Alexander II of Scotland

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Alexander II
King of Scotland
Reign4 December 1214 – 6 July 1249
Coronation6 December 1214
PredecessorWilliam I
SuccessorAlexander III
Born24 August 1198
Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland
Died6 July 1249(1249-07-06) (aged 50)
Kerrera, Scotland
Burial
Melrose Abbey
Spouses
Joan of England
​
​
(m. 1221; died 1238)​
​
(m. 1239)​
IssueAlexander III of Scotland
Marjorie (illegitimate)
HouseDunkeld
FatherWilliam the Lion
MotherErmengarde de Beaumont

Alexander II (

King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of York
(1237) which defined the boundary between England and Scotland, virtually unchanged today.

Early life

Alexander was born at

Scone
on 6 December the same year.

King of Scots

In 1215, the year after his accession, the clans

Meic Uilleim and MacHeths, inveterate enemies of the Scottish crown, broke into revolt, but loyalist forces speedily quelled the insurrection. In the same year, Alexander joined the English barons in their struggle against King John of England, and led an army into the Kingdom of England in support of their cause.[2] This action led to the sacking of Berwick-upon-Tweed
as John's forces ravaged the north.

The Scottish forces reached the south coast of England at the port of

Joan on 18 June or 25 June 1221.[4]

In 1222

jarl swore oaths to his own innocence, Alexander took the opportunity to assert his claims to the mainland part of the Orkney jarldom. He visited Caithness in person, and hanged the majority of the farmers, while mutilating the rest. His actions were applauded by Pope Honorius III, and a quarter of a century later, he was continuing to receive commendation from the Catholic Church, as in the reward of a bull from Pope Celestine IV
.

Great Seal
, enhanced as a 19th-century steel engraving. Legend: Alexander Deo rectore Rex Scottorum (Alexander, with God as his guide, king of the Scots)

During the same period, Alexander subjugated the hitherto semi-independent district of

Glenary and Cowal; Lorn was a separate province, while Kintyre and Knapdale were part of Suðreyar). Royal forces crushed a revolt in Galloway in 1235 without difficulty;[3] 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.[2] This was the Treaty of York, which defined the boundary between the two kingdoms as running between the Solway Firth (in the west) and the mouth of the River Tweed
(in the east).

Alexander's first wife, Joan, died in March 1238 in Essex. 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 to make peace the next year at Newcastle.

Alexander now turned his attention to securing the

Magnus VI of Norway ceded them to Scotland along with the Isle of Man.[6]

The English chronicler Matthew Paris in his Chronica 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.[7]

Death

Historia Anglorum). The inverted shield represents the king's death in 1249. The blazon for the arms was Or, a lion rampant and an orle fleury gules.[8][self-published source?
]

Alexander attempted to persuade

Haakon 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 of Kerrera in the Inner Hebrides.[2] He died there in 1249 and was buried at Melrose Abbey
.

The

St. Olaf and St. 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 the Kingdom 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 as divine punishment. His body was then transported back to the mainland.[9][10]

He was succeeded by his son, the seven-year-old Alexander III of Scotland.

Family

Alexander II had two wives:

1.

Tarant Crawford Abbey in Dorset
.

2. Marie de Coucy, who became mother of Alexander III of Scotland.

He also had an illegitimate daughter, Marjorie, who married Alan Durward.

Fictional portrayals

Alexander II has been depicted in historical novels:

References

  1. ^ Parsons 1977, p. 43.
  2. ^ a b c d  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alexander II.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 563.
  3. ^ a b c ""Alexander II, King of Scots 1214 – 1249", Scotland's History, BBC".
  4. ^ Chisholm 1911.
  5. ISBN 978-0-500-28987-7
    .
  6. ^ "Alexander III King of Scotland". Encyclopedia Britannica. 28 November 2017.
  7. ^ Scottish annals from English chroniclers A.D.500 to 1286, Alan Orr Anderson, Paul Watkins, 1991.
  8. ISBN 9781326256524. Retrieved 11 October 2017.[self-published source
    ]
  9. ^
  10. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 29 December 2021. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  11. ^ ""Tranter First Edition Books, Publication Timeline"".

Sources

Parsons, John Carmi (1977). The Court and Household of Eleanor of Castile in 1290. Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander II of Scotland.
Alexander II of Scotland
Born: 24 August 1198 Died: 6 July 1249
Regnal titles
Preceded by
King of Scotland

1214–1249 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander_II_of_Scotland&oldid=1220388528"