Editing Robert III of Scotland (section)

== Guardianship — and its collapse ==
Robert II's policy of building up Stewart domination in Scotland through the advancement of his sons saw the emergence of Carrick as the pre-eminent Stewart magnate south of the Forth-Clyde line, just as his younger brother [[Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan|Alexander, Earl of Buchan]], [[Lord of Badenoch]] and [[Earl of Ross|Ross]] had become in the north.<ref>Barrell, ''Medieval Scotland'', pp. 140–142</ref> 
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| quote   = ''... considering that there are, and have been now for a considerable time, great and numerous defects in the governing of the kingdom by reason of the king's disposition, both by reason of age and for other reasons, and the infirmity of the lord his firstborn son ... have amicably chosen Sir [Robert Stewart], earl of Fife, second-born son of the king, and brother german of the same lord the firstborn son, [as] guardian of the kingdom under the king, ... for putting into effect justice and keeping the law internally, and for the defence of the kingdom with the king's force, as set out before, against those attempting to rise up as enemies.''
| source  = — Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707, 1 December 1388, Edinburgh. http://www.rps.ac.uk/
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Before 1384 persistent objections regarding Robert II's application of the law were brought to the council's attention. Some of these grievances maintained that the King had acted unlawfully by deliberately disregarding charges regarding his personal conduct.<ref name="Boardman, p. 130">Boardman, ''Early Stewart Kings'',p. 130</ref> Buchan's use of [[cateran]] supporters drew criticism from Northern nobles and prelates and demonstrated Robert II's inability or reluctance to control his son.<ref>For an account of the background to Buchan's activities in the north of Scotland and the context in which he operated see Boardman, ''Early Stewart Kings'', pages 83–89</ref> The king's failure to take a leading role in prosecuting the war with England and Buchan's abuse of royal power in the north was the backdrop to the general council meeting at [[Holyrood Abbey]] in November 1384, where the decision was taken to sideline the king and provide the ruling powers to Carrick as [[Guardian of Scotland]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1384/11/4 |title=Records of the Parliaments of Scotland |website=www.rps.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>Grant in Jones et al., ''New Cambridge History'', pp. 360–361</ref><ref>Oram, et al., ''Kings & Queens'', p. 126</ref>

Within weeks Carrick's actions signalled changes in the direction of crown strategy where the Carrick–Douglas affinity was, by far, the largest group to benefit from crown patronage.<ref name="Boardman, p. 130"/> On 13 March 1385 it emerged that an unauthorised payment of £700 in [[bullion]], a huge amount, had been taken by the guardian from the customs of [[Edinburgh]]. It transpired that Fife, also [[Chamberlain of Scotland]], had been struggling to check Carrick's misuse of the Crown finances during 1384–1385.<ref>Boardman, ''Early Stewart Kings'', pp. 135–136</ref>

In April 1385, the general council sharply condemned Buchan's behaviour<ref>Lynch, ''Scotland: A New History'', p. 139</ref> and sat intending to manoeuvre Carrick into firmly intervening in the north.<ref name="Boardman, p. 135">Boardman, ''Early Stewart Kings'', p. 135</ref> In July, under Carrick's guardianship, a Scottish army that included a French force commanded by Admiral [[Jean de Vienne]] penetrated the north of England without any serious gains but provoked a damaging retaliatory attack by [[Richard II]].<ref name="Boardman, Robert III, ODNB"/> Yet in the north, Carrick did not bring Buchan under control and many of the Guardian's supporters although pleased at the resumption of hostilities with England were unhappy at the continued northern lawlessness.<ref name="Grant in Jones et al., p361">Grant in Jones, et al., ''New Cambridge History'' p. 361</ref> Carrick had been made Guardian partly on the need to curb Buchan's excesses yet despite this by February 1387 Buchan had become even more powerful and influential when he was appointed [[Justiciar#Scotland|Justiciar]] north of the Forth.<ref name="Boardman, p. 135"/>

[[Image:Otterburn Battle.jpg|thumb|200px|right|{{center|Battle of Otterburn}}]]

The war with England was halted by a series of truces however, on 19 April 1388, English envoys sent to Scotland to again extend the ceasefire returned to Richard's court empty-handed — by 29 April Robert II was conducting a council in Edinburgh to authorise renewed conflict with England.<ref>Boardman, ''Early Stewart Kings'', pp. 139, 142</ref> Although the Scots army defeated the English at the [[Battle of Otterburn]] in [[Northumberland]] in August 1388, its leader, the Earl of Douglas, was killed. Douglas died childless, triggering a series of claims on his estate — Carrick backed his brother-in-law Malcolm Drummond, the husband of Douglas's sister, while Carrick's brother, [[Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany|Robert Earl of Fife]], took the side of [[Archibald the Grim|Sir Archibald Douglas]], Lord of Galloway, who held an entail on his kinsman's estates, and who ultimately succeeded to the earldom.<ref name="Grantin">Grant in Tuck & Goodman, ''War and Border Societies'', p. 51</ref> Fife, with his new powerful Douglas ally, together with those loyal to the king, ensured at the December 1388 council meeting that the guardianship of Scotland would pass from Carrick (who had recently been badly injured from a horse-kick) to Fife.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1388/12/1 |title=Records of the Parliaments of Scotland |website=www.rps.ac.uk}}</ref><ref name="Grant in Jones et al., p361" /><ref name="Grantin" />

There was general approval of Fife's intention to properly resolve the situation of lawlessness in the north and in particular the activities of Buchan his younger brother.<ref name="Grant in Jones et al., p361"/> Buchan was stripped of his position of justiciar, which would soon be given to Fife's son, [[Murdoch Stewart]]. In January 1390 Robert II was in the north-east perhaps to strengthen the now changed political outlook in that region.<ref name="BoardmanESK p171">Boardman, ''Early Stewart Kings'', p. 171</ref> He returned to [[Dundonald Castle]] in [[Ayrshire]] in March where he died on 19 April and was buried at Scone on 25 April.<ref>The date of Robert II's death and the disputed date for Robert II's burial and the reasons for the delay in Robert III's coronation are explained by [[Dauvit Broun]] in Brown & Tanner, ''History of Scottish Parliament'', pp. 112–116.</ref>