After the death of King Alexander III in 1286, and then that of his heir Margaret, Scotland was considerably weakened, giving Edward I of England the opportunity to exercise power over this apparently subsidiary country. The two main claimants to the throne were John Balliol and Robert Bruce, Lord of Annandale (grandfather of the more famous Robert the Bruce). Their rival claims were determined by a group of Scottish auditors, presided over by Edward I of England, and they declared Balliol as King on 17 November 1292. Edward I, however, was not prepared to give up his overseeing power in Scotland to King John once he had taken the throne. His attempts to interfere in domestic politics led to discontent among the Scottish nobility, who …
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Franco-Scottish alliance". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1974, accessed 23 November 2024.]
