The Award of Berwick 17 Nov 1292 King Edward announced his decision Edward chose John Balliol This was no surprise – even 29 auditors Bruce had chosen.

The Award of Berwick

17 Nov 1292 King Edward announced his decision

Edward chose John Balliol

This was no surprise – even 29 auditors Bruce had chosen voted for Balliol

The Reaction of the Bruce‘s

The Bruce family were:

• Angry

• Would not accept Balliol as King

• Determined to continue their claim

Robert Bruce of Annandale

‘The Competitor’

Robert Bruce

Earl of Carrick

Robert Bruce

(later to become Robert I - Robert the Bruce)

Bruce ‘the competitor’ handed over his claim to his son Robert Bruce, Earl of CarrickThe Earl of Carrick also had a son Robert Bruce who was eager for the family to succeed

John Balliol’s coronation

• Took place at Scone

• St Andrews Day (30 Nov 1292)

• Balliol sat on the Stone of Destiny

• List of Balliol’s ancestors was read out

26 Dec 1292

2 weeks later at Newcastle John Balliol paid homage to Edward I

During the ceremony Balliol:

• Knelt in front of Edward I

• Promised to obey Edward

• Accepted Edward as his overlord

• Accepted if he broke his promise he would be punished severely

My Lord, Lord Edward, lord superior of the realm of Scotland, I, John Balliol, King of the Scots, hereby become your liegeman for the whole realm of Scotland….and I will maintain faith and fealty to you and your heirs, the kings of England.

Balliol was to become a puppet King

Collect a worksheet from your teacher

The Reign of King John Balliol

1292-1296

King John Balliol – A bad King?

• Chosen because Edward 1st saw him as weak & Easy to manipulate

• He had the better legal claim to the throne

His subsequent performance had little to do with the reason why he became king?

1. Explain in detail why John had the better legal claim

Edwards Interference• Edward demanded

all claimants accepted him as overlord of Scotland

• The agreement is known as the “Award of Norham”

• 12th June 1291 – all had signed the agreement

1. Explain why the “Award of Norham” was so important (p15 of textbook)

2. What did the Scots think would happen when the new King was crowned?

Johns Problems

• Inexperienced as a politician

• The administration system needed a strong hand to make sure Royal authority was recognised

• Many powerful nobles who thought that John had been the wrong choice

Collect a worksheet from your teacher

Issues with Edward

A burgess of Berwick

The Macduff Case

Edward reminded John to be a fair & Just King or he would face interference from Edward

Using the textbook:1. Give a description of the above cases that were taken

to Edward’s court

It was the Prospect of war that caused Rebellion

• Edward demanded all his feudal lords to send knights/soldiers to fight in France

• The assumption that Scotland was just another big estate of England was bad enough

• But the assumption that the scots were to fight against the French their biggest trading partner was worse

• Added to this was Edwards demands for taxes from the Scottish nobility to pay for the war

War With France

Rebellion

1295• 12 Guardians were

appointed by the Community of the Realm to defy Edward

• They sent envoys to the King of France

24th Feb 1296• A treaty against

Edward was signed • It included a marriage

deal:– Edward Balliol

should marry the eldest daughter of Charles, Count of Valois & Anjou (Brother of French King)

Did the Scottish nobles get fed up

with the humiliating reign of King John?

It is more likely that the new king had at last found supporters he

needed to stand up to Edward

Edwards Invasion of Scotland

• A direct response to the refusal of the Scots to assemble for military duty

• Scottish Nobles began assembling their forces at Berwick

– 10,000 men– Most were levies – There was a solid fighting core

of nobles and their trained retainers

Army's Confidence was High

There is evidence that Edward was already planning

the invasion

It was confidence based on nothing, in fact the scots had very little real experience

Siege of Berwick

Scotland• About 10,000 infantry• 500 cavalry

England• About 30,000 infantry • 5,000 cavalry

Strength

Leaders

• Sir William Douglas • Robert de Clifford Losses • 10,000 Civilians & Soldiers • Light

12th March 1296

“none within the town shall be

spared”

Source A: “When the city was taken they killed more than 8,000 of the enemy. The women of the city were sent away to their people after some days and went in peace”

(Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough)

“Even a woman giving birth was hacked to pieces during her labour.” (Modern Historian)

“Corpses were dumped in huge numbers in the sea.”

(Modern Historian)

How Useful is Source A when investigating the Siege of Berwick

Source B: “A great quantity of booty was seized and no fewer than 15,000 of both sexes perished, some by sword, others by fire in the space of a day and a half, and the survivors, including even the little children were sent into permanent exile

(Chronicle of Lanercost)

Battle of Dunbar27th April 1296

Scotland England

Strength 40,000 12,000

Leaders John Balliol John de Warenne

Losses 1+ killedc.130 prisoners

None known

The Earl of Dunbar had made peace with Edward at Berwick and had handed over the keys of the castle, but his wife was a Comyn and she handed the Castle over to the scots when her husband was away

Edwards March North

Berwick

DunbarStirling

Scone Montrose

Stirling Castle was abandoned by defenders

By July Edward had reached ElginJohn Fled to Montrose but surrendered on 2nd July 1296

10th July 1296 – John forced to apologise publically & the royal badge was ripped symbolically from his surcoat. It was made clear to all that John was no longer King

Activity1. Why was Scotland defeated so easily in

1296?– Include: Battles, Sieges march north, failure of

leadership, loss of morale

2. What Happened to King John following his surrender?– Surrender ceremony, house arrest & where he

died

Answer in full sentences and in as much detail as you can, these answers will be

used as part of your notes and for revision

The Ragman’s Roll

His tabard is torn and his Sceptre broken

• Everything that showed Scotland as a separate nation was taken down to England

• On 28 August, 1296, Edward held a "parliament" at Berwick.

• All the prominent Scottish landowners, churchmen and burgesses were summoned to swear allegiance to Edward and sign the parchments and affix their seals

“Toom Tabard” – is this really John Balliol’s legacy

Traditional• From 1309 onwards the

general trend has been to blame John for his failure to stand up to Edward

• He was held in such poor esteem that no Scottish king would ever bear the name John

New• Clearly had problems, but even

In his short reign he managed to summon annual parliaments

• He appointed his own Justicars, 3 new sheriffs and he silenced the Bruce faction and kept the powerful Comyns Happy

It is clear he was not a strong king, but could any other king have managed any better?

Activity 1 on page 30 of textbook