SOURCE EXERCISES ON THE REIGN OF KING JOHN
Source exercises on the reign of King John
Source A: King John does homage to Edward I on 26 December 1292
On 26th December at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the hall of the king of
England’s palace within the castle…, the honourable prince John Balliol king
of Scotland, did homage in person to the king of England as lord superior of
the kingdom of Scotland, for the kingdom and all that belongs to it, saying the
words of homage himself in French: ‘My lord, Lord Edward, lord superior of
the realm of Scotland, I, John Balliol, king of Scots, hereby become your
liegeman for the whole kingdom of Scotland with all that belongs to it and
goes with it and I hold…that kingdom…of you and your heirs, the kings of
England; and I will keep faith and fealty to you and your hei rs, the kings of
England, in matters of life and limb and of earthly honour against all mortal
men’.
How fully does Source A explain the difficulties which faced John as king
of Scots from 1292 to 1296?
Task
Complete each of following paragraphs to buil d up a full answer to the
question.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The oath clearly shows that John’s position as king was quite unlike
that of any previous king of Scots. (Give details.)
John found it particularly difficult to resist the interference of Edward
within Scotland because he had sworn a solemn oath of homage and
fealty to the English king. It would be very dangerous to defy this oath
because…
Under the terms of the oath John accepted Edward as lord superior of
Scotland. This meant that Edward was within his rights to interf ere in
Scottish affairs, often to the humiliation of John. (Give details of such
interference.)
In the oath John swore to ‘keep faith and fealty to you…in matters of
life and limb…against all mortal men’. When John subsequently sealed
a treaty with the king of France in 1295 he was clearly in breach of his
oath. This gave Edward a strong justification to oust John as king.
Whilst the source gives a full explanation of certain of the difficulties which
John faced as king of Scots it does not refer specifica lly to two others:
1.
As lord superior of Scotland Edward made military demands of King
John. (Give details.) …These demands seem to have split the Scottish
magnates, with many refusing to allow John to follow the instructions
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SOURCE EXERCISES ON THE REIGN OF KING JOHN
of the overlord. It appears then that John was sidelined within his own
government and his authority diminished. (Give details.)
2.
The source also makes no explicit reference to the fact that since
Edward had made John king, it was within his powers to remove him
also. In July 1296 Edward confronted John at…........... and……………
Overall it can be seen then that whilst Source A offers some explanation of
the difficulties faced by John as king of Scots it does not refer to all the
problems. The source offers a partial explanation.
Source B
King John renounces his homage to Edward I, 5 April 1296
Since you and others of your kingdom have committed repeatedly and
notoriously by violent force intolerable injuries, insults and oppressions and
severe damages against us and the inhabitants of our kingdom and against
God and justice... and now you have come to the frontiers of our kingdom in a
warlike array with a vast crowd of soldiers… and have crossed into our
kingdom and brutally committed acts of slaughter and burning… we cannot
any more endure these injuries, insults and grievous wrongs… Nor can we
remain in your fealty and homage (which it may be said were extorted by
extreme coercion on your part). We renounce the fealty and homage which we
have done to you.
How useful is Source B as a description of Edward’s treatment of the
Scottish kingdom in 1296?
Task
In answering the above question think first about each of the following
smaller questions. They will help you build up a full answer.
Authorship
This source is John’s letter renouncing homage to Edward.
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In what way is John a useful witness?
In what ways is John a dangerous witness? Might he have a motive to
mislead or exaggerate or to be economical with the truth?
Do you think this motive has influenced John’s description or do you
find the description an honest one?
The source says that the homage and fealty done to Edward by John was
‘extorted by extreme coercion’.
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© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2009
SOURCE EXERCISES ON THE REIGN OF KING JOHN
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Is this a fair claim by John, and if so why?
Is it an unfair claim by John, in which case in what way is it unfai r?
Why might John make this claim now? Who might he be trying to
justify himself to? Whose support might he be trying to win?
Why would it not have been sufficient for John just to say that he had
had enough of Edward’s meddling in Scottish affairs and th erefore he
was withdrawing his homage?
Content
The source says that Edward’s treatment of the Scottish kingdom was brutal,
warlike and full of ‘grievous wrongs’.
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
Is this impression fair? Was Edward as ruthless as described? Give a
detailed example to support your answer.
Were Edward’s actions a grievous wrong? Give details.
Date
The source is dated 5 April 1296.
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Which of Edward’s actions had happened by 5 April 1296 that could
be described as ‘brutal acts of slaughter and burning’?
Which action had not yet taken place which might be described as
‘warlike’? Give details.
Overall do you consider the source a useful description of Edward’s treatment
of the Scottish kingdom in 1296?
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