General Notes

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REFN: P3604
John Baliol - King of Scotland
A. How he acquired the throne
Ale xander III was consecrated as the ruling monarch of Scotland with much
pomp a nd ceremony in 1249. It was said his line could be traced unbroken
back to Ki ng Fergus, around 500 A.D. Fergus' father had come from
Ireland, and Scottish tales claimed that these Irish were descended from
the Greeks (by migration through Spain). Alexander's first wife,
Margaret, sister of Edward I of Engla nd, died in February 1275. In
October 1285, Alexander married Joleta (YolanDe ), daughter of the Comte
De Dreux. Of Alexander's children, the younger son, David, died in 1281
when he was eight years old. The elder son, Alexander, di ed in 1284 at
the age of twenty. The king's daughter, Margaret, married Eric II of
Norway, and their daughter became know as Margaret, "the Maid of Norway ".
In February 1284, a week after the death of his eldest son, Alexander III
called an assembly of the magnates of the realm together at Scone. The
lord s acknowledged the "Maid" as heir to the kingdom of Scotland should
the king have no other issue.
On the night of March 12, 1286, Alexander was riding from Edinburgh to
Kinghorn to join his new wife when he got separated from his gu ides. In a
heavy mist his horse stumbled on a hill of loose basalt trap; Alex ander
was thrown, and his neck broken.
Six guardians were appointed to admin ister the realm in the name of
Margaret, who was then about three years old. Robert Bruce (the elder)
did not accept the authority of the guardianship and , with his son, the
Earl of Carrick, made some show of force in a claim to th e throne. In
September, 1286, Bruce's adherents entered into a bond of mutual defense
and assistance at Turnberry, in support of the man "who in accordanc e
with hereditary rights and ancient usages ought to occupy the throne."
In May of 1289, Eric II of Norway sent ambassadors to Edward I to discuss
the po sition of the Maid Margaret as queen of Scotland. The Scottish
guardians were also invited to join the discussions which concluded with
the treaty of Sali sbury. Under this treaty, the Norwegians promised to
send Margaret to England before 1 November 1290, "free and quit of all
contract of marriage." Edward in turn promised that, if Margaret came to
England, and if Scotland remained peaceful, he would send her north also
"free and quit of all contract of marr iage." The Scottish representatives
promised to establish quietness in the la nd before Margaret came there;
and further promised not to contract her in ma rriage without the
"ordinance, will, and counsel of Edward", and save with th e assent of the
King of Norway, her father.
Unknown to the Scots, Edward had already sent messengers to Pope Nicholas
IV applying for the dispensation fo r the marriage of Margaret to his son,
Edward (later Edward II), since they w ere within the forbidden degrees of
the canon law (cousins once removed). The dispensation was granted ten
days after the conclusion of the treaty, and th e Scots, when they heard
of it, agreed wholeheartedly to the proposed marriag e. A letter sent from
Bingham in March 1290 from the four surviving guardians , eight bishops,
twelve earls, twenty-three abbots, eleven priors, and forty- eight barons,
spoke of the joyous news of the dispensation and cordially agre ed to the
marriage. Another letter urged Eric to send his daughter to England .
In July of 1291, a new treaty, the Treaty of Bingham, was signed between
S cotland and England. This "marriage" treaty set forth that the "rights,
laws, liberties, and customs of Scotland were for all time to be "wholly
and invio lably preserved." The Kingdom of Scotland was to remain
"separate and divided from the kingdom of England", and to be "free in
itself and without subjecti on." Should Edward or Margaret fail to have
heirs, Scotland was to return to the nearest heirs, and the King of
England woul