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End of a Golden Age
Life of Alexander III of Scotland -
Margaret, also known as the Maid of Norway, was Alexander III's grand-daughter, and daughter of the King of Norway. After Alexander III's death, six guardians were appointed to look after Scotland until the Maid was old enough to come to Scotland. They arranged a marraige contract with the Edward of Caernavron, son of King Edward I. Margaret fell ill during the voyage to Leith and a strom blew them off course to Orkney. She died in either September or Orkney, leaving Scotland without an heir.
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The task of choosing the new king has come to be known as the Great Cause. Of the 13 claimants (14 if you count Edward himself), only three had a serious; John Balliol, Robert de Brus and John Hastings. Edward demanded that the Scots recognise him as their overlord, but the Scots were clever and said that only the King of Scotland could make that decision. Edward then forced all competitors to agree to recognise him as their overlord if selected.
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Edward announced his decision on 17 November 1292, after 13 months of arguments and debate. King John Balliol was officially inaugurated as king of Scots on 30 November, St Andrews Day, 1292, on the Stone of Destiny at Scone, Perthshire. However, John’s inauguration was significantly overshadowed by his formal oath of fealty before Edward I.
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England and France declared war in 1294. Edward demanded that King John to bring an army with him to serve under English banners against France. The Scots nobles rebelled and sidelined King John, and eventually requested a formal alliance with France. This was duly signed on 23rd Feb 1296 in Paris, and became known as the Auld Alliance.
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Edward was unimpressed at the Scots rebellion. He marched on Scotland in March: first stop Berwick. The sacking of Berwick was a brutal and bloody affair, with over 10,000 men, women and children murdered. The battle of Dunbar that followed in July was the first and only pitched battle of Edward's conquest of Scotland. The Scots lost miserably with King John surrendering and abdicating his crown in July. He remained in prison for a further 4 years, but never returned to Scotland.
