Edward Balliol Renounces Scottish Crown
The 20th of January 1356 AD
Like father like son. John de Balliol was king of Scotland from 1292 to 1296 before he lost control of his kingdom and was of no further use to Edward I who had in effect gifted it to him. John’s heir Edward lasted rather longer as titular monarch, and at least he had the distinction of taking Scotland by force, his army of invasion routing the Earl of Mar at Dupplin Moor in Perthshire in August 1332, but his effective reign was equally short.
Dupplin Moor was his highpoint: soon after his coronation at Scone the following month the new king had to flee ignominiously to safety in England, legend having it he was near naked and his horse without a saddle. Attempts to return to power continued with varying degrees of tenuous success for many years, his hopes of a permanent hold on the crown at their strongest after David II was taken prisoner at Neville’s Cross in 1346. Even David’s 11 years as an English captive would not see Balliol truly triumphant again, however, and before David was ransomed his aged rival gave up the fight: on January 20 1356 he renounced his claim to the Scottish throne in favour of Edward III of England. In exchange he was granted a pension from that monarch that allowed Balliol to live in peaceful obscurity south of the border until his death in Doncaster a few years later.
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