Professor Stein's collected essays on the Roman Civil Law contain more than one contribution relevant to the theme of the present article which it is a particular pleasure to dedicate to him. Much work could still be done on that theme and modern scholarship has opened up and continues to open up new views upon it. What is offered is an interim report.

SCOTLAND'S ALLIANCE WITH FRANCE

Scotland and France were linked by alliance from an early date. Fanciful history placed the earliest alliance in the time of Charlemagne and there were indeed alliances on particular occasions, such as that between William the Lion and Louis VII of France in 1173, but the beginning of the “Auld (Old) Alliance” as a standing relationship can be dated to 1295. The treaty in question was entered into by John Balliol, then king of Scotland, and Philip IV of France, but the Estates of Scotland seem to have had more enthusiasm for it than Balliol himself. He had emerged as king of Scotland as a result of the Great Cause, the dispute over the succession to the crown of Scotland which arose on the death of the infant Queen, Margaret the Maid of Norway.