Treaty of Birgham and the Maid of Norway (1286 - 1290)

After the death of Alexander III in 1286 his wife Yolande announced that she was pregnant and this meant a delay in announcing a new ruler until it was proved true as Alexander had left no other heirs. Within a few months it was obvious that Yolande was not pregnant after all and this left the 'Maid of Norway', Alexander's only surviving grandchild of his first wife, as heir to the kingdom. Margaret was only three years old and her father was the 16 year old King of Norway, her mother had died shortly after giving birth to her in 1283.

The situation was desperate, the successor to Alexander was a child and she was hundreds of miles away in Norway. It was decided that a group of six guardians would control the great families who had a claim to the throne - the Bruces and Balliols. They decided to approach Edward I of England to ask him to restore order to the kingdom.

Two treaties were drawn up, one at Salisbury in December 1289 and the other at Birgham in July 1290. The terms of the treaties included a provision that Margaret was to succeed to the throne under the custody of Edward, she was also to marry Edward's son. Scotland's independence was to be guaranteed, 'separate and divided from England according to its rightful boundaries, free in itself and without subjection'. Unfortunately things did not turn out as the Scots had planned. English clerks added reservations to the agreement which undermined Scottish independence. After the altered agreements the situation went from bad to worse, Margaret never made it to Scotland. She died on the Orkneys and the long line of Dunkeld was at an end. For two years after the 'Maid of Norway' died Scotland did not have a king. Before long Edward was styling himself 'Overlord of the land of Scotland' and insisting that all those who wished to claim the Scottish throne had to recognise himself as their feudal superior. He placed Englishmen in Scottish castles and had forces ready in case of trouble.

Proposal for the marriage of Margaret & Edward

To begin with only the Balliols and the Bruces put themselves forward, they were both descended from daughters of David I, Balliol was descended from the eldest, Margaret while Bruce was descended from the second eldest, Isabel. If only primogeniture was taken into account then Balliol had the better claim. Bruce put forward two counter-arguments, however, he was the grandson of David, Earl of Huntingdon while Balliol was great-grandson and, secondly, Alexander II had recognised the Bruce claim before the birth of Alexander III. The 'Competitors' numbered 13 in all but the other claims were generally weak.

On the 6th of November 1292 the court arrived at its decision and eleven days later Edward I announced its decision in the Great Hall of Berwick Castle - the 43 year old John Balliol was to be King of Scots.

History Books on this time period:

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From: From:
Duncan, A. A. M.	Scotland: the Making of the Kingdom	1975	£16.99	Amazon.co.uk
Scotland: the Making of the Kingdom is the first "straight" history of Scotland from pre-history to 1286 to be published since 1862. It starts with the evidence on pre-historic and Roman Scotland and covers in some detail the incursions and amalgamations of races who made up the Celtic Kingdom, the impact of the Vikings and the forging of a single kingdom. Professor Duncan looks at the Anglo-Norman influence on Scotland and gives a full account of Anglo-Scottish relations up to 1214. The growth of towns is discussed together with the expansion of trade and the place of Scottish evidence in the evolution of rural and urban society in north-west Europe. The closing chapters narrate the progress which made possible the establishment of an efficient and unoppressive administrative system.
Barrow, G. W. S.	Kingship & Unity: Scotland 1000-1306	1989	£9.95 or $16.50	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Professor Barrow takes up the history of a Scotland which in the eleventh century already has the beginnings of a clear sense of identity, and a successful expansion policy. Emphasising in particular the kingdom's political growth and the evolution of a distinct Scottish nation, Professor Barrow narrates the story of Scotland's remarkable Medieval kings and their development of a kingship and the institutions of government which provided the unity and administration to fend off Edward I's onslaughts in the thirteenth century. This is a thoroughly readable and comprehensive account of the building of medieval Scotland, and a welcome reissue from the New History of Scotland series (formerly published by Edward Arnold). Historical Fiction Books on this time period Author Title Published Price Order Now From: From: Robb, Candace A Trust Betrayed 2001 £10.00 Amazon.co.uk This novel is subtitled A Scottish Murder Mystery and that is exactly what this book is, a well written murder mystery of the medieval period. It is set in 1297 while the Scottish kingdom is in disarray and the author makes the most of the Edinburgh locations with their realistically drawn squalor.