Alexander II: King of Scots 1214-1249 Book

Offering a fresh assessment of Alexander II's contribution to the making of Scotland as a nation, this book explores the king's successes and failures and lifts the focus from an introspective national history to look at the man and his kingdom in wider British and European history. It examines his international relationships and offers the first detailed analysis of the efforts to work out a lasting diplomatic solution to Anglo-Scottish conflict over his inherited claims to the northern counties of England. More than just a political narrative, the book also seeks to illuminate aspects of the king's character and his relationships with those around him, especially his mother, his first wife Joan Plantagenet, and the great magnates, clerics, and officials who served in his household and administration. By equal measure state builder and political unifier as well as ruthless opportunist and bloody-handed aggressor, Alexander II has been praised or vilified by past historians but has rarely been viewed in the round.