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| Alexander II | |
|---|---|
_i.JPG) Great Seal of Alexander II | |
| King of Alba (Scotland) | |
| Reign | 4 December 1214 – 6 July 1249 |
| Coronation | 6 December 1214 |
| Predecessor | William I |
| Successor | Alexander III |
| Born | 24 August 1198 Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland |
| Died | 6 July 1249(1249-07-06) (aged 50) Kerrera, Scotland |
| Burial | |
| Spouses | |
| Issue | Alexander III of Scotland Marjorie (illegitimate) |
| House | Dunkeld |
| Father | William the Lion |
| Mother | Ermengarde de Beaumont |
Alexander II (Medieval Gaelic:Alaxandair mac Uilliam;Modern Gaelic:Alasdair mac Uilleim; nicknamed "the Peaceful" by modern historians;[1] 24 August 1198 – 6 July 1249) wasKing of Alba (Scotland) from 1214 until his death. He concluded theTreaty of York (1237) which defined the boundary between England and Scotland, largely unchanged today.
Alexander was born atHaddington, East Lothian, the only son of the Scottish kingWilliam the Lion andErmengarde de Beaumont.[2] He was forced to spend time in England under the terms of theTreaty of Falaise, and (John of England knighted him atClerkenwell Priory in 1213) before he returned home. He succeeded to the kingdom on the death of his father on 4 December 1214, being crowned atScone on 6 December the same year.
At the time of his accession, his sistersIsabella andMargaret had been sent to England as hostages to King John.[3] He appealed to John through theMagna Carta, which promised to deal with the rights of Alexander and his family.[4]
In 1215, the year after his accession, the clansMeic Uilleim andMacHeths, inveterate enemies of the Scottish crown, broke into revolt, but loyalist forces speedily quelled the insurrection. In the same year, Alexander joined theEnglish barons in their struggle against King John of England and led an army into theKingdom of England in support of their cause.[5] This action led to the sacking ofBerwick-upon-Tweed as John's forces ravaged the north.
The Scottish forces reached the south coast of England at the port ofDover where in September 1216, Alexander paid homage for his lands in England to the pretenderLouis VIII of France, chosen by the barons to replace John. After John died, the papacy and theEnglish aristocracy changed their allegiance to John's nine-year-old son,Henry III, forcing the French and the Scots armies to return home.[6] Peace between Henry, Louis and Alexander followed on 12 September 1217 with theTreaty of Kingston. Diplomacy further strengthened the reconciliation by the marriage of Alexander to Henry's sisterJoan on 18 June or 25 June 1221.[7]
In 1222Jon Haraldsson, the last native Scandinavian to beJarl of Orkney, was indirectly implicated in the burning ofAdam of Melrose at his hall atHalkirk by local farmers when this part ofCaithness was stillpart of the Kingdom of Norway. A contemporary chronicler,Boethius the Dane blamed Haraldsson for the bishop's death. After thejarl swore oaths to his own innocence, Alexander took the opportunity to assert his claims to the mainland part of theOrkney jarldom. He visited Caithness in person and hanged the majority of the farmers while mutilating the rest. His actions were applauded byPope Honorius III, and a quarter of a century later, he was continuing to receive commendation from theCatholic Church, as in the reward of abull fromPope Celestine IV.
_ii.JPG)
During the same period, Alexander subjugated the hitherto semi-independent district ofArgyll (much smaller than the modern area by that name, it only comprisedCraignish,Ardscotnish,Glassary,Glenary andCowal;Lorn was a separate province, whileKintyre andKnapdale were part ofSuðreyar). Royal forces crushed a revolt inGalloway in 1235 without difficulty;[6] nor did an invasion attempted soon afterwards by its exiled leaders meet with success. Soon afterwards, a claim for homage from Henry of England drew forth from Alexander a counter-claim to the northern English counties. The two kingdoms, however, settled this dispute by a compromise in 1237.[5] This was the Treaty of York, which defined the boundary between the two kingdoms as running between theSolway Firth (in the west) and the mouth of theRiver Tweed (in the east).
Alexander's first wife, Joan, died in March 1238 inEssex. Alexander married his second wife,Marie de Coucy, the following year on 15 May 1239. Together they had one son,Alexander III, born in 1241.
A threat of invasion by Henry in 1243 for a time interrupted the friendly relations between the two countries; but the prompt action of Alexander in anticipating his attack, and the disinclination of the English barons for war, compelled him tomake peace the next year atNewcastle.
Alexander now turned his attention to securing theWestern Isles, which were still part of theNorwegian domain ofSuðreyjar.[5] He repeatedly attempted negotiations and purchase but without success.[6] Alexander set out to conquer these islands but died on the way in 1249.[8] This dispute over the Western Isles, also known as theHebrides, was not resolved until 1266 whenMagnus VI of Norway ceded them to Scotland along with theIsle of Man.[9]
The English chroniclerMatthew Paris in hisChronica Majora described Alexander as red-haired:
[King John] taunted King Alexander, and because he was red-headed, sent word to him, saying, "so shall we hunt the red fox-cub from his lairs".[10]
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Alexander attempted to persuadeEwen, the son ofDuncan,Lord of Argyll (andKing of the Isles), to sever his allegiance toHaakon IV of Norway. When Ewen rejected these attempts, Alexander sailed forth to compel him, but on the way he suffered a fever at the Isle ofKerrera in theInner Hebrides.[5] He died there in 1249 and was buried atMelrose Abbey.
TheHákonar saga Hákonarsonar records additional information, in that before attempting to invade the Isles, where Ewen held power, he was supposedly warned in a dream bySt. Columba,St. Olaf andSt. Magnus to desist. King Ewen of the Isles' status as Monarch had been confirmed by Haakon IV and was disputed by Alexander. The episode might be emblematic of a broader desire on the part of Alexander to bring theKingdom of the Isles fully into the power of the Scottish Crown. In any case, when he finally decided to continue in his endeavour, despite the dream, and having been advised against it by his men, he died shortly afterwards. The incident was portrayed in the saga asdivine punishment. His body was then transported back to the mainland.[12][13]
He was succeeded by his son, the seven-year-oldAlexander III of Scotland.
Alexander II had two wives:1.Joan of England (22 July 1210 – 4 March 1238), who was the eldest legitimate daughter and third child of John of England andIsabella of Angoulême. She and Alexander II married on 21 June 1221, atYork Minster. Alexander was 23; Joan was 11. They had no children. Joan died inEssex in 1238 and was buried atTarrant Crawford Abbey inDorset;2.Marie de Coucy, who became mother ofAlexander III of Scotland.
He also had an illegitimate daughter, Marjorie, who marriedAlan Durward.
Alexander II has been depicted in historical novels:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alexander II".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 563.Parsons, John Carmi (1977).The Court and Household of Eleanor of Castile in 1290. Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Alexander II of Scotland Born: 24 August 1198 Died: 6 July 1249 | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Scotland 1214–1249 | Succeeded by |
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