Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 03.djvu/73

 Baliol daughter. The claim of Bruce was rested mainly on his being one degree nearer in descent; that of Baliol on his descent from the eldest daughter; and that of Hastings on the ground that the kingdom was partible, as an estate, among the descendants of the three daughters. By the principles of modern law the right of Baliol would be incontestable; but these principles were not then settled, and it was deemed a fair question for argument by feudal lawyers of the thirteenth century. But what tribunal was competent to decide it? At an earlier period it would have been submitted to the arbitrament of war. The parliament or great council of Scotland, which had already begun, in the reigns of the Alexanders, to organise itself after the English model, or by development from the Curia Regis, might have seemed the natural tribunal, but this would have been only a preliminary contest before the partisans of the rival claimants resorted to arms. The legal instinct of the Norman race, to which all the competitors belonged, suggested or acquiesced in a third course, not without precedent in the graver disputes of the later Middle Ages — a reference to a third party; and who could be more appropriate as a referee than the great monarch of the neighbouring kingdom, to whom each of the competitors owed allegiance for their fiefs in England? This course was accordingly proposed by Fraser, bishop of St. Andrews, in a letter to Edward before Margaret's death, but when the news of her illness had reached Scotland. After some delay, caused by the death of Eleanor, the mother of Edward I, that monarch summoned a general assembly of the Scottish and English nobility and commons to meet him at Norham on 10 May 1291. Its proceedings were opened by an address from Roger de Brabazon, chief justice of England, who declared that Edward, moved by zeal for the Scottish nation, and with a desire to do justice to all the competitors, had summoned the assembly as the superior and direct lord of the kingdom of Scotland. It was not Edward's intention, the chief justice explained, to assert any undue right against any one, to delay justice, or to diminish liberties, but only, he repeated, as superior and direct lord of Scotland, to afford justice to all. To carry out this intention more conveniently, it was necessary to obtain the recognition of his title as superior by the members summoned, as he wished their advice in the business to be done. The Scottish nobles asked for time to consult those who were absent, and a delay of three weeks was granted. When the assembly again met, on 2 June, at the same place, the nobles and clergy admitted Edward's superiority, but the commons answered in terms which have not been preserved, but are described by an English annalist as 'nihil efficax,' nothing to the purpose. No attention was paid to their opinion, and another address, reiterating Edward's superiority, was delivered by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who called on the competitors to acknowledge his right, and their willingness to abide by the law before their lord Edward. This was done by all who were present, and by Thomas Randolph as procurator for Baliol, who was absent. Next day Baliol attended and made the acknowledgment in person. The acknowledgment was embodied in a formal instrument signed by all the competitors on 4 June, which declared their consent that Edward should have seisin of the land and castles of Scotland pending the trial, upon the condition that he should restore them two months after its decision. Immediately after the recognition of his superiority, and the seisin given in ordinary feudal form, Edward surrendered the custody of Scotland to the former regents, adding Brian Fitzallan to their number, and appointing Alexander de Baliol chamberlain and the Bishop of Caithness chancellor. The castles were delivered to Edward's officers, Umfraville, earl of Angus, alone refusing to give up Dundee until promised an indemnity. On 15 June Baliol and Bruce, along with many other barons and the regent, took the oath of fealty to Edward, and his peace having been proclaimed as superior of Scotland, the proceedings were adjourned to 2 Aug. at Berwick. Before the adjournment the court for the trial of the succession was appointed, consisting of twenty-four Englishmen appointed by Edward and forty Scotchmen by Baliol and Bruce respectively. The court met on the appointed day, and the competitors put in claims, but only three were pressed by Bruce, Baliol, and Hastings. After the petitions had been read there was another adjournment to 2 June 1292. The question was then raised by what law the case was to be determined, whether by the imperial laws or by the law of England and Scotland, and if the latter differed, by which. The commissioners asked time to consider the point, and at their next meeting, on 14 Oct. declared that the king ought to decide according to the law of the kingdom over which he reigned if there were any applicable, and if not make a new law with the advice of his council. They added that the same principles should govern the succession to the crown as that to earldoms,