Treaty of Birgham

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The Treaty of Birgham comprised two treaties intended to secure the independence of Scotland after Alexander III died without issue in 1286. Guaranteed by Edward, Prince of Wales, the purpose of the treaty was to put to rest the competing claims of the House of Balliol and the House of Bruce.

The treaties were drawn up in Salisbury in 1289 and Birgham in 1290. Under the condition that the heiress of Scotland Margaret, the Maid of Norway, would marry Edward, Scotland was to remain "separate and divided from England according to its rightful boundaries, free in itself and without subjection."

The treaty proved ineffectual, both because Margaret died en route to Scotland in 1290, and because English negotiators had included enough reservations to render the independence clauses useless. Edward styled himself Overlord of Scotland and challenged claimants to the Scottish throne to recognize himself as a feudal superior.

[edit] References

• Birgham, Treaty of (1290) in Collins Dictionary of Scottish History edited by Ian Donnachie and George Hewitt (Harper Collins, 2001, ISBN 0-00-714710-4)

• Medieval Scotland, 1100 - 1560, by David Ditchburn and Alastair J. MacDonald in New Penguin History of Scotland (Penguin Books, 2001, ISBN 0-14-026367-5), esp. pp. 165 et. seq.