3. The Scottish appeal to Edward I - the decision at Norham
The danger of civil war in Scotland was even greater than before. The Guardians therefore sent an appeal to Edward and asked him to take action. They thought the Treaty of Birgham would protect Scotland from any interference.
Edward I was only too willing to lend a hand. He sent orders to the Scottish Bishops and nobles that they should come to Norham (on the border between Scotland and England) where HE would decide who should be the next ruler of Scotland now that the Maid was dead. He also had a shock ready for them: he said that the Treaty of Birgham had died along with the Maid and that he was legally entitled to be OVERLORD of the Kingdom of Scotland.
The Scots tried to a clever way get around this: they said that Edward might well be overlord of Scotland but only a Scottish King could accept this and since Scotland had no King there could be no overlord.
This was not clever enough for Edward. He simply forced those who had claims to be King of Scotland to state that they would accept him as overlord if they were chosen as King. They all agreed. Job done!
After considering all the claims put before him, Edward finally decided that the next King of Scotland would be John Balliol. This decision making process was known as the “Great Cause” . The result of the Great Cause pleased the Balliols and their Comyn clan allies but the other main competitor, Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale was seriously annoyed.
Revision Task A4: Answer the following question
Explain why there was a succession problem in Scotland between
1286 and 1292. (8)
This is an essay question. You must write an introductory paragraph which signposts the main points. This should be followed by at least 5 main paragraphs and a conclusion.
So what are your main points?
• What happened to Alexander III in 1286?
• Why Alexander’s family circumstances caused difficulties?
• Why the nobles were unhappy about the Maid of Norway?
• Why the Treaty of Birgham was intended to solve the problem?
• Why Edward I became involved and what he decided during the “Great Cause”.
