Online Encyclopedia

JOHN DE BALIOL (1249–1315)

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 258 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

JOHN DE BALIOL (1249–1315)  , king of Scotland, was a son of John de Baliol (d . 1269) of Barnard Castle, Durham, by his wife Dervorguila, daughter of Alan,
See also:
earl of Galloway, and became head of the Baliol
See also:
family (see above) and lord of extensive lands in England, France and Scotland on his elder
See also:
brother's
See also:
death in 1278 . Little else, however, is known of his early
See also:
life . He came into prominence when the Scottish
See also:
throne became vacant in 1290 owing to the death of Margaret, the " maid of Norway," a granddaughter of King Alexander III., and was one of the three candidates for the
See also:
crown whose pretensions were seriously considered . Claiming through his maternal grandmother, Margaret, the eldest daughter of David, earl of Huntingdon (d . 1219), who was a grandson of King David I., Baliol's
See also:
principal
See also:
rival was Robert Bruce, earl of Annandale, and the dispute was the somewhat familiar one of the eldest by descent against the nearest of kin . Meanwhile the
See also:
English king,
See also:
Edward I., was closely watching the trend of affairs in Scotland and was invited to settle this dispute . It is doubtful what rights, if any, the English kings had over Scotland, but when Edward met the Scottish nobles at Norham in May 1291, he demanded a formal recognition of his position as overlord of Scotland . After some delay this was tacitly admitted by the nobles, and acknowledged by Baliol and the other competitors, who all agreed to abide by his decision . A court of eighty Scotsmen and twenty-four Englishmen was then appointed to try the question . Traversing the statements made in favour of Bruce, Baliol claimed by the principles of feudal law for an indivisible
See also:
inheritance, and on the advice of the court Edward decided in his favour . Having sworn fealty to the English king, Baliol was crowned king of Scotland at Scone on the 3oth of November 1292; in his new capacity he did homage to Edward at Newcastle, and in
See also:
January 1293 released the English king from all promises and obligations made while the
See also:
kingdom of Scotland was in his hands .

These amicable relations were soon disturbed . A Scottish

vassal carried his case to Edward as Baliol's overlord, and Baliol himself was soon summoned to the English court to answer a suit brought against him . After a short struggle he admitted Edward's right, and in May 1294 attended a parliament in
See also:
London . He soon quarrelled with his overlord, the exact point at issue being doubtful, and returned T1 to Scotland . Consequent on the dispute which had broken out between England and France, a council of twelve was appointed to assist him, and it was decided to defy Edward . Englishmen were dismissed from the Scottish court, their fiefs were confiscated, and an
See also:
alliance was concluded with Philip IV., king of France . War broke out, but Baliol did not take the field in person . Invading Scotland, Edward met with a feeble resistance, and at
See also:
Brechin in
See also:
July 1296 Baliol surrendered his kingdom to Antony Bek, bishop of Durham, as the representative of the English king . About the same time he appeared before Edward at Montrose, and delivered to him a white rod, the feudal token of resignation . With his son, Edward, he was taken a prisoner to England, remaining in captivity until July 1299, when he was released at the request of Pope Boniface VIII . He lived for some time under the pope's supervision, and seems to have passed his remaining days quietly on his French estates . He died in
See also:
Normandy early in 1315, leaving several children by his wife,
See also:
Isabel, a daughter of John de Warenne, earl of Surrey (d .

1304) . See Documents andRecords illustrating the

See also:
History of Scotland,edited by F . T . Palgrave (London, 1837); Documents illustrative of the History of Scotland, 1286-1306, edited by J . Stevenson (
See also:
Edinburgh, 1870) ; J . H . Burton, History of Scotland, vol. ii . (Edinburgh, 1905) ; A . Lang, History of Scotland, vol. i . (Edinburgh, 1904) ;
See also:
Sir H . Maxwell, Robert the Bruce (London, 1897) ;
See also:
Calendar of Documents
See also:
relating to Scotland, edited by J . Bain (Edinburgh, 1881-1888) .

Also SCOTLAND: History .

End of Article: JOHN DE BALIOL (1249–1315)
[back]
BALIOL
[next]
BALIUAG

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click and select "copy." Paste it into a website, email, or other HTML document.