Alexander II of Scotland

Alexander II (Medieval Gaelic: Alaxandair mac Uilleim; Modern Gaelic: Alasdair mac Uilleim) (1198–1249) was King of Scotland from 1214 until his death. He was the only son of King William the Lion and Ermengarde de Beaumont, and inherited the throne at the age of sixteen. His early reign was shaped by the volatile politics of the British Isles, including his support for the English barons against John, King of England during the First Barons' War. Although his involvement was halted by John’s death in 1216, Alexander strengthened his position through diplomacy, marrying Joan of England, John’s daughter, in 1221. This deepened ties between the Scottish and English crowns.

Domestically, Alexander endeavoured to consolidate royal authority and suppress internal dissent. He crushed uprisings in Ross, Moray and Galloway, reinforcing his control over territories that had long resisted central rule. His reign also saw efforts to extend Scottish influence westward, particularly in Argyll and the Hebrides, where Norse influence remained strong. Alexander’s policies reflected a will to secure Scotland’s frontiers and assert sovereignty over contested regions, striking a balance between military campaigns and negotiated settlements. His government laid the foundations for stability after the turbulence of his father's long reign and delivered a stronger monarchy for his successor.

Relations with England remained a central concern throughout Alexander’s reign. After years of intermittent tension, he concluded the Treaty of York in 1237 with Henry III of England, which defined the Anglo‑Scottish border in terms that have largely endured to the present day. His second marriage, to Marie de Coucy in 1239, further strengthened Scotland's ties to continental Europe. Alexander’s final years were dominated by his campaign to bring the Hebrides under Scottish control, a project cut short when he died suddenly on the island of Kerrera in 1249. He was succeeded by his son, Alexander III, whose equally long reign would see a continuation of his father’s ambitions and secure Scotland’s position as a kingdom distinct from—if not totally independent of—its powerful neighbour.

Alexander, son of King William the Lion and Ermengarde de Beaumont, was born on 24 August 1198 at Haddington in Lothian.^[2]. He descended directly from Crínán (d. 1045), lay abbot of Dunkeld, and the progenitor of the House of Dunkeld. Crínán's son, Donnchadh mac Crìonain (Duncan I), killed in battle by Macbeth in 1040, was the father of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (Malcolm III). Malcolm was posthumously given the nickname Canmore (Cenn Mór, "Great Chief") in a thirteenth‑century poem, a usage later adopted by John of Fordun in the fourteenth century, and in turn by Walter Bower in the fifteenth. The epithet subsequently became established in historical writing, and Malcolm came to be regarded by later chroniclers and modern historians alike as the forebear of the conventionally defined Canmore kings.^[3] Malcolm married twice. His first marriage, to the Norse noblewoman Ingibjǫrg Finnsdóttir (d. before 1068), produced a son, Donnchad mac Máel Coluim (Duncan II). The pretenders, the meic Uilleim (MacWilliams), stemmed from Duncan's line.

Alexander descended from Malcolm through his second marriage to Margaret of Wessex, an English princess, who produced six sons and two daughters. Of the sons, three became kings, but only the youngest, David I, had a legitimate heir—Henry, Earl of Huntingdon. Henry died before his father but left two legitimate sons who succeeded him as Malcolm IV, who died childless, and William the Lion. William was provided with the Lion epithet posthumously. By the time of Alexander's birth, succession by direct descent of the firstborn male, primogeniture, appeared to have been settled. Even King William's predecessor, his brother Malcolm IV—a twelve-year-old minor—had succeeded to the throne without difficulty.^[4] Yet, William seemed to have doubts about Alexander's eventual succession.^[5] Consequently, at a council of nobles on 12 October 1201, he obtained their support to recognise the three‑year‑old Alexander as heir.^[6] This sidelined William's younger brother, Earl David of Huntingdon, who had been heir presumptive since 1165. ^[7] Notably absent from the council, David did not acknowledge Alexander as heir until 1205.^[8]

Anglo-Scottish relations deteriorated sharply in the spring of 1209.^[11] Talks originally scheduled for Newcastle were instead held at Norham Castle on the English bank of the River Tweed, but concluded without agreement on 23 April.^[12] By late July, both William and John, King of England, mustered their armies at Norham, each believing the other had acted provocatively.^[13] A contemporary Scottish source provided a striking estimate of John’s forces, emphasising the scale of his military display and its clearly intimidating intent. ^[14] The treaty was concluded on 7 August 1209 and was highly unfavourable to Scotland. William tried to conceal some of its provisions, which required him to reaffirm his homage to King John for his English lands, to pay 15,000 marks, and to deliver high‑ranking hostages. ^[15] His son Alexander, approaching his eleventh birthday, was compelled to perform homage to John not only for his eventual inheritance of English lands but also for his future kingdom, and acknowledging John as his overlord. The terms also made clear that William’s daughters, Margaret and Isabella, already in John’s charge, were to be provided for a future marriage arrangement with John's two young sons. The prospective marriages involved various scenarios depending on the sisters' and the brothers' survivability. The daughters' status, however, was ambiguous; despite their undoubtedly good treatment at John's court, they were in effect 'quasi-hostages', unable to move around freely.^[16] Between 1212 and 1214, the sisters are recorded travelling with the royal court, on occasion in the company of the queen, Isabella of Angoulême, and sometimes with Eleanor of Brittany, who was also being held in opulent confinement.^[17]

In January 1211, the twelve-year-old Alexander witnessed the second MacWilliam (Meic Uilleim) rebellion led by Guthred, the son of Domnall (Donald), the original dissenter.^[15] Although the rebel forces fragmented by autumn, Guthred himself evaded capture.^[18] As the rebellion entered its second year, William's struggle to quell the uprising may have raised concerns about Alexander’s succession. These fears, perhaps compounded by the memories of 1195, when William, with no male heir, sought to remove his younger brother David from the succession in favour of his daughter, were successfully opposed by his barons. ^{[note 1][19]}

The ongoing instability and William's apparent inability to resolve it were probably the reasons for his need of John's help. In response, John's harsh terms resulted in the humiliating treaty of 8 February 1212 (Ash Wednesday)—again at Norham Castle—significantly strengthened John’s domination. The agreement now dictated that Alexander would marry only at John’s discretion and that both William and Alexander had acknowledged John and his heir, Henry, as their overlords.^[20] Scotland was effectively reduced to a vassal kingdom. William had thus conceded to John the right to arrange the marriages of three out of four of his legitimate children. While the treaty omitted a specific mention of John’s daughter, Joan, it may have been understood that she would be Alexander's future bride.^[21] Within a month of the treaty's ratification, Alexander travelled to London and was knighted along with thirteen Scottish nobles at Clerkenwell Priory on 4 March 1212.^{[22] [23]} He returned to Scotland, escorted by John’s mercenaries, to finalise the hunt for Guthred MacWilliam. Ultimately, the rebellion ended when Guthred was betrayed by his own followers and delivered to Alexander at Kincardine Castle, where he was executed.^[24]

In 1215, the year after his accession, the clans Meic Uilleim and MacHeths, inveterate enemies of the Scottish crown, broke into revolt, but loyalist forces speedily quelled the insurrection. In the same year, Alexander joined the English barons in their struggle against King John of England and led an army into the Kingdom of England in support of their cause.^[25] This action led to the sacking of Berwick-upon-Tweed as John's forces ravaged the north.

The Scottish forces reached the south coast of England at the port of Dover, where in September 1216, Alexander paid homage for his lands in England to the pretender Louis VIII of France, chosen by the barons to replace John. After John died, the papacy and the English aristocracy changed their allegiance to John's nine-year-old son, Henry III, forcing the French and the Scots armies to return home.^[26] Peace between Henry and Louis was agreed on 12 September 1217 with the Treaty of Kingston which was ratified on 20 September at Lambeth at a more formal gathering.^[27] Diplomacy further strengthened the reconciliation by the marriage of Alexander to Henry's sister Joan on 18 June or 25 June 1221.^[28]

In 1222 Jon Haraldsson, the last native Scandinavian to be Jarl of Orkney, was indirectly implicated in the burning of Adam of Melrose at his hall at Halkirk by local farmers when this part of Caithness was still part of the Kingdom of Norway. A contemporary chronicler, Boethius the Dane blamed Haraldsson for the bishop's death. After the jarl swore oaths to his own innocence, Alexander took the opportunity to assert his claims to the mainland part of the Orkney jarldom. He visited Caithness in person and hanged the majority of the farmers while mutilating the rest. His actions were applauded by Pope Honorius III, and a quarter of a century later, he was continuing to receive commendation from the Catholic Church, as in the reward of a bull from Pope Celestine IV.

During the same period, Alexander subjugated the hitherto semi-independent district of Argyll (much smaller than the modern area by that name, it only comprised Craignish, Ardscotnish, Glassary, Glenary and Cowal; Lorn was a separate province, while Kintyre and Knapdale were part of Suðreyar). Royal forces crushed a revolt in Galloway in 1235 without difficulty;^[26] nor did an invasion attempted soon afterwards by its exiled leaders meet with success. Soon afterwards, a claim for homage from Henry of England elicited from Alexander a counterclaim to the northern English counties. The two kingdoms, however, settled this dispute by a compromise in 1237.^[25] This was the Treaty of York, which defined the boundary between the two kingdoms as running between the Solway Firth (in the west) and the mouth of the River Tweed (in the east).

Alexander's first wife, Joan, died in March 1238 in Essex. Alexander married his second wife, Marie de Coucy, the following year on 15 May 1239. Together they had one son, Alexander III, born in 1241.

A threat of invasion by Henry in 1243 for a time interrupted the friendly relations between the two countries. Still, the prompt action of Alexander in anticipating his attack, and the disinclination of the English barons for war, compelled him to make peace the next year at Newcastle.

Alexander now turned his attention to securing the Western Isles, which were still part of the Norwegian domain of Suðreyjar.^[25] He repeatedly attempted negotiations and purchase but without success.^[26] Alexander set out to conquer these islands but died on the way in 1249.^[29] This dispute over the Western Isles, also known as the Hebrides, was not resolved until 1266 when Magnus VI of Norway ceded them to Scotland along with the Isle of Man.^[30]

The English chronicler Matthew Paris in his Chronica Majora described Alexander as red-haired:

[King John] taunted King Alexander, and because he was red-headed, sent word to him, saying, "so shall we hunt the red fox-cub from his lairs".^[31]

Alexander attempted to persuade Ewen, the son of Duncan, Lord of Argyll (and King of the Isles), to sever his allegiance to Haakon IV of Norway. When Ewen rejected these attempts, Alexander sailed forth to compel him, but on the way he suffered a fever at the Isle of Kerrera in the Inner Hebrides.^[25] He died there in 1249 and was buried at Melrose Abbey.

The Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar records additional information, in that before attempting to invade the Isles, where Ewen held power, he was supposedly warned in a dream by St. Columba, St. Olaf and St. Magnus to desist. King Ewen of the Isles' status as Monarch had been confirmed by Haakon IV and was disputed by Alexander. The episode might be emblematic of a broader desire on the part of Alexander to bring the Kingdom of the Isles fully into the power of the Scottish Crown. In any case, when he finally decided to continue in his endeavour, despite the dream, and having been advised against it by his men, he died shortly afterwards. The incident was portrayed in the saga as divine punishment. His body was then transported back to the mainland.^[33][34]

He was succeeded by his son, the seven-year-old Alexander III of Scotland.

Alexander II had two wives: 1. Joan of England (22 July 1210 – 4 March 1238), who was the eldest legitimate daughter and third child of John of England and Isabella of Angoulême. She and Alexander II married on 21 June 1221, at York Minster. Alexander was 23; Joan was 11. They had no children. Joan died in Essex in 1238 and was buried at Tarrant Crawford Abbey in Dorset; 2. Marie de Coucy, who became mother of Alexander III of Scotland.

He also had an illegitimate daughter, Marjorie, who married Alan Durward.

Alexander II has been depicted in historical novels:

• Sword of State (1999) by Nigel Tranter. The novel depicts the friendship between Alexander II and Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar. "Their friendship withstands treachery, danger and rivalry";^[35]
• Child of the Phoenix (1992) by Barbara Erskine;
• The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, Day the Second: Third Story.

• Alexander II at the official website of the British monarchy
• "Alexander II" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
• Chambers, Robert; Thomson, Thomas Napier (1857). "Alexander II" . A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen . Vol. 1. Glasgow: Blackie and Son. pp. 47–49 – via Wikisource.
• Worcester Annals
• Rotuli Litterarum Patencium