Edinburgh castle was taken by surprise, as was Roxburgh castle. King David returned to Scotland, and during these transactions the English monarch was prosecuting an unsuccessful war in France. A treaty of peace was concluded between England and France, in which the Scots were included by their French ally. But .the Scots renewed their incursions into England. Edward complained that the French monarch had secretly encouraged the faithless Scots, and ordered hostilities to be recommenced.
To embarrass the operations of Edward, David re solved to invade England at the solicitation of the French monarch. He entered England with a body of two thousand men, and a multitude of light armed infantry, and penetrated into Durham, wasting the country, and plundering the ecclesiastics. The En glish issued a proclamation of array to the northern parts of England.
Nevils' Cross, near Durham, was the scene of con flict. Having routed the right wing of the Scots, the English attacked the centre, commanded by the king in person. and lie was made prisoner with upwards of fifty barons. The left wing, commanded by the Stew ard and Earl of March, retired, though not with out loss. The captive monarch was conducted to Lon don, and confined in the Tower; and the English en tered Scotland, took Roxburgh castle, and being join ed by Baliol with a body of Gallowaymen, wasted the southern counties.
A truce was concluded between England and France, in which the Scots were included; and, in the ensuing year, negotiations were opened for the release of the captive monarch.
This treaty was at last concluded at Newcastle. His ransom was fixed at ninety thousand merks ster ling, to be paid at the rate of ten thousand annually. The king, the clergy, the nobles, the merchants, and burgesses, became bound for payment of the ransom, and observance of the truce. But various causes concurred to frustrate the execution of the treaty for David's release. The French monarch, dreading a new invasion by the English, despatched an emissary to Scotland with a chosen body of troops, and a consi derable sum of money, to be distributed among the Scottish nobility, on condition of their renewing the war. The nobles accepted the French offers, and re solved to invade England.
The Scottish borderers took the field, entered Eng land, and pillaged Norham. Stewart, Earl of Angus,
having collected a small fleet, approached Berwick in the night, and scaled the walls; while the Earl of March, with the French (mops, seconded the attack. The town surrendered, the inhabitants retiring to the castle, which the Scots were unable to reduce till the town was invested by an army under Edward, when they capitulated and retired.
Despairing of regaining his authority in Scotland, Baliol made an absolute surrender of his kingdom and crown to Edward of England. But this did not increase the authority of Edward in Scotland, and, resolving to extort the reluctant obedience of the ba rons, he led his forces into Lothian. But the army was involved in difficulties, and had no alternative but to retreat, or to be wasted by famine and the sword. Edward desolated the country, and laid in ashes every town, village, and hamlet that he passed in his retreat.
After this retreat, the Scots expelled his partisans from the west marches. Nithsdale, Annandale, and Galloway, successively surrendered their fortresses, and yielded obedience to the regent; while the Eng lish, intent upon the subjugation of France, ye-opened a negotiation for the release of the king of Scots. A treaty was concluded at Berwick, in consequence of which David was released after a captivity of eleven years. The ransom agreed upon was one hundred thousand merks sterling, to be paid by yearly instal ments of ten thousand. But he visited England a few months after his release; and during the remainder of his reign made many visits to London.
The Scots negotiated alternately with the French and the English; with the former, to obtain a subsidy to enable them the more easily to discharge the king's ransom, though at the expense of a war with Eng land; with the latter, to procure if possible an abate ment of the ransom, or to the payment.
The king, in a parliament held at Scone, proposed that, in the event of his dying without issue, one of the sons of the king of England should be chosen to succeed him. They unanimously rejected the propo sal. The nobles entered into associations for main taining the legal succession; and took up arms against the person suspected of favouring the king's political views. David had recourse to arms; but a general amnesty was granted.