This week in Medieval Scottish History – 19 April 1290

Robert Bruce, the Competitor, grandfather of the future king, made an agreement at his castle of Lochmaben with Sir Nicholas Biggar, in an attempt to gain control of the whole of the Garioch, a lordship formerly held by Earl David of Huntingdon which was divided between Bruce, John (I) Balliol and Henry de Hastings. The agreement stated that Nicholas – a powerful magnate of Clydesdale – would resign any rights he had to the lands of Bruce, Balliol, and Hastings (the three top contenders for the Scottish throne), and he agreed to bring action against Balliol and Hastings in order to recover their lands in that area, which he would then surrendered to Bruce for 40 marks worth of lands in southern Scotland. This was one of several failed attempts by Bruce to secure his claims to the Scottish throne after the death of Alexander III in March 1286.