ALEXANDER II. (1198-1249), king of Scotland, son of William
the Lion and Ermengarde of Beaumont, was born at Haddington
in 1198, and succeeded to the kingdom on the death of his
father in 1214. The year after his accession the clans
MacWilliam and MacHeth, inveterate enemies of the Scottish
crown, broke into revolt; but the insurrection was speedily
quelled. In the same year Alexander joined the English
barons in their struggle against John, and led an army into
England in support of their cause; but on the conclusion of
peace after John's death between his youthful son Henry III.
and the French prince Louis, the Scottish king was included
in the pacification. The reconciliation thus effected
was further strengthened by the marriage of Alexander to
Henry's sister Joanna in 1221. The next year was marked by
the subjection of the hitherto semi-independent district of
Argyll. A revolt in Galloway in 1235 was crushed without
difficulty; nor did an invasion attempted soon afterwards
by its exiled leaders meet with any better fortune. Soon
afterwards a claim for homage from Henry of England drew
forth from Alexander a counter-claim to the northern English
counties. The dispute, however, was settled by a compromise in
1237. A threat of invasion by Henry in 1243 for a time
interrupted the friendly relations between the two countries;
but the prompt action of Alexander in anticipating his
attack, and the disinclination of the English barons for
war, compelled him to make peace next year at Newcastle.
Alexander now turned his attention to securing the Western
Isles, which still owned a nominal dependence on Norway.
Negotiations and purchase were successively tried but without
success. Alexander next attempted to seduce Ewen, the son of
Duncan, lord of Argyll, from his allegiance to the Norwegian
king. Ewen refused his overtures, and Alexander sailed
forth to compel him. But on the way he was seized with
fever at Kerrera, and died there on the 8th of July 1249.
This article is from the 1911 edition of an
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