1. The Great Cause decided

2. The Great Cause decided (part 2)
10/9/18
AIM – Learn how the next king of Scotland was selected during the Great Cause.
SUCCESS CRITERIA –
Be able to explain how the Great Cause was decided and on what grounds.
Be able to describe the outcome of the Great Cause.
Be able to make an assessment of Edward’s role in the proceedings.
TASKS
1. Copy today’s aim and heading into your jotter.
2. Recap the power-play which unfolded at the outset of the Great Cause at Norham in 1291.
3. Complete the group task started last lesson, working as ‘Edward’s lawyers’. You may be asked to share your findings with the class in plenary.
4. Go through today’s PPt (following this slide), taking notes where directed.
5. Write your paragraph to answer ‘today’s big question’.
HOMEWORK for Monday 17th September
Complete ‘today’s big question’ at home if not finished in class.
Complete the ‘how fully’ question on the succession crisis.

3. The Great Cause - recap
“The political manoeuvring in the Great Cause played out like a game of chess…” – D. Darkins, 2018.
How did Edward take the upper hand at the outset of the Great Cause?
Why did the Guardians think they had gotten the better of Edward?
Why did the contenders eventually all agree to Edward’s terms?
What is primogeniture and which contender favoured this argument?
Why did the bastards have a weak claim?
What was Count Floris’ ‘trump card’?
What is tanistry and which contender favoured this argument?

4. Group activity (cont.)
Last lesson, your job was to work in pairs taking on the role of Edward’s auditors, analysing the evidence we have to determine who has the right to be crowned as Scotland’s next king.
After several pieces of new evidence were presented, you came to a conclusion over who you thought had the strongest legal claim to crowned as Scotland’s next king.
In your jotter, you were asked to write down who you would choose to be king. Today, we are each going to write up a paragraph explaining our reasons for making this decision.
This is history in action! Today, we are working with sources and analysing information to present a conclusion based on evidence - just as Edward and his lawyers were asked to do in

5. “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers…”
Once the contenders agreed to Edward’s terms, a court was set up, composed of 104 auditors.
40 were chosen by Bruce, 40 by Balliol and 24 by Edward.
This recognised the factional split in Scottish politics at the time – it doesn’t necessarily reflect that Balliol and Bruce had the strongest claims.
The role of the auditors was to investigate the claims put forward and to answer questions on legal points. The final judgment was to be with Edward.
Justice for all – or would Edward be the Master of Puppets?

6. The hearings
It was decided to hold the hearings in Berwick, starting in August 1291.
The contenders submitted their claims and the court was adjourned until June The long delay allowed the lawyers to investigate each bid.
This gave time for Floris to search his library in Holland for documented proof of his claim that David, Earl of Huntingdon had surrendered his rights – and those of his descendants - to the throne. If it existed, this would rule out Balliol, Bruce and John of Hastings from the Cause.
Even in spite of its importance, it is odd Edward allowed so long for the search for the document. In the end however, Floris couldn't find the letter.
How much? – like many unfortunate people throughout the ages, Edward had to bite back the urge to vomit when the lawyers passed him the bill.

7. When the sessions resumed, the court debated over which law of inheritance should apply.
John of Hastings argued Scotland should be partible - as an earldom was – and able to be shared amongst successors.
Partition must have been tempting to Edward as it would have made Scotland easier for him to dominate. Nevertheless, he investigated the proposal meticulously, summoning lawyers from Oxford and abroad to give him advice.
Hastings was overruled – the court narrowed the issue to either Bruce or Balliol and adjourned again until October 1292.
Edward loved dressing up. He was having a cracking time playing the judge and took his job very seriously.

8. The decision
On 17th November, Edward and his councillors gave their judgment.
They unanimously agreed that the laws of primogeniture applied, and that John Balliol was legally entitled to be crowned as Scotland’s next king.
The court’s proceedings were meticulous and there can be little doubt that Edward came to an entirely proper decision.
John Balliol gets the gig of his life – but would it be a poison chalice?

9. Historical debate: why did Edward demand to be Overlord of Scotland?
Traditional view:
These historians believe that Edward was an evil man who took advantage of Scotland when it was weak. They believe that he set out to trick the Scottish nobles from the start.
Revisionist (modern) view:
Historians in this camp believe that Edward was trying his best to bring peace to Scotland. He thought that without his overlordship, Scots would never accept his choice and there would be civil war.

10. Today’s ‘Big Question’
Take note of the question in your jotter and write an answer drawing upon the notes you have taken today:
Were Edward I’s intentions (and actions) towards Scotland honourable or dubious during his judgment of the Great Cause?
John of Hastings’ argument for a ‘split’ decision didn’t go down well at the court.

11. Fealty
King John was officially crowned king of Scots on 30th November (St. Andrew’s Day) 1292, at Scone.
His coronation was observed by all the important people of the realm. Following the customs of the kings of Alba, he was enthroned upon the Stone of Destiny at Scone – the last Scottish king to be crowned there.
Six and a half years after the death of Alexander III, Scotland was restored to the rule of a king.
The Stone of Destiny: a pillar of Scottish history.

12. John had given Edward the right to act as overlord of Scotland.
King John’s position was very different to that of his predecessors, however. He was king not by unquestioned right, but by the decision of a court.
The events leading up to the judgment of that court made him a vassal king.
From Scone, John travelled to Newcastle to spend Christmas at Edward’s court. On 26th December, John knelt before the King of England and paid homage.
John had given Edward the right to act as overlord of Scotland.
“Lord Edward, lord superior of the realm of Scotland, I, John Balliol, king of Scots, become your liegeman for the whole realm of Scotland…”
“Ha-ha! What a loser!”

13. Source Contextualisation: ‘How fully..?’
Source A: from Michael Brown, The Wars of Scotland 1214—1371 (2004)
In March 1286 Scotland’s leaders gathered for the funeral of Alexander III. There would be no crowning of a new king to balance the burial of the old. Alexander III’s sudden death had brought the male line of the royal dynasty to an end. A measure of the problems now facing the Scottish leaders was the desire for “advice and protection” from Edward I, which would later lead to demands for recognition of Edward’s authority over the Scottish realm. Six Guardians were appointed in response to the vital need to carry on the day-to-day running of the government in the absence of a royal leader. The belief that the queen, Yolande of Dreux, was carrying the dead king’s child turned out to be mistaken. The young child Margaret of Norway was now the only descendant of King Alexander III.
Q1. How fully does Source A describe the succession problem in Scotland 1286—1296?
Use the source and your own knowledge marks
HOMEWORK for Monday 17th September
Complete ‘today’s big question’ at home if not finished in class.
Complete the ‘how fully’ question on the succession crisis.

14. SOURCE CONTEXTUALISATION: APPROACH
‘How fully does source…?’
This will be worth 10 marks.
Up to 4 marks are available for linking info in the source to the question.
Up to 7 marks are available for developing source points with relevant recall / providing relevant recall that is related to the question to set the source within its historical context.

15. Specimen answer (10 marks)
Read the question, then the source.
Using the words of the question, start your answer by making your judgement on the source, e.g. ‘Source A partly describes the reasons why Alexander III’s reign of Scotland has been called its Golden Age…’
Make FOUR points from the source. For each one, either paraphrase or quote the source and then explain the significance of your point, relating it back to the question.
Then include up to SEVEN points of relevant recall. Be careful to explain the significance of each point and then relate it back to the question.
Best practice is to take a new paragraph for each point you make.