This, the second volume of the Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, preserved among the Public Records of England, embraces the entire reign of Edward I., - a period full of events of great importance in the history of the two countries, - beginning with the last years of the peaceful and beneficent reign of Alexander III., and ending while the two nations were engaged, one for conquest and the other for independence, in the arduous struggle which, after many vicissitudes, was to end in firmly seating Robert Bruce on the vacant throne of his ancestors.
The reign of Edward I., so far as it relates to Scotland, may be divided into six periods - the last thirteen years of the reign of Alexander III., five of the nominal reign of Margaret of Norway, the two years' Interregnum during the Competition for the Crown, John Balliol's disastrous four years' reign, the second Interregnum of ten years, and lastly, the short period from the coronation of Robert Bruce till the death of Edward I.
Beginning then with Alexander III., we shall find that the documents calendared fully bear out the character assigned to him by Lord Hailes: - 'His conduct towards the neighbouring 'kingdom was uniformly candid and wise.
