland, do acknowledge myself the liegeman of my Lord Edward, king of England, against all deadly.” This Edward accepted, reserving his claim of homage for the kingdom of Scot land, when he should choose to prefer it. The King of Scots then requested that the oath should be taken for him by Robert de Bruce, earl of Carrick, which being granted, that earl took the oath in these words :—
“ I, Robert, earl of Carrick, accord ing to the authority given to me by my lord the King of Scotland, in pre sence of the King of England, and other prelates and barons, by which the power of swearing upon the soul of the King of Scotland was conferred upon me, have, in presence of the King of Scotland, and commissioned thereto by his special precept, sworn fealty to Lord Edward, king of England, in these words:--'I, Alexander, king of Scot land, shall bear faith to my lord Ed ward, king of England, and his heirs, with my life and members, and worldly substance; and I shall faithfully per form the services, used and wont, for the lands and tenements which I hold of the said king’ “ Which fealty being sworn by the Earl of Carrick, the King of Scotland confirmed and ratified the same.2 Such is an exact
1 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. ii, p. 109.
2 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. ii. p. 126. Tyrrel, vol. iii. p. 22, misled by Knighton, book iii. chap, i., erroneously says that the homage was performed by Alexander at Edward’s corona tion, and adds, that historians do not say whether it was for Scotland, or for the earldom of Huntingdon.
account of the homage performed by Alexander to Edward, as given in the solemn instrument by which the Eng lish monarch himself recorded the transaction. Alexander probably had not forgotten the snare in which Edward’s father had attempted to entrap him, when still a boy; and the reservation of an unfounded claim over Scotland might justly have incensed him. But he wished not to break with Edward : he held extensive ter ritories in England, for which he was willing, as he was bound in duty, to pay homage; yet he so guarded his attendance at Edward’s coronation, and his subsequent oath of fealty, that the independence of Scotland as a kingdom, and his own independence as its sovereign, were not touched in the most distant manner; and the King of England, baffled in his hope of procuring an unconditional homage, was forced to accept it as it was given. It is material to notice, that in the instrument drawn up afterwards, re cording the transaction, Edward ap pears to declare his understanding that this homage was merely for the Scottish king’s possessions in England, by again reserving his absurd claim of homage for Scotland, whenever he or his heirs should think proper to make it.
This matter being concluded, Alex ander, who had suffered a severe do mestic affliction in the death of his queen,3 began to seek alliances for his children. He married his daughter Margaret to Eric, king of Norway, then a youth in his fourteenth year. Her portion was fourteen thousand marks, the option being left to her father to give one half of the sum in lands, pro vided that the rents of the lands were a hundred marks yearly for every thou sand retained. The price of land at this early period of our history seems, therefore, to have been ten years’ pur chase.4 The young princess, accom panied by Walter Bullock, earl of Men-
3 Winton, vol. i. p. 391.
4 The marriage-contract, which is very long and curious, is to be found in Rymer, vol. ii. p. 1079, dated 25th July 1281. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 125.
22 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap, I.
teith, his countess, the Abbot of Bal- merino, and Bernard de Monte-alto, with other knights and barons, sailed for Norway; and on her arrival was honourably received and crowned as queen. The alliance was wise and politic. It promised to secure the wavering fealty of those proud and warlike island chiefs, who, whenever they wished to throw off their depen dence on Scotland, pretended that they were bound by the ties of feudal vas salage to Norway, and whose power and ambition often required the pres ence of the king himself to quell.1
This marriage was soon after fol lowed by that of Alexander the Prince of Scotland, then in his nineteenth year, to Margaret, a daughter of Guy, earl of Flanders; the ceremony being performed at Roxburgh, and accom panied with fifteen days’ feasting. Such alliances, so far as human fore sight could reach, promised happiness to Alexander, while they gave an al most certain hope of descendants. But a dark cloud began to gather round Scotland, and a train of calamities, which followed in sad and quick suc cession, spread despondency through the kingdom.2 The Prince of Scot land, who from infancy had been of a sickly constitution, died not long after his marriage, leaving no issue; and intelligence soon after came from Nor way that his sister, Queen Margaret, was also dead, having left an only child, Margaret, generally called the Maiden of Norway : David, the second son of Alexander, had died when a boy;3 and thus the King of Scotland, still in the flower of his age, found himself a widower, and bereft by death of all his children.
To settle the succession was his first care; and for this purpose a meeting of the Estates of the realm was held at Scone, on the 5th of February
1 In 1275, Alexander led an armed force against Man. Johnstone, Antiquit. Celto- Norm. pp. 41, 42. In 1282, Alexander Comyn, earl of Buchan and Constable of Scotland, led an army to quell some island disturbances. Rymer, Fœdera, vol. ii. p. 205.
2 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 124. Winton, book vii. chap. x. vol. i. p. 391.
3 Fœdera, vol. ii. p. 266.
1283-4. The prelates and barons of Scotland there bound themselves to acknowledge Margaret, princess of Nor way, as their sovereign, failing any children whom Alexander might have, and failing any issue of the Prince of Scotland deceased.4 The parliament in which this transaction took place, having assembled immediately after the death of the prince, it was uncer tain whether the princess might not yet present the kingdom with an heir to the crown. In the meantime, the king thought it prudent to make a second marriage, and chose for his bride a young and beautiful woman, Joleta, daughter of the Count de Dreux. The nuptials were celebrated with great pomp, and in presence of a splendid concourse of the French and Scottish nobility, at Jedburgh. In the midst of the rejoicings, and when music and pastime were at the highest, a strange masque was exhibited, in which a spectral creature like Death glided with fearful gestures amongst the revellers, and at length suddenly vanished. The whole was no doubt intended as a mummery; but it was too well acted, and struck such terror into the festive assembly,5 that the chronicler, Fordun, considers it as a supernatural shadowing out of the future misfortunes of the kingdom. These misfortunes too rapidly fol lowed. Alexander, riding late near Kinghorn, was counselled by his at tendants, as the night was dark, and the road precipitous, not to pass In- verkeithing till the morning. Natu rally courageous, however, he insisted on galloping forward, when his horse suddenly stumbled over a rocky cliff above the sea, fell with its rider, and killed him on the spot.6 He died in the forty-fifth year of his age, and the thirty- seventh of his reig; and his death, at this particular juncture, may be con sidered as one of the deepest amongst those national calamities which che quer the history of Scotland.
4 Winton, vol. i. p. 397. Fœdera, vol. ii. pp. 582, 1091.
5 Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 128, book x. chap. xi.
6 Triveti Annales, p. 267. He died March 16, 1285-6. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 128.
1286.] ALEXANDER III. 23
Alexander’s person was majestic; and although his figure was too tall, and his bones large, yet his limbs were well formed and strongly knit. His countenance was handsome, and beamed with a manly and sweet expression, which corresponded with the courage ous openness and sincerity of his cha racter. He was firm and constant in his purposes; yet, guided by prudence and an excellent understanding, this quality never degenerated into a dan gerous obstinacy. His inflexible love of justice, his patience in hearing dis putes, his affability in discourse, and facility of access, endeared him to the whole body of his people; whilst his piety, untinctured with any slavish dread, whilst he acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of the popedom, rendered him the steadfast friend of his own clergy, and their best defender against any civil encroachments of the see of Rome. In his time, therefore, to use the words of the honest and affectionate Fordun — “ The Church flourished, its ministers were treated with reverence, vice was openly dis couraged, cunning and treachery were trampled under foot, injury ceased, and the reign of virtue, truth, and justice was maintained throughout the land.” We need not wonder that such a monarch was long and affectionately remembered in Scotland. Attended by his justiciary, by his principal nobles, and a military force which awed the strong offenders, and gave confidence to the oppressed, it was his custom to make an annual progress through his kingdom, for the redress of wrong, and the punishment of de linquents. For this purpose, he divided the kingdom into four great districts ; and on his entering each county, the sheriff had orders to attend on the kingly judge, with the whole militia of the shire,1 and to continue with the court till the king had heard all the appeals of that county which were brought before him. He then con tinued his progress, accompanied by the sheriff and his troops ; nor were these dismissed till the monarch had
1 Fordun a Goodal, book x. chap. xli. vol. ii. p. 129.
entered a new county, where a new sheriff awaited him with the like honours and attendance.
In this manner the people were freed from the charge of supporting those overgrown bands of insolent retainers which swelled the train of the Scottish nobles, when they waited on the king in his progresses; and as the dignified prelates and barons were interdicted by law from travelling with more than a certain number of horse in their retinue, the poor commons had leisure to breathe, and to pursue their honest occupations.2
In Alexander’s time, many vessels of different countries came to Scot land, freighted with various kinds of merchandise, with the design of ex changing them for the commodities of our kingdom. The king’s mind, how ever, was unenlightened on the subject of freedom of trade; and the frequent loss of valuable cargoes by pirates, wrecks, and unforeseen arrestments, had induced him to pass some severe laws against the exportation of Scot tish merchandise. Burgesses, however, were allowed to traffic with these foreign merchantmen ; and in a short time the kingdom became rich in every kind of wealth; in the productions of the arts and manufactures; in money, in agricultural produce,3 in flocks and herds ; so that many, says an ancient historian, came from the West and East to consider its power, and to study its polity. Amongst these strangers, there arrived, in a great body, the richest of the Lombard merchants, who offered to establish manufactur- ing settlements in various parts of the country. They specified among other places the mount above Queensferry, and an island near Cramond, and only
2 Fordun a Groodal, book x. chap. xli. vol. ii. pp. 129, 130.
3 Yhwmen, pewere Karl, or Knawe That wes of mycht an ox til hawe,
He gert that man hawe part in pluche ; Swa wes corn in his land enwche ; Swa than begouth, and efter lang Of land wes mesure, ane ox-gang. Mychty men that had má Oxyn, he gert in pluchys ga. Be that vertu all his land Of corn he gert be abowndand.
—Winton, vol. i. p. 400
24 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
asked of the king certain spiritual im munities. Unfortunately, the proposal of these rich and industrious men, for what cause we cannot tell, proved dis pleasing to some powerful members of the state, and was dismissed; but from an expression of the historian, we may gather that the king himself was de sirous to encourage them, and that favourable terms for a settlement would have been granted, had not death stept in and put an end to the negotiation.1
The conduct pursued by this king, in his intercourse with England, was marked by a judicious union of the firmness and dignity which became an independent sovereign with the kindli ness befitting his near connexion with Edward; but, warned by the attempts which had been first made by the father and followed up by the son, he took care that when invited to the English court, it should be expressly acknowledged2 that he came there as the free monarch of an independent country.
To complete the character of this prince, he was temperate in his habits, his morals were pure, and in all his domestic relations kindness and affec tion were conspicuous.3 The oldest Scottish song, which has yet been dis covered, is an affectionate little monody on the death of Alexander, preserved by Winton, one of the fathers of our authentic Scottish history.4
1 Fordun, book x. chap. xli. xlii. vol. ii. pp. 129, 130.
2 Ayloffe’s Calendar of Ancient Charters, p. 32S.
3 Towards the conclusion of this reign, it is said that an awful visitant for the first time appeared in Scotland—the plague; but we cannot depend on the fact, for it comes from Boece.—Hailes, vol. i. p. 307.
4 Quhen Alysandyr, oure kyng, wes dede, That Scotland led in luwe* and le, † Away wes sons of ale and brede, Of wyne and wax, of gamyn and gle. Oure gold wes changyd into lede.— Christ, born into virgynyte, Succour Scotland, and remede, That stad ‡ is in perplexytè.
—Winton, vol. i. p. 401.
* Love. † Le, tranquillity.
‡ Placed, or situated.
MARGARET, THE MAIDEN OF NORWAY.
Margaret, the grand - daughter of Alexander, and grand-niece to Edward the First, who had been recognised as heir to the crown in 1284, was in Nor way at the time of the king’s death. A parliament, therefore, assembled at Scone on the 11th of April 1286; and a regency, consisting of six guardians of the realm, was, by common consent, appointed.5 The administration of the northern division of Scotland, beyond the Firth of Forth, was intrusted to Fraser, bishop of St Andrews, Duncan, earl of Fife, and Alexander, earl of Buchan. The government of the coun try to the south of the Forth was committed to Wishart, the bishop of Glasgow, John Comyn, lord of Bade- noch, and James, the High Steward of Scotland.6
In this parliament, a keen debate on the succession to the crown arose between the partisans of Bruce and Baliol. Nor were these the only claim ants. Nothing but the precarious life of an infant now stood between the crown of Scotland and the pretensions of other powerful competitors, whose relationship to the royal family, as it raised their hopes, encouraged them to collect their strength, and gave a legal sanction to their ambition. Ed ward the First of England, whose near connexion with the young Queen of Scotland and the heretrix of Norway made him her natural protector, was at this time in France. On being in formed of the state of confusion into which the death of Alexander was likely to plunge a kingdom which had been for some time the object of his ambition, the project of a marriage, between the young queen and his son, the Prince of Wales, was too apparent not to suggest itself. But this monarch, always as cautious of too Suddenly unveiling his purposes as he was de termined in pursuing them, did not immediately declare his wishes. He
5 Winton, vol. ii. p. 10. Fordun a Goodal, vol. ii. p. 138. 6 Fordun a Hearne, p. 951.
1286-89.] INTERREGNUM. 25
contented himself with observing the turn which matters should take in Scotland, certain that his power and influence would in the end induce the different parties to appeal to him; and confident that the longer time which he gave to these factions to quarrel among themselves and embroil the country, the more advantageously would this interference take place. The youth of the King of Norway, father to the young Princess of Scot land, was another favourable circum stance for Edward. Eric was only eighteen. He naturally looked to Ed ward, the uncle of his late wife, for advice and support; and, fearful of trusting his infant and only daughter, scarce three years old, to the doubtful allegiance of so fierce and ambitious a nobility as that of Scotland, he deter mined to keep her for the present under his own eye in Norway.
Meanwhile a strong party was formed against her amongst the most powerful of the Scottish barons. They met (Sept. 20, 1286) at Turnberry, the castle of Robert Bruce, earl of Car- rick, son of Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale and Cleveland. Here they were joined by two powerful English barons, Thomas de Clare, brother of Gilbert, earl of Gloucester, and Rich ard de Burgh, earl of Ulster.1 Thomas de Clare was nephew to Bruce’s wife, and both he and his brother, the Earl of Gloucester, were naturally anxious to support Bruce’s title to the crown as the descendant of David, earl of Huntingdon, brother of King William the Lion.2 Nor was the scheme in any respect a desperate one, for Bruce already had great influence. There assembled at Turnberry, Patrick, earl of Dunbar, with his three sons; Wal ter Stewart, earl of Menteith; Bruce’s own son, the earl of Carrick, and Ber nard Bruce; James, the High Steward
1 Fœdera, vol. ii. p. 488.
2 Gough, in his Additions to Camden’s Bri tannia, vol. i. p. 265, mentions that Gilbert, earl of Gloucester, brother of Robert de Bruce’s wife, having incurred the resentment of Edward the First, was dispossessed of all his lands ; but the king afterwards restored him, and gave him his daughter in marriage. The convention at Turnberry was perhaps the cause of Edward’s resentment.
of Scotland,3 with John, his brother; Angus, son of Donald the Lord of the Isles, and Alexander, his son. These barons, whose influence could bring into the field the strength of almost the whole of the west and south of Scotland, now entered into a bond or covenant, by which it was declared that they would thenceforth adhere to and take part with one another, on all occasions, and against all persons, saving their allegiance to the King of England, and also their allegiance to him who should gain the kingdom of Scotland by right of descent from King Alexander, then lately deceased.4 Not long after this, the number of the Scottish regents was reduced to four, by the assassination of Duncan, earl of Fife, and the death of the Earl of Buchan; the Steward, another of the regents, pursuing an interest at vari ance with the title of the young queen, joined the party of Bruce, heart-burn ings and jealousies arose between the nobility and the governors of the king dom. These soon increased, and at length broke into an open war between the parties of Bruce and Baliol, which for two years after the death of the king continued its ravages in the country.5
The event which the sagacity of Ed ward had anticipated now occurred. The states of Scotland were alarmed at the continuance of civil commo tions; and, in a foolish imitation of other foreign powers who had applied to Edward to act as a peacemaker, sent the Bishop of Brechin, the Abbot of Jedburgh, and Geoffrey de Mow- bray, as ambassadors to the King of England, requesting his advice and mediation towards composing the troubles of the kingdom.6 At the
3 James, the High Steward, married Cecilia, daughter of Patrick, earl of Dunbar. Andrew Stewart’s Hist, of the Stuarts, p. 16.
4 The original is alluded to by Dugdale, vol. i. p. 216. See also Rot. Compot. Temp. Custodum Regni, p. 62.
5 This war, hitherto unknown to our his torians, is proved by documents of unques tionable authority. Excerpta e Rotulo Com- potorum Tempore Custodum Regni, pp. 56, 62.
6 Fordun a Goodal, pp. 137, 138, vol. ii., places this embassy in 1286. It probably oc-
26 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
same time, Eric, king of Norway, de spatched plenipotentiaries to treat with Edward regarding the affairs of his daughter the queen, and her king dom of Scotland. The king readily accepted both offers; and finding his presence no longer necessary in France, returned to England, to su perintend in person those measures of intrigue and ambition which now en tirely occupied his mind. " Now,” said he, to the most confidential of his ministers, “the time is at last arrived when Scotland and its petty kings shall be reduced under my power.”1 But although his intentions were de clared thus openly in his private council, he proceeded cautiously and covertly in the execution of his design. At his request, the Scottish regents appointed the Bishops of St Andrews and Glasgow, assisted by Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale, and John Comyn, to treat in the presence of the King of England regarding certain matters proposed by the Norwegian commis sioners, and empowered them to ratify whatever was there agreed on, “ saving always the liberty and honour of Scot land ; " and provided that from such measures nothing should be likely to occur prejudicial to that kingdom and its Subjects.2 To this important con ference the king, on the part of Eng land, sent the Bishops of Worcester and Durham, with the Earls of Pem broke and Warrene.
The place appointed was Salisbury; but previous to the meeting of the plenipotentiaries, Edward had secretly procured a dispensation from the Pope for the marriage of his son, the Prince of Wales, to the young Princess of Norway, as the youthful pair were within the forbidden degrees.3 No hint, however, of this projected union was yet suffered to transpire; and the commissioners met at Salisbury, where a treaty was drawn up, in which no direct allusion was made to the mar riage, although it included provisions
curred later. Eric’s letter to Edward is dated April 1289. Rymer, vol. ii. p. 416.
1 Fordun a Groodal, book xi. chap. iii. p. 139.
2 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 431. Date, Oct. 3, 1289.
3 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 450.
which evidently bore upon this pro jected union.
It was there stipulated by the com missioners for Norway, that the young queen should be sent into the king dom of Scotland or England, un trammelled by any matrimonial en gagement, before the feast of All Saints in the next year; and that on this first condition being fulfilled, the King of England should send her into Scotland, also free from all matri monial engagements, as soon as he was assured that this kingdom was in such a state of tranquillity as to afford her a quiet residence. This wide and convenient clause evidently gave Ed ward the power of detaining the here- trix of the crown for an almost indefi nite period in England; and its being inserted in this treaty proves that although Bruce, by accepting the office of commissioner, appeared to have abandoned his son’s claim to the crown, Edward was suspicious that the interest which looked to a male successor to the crown was still pretty high in Scotland. By the third article, the States of Scotland undertook, be fore receiving their queen, to find se curity to the King of England that she should not marry without his counsel and consent, and that of the King of Norway. The Scottish com missioners next engaged for them selves that the quiet of the kingdom of Scotland should be established be fore the arrival of the queen, so that she might enter her dominions with safety, and continue therein at her pleasure. With regard to the removal of guardians, or public officers in Scotland, it was determined that should any of these be suspected per sons, or troublesome to the King of Norway or the Queen of Scotland, they should be removed, and better persons appointed in their place, by the advice of the “good men” of Scot land and Norway, and of persons se lected for this purpose by the King of England; and it was stipulated that these English commissioners were ultimately to decide all disputes re garding public measures, which might occur between the ministers of Scot
1289-90.] INTERREGNUM. 27
land and Norway, as well as all dif ferences arising amongst the Scottish ministers themselves. It was finally agreed, that in the middle of the ensu ing Lent there should be a meeting of the Estates of Scotland at Roxburgh; by which time the Scottish pleni potentiaries engaged that everything to which they had now consented should be fulfilled and ratified in the presence of the commissioners of England.1 Of this convention three copies were made: one in Latin, which was transmitted to the King of Norway; and two in French, retained for the use of the Scots and English. At this period, the majority of the nobility of both countries were of Norman-French extraction, and Nor man-French was alike in England and Scotland the language in which state affairs were generally conducted.
By this treaty, which gave so much power to Edward, and left so little to the Estates of Scotland, it is evident that some of the Scottish commission ers were in the interest of the English king. Bruce, lord of Annandale, had either altered his ambitious views, or he trusted that a temporary conceal ment of them, and the dissatisfaction which such a convention must occasion in Scotland, might ultimately turn to his advantage. Edward, in the mean time, neglected nothing which could secure or increase the power which he had acquired. He addressed a letter to the Estates of Scotland, requiring them to be obedient to their regents, and informing them that he meant to send into that country some of the
members of his council, from whom he might receive correct information
of its condition.2 Although a dispen sation from the Pope was already ob tained, no allusion to the intended marriage between Prince Edward and
the young queen had been made throughout the whole treaty: Edward, with his usual calm foresight, seems privately to have directed the Scottish commissioners at Salisbury, three of whom were regents, to sound the nobility of Scotland on their return,
1 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. ii. pp. 446, 447. 2 Ibid. p. 445.
and discover the feelings of the people regarding the projected union.
Accordingly, as soon as the impor tant project became generally known, a meeting of the Estates of Scotland assembled at Brigham, a village on the Tweed, near Roxburgh, and from thence directed a letter to Edward, which was signed by the dignified clergy, and by all the earls and barons of the realm. It stated that they were overjoyed to hear the good news which were now commonly spoken of, —“ that the Apostle had granted a dispensation for the marriage of Mar garet, their dear lady and their queen, with Prince Edward.” It requested King Edward to send them early in telligence regarding this important measure; and assured him of their full and ready concurrence, provided certain reasonable conditions were agreed to, which should be specified by delegates, who would wait upon him at his parliament;, to be held next Easter at London.3
A letter4 was at the same time de spatched by this assembly of the States to Eric, king of Norway, which in formed him of their consent to the marriage; and requested him to fulfil the terms of the treaty of Salisbury,
3 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 471.
4 This important letter is in Norman- French, and as follows :—
“A tres noble Prince, Sire Eyrik, par la grace de Deu, Roy de Norway, Guillam e Robert, par meme cele grace, de Seint Andreu e de Glasgu Eveskes, Johan Comyn, & James Seneschal de Escoce, Gardains de Reaume de Escoce, c tote la commune de meyme cele Reaume, salut & totes honurs.
“ Come nus feumes certayns ke vous seez desirous del honur, & del profist de nostre Dame, vostre fille, & de tute le Reaume de Escoce, par encheson de ly: e le Apostoylle ad grante, & fete dispensacion, solom coe ke communement est parle en diverses partys de Mound, ke le Fitz & le Hcyr le Roy de Engletere pusse nostre dame, vostre fille, en femme prendre, nin ostaunt procheynette de Saunk.
“ Nus, par commun assent de tut le Reaume de Escoce, e pur le grant profist del un & del autre Reaume, ke le mariage se face, si issint seit, avums uniement accorde, e commune- ment assentu.
“Pur la queu chose nus priums & re- querums vostre hautesse, ke il vous pleyse issint ordiner, e ceste bosoyne adrescer en- droit de vous; ke meyme cele voustre fille
28 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
by sending over the young queen, at the latest before the Feast of All Saints; and intimating to him that, if this were not done, they should be obliged to follow the best counsel which God might give them, for the good of the kingdom. The nobility of Scotland could not be more anxious than Ed ward for the arrival of the intended bride ; but the king employed a more effectual way than entreaty, by de spatching to Norway one of his ablest counsellors, Anthony Beck, bishop of Durham, who, under the plausible name of pensions, distributed money among the Norwegian ministers, and obtained a promise that she should immediately be sent to England.1 So assured of this was Edward, that, on the arrival of the Scottish envoys to his parliament held in Easter, he came under an engagement to pay 3000 marks to Scotland if Margaret did not reach England, or her own country, before the Feast of All Saints. He next appointed the Bishop of Durham, and five other plenipotentiaries, to at tend a meeting of the Scottish Estates, which was held at Brigham, (July 1290,) intrusting them with full powers to conclude that treaty, on the basis of which the marriage was to take place, and, after due conference, to concur in those securities which the Scottish Estates demanded for the preservation of the independence of their country.
Dame puysse en Engletere venir a plus tous ke estre purra;
“ Issint ke, a plus tart, seit en meme la terre avaunt la tut Seynt procheyn avenir, si com, de sa venue, est acorde, devaunt le vaunt dyt Roys de Engletere, entre nous & voz messages, ke iloekes vyndrunt de par vus.
“ Et taunt en facet, Sire, si vous plest, ke nous vous saums le plus tenu a tou Jura ; ke, si il avenoyt ke vous ceste chose ne feisset, il nus covendroit, en ceste chose, prendre le meillour conseyl ke Deus nus dorra pur le estat du Reaume, & la bone gent de la terre.
“En temonage de les avauntdite choses nus, Gardeyns du Reaume, & la commune avantdyt, en nom de nus le Seal commun, que nus usom en Escoce, en nom de nostre Dame avaundyt, avum fet mettre a ceste lettre.
“ Done a Brigham, le Vendredy procheyn a pres la Feste Seynt Gregorie, le An de nostre Seygnur 1289.” Rymer, vol. ii. p. 472.
See Illustrations, Letter E.
1 Rymer vol. ii. p. 479.
The principal articles of this treaty of Brigham are of much importance, as illustrating the justice and the in veteracy of that long war, which after- wards desolated the kingdoms. It was agreed by the English plenipotentiaries that the rights, laws, liberties, and customs of Scotland were to be invio lably observed in all time coming, throughout the whole kingdom and its marches, saving always the rights which the King of England, or any other person, has possessed, before the date of this treaty, in the marches or elsewhere; or which may accrue to him in all time coming. It was stipu lated also that, failing Margaret and Edward, or either of them, without issue, the kingdom should belong to the nearest heirs, to whom it ought of right to return, wholly, freely, abso lutely, and without any subjection ; so that nothing shall either be added to, or taken from, the rights of the King of England, of his heirs, or of any other person whatever. The queen, if she should survive her hus band, was to be given up to the Scot tish nation, free from all matrimonial engagement; and, on the marriage, to be secured in a jointure befitting her rank. The kingdom of Scotland was for ever to remain separate and un divided from England, free in itself, and without subjection, according to its ancient boundaries and marches. With regard to the ecclesiastical privi leges of the country, it was provided that the chapters of churches, which possessed the right of free election. were not to be compelled to travel forth of Scotland for leave to elect, or for the presentation of the bishop or dignitary, or for the performance of fealty to the sovereign. No crown- vassal, widow, orphan, or ward of the crown was to be under the necessity of performing their homage or relief out of the kingdom; but a person was to be appointed in Scotland to receive the same, by the authority of the queen and her husband. From this clause was reserved the homage which ought to be performed in the presence of the king, and fealty having been once sworn, sasine or legal possession
1290.1 INTERREGNUM. 29
of the land, was immediately to be given by a brief from Chancery.
It was anxiously and wisely pro vided, that no native of Scotland was, in any case whatever, to be compelled to answer out of the kingdom regard ing any civil covenant or criminal de linquency which had taken place in Scotland, as such compulsion was con trary to the ancient laws and usages of the realm ; and that no parliament was to be held without the boundaries of the kingdom, as to any matters affecting the condition of its subjects. Until the arrival of the queen, the great seal of Scotland was to be used in all matters relating to God, the Church, and the nation, as it had been used during the life and after the death of the late king; and on the queen’s arrival in her dominions, a new seal, with the ancient arms of Scotland alone, and the single name of the queen engraven thereon, was to be made and kept by the chancellor; it being also provided, that the chancel lors, justiciars, chamberlains, clerks of the rolls, and other officers of the realm, were to be natives of Scotland, and resident there.
All charters, grants, relics, and other muniments, touching the royal dignity of the kingdom of Scotland, were to be deposited in a safe place within that kingdom, and to be kept in sure custody under the seals of the no bility, and subject to their inspection until the queen should arrive, and have living issue; and before this event took place, no alienation, encum brance, or obligation, was to be created in any matters touching the royal dig nity of the kingdom of Scotland; and no tallage, aids, levies of men, or extra ordinary exactions to be demanded from Scotland, or imposed upon its inhabitants, except for the common affairs of the realm, or in the cases where the kings of Scotland have been wont to demand the same. It was proposed by the Scots that the castles and fortresses should not be fortified anew upon the marches; but the Eng lish commissioners, pleading the de fect of their instructions, cautiously waved the discussion of this point.
To all the articles in the treaty, the guardians and community of Scotland gave their full consent, under the con dition that they should be ratified within a certain time.1 If not so con firmed, they were to be esteemed void; but Edward was too well satisfied with the terms of the negotiation to postpone this condition, and accord ingly, without delay, pronounced the oath which was required. His next was one of those bold and unwarrant able steps which frequently marked the conduct of this ambitious and able monarch. He pretended that, without the presence of an English governor, he could not fulfil the terms of his oath to maintain the laws of Scotland ; and although no such authority was given him by the treaty, he appointed Anthony Beck, bishop of Durham, to the office of Governor of Scotland, in the name of Margaret the queen, and his son Edward, and for the purpose of acting in concert with the regents, prelates, and nobles, in the adminis tration of that kingdom, according to its ancient laws and usages.2 Edward had already gained to his interest two of the Scottish regents. By this mea sure he trusted that he could overrule their deliberations ; and, grown con fident in his power, he intimated to the Estates, “ that certain rumours of danger and perils to the kingdom of Scotland having reached his ears, he judged it right that all castles and places of strength in that kingdom should be delivered up to him.” 3
This demand effectually roused the Scots; and Sir William Sinclair, Sir Patrick Graham, and Sir John Soulis,4 with the other captains of the Scottish castles, peremptorily refused, in the name of the community of Scotland, to deliver its fortresses to any one but their queen and her intended husband, for whose behoof they were ready to bind themselves by oath to keep and defend them. With this firm reply Edward was obliged to be satisfied ;
1 Before the Feast of the Virgin’s Nativity.
2 Rymer, vol. ii. pp. 487, 488.
3 Ibid. p. 488.
4 These three knights had been high in the confidence of Alexander the Third. Fordun a Hearne, p. 785.
30 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
and, sensible that he had overrated his influence, he patiently awaited the arrival of the young queen.
It was now certain that she had sailed; the guardians of the realm, accompanied by commissioners from England, were preparing to receive her; and all eyes, in both countries, were turned towards the sea, anxious to welcome the child on whom so many fair hopes depended, when ac- counts were brought that she had been seized with a mortal disease on her passage, and had died at Orkney. She was only in her eighth year. This fatal event, which may justly be called a great national calamity, happened in September 1290, and its first announce ment struck sorrow and despair into the heart of the kingdom. In 1284, the crown had been solemnly settled on the descendants of Alexander the Third; but the parliament and the na tion, confident in the vigorous man hood of the king, and the health of his progeny, had looked no further. All was now overcast. The descend ants of Alexander were extinct; and Bruce and Baliol, with other noble ’ earls or barons who claimed kindred with the blood-royal, began, some secretly, some more boldly, to form their schemes of ambition, and gather strength to assert them.
Previous to the report of the queen’s death, a convention of the Scottish Estates had been held at Perth to re ceive Edward’s answer to the refusal of delivering their castles. To this meeting of the Estates Robert Bruce, lord of Annandale, refused to come ; and a great part of the nobility made no concealment of their disgust at the arrogant and unprecedented demands of the English king.1 When the sad news was no longer doubtful, the miseries attendant on a contested throne soon began to shew themselves. Bruce assembled a large force, and suddenly came to Perth. Many of the nobility declared themselves of his party, and the Earls of Mar and Athole joined him with all their followers. . If the nation and its governors had been true to themselves, all might yet have 1 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. ii. p. 1090.
gone well; but the money and power of England had introduced other coun cils. One of the guardians, William Fraser, bishop of St Andrews, who had embraced the interests of Baliol, ad dressed a letter to Edward upon the first rumour of the queen’s death, in forming him of the troubled state of the country, and the necessity of his interposition to prevent the nation from being involved in blood. " Should John de Baliol,” says he, “present himself before you, my counsel is, that you confer with him, so that, at all events, your honour and interest may be preserved. Should the queen bo dead, which heaven forefend, I entreat that your highness may approach our borders, to give consolation to the people of Scotland, to prevent the effusion of blood, and to enable the faithful men of the realm to preserve their oath inviolable, by choosing him for their king who by right ought to be so.” 2
Edward’s mind was not slow to take full advantage of this unwise applica tion;3 and the death of the young queen, the divisions amongst the Scot tish nobility, and the divided state of the national mind as to the succes sion, presented a union of circum stances too favourable for his ambition to resist. The treaty of Brigham, al though apparently well calculated to secure the independence of Scotland, contained a clause which was evidently intended to leave room for the pre tended claim of the feudal superiority of England over this country; and even before the death of the Maid of Norway, Edward, in writs which he took care should be addressed only to persons in his own interest, had as sumed the title of lord superior of the kingdom of Scotland.4 Fully aware of the favourable conjuncture in which he was placed, and with that union of sagacity, boldness, and unscrupulous ambition which characterised his mind,
2 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. ii. p. 1090.
3 I have here availed myself of the criti cisms of an acute writer in the Edinburgh Review, to modify my former censure of this prelate.—“Edinburgh Review,” No. 133. Pal- grave’s “Illustrations of Scottish History.”
4 Prynne, Ed. I. pp. 430-450.
1290-1.] INTERREGNUM. 31
he at once formed his plan, and de termined, in his pretended character of lord superior, to claim the office of supreme judge in deciding the com petition for the crown. His interfer ence, indeed, had already been solicited by the Bishop of St Andrews; there is reason also to suspect, from some mutilated and undated documents re cently discovered, that Bruce and his adherents had not only claimed his protection at this moment, but secretly offered to acknowledge his right of superiority;1 but there is no authority for believing that any national proposal was, at this time, made by the Scottish Parliament, requesting his decision as arbiter, in a question upon which they only were entitled to pronounce judg ment. The motives of Edward’s con duct, and the true history of his in terference, are broadly and honestly stated, in these words of an old Eng lish historian :—“ The King of England, having assembled his privy council and chief nobility, told them that he had it in his mind to bring under his do minion the king and the realm of Scotland, in the same manner that he had subdued the kingdom of Wales.”2
For this purpose, he deemed it neces sary to collect his army, and issued writs to his barons and military tenants, commanding them to meet at Norham on the 3d June 1291.3 The sheriffs of the counties of York, Lancaster, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Northumberland, were also directed to summon all within their jurisdiction
1 I say “suspect,” because I cannot agree with the discoverer of these muniments, Sir Francis Palgrave, or with his reviewer, that the appeal of Bruce and the Earl of Mar to Edward amounts to an absolute acknowledg ment of his right as lord superior. As to Sir Francis Palgrave’s fanciful theory, that there existed in the ancient kingdom of Scotland a constitutional body called “The Seven Earls,” possessing high privileges as a distinct estate, it is certainly singular that, if such a body did exist, there should not be found the slightest traces of its acts, or its appearance, from the dawn to the close of Scottish his tory.—See on this point the critique on Pal- grave’s “ Illustrations of Scottish History,” in the Edinburgh Review, No. 133.
2 Annales Waverleenses, p. 242. Script. Brit, a Gale, vol. ii.
3 Rymer. vol. ii. p. 525.
who owed the king service, to repair to the rendezvous with their full powers; and, in the meantime, Edward requested the clergy and nobility of Scotland to hold a conference with him at Norham on the 10th of May, to which they consented.
The English king opened the de liberations in a speech delivered by his Justiciary, Roger Brabazon, in which, after an introductory eulogium upon the godlike and regal attribute of justice, and the blessings attendant on the preservation of tranquillity, he observed, that the sight of the great disturbances, which on the death of Alexander the Third had arisen in the kingdom of Scotland, was highly dis pleasing to him; on this account, and for the purpose of satisfying those who had claims upon the crown, and for the confirmation of peace in the land, he had requested its nobility to meet him, and had himself travelled from remote parts, that he might do justice to all, in his character of Lord Para mount, and without encroaching upon the rights of any man. “Wherefore,” concluded the Justiciary, “our lord the king, for the due accomplishment of this design, doth require your hearty recognition of his title of Lord Para mount of the kingdom of Scotland.” 4
This unexpected demand struck dis may and embarrassment into the hearts of the Scottish assembly. They de clared their entire ignorance that such a right of superiority belonged to the King of England; and added, that at the present conjuncture, when the country was without its king, in whose presence such a challenge ought to be made, they could give no answer.5 “ By holy Edward! " cried the King of England, “ whose crown I wear, I will either have my rights recognised, or die in the vindication of them!" “ And to make this speech good,” says Hemingford, “ he had issued writs for the convocation of his army; so that, in case of his demand being resisted, he might conquer all opposition, were it to the death.”6
4 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 33.
5 Walsingham, p. 56.
6 Hemingford, p. 33.
32 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
The representatives of the Estates of Scotland, who were well aware of this, now found themselves placed in trying circumstances, and requested time to consult and deliberate with their absent members. Edward at first would give them only one day; but on their insisting that a longer interval was absolutely necessary, the king granted them three weeks to pre pare all that they could allege against his pretensions. This delay the king well knew would be productive of some good consequences towards his great scheme, and, at any rate, could not possibly injure his ambitious views. Before these three weeks elapsed, his army would meet him at Norham. He had already insured the services of Fraser the regent;1 and the money and promises which he judiciously distributed had induced no less than ten competitors to come forward and claim the Scottish crown. In this way, by the brilliant prize which he held out to the most powerful of the nobility of Scotland, he placed their private ambition and their public virtue in fatal opposition to each other. All hoped that if they resigned to Edward this right of superiority, they might receive a kingdom in return ; and all felt that to rise up as the defenders of the independency of a country which was then torn by mutual dis trust and civil disorder, which was without a king, without an army, and with the most powerful of its nobility leagued against it, would be a desperate undertaking against so able a general, so profound a politician, and so im placable an enemy, as Edward. I do not say this to palliate the disgraceful scene which followed, nor to insinuate that any circumstances can occur which entitle the subject of a free country to sacrifice its independence, but to prove that the transaction, which was truly a deep stain upon our history, was the act not of the Scottish nation, or of the assembled states of the nation, but of a corrupted part of the Scottish nobility.
1 On August 13,1291, Edward made a pil grimage from Berwick to St Andrews, proba bly to consult with the bishop.
To return to the story. On the 2d of June, eight of the competitors for the crown assembled, along with many of the prelates, nobles, and barons of Scotland, on a green plain called Holywell Haugh, opposite to Norham Castle. These competitors were,— Robert Bruce, Florence, earl of Hol land, John Hastings, Patrick Dunbar, earl of March, William de Ross, William de Vescy, Walter Hunter- combe, Robert de Pynkeny, and Ni cholas de Soulis. The Bishop of Bath and Wells, then Chancellor of Eng land, spoke for the king. He told them that his master having on a former occasion granted them three weeks to prepare their objections to his claim of superiority, and they hav ing brought forward no answer to in validate his right, it was the intention of the King of England, in virtue of this acknowledged right, to examine and determine the dispute regarding the succession. The chancellor then turned to Robert Bruce, and demanded whether he was content to acknow ledge Edward as Lord Paramount of Scotland, and willing to receive judg ment from him in that character; upon which this baron expressly an swered that he recognised him as such, and would abide by his decision. The same question was then put to the other competitors, all of whom re turned the same answer. Sir Thomas Randolph then stood up, and declared that John Baliol, lord of Galloway, had mistaken the day, but would appear on the morrow; which he did, and then solemnly acknowledged the superiority of the English king. At this fourth assembly, the chancellor protested, in the name of the king, that although, with the view of giving judgment to the competitors, he now asserted his right of superiority, yet he had no in tention of excluding his hereditary right of property in the kingdom of Scotland, but reserved to himself the power of prosecuting such right at whatever time, and in whatever way, he judged expedient.2
The king in person next addressed the assembly. He spoke in Norman 1 Rymer, Fœdera, vol. ii. p. 551.
1291.] INTERREGNUM. 33
French; recapitulated the proceed ings; and, with many professions of affection for the people of Scotland, declared his intention not only to pro nounce a speedy decision in the con troversy, but to maintain the laws and re-establish the tranquillity of the country. John Comyn, lord of Bade noch, called the Black Comyn, who had married a sister of Baliol, now came forward as a competitor for the crown, and acknowledged the superi ority of Edward; after which, the claimants affixed their signatures to two important instruments. The first declared, that, “ Forastmich. as the King of England has evidently shewn to us that the sovereign seignory of Scotland, and the right of hearing, trying, and terminating our respective claims, belongs to him, we agree to receive judgment from him, as our Lord Paramount. We are willing to abide by his decision, and consent that he shall possess the kingdom to whom he awards it.”1 By the second deed, possession of the whole land and castles of Scotland was delivered into the hands of Edward, under the pre tence that the subject in dispute ought always to be placed in the hands of the judge; but on condition that Edward should find security to make a full restitution within two months after the date of his award, and that the revenues of the kingdom should be preserved for the future sovereign. It was next determined, after grave consultation with the prelates and earls, that, in order to prepare the point in dispute for an ultimate de cision, Baliol and Comyn for them selves, and the competitors who ap proved of their list, should choose forty “ discreet and faithful men " as commissioners; that Bruce, for him self, and the competitors who abided by his nomination, should choose other forty; and that Edward the king should select twenty-four commission ers, or, as he thought fit, a greater or lesser number. These commissioners were to meet in a body, to con sider the claims of the competitors,
1 Hemingford, vol. i. p. 34. Rymer, Fœdera, vol. ii. p. 529. VOL. I.
and to make their report to the king.
On the 11th of June, the four regents of Scotland delivered the kingdom into the hands of Edward; and the captains and governors of its castles, finding that the guardians of the realm, and the most powerful of its nobility, had abandoned it to its fate, gave up its fortresses to his disposal. And here, in the midst of this scene of national humiliation, one Scottish baron stood forward, and behaved worthy of his country. The Earl of Angus, Gilbert de Umfraville, who commanded the important castles of Dundee and Forfar, declared that, having received these, not from Eng land, but from the Estates of Scot land, he would not surrender them to Edward. A formal letter of indem nity was then drawn up, which guar anteed the Earl of Angus from all blame; and, in name of the claimants of the crown, and of the guardians of the realm, enjoined him to deliver the fortresses of which he held the keys. This removed the objection of Umfra- ville, and Dundee and Forfar were placed in the hands of Edward. The King of England, satisfied with this express acknowledgment of his rights as Lord Paramount, immediately re- delivered the custody of the kingdom into the hands of the regents, enjoin ing them to appoint Alan, bishop of Caithness, an Englishman, and one of his dependants, to the important office of chancellor; and to nominate Walter Agmondesham, another agent of Eng land, as his assistant. To the four guardians, or regents, Edward next added a fifth, Bryan Fitz-Alan, an English baron; and having thus se cured an effectual influence over the Scottish councils, he proceeded to assume a generous and conciliating tone. He promised to do justice to the competitors within the kingdom of Scotland,2 and to deliver immediate possession of the kingdom to the suc cessful claimant; upon the death of any king of Scotland who left an heir, he engaged to wave his claim to those feudal services, which, upon such an 2 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 532. C
34 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. I.
occasion, were rigidly exacted by lords superior in smaller fiefs, with the ex ception of the homage due to him as Lord Paramount; but he stipulated that, in the event of a disputed suc cession occurring, the kingdom and its castles were to be again delivered into his hands.1
The first act of this extraordinary drama now drew to a conclusion. The great seal, which had been brought from Scotland for the occasion, was delivered to the joint chancellors, the Bishop of Caithness and Walter Ag- mondesham. The four guardians, in the presence of a large concourse of English and Scottish nobility, swore fealty to Edward as lord superior; while Bruce, lord of Annandale, with his son, the earl of Carrick, John de Baliol, the Earls of March, Mar, Buchan, Athole, Angus, Lennox, and Menteith, the Black Comyn, lord of Badenoch, and many other barons and knights, followed them in taking the oaths of homage. A herald then pro claimed the peace of King Edward as Lord Paramount; and the monarch added a protestation, that his consent to do justice in this great cause within Scotland should not preclude him from his right of deciding in any similar emergency within his kingdom of Eng land. The assembly then broke up, after an agreement that its next meet ing should be at Berwick on the 2d of August, on which day the King of England promised to deliver his final judgment upon the succession to the crown of Scotland.2
It was now only the 13th of July, and Edward determined to employ the interval till the 2d of August in a progress through Scotland, for the purpose of receiving the homage of its inhabitants, and examining in person the disposition of the people, and the strength of the country. He pro ceeded, by Edinburgh and Stirling, as far as Perth, visiting Dunfermline, St Andrews, Kinghorn, and Linlithgow; and at these places peremptorily called upon persons of all ranks—earls, barons, and burgesses—to sign the rolls of
1 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 601.
2 Ibid. vol. ii. p. 558.
homage, as vassals of the king of Eng land.3 In the more remote districts, which he could not visit, officers were appointed to receive the oaths, and enforce them by imprisonment upon the refractory;4 and having thus ex amined and felt the temper of the country, which he had determined to reduce under his dominion, he re turned to Berwick; where, in the pre sence of the competitors, with the prelates, earls, and barons of both countries, assembled in the chapel of the castle, he, on the 3d of August, opened the proceedings.
First of all, he commanded the hundred and four commissioners, or delegates, to assemble in the church of the Dominicans, adjoining to the castle, and there receive the claims to the crown. Upon this, twelve competitors came forward. These were :—
I. Florence, count of Holland, de scended from Ada, the sister of King William the Lion.
II. Patrick Dunbar, earl of March, descended from Ilda, or Ada, daughter of William the Lion.
III. William de Vescy, who claimed as grandson of Marjory, daughter of William the Lion.5
IV. William de Ross, descended from Isabella, daughter of William the Lion.
V. Robert de Pynkeny, descended from Marjory, daughter of Henry, prince of Scotland, and sister of Wil liam the Lion.
VI. Nicholas de Soulis, descended from Marjory, a daughter of Alex ander the Second, and wife of Alan Durward.
VII. Patrick Galythly, claimed as the son of Henry Galytnly, who, he contended, was the lawful son of Wil liam the Lion.
VIII. Roger de Mandeville, de scended from Aufrica, whom he affirmed to be a daughter of William the Lion.
IX. John Comyn, lord of Badenoch,
3 Prynne, Edw. I. p. 509-512. 4 Rymer, vol. ii. p. 573. 5 The Chronicle of Melrose, p. 100, ad an num 1193, calls her Margaret.
1292.1 INTERREGNUM. 35
who claimed as a descendant of Donald, formerly King of Scotland.
X. John de Hastings, who was the son of Ada, the third daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon, brother to King William the Lion.
XI. Robert de Bruce, who was the son of Isabel, second daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon; and lastly,
XII. John de Baliol, who claimed the crown as the grandson of Mar garet, the eldest daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon.1
The petitions of these various claim ants having been read, Edward recom mended the commissioners to consider them with attention, and to give in their report at his next parliament, to be held at Berwick on the 2d of June, in the following year. This was an artful delay. Its apparent purpose was to give the commissioners an in terval of nine or ten months to insti tute their inquiries; yet it served the more important object of accustoming the nobility and people of Scotland to look to Edward as their Lord Para mount. When the parliament as sembled at Berwick on the appointed day, and when Eric, king of Norway, appeared by his ambassadors, and in sisted on his right to the crown of Scotland as the heir of his daughter Margaret, his petition and the claims of the first nine competitors were easily disposed of. They were liable to insuperable objections : some on ac count of the notorious illegitimacy of the branches from which they sprung, which was the case with the Earl of March, along with the barons William de Ross and De Vescy; others were rejected because they affirmed that they were descendants of a sister of the Earl of Huntingdon, when the direct representatives of a brother of the same prince were in the field.
Indeed, before the final judgment was pronounced, these frivolous com petitors voluntarily retired. They had been set up by Edward, with the design of removing the powerful op position which might have arisen to his schemes, had they declared them selves against him; and to excuse his
1 Rymer, Fœclera, vol. ii. pp. 578, 679.
delay in giving judgment, by throwing an air of intricacy over the case. This object being gained, the king commanded the commissioners to con sider, in the first place, the claims of Bruce and Baliol; thus quietly over looking the other competitors, whose rights were reserved, never to be again brought forward; and virtually de ciding that the crown must be given to a descendant of David, earl of Hun tingdon. The scene which followed was nothing more than a premedi tated piece of acting, planned by Ed ward, and not ill performed by the Scottish commissioners, who were completely under his influence. The king first required them to make oath that they would faithfully advise him by what laws and usages the question should be determined ; they answered, that they differed in opinion as to the laws and usages of Scotland, and its application to the question before them ; and therefore required the as sistance of the English commissioners, as if from them was to proceed more certain or accurate advice upon the law of Scotland. A conference with the commissioners of the two nations having taken place, it was found that the differences in opinion were not re moved. The English commissioners modestly refused to decide until they were enlightened by the advice of an English parliament; and the king, approving of their scruples, declared his resolution to consult the learned in foreign parts; and recommended all persons of both kingdoms to re volve the case in their minds, and consider what ought to be done. He then appointed a parliament to as semble at Berwick on the 15th of October; at which meeting of the Estates he intimated he would pro nounce his final decision.
On the meeting of this parliament at the time appointed, Edward re quired the commissioners to give an answer to these two questions :—1st, By what laws and customs they ought to regulate their judgment ? or, in the event of there being either no laws for the determination of such a point, or if the laws of England and Scotland
36 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. 1.
happened to be at variance, what was to be done ? And, 2d, Was the king dom of Scotland to be regarded as a common fief, and the succession to the crown to be regulated by the same principles which were applicable to earldoms and baronies? The com missioners replied, that the laws and usages of the two kingdoms must rule the question; but if none existed to regulate the case, the king must make a new law for a new emergency; and that the succession to the Scottish crown must be decided in the same manner as the succession to earldoms, baronies, and other indivisible inherit ances. The king then addressed him self to Bruce and Baliol, and required them to allege any further arguments in explanation of their right; upon which they entered at great length into their respective pleadings upon the question.
Bruce insisted that, being the son of Isabella, second daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon, he was next heir to the crown; that Alexander the Second had so declared to persons yet alive, when the king despaired of hav ing heirs of his own body; and that an oath had been taken by the people of Scotland to maintain the succession of the nearest in blood to Alexander the Third, failing the Maid of Norway and her issue. He maintained that a succession to a kingdom ought to be decided by the law of nature, rather than by the principles which regulated the succession of vassals and subjects; by which law he, as nearest to the royal blood, ought to be preferred; and that the custom of succession to the Scottish crown — by which the brother, as nearest in degree, excluded the son of the deceased monarch— supported his title. He contended that a woman, being naturally incap able of government, ought not to reign; and, therefore, as Devorguilla, the mother of Baliol, was alive at the death of Alexander the Third, and could not reign, the kingdom devolved upon him, as the nearest male of the blood-royal.
To all this Baliol replied, that as Alexander the Second had left heirs
of his body, no conclusion could be drawn from his declaration; that the claimants were in the court of the Lord Paramount, of whose ancestors, from time immemorial, the realm of Scotland was held by homage; and that the King of England must give judgment in this case as in the case of other tenements held of the crown, looking to the law and established usages of his kingdom; that, upon these principles, the eldest female heir is preferred in the succession to all inheritance, indivisible as well as divi sible, so that the issue of a younger sister, although nearer in degree, did not exclude the issue of the elder, though in a degree more remote, the succession continuing in the direct line. He maintained that the argu ment of Bruce, as to the ancient laws of succession in the kingdom of Scot land, truly militated against himself; for the son was nearer in degree than the brother, yet the brother was pre ferred. He observed, that Bruce’s argument, that a woman ought not to reign, was inconsistent with his own claim; for if Isabella, the mother of Bruce, had no right to reign, she could transmit to him no claim to the crown; and besides all this, he had, by his own deliberate act, confuted the argument which he now main tained, having been one of those nobles who swore allegiance to Mar garet, the Maiden of Norway.
The competitors, Bruce and Baliol, having thus advanced their claims, King Edward required of his great council a final answer to the following question, exhorting bishops, prelates, earls, barons, and commissioners, to advise well upon the point:—“ By the laws and customs of both kingdoms ought the issue of an elder sister, but more remote by one degree, to ex clude the issue of the younger sister, although one degree nearer?” To this the whole council unanimously answered, that the issue of the elder sister must be preferred; upon which Edward, after affectedly entreating his council to reconsider the whole cause, adjourned the assembly for three ! weeks, and appointed it to meet
1292.] INTERREGNUM. 37
again on Thursday the 6th of No vember.
On this day, in a full meeting of all the competitors, the commissioners, and the assembled nobility of both countries, the king declared that, after weighing Bruce’s petition, with its circumstances, and deeply consid ering the arguments on both sides, it was his final judgment that the pre tensions of that noble person to the Scottish crown must be set aside, and that he could take nothing in the com petition with Baliol. The great drama, however, was not yet concluded; for the king having ordered the claims of Baliol, and the other competitors, which were only postponed, to be fur ther heard, Bruce declared that he meant to prosecute his right, and to present a claim for the whole or a part of the kingdom of Scotland, under a different form from what he had already followed. Upon this, John de Hastings, the descendant of the third daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon, stood up, and affirmed that the kingdom of Scotland was partible, and ought, according to the established laws of England as to partible fiefs, to be divided equally amongst the descendants of the three daughters. This plea was founded upon an opinion of one of the French lawyers, whom Edward had consulted; and Hastings had no sooner concluded than Bruce again presented himself, and, adopting the argument of Hast ings, claimed a third part of Scotland, reserving always to Baliol, as de scended from the eldest sister, the name of king, and the royal dignity. Edward then put the question to his council, “ Is the kingdom of Scotland divisible ; or, if not, are its escheats or its revenues divisible ? " The coun cil answered, “ That neither could be divided.” Upon which the king, after having taken a few days more to re- examine diligently, with the assist ance of his council, the whole of the petitions, appointed the last meeting for the hearing of the cause to be held in the castle of Berwick, on the 17th of November.
On that great and important day,
the council and parliament of Eng land, with the nobility of both coun tries, being met, the various competi tors were summoned to attend ; upon which Eric, king of Norway, Florence, earl of Holland, and William de Vescy, withdrew their claims. After this, Patrick, earl of March, William de Ross, Robert de Pynkeny, Nicholas de Soulis, and Patrick Galythly, came forward in person, and followed the same course. John Comyn and Roger de Mandeville, who did not appear, were presumed to have abandoned their right; and the ground being thus cleared for Edward’s final judg ment, he solemnly decreed : That the kingdom of Scotland being indivisible, and the King of England being bound to judge of the rights of his subjects according to the laws and usages of the people over whom he reigns, by which laws the more remote in degree of the first line of descent is preferable to the nearer in degree of the second ; therefore, John Baliol ought to have seisin of the kingdom of Scotland, with reservation always of the right of the King of England and of his heirs, when they shall think proper to as sert it. After having delivered judg- ment, Edward exhorted Baliol to be careful in the government of his people, lest by giving to any one a just cause of complaint he should call down upon himself an interference of his Lord Paramount. He commanded the five regents to give him seisin of his kingdom, and directed orders to the governors of the castles throughout Scotland to deliver them into the hands of Baliol.1 A humiliating cere mony now took place. The great seal
1 Rymer, Foedera, vol. ii. p. 590. Rotuli Scotiæ, vol. i. p. 11. The forts of Scotland, with their English governors, were these :—
38 HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. [Chap. II.
of Scotland, which had been used by the regents since the death of Alex ander the Third, was, in the presence of Edward, Baliol, Bruce, and a con course of the nobility of both king doms, broken into four parts, and the pieces deposited in the treasury of the King of England, to be preserved as an evidence of the pretended sove reignty and dominion of that kingdom over Scotland.1 Next day Baliol, in the castle of Norham, swore fealty to Edward, who gave a commission to
John de St John to perform the cere mony of his coronation, by placing the new monarch upon the ancient stone seat of Scone. This ought to have been done by Duncan, earl of Fife, but he was then a minor. Baliol was accord ingly crowned upon St Andrew’s day, and soon after passed into England, where he concluded the last act of this degrading history, by paying his homage to Edward at Newcastle- upon-Tyne, on the day after Christ mas.2
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