The reigns of Alexander II. and III., extending from 1214 to 1286, comprised the first pointed work in Scotland. Those reigns were characterised by quietness and prosperity at home and peace abroad. The Norman invasion of the previous century seemed to have become complete, and the country had settled down and accepted the new conditions imported from the South, both as regards matters secular and ecclesiastic. The king’s writ extended all over the land, except in the Western and Northern Islands, and the Roman rule in ecclesiastical affairs was co-extensive with it. The country was prosperous, and is believed to have been more wealthy than at any time till after the Union with England. These conditions favoured architecture, and, coming as they did in the first pointed period, the consequence was that the edifices erected during the thirteenth century were the largest and contained the finest architecture which Scotland can boast of. But this fortunate state of matters was doomed to a sudden extinction. The disputed succession following the death of the third Alexander, in 1286, opened to Edward I. an opportunity for endeavouring to complete the Norman conquest of the country. This, as we have seen, had been already achieved so far as social relations were concerned, and Edward resolved that it should also be so politically. The resistance of the country and Edward’s hostile attitude had the immediate effect of causing the withdrawal of the Norman settlers, who owed allegiance to Edward for their estates in England, along with their dependants. These carried with them much of the civilisation and culture which they had introduced. Moreover, the incessant state of war and disturbance which arose during the struggle for independence, and lasted over so many years, put a stop to all commerce and agriculture, and reduced the country to a condition of the utmost poverty and barbarism. Even after King Robert’s death, in 1329, a part of the South of Scotland remained in the hands of the English for a considerable time, and suffered much from lying in the track of war. Melrose Abbey had been partly rebuilt through the pious devotion of King Robert, but in 1385, this and other abbeys in the south-eastern district, together with the town of Edinburgh, including St. Giles’ Church, were again destroyed by Richard II. In the midst of all these depressing influences it is obvious that the ecclesiastical architecture of the country must for a long time not only have suffered a total cessation from progress, but must also have endured severe injury.