there,
and return, specially saying that their presence there was not to
be regarded as a custom through which the laws of Scotland might
in any future time be prejudiced. Hither then came the whole power
of the north of England, and many of the Scotch nobles.

"When the court opened, Roger Brabazon, the king's justiciary,
delivered an address, in which he stated that Edward, as lord
paramount of Scotland, had come there to administer justice between
the competitors for the crown, and concluded with the request that
all present should acknowledge his claim as lord paramount. The
Scottish nobles present, with the exception of those who were
privy to Edward's designs, were filled with astonishment and dismay
at this pretension, and declared their ignorance of any claim of
superiority of the King of England over Scotland. The king, in a
passion, exclaimed:

"'By holy Edward, whose crown I wear, I will vindicate my just
rights, or perish in the attempt.'

"However, he saw that nothing could be done on the instant, and
adjourned the meeting for three weeks, at the end of which time the
prelates, nobles, and community of Scotland were invited to bring
forward whatever they could in opposition to his claim to supremacy.

"At the time fixed the Scotch nobles again met, but this time on
the Scottish side of the Border, for Edward had gathered together
the whole of the force of the northern counties.

"Besides the four claimants, whose names I have told you, were Sir
John Hastings, Patrick Dunbar, Earl of March, William de Vesci,
Robert de Pinkeny, Nicholas de Soulis, Patrick Galythly, Roger de
Mandeville, Florence, Count of Holland, and Eric, King of Norway.
With the exception of Eric, the Count of Holland, Dunbar, and
Galythly, all of these were of Norman extraction, and held possessions
in England. When the meeting was opened the prelates and nobles
present advanced nothing to disprove Edward's claim to supremacy.
The representatives of the commons, however, did show reason against
the claim, for which, indeed, my son, as every man in Scotland
knows, there was not a shadow of foundation.

"The king's chancellor declared that there was nothing in these
objections to Edward's claim, and therefore he resolved, as lord
paramount, to determine the question of succession. The various
competitors were asked whether they acknowledged Edward as lord
paramount, and were willing to receive his judgment as such; and
the whole o