CHAPTER XXII

THE SECOND AND THIRD ALEXANDERS TO JOHN BALIOL

WILI

'ILLIAM the Lion died in 1214, and was succeeded by his son, Alexander II. As was not unusual in those times, the beginning of his reign was marked by conflicts with England, and efforts at revolt in various parts of his own kingdom. In 1215, Donald MacWilliam, with some Irish allies, invaded Moray, but was driven out. The following year, Alexander sided with the English barons against King John in the hope of recovering his family's title to Northumberland. The English king, by way of reprisal, wasted Yorkshire and Northumberland, stormed and burned Berwick, and, entering Scotland, burned the priory of Coldingham, and the towns of Dunbar and Haddington.

Alexander retaliated by laying waste the western borders with fire and sword. He burned the monastery of Holmcultram in Cumberland, took possession of Carlisle, and assaulted Bernard Castle. King John's death occurring shortly afterwards, the war was soon brought to a close; and Carlisle was surrendered back to the English.

In 1219, David, Earl of Huntingdon, died, leaving a son John, (who afterwards became the Earl of Chester), and three daughters: Margaret, married to Alan of Galloway; Isabella, married to Robert Bruce; and Ada, married to Henry de Hastings. The union of Isabella with Robert Bruce, gave the family of the latter its title to the crown. In 1221, King Alexander married Princess Joan of England, sister of Henry III. The following year, an insurrection having occurred in Argyle, many of the native leaders were forced to leave that district, and their estates were distributed among the king's followers. In 1228, Gillescop rose in insurrection and ravaged portions of Moray and Inverness. He was slain in 1229. Shortly before that time the Isle of Man had become subject to Alan, Lord of Galloway.'

In 1233, John de Baliol, Lord of Bernard Castle, married Dervergoyll, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, and of Margaret, cousin to King Alexander. Through this union arose the claim of the Baliols to the Scottish throne. The same year Alan of Galloway died, leaving three heiresses : Helen, wife of Roger de Quincy, Earl of Winchester; Dervergoyll, wife of John Baliol; and Christian, wife of William des Forts, son of the Earl of Albemarle. The Galwegians, unwilling to have their country parcelled out to the various Anglo-Norman barons who had married the heiresses, now besought the king to attach that district to the possessions of the Scottish Crown. Failing in this, they next requested that Thomas, the bastard son of Alan, who had married the daughter of the king of Man, be appointed as his

father's successor. This also having been refused, the Galwegians broke out into rebellion and under the lead of the bastard Thomas and a Gaelic chief named Gilrodh, wasted Scotland with savage ferocity. Alexander brought an army against them and put them to flight; but was afterwards prevailed upon to pardon the insurgents.'

Historians all concur in ascribing to the reign of this king a period of unexampled growth and prosperity for the material interests of the country, and even down to the seventeenth century Alexander II's reign was spoken of as the Golden Age of Scotland.'

In 1237, a treaty was made between Henry and Alexander by the terms of which the latter released his hereditary claim to the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland, and the English king settled on him lands in Northumberland and Cumberland of an annual value of two hundred pounds. Two years later, Alexander's wife having died, he married Mary, daughter of Ingelram de Couci. In 1241 a son was born to them, who was also named Alexander.

The next year was distinguished in Scotland by the revival of a feud that had some time previously existed between the houses of Bisset and Murray. Henry Murray, Earl of Athole, was murdered at Haddington. Suspicion having fallen on Walter Bisset, he was forced to flee the kingdom and his estates were confiscated. Making his way to the English court he sought retaliation; and, by representing that Alexander was harboring Henry's enemies, so far succeeded in poisoning the mind of the latter against the Scottish king as to induce him to organize an expedition for the purpose of invading Scotland. To that end an army was accordingly assembled at Newcastle; and Alexander is said by Matthew of Paris to have gathered together a force of nearly 100,000 men to oppose them; although this is evidently an exaggeration.

No doubt the formidable array of Scottish warriors made it an easy matter for Henry's nobles, nearly all of whom were friendly to Alexander, to dissuade their king from pushing hostilities farther. Through the mediation. of the English barons a peace was arranged at Newcastle, and the proposed invasion abandoned.

In 1249, while on an expedition to compel the submission of Angus, Lord of Argyle, who at that time was a liege of the king of Norway, Alexander died. He was succeeded by his eight-year-old son, who was crowned as Alexander III. In 1251, when the king was but ten years old, his marriage with Margaret, daughter of Henry III., took place at York. At this time Alexander did homage to Henry for his possessions in England; and the English ruler thereupon took occasion to demand homage also for the kingdom of Scotland. To this request the young Alexander, prepared by his counsellors for such an emergency, replied that he had been invited to York to marry the Princess of England, and not to treat on affairs of state; and that he could not take such a step as that now proposed by Henry

without the advice and counsel of his people. Accordingly, for the time being, the matter of homage for Scotland was dropped.

During Alexander III.'s minority the kingdom was governed by successive cliques of his nobles. According to Fordun, there were as many kings as counsellors, and the nation was universally oppressed. In the beginning of the reign, the Comyns were the most powerful family in Scotland. Two barons of their party, Robert de Ros and John de Baliol were regents, and there were more than thirty knights of the name of Comyn in the kingdom.

In 1255, the leaders of the opposition party, among whom were Patrick, Earl of March, Malise, Earl of Strathern, Nigel, Earl of Carrick, Robert de Brus, Alexander the Steward, and Alan Durward, having surprised Edinburgh Castle and seized the persons of the king and queen, constituted themselves wardens of the royal couple and regents of the kingdom. In this they had the active coöperation of Henry III. of England, who with an army marched toward the Scottish borders. An interview between the two kings was held at Roxburgh in September, 1255, when it was arranged that the following persons should act as regents of the kingdom during the Scottish king's minority: Richard Inverkeithen, Bishop of Dunkeld; Peter de Ramsay, Bishop of Aberdeen; Malcolm, Earl of Fife; Patrick, Earl of Dunbar or March; Malise, Earl of Strathern; Nigel, Earl of Carrick; Alexander the Steward of Scotland; Robert de Brus; Alan Durward; Walter de Moray; David de Lindesay; William de Brechin; Robert de Meyners; Gilbert de Hay; and Hugh Gifford.

At the same time Gamelin, Chancellor of Scotland and Bishop-elect of St. Andrews, William de Bondington, Bishop of Glasgow, Clement, Bishop of Dunblane, William Comyn, Earl of Mentieth, Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan, William de Mar, Earl of Mar, John de Baliol, Robert de Ros, John Comyn, William Wisheart, Archdeacon of St. Andrews, and others were removed from the king's council and deprived of their civil offices. Bishop Gamelin offered opposition to the proceedings of the new regents, and later was made the object of their attacks. He journeyed to Rome, in 1256, enlisted the Pope on the side of his party, and the following year had sentence of excommunication pronounced against his enemies. William Comyn, Earl of Mentieth, took this opportunity to organize a party of his friends, seized the king at Kinross, in his name deposed the recently appointed regents, and prepared to meet their forces on the field of battle.

Before coming to blows, a compromise was effected by which a new regency was established and both parties were given representation in its composition. It consisted of Mary, the Queen-dowager; John de Brienne, her second husband; Gamelin, Bishop of St. Andrews; William, or Walter Comyn, Earl of Mentieth ; Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan; William, Earl of Mar; Alexander the Steward of Scotland; Robert de Meyners; Gilbert de Hay; and Alan Durward. As constituted, each party had nominally four representatives, and the Queen-dowager and her husband

increased the number to ten. As these latter two were already firm partisans of the Comyn interest, it really left the control of the kingdom in the hands of that faction.

In 1260, the king and queen of the Scots visited London, and during the queen's stay there an heiress was born to them. This daughter was named Margaret. She was afterwards (in 1281) married to Eric, ruler of Norway.

In 1263, the Norwegian king, Haco, built and manned a large fleet at Bergen. Sailing westward to the Orkneys, he levied additional forces there and from his vassals in the Western Isles. Thence sailing south along the western coast of Scotland he entered the Firth of Clyde, and approached the coast of Ayrshire, having with him about 160 vessels. The Norwegians prepared to disembark at Largs in Cuningham, with the intention of invading Scotland. Here, a tempest having arisen and raged for some days, many of the ships were disabled or lost, and the army became disheartened; so that when they were attacked by the Scots of the surrounding country, their resistance was not sufficient to withstand the first onset. They were scattered and fled; such as could make good their retreat returned with Haco to the Orkneys, where that defeated and disappointed sea-king immediately afterwards sickened and died.

The defeat of Haco was followed, in 1264, by the subjection of Man and the Western Isles to Alexander. Two years later, in consideration of the payment of four thousand merks, Magnus, King of Norway, ceded to Scotland all his rights to these western possessions, only reserving to himself the Shetlands and the Orkneys.

Henry III., King of England, died in 1272, and was afterwards succeeded by his son Edward I. (that is, first of the Norman Edwards). About this time (1274) was born in Annandale a son and heir to Robert Brus II. The latter had married Martha, Countess of Carrick, a daughter of Adam, Earl of Carrick. The father was a son of that older Robert Brus who had married Isabella, daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, and niece to William the Lion.

The circumstances of the union of Robert Brus II. with Martha, Countess of Carrick, as given by Fordun, were as follows:

In the year 1271, Louis, King of France, after he had won from the discomfited Saracens a certain very large island named Barbary, met his doom; as did his first-born son Louis, and much people of the Christians with them — among others, David, Earl of Athol, and Adam, Earl of Carrick, and a great many other Scottish and English nobles. Now Adam, Earl of Carrick, left an only daughter, named Martha, as his heiress; and she succeeded him in his domain and earldom. After she had, therefore, become mistress of her father's domain, as she was, one day, going out hunting at random, with her esquires and handmaidens, she met a gallant knight riding across the same country -a most seemly youth, named Robert of Bruce, son of Robert, surnamed the Bruce, the noble lord of Annandale in Scotland, and of Cleveland in England. When greetings and kisses had been given on

each side, as is the wont of courtiers, she besought him to stay and hunt, and walk about; and seeing that he was rather unwilling to do so, she by force, so to speak, with her own hand, made him pull up, and brought the knight, although very loath, to her castle of Turnberry with her. After dallying there, with his followers, for the space of fifteen days or more, he clandestinely took the countess to wife; while the friends and well-wishers of both knew nothing about it, nor had the king's consent been got at all in the matter. Therefore the common belief of the whole country was that she had seized - by force, as it were - this youth for her husband. But when this came to King Alexander's ears, he took the castle of Turnberry, and made all her other lands and possessions be acknowledged as in his hands, because she had wedded with Robert of Bruce without having consulted his royal majesty. By means of the prayers of friends, however, and by a certain sum of money agreed upon, this Robert gained the king's goodwill, and the whole domain. Of Martha, by God's providence, he begat a son, who was to be the savior, champion, and king of the bruised Scottish people, as the course of the history will show forth; and his father's name, Robert, was given him.

In twelve seven four since Christ our manhood wore,

And at the feast when Benedict deceased,

That noble knight, King Robert, saw the light,

Called from the womb by Heaven's almighty doom.

In 1278, Alexander appeared in the English Parliament and in general terms swore fealty to Edward I. The English king accepted Alexander's fealty, "saving the claim of homage for the kingdom of Scotland whenever he or his heirs should think proper to make it."

In 1283, Alexander's son, Prince Alexander (born 1263), died without issue; and his daughter, Margaret, Queen of Norway, also died the following year (January 28th), leaving an only daughter, Margaret, who has become known in Scottish history as the Maid of Norway. On this child the right to the throne was settled by Alexander and his Parliament shortly after the death of her mother. Margaret of Norway became queen by succession in 1286, when Alexander met his death by being thrown from his horse.

The infant queen being still in Norway, in her father's care, a regency was established, consisting of six lords: William Fraser, Bishop of St. Andrews; Duncan, Earl of Fife; Alexander, Earl of Buchan; Robert Wisheart, Bishop of Glasgow; John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch; and James, the Steward of Scotland. This regency continued for two years; when, upon the murder of the Earl of Fife by Sir Patrick Abernethy and Sir Walter Percy, succeeded by the death of Buchan, a quarrel arose amongst the remaining regents, and their number was reduced to three by the separation of James the Steward.

In 1289, Eric, King of Norway, sent an embassy to Edward I. of England to secure his assistance in harmonizing the dissensions existing in his daughter's kingdom. Edward, having first procured a dispensation from Pope Nicholas for the marriage of his eldest son to Scotland's queen,