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LEARNING INTENTIONS
• Describe events before and during the Great Cause
• Describe the reasons for Edward’s decision
The death of Alexander III and his granddaughter, Margaret had left Scotland without a king or heir. King Edward of England was asked to choose a
new king for Scotland.
The decision to ask Edward to choose a new Scottish king may seem surprising, but actually
made sense.
Edward’s good relations with Scotland made him
appear trustworthy, and he was so strong that no-one
could oppose his final decision.
The process of choosing a new king would take more
than a year. However Edward’s first act was to
meet with Scotland’s guardians.
The Scots were at Uppsetlington just north of
the River Tweed; Edward and his men were at
Norham Castle on the south side of the river.
The guardians wanted Edward to travel to them but he refused; eventually
Scotland’s guardians went to Norham.
Edward then caused outrage by demanding the
Scots accept him as overlord before he made
his judgement.
The guardians refused the overlord demand, saying only the new
king could agree to this.
Edward’s strong military presence – including his
fleet being ready to blockade Scottish ports – showed that his attitudes towards Scotland were
changing.
Edward’s view of the Scots was changing for different
reasons.
His good relationship with Alexander counted for less if all Alexander’s relatives were
dead.
Threats of civil war suggested Scotland was not a stable country. His control of Wales may have influenced
him too.
In total, 13 men put their name forward to be
considered as new King of Scotland.
Edward then announced that he would not choose
anyone who did not promise to accept his as overlord. Although many
refused at first, eventually all candidates made the
promise.
The decision to promise Edward the position of
overlord is known as the Award of Norham.
Edward now had the legal power to control Scotland,
including giving away parts of its land if he wished to.
Some Scots believed he would give back this power after choosing a new king.
Edward finally made his decision in
November 1292. His choice was based on the
candidate who had the strongest legal
claim.
John Balliol was chosen as the new
king.
Some people later claimed that Balliol was only chosen as he was the
weakest of all the candidates.
However Balliol was in fact the last candidate to pledge allegiance to
Edward (Robert Bruce having done so much
earlier).
Balliol’s claim was the strongest based on the
concept of primogeniture.
This means that inheritance is always
passed down based on the eldest child. Bruce and
Balliol were both related to King David I, but Balliol was related to his oldest
daughter.