The Balliol Roll, the earliest roll of arms for
Scotland. It contains thirty-five shields of Scottish noblemen arranged
beneath the arms of Sir Edward Balliol, king of Scots (c. 1282-1364),
and was almost certainly composed for that ruler. Edward Balliol, the
last of the Anglo-Scots, was the son of John de Balliol (King John of
Scotland) and Isabella de Warenne, daughter of John de Warenne, 7th Earl
of Surrey.
In 1295, he was among the signatories of Scotland's famous
'Auld Alliance' with France, a treaty of mutual defence against England.
However, the treaty did not hold, and France failed to act as King
Edward I of England invaded Scotland and deposed King John. John was
eventually released and went to Picardy, but Edward remained in English
captivity as a guarantee for his father's good behaviour.
The year 1306
saw a dramatic political shift in Scotland with the coronation of Robert
the Bruce ending any prospect of a Balliol restoration, and three years
later, the Bruce's first parliament, held at St. Andrews, declared that
he was the lawful heir of Alexander III, disinheriting Edward in exile.
Edward now became the figurehead of a new class of nobility, later to be
known as the 'Disinherited'.
Old allies of the Balliols still exited in
Scotland, and did not fare well under the Bruce, and after the Battle of
Bannockburn many of these lords were formally disinherited. They found
their leader in Henry Beaumont, and on the death of the Bruce in 1329
and the accession of his infant son, David II , they seized their
moment. With the unofficial support of Edward I of England, Beaumont put
together an invasion-force and persuaded Edward Balliol to return with
him to Scotland.
In 1332 this force set out, landing at Fife, and after
the resounding defeat of their enemies at the Battle of Dupplin Moor,
Edward Balliol was crowned king of Scotland at Scone. However, he was a
king only in name. His supporters controlled only isolated regions, and
he was forced to draw back towards the border, closely followed by the
supporters of the Bruce. Edward Balliol took up residence in the
partially ruined fortress of Roxburgh, and wrote two open letters,
recognising Edward I of England as his feudal superior and asking him
for help.
Weeks later the fortress of Roxburgh was taken, and reportedly
Edward himself only escaped by making a hole in his bedroom wall and
finding a horse in the confusion. Edward may have been forced into
flight, but the letters had been carried to England by Henry Beaumont.
Edward I immediately declared his support for Edward Balliol, and
launched what would come to be known as the Second War of Scottish
Independence, defeating the Scots at the Battle of Halidon Hill, and
restoring Edward Balliol. However, power proved difficult to hang on to,
and with the outbreak of the Hundred Years War in 1337 Edward Balliol
found his English allies occupied elsewhere. He left Perth in 1338,
never to return, having begun the process of abdication of his crown to
Edward I. Edward gave him an annual pension of ฃ2000, and settled him on
estates near Knaresborough in Yorkshire. He died in January 1364.
The present manuscript is the only extant recorded copy of his roll of
arms. It includes Edward Balliol, and thirty-five of his supporters,
including the well-known Henry Beaumont (no. 3 here; azure, three garbs
or, banded gules) who held the earldom of Buchan (here styled Le Counte
de Bogham); Geoffrey de Moubray (no. 17; gules, a lion rampant argent,
crowned or; named here the Sr de Moubray); as well as the earls of Fife,
March, Carrick, Ross, Moray, Atholl, Strahearn, Menteith, Sutherland,
Angus, Caithness, Lennox and Mar, and a number of other influential
supporters.
It must date to the period 1332-40, and the original was
perhaps made on the coronation of Edward Balliol in 1332 or on his
formal act of homage to Edward I in June 1334.
No Scottish copy
survives, and this is most probably the copy of an interested English
herald made as an addition to document otherwise dated c. 1340. Thus,
this manuscript would appear to be written and decorated within a few
years of the creation of this roll of arms, most probably while Edward
Balliol was still struggling for power in Scotland.
It has been edited
by Sir Anthony Wagner (p. 54), and is the subject of a dedicated
publication by B. A. McAndrew (The Balliol Roll, 2002). It is, of
course, a document of great historical importance for the history of
Scotland and England alike.
The Balliol Roll
Sire Edward Bailoll Roy descoce - Or, a lion rampant within a double
tressure flory counter-flory Gules
Le conte de fyf - Gules, a lion rampant Or
Le conte de Boghn - Azure, three garbs Or banded Gules
Le conte de La Marche - Gules, a lion rampant within a bordure both
Argent charged with eight pierced cinquefoils Gules
Le conte de Carryk - Or, a saltire Gules and on a chief Gules a lion
passant guardant Or
Le conte de Ros - Gules, three lions rampant Argent
Le conte de Murre - Argent, three lozenges within a double tressure
flory counter-flory all Gules
Le conte de Athel - Paly of six Or and Sable
Le conte de Stratherne - Or, two chevrons Gules
Le conte de Menteht - Or, a fess chequy Argent and Azure debruised by
a label of three points Gules
Le conte de Sotherland - Or, three pierced mullets of six points Gules
Le conte de Anegos - Gules, crusily paty and a pierced cinqufoil Or
Le conte de catenesse - Gules, a galley with pennon flying Or
Le conte de Leuonox - Argent, a saltire between four pierced
cinquefoils Gules
Le Seneschal - Or, a fess chequy Argent and Azure
Le conte de Mar - Azure, a bend between six crosses crosslet fitchy Or
Sr de Moubray - Gules, a lion rampant Argent crowned Or
Sr de Morref - Azure, three mullets of six points Argent pierced Gules
Le heir Sr Alexander comyn - Azure, three garbs Argent banded Gules
Le Sire de Bryghyn - Or, three piles conjoined in base Gules
Le Sr de Seules - Barry of six Argent and Gules
Le Sr de Abernethy - Or, a lion rampant Gules debruised by a riband
Sable
Sr de Seintclere - Argent, a cross engrailed Sable
Sr de Keth - Argent, on a chief Or three pales Gules
Sr dargael - Or, a galley Sable with dragon heads at prow and stern
and flag flying all Gules, charged on the hull with four portholes
Argent
Sr de Vaus - Argent, a bend Gules
Sr de la Haye - Gules, three escutcheons Argent
Sr de Douglas - Argent, on a chief Azure three
mullets of six points Argent pierced Gules
Sr de Frysel - Gules, six pierced cinquefoils Argent
Sr Suard - Sable, a cross flory Argent
Sr de Halyberton - Argent, on a bend Gules three mascles Or
Sr de Graham - Argent, on a chief Sable three escallops Or
Sr de Gordon - Azure, three boars' heads couped Or armed Gules
Sr de Harcise - Sable, three fleurs-de-lis Argent
Sr de Laundeles - Azure, an orle Or
Sr Ingram de Umframville - Gules, an orle Ermine
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