ABSTRACT
Thethirteenth-centurysourceusedbyJohndeFordunforhisChronicaGentis ScotorumpreservedaviewofHenryIIIwhichcontrastedwithitshostilitytohis fatherandson.ThisverdicthasgenerallybeenfollowedbylaterScottishhistorians whohavepresentedthereignasaperiodofpeaceandstabilityintherelationship betweenthetwointernationally-recognisedkingdomsoftheBritishIsles.By comparisonwitheventsafter1290thisisundeniable.PeacefulrelationswithHenry havebeenusedastheexternalbackdroptotheScottishkings'furthestextensionof theirlordshipandthedefinitionofScotlandasaseparateunitofecclesiasticaland secularauthority.However,thereremainlimitstoourunderstandingofthe relationshipbetweenHenryIIIandtheScots.Thecontacts,tensionsandrivalries betweenthetworoyallordshipswerecomplexandshifting,especiallybetweenthe accessionofAlexanderIIIandthedeathofHenryIII.Theyearsfrom1249to1272 witnessedchangesofmajorsignificanceacrosstheBritishIsles.Theywerenot externaltoScotland.Relationshipsbetweenkings,princesandcommunitiesin theseislandsandonthecontinentprovidedthewiderframeworkforScottish politics.ThischapterexaminestheexperienceofScotland'smonarchyand communityagainsttheinterplayoftheserelationships,themostimportantof whichwerethepoliciesandambitionsofHenryIII.2
