The Scottish Wars of Independence Continued from Page One So, Balliol was crowned in 1292, and was faced with constant pressure from Edward to acknowledge him as his overlord. To Balliol's credit he refused to do so. In 1295, Edward gave the Scots an ultimatum. He wanted every man of rank to attend him on his forthcoming invasion of France. This was one step too far and the Scots instead signed a treaty of mutual aid with France. In consequence, Edward invaded Scotland instead. The invasion of 1296 saw the beginning of the Wars of Independence. Scotland would now be in almost constant conflict with England for the next 300 years. To put this in perspective it should be understood that the two nations had been on fairly friendly terms for the preceding century. Even when there was conflict it was fairly low key. Edward began his invasion at Berwick. The town was besieged and after a short struggle, the town was sacked and the inhabitants put to the sword, literally. A group of Flemish merchants were burnt to death in their guild hall on the express orders of Edward. The numbers of dead caused severe problems and they were ordered to be thrown into the sea, or into deep pits. The English army stayed at Berwick while a probing force was sent towards Dunbar. There they routed the main Scottish army, back from raiding the north of England. After the defeat of the Scottish army, Edward went on a progress through Scotland. On the way, he took the Scottish piece of the true cross, the black rood, the Stone of Destiny (or at least what he was told was the stone!) and stripped Balliol of his heraldic arms. Having thus secured Scotland, he went south again. Why you may ask did the Scots not put up much of a fight? Well the simple answer to that is they hadn't fought a serious battle since 1235, when Alexander II subjugated Galloway. The last battle had been at Largs in 1265, but that wasn't really a battle being more of a skirmish on the shore with the Norwegians. In consequence the Scots were badly equipped to face Edward, and an English army which had fought many times on the continent. They were moreover badly equipped to deal with the heavy chivalric horse and archers which English armies were equipped with. Having subjugated Scotland, Edward now demanded that all nobles and landholders swear fealty to him at either Berwick or to their local justiciar or Sheriff. The names of all those who took this oath were then put on a list, this list is now known as the Ragman Rolls. One notable exception to this was the son of a Lanarkshire knight named Malcolm Wallace and his brother William. Next | Back Links: Famous Scot: Alexander III on GOTC Famous Scot: Robert the Bruce on GOTC Robert the Bruce's Heart on GOTC Robert the Bruce Murders John Comyn on GOTC Famous Scot: William Wallace on GOTC Sword of William Wallace on GOTC Death of William Wallace on GOTC