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THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



in captivity, and the kings of Scotland were remitted, so far as 

 that kingdom was concerned, to the same position they had 

 held before the treaty of Falaise. 



But the right to homage survived, in the estimation at least 

 of ambitious and interested men, the renunciation of it, and 

 Edward I. availed himself of the first opportunity to re-assert 

 his right in the most absolute and positive way. 



It was at this juncture that the most popular heroes in 

 Scottish history came upon the stage, and it was at this period 

 that the Scottish nation began to show forth that spirit of 

 enthusiastic patriotism which has been their chief charac- 

 teristic ever since. The alliances which the Scots made with 

 Prance, and from time to time with other occasional enemies of 

 England, were only short-lived, and were entered into by those 

 enemies quite as much in their own particular interests as out 

 of a desire to do a service to Scotland. Indeed, though the first 

 thing a Continental prince did, when about to declare war on 

 England, was to secure the help of the Scots, so as to make a 

 diversion of the English forces in his favour, the same prince 

 was ever unwilling to help the Scots when their interests alone 

 were concerned. Foreign alliances were therefore of little use 

 to Scotland, and alone it was felt she was no match for her 

 powerful southern neighbour no match, that is to say, as 

 France was a match either in wealth, population, or resources. 

 But when the element of desperation was added to the contest, 

 when the Scots had the alternative of subjection or freedom, it 

 was felt by the Scots at least, whatever other men thought, 

 that they were fully equal to the warlike game, for they were 

 ready to fight to the death, every man of them, rather than lose 

 the " liberty that was dearer to them than life." 



Such were the men, such was the spirit which Edward I. 

 proposed to himself to conquer. That great warrior and states- 

 man looked with an evil eye upon the existence of an inde- 

 pendent kingdom so close to his own. He saw in it a refuge 

 for all the insurgent spirits, and there were plenty of them, 

 among his own subjects, and saw in it also an excellent assailing 

 point for any of his enemies who chose to make an alliance with 

 the Scots. He could not bear to be at the mercy of the Scots 

 for the safety of his northern boundaries, and he believed, 

 probably, that the demoralising and injurious border warfare 

 could be stopped only by abolishing the difference of jurisdiction 

 which was the cause of the warfare. Add to this the desire for 

 conquest and possession which seems to be natural to all princes 

 of any worth, and we have a fair notion of the motives which 

 induced King Edward to set about the conquest of the kingdom 

 of Scotland. 



The foundation, flimsy though it was, upon which he rested 

 his claim, has been already pointed out. Let us see the occasion 

 of which he availed himself to put his claim forward. 



When Alexander III. died in 1284, Margaret, his grand- 

 daughter, known in history as the Maid of Norway, was sole 

 and undoubted heir to the Scottish throne. She was a child at 

 the time, and Edward I. conceived the idea of marrying her to 

 his own son Edward, and so to join the two kingdoms. Arrange- 

 ments were made for that purpose by consent of the barons of 

 Scotland, safeguards being insisted on, however, for the due pre- 

 servation of the distinct privileges and immunities of the Scotch 

 nation. At Bingham, in July, 1290, the conditions of the 

 marriage and of the international union were agreed upon. 

 There seemed to be opening a fair prospect of concord and 

 prosperity for the whole island, when the Maid of Norway 

 unexpectedly died, and the union of the nations was postponed 

 for nearly three centuries and a quarter. 



With Margaret's death, the line of Alexander III., on which 

 the Scottish crown had been settled, became extinct, and the 

 crown was to be won by him who could show the closest con- 

 nection with the Scotch royal family. . . 



Many competitors, as might be supposed, appeared to contest 

 so great a prize as the crown of Scotland ; but the question really 

 lay between two, John Baliol and Robert Bruce, noblemen of 

 Norman extraction. The ground on which they founded their 

 respective claims to the Scottish throne was as follows : William 

 the Lion died, leaving a brother David, who was created Earl of 

 Huntingdon on his marriage with King Edward's sister. This 

 earl had three daughters : the first, Margaret, who married Alan, 

 Lord of Galloway ; the second, Isabella, who married Robert 

 Bruce, of Annandale ; the third, Adama, who married Lord 

 Hastings. At the time of the death of Alexander III., John 



Baliol, the grandson of Margaret, Lady Galloway, claimed the 

 crown, as nearest descendant of the elder branch ; and Robert 

 Bruce claimed it by what he asserted to be a b.etter title, in 

 that he was the son of Isabella, the second daughter of David, 

 and was thus one generation nearer to the original stock. Lord 

 Hastings claimed, somewhat absurdly, a third of the kingdom, 

 on the assumption that it must be divided equally between the 

 three branches, as private property might have been. The last 

 claim was never seriously entertained by any one ; but though 

 modern law and custom would have found no difficulty in 

 deciding in favour of John Baliol, the question between him 

 and Bruce was, in the then state of law, by no means an easy 

 one to answer. Both claimants determined to support their 

 pretensions by force of arms, and were gathering their friends 

 for that purpose, when they were persuaded to refer their dis- 

 pute to the arbitration of the King of England. 



Now Edward saw his opportunity, and resolved to seize it. 

 He claimed a right to decide the matter by virtue of his being 

 lord paramount of Scotland, a dignity the value of which has 

 already been given. He ransacked the abbeys and other depo- 

 sitories of records for proof of his right, and though he found 

 little encouragement by so doing, he none the less boldly 

 advanced his pretensions. In answer to the reference made 

 to him as referee, he directed the claimants to meet him at 

 Norham, whither he marched with a large force, which was 

 meant to overawe the Scotch Parliament or Council, assembled 

 at the same place. 



In May, 1291, the meeting took place accordingly at Norham, 

 the Scots being drawn up in a green plain opposite the castle, 

 in pursuance of the demand they made to be allowed to deli- 

 berate in their own country ; the English king and his followers 

 being stationed on the English side of the Tweed. To the 

 Scotch camp went the English Lord-Chancellor Burnel, and 

 asked in his master's name " whether they would say anything- 

 that could or ought to exclude the King of England from the 

 right and exercise of the superiority and direct dominion over 

 the kingdom of Scotland, which belonged to him, and that they 

 would there and then exhibit it if they believed it was expedient 

 for them ; protesting that he would favourably hear them, 

 allow what was just, or report what was said to the king and 

 his council, that what justice required might be done." No 

 dissentient voice having been raised, a notary who was present 

 formally registered the right of the King of England to decide 

 the controversy as to the Scottish crown ; and then the chan- 

 cellor inquired of all the competitors, beginning with Robert 

 Bruce, " whether, in demanding his right, he would answer and 

 receive justice from the King of England as superior and direct 

 lord over the kingdom of Scotland." Bruce answered, " that he- 

 did acknowledge the King of England as superior and direct 

 lord of the kingdom of Scotland, and that he would before 

 him, as such, demand, answer, and receive justice." In like 

 words the other claimants answered the chancellor's question, 

 and signed and sealed a solemn instrument to the same effect. 

 Commissioners were then appointed to represent the competitors, 

 and sittings were held forthwith at Berwick, where the whole 

 matter was solemnly gone into. 



Judgment was given in favour of John Baliol, who was ready 

 to acknowledge himself the vassal of the English king ; but the 

 Scottish lords of parliament, who attended the conference, 

 expressly declined to do this, saying that they would not answer 

 such a question until they had a king, at the same time 

 reminding the English that the claim once recognised under 

 duress had been expressly and solemnly renounced, and that on 

 several occasions their kings had refused to lend the help 

 which as feudatories of English honours they really owed, 

 unless their independence so far as Scotland was concerned 

 was formally and distinctly recognised. Eventually, however, 

 their unwillingness was overcome ; they swore fealty to Edward 

 as lord paramount, and acquiesced in the surrender of the 

 principal Scotch fortresses into his hands. English domination 

 was complete, and to show that it was so, King John was six 

 times summoned to the English Parliament as one of the vassal 

 peers. 



Even Baliol, indolent and wanting in self-reliance as he was, re- 

 belled at this, and the Scotch people, chafing under the idea of 

 being in bondage, resolved to back him on the first opportunity 

 that he should attempt to throwoffi the English yoke. This oppor- 

 tunity presented itself in 1294, when war broke out between 



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