John V EdwardThe reign of King John

Learning Objective

To examine and analyse the relationship between King John Balliol of Scotland and Edward I of England

StarterWhat do you think the Scots were hoping for with John Balliol?Write down three things that you think the Scots would have wanted from their new king

Freedom to act as

he wanted

Freedom from

interference from Edward

An end to Scottish disunity

Research time• You will have five minutes to read

through the information sheet that you were given

Key PointsJohn only reigned for 4 yearsEdward decided to exercise his power as overlord which John had agreed toThis annoyed many scots and would eventually force John to rebel against EdwardScotland was not united and some, including Robert Bruce joined Edward and fought against JohnBerwick was captured and the Scots were defeated. John was taken prisonerUltimately it led to Edward deciding to rule Scotland by himself

• When King John agreed that Edward would be the overlord, nobody was quite sure what it meant. Edward knew that Scotland wanted to maintain their independence because they had made such a point in the Treaty of Birgham (1290). Edward said that this was a marriage treaty and as no marriage had taken place, he could ignore it.

• Edward started to give orders to John although sometimes he ignored the king and gave orders to the Scottish Nobles instead which many saw as an insult to the Scottish King. John was also forced to take part in ceremonies in England which emphasised how powerful Edward was and his overlordship of Scotland but humiliated the king of the Scots.

• Edward began to hear appeals from the Scottish courts which angered many as they said that only the King of Scotland was allowed to hear such appeals. This was also something mentioned in the Treaty of Birgham. Eventually John was persuaded by his nobles to complain to Edward but Edward got angry and John apologised to him.

• Finally, Edward decided that King John and the Scottish nobles should support him in the war he was about to start with the French. They had no quarrel with the French and had never sailed abroad to fight a war. This was the final straw...

Make a list of all the complaints that the Scots had against Edward I

Individual WorkCopy and complete this table ...

Complaint Why Edward was wrong

Why Edward was right

Giving orders to the nobles not the king

Scotland had a king and he should be

the one ordering the nobles about

He was overlord and therefore saw John Balliol as little more

than a noble

Complaint Why Edward was wrong Why Edward was right

Giving orders to the nobles not the king

Scotland had a king and he should be the one ordering the nobles about

He was overlord and therefore saw John Balliol as little more than a noble

Humiliating John in English Ceremonies

As a king, John should be treated with respect and dignity

John had agreed that Edward was his overlord and this meant that he had to obey him

Hearing Appeals The Treaty of Brigham said that this was wrong

Edward said that the Treaty of Birgham was a marriage treaty. There had been no marriage so he could ignore it

War with the FrenchThe Scots had no quarrel with the French and they had never gone to war with anyone overseas

As overlord, Edward was entitled to ask for support from any noble in his lands

Individual WorkHow fully does source A explain the reasons why the Scots nobles were so angry with Edward I?MacDuff felt that King John was biased in a court case which he had judged, so he appealed to the King of England. King John was summoned to the English King’s Parliament. King John went there where he had to put up with insults and rudeness about being “king of Scots”. He came home absolutely humiliated. Soon afterwards, King Edward demanded that King John join him with other Scottish nobles in his war against France

Source A was written by a Scotsman at the time of the events it describes

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Facts have different values: some are much more important than

others. Write three facts about what we have learned today. Where

would you place them on the monopoly board based

on their importance?