It is uncertain when Edward’s thoughts were first directed to the Northern kingdom, but events had been rapidly occurring, which threw Scotland almost entirely into his hands. Quite early in the reign he seems to have wished, as was natural for one of his legal mind, to have the disputed question of homage cleared up. Again and again homage had been paid to his predecessors; but, except in the case of William the Lion’s homage to Henry II., it had been always open to the Scotch King to assert that it was for fiefs in England, and not for Scotland, that his homage was rendered. Even that clear instance had been annihilated by the subsequent sale of the submission then made by Richard I. It would seem in fact that the claim to overlordship was really based upon much earlier transactions. Scotland consisted of three incorporated kingdoms--the Highlands, or kingdoms of the Scots, Galloway, which was part of the British kingdom of Strathclyde, and the Lothians, which had undoubtedly been a part of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. In the time of the English Empire the King of Scots and all the people had chosen Eadward the Elder as father and lord; that is to say, they had what is technically called commended themselves to the English King. Strathclyde had been conquered by Eadmund, and by him had been granted to Malcolm as a fief, on condition of military tenure; while afterwards the Lothians had been granted by Eadgar to the Scotch kings as an English earldom. Thus, on various grounds, all parts of the Kingdom of Scotland acknowledged the English King as their overlord. When England fell into the hands of the Normans, William, professedly assuming the position which his predecessor had held, would naturally expect the same homage to be paid to him. It is equally certain that the Scotch kings would object to pay it. It had therefore been a constantly open and disputed question till the time of Edward. Meanwhile the feudal law, which had not existed at the time of the original commendation, had grown up and been formulated. Edward, as we have seen, intended to use it to the full. He therefore desired the uncertain acknowledgment of the old supremacy to be brought, as it had never hitherto been, within the precise and clearly-defined limits of feudal overlordship. The character of Alexander III. was such as to strengthen such ideas. In 1275, his wife, Edward’s sister Margaret, had died. The tie of relationship thus broken, Edward had demanded and received, in 1278, a homage, which he declared to his chancellor was complete and without reservation;[46] and since that time, more than once, Alexander had seemed to acknowledge the supremacy. [Sidenote: Extinction of the Scotch royal family.] [Sidenote: Proposed marriage of the Maid and Prince Edward.] [Sidenote: Accepted with restrictions. 1290.]