John Balliol, of whose early life little…

John Balliol, of whose early life little is known, was born between 1248 and 1250 at an unknown location; possibilities include Galloway, Picardy and Barnard Castle, County Durham.

He was the son of John, Fifth Baron Balliol, Lord of Barnard Castle, and his wife Dervorguilla of Galloway, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway and granddaughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon.

From his mother hehas inherited significant lands in Galloway and claim to Lordship over the Gallovidians, as well as various English and Scottish estates of the Huntingdon inheritance; from his father he has inherited large estates in England and France, such as Hitchin, in Hertfordshire.

Balliol had attended a parliament at Scone in 1284, which had recognized Margaret, Maid of Norway, as heir presumptive to her grandfather, King Alexander III.

Following the death of Margaret in 1290, John Balliol has been a competitor for the Scottish crown in the Great Cause, as he is a great-great-great-grandson of King David I through his mother (and therefore one generation further than his main rival Robert Bruce, Fifth Lord of Annandale, grandfather of Robert the Bruce, who will later become king), being senior in genealogical primogeniture but not in proximity of blood.

He had submitted his claim to the Scottish auditors with King Edward I of England as the arbitrator, at Berwick-upon-Tweed on June 6, 1291.

The Scottish auditors' decision in favor of Balliol is pronounced in the Great Hall of Berwick on November 30, 1292, St. Andrew's Day.