First published in 2002, and here introduced by Dauvit Broun as a core text in Scottish medieval history, this classic work is considered one of the most invaluable critiques of kingship in Scotland during the nation's foundations. In the early years of the period a custom of succession within one royal lineage allowed the Gaelic kingdom to grow in authority and extent. The Norman Conquest of England altered the balance of power between the north and south, and the relationship between the two kingdoms, which had never been easy, became unstable. When Scotland became kingless in 1286, Edward I exploited the succession debate between Balliol and Bruce and set claim to overlordship of Scotland until Bruce's coronation fixed the right of succession by law for Scottish kingship. In a meticulous account of this period, Professor Duncan disentangles the power struggles during the 'Great Cause' between the Balliols and the Bruces, and of the actions, motives and decisive interventions of Edward I. The Kingship of the Scots is historical scholarship at its best - thoughtful, challenging, incisive and readable.

Crown-magnate relations, the Anglo-Scottish, Anglo-French and Anglo-Irish wars, national and local finance and administration and the nature of late medieval kingship are among the principal themes explored in this volume, along with aristocratic consumption, historical writing, chivalric culture and a review of recent work on crusading history. All newly commissioned from distinguished scholars, they shed new light on late medieval British political, military and governmental history. CONTRIBUTORS: NICHOLAS VINCENT, DAVID CARPENTER, M. L. HOLFORD, ARCHIE DUNCAN, MATTHEW STRICKLAND, BJORN WEILER, ROBIN FRAME, ANDY KING, W. MARK ORMROD, G. L. HARRISS, NORMAN HOUSLEY, ANNE CURRY, MAURICE KEEN, WENDY CHILDS

Known to posterity as Scottorum Malleus _ the Hammer of the Scots _ Edward I was one of medieval England's most formidable rulers. In this meticulously researched new history, David Santiuste offers a fresh interpretation of Edward's military career, with a particular focus on his Scottish wars. This is in part a study of personality: Edward was a remarkable man. His struggles with tenacious opponents _ including Robert the Bruce and William Wallace _ have become the stuff of legend. ??There is a clear and perceptive account of important military events, notably the Battle of Falkirk, but the narrative also encompasses the wider impact of Edward's campaigns. Edward attempted to mobilize resources _ including men, money and supplies _ on an unprecedented scale. His wars affected people at all levels of society, throughout the British Isles. ??David Santiuste builds up a vivid and convincing description of Edward's campaigns in Scotland, whilst also exploring the political background. Edward emerges as a man of great conviction, who sought to bend Scotland to his will, yet also, on occasion, as a surprisingly beleaguered figure. Edward is presented here as the central character in a turbulent world, as commander and king.

Describes the family drama, political and royal court intrigue and bloody military battles that erupted between Henry VIII of England and his brother-in-law James IV of Scotland during the splendor of the Renaissance as Scotland tried to assert its independence.

On a stormy night in 1286, a man fell off his horse and broke his neck, setting two kingdoms on a 300-year course of war. Edward I seized the opportunity to pursue English claims to overlordship of Scotland; William Wallace and Robert Bruce headed the 'patriotic' resistance. Their collision shaped the history, politics and nationhood of the two realms, and dragged in a third with the formation of the Franco-Scottish Auld Alliance. It also created a unique society on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish border. What prevented peace from breaking out? And how, at the dawn of the seventeenth century, could a Scottish king succeed, peacefully and unopposed, to the Auld Enemy's throne? Andy King and Claire Etty trace the fractious relationship between England and Scotland from the death of Alexander III to the accession of James VI as James I of England. Spanning medieval and early modern history, this book is the ideal starting point for students studying Anglo-Scottish relations up to the Union.

Throughout medieval Europe, for hundreds of years, monarchy was the way that politics worked in most countries. This meant power was in the hands of a family - a dynasty; that politics was family politics; and political life was shaped by the births, marriages and deaths of the ruling family. How did the dynastic system cope with female rule, or pretenders to the throne? How did dynasties use names, the numbering of rulers and the visual display of heraldry to express their identity? And why did some royal families survive and thrive, while others did not? Drawing on a rich and memorable body of sources, this engaging and original history of dynastic power in Latin Christendom and Byzantium explores the role played by family dynamics and family consciousness in the politics of the royal and imperial dynasties of Europe. From royal marriages and the birth of sons, to female sovereigns, mistresses and wicked uncles, Robert Bartlett makes enthralling sense of the complex web of internal rivalries and loyalties of the ruling dynasties and casts fresh light on an essential feature of the medieval world.

This ambitious book, newly available in paperback, examines the encounter between Gaels and Europeans in Scotland in the central Middle Ages, offering new insights into an important period in the formation of the Scots' national identity. It is based on a close reading of the texts of several thousand charters, indentures, brieves and other written sources that record the business conducted in royal and baronial courts across the length and breadth of the medieval kingdom between 1150 and 1400.Under the broad themes of land, law and people, this book explores how the customs, laws and traditions of the native inhabitants and those of incoming settlers interacted and influenced each other. Drawing on a range of theoretical and methodological approaches, the author places her subject matter firmly within the recent historiography of the British Isles and demonstrates how the experience of Scotland was both similar to, and a distinct manifestation of, a wider process of Europeanisation.