Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 5 on 4/11/2002.

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War of Independence

JAMES IRVINE-ROBERTSON LOOKS AT THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE WHICH FINALLY SAW AN END TO THREATS ON SCOTLAND’S NATIONHOOD

In bed with an elephant – the phrase used by author Ludovic Kennedy to describe Scotland’s relationship with its neighbour to the south. The elephant was never a more awkward bedfellow than during the Wars of Independence which began after the death of Alexander III in 1286.

Uniquely in Christendom, the nation had experienced 36 years of peace and prosperity when the king and his horse tumbled over a cliff during a storm. He left as his heir an infant granddaughter, Margaret of Norway. Twelve guardians took charge of the realm. They consulted with the late monarch’s brother-inlaw, King Edward I of England, also great-uncle to the little Queen, and agreed to her betrothal
to his eldest son, the Prince of Wales. The crowns would be united but the countries would otherwise maintain their separateness. But the little girl died during the voyage to Scotland, plunging the country into crisis.

In 1124, David I had inherited the throne. Brought up in the English court, he came north with a group of Anglo-Normans to whom he granted Scottish land in return for their military support and services. These aristocratic families often held properties in both countries or in Gascony in France, then under English control. On such terms David himself held two English estates. These incoming Normans settled and intermarried with the natives as well as with the royal house, creating a kinship network that transcended national boundaries. On Margaret’s death, no less than 13 of them had a claim.....

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By James Irvine Robertson

Section : Scottish History

Page number : 30