Страница 21 из 87
However, there was still the issue of the Western Isles to be resolved. On attaining his majority at the age of 21 in 1262, Alexander declared his intention to resume his late father’s policy of claiming the disputed territories as Scottish, a decision that did not go down well with the king of Norway, Hakon IV. Another thing that did not go down well was the attack on the Isle of Skye by the earl of Ross, which led to tales of church burning and the killing of women and children. The Scots were clearly the aggressors, and an outraged Hakon assembled a fleet to avenge the attacks and put paid to the demands of the Scottish king.
The Battle of Largs
The invasion fleet arrived on the west coast of Scotland in the late summer of 1263, occupying the Firth of Forth. Negotiations began, but they got nowhere. Alexander was buying time for the weather to worsen, which meant bad news for the Norwegian fleet. Storms drove some of Hakon’s ships ashore, and with things deteriorating, he decided to engage the Scots in battle in early October.
The Battle of Largs has been mythologised in terms of its importance and size. Chronicles talked of the Norse force of a thousand men, when in reality both sides probably comprised only several hundred. The battle itself was indecisive, although it didn’t stop each side from claiming a great victory over the other.
What is beyond dispute is that the Scots repelled the invasion force, and Hakon and his men were forced to retreat homeward. Hakon sailed northward, exacting tribute from the Islands as he went, and arrived in Orkney in October. While wintering there, he fell ill and died two months later.
Hakon’s death signalled further aggressive action by Alexander in Caithness, Skye and other parts of the Western Isles in 1264, which intimidated many of the Scottish nobles formerly loyal to Hakon into accepting the king’s ‘peace’. The king’s surrender of the Isle of Man to the Scots brought the Norwegians to the negotiating table. The new king of Norway, Magnus IV the Law-mender, made an agreement in July 1266 at Perth, in which the Western Isles were ceded to Scotland in return for a lump sum of 4,000 merks and an a
What we know as the boundaries of Scotland today were begi
Finding an heir
The peace and tranquillity of the later years of Alexander’s reign were overshadowed by problems relating to who was to succeed him. His queen, Margaret, had died in early 1275, leaving behind a daughter, also known as Margaret, and two sons, Alexander and David. The problem was that they all died during the last five years of Alexander’s life: David in 1281, Margaret in 1283 and Alexander (married but without an heir) in 1284. The only direct descendant to Alexander left was his half-Norwegian granddaughter, Margaret, Maid of Norway.
In 1284, at Scone, Alexander took the precaution of having the Scottish Parliament recognise his granddaughter as heir presumptive should he fail to produce another heir. However, help was at hand in this matter, or least so it appeared. On 14 October 1285, Alexander married Yolande, daughter of Robert, Count of Dreux. His second wife became pregnant shortly after the marriage, but the baby was stillborn. The following year, on a stormy night in March, Alexander himself, only 44 years old, and on his way to his wife in Kinghorn, Fife, died after his horse stumbled and threw him.
His death had been prophesied the previous evening by Thomas of Erchildoun, better known as Thomas the Rhymert:
Alas for the morrow, day of misery and calamity! Before the hour of noon there will assuredly be felt such a mighty storm in Scotland that its like has not been known for long ages past. The blast of it will cause nations to tremble, will make those who hear it dumb, and will humble the high, and lay the strong level with the ground.
A golden age?
The view that Alexander’s reign constituted a ‘golden age’ was in many ways an invention of the chroniclers of the 14th and 15th centuries. Writing in the midst of war and upheaval, it was understandable that they would look to the past for some comfort. So, the golden age metaphor is perhaps an exaggeration. Nevertheless, it does have a measure of truth about it.
Due to the prolonged peace, the economy was begi
The growing prosperity of the country was also reflected in its architecture. Work on some of Scotland’s more important religious buildings was begun in this period, including the cathedrals of Dunblane, Dunfermline, Glasgow and St Andrews.
But let’s not get carried away. Overseas trade was growing, but it was based on primitive primary products, such as coarse wool and hides. Sophisticated goods, such as wine, silks and metal goods, had to be imported. The burghs were expanding their economies, but in terms of size, they were distinctly modest. There were more coins in circulation, but the supply of money was never in danger of increasing dramatically.
The absence of war greatly helped in creating the conditions for such economic improvement as there was. Alexander was known as the ‘Peaceable’, and not for nothing was this title conferred upon him. He avoided war with Scotland’s neighbour during his rule, accepting homage for his lands in England but never for Scotland, in spite of the demands made on him by his father-in-law, Henry III, and his brother-in-law, Edward I. Perhaps his greatest achievement was the completion of the project begun by his father, Alexander II, to claim the Western Isles for Scotland.
Through this endeavour and the policies he pursued to create consensus and stability in society, as well as his sturdy defence of Scottish independence, Alexander III was able to unite the people of Scotland behind his rule.
A fairer assessment may be that Alexander’s reign was marked by relative peace and moderate but growing prosperity, in addition to being politically stable and (outside of his minority) free from internal strife. Although not appreciated at the time, when Alexander went over the edge in 1286, it was more than a personal tragedy; it was a national one.