Courtroom Dramas

Courtroom Dramas 17/9/18 AIM – Learn how Edward and Balliol clashed through legal cases as they vied for control over Scotland’s affairs. SUCCESS CRITERIA – Be able to describe the Be able to make an assessment of John’s TASKS 1. Copy today’s aim and heading into your jotter. 2. Recap the problems facing Balliol at the outset of his reign. 3. In groups, discuss the problems which may have lain ahead for John Balliol upon taking the throne of Scotland. Share our ideas in plenary to construct a class scatter diagram of our ideas on the board. 4. Go through today’s PPt (following this slide), taking notes of information given in bold. 5. Write your answer to ‘today’s big questions’.

The Burgess of Berwick Balliol was crowned on 30th November, 1292. One role of a king was to act as a judge, deciding on the legal cases of his subjects. By paying homage however, John had given Edward the right to act as lord of Scotland. Edward could now act as supreme judge in appeals from the Scottish king’s court. The first appeal against John’s judgement arrived in Edward’s court only one week after Balliol was crowned.

Roger Bartholomew, the ‘Burgess (townsman) of Berwick’ took a petition to Edward’s court, appealing against a judgement made over his case by King John. Bartholomew’s legal complaint dated from the days of the Guardians, and he was still not happy with the verdict. King John had upheld the Guardians’ decision, so Bartholomew took the complaint to Edward’s parliament at Newcastle in 1292. Edward made a judgement in Bartholomew's favour. King John was ordered to change his decision. Roger Bartholomew and a fellow burgess share the goss on how Edward was stitching up the new King of Scots.

The demonstration of Edward’s power left John humiliated The demonstration of Edward’s power left John humiliated. It showed everyone the relationship Scotland now had with England. Scotland was now inferior. Bartholomew’s case was heard on the 7th December, 1292. Very unusually, his expenses were promptly all paid by the 6th January 1293. Obviously, this was a test case set up by Edward to make it abundantly clear that he now held the sovereign power over Scotland. #regrets: John realises being a king wasn’t going to be the easy ride he’d hoped for…

The Treaty of Birgham In protest to Edward’s actions, John stated the king of England should not interfere in Scotland’s internal affairs. John wrote to Edward reminding him of the clauses of the Treaty of Birgham which safeguarded Scottish sovereignty. In reply, Edward pointed out that Birgham was a marriage contract and without a marriage, it was worthless. He also bullied John, threatening to confiscate royal lands and castles within Scotland and garrison them with English troops. John: Relax guys, we’ve got the treaty – everything is going to be just fine...

John backed down and endured another crippling humiliation. In January 1293, Balliol was forced to publicly release Edward from the safeguards put in place by Birgham, and from the promises he’d made at Norham. The King of England was now free from any oaths made and was legally able to interfere in Scotland as much as he wished. Further cases ensured that John and the nobles of Scotland were left in no doubt that the Scottish king could – and would – be summoned to answer for the actions of his own courts before Edward of England. Well, this sucks: Balliol has a quiet moment to reflect on how much he now hated Edward. At this point his love of luxurious, soft fabrics was the only thing that was keeping him going…

The MacDuff case More than any other incident, the MacDuff case highlighted the weakness of Balliol’s reign and the determination of Edward to assert his authority over Scotland. Since the murder of the Guardian, Earl Duncan of Fife, his earldom had been run by its neighbour - Bishop Fraser of St. Andrews. In the summer of 1292, MacDuff, uncle of the murdered earl, complained to Edward, who was then ruling Scotland, claiming that Bishop Fraser had deprived him of his rightful inheritance of the lands of Fife. Edward examined the case and ordered Bishop Fraser to give the estates to MacDuff. MacDuff was determined to keep calm about the whole situation.

Upon his release, MacDuff ran to Edward to complain. At John’s first parliament, MacDuff was arrested and imprisoned – his lands were then stripped from him and given to Bishop Fraser. The bishop was one of Balliol’s closest allies. Upon his release, MacDuff ran to Edward to complain. In September 1293, Edward summoned Balliol to his court in London to explain his judgement of the issue. Bishop Fraser: I think you’ll find those lands are mine… MacDuff: a bit miffed about everything.

Kings don’t summon kings – but John obeyed Kings don’t summon kings – but John obeyed. It was a new level of humiliation. John planned to avoid having to answer directly to Edward by using a ‘proxy’ – a man who would stand before the court and answer on his behalf. Edward refused. John was made to stand next to his proxy, before the whole court of Edward. The English nobles jeered as Edward made him answer for his actions. Not messing: Edward was not in the mood for being tolerant. It was unprecedented for a Scottish king to be treated in this fashion.

John tried to argue that Edward had no right to hear MacDuff’s case. Edward was in no mood to argue however, threatening to confiscate important castles in Scotland. John backed down again and had to agree to allow Edward to hear MacDuff’s appeal. It was a bad day at the office for John.

Humiliation After it all, Edward was ‘too busy’ to hear MacDuff’s appeal. John had to promise to return to Edward’s next parliament in the summer of 1294 to hear the judgement of the case. His humiliation would be a long, drawn out process. John’s humiliating treatment made him look weak in the eyes of Scotland nobles. He actually did that?: Scottish nobles experience a face-palm moment when news of John’s humiliation filtered back home.

Why did Balliol act in this way? John was not secure in his position as King of Scots. A king who didn’t have the support of his nobles – particularly the Bruces – or Edward, might find himself quickly replaced on the throne. John’s strategy was to try and humour the English king – he was trying to avoid confrontations until he could build his own power.

Courtroom dramas: Questions Take note of the questions below in your jotter and write an answer drawing upon the notes you have taken today. Complete for homework if not finished in class: Why should we be suspicious about the Bartholomew case? Why did John defy Edward in the MacDuff case? Throughout this section of the course, Edward repeatedly set out to humiliate John. Why do you think he was doing this? Why did John continually ‘give in’ to Edward’s demands? What does this tell us about the relationship between Edward and John by the end of 1293? Looking fabulous: at least John did one thing well…