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'John de Balliol' (c. 1249 – November 1314) was King of Scots (1292-1296).

Contents

Early life

Accession as King of Scotland

Abdication

Death

Marriage

Other

References

Early life

Little of John's early life is known. He was born between 1248 and 1250 at an unknown location, possibilities including Galloway, Picardy and Barnard Castle, County Durham.^[1] He was the son of Dervorguilla of Galloway, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway and granddaughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, by her husband John, 5th Baron de Balliol, Lord of Barnard Castle.^[2] From his mother he inherited significant lands in Galloway and claim to Lordship over the Galwegians, as well as various English and Scottish estates of the Huntingdon inheritance; from his father he inherited large estates in England and France, such as Hitchin, in Hertfordshire.

Accession as King of Scotland

Following the death of Margaret of Scotland in 1290, John de Balliol was a competitor^[3] for the Scottish crown in the so called 'Great Cause', as he was a great-great grandson of King David I through his mother (and therefore one generation further than his main rival Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale, grandfather of the future Robert the Bruce), being senior in genealogical primogeniture but not in proximity of blood. He submitted his claim to the Scottish auditors in an election with King Edward I of England as the arbitrator, at Berwick-upon-Tweed on 6 June, 1291.^[4] The Scottish auditors' decision in favour of Balliol was pronounced in the Great Hall of Berwick Castle on November 17, 1292^[4] and he was inaugurated accordingly king of Scotland at Scone, 30th November, 1292, St. Andrew's Day.^[3]
Edward I, who had coerced recognition as Lord Paramount of Scotland, the feudal superior of the realm, steadily undermined the authority of King John. He treated Scotland as a feudal vassal state, and repeatedly humiliated the new king. Tiring of their deeply compromised king, the direction of affairs was allegedly taken out of his hands by the leading men of the kingdom, who appointed a council of twelve - in practice a new panel of Guardians - at Stirling in July 1295. These men were more likely a group of advisors to King John, and they went on to conclude a treaty of mutual assistance with France, which became known as the Auld Alliance.

Abdication

In retaliation Edward I invaded, commencing the Wars of Scottish Independence. The Scots were defeated at Dunbar and the English took Dunbar Castle on April 27, 1296.^[4] John abdicated by a Deed signed in Brechin castle on 10 July 1296.^[4] Here the arms of Scotland were formally torn from John's surcoat, giving him the abiding name of "Toom Tabard" (empty coat).
John was imprisoned in the Tower of London briefly at first, but eventually released in July 1299 and allowed to go to France. When his baggage was examined at Dover the Royal Golden Crown and Seal of the Kingdom of Scotland, with many vessels of gold and silver, and a considerable sum of money, were found in his chests. Edward I ordered that the Crown should be offered to St. Thomas the Martyr, and that the money should be returned to Balliol for the expenses of his journey, but he kept the Seal himself.^[9] Balliol was released into the custody of Pope Boniface VIII on condition that he remain in a papal residence. He was later released around the summer of 1301 and lived the rest of his life on his family's ancestral estates at Hélicourt, Picardy.
However, as his abdication had been obtained under considerable duress, his supporters subsequently argued that he was still the rightful King of Scotland. When the Scots rose in rebellion in 1297 under William Wallace and Andrew de Moray, they claimed that they were acting on behalf of King John. Although rebellions in Scotland continued over the years, this claim looked increasingly tenuous as John's position under nominal house-arrest of the papacy meant that he could not campaign for his release and return to Scotland, despite the Scots' diplomatic attempts in Paris and Rome. After 1302, he made no further attempts to extend his personal support to the Scots. Effectively, Scotland was left without a monarch until the accession of Robert the Bruce in 1306.

Death

John died around 25 November 1314 at his family's château at Hélicourt in France.^[10] On January 4, 1315, King Edward II of England, writing to King Louis X of France, said that he had heard of the death of 'Sir John de Balliol'^[11] and was request the fealty and homage of Edward Balliol to be given by proxy.
It is supposed that he was interred in the church of St. Waast at Bailleul-sur-Eaune ^[11], though this is another man by the name of Jean de Bailleul.
He was survived by his son Edward Balliol, who later revived his family's claim to the Scottish throne, received support from the English, and had some temporary successes.

Marriage

John married, before February 7, 1281, Isabella de Warenne, daughter of John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey^[3] and Alice de Lusignan. Her maternal grandparents were Hugh X de Lusignan and Isabella of Angouleme, widow of King John I of England.
John and Isabella had one son and perhaps one other son and one daughter:

★ Edward Balliol, Scottish pretender, (d.1364). Unmarried, although alleged to have married Margherita de Taranto, daughter of Philip of Taranto (d. 1332), brother of King Robert I of Naples (d. 1343).

★ (Dubious?) Henry Balliol, said to have married a lady whose Christian name was Lena (surname unknown). Henry was killed in the Battle of Annan on December 16, 1332, leaving no issue.^[14]

Other

A possible daughter Agnes (or Maud) de Balliol was married to Bryan FitzAlan, Baron of Bedale. They were parents to Agnes FitzAlan (b. 1298), who married Sir Gilbert Stapleton, Knt., of Bedale ^[15] (1291-1324). Gilbert is better known for his participation in the assassination of Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall.

References

1. G. P. Stell, "John [John de Balliol] (c.1248x50–1314)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2005 , accessed 25 July 2007.
2. Dunbar, Sir Archibald H.,Bt., ''Scottish Kings - A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005 - 1625'', Edinburgh, 1899: 115; this book has copious excellent original source materiéls
3. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 115
4. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 116
5. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 116
6. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 115
7. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 116
8. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 116
9. Foedera, vol.1, part 2, p.909
10. Fordun, ''Annals'': 95
11. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 117
12. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 117
13. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 115
14. Dunbar, Sir Archibald, 1899: 118
15. Norcliffe of Langton, M.A., Charles Best, editor, ''The Visitation of Yorkshire, 1563-64'' by William Flower, Norroy King of Arms, London, 1881, p.294 and footnotes