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The Balliol Dynasty: 1210-1364

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This long overdue account is a welcome addition to historical literature, and certainly a major step in setting to rights several centuries of misinformation. In 1296 when England's Edward I invaded Scotland and sent John Balliol off to the Tower of London, the Scottish
archives - recently swollen with information collected from across the country to aid in settling the succession crisis following Alexander III's death - disappeared. So for something like six hundred years and counting, Barbour and Fordham, two Scots responsible for the first histories were the only source left; their versions, which are very pro-Bruce, anti-Balliol, were copied by authorities everywhere. English historians took care of Edward's deification, but Balliol's poor reputation got spread rather broadly by Barbour and Fordum. And Edward I had seen to it that no records were left to refute them. Thus, Amanda Beam's new book takes giant steps towards clarifying the Balliol position with prodigious scholarship. Make no mistake, this is not light reading for a day at the beach. But for those wanting to ferret out the truth about Scotland's hapless king and his family, The Balliol Dynasty is a genuine treasure and as fine an example of scholarship as one could ask for.