Now no one disputes that as Philip had sinned against Edward, so it was quite possible that Edward might have sinned against Baliol. But what are the grievances alleged? There is nothing that deserves the name; for the reception of Macduff’s appeal was, on Edward’s part, both a right and a duty. Yet, this reception constitutes the whole case against him; and upon this ground alone the Scotch threw all their oaths to the winds, and resolved upon war.
In December, 1292, at Newcastle‐on‐Tyne, John Baliol, after full warning of the intent and meaning of the homage, had taken the following oath:—
“My lord, sir Edward, king of England, sovereign lord of the realm of Scotland, I, John Baliol, king of Scotland, become your liegeman for the kingdom of Scotland and all its appurtenances and appendages; which kingdom I hold, and ought, of right and claim, to hold by inheritance, for myself and my heirs, kings of Scotland, of you and your heirs, kings of England. And faith and loyalty I will bear to you and your heirs, kings of England, of life and limb, and earthly honour, against all men that may live and die.”[66]
Such was Baliol’s oath, deliberately taken, with a full knowledge of its meaning, in December, 1292. The like oath was also taken by all the nobles of Scotland. Yet, in less than three years after, finding Edward involved in a war with France, they eagerly seized the opportunity of freeing themselves from all these obligations. They sent an embassy to France, and entered into a treaty, engaging to assist Philip by invading England. Such was the first step in the long and sanguinary Scottish wars. Mr. Sharon Turner justly places these wars to the account of the Scotch, remarking that—
“For four years Edward did nothing incompatible with the continuance of the Scottish royalty; and it was the wilful hostility of Scotland which forced him into the field. From 1292 to 1296, though he received an appeal against Baliol’s judgment, and summoned Baliol to his parliament, to answer it, yet this was the extent of his adverse conduct. And so far was Edward’s behaviour from being revolting to Scottish feeling, that Bruce, the competitor of Baliol, having died, his family desired Edward to receive its homage, and willingly performed it.”[67]
Edward, then, had done nothing to call forth the hostility of Scotland; in fact, he had simply carried out his own professions and pretensions, and expected the Scotch to do the same. Being now involved, by no fault of his own, in a war with France, he called upon Baliol and the other Scottish nobles who had sworn fealty to him, to give him their aid against the hostility of the French. This aid every leading man in Scotland had solemnly sworn to render; yet, instead of keeping their oaths, the Scottish barons instantly violated them in the most direct and flagrant manner. They had sworn “to bear faith and loyalty to Edward, against all men that may live or die;” instead of which they deliberately contracted with Philip to raise an army and to fall upon England, so as to assist the French king’s designs. What share of this treason and perfidy ought to be allotted to Baliol it is difficult to determine. The whole power in Scotland seems to have been taken out of the king’s hands and usurped by a faction of the nobles, who at first dictated to the king, and at last dethroned him. They assembled a council, or parliament, at Scone, at which they resolved to dismiss all Englishmen who were in any public employments; to seize upon all lands in Scotland which belonged to Englishmen; and even to deprive of their estates in Scotland those Scotchmen who remained faithful to Edward. “In this way Robert Bruce lost his lordship of Annandale. It was given to John Comyn, earl of Buchan, who instantly assumed the rights of a proprietor, and took possession of Lochmaben Castle.”[68]
But the ruling faction was not even content with wholesale confiscation. Mr. Tytler continues—“The party who then ruled in the Scottish parliament, dreading a submission on the part of their king, secluded him from all power, confined him in a mountain‐fortress, and placed the management of affairs in the hands of twelve of the leading nobles.”
Bruce, the competitor, and formerly an English judge, had lately died. His son, the earl of Carrick, whom we recently saw styled in one of Edward’s letters, “our beloved Robert Bruce,” and who was, throughout his life, faithful to Edward, would naturally keep the king acquainted with all that was going on. He would apprise him of this state of general disorder, usurpation, and confiscation; the king in prison; all power monopolized by a faction, who plundered and banished their rivals, and who were collecting a force avowedly intended for the invasion of England. This state of affairs would satisfy Edward that, before he could sail for Gascony, he must do something for the pacification of Scotland. The treaty with France was no secret; it was made by an embassy consisting of several persons, and it was discussed in the Scottish council. Its main provisions would thus inevitably become known, and Robert Bruce would be able to warn Edward that an invasion on the side of Scotland was to be anticipated.
The king was thus involved in war at once in two opposite directions. Gascony had been fraudulently seized upon, and he could not, for a moment, contemplate submission to such a wrong. He therefore prepared a fleet of three hundred and fifty‐four ships, on board of which about seven thousand men were embarked; but the state of affairs in Scotland rendered it inexpedient that he should himself accompany this force. He therefore placed it under the command of his brother, the earl of Lancaster, who, after gaining some advantages, died at Bayonne, and left the command to the earl of Lincoln.
Meanwhile, the king knew that it was absolutely necessary that he should take effectual measures to protect his northern frontier against the threatened Scottish invasion. But, although his revenues were so well managed as to suffice for all ordinary demands, the extraordinary exigencies of two wars had placed him in a position of financial difficulty. A year or two previously he had despatched one expedition into Gascony, and now another had exhausted his means, and the armament for Scotland was still to be provided for. A larger supply than usual was needed, and how should it be obtained? The consideration of this question in Edward’s mind, produced at last what Hume describes as “the real and true epoch of the House of Commons,” and the “dawn of popular government in England.”