Alexander II of Scotland

Alexander, son of King William the Lion and Ermengarde de Beaumont, was born on 24 August 1198 at Haddington in Lothian.^[1]. He descended directly from Malcolm III, the first of the Canmore line of kings. Malcolm married twice. His first marriage, to the Norse noblewoman Ingibjǫrg Finnsdóttir (d. before 1068), produced a son, Donnchad mac Máel Coluim (Duncan II). The pretenders, the meic Uilleim (MacWilliams), stemmed from Duncan's line. Alexander's descent was from Malcolm's second marriage to Margaret of Wessex, an English princess, who produced six sons and two daughters. Of the sons, three became kings, but only the youngest, David I, had a legitimate heir—Henry, Earl of Huntingdon. Henry died before his father but left two legitimate sons who succeeded him as Malcolm IV, who died childless, and William the Lion. By the time of Alexander's birth, succession by direct descent of the firstborn male, primogeniture, appeared to have been settled. Even King William's predecessor, his brother Malcolm—a twelve-year-old minor—had succeeded to the throne without difficulty.^[2] Yet William appears to have had doubts about Alexander’s eventual succession. ^[3]The reasons are unclear, though the instability created by the English succession crisis between Arthur of Brittany and John of England may have influenced his thinking.^{[4] [note 1]} Consequently, at a council of nobles on 12 October 1201, he secured their support to recognise the three‑year‑old Alexander as heir. ^[5] This sidelined William's younger brother, Earl David of Huntingdon, who had been heir presumptive since 1165. ^[6] Notably absent from the council, David did not acknowledge Alexander as heir until 1205.^[7]

By early 1213, Alexander had been introduced into royal government, witnessing charters and attending council meetings.^[25] In the summer of 1214, the ageing and increasingly infirm King William travelled north to secure the loyalty of Jón, Earl of Caithness, taking the earl’s daughter as a hostage.^[26] His return south from Elgin was both slow and arduous, and by early September, he was unable to travel beyond Stirling Castle. ^[27]Before William died on 4 December, the kingdom’s leading nobles reaffirmed Alexander as heir.^[28][29] The next day, accompanied by seven earls and Bishop Malveisin of St Andrews, Alexander proceeded to Scone, where he was inaugurated.^[30] William’s body, escorted by senior clergy and the queen, was taken to Perth, only a short distance from Scone, where on 8 December, Alexander met the cortage. The procession continued to Arbroath Abbey, where William was buried before the high altar on 10 December.^{[31] [32]}

For Alexander, just a few months past his sixteenth birthday, a minority kingship was not considered. ^[18]He immediately summoned a great court at Edinburgh to take oaths of fealty and to reconfirm his father’s principal officers in their roles.^{[33] [34]} Although his realm nominally stretched from the Pentland Firth to the Solway Firth, he inherited a loosely integrated kingdom in which effective royal authority was strongest in the southeast but weak elsewhere. ^[35] The western and northern seaboards bordered the Norwegian king’s island dominions from Man to Shetland, where powerful regional lords operated with considerable autonomy. ^[36] Against this backdrop, discontent at Alexander’s accession encouraged the MacWilliam line to revive its claim to the throne.^[37]

In early spring 1215, Alexander received representatives from disaffected English barons, including Eustace de Vescy, his brother‑in‑law with lands in Fife and Lothian, and Saher de Quincy, Earl of Winchester.^[59] Around this time, Eustace de Vescy and Robert de Ros—both married to Alexander’s illegitimate sisters—renounced loyalty to King John, as did most northern barons.^[60] The MacWilliam rebellion remained unresolved when civil war erupted in England in early May.^[61] Alexander, an English baron through his Tynedale holdings, adopted a cautious stance, weighing gains from either faction.^[62][63] A truce was arranged before the end of May. On 15 June, the day Alexander received the rebels’ heads, John sealed the Articles that became the Magna Carta.^[64] Clause 59 addressed grievances concerning Alexander’s sisters and hostages held since the 1209 Norham treaty.^[65]

On 7 July, Alexander sent Bishop William de Malveisin of St Andrews and five laymen to John’s court to pursue the issues raised in Clause 59.^[66] They met John at Oxford in mid‑July; although the hostages were likely released, no further progress followed.^[67] On 5 September, Innocent III’s commissioners excommunicated leading rebels and placed their lands under interdict.^[68] Fighting resumed, and John, backed by the Pope, retracted support for the Magna Carta, nullifying Alexander’s gains. The barons, seeking his support, offered him Cumberland, Westmorland, and Northumberland—territories long sought by his father.^[69] With his interests lost,^[70] Alexander crossed the Tweed on 19 October to blockade Norham Castle.^[71][68] After forty days the siege was abandoned. With winter approaching, he moved south to Newcastle, bypassed its castle, and razed the town.^[72]

Provoked, John assembled Brabantian mercenaries and launched a swift winter campaign. By 4 January 1216, he reached York and captured several northern castles by 10 January. He progressed rapidly, causing the northern barons to flee into Scotland. There, they met Alexander at Melrose on 11 January and gave homage and pledges.^[73] By 15 January, John had taken Berwick and its castle, ravaged Lothian, destroyed Dunbar, Haddington, and Roxburgh. Returning to Berwick, he razed the town before retreating across the border by 25 January.^[74] His retreat was likely prompted by Alexander’s army assembling near Edinburgh. John had failed to dislodge Alexander—mocked as the little red fox—or to force him to abandon the barons.^[75] Alexander pursued him to Swaledale, then returned via the Stainmore pass across the Pennines toward Carlisle but did not attempt entry.^[76] His army moved toward the Solway fords, where some Scots, apparently against orders, pillaged Holme Cultram Abbey, a Melrose colony—an act not repeated in his summer campaign.^[77]

On 20 May 1216, papal legate Guala Bicchieri arrived to support John. The next day, Prince Louis of France landed in Kent at the barons’ invitation.^[78] By the end of the month, Bicchieri had excommunicated Louis and his allies.^[79] Louis’ arrival coincided with Alexander's resumption of campaigning by returning to the siege of Carlisle in July.^[80] The town fell on 8 August, the castle by December. Soon after, Alexander left Carlisle to rendezvous with Louis. Crossing the Pennines, they briefly clashed with the holders of Bernard Castle before continuing south. Details of their rapid march are unknown, other than passing near Lincoln, where allied barons were besieging the castle. After passing close to London, they joined Louis at Canterbury shortly after 8 September and travelled to Dover, where Louis’ forces were sieging the castle.^[81] There, Alexander paid homage to Louis, perhaps for Lothian and the northern counties.^[82] Alexander left for the north around early October. Meanwhile, John prepared measures to block his escape. On 19 October, Alexander’s forces broke through; however, that same day, John died of dysentery, a pivotal event that shifted the war.^[83]

Many rebel barons now made peace with John’s heir, Henry III.^[84] In November 1216, Bicchieri placed Scotland under interdict.^[84] In September, Louis made peace with Henry and returned to France.^[85] In December 1217 at Berwick, Alexander agreed to surrender Carlisle in exchange for absolution. Henry received him at Northampton around 19 December, accepting his submission and homage for Tynedale and Huntingdon. The removal of papal sanctions on Scotland began in early 1218.^[34]

The amity between the Scottish and English crowns began to unravel in 1232 with the fall of Alexander's powerful brother-in-law, Hubert de Burgh. Henry readily agreed to the marriage of Alexander's youngest sister, Margaret (sometimes known as Marjory), to Gilbert the Marshall in 1235—this was the Margaret that Henry himself had agreed to marry in 1231. ^{[86] [87]} Following the marriage, Gilbert left Henry's court, seldom to return. ^[86] In 1234, Alexander sought full implementation of the English requirements of the 1209 treaty. ^[88] This prompted Henry to remind the papacy of English claims of overlordship and the contents of the treaties of 1174 and 1209/1212. Pope Gregory IX responded early in 1235, upheld Henry's claim, and directed Alexander to pay homage to the English king as his overlord. ^[89] Alexander ignored this and returned to the unresolved issues over the three northern shires and the breaches of the 1209 and 1231 agreements regarding the marriage arrangements for his eldest and youngest sisters. A meeting of the joint courts held at Newcastle in September 1236 was fruitless, heightening Henry's fears of a Scottish attack in northern England.^[90]

Otto de Tonengo, the pope's legate, brought the kings together at York in September 1237, and a treaty was quickly finalised. Alexander waived any demand for repayment of the 15,000 marks previously paid by his father, King William, to King John of England, which were unfulfilled agreements. As well as that, all prior matrimonial arrangements between the English and Scottish royal families—specifically, those concerning Henry, his brother Richard, Margaret, Isabella, and Marjory—were set aside. ^[91] Alexander was provided with lordships in Cumberland and Northumberland worth £200 annually—comparable to a small barony—although this wasn't implemented until 1242. ^[92]However, these did come with far-reaching privileges, allowing them to function almost as autonomous entities outside English law. ^[91] In return, Alexander set aside all claims over the northern counties, but crucially, claims of overlordship had been dropped.^[91]

With the ambiguity of the Northern counties now settled, the position of the border between the two countries could now be agreed upon—this may have been achieved in 1249, leaving only small pockets of land in contention.^[93] This laid the foundation of an unprecedented, uninterrupted peace that began in 1217 and lasted beyond Alexander's son's death in 1286, to 1296. ^[94] Queen Joan died on 4 March 1238, and Alexander remarried in May 1239 to Marie de Coucy, daughter of a prominent French noble. ^[95] The marriage sparked English concerns about a potential alliance between Alexander and Louis IX, bringing the kingdoms to the edge of war in 1244. ^[95] The situation was resolved when both kings met at Newcastle on 14 August 1244. The resulting treaty outlined Alexander's pledge to refrain from future hostilities against Henry, except in defence of Scottish interests. Additionally, it was agreed that Alexander's son, also named Alexander, would eventually marry Henry's first-born daughter, Margaret.^[34]

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