WHO SHOULD BE THE KING OF SCOTS?
Who should be the King of Scots? Family tree exercise
 In 1290 the accepted heir to the throne of Scotland, Margaret, Maid of
Norway, died. This marked the end of the blood line of Alexander III.
Fourteen claimants to the throne of Scotland came forward (i ncluding
Edward I of England). Each of the competitors believed that they had a
legitimate claim to the throne.
 However, the principal competitors were John Balliol and Robert Bruce,
who descended from David, Earl of Huntingdon.
 Despite this, arguments put forward by all claimants were acknowledged
and discussed before a decision was made. In particular, the arguments of
John Hastings and Count Floris V of Holland were carefully considered.
© The Wars of Scotland by Michael Brown, Edinburgh University P ress
www.euppublishing.com
Look carefully at the genealogical table for the royal house of Scotland and
use the information in the table and in the PowerPoint presentation to
complete the following tasks.
WARS OF INDEPENDENCE (H, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
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WHO SHOULD BE THE KING OF SCOTS?
Task 1: Who am I?
Read each of the following statements carefully and decide who is speaking:
I am the great grandson of the David,
Earl of Huntingdon. I believe that I have
the strongest claim to the throne as I am
a descendent of Margaret, the eldest
daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon.
I am the grandson of David, Earl of
Huntingdon. My mother was the second
daughter of Earl David. That makes me
a generation closer to a king of Scotland
than my competitors for the throne.
Therefore I believe that I have the
strongest claim to the throne.
I am a descendent of Ada, the youngest
sister of David, Earl of Huntingdon. This
makes me a direct descendent of King
David I. I should be the next king of
Scotland as David, Earl of Huntingdon,
gave away his rights to inherit. However, I
cannot find the documents to prove that the
right to the throne was passed on to my
family line.
My family holds land in Scotland, England
and France. I reluctantly paid homage to
Edward at Norham; I was one of the last of
the competitors to do so.
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WARS OF INDEPENDENCE (H, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
I am the grandson of King David I,
who ruled over Scotland from 1124 to
1153. I died in 1219. I was never king
of Scotland. Both of my older brothers
ruled the kingdom.
I am the great-grandson of David, Earl
of Huntingdon. I am the grandson of his
youngest daughter, Ada. I believe that
Scotland should be divided between
myself and the two other claimants who
have descended from Earl David of
Huntingdon
My family was granted land in
Scotland by King David I. I am the
Lord of Annandale and my son is
the Earl of Carrick. I also hold land
in England. My family is wealthy
and powerful.
I changed my argument to agree with
Hastings that Scotland should be
divided when it looked as though my
claim might not be successful.
WHO SHOULD BE THE KING OF SCOTS?
Task 2: Who should be king?
Using your family tree and the information in ‘Events’, copy and complete
the following table. Working with a partner, decide how strong you think
each claim to the throne was. Rate each claim from 1 to 5 (1 = weak, 5 =
strong).
Claimant
Reason for claim
Strength of
claim (1-5)
John Balliol
Robert Bruce
John Hastings
Count Floris IV
Task 3: The decision
Edward I eventually ruled in favour of John Balliol.
Your task is to write a short speech for Edward to give to the court, justifying
his decision. You must explain the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why
Why
Why
Why
you
you
you
you
have
have
have
have
chosen John Balliol.
rejected the claim of Robert Bruce .
rejected the claim of John Hastings .
rejected the claim of Count Floris V .
WARS OF INDEPENDENCE (H, HISTORY)
© Learning and Teaching Scotland 2011
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