medieval-atlas/administration/162

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Place-dates ofroyal charters to 1296 Alexander 11 directed his attention towards asserting royal authority in the outer reaches of the kingdom more fully than had any of his twelfth-century predecessors. But little of the king's vigorous policy can in fact be recovered simply by mapping the placedates of his extant written acts. Quite apart from the general limitations of such evidence, there are two specific considerations to bear in mjnd. First, Alexander's military campaigns in ~ Galloway, Argyll, Moray and Caithness were effective but brief, and it is unlikely that many royal acts could j:>r Forres 2 have been issued on these occasions. ~ Second, it seems clear that the king Inverness endeavoured to consolidate military gains not through regular personal itin eration but primarily by delegating royal authority and power to trusted subordinates like the de Moravias in Strathnaver and Sutherland, Farquhar Mactaggart in Ross and North Argyll, the Comyns in Badenoch, Lochaber and Galloway, and the Stewarts in Cowal and Bute. Arguably the most significant place-date is the island of Kerrera, at the entrance to Oban Bay, ~ where a charter was issued on 8 July 1249 while Alexander lay dying dur-~ ing a great naval expedition to the ~Kenmore~ ...Alyth --@Forfar west. At the time of his sudden death, / 8 Clume not only had he secured control of the K I 3 . Coupar Angus 3 S ~ -IOC aven 2 Barry Kerrera ~ 18 Scone 3 Dyndee . 8 3 Balmerino western seaboard from KIntyre to Perth ~ Ardnamurchan, but he may also have Kinfauns . ~St Andrews been on the verge of annexing the ~ ~upar Western Isles, then under Norwegian ~""'~ ® ' Kinross hegemony. Yet in general the place-Stirli;"7' Clackmannan . dates reveal a pattern of royal soiourns 'E!./ 3 Dunfermline K' h J , 2 • Ing orn ....---........ concentrated in the eastern lowlands Inverkeithing jLUffneSs~T . between the English border and the Linlithgow@ HoIYJ.2,0d ... ymng,hame Mounth, that is not dissimilar to ~ Kirkliston• . /~" • Haddlngton~ . William the Lion's, save that Edin-• Glasgow Edinburgh@) Musselburgh • ColdlOgham burgh (occupied by Angevin castellans ?atCadzow / Newbattle . ®.. Berwick upon Tweed from 1175 to 1186) had eVidently re-/ ~ .. ' ~ sumed its position as the principal seat L k / 4anar~ .' of government. Alexander's negotia-~fr.__ ..~. Peebles Melrose \. tions with Henry III account fortwo of ~ TraqU~® 124 Kel~o • Belford j ~ ~ Selkirk@ fu Roxburgh \ r® Ayr /' Ancrum'W ........ the English place-dates shown, and / Jedbur~h these serve as a useful remmder that .' peaceful relations with England were ......./ ........ fundamental to the successful assertion of royal authority in the north and .' ~ west. Off the map are York and Ac-.' crington. ~~ ~Dis:i~gton,(' "'-" -~. Newcastle Places where acts were issued kms o 25 50 75 100 • One act , , , , I , , ® Number of acts where more than one 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 miles Place-dates: Alexander 11 (1214-49) KJS 162

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