Enthronement of Alexander III |
Alexander became king at the
age of eight, and only five days after the death of his father.
Unusually for Scotland at this time his minority passed off
without civil war. In large part the peace was held by Henry
III of England as he had interests in Scotland due to the
fact that his daughter Margaret had been married to Alexander
while only ten years old. When Henry suggested that Alexander
do homage for both his lands in England and Scotland, Alexander
politely refused.
During the next fifteen years Alexander's reign was one of
peace with England, indeed Alexander was an honoured guest
at the coronation of Edward I in 1272. Yet it again it was
suggested that Alexander do homage for Scotland as well as
his English lands, this time by the Bishop of Norwich. Alexander's
reply was cool and to the point, 'to homage for my kingdom
of Scotland no one has right except God alone, nor do I hold
it except of God alone'. The subject was then dropped - for
a while.
Although, in general, Scotland was a
peaceful realm during Alexander's reign his relations with
Norway were often strained due to Scotland's claim to the
Western Isles. In 1262 there was a Scottish raid on Skye and
this caused Haakon, King of Norway, to set sail for Scotland
to settle the issue. Late in 1263 Haakon headed for Scotland
with a large invasion force consisting of 200 ships and 15,000
men. The storms around the coast of Scotland took their toll
on the Norwegian fleet, which at one point meant dragging
forty ships overland to Loch Lomond. In the end a running
fight took place at Largs where the Norwegian's were defeated
by the Scots led by Alexander Stewart. Haakon did not make
it back to Norway, he died on Orkney in December.
The Treaty of Perth of 1266 recognised the reality of the
situation and Alexander was given Man and the Isles for 4000
merks and an annual payment of 100 merks. Only Orkney and
Shetland were now outwith Scottish control. |
