page_title: Treaty of Falaise
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Treaty of Falaise / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of King Edward I's statue on the Kings' Screen in York Minster. (Cropped and widened using photo editor at https://www.befunky.com/create/. Shadows decreased and contrast further increased using Preview MacOS)
context_page_description: The Treaty of Falaise was a forced written agreement made in December 1174 between the captive William I, King of Scots, and Henry II, King of England.
  During the Revolt of 1173-1174, William joined the rebels and was captured at the Battle of Alnwick during an invasion of Northumbria. He was transported to Falaise in Normandy while Henry prosecuted the war against his sons and their allies. Left with little choice, William agreed to the Treaty and therefore England’s dominion over Scotland. For the first time, the relationship between the king of Scots and the king of England was to be set down in writing. The Treaty’s provisions affected the Scottish king, nobles, and clergy; their heirs; judicial proceedings, and transferred the castles of Roxburgh, Berwick, Jedburgh, Edinburgh, and Stirling over to English soldiers; in short, where previously the king of Scots was supreme, now England was the ultimate authority in Scotland.
  During the next 15 years, William was forced to observe Henry's overlordship, such as needing to obtain permission from the English crown before putting down local uprisings.
context_section_description: Even though the Treaty of Falaise was in effect for only fifteen years, it had a lasting impact on English-Scottish relations. The nature of the Treaty required that another written document would have to succeed it, as the Quitclaim of Canterbury did. The explosion of charters and treaties in the 12ᵗʰ and 13ᵗʰ centuries highlighted this growing method of diplomacy within the English isles, although their effect depended on who would enforce them. The immediate consequence was a reversion to the previous tradition of fealty and homage on a personal level, not “for” Scotland as Henry had demanded. The intrusive English “overlordship” was no more, but despite William’s umbrage at being the lesser, Henry did not truly exploit the Treaty’s powers, as evidenced by his decision to not even establish English garrisons in all the castles that William was required to surrender. Henry’s ultimate goal may have been to keep the Scots in line, rather than him having to manage another kingdom.
  Perhaps the most consequential legacy of Henry’s victory over the rebellion, which gave rise to this Treaty, stemmed from his visit to Becket’s tomb. Helping to cement for eternity a new patron saint of England, Henry pressed for total subjugation of Scotland as well. Regarding its provisos relating to the Church of England’s dominion over its Scottish counterpart, the Treaty of Falaise ultimately forced the opposite result. The question of England’s supremacy over the Church of Scotland had seemed to be answered by the Treaty. Henry tried to force the subjection of Scottish bishops per the Treaty at a council in Northampton, but a dispute between the archbishops of Canterbury and York over which of them should be Scotland’s metropolitan allowed time for an appeal to Rome. Pope Alexander III issued the bull Super anxietatibus on July 30, 1176, which declared that the bishops of Scotland should regard the pope as their metropolitan until further notice. This became official in 1192 with the Cum universi establishing the Church of Scotland as an independent body.
  When it comes to Northumbria, William was never able to get over the loss of his earldom. In 1194, he offered 15,000 marks of silver for Northumberland, but Richard would only part with the land and not the castles, which was unacceptable to William. With John’s ascension in 1199, William made several more attempts over the years, each of which was rebuffed. William dies in 1214, having never recovered Northumbria, the issue which defined so many of his actions relating to England throughout his long reign.
  In sum, the Treaty of Falaise played an important role in English and Scottish history, as its short-lived declaration of English dominion would set the table for more hostilities down the line. Future English kings would press these claims, and look to the Treaty’s spirit to force English dominion in Scotland, as well as Wales and Ireland. The revocation of the Treaty provided for a century of uneasy alliance, until Edward I capitalized on a succession crisis to re-assert England’s complete control over Scotland, leading to the Scottish Wars of Independence beginning in 1296.
caption: Edward I, the Longshanks, used a succession crisis in Scotland to re-assert English overlordship in 1291, demanding terms beyond the scope of the Treaty of Falaise.
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