As Alexandre de Balens, Balliol's arms appear in a roll of Scottish knights who took part in a grand tournament held for Louis IX of France at Compiègne.

[4] In 1284, under the same designation of Dominus de Cavers, he was one of the Scottish barons who bound themselves to receive Margaret, the Maid of Norway, as queen in the event of failure of male issue of Alexander III.

Alexander having been captured at the Battle of Dunbar on 27 April 1296 and was only released upon agreeing to serve Edward I in a campaign in Flanders.

On 13 January 1297, Edward made a presentation to the church of Cavers, upon the ground that the lands of Alexander de Baliol were in his hands.

A few scanty notices between 1298 and 1301 indicate that he took part on the English side in the war with Scotland; and from one of these we learn that he had manors in Kent, the wood of which he received the king's licence to sell.

[6] In 1303, he seems to have shown signs of again falling off from the English side, since his chattels in Kent, Hertfordshire, and Roxburghshire were in that year seized by John de Bretagne, Earl of Richmond, in the Scottish campaign.