David II of Scotland
King David II of Scotland
King David II (1324 - 1371, king of Scots from 1329) David was born on March 5th, 1324, in Dunfermline Palace, Fife, Scotland, the only son of King Robert I, Robert the Bruce, hero of Bannockburn, and his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh.
After nearly thirty years of intermittent war with England, known as the First War of Scottish Independence, Robert the Bruce signed a peace treaty in Edinburgh in March 1328 which was ratified by the English parliament at Northampton in May. The agreement became known as the Treaty of Northampton and under its terms Scotland gained independence and paid 20,000 merks*** in indemnity and Edward III of England renounced all claims of sovereignty and recognised Robert as rightful King of Scotland. It was further agreed that, to solidify the agreement, there would be a marriage between David, the son of Robert and Joanna, the daughter of Edward II. On the 17th of July 1328, at the age of four, David married Princess Joanna of England (also known as Joan of the Tower). Almost a year later, on 7th June 1329, King Robert I died and was succeeded by David Bruce, as king of Scots (although not crowned until 1331). As David was a minor his early rule was administered by his guardians and the regency was held by Donald, Earl of Mar, a cousin of Robert the Bruce.
David II and Edward Balliol
The Treaty of Northampton had led to what English many referred to as a "Shameful Peace". They were acutely aware that they had surrendered and, once Scotland had completed payment of the amount agreed in the treaty, the English began to question the validity of it. As a direct result of the treaty many of the English nobility had lost lands and title north of the border. Furthermore, many Scots had also lost by the treaty, mainly the families, and supporters of, Balliol and Comyn, and had either been exiled by Robert or felt so insecure that they thought it best to flee to England. As a group they became known as the "Disinherited".
The claim of the former Royal House of Balliol was still valid and few doubted that Edward de Balliol, son of Toom Tabard, would pursue it. The Disinherited managed to convince Edward that it would be possible to regain the throne. Edward III had claimed that his signature on the treaty was invalid as he was a minor at the time. This, and the fact that many thought that he was eager to gain some sort of revenge for the humiliation of his father led the Disinherited to believe that Edward III of England would be in full support. Many also felt that, because the regent Donald, Earl of Mar, had previously shown sympathy for the Balliol cause, he would offer little resistance to an invasion.
The full support of Edward III was not forthcoming but, instead, he chose to "turn a blind eye" when, in July 1332, the "Disinherited" raised a small force of eighty ships and about 2,000 men which set sail from the Humber and landed at Kinghorn on the Fife coast of Scotland. The Scots forces of David II saw the force as a minor threat and were confident of victory when they met at Dupplin Moor, near the River Earn in Perthshire, on the 11th August. However, under the leadership of Edward Balliol (Edward's Vassal), the Disinherited forces were able to defeat the ill prepared Scots, who had been poorly led by Donald of Mar. With the Scots army routed and Mar dead, Edward was able to proceed, unhindered, to Scone where he was crowned Edward I of Scotland by the Earl of Fife on the 24th September. Unfortunately Edward soon found that he was unable to make any real gains with the small force at his disposal.
The government of Scotland offered insufficient support for Edward and they first appointed Sir Andrew Murray as the new Guardian of David II and then replaced him with Sir Archibald Douglas. Douglas, together with the support of a young Robert the Steward and John of Moray, was able to ambush Balliol at Annan while he slept. The half-naked Balliol luckily escaped and fled to Carlisle. In a further stroke of luck, following appeals by Balliol, Edward III offered his full support and prepared for war. On the 19th of July 1333 the Scots and English forces met at Halidon Hill. The English had the upper ground and were able to take full advantage with their archers and the Scots were heavily defeated. Douglas was killed at the battle and Edward continued to make gains until he was able to re-establish himself as king and set about reinstating the disinherited magnates.
Towards the end of 1333 five castles were still holding out and David II and his young English queen were in the relative safety of Dumbarton Castle. In May 1334 they took advantage of the "Auld Alliance" and fled to France staying at Château Gaillard, north-west of Paris, by invitation of King Philip VI, where they remained for the next seven years. Back in Scotland the Second War of Scottish Independence still raged with Edward III finding it tough going. Robert I had mastered techniques of destroying castles and the Scots took full advantage of this knowledge to frustrate Edwards attempts at rebuilding those previously destroyed by Robert. The war was proving more difficult than expected and was proving very costly. Edward saw little chance of glory in Scotland and, setting his sights on the throne of France, withdrew to England. Edward had left the Earl of Warwick to command in Scotland but, over a long period, the English found themselves losing ground.
In April 1341 the Scots, now under the Guardianship of Robert the Steward, took control of Edinburgh Castle and on 2nd June David II, now seventeen, returned to Scotland to take control. In 1346 David, under the terms of the "Auld Alliance", was persuaded by the King of France to invade England. Edward III was in France and David saw this as an opportunity and eagerly led his army into the north of England. However, on 17 October, at Neville's Cross near Durham, he was met by an English army under the Archbishop of York. David II was humiliatingly defeated, captured then transported to the Tower of London where he remained as prisoner for eleven years.
Scotland was, once again, thrown into turmoil with Edward Balliol attempting to assert his claim to the throne and Steward, having safely retreated from England, was, once again, Guardian. Balliol found little support for his cause and soon chose to remain in Galloway where loyalties to him proved strong. Unfortunately, to gain the earlier support of Edward III, Balliol had ceded to him the sheriffdoms of Berwick, Dumfries, Peebles, Roxburgh and Selkirk and Edward III was quick to regain possession from the Scots.
David's Return to Scotland
In 1347 the Bubonic Plague, or Black Death, raged in England and David found himself protected, by his forced quarantine, in the Tower of London. It is estimated that around 30,000 lost their lives outside the walls and, in the winter of 1349, the Plague reached Scotland where it claimed almost a third of the population of Scotland. David was clearly disturbed by these events and he now chose to offer Edward his homage and his crown if he should die childless in return for his freedom. It is believed that, in 1352, David was allowed a brief visit to Scotland in an attempt to convince his government to accept the agreement. However many found it to be too severe and Robert the Steward appointed the Bishop of St Andrews to negotiate with Edward without success.
On 19th September 1356 the English defeated the French at Poitiers and the French King John was captured. Edward now viewed Scotland as little more than a bargaining chip in the ensuing peace negotiations and, on 3rd October 1357, the Scots were forced to sign the Treaty of Berwick. The treaty was far more severe than that offered the year before with David being released for the colossal ransom of £100,000*** which was payable in ten yearly installments.
Upon his final return to Scotland King David I found that Robert the Steward had delegated much of his internal powers to the regional nobles. He found that many petty factions had been allowed to develop among his magnates which made administration even more difficult. David set about rebuilding the machinery of government and the burgesses were summoned to attend councils and parliaments. David extended the privileges of the burgh merchants, reassessed their holdings and property and Scotland's Great Customs, the taxes collected from the exports, were increased dramatically.
Together with other reforms these taxes ensured that David was able to make the first payment of the ransom on time. He was finding that his nobles were difficult to control and, following the murder of his mistress, Katherine Mortimer, he realised that he should concentrate his efforts on imposing his rule rather than on raising the ransom.
In 1362 the childless Queen Joan died and in 1363 David proposed that a son of Edward III should succeed to the throne of Scotland in return for the cancellation of the ransom. The arrangement was repudiated by the Scottish Parliament but had made an enemy of Robert the Steward, David's nephew and lawful successor. Together with a band of nobles the Steward intended to remove David's councilors and Dame Margaret Logie to whom David had proposed marriage. David was forced to raise an army which he led to victory over the conspirators and the Steward was imprisoned.
David married Margaret but she too failed to produce an heir and he later divorced her. Although David inspired further opposition by his financial extravagance he managed to repay £76,000*** of the ransom. It appeared that avid was preparing to marry the daughter of "Black Agnes" of Dunbar when he died suddenly on 22nd February 1371 aged 47.
Despite his two marriages and several mistresses he left no male heir and, within 14 years of the demise of the Balliol dynasty, the Bruce dynasty was also ended. His nephew Robert II succeeded him.
***
With the Treaty of Northampton the amount of indemnity was often quoted as £20,000 but more often as 20,000 merks so I have opted to quote the later.
While researching this article I noticed that the amount of the ransom varied. Most commonly it was quoted as being 100,000 marks but sometimes as £100,000 and others as 100,000 merks. I also noticed the figure of £160,000 mentioned which confused matters further. The Merk is a Scottish silver coin and in 1681 a merk was equal to 14 shillings. At an earlier time it was less so this led me to believe that the original documents used by some writers may have quoted sometimes in merks and others in pounds. It is curious that the figure of 160,000 merks would have been equal to around £104,000 around the time of Charles II and it is for this reason that I have assumed that the correct amount of the ransom was £100,000.
The amount of £76,000 was quoted more often but some referred to three quarters being paid.
If you know otherwise or can clarify the matter further please let us know.
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