Primary Topic
This episode explores the tragic and politically consequential story of Margaret of Norway, whose death destabilized Scotland and England's relationship during the Middle Ages.
Episode Summary
Main Takeaways
- Margaret of Norway's death triggered a significant political crisis, known as the "great cause."
- The planned marriage between Margaret and Edward of Caernarfon was intended as a political alliance to stabilize both kingdoms.
- Edward I’s ambition to dominate Scotland was thwarted, leading to the Scottish Wars of Independence.
- The episode reflects on the long-term enmity between Scotland and England, which has historical roots in these events.
- The story underscores the fragility of medieval politics, where the death of a single individual could alter the fate of nations.
Episode Chapters
1: A Rough Crossing
A vivid description of Margaret’s perilous sea journey and her worsening health. Dan Jones: "The ship groaned under the relentless waves of the North Sea, a grim prelude to tragedy."
2: The Heir to Scotland
Exploration of Margaret's significance as the heir to the Scottish throne and the political expectations placed upon her. Dan Jones: "Margaret was not just any child; she was the linchpin in a fragile dynastic chain."
3: Political Repercussions
Discussion on the immediate and long-term political consequences of Margaret's death, including the initiation of the Scottish Wars of Independence. Dan Jones: "Her death was not just a personal tragedy but a profound national disaster."
Actionable Advice
- Understand the impact of history on current events.
- Reflect on how individual lives can influence national destinies.
- Consider the unintended consequences of political alliances.
- Recognize the role of chance in historical outcomes.
- Analyze how narratives of national identity can stem from historical events.
About This Episode
Margaret of Norway is a six-year-old child who has just found out she’s the only surviving heir to the throne of Scotland. She’s summoned to make the crossing from Norway, where Edward I intends to marry her to his son. He sees Margaret as the key to his Scottish takeover, but events soon take a turn no one could have predicted.
People
Margaret of Norway, Edward I, Alexander III of Scotland
Companies
None
Books
None
Guest Name(s):
None
Content Warnings:
None
Transcript
Dan Jones
Hello, Dan here. Just to say at the end of this episode, we'll play you a clip from this week's episode of this is history plus, so stick around after the theme music. Enjoy the episode.
The timbers of the ship groan as it lurches over the choppy surface of the grey North Sea. Waves slap against its prow, spraying cold seawater up into the faces of the sailors on board. Above them, a large square sail billows in the stiff breeze, the canvas snapping every time it catches a gust.
The sailors pull their sealskin hoods around their faces and clap their hands to try and stay warm. From time to time, one of the passengers will stagger across the deck to the side of the ship and vomit into the sea.
The crossing has been rough ever since they left the coast of Norway. It's September 1290, not dangerously late in the year to sail, but not like rowing across a mill pond either. At some point, everyone on board has been sick. One passenger is sicker than all the rest, though.
She's a seven year old girl called Margaret and she really hasn't found her sea legs.
She's been ill since the beginning of the journey, so unwell that some of the more experienced crew suspect it isn't seasickness that's troubling her, but food poisoning from the somewhat non gourmet rations on board.
Young Margaret is in such a bad way that the ship is going to have to break its journey and put into land at the next stop. Thats the islands of Orkney, norwegian territory, just off the mainland of Scotland. There, the crew reckon Margaret can get some rest and medical attention before they push on to their final destination, a meeting in England with Edward I, the Plantagenet king.
They need Margaret to be at her finest for this encounter because Edward has big plans for her. In fact, its not just Edward who has high hopes for this kid. Its the whole of the British Isles.
Because heres the Margaret is a grandchild of the king of Scots, Alexander III. And not just any old grandchild. Shes the last of his line, the child of his daughter Margaret, who went off years ago to marry the king of Norway and died in childbirth.
And heres another. Earlier this year, in a freak accident, Alexander III of Scotland fell off a cliff just north of Edinburgh, broke his neck and died. He's left no brothers, no sons, no uncles, no one, really, other than a pregnant wife who since gave birth to a stillborn child and his only granddaughter, Margaret.
Unbelievable as it is, that makes Margaret the only person alive who has a direct claim to the throne of Scotland. Despite the general nervousness about giving women supreme power in the Middle Ages, a council of scottish nobles and bishops, known as the Guardians, has decided that she has the right to rule. They want to crown her Asap at the traditional scottish coronation site of Scone Abbey, on the sacred stone of Destiny, which legend says dates back to Old Testament times. So far, so medieval. But what, you may wonder, does Edward I of England want with Margaret of Norway?
Well, thats where things get really interesting.
Last episode we heard how, in 1284, Edwards wife, Eleanor of Castile, gave birth at Carnarvon Castle to a young prince called, logically enough, Edward of Caernarfon.
In 1290, he's six years old and the king's only surviving son. And that's got Edward and the Scots thinking, what if Margaret of Norway and Edward of Caernarfon got married? The Scots would get the protection of the english crown, which they're likely to need during the turbulence that the rule of a child could bring. And her heir would gain the support of the Plantagenet crown, reducing the chances of a civil war. If any nobles get funny ideas, Edward, meanwhile, gets to push a step closer to his dream of becoming a new king Arthur, master of the British Isles.
He spent the 1280s crushing the Welsh at vast cost and trouble. A marriage alliance with Scotland would be a much cheaper and easier way to see his vision through. Of course, he hasnt pitched it to the Scots as a hostile takeover. To them, hes framed it as an alliance, a dual monarchy, a partnership. Sure, its unconventional, but it might just be a stroke of genius.
So thats why Margaret of Norway is on her way to see Edward. Edward has sent the bishop of Durham up to Scotland to greet her as soon as she gets off the ship, ply her with jewels, then bring her down south to meet him.
Except theres a problem, because when Margaret of Norway is helped off the ship at Orkney in September 1290, its clear that shes not just seasick or suffering an upset stomach, shes very, very ill. Whatever shes picked up on the journey is more than her young immune system can cope with. By the time Edwards Bishop gets to Scotland, he's met by messengers coming back from the Highlands with terrible news. Margaret of Norway died on Orkney. Her little body has been placed in a coffin and sent back home to her father.
This is a family tragedy. It's also a political disaster. Scotland has gone from a child monarch to no monarch at all. And Edwards plans to create a dual kingdom have been smashed to pieces. Before they even got going.
But in fact its even worse than that because although no one knows it yet, Margaret of Norways death will set off a period of political controversy known as the great cause, followed by an armed conflict that lasts more than a century. It will pit England and Scotland against one another as enemies for the rest of the middle ages, leaving a legacy of rivalry and even hatred that lasts to this day.
I'm Dan Jones and from Sony Music Entertainment, this is history, season four of a dynasty to die for, episode ten Dead Queens.
Jamie Lang
Hello, it's me, Jamie Lang and I've got a new podcast and this time there are no gimmicks. It's just great company because the thing is I realize the reason I love podcasts so much is because they're a great way to connect with people. Hello, I'm Jungblud Jo Brand. I'm Paloma Faith. Jay Blades.
Dan Jones
Elizabeth Day. Zara Larson, Casper Lee and I'm great company. Great company. Great company, great company. Apparently its great company with me, Jamie Leng coming Wednesday the 27 march.
On Edward is tomb in Westminster Abbey. Theres a famous phrase carved in Latin, its scotorum malleus. In English, its hammer of the Scots, and in Scottish. Well lets just say some of the things that have been said about Edward north of Hadrians wall over the years are a bit too spicy for a family podcast. Thats because in Scotland Edward is a proper bogeyman and with good reason.
Edward did plenty in his life. He fought in the wars of his father Henry IIIs reign, went on crusade, survived an assassination attempt and a fall through a collapsing building. He built some of the greatest castles ever seen. But what hes most famous for is the almighty row. He started with Englands neighbours to the north for, well hammering the Scots.
That might not have been his original intention, but by getting involved in scottish affairs he ends up committing Plantagenet England to a war thats every bit as long running and vicious as any. They fought against the French. Its a war that still provides the subject matter for the modern scottish national anthem, flower of Scotland, as well as Mel Gibsons finest cinematic moment. But more of that later. For the rest of this podcast season well be following how Edwards war on Scotland comes to happen.
As we heard last episode in 1290, Edward was in full prepare for crusade mode. But that year two major deaths change everything. The first, little Margaret of Norways is a major political headache, but the second rocks his entire world in November, while Edward and his court are in the East Midlands, not far from the city of Lincoln his beloved queen and wife of 36 years, Eleanor of Castile, comes down with a fever. Shes probably picked up a malarial type illness on one of their trips to gascony, and suddenly it flares up. She dies on the evening of November 28, aged 49.
Edward is absolutely devastated. Eleanor has been everywhere with him since they were teenagers. She's born him at least 14 children. She's been a constant source of good advice and a companion who likes the same things he does hunting, chess, digging up arthurian graves. And now shes gone.
Edward, as you may have noticed, is a man who doesnt do things by halves. Thats on full display with the mourning arrangements he makes for Eleanor. Theyre more elaborate than any royal funeral before the death of Queen Victoria in, in 1901. In fact, you can still see the evidence of them today. For a start, Eleanor gets three tombs.
Her intestines are removed and buried in Lincoln Cathedral. Her heart is taken to a tomb outside London, where their son Alfonso is buried. Whats left of her goes to Westminster Abbey, where she gets a truly fabulous tomb with a bronze and gold effigy shown resting on a pillow with intricate, wavy hair. The pillow is decorated with lions and castles. Then Edward goes one further.
Getting eleanors remains from Lincoln to their final resting place in London is a slow affair. Everywhere that the morning party stops, Edward decides he'll erect a monument in his wife's honour. It's an idea he probably got from France. When Louis IX died on crusade and was transported back to Paris, monuments called Montjoie were built wherever his body rested. Edward takes the idea and commissions a dozen so called Eleanor crosses, monuments in the latest architectural style, carved in stone, lavishly decorated and topped with a cross.
You can still see three of them today, two in Northamptonshire and one in Hertfordshire. The most famous one used to stand in central London at Charing Cross, which takes its name from the original cross that used to be there, but was pulled down during the English Civil War in the 17th century. These Eleanor crosses are a sign of just how much Edward is affected by his wifes death. He writes a letter to a french cleric after her funeral, saying that even now shes dead, he can't stop loving her. They're also a reminder of how much expense, trouble and time Edward is prepared to devote to a cause once he sets his mind to it.
That cause had been his big dream of a crusade. But by the end of 1290, everything suddenly looks very different. Eleanors death knocks him sideways emotionally. Little Margaret of Norways death scrambles his priorities politically. Suddenly, Edward has a lot more to think about than he expected.
There are some fundamental questions he has to ask himself at 51 years old. Should he marry again and try to make sure that he has a more secure male plantagenet succession than just one son? Now that Margaret of Norway is dead, who can he marry young Edward of Carnarvon to? Yet the biggest question, and the one he begins to get obsessed with, is how far he should get involved in the political affairs of Scotland. A full blown succession crisis is underway north of the border, and even as hes grieving for his wife, Edward is receiving letters from influential figures in scottish politics asking if he will help sort it out.
They mean, would he help stop a civil war breaking out between rival scottish lords who all fancy becoming the new king now that Alexander IIIs line has died out. But in Edwards mind, theres a much more attractive option than that. According to one english chronicler, in early 1291, he tells a group of barons and earls that peacekeeping is not what he has in mind for Scotland. It's his intention, he says, to reduce the king and kingdom of Scotland to his rule, just as he recently subjected Wales to his authority. It's often said there are five stages of grief, but for Edward, there's a 6th.
It's called Conquest.
Josh Gwynne
In 2007, tv network CB's dropped 40 kids in the middle of the New Mexico desert as part of a brand new reality show. These kids would have to build their own society from scratch. And if this sounds like Lord of the Flies to you, well, it was meant to. We were on this mission together, and we were gonna prove to the world that we could make a better society than adults could. I'm Josh Gwynne, and I want to know what this wild tv experiment was really about.
Split Kid Nation, a six part podcast from CBC, available now. The world's full of people celebrating their successes, but if the Plantagenets have taught us anything, it's that failing is much more interesting. So that's why I'm certain you're going to love the podcast how to fail. The very brilliant Elizabeth Day invites guests on to talk about three of their biggest failures and what they've taught them about life. It's a great way to hear a new side to people you may think you know.
Dan Jones
Guests include Bernie Sanders, Phoebe Waller Bridge, and Stanley Tucci. Give it a try. Find how to fail wherever you get your podcasts, picture the scene. It's the 6th century ad. We're on the coast of Loch Lomond in Scotland.
Mist hovers over the water. Snow capped mountains loom over the top of roving green hills thick with trees. Golden eagles circle high above, and the rutting calls of red deer carry on the wind. It could be a picture postcard view of Scotland. But today it's the setting of a massacre.
Thousands of english soldiers are cutting down native scottish tribes.
Some Scots splash into the freezing cold waters, seeking refuge from the bloodshed. On the banks of some of the loch's many islands, the enemy troops could patrol the banks and simply wait for the survivors to starve. Thousands are dead or dying. The commander, holding a shield depicting the Virgin Mary and a magical sword, watches the proceedings from a nearby hilltop. It's Arthur, king of the Britons.
He's the one with the troops swarming over the natives and treating them with it said unparalleled severity.
When the battle is won, King Arthur awards one of his followers Augusel with the keys to the kingdom of Scotland, placing it under Arthurs control, unleashing a golden age for Britain. And they all live happily ever after.
Of course, none of this actually ever happened. Its from Geoffrey of Monmouths alternative history of Britain, full of fantasy and propaganda. We know today that Geoffrey just cooked up this story for the lols. But to Edward in the 1290s, who has, after all, literally handled what he thinks are the real bones of King Arthur, its not just historical fact, its political justification for throwing his weight around, however he likes. So in the spring of 1291, when Edward is recovered a little from the grief of losing Queen Eleanor, he heads up to the northern border of England to offer his advice to the Scots on their messy succession dispute.
They think theyve asked him along as a friendly neighbour, a neutral party whos going to offer his considered advice, take it or leave it. Thats not the way Edward sees it to him. If the Scots have asked him to weigh into their succession dispute, it can only mean that theyve been reading the same tales of King Arthur that he has in his mind. Hes being asked to rule, to issue judgment, to make a call in his capacity as the rightful overlord of the British Isles. That difference of understanding is a recipe for disaster.
The dispute that Edward goes north to arbitrate is between two rival claimants for old Alexander IIIs throne. The first is a nobleman in his early forties called John Balliol. He holds some scottish lands, which hes very recently inherited from his mother, the fantastically named Derva Guiller of Galloway. But really, hes what youd call a plastic jock, a fake scotsman. Hes grown up south of the border.
His dad fought for Henry III at the battle of Lewis, and his main lands are in England and France. His claim to the throne is that he is the, wait for it, great great great grandson on his mothers side of David I, a king who ruled Scotland back in the day, but was dead in 1153, the year before the Plantagenets were on the throne in England. So far, so tenuous things get a bit more scottish, with balliols rival, a grumpy and warlike guy of about 70 years old called Robert Bruce. Now, Bruce also has lands in England and he also has a very distant claim through his mother. Hes David is great great grandson.
Thats one less great keep up. But he is at least properly scottish. Hes the lord of Annandale in the Lowlands. In his opinion, its ridiculous that anyone is even talking about balliol. Bruce reckons the crown is unequivocally his and that even little Margaret of Norway had a cheek in trying to claim it.
So this is a straightforward choice and Edward has agreed to make it, except when he gets to his castle of Norham, a few miles south of Edinburgh, where he summoned a party of scottish envoys. Edward goes rogue.
He says that since hes the rightful master or overlord of Scotland, he doesnt think a two horse race is really the right way to do things. Instead, literally, anyone who feels like they might look hot in a crown can put their case to him and then hell decide. Needless to say, scottish jaws hit the floor. At this. The envoys start arguing that its outrageous, which is never a very good way to handle Edward.
Rather than back down, he tells them that if they dont like it, they can settle things another way. What way might that be? They ask. Well, Edward tells them, im busy at the moment putting together a crusade army. Ive been thinking of smashing seven bells out of the Mamluks with it, but id be more than happy to try it out on you jaws.
Now go through the floor. And the meeting breaks up with harsh words and hurt feelings. But Edward is a bully and at this point, no one in Scotland feels able to stand up to him. And so it comes to pass that in the late spring of 1291, a whole hatful of other candidates for king put their names forward for the job. Eleven, to be precise.
This has turned from a presidential election into a particularly terrible episode of the X Factor. Its chaos, and thats just the way Edward likes it. With Scotland now divided and panicking, Edward starts moving troops and warships up to the border. Then he puts forward another proposal, supposedly to help the Scots deal with their allergic reaction to him claiming to be overlord. Hes going to put his own name forward as scottish king, take temporary control of the kingdom, and then give it back to whoever should turn out to have the best case to be the real king.
This has the ring of insanity about it. But insanity is in 1291, the order of the day. The panel of barons and bishops shepherding Scotland through its interregnum has no better ideas. And with so many rival kings now hanging around, civil war only feels like a heartbeat away. So in the summer, they agree to Edwards suggestion, hand him over the royal seal and the keys to some important castles and hope for the best.
Theyve stuck their heads in the lions mouth. Theres nothing they can do but wait to find out whether the lion bites. Edward, who must be having the devil of a job, not cracking up with laughter at the mayhem hes sowing in. Scotland now puts off judgment of whats becoming known as the great cause until the summer of 1292. In part, hes delayed by trouble on the welsh borders.
Hes also held up by the death of another queen, his elderly mother, Eleanor of Provence, the widow of Henry III, whos been living in quiet retirement for the last few decades. But really, Edward holds it up because he can. Hes on the mother of all power trips. And his sober judgment of how other people might react to him throwing his weight around has gone out of the window.
Its June when he reconvenes proceedings to choose the rightful king of Scotland, inviting all other 13 candidates to submit their cases like a real X factor episode. Some of them are risibly hopeless, some are interesting. There are some weird ideas put forward, like the brief suggestion by Robert Bruce that the kingdom might be split into three parts and parcelled out to all the living descendants of David I. This gets no one anywhere. And the case drags on through the summer of 1292 until even Edward is getting fed up with it all.
In the autumn, Edward hears closing arguments, bats away yet another weird suggestion that account of Holland should become king of Scots, and then declares his winner. He announces it as the end of the year is drawing in and a grand assembly of interested parties to the case. Its November 17, 1292, when Edward proclaims to enormous fanfare, the final victor of the great cause.
And the winner of this year's contest for the scottish monarchy is.
You'll have to come back next time to find out on this is history.
Paloma Faith
They also for Eleanor, they split up parts of her body and bury them in different places, so intestines go to Lincoln. Her heart goes to where Alfonso is. Why do plantagenets seem to do this quite a lot? Why are they doing it? And, you know, what's the significance of each body part and where it goes?
Georgia Mills
Well, I mean, it's not just the plantagenets. This is burial procedure for the elite burial procedure in the Middle Ages. And I think we've touched on this before, possibly back in season two of this podcast, when Richard the Lionheart died, he splits up chalet to preserve embalm the body, to stop it, particularly if you need to take the body somewhere, you need it not to rot. And so that practically means you need to remove the intestines, because those are going to rot so much bacteria. So eviscerating the body was standard preservation.
Dan Jones
And then removing the heart. Well, heart burials are a sort of trendy thing during the Plantagenet years. So again, with Richard the lionheart, you know, his heart was buried in Rouen. Splitting up is not terribly unusual. Sometimes you've got to go to major extremes.
Georgia Mills
I mean, Louis IX, the french king who died in Tunisia while he's out on Crusades. Saintly one, saintly one. I mean, it's hot, it's real hot. So it's no good just taking the intestines out. They boil his body in wine, I believe, until all the flesh comes away from the bones, and they just take the bones back.
I think it's called bone broth these days, and supposedly very good for you. In part, it's about preservation. But there is another benefit to having. Your body buried in three different parts in three different places. And if you're like Eleanor of Castile, having three different tombs, because connected with the rituals of death is usually for the well to do in the Middle Ages, the institution of masses for the soul.
So if you're buried, you have maybe a little sort of chantry chapel connected to your tomb, and there will be a stipulation payment made in your will for a certain number of masses to be said for your soul, either every day or every month, or a total number, you know, maybe 10,000 masses or whatever. And that has a practical effect that moves your soul faster through purgatory, right, each mass. Now, if your heart's in one place, your guts are in another, and your. Body triple the mass. Yeah, nice.
Paloma Faith
Why not chop further then? Well, I mean, one finger here, one toe there. If you're Simon de Montfort's, you're in many different pieces. But unfortunately, unfortunately not given a decent burial, I think that may well be another part of it. It's like having fast track in the airport.
It's very practical, quick through security and sending the heart to where her son is buried. Did the heart have like, this symbolism back then of being like the home of love as well? Yes, it does. And you see, heart burials will often be very symbolic, and you'll have a sort of heart to sound like Kurt Cobain now, but you'll have a heart shaped box that the heart goes into. And there is something sort of poetic and romantic and meaningful about the heart being placed somewhere.
Georgia Mills
So for Elena, having her heart buried beside her son Alfonso in one of the friaries outside London, that's very meaningful. That was a clip from this is history. Plus, there's more like that every week where I chat with my producer about all things Plantagenet and answer your questions on the show. To listen to more like that, you can start a free trial by going to thisishistorypod.com. Or if you're on Apple Podcasts, click try free at the top of the page.
Dan Jones
And a reminder, you'll also get access to next week's episode early. It's already waiting.