The change of Carrick's name from "John," hateful by reason of its association with Balliol, to that of the hero of Bannockburn, could not avail to alter the weak disposition and character of the new monarch. The first years of the reign were free from conflict with the troublesome neighbour in the south; but they were years of internal feud, almost of anarchy. The career of the Wolf of Badenoch is typical of the time. Possibly the mysterious combat at Perth, where Hal o' the Wynd carved for himself a path to fame, is connected with some attempt to introduce order. Parliament met during these years only to sanction charters and other formal documents. But the meeting of the Estates in 1398 is a distinct epoch in the story. Burton[92] tells us that "At length the cry of the nation reached and was re-echoed by the Estates in Parliament"; that, although "in this assembly were those who had been the most flagrant and powerful transgressors, yet the Parliament collectively emphatically denounced the evils of the day and sought to find a remedy for them"; and that "no one who could have checked the mischief was spared." If we could accept this view of the situation, it would be an interesting exception to the common belief that an individual may have a conscience, but a body of councillors has none. But Burton's characterization of this parliament is, _pace tanti viri_, a psychological impossibility. He founds his interpretation upon the often quoted Act which attributed to the king all responsibility for the misgovernment of the realm, and called upon him, if he desired to exculpate himself, to show that the blame lay with his officers. The Duke of Rothesay was appointed regent, and he was instructed to consult a council of "wise and leal men." We are not informed under what auspices the parliament met. But it is certain that the king was not responsible for his actions, and that the anarchy was largely due to the rivalry of the Duke of Rothesay, the king's eldest son, and the Duke of Albany, a brother of King Robert, who, as Earl of Fife, had held the title of "Governor" in the end of the "preceding" reign. They and they alone could have "checked the mischief." The probability is that the meeting of Parliament was really an incident in their struggle for power; that Rothesay was powerful enough to secure the regency; and that Albany succeeded in circumscribing his power by a council and by a decision that Parliament was to be summoned once a year. But it is not necessary to allow even this importance to the appointment of a yearly parliament. The Act says that the king shall hold a parliament "swa that his subjects be servit of the law." It was to meet merely to overtake its judicial work--the decisions in feudal quarrels and on complaints of robbery and oppression. Our explanation of the _motif_ of the meeting of the Estates of 1398 receives some confirmation from subsequent events--the misgovernment of