Join Greg Jenner for a fun history lesson on the medieval Scottish Wars of Independence. Why couldn’t England and Scotland get along? Why should you never battle on a bridge? And what on Earth does a spider have to do with anything? Historical Consultant: Dr Iain MacInnes Produced by Abi Paterson Scripted by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, Emma Nagouse and Greg Jenner Research Assistance by Hannah MacKenzie A production by The Athletic for BBC Radio 4
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Hello and welcome to Homeschool History.
I'm Greg Jenner, the historian behind tv's horrible histories and the host of the BBC podcast, you're dead to me.
I'm here to deliver a snappy history lesson to entertain and educate the whole family.
Who says that homeschooling can't be fun?
Today we are journeying back over 700 years to find out how Scotland was shaped by rebellion, betrayal and a very determined spider.
Today we are learning all about Scotland's medieval wars of independence.
During the reign of scottish king Alexander III, Scotland and England got on quite well.
Apart from the occasional argument about where to put the border.
They were like neighbours who got grumpy about the garden fence but never went as far as kicking over each others bins.
Alexander III was a good king, but sadly, none of his children lived longer than him.
So when he fell off his horse in 1286 and died, Scotland was left with a pretty big problem.
Who should rule next?
There was only one obvious heir, Alexanders granddaughter, Margaret.
But she was only a little girl and she lived in Norway and she was quite poorly.
In fact, before she could even make it to Scotland, she sadly died.
Poor Margaret.
So now the crown of Scotland was well and truly up for grabs, meaning lots of posh people were basically scouring the medieval version of Ancestry.com to see if they had a legal claim to the throne.
I'm 5% scottish, king.
Some of the applicants were scottish, as you'd expect.