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The Real William Wallace
- Published 9 February 2009
- Scotland History
THE DEATH OF KING ALEXANDER
In 1286 King Alexander III of Scotland left Edinburgh Castle en route to visit his Queen in Kinghorn, Fife. The weather was atrocious but howling winds, heavy rain and pleading advisors couldn't persuade King Alexander to change his mind about travelling. During his journey the King and his guides became seperated due to the extreme weather conditions until finally King Alexander was thrown from his horse. The body of the King was found on the shore the next morning, he was forty four years old. The whole country was shocked and even worse, he had left no surviving heir. His pregnant queen then had a stillborn child and the throne was then passed to his granddaughter Margaret, also known as the "Maid of Norway" who was only four years old. It was decided by the Scottish lords to set up a temporary government until Queen margaret was old enough to rule for herself. However, on her way to Scotland aged only seven years old, Queen Margaret fell seriously ill and died. This was the opportunity that other claimants to the Scottish throne had been waiting for.
There was now a serious danger that Scotland could descend into civil war with both Robert Bruce and John Balliol claiming the right to the throne of Scotland. In order to avoid a catastrophic situation the most powerful men in Scotland decided to ask their neighbour, King Edward of England, to arbitrate in the dispute. King Edward, also known as "longshanks", saw an opportunity to bring Scotland under his control. He agreed to arbitrate but insisted that all the claimants accept him as "Lord Paramount Of Scotland", which met a great deal of initial resistance. To add to the confusion King Edward managed to come up with a number of other claimants to the crown of Scotland and eventually all the claimants, including Robert Bruce and John Balliol, were forced to accept King Edward's wishes. A special court was set up at Berwick-On-Tweed, right on the Scottish-English border, and on Novermber 17th 1292 King Edward declared that John Balliol was the rightful King of Scotland.
John Balliol, the new King, has agreed to pay homage to King Edward and essentially agreed to view the English king as overlord of Scotland in order to receive Edwards backing. However, seeing that Edward was continuing to erode the independence of Scotland, John Balliol broke his word and in March 1296 renounced his promises to Edward. Edward, now enraged, attacked Berwick-On-Tweed (which at the time was in Scotland), and slaughtered thousands of its inhabitants. It is said the river Tweed ran red with the blood of the townspeople. The Scottish army then lost the Battle of Dunbar and by July 1296 King Edward had forced King John Balliol to abdicate. To add insult to injury King Edward removed the precious Stone Of Destiny, the official and revered crowning stone of Scotland from the palace at Scone and took it to London, where he had it embedded in a specially made throne, so that all Kings of England would sit over the stone on which all crowned Kings of scotland once sat. The remaining nobles of Scotland were forced to pledge homage to King Edward. The ruthless English king, Edward Longshanks, had achieved his goal - the total control of Scotland.
In 1286 King Alexander III of Scotland left Edinburgh Castle en route to visit his Queen in Kinghorn, Fife. The weather was atrocious but howling winds, heavy rain and pleading advisors couldn't persuade King Alexander to change his mind about travelling. During his journey the King and his guides became seperated due to the extreme weather conditions until finally King Alexander was thrown from his horse. The body of the King was found on the shore the next morning, he was forty four years old. The whole country was shocked and even worse, he had left no surviving heir. His pregnant queen then had a stillborn child and the throne was then passed to his granddaughter Margaret, also known as the "Maid of Norway" who was only four years old. It was decided by the Scottish lords to set up a temporary government until Queen margaret was old enough to rule for herself. However, on her way to Scotland aged only seven years old, Queen Margaret fell seriously ill and died. This was the opportunity that other claimants to the Scottish throne had been waiting for.
There was now a serious danger that Scotland could descend into civil war with both Robert Bruce and John Balliol claiming the right to the throne of Scotland. In order to avoid a catastrophic situation the most powerful men in Scotland decided to ask their neighbour, King Edward of England, to arbitrate in the dispute. King Edward, also known as "longshanks", saw an opportunity to bring Scotland under his control. He agreed to arbitrate but insisted that all the claimants accept him as "Lord Paramount Of Scotland", which met a great deal of initial resistance. To add to the confusion King Edward managed to come up with a number of other claimants to the crown of Scotland and eventually all the claimants, including Robert Bruce and John Balliol, were forced to accept King Edward's wishes. A special court was set up at Berwick-On-Tweed, right on the Scottish-English border, and on Novermber 17th 1292 King Edward declared that John Balliol was the rightful King of Scotland.
John Balliol, the new King, has agreed to pay homage to King Edward and essentially agreed to view the English king as overlord of Scotland in order to receive Edwards backing. However, seeing that Edward was continuing to erode the independence of Scotland, John Balliol broke his word and in March 1296 renounced his promises to Edward. Edward, now enraged, attacked Berwick-On-Tweed (which at the time was in Scotland), and slaughtered thousands of its inhabitants. It is said the river Tweed ran red with the blood of the townspeople. The Scottish army then lost the Battle of Dunbar and by July 1296 King Edward had forced King John Balliol to abdicate. To add insult to injury King Edward removed the precious Stone Of Destiny, the official and revered crowning stone of Scotland from the palace at Scone and took it to London, where he had it embedded in a specially made throne, so that all Kings of England would sit over the stone on which all crowned Kings of scotland once sat. The remaining nobles of Scotland were forced to pledge homage to King Edward. The ruthless English king, Edward Longshanks, had achieved his goal - the total control of Scotland.