Customer Reviews

Alexander III - King of Scots Hb

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Marion Campbell has written a very factual and informative book of the age of Alexander III, the last King of Scots before the great competition for the Scottish throne and civil war leading to Robert the Bruce's accent to the throne. I originally bought this book expecting a detailed story of the life of Alexander III but I now realize their is not much information from the 13th century to truly flesh out a full biography without making it a historical novel as Campbell states in her preface. As the book progresses from Alexander's minority we get a good picture of the political situation between England, France, Norway and Scotland, plus the crusades. It is very evident that this is an era of Nobles and landed men owing fealty for many lands in multiple kingdoms. The lines of loyalty are blurred. I liked the occasional sprinkling of court cases or case studies of the common man in different conflicts from money owed for wine to a stolen horse and how the local authorities judged. This gives us a glimpse of life for the common man and not just the nobles. A lot of attention is on Henry III who is Alexander's father-in-law and his battles to dominate France and Scotland. This is less of a biography but a wonderful collection of facts and information from multiple sources during Alexander III's reign. A must have book for the serious students of Scottish history.