David II of Scotland

David II
Drawing of David II by Sylvester Harding (published in 1797) —[1] There is no evidence that suggests David II actually looked like this.
King of Scots
Reign	7 June 1329 – 22 February 1371
Coronation	24 November 1331
Predecessor	Robert I
Successor	Robert II
Spouse	Joan of England Margaret Drummond
House	House of Bruce
Father	Robert I of Scotland
Mother	Elizabeth de Burgh
Born	5 March 1324(1324-03-05) Dunfermline Palace, Fife
Died	22 February 1371(1371-02-22) (aged 46) Edinburgh Castle
Burial	Holyrood Abbey

David II (Medieval Gaelic: Daibhidh a Briuis, Modern Gaelic: Dàibhidh Bruis) (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.

Early life

Dunfermline Palace, just visible to the right, birthplace of David Bruce.

David II was the elder and only surviving son of Robert I of Scotland and his second wife, Elizabeth de Burgh. He was born on 5 March 1324 at Dunfermline Palace, Fife. His mother died in 1327.^[2] In accordance with the Treaty of Northampton's terms, David was married on 17 July 1328 to Joan of the Tower, daughter of Edward II of England and Isabella of France, at Berwick-upon-Tweed. They had no issue.^[3]

Reign

David became King of Scots upon the death of his father on 7 June 1329, aged 5 years, 3 months, and 3 days. David and his Queen were crowned at Scone on 24 November 1331.^[4]

During David's minority, Sir Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray was appointed Guardian of Scotland by the Act of Settlement of 1318. After Moray's death, on 20 July 1332, he was replaced by Donald, Earl of Mar, elected by an assembly of the magnates of Scotland at Perth, 2 August 1332. Only ten days later Mar fell at the Battle of Dupplin Moor. Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell, who was married to Christian (or Christina), the sister of King Robert I, was chosen as the new Guardian. He was taken prisoner by the English at Roxburgh in April 1333 and was thence replaced as Guardian by Archibald Douglas (the Tyneman) who fell at Halidon Hill that July.^[5]

Joan & David II with Philip VI of France.

Meanwhile, on 24 September 1332, following the Scots' defeat at Dupplin, Edward Balliol a protégé of Edward III of England, was as a pretender to the throne of Scotland by the English and his Scots adherents. By December, however, Balliol was forced to flee to England but returned the following year as part of an invasion force led by the English king.^[6] Following the victory of this force at the Battle of Halidon Hill in July 1333, David and his Queen were sent for safety into France, reaching Boulogne on 14 May 1334,^[7] and being received very graciously by King Philip VI of France. Little is known about the life of the Scottish king in France, except that Château Gaillard was given to him for a residence, and that he was present at the bloodless meeting of the English and French armies in October 1339 at Vironfosse, now known as Buironfosse, in the Arrondissement of Vervins.

Meanwhile David's representatives had once again obtained the upper hand in Scotland, and the king was able to return to his kingdom, landing at Inverbervie in Kincardineshire on 2 June 1341, when he took the reins of government into his own hands.

David Bruce, king of Scotland, acknowledges Edward III as his feudal lord.

In 1346 under the terms of the Auld Alliance, he invaded England in the interests of France, but was defeated and taken prisoner by John Coupeland at the Battle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346,^[8] and taken to London. He was then transferred to Windsor Castle in Berkshire before he and his household were moved to Odiham Castle in Hampshire. His imprisonment was not a rigorous one, although he remained in England for eleven years.

On 3 October 1357, after several protracted negotiations, a treaty was signed at Berwick-upon-Tweed under which Scotland's nobility agreed to pay 100,000 marks as a ransom for their king. This was ratified by the Scottish Parliament at Scone on 6 November 1357.

David returned at once to Scotland; but owing to the poverty of the kingdom it was found impossible to raise the ransom. A few instalments were paid, but the king sought to get rid of the liability by offering to make Edward III, or one of his sons, his successor in Scotland with the awareness that the Scots would never accept such an arrangement. In 1364 the Scottish parliament indignantly rejected a proposal to make Lionel, Duke of Clarence, the next king; but David strung out secret negotiations with Edward III over this matter.

He remarried about 20 February 1364, Margaret Drummond, widow of Sir John Logie, and daughter of Sir Malcolm Drummond. He divorced her about 20 March 1370. They had no issue.^[3][9] Margaret, however, travelled to Avignon and made a successful appeal to the Pope to reverse the sentence of divorce which had been pronounced against her in Scotland. She was still alive in January 1375.^[10]

Death

David II died unexpectedly and at the height of his power in Edinburgh Castle on 22 February 1371. He was buried in Holyrood Abbey.^[3][9] At the time of his death, he was planning to marry his mistress, Agnes Dunbar (niece of Agnes Randolph, also known as "Black Agnes of Dunbar"). He left no children and was succeeded by his nephew, Robert II. He was the last male of the House of Bruce.

Ancestry

Notes

References

• David Nash Ford (2004). Royal Berkshire History: David II, King of Scots (1324-1371).
• John of Fordun (1871–72). Chronica gentis Scotorum, edited by W. F. Skene. Edinburgh.
• John Hill Burton. (1905). History of Scotland, vol. ii. Edinburgh.
• Andrew Lang. (1900). History of Scotland, vol. i. Edinburgh.
• Andrew of Wyntoun. (1872–79). The orygynale cronykil of Scotland, edited by D. Laing Edinburgh.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Further reading

• Michael Brown. (2004). The Wars of Scotland, 1214–1371. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland, volume 4. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
• Ranald Nicholson. (1975)., Scotland. The Later Middle Ages. Edinburgh: Mercat Press.
• Michael Penman. (2003). David II, 1329–71: The Bruce Dynasty in Scotland. East Linton: Tuckwell Press.

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