Sir William Wallace of Elerslie, hero of Scotland and true patriot, his desire for peace and freedom united the clans, gained the loyalty of the people, struck fear into his enemies and defied the cruel hand of an evil, waring and invading King - Edward 'Longshanks' Plantagenet I of England.

Early death and internal disputes in those days were common place. Alexander III (1249-1286) was at logger-heads with Edward the Longshanks, and was forging a relationship with the King of Norway Erik II in order to keep the peace. Alexander's wife Margaret had three children, so it seemd the heir to his throne would be his eldest son also named Alexander. Unfortunately for this royal family lady luck had finally turned her head.

Margaret died in 1275 at the age of 35, her eldest son Alexander (the heir) died in 1284. His brother David had passed away three years earlier and only two years after the death of young Alexander he was swiftly followed by Alexander III's daughter who had been married to Eric II King of Norway in 1281, obviously in an attempt to create a bond and subsequently peace. When Alexander heard of his daughter's death in Norway, he realised that he had no heir and announced that he had to get married - and quickly.

He married Yolande, daughter of the Count of Dreux in 1284. However in 1286 after a rather routine council meeting in Edinburgh Castle, and probably fired up with a few goblets of French wine, he decided to go and pay his young wife a visit. On his way there he was blown off his horse by a stormy wind and fell down a cliff to his death. The long and successful reign of Alexander III was over. Immediately his death was announced, Yolande, his second wife followed with an announcement of her own saying that she was pregnant. After a few months patiently waiting to see if she was telling the truth, it became clear that she wasn't pregnant and therefore would never produce an heir to Alexander III.

Alexander's daughter, Margaret, who had been married to the King of Norway had a daughter, surprisingly enough her name was also Margaret. Known as 'The Maid of Norway' Alexander's only surviving blood relative was this small child. She was 3 years old when the crown of Scotland fell on her head.

The situation in Scotland was desperate to say the least. Their queen was a three year old girl called Margaret, and she was hundreds of miles away in Norway residing with her father the King of Norway who was only 16 years old himself.

This is the time in Scotland's history when the Guardians of Scotland took control. Both the family of Bruce and the Balliol's claimed their right to the throne, saying that they were descended from the line of David I (1124 - 1153, son of Alexander I). Civil war in Scotland was just around the corner, and the two most powerful families, namely Bruce and Balliol began to seize castles and territory of strategic value.

And this is where Longshanks comes in to play stronger than ever before. It was clear that only one man had the authority and power to restore the Scottish throne. If either the Bruce's or the Balliol's could gain the support of Longshanks then the other would have to bow down and accept the ruling. The only questions were, what would be Longshank's price? and what would his decision be?

During this time of organisation and dispute Longshanks put in place English constables in Key Scottish royal castles in case there was any trouble from either family. The occupation of Scotland by Longshanks was well under way, and while the houses continued their meetings and arguments over who would be King of Scotland, Longshanks had gained a secure foothold on Scottish lands - or had he?

Of course the two names of Balliol and Bruce were at the forefront of the courts hearing, but what is commonly disregarded is the fact that the total amount of claims to the throne numbered 15. For example the Hastings family, descended from David I's third daughter, Ada, believed that the kingdom should be divided into three. Others based their claims on the throne from the descent of David I's sister, King Donald Ban, or other variations of the royal family's bastard offspring: one each from Alexander II and henry of Huntingdon, five from the libidinous William the Lion and even the 'Maid of Norway's' father, Erik II, threw his hat into the ring in a bizarre gesture of reverse inheritance. The more complicated the story the better it was for Longshanks, he now had 15 potential Kings to choose from, and a lot of time to let his courts make the decision.

After a great show of learning, which involved council with major continental universities, the court made up its mind on 6th November 1292. Just to gain that little extra piece of superiority Longshanks waited for 11 days before allowing the decision to be announced. In the Great Hall of Berwick Castle: his liege man, the 43 year old John Balliol was to be the new monarch of Scotland. Hardly surprising since two years before he had received the letter from the Bishop Fraser recommending exactly that decision.

On St Andrew's Day 1292, King John was enthroned on the Stone of Scone (The Stone of Destiny), the last monarch to receive this privilege in his native land. The following month he did homage to Edward I the Longshanks at Newcastle as part of the English court's Christmas festivities.

It is now that the game begins. King John Balliol of Scotland did not reign in the great peace that he thought was his. What with the ambitions of Longshanks, backed by the disloyalty of the thwarted Competitors, King John never had the peace in which to establish himself. Longshanks exploited the troubled situation to its fullest, he demanded that the complaints of his Scottish subjects be heard in English courts. When John understandably objected he was threatened, by his 'Overlord' Longshanks with whom he had previously paid homage, with contempt of court and the loss of three of his major castles and towns.

Longshanks also stirred Erik II to reclaim the Western Isles as the Scots had not kept up the payment of 100 merks due to the Norwegian king as was agreed in the treaties which Longshanks had forced the Scots to agree on if they wanted him to mediate the decision of their new king. Add to that the less than patriotic behaviour of the other thwarted families, King John was caught in a place which he didn't want - he ruled a country which didn't want him, and he was not supported by Longshanks the way which he thought he would have been by paying him homage. Longshanks had exactly what he wanted: A divided Scotland in which both sides wanted his help. He was indeed 'Overlord of the land of Scotland' and he didn't have to pick up a sword.

The final straw came when Longshanks insisted that John help him with military service against the French King Philip IV, Balliol had had enough. He did the opposite and forged a treaty with King Philip IV in October 1295 and assembled his host near Selkirk the following March. If Longshanks wanted any more from King John, then he was going to have to fight for it. This, of course, was just what Longshanks had been waiting for and wanted. He had imposed his judgment and superior position on Scotland's king, and then bullied him into a corner which Longshanks new he would eventually strike back from: he had been picking a fight with Scotland for years, and now he was going to get it. But as always the cards were stacked in Longshanks' favour. Whilst bullying Balliol, he had been gaining favour with the other families by allowing them to speak out.

The ill-armed and ill-supported army of King John Balliol was no match for Longshanks' battle-hardened professional soldiers. At the end of March Longshanks had sacked Berwick and massacred its inhabitants.

Many of the great castles surrendered to his call and with one month, on 27th April the Earl of Surrey and his Scottish allies routed King John's forces at the battle of Dunbar. Edinburgh Castle fell, and John surrendered on July 11th.

At a humiliating ceremony at Brechin, King John had the insignia of royalty, his scepter, crown, sword and ring stripped from him. Longshanks marched forward as far north as Elgin on a mission of conquest, seizing the opportunity which he had been patiently engineering for some time. The conquest of Scotland was now at hand once and for all. John Balliol was taken south to the Tower of London and was eventually released in 1299 to spend the rest of his life in exile on his French estates where he died blind and forgotten in 1313 - the very same year that the new king, Robert the Bruce, beat the English at Bannockburn.

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To future generations John Balliol is known as "Toom Tabard" or 'Tyne Tabard' (meaning empty coat), a cruel nickname which suggests that his personality was as unimpressive as his rule. The judgment is a harsh one, caught between the twin wheels of an ambitious, distinguished soldier and ruthless bully of a King - Longshanks, and the disloyalty of many powerful subjects, his cause was well-high hopeless from the very start.

King Edward I (Longshanks) of England now had Scotland in his grasp. Just a few years previously he had conquered Wales in mush the same way, taking only 6 ...

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