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House of Balliol
The House of Balliol (de Balliol) was a Picard and Anglo-Norman family who began to rule some estates in England in the reign of William Rufus. In the late 13th and 14th centuries, two members of the house were kings of Scotland. This family originated in the village of Bailleul-en-Vimeu, near Abbeville in the county of Ponthieu in France; this family maintained strong ties with the larger "seigneurie" of Bailleul in Picardy.
The House of Balliol ruled Scotland from 1292 to 1296 and again held parts of Scotland from 1332 to 1336. The rival House of Bruce also held parts of Scotland at the same time and succeeded in deposing them.
(Please note that other families came from dozens of towns and villages called Bailleul in France. Reginald de Balliol or de Balleul of Shropshire was unrelated to this family, as was Roussel de Bailleul.)
Heads of the Balliol estates
- Guy I de Balliol (died between 1130 × 1133), was a Norman baron who was granted land in northern England in the late eleventh-century. In the 1090s, he was established in the north of England by King William Rufus, as part of King William's carve-up of the forfeited earldom of Northumberland.
- Bernard I de Balliol (died 1154 x 1162), the second known ruling Balliol of his line, was a twelfth-century Anglo-Picard baron based for much of his time in the north of England, as well as at Bailleul-en-Vimeu close to Abbeville in northern France. He was the nephew and next known successor of Guy I de Balliol, the first Balliol in England. He inherited Guy's lands in Northumberland between 1130-33. He built his principal fortress, Bernard Castle, in the County of Durham. Not long before the battle of Étendard in 1138, he was sent with Robert de Bruce to persuade David I of Scotland to step down from his throne. Bernard was at the battle of Lincoln of the side of King Stephen of England, where he was captured. He was succeeded by his sons Guy and Bernard II.
- Guy II de Balliol (died early 1160s x 1167), son of Bernard. As his older brother Enguerrand predeceased their father, Guy was the one who succeeded when his father died sometime between 1154 and 1162. He died sometime on or before 1167, and was succeeded by his brother Bernard II.
- Bernard II de Balliol (died c 1190) was the next eldest son of Bernard I de Balliol, Lord of Balliol and Barnard Castle. Bernard II inherited all of the Balliol/Balleul lands in England and Picardy between 1160-67. He was involved in the capture of William I of Scotland at the battle of Alnwick in 1174 during the revolt of the sons of King Henry II of England. He married Agnès de Picquigny. Contrary to that which has been written over the centuries, he had no living descendants. He was succeeded by a cousin, Eustache de Balliol.
- Eustace de Balliol (or Eustace de Helicourt) (died c. 1209) was the cousin and successor of Bernard II de Balliol, lord of Balliol and Barnard Castle. Eustache seigneur d'Hélicourt took the name Bailleul. He was the lord of Hélicourt in Picardy, an estate near the chief seat of the main Balliol line at Bailleul-en-Vimeu; after his cousin died childless, in 1190 Eustace de Helicourt took over those estates and remarried. He had four sons: Ingram and Henry (d. 1246) established the branches in Scotland at Inverkeilor and Cavers; Hugues, the oldest, succeeded his father Eustache in 1209. Bernard et Hugues were among the barons loyal to King John of England.
- Hugh de Balliol (died 1229) was the oldest son and successor of Eustace d'Hélicourt de Balliol. Hugh probably succeeded to his father Eustace's lordships by 1209.
- Eustache's son Henry entered into royal service as Chamberlain of Scotland from 1223-1230, then 1241-1246, and served as ambassador of the Scottish king to the English court upon occasion. He held lands in Benington (Hertfordshire) and Cavers (Roxburghshire). Among his children were Guy (killed in the battle of Evesham in 1265) and Alexander (d 1310, rebel against King John, Baron of Chavers and Chilham in Kent; Chamberlain to Scotland, succeeded by son Thomas).
- Hugh's son John I de Balliol (died 25 October 1268) was a leading figure of Scottish and Anglo-Norman life of his time. Balliol College, in Oxford, is named after him. In 1233 he married Derborgail (Devorguilla), 3rd daughter of Alan, lord of Galloway, and Margaret, daughter of David of Scotland, count of Huntingdon.
- Son of John and Devorguilla, John II de Balliol (c. 1249 - died 25 November 1314), was chosen by King Edward I of England and became King of Scotland in 1292 but was deposed and exiled in 1296. He claimed the throne as great-great-great-grandson of David I of Scotland of the House of Dunkeld. Known as Toom Tabard (Scots for "empty coat").
- His son Edward de Balliol (1282–1364) took the throne in 1332. He ruled from Scotland in name from 1332 to about 1338 in contest with David II of Scotland of the House of Bruce. He abdicated in 1356, and gave his throne to Edward III of England, renouncing his titles in Galloway and Picardy. He died without descendants.
Other People connected to the House of Balliol
- Edward Balliol - (c. 1283 – 1367) was a claimant to the Scottish throne (1314–1356). With English help, he briefly ruled the country from 1332 to 1336.
- Edward Balliol 1332-1336
- Dervorguilla of Galloway (c. 1210 – January 28, 1290) was a 'lady of substance' in 13th century Scotland, the wife from 1223 of John, 5th Baron de Balliol, and mother of John I, a future king of Scotland.
- Henry de Baliol
- Isabella de Warenne (c.1253- before 1292) was Baroness of Bywell by her marriage to John Balliol; there is, however, doubt that she lived to become his Queen consort when he succeeded to the Scottish throne.
References, Sources and Further Reading
- http://www.malc.eu/history/House-of-Balliol-Scotland.general.biog.html
- https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famille_de_Bailleul
- http://www.britroyals.com/canmore.htm
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50655/Balliol-family
Books
- Scotland - The History of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson.
- A history of Scotland (BBC) by Neil Oliver