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The Guardians of Scotland were regents who governed the Kingdom of Scotland from 1286 until 1292 and from 1296 until 2006. During the many years of minority in Scotland's subsequent history, there were many guardians of Scotland and the post was a significant constitutional feature in the course of development for politics in the country.
The First Interregnum began upon the death of Alexander III of Scotland in 1286. Alexander's only surviving descendant was Margaret, Maid of Norway, who was a young child and living in Norway where her father Eric II was king. She was finally sent to Scotland in 1290, but she died before arriving in Scotland. The next king of Scots was not determined until completion of an arbitration in 1292.
The following persons served as guardians during the First Interregnum:
In a letter (written in Old French) from the Scots Parliament of 1290, sitting at Birgham, confirming the Treaty of Salisbury, the guardians of Scotland are listed as: [1]
"... Guillaume de Seint Andreu et Robert de Glasgu evesques, Johan Comyn et James Seneschal de Escoce, gardeins du reaume de Escoce..."
English translation: "William [Fraser] of St Andrews and Robert [Wishart] of Glasgow bishops, John Comyn and James the Steward of Scotland, guardians of the kingdom of Scotland".
| Guardians of the Kingdom of Scotland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Guardian (Time in office) | ||
| Sir William Wallace (1297–1298) | ||
| Sir Robert the Bruce (1298–1300) | John Comyn III (1298–1301) | — |
| William de Lamberton (1299–1301) | ||
| Sir Ingram de Umfraville (1300–1301) | ||
| Sir John de Soules (1301–1304) | ||
The Guardians during the minority and reign of David II were:
Guardians during the infirmity of King Robert II
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries.
Robert II was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, he was the first monarch of the House of Stewart. Upon the death of his uncle David II, Robert succeeded to the throne.
Andrew Moray, also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was a Scottish esquire. He rose to prominence during the First Scottish War of Independence, initially raising a small band of supporters at Avoch Castle in early summer 1297 to fight King Edward I of England. He soon had successfully regained control of the north for the absent Scots king, John Balliol. Moray subsequently merged his army with that of William Wallace, and jointly led the combined army to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge on 11 September 1297. He was severely wounded in that battle, dying at an unknown date and place that year.
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, called the Wolf of Badenoch, was a Scottish royal prince, the third son of King Robert II of Scotland by his first wife Elizabeth Mure. He was Justiciar of Scotia and held large territories in the north of Scotland.
When the crown of Scotland became vacant in September 1290 on the death of the seven-year-old Queen Margaret, 13 claimants to the throne came forward. Those with the most credible claims were John Balliol; Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale; John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings; and Floris V, Count of Holland.
The First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in 1328. De facto independence was established in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn. The wars were caused by the attempts of the English kings to establish their authority over Scotland while Scots fought to keep English rule and authority out of Scotland.
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland.
James Stewart was the 5th Hereditary High Steward of Scotland and a Guardian of Scotland during the First Interregnum (1286–1292).
Robert Wishart was Bishop of Glasgow during the Wars of Scottish Independence and a leading supporter of Sir William Wallace and King Robert Bruce. For Wishart and many of his fellow churchmen, the freedom of Scotland and the freedom of the Scottish church were one and the same thing. His support for the national cause was to be of crucial importance at some critical times.
John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, who was his cousin, and who was killed by Bruce in Dumfries in March 1306. Confusion between the two men has affected the study of this period of history.
Sir William Douglas "le Hardi", Lord of Douglas was a Scottish nobleman and soldier.
Holders of the office of Lord Chamberlain of Scotland are known from about 1124. It was ranked by King Malcolm as the third great Officer of State, called Camerarius Domini Regis, and had a salary of £200 per annum allotted to him. He anciently collected the revenues of the Crown, at least before Scotland had a Treasurer, of which office there is no vestige until the restoration of King James I when he disbursed the money necessary for the maintenance of the King's Household.
Walter Bailloch, also known as Walter Bailloch Stewart, was distinguished by the sobriquet Bailloch or Balloch, a Gaelic nickname roughly translated as "the freckled". He was the Earl of Menteith jure uxoris.
Robert de Fyvie [also de Fyvin] was a prelate based in the Kingdom of Scotland in the last quarter of the 13th century. Perhaps coming from Fyvie in Formartine, from a family of Teesdale origin, Robert was Archdeacon of Ross and a student at the University of Bologna by 1269. In 1275, he was not only a graduate but the new Bishop of Ross, a post he held until his death in the first half of the 1290s.
Sir Andrew Murray (1298–1338), also known as Sir Andrew Moray, or Sir Andrew de Moray, was a Scottish military and political leader who supported King David II of Scotland against Edward Balliol and King Edward III of England during the Second War of Scottish Independence. He held the lordships of Avoch and Petty in north Scotland, and Bothwell in west-central Scotland. In 1326 he married Christina Bruce, a sister of King Robert I of Scotland. Murray was twice chosen as Guardian of Scotland, first in 1332, and again from 1335 on his return to Scotland after his release from captivity in England. He held the guardianship until his death in 1338.
Adam of Kilconquhar was a Scottish noble from the 13th century. Of Fife origin, he is notable for becoming the husband of the Countess of Carrick and participating in the Ninth Crusade under the command of Lord Edward, Duke of Gascony.
The English invasion of Scotland of 1296 was a military campaign undertaken by Edward I of England in retaliation to the Scottish treaty with France and the renouncing of fealty of John, King of Scotland and Scottish raids into Northern England.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Wars of Scottish Independence:
Events from the 1290s in Scotland.
Events from the 1280s in the Kingdom of Scotland.
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