Biography of King John Balliol I of Scotland 1249-1314

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. These things having been done and the kingdom settled, and guardians placed in the castles and towns, the king returned to the southern parts, appointing a date for his return on the [1st November 1292] in the following year. On that date, when he returned, he arranged that fifty judges should be chosen from the kingdom of Scotland, men of discretion and learned in the law. To these he added thirty elected men from England, commanding all, in the faith of their sworn oaths, to weigh the claims of the petitioners with God before their eyes, and to bring the matter of the succession to a proper conclusion. These men, withdrawing as they had been instructed, heard the claims and petitions of all who asserted a right or claim in the kingdom of Scotland. When nearly all the petitioners had been heard and completed their cases, the matter came down to John de Balliol and Robert de Bruce, whose claims are summarized briefly as follows: Since no nearer royal bloodline appeared, attention was turned to David, formerly Earl of Huntingdon and brother of William, formerly King of Scotland, who had reigned in Scotland in the time of Henry II. This David had three daughters. The eldest he gave in marriage to John de Balliol, the middle one to the Lord Bruce, and the youngest to the Lord Hastings. From these daughters descended John de Balliol, Robert de Bruce, and John de Hastings, each of whom claimed the succession to the kingdom. But since a kingdom should never be divided and, as some argued, should belong to the nearest of royal blood, Robert de Bruce, although descended from the second daughter, petitioned that he, as the closer in blood by one degree, should be admitted to the succession. However, the appointed judges did not accept this reasoning. They adjudged the succession of the kingdom of Scotland to John de Balliol, as he was descended from the eldest daughter. Our king, approving their decision, restored to John the kingdom of Scotland with all its integrity, reserving for himself the homage and fealty to be rendered in due time. On the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle [30th November 1292], John de Balliol (age 43) was made King of Scotland in the Scottish manner, which was as follows. At the monastery of Scone [Map], there was placed a very large stone in the church of God beside the high altar, hollowed out and shaped like a round chair, in which future kings were customarily seated in a kind of coronation rite. The placing of a new king in this stone was the hereditary duty of the Earl of Fife, after the king had sworn an oath to rule the holy mother Church and the people subject to him justly, to establish good laws, and to maintain established and newly enacted laws until death. With the new king seated upon the stone, the solemn celebration of the Mass began, and apart from the elevation of the sacred body of the Lord, the king remained seated on the stone. On the feast of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr [26th December 1292], the same King of Scots performed homage¹ to our king at Newcastle upon Tyne in the year of our Lord 1292. Our king restored to him all his rights entire and unharmed along with all his castles. And thus he returned to the southern parts.

Hiis itaque gestis et ordinato regno positisque custodibus suis in castris et villis, reversus est ad partes australes rex, statuens eis suæ reversionis terminum in festo Omnium Sanctorum anni sequentis; in quo quidem termino reversus, apordinavit ut de regno Scotia eligerentur L arbitri, viri discreti et legem scientes, quibus electis associavit eis ex Anglia XXX viros electos, præcipiens universis, in fide præstiti sacramenti, ut Deum habentes præ oculis vota petentium ponderarent, et debito fine clauderent negotium successionis prædictum; qui secedentes, ut in mandatis habuerant, omnium, qui in regno Scotia jus vel clamium vendicabant, audiebant vota, et petitiones singulorum, et, absolutis petentibus quasi universis, in fine perventum est ad Johannem de Balliolo et Robertum de Bruys, quorum petitio sic brevibus declaratur. Cum enim sanguis regius proximior non appareret, tandem habitus est recursus ad David quondam comitem Huntingdoniæ et fratrem Willelmi quondam regis Scotiæ, qui temporibus Henrici secundi regnavit in Scotia: hic David, cum tres haberet filias, primogenitam dedit Johanni de Balliolo, mediam domino de Brus, et ultimam domino de Hastinges, ex quarum sanguine prædicti Johannes et Robertus cum Johanne de Hastinges successionem regni vendicabant; verum quia regnum debet nunquam dividi et, ut a quibusdam dicebatur, proximiori regio sanguini debeatur; prædictus Robertus de Bruys, licet de secunda sorore exisset, tamen in eo quod sanguini proximior in uno erat gradu, petiit se, tanquam sanguini proximiorem, ad regni successionem admitti. Prædicti tamen arbitri rationem non admittentes, prædicto Johanni de Balliolo, tanquam e primogenita exeunti, successionem regni Scotia adjudicarunt: rex vero noster, eorum approbando arbitrium, eidem Johanni regnum Scotiæ cum omni integritate restituit, salvo sibi homagio suo et fidelitate pro tempore faciendis. Die vero Sancti Andreæ Apostoli idem Johannes de Balliolo effectus est rex Scotia more Scotorum, qui sequitur. Apud monasterium de Scone positus erat lapis pergrandis in ecclesia Dei juxta majus altare, concavus quidem ets ad modum rotundæ cathedræ confectus, in quo futuri reges loco quasi coronationis ponebantur ex more; et hujusmodi novi regis depositio ad comitem de Fyf jure hæreditario pertinebat, facto tamen juramento quod sanctam matrem ecclesiam Scotland. populumque sibi subjectum juste regendo defenderet, legesque bonas conderet, usitatasque et inventas usque ad mortem continuaret: rege itaque novo in lapide posito missarum solemnia incepta peraguntur, et præterquam in elevatione sacri Dominici corporis semper lapidatus mansit. Die autem beati protomartyris Stephani idem and does rex Scotorum homagium fecit regi nostro apud Novum Castrum super Tynam anno Domini MCCXCII restituitque ei rex noster omnia sua jura integra et illæsa cum omnibus castris suis; et sic reversus est ad partes australes.

Note 1. The oath of fealty is printed in Rymer, Fœdera, 1.782.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. John (age 47), by the grace of God, King of Scotland, to all those who see or hear these present letters, greeting. Whereas we, through evil and false counsel, and by our own simplicity, have grievously offended and angered our lord, Edward, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine, in many ways, that is to say: While being and remaining under his faith and in his homage, we made an alliance with the King of France against him, who was then and still is his enemy; And we contracted a marriage with the daughter of his brother, Sir Charles; And we tried to harm our lord the King of England, aiding the King of France with all our power, by war and in other ways; And afterward, through the same evil counsel, we withdrew from our lord the King of England, renouncing his homage and fealty by formally rendering it back to him; And we sent our people into his land of England, to commit arson, to take plunder, to kill people, and to do many other damages; And in the land of Scotland, which is of his fief, we placed and established armed men in towns, castles, and other places, to defend the land against him and to deny him his rightful lordship. Because of these acts and said transgressions, our lord the King of England entered the land of Scotland by force and has taken and conquered it, despite the power we mustered against him; which he could rightfully do, as lord of his fief, since we had done him homage and yet committed the aforementioned wrongs. For which reason, we, being in our full power and free will, have rendered the land of Scotland and all its people, with all their homages, back to him. In testimony of this, we have had these our open letters made. Given at Brechin on the tenth day of July, in the fourth year of our reign [1296].¹

Johan, par la grace de Dieu, rey d'Escoce, a touz ceaux qui cestez presentz lettres verrount ou orront, saluz. Cum nous par mauveys counsaile e faus, e par nostre symplese, eioms grevousement offendu et coruce nostre seignor Edward, par la grace de Dieu roy d'Engleterre, seignour d'Yrland, et duc d'Aquitaigne, en meiutes choses; ceo est assavoir: Nous, esteant e demorant a sa feie en sun homage, de faire aliaunce au roy de Fraunce countre lui, qui dunke estoit e uncore est sun ennemy: a fere mariage ove la fille son frer sire Charles: e pur nostre seignor grevere, et le rei de Fraunce eidere e a tout nostre poer, par guerre e en altres maners: e puis, par nostre mauveis conseil avantdit, defere nostre signor le roy d'Engleterre et nous mettre hors de son homage e sa feie, par le homage rendre: e ausi noz gentz envoier en sa terre d'Engleterre, pour fere arsons, praies prendre, homicides fere, et autrez damages plusors: e la terre d'Escoce, la quele est de son fee, de gentz dez armes, en villes, chastells, et aliours mettre et estabiler pur la terre defendre encountre lui et pur son fee lui deforcier;-Por lez quelez chosez et trespasses desousdit, nostre seignor le roi d'Engleterre avantdit est en la terre d'Escoce entre, et a force lad pris e conquis, non osteant le poer que nous avons mys encontre lui; la quele chose il poet fere de dreit, com seignor de son fee, puisque nous lui avons le homage rendu et fet les choses avantditz. Pur la quele chose nous, esteant en nostre plein poer e nostre fraunche volunte, lui avoms rendu la terre d'Escoce e tout la gent ove touz lour homages. En tesmoignaunce de quele chose nous avoms fet fere cestez noz lettres overtz. Donez a Bregchine le dysme jour de Jule l'an de nostre reigne quart.

Note 1. In the Treasury of the Receipt of the Exchequer is preserved an Original Instrument, verbatim the same as the preceding document, with the exception of the date, which is as follows: "Donees a Kyncardyn le secund jour de Jul', an de nostre regue quart." i.e. "Given at Kincardine on the second day of July, in the fourth year of our reign. Rymer, Fœdera, 1.841.