The Hammer Falls

Scotland's ordeal began not with an invasion but with an accident of blood. In 1290 the death of the seven-year-old queen Margaret, the 'Maid of Norway,' left the throne with thirteen competitors and no clear heir. Rather than risk civil war, the Scottish magnates invited Edward I of England to arbitrate — and Edward, the ablest and most ruthless king in Europe, agreed only on condition that he be acknowledged overlord of Scotland. He chose John Balliol in 1292, then set about humiliating him with a stream of legal appeals and demands designed to prove Scotland was his to command.

Pushed to breaking point when Edward ordered Scottish service in his war against France, the Scots instead signed a treaty with France — the beginning of the centuries-long 'Auld Alliance' — and renounced their homage. Edward's answer was overwhelming. In March 1296 he stormed the great trading town of Berwick and let his soldiers massacre its people for two days, a calculated terror. Weeks later the Scottish army was crushed at Dunbar.

The war seemed over before it started. Balliol was forced to abdicate in a ceremony that stripped the royal arms from his coat — 'Toom Tabard,' the empty surcoat. Edward carried south the Stone of Scone on which Scottish kings were made, garrisoned the castles, and ordered the landowners to swear fealty on a great roll of parchment. Scotland, it appeared, had ceased to exist as a kingdom. Then, from the minor gentry, two men rose who would not accept it.