Edinburgh such a thing did not then exist. There was only the crown, which Edward afterwards took from Baliol and presented as a votive offering at the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket. Edward was so little ashamed of the property he annexed that he had an inventory made of it, and those who wish may still see the list-which consists chiefly of plate and jewellery. It is possible some of these articles bore the royal arms of Scotland-which might explain the complaints about the regalia. It is interesting to read of some of the items: unus ciphus de ovo griffini fractus in toto argento munitus,' and ‘una nux cum pede argentia deaurata fracta.' We find a reference to these in the Scotichronicon: Hic rex sic totam Scotiam fecit sibi notam But Edward appropriated Scottish property which was to represent them. The chief scenes of the war which Early was being fought out between England and Scotland were History laid elsewhere-chiefly in the neighbourhood of Stirling, where the three great battles of Stirling Bridge, Falkirk, and Bannockburn were fought. But if the actual struggle was fought out elsewhere, the taking of Edinburgh Castle by Randolph is one of the most picturesque episodes in the war. The Governor of the Castle was Piers Leland, a Gascon, but the garrison, suspecting him of a desire to treat with the Scots, imprisoned him. Randolph was determined to win this important stronghold, but did not quite see how to do it, when William Frank came to the rescue. Frank had been one of the Scottish garrison before the Castle had been taken by the English. His lady-love lived in the Grassmarket-a more pleasing abode then than now-and as he was unable to see her during the day, he used to clamber down the Castle Rock at night. Practice having made him perfect in this achievement, he offered to guide Randolph and a picked body of men by the path he knew so well. It was a distinctly risky experiment, but Randolph thought it well worth trying. An unpleasant incident occurred as they were quietly climbing up the rock. An English soldier dislodged a large stone, which he rolled down almost on the top of them, shouting, Aha! I see you well.' They feared all was discovered, but had sufficient presence of mind to crouch down, making no sound, and to their great relief discovered the English soldier had been trying to alarm his comrades as a diversion. They got up without further misadventure, and climbed over the wall successfully by means of scaling-ladders. Frank went first to show the way, then Sir Andrew Gray, and Randolph himself was the third. Once within the walls, the taking of the Castle was a comparatively simple matter, as the English were all asleep and unarmed, with the exception of the sentries, who were unable to make any effective resistance. This was in 1312. The 6 Edinburgh imprisoned governor, Leland, gave some colour to the suspicions of his garrison by entering the Scottish service. Barbour tells us that Bruce created him Viscount of Edinburgh, but seems to have distrusted him as a renegade, and eventually he declared that Leland had an English heart, and resorted to the drastic measure of ordering him to be 'hangit and drawen.' We find Bruce holding a Parliament at Holyrood in 1327, and his last Parliament was held in Edinburgh in 1328. But even then Edinburgh was far from being considered a town of much importance except from a military point of view, and its extreme accessibility from England made the castle not altogether as desirable for a royal residence as the great strength of its position might lead one to infer. 6 It was in Edinburgh that Edward Baliol held his Parliament of the Disinherited Barons' in 1333. The Scots retained no record of this Parliament, but this is compensated for by the immensely long account found in the English records. The Church had loyally supported Bruce in his struggle with England, but we find seven prelates, and among them the Bishop of Dunkeld and the Abbot of Inchaffray, attending this Parliament and acknowledging Edward Baliol as King of Scotland and Edward III. of England as Lord Paramount. Four representative barons are next mentioned, viz. Patrick Dunbar, Earl of March, the Earl of Athole, Lord Bellmont (or Beaumont), who, like the Earl of Athole, was connected with the Comyns, and Richard Talbot, who called himself Earl of Mar-probably he had been created earl, by Edward Baliol. After these great barons there were others: et aliis quamplurimis baronibus magnatibus proceribus et hominibus tam clericis quam laicis dicti regni Scotia.' The business seems to have been carried through under the direction of Anglo-Norman lawyers. Apart altogether from the favourable nature of the terms—to England—there is the indirect evidence of the involved and highly technical language. It is Early hard at first to be absolutely clear as to the meaning History of all this, but it resolves itself in the end into two main conditions, viz. that Edward Baliol (and other Scottish kings after him) should hold the Scottish crown merely as a vassal of the King of England and should acknowledge the suzerainty of England; and secondly, that Baliol should give some tangible expression of his gratitude to Edward for helping him to gain the Scottish crown, and that this should take the form of a rent charge of two thousand 'librata' with so much Scottish land as security. The town and district of Berwick-onTweed were then handed over to Edward. So much was sanctioned by Parliament, and Edward Balio on his own responsibility proceeded to complete the two thousand 'librate' by adding the town, castle, and county of Roxburgh, Jedburgh, Peebles, Dumfries, and the Lothians. If England held sovereignty over the south of Scotland and suzerainty over the rest, it seemed as if Scotland would become a vassal state. But the Scots could not give up their independence without a struggle. In 1337 a force, headed by Guy, Count of Namur, landed at Berwick and marched on Edinburgh to the help of the English. The Castle at that time was quite incapable of adequate defence, so the Earl of Moray led the Scottish troops out to the Boroughmuir to await the arrival of the English. A knight who followed the Count of Namur challenged any Scot to fight with him. The challenge was accepted by a man called Richard Shaw, and both the combatants fought with such determination that each killed his opponent. When the armour of the dead combatants was removed it was discovered-to the considerable amazement of every one-that this adventurous stranger was a woman. What were her motives in following the English to battle, and especially in challenging a Scottish adversary, remained always a mystery. The battle Edinburgh seemed to be won by the English when the unexpected arrival of William de Douglas changed the result and the English fled to Edinburgh itself. They retreated in fair order through St. Mary's Wynd, but their retreat was cut off by another party of Scots led by David de Anand. After fighting gallantly they surrendered, and were allowed to go free provided they promised never again to bear arms against King David. In the following year Edward rebuilt and fortified Edinburgh Castle. But if the English held the principal strongholds the Scots were tolerably successful in their own methods of warfare, which are described so graphically by Froissart. The exploits of Alexander Ramsay are specially interesting. He raised the siege of Dunbar and then concealed himself and his followers in a cave near Hawthornden, and made raids on the English whenever he got a suitable opportunity. Yet in spite of the courage and determination of the Scots it seemed as if the work of Bruce was to be undone. Knowing as we do the military skill of Edward III. and the Black Prince, we can see that the danger was even greater than it appeared at the time. One thing saved Scotlandthe outbreak of war between England and France in 1338. After that fortress after fortress surrendered to the Scots. Edinburgh was won by an ingenious stratagem. A Scottish captain, Walter Curry, appeared at the Castle and told the governor he had brought a cargo of wine from an English vessel. He skilfully upset the wine casks, and some Scots under the command of William de Douglas, who had been concealed near at hand, rushed out of hiding and made themselves masters of the Castle. This was the last important stronghold held by the English, and when the Scots took possession of it in the name of King David, the invaders were forced to retreat. Soon after David himself and Queen Johanna landed in Scotland. One would have supposed that David had |