#a moray soldier/messenger

[delia-witch-of-moray]

(?) Lady Delia!

(D) Ah, good afternoon, young man. Have you come from Lord Moray?

(?) Aye, and he sends you a letter.

(D) Would you be so good as to read it to me, then? Thank you.

(?) “Delia: My wife is expecting again, and she says the babe will arrive sometime near Yuletide, but I thought you should be apprised of this. Ingebjorg says you’re welcome any time at Dùn Inbhir Nis, and Osbjorn sends his love to Fabian.”

(D) Well! That is good news! Tell Lord Moray that Fabian and I’ll come by in three days.

(?) Yes, Miss Delia. Oh, and thank you for helping my mother last week— we’ll lay some extra eggs aside for you soon to repay you.

(D) My pleasure, lad. Go on now, and take care.

[scotianostra]

On October 23rd 1295 the Auld Alliance treaty was signed between John Balliol, King of Scots, and Philippe IV of France.

Scots like to forget Balliol's tenure as our King, but he does deserve to be remembered, he was our King rightfully, this was agreed on by all the parties during The Great Cause and at the end of the day, he too had enough of being used as a pawn by the English king Edward I. 

So how did the Auld Alliance come about?

During 1294, Edward I was preparing to go to war with France. He wanted his feudal lords to accompany him or send soldiers to join his army. In Edward's opinion, Balliol was another one of his nobles. He told him that he and other Scots would have to fight.

This caused outrage among many of the Scottish nobility, they believed Scotland was an independent country – Edward I had no right to ask Scottish people to fight for him and they refused to accept that their king would have to fight for England.

Also war would be expensive – it would cost the Scottish nobles in taxes and soldiers and Scotland had strong economic ties with France and did not want to fight their trading partners. The Scots and the French had traded for centuries. King David I had brought Norman families to Scotland. Wool from Scottish sheep was shipped to Flanders and wines from France were imported to Leith. So the Scottish nobles, unhappy with Edward's demands and the performance of their king, that in 1295 they took action.

A new group of twelve 'Guardians of the Realm' was formed. They took several steps to defy Edward, the Guardians sent Scottish messengers to France to discuss how to deal with Edward I and in February 1296 a military and diplomatic alliance was agreed between Scotland and France. A treaty was signed in October which became known as the 'Auld Alliance' the treaty stated that if France was attacked, Scottish forces would invade England to help them. Edward was furious with the actions of the Scottish nobles. He blamed Balliol for not keeping them under control. He decided to take action and invaded Scotland.

He first took Berwick, "sparing noone" figures vary of the slain, some sources say their may have been up to 30,000 killed, mostly civilians after a short siege. Dunbar fell next as Earl Warenne of Surrey marched the English north taking Edinburgh and Stirling, by the middle of the summer, Edward had travelled as far north as Elgin.

Balliol failed to offer effective leadership. He did not lead the Scots at Dunbar. When news of the defeat reached him, he fled to Comyn territory in the north. As king with only the limited powers Edward allowed him John could only do so much, most of his tenure was in an admin role although he also had to contend with a certain family, called Bruce and keeping the Comyns happy.

Following another failed attempt to rally any remaining Scottish support at Kincardine Castle, the nobles requested terms from Edward. Balliol officially surrendered to Edward in July 1296.

Edward I forced Balliol to apologise publicly. He removed the Royal Badge from Balliol's clothing. Subsequently, John became known as 'Toom Tabard' (meaning Empty Coat).

Balliol was imprisoned in the Tower of London until 1299 before being allowed to go into exile in France.

In the meantime Edward controlled Scotland and wanted to destroy any remaining symbols of Scottish identity and remove all evidence that Scotland was once an independent country, he ordered important records relating to the Scottish throne be removed to London -these were lost when the ship carrying them sank. The Stone of Destiny was transported to Westminster along with the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Black Rood of St Margaret, In August 1296, leading Scottish nobles and burgesses swore a personal oath to Edward in the Ragman Roll, the 1600 names on it included The Bruces, Comyns. One seal that was not on the document was that of William Wallace. There has been historical debate over the absence of the seal. Some historians argue that this is an early sign of Wallace's resistance to the English monarch, while others believe that he was simply not important enough to be included on the roll. Despite Edward I's control over Scotland's major nobles, pockets of resistance continued. In the north east of Scotland, Andrew Moray led a campaign against English rule. Across the south west of the kingdom, William Wallace was engaged in skirmishes with English forces, but that's a different story.......

There are reminders of the bond between the two countries both at home, here in Scotland, and in France, as seen in the pics, the second pic at Murrayfield stadium and  is a nod to those men of both countries that fell in World War one, also remembered in the new trophy the teams play for. The next pic is a plaque on the wall outside number 28 Regent Terrace, where in June 1942 Charles de Galle made a speech that included the lines...

"In every combat where for five centuries the destiny of France was at stake, there were always men of Scotland to fight side by side with men of France, and what Frenchmen feel is that no people has ever been more generous than yours with its friendship."

Next pic is The French war memorial, the Cross of Lorraine, on Lyle Hill, Greenock, it remembers those that died during World War Two, the Free French Naval Forces were based below at Greenock during the war, it was the personnel based there that designed and paid for the memorial.

Over in France we at Aubigny-sur-Nère we have "Stuarts Castle"  In 1423, in the name of the ‘Auld Alliance, King Charles VII of France awarded Sir John Stuart of Darnley, a Constable of the Scottish army, the town and its surrounding lands, in thanks for his services against the English during the Hundred Years War. The town is fondly known as ‘City of the Stuarts’ Aubigny-sur-Nère then remained under Scottish control for two and half centuries and the Stuart dynasty left a lasting mark. John Stuart’s grandson, Bernard the 4th Lord of Aubigny, was called Béraud by the French and nicknamed the “knight beyond reproach” The very last Stuart died in 1672, without an heir, and Aubigny was returned to the French crown. Next pic is also in the town, a giant metal statue of a piper, there is also a nursery called Kilts et Culottes, and next, of course we have the Aubigny Auld Alliance Pipe Band. And the town also has France Berry Aubigny-sur-Nère Museum Auld Alliance , complete with a "copy" of the treaty 

Further afield at Bauge we have a memorial to the battle there in 1421 where a Franco-Scots army defeated the English, the Scots were led by John Stewart, Earl of Buchan. 

Next photo is the memorial to the Battle of Cravant, fought in 1423, it saw the Scots refusing to flee and fought on, to be cut down by the hundreds. Perhaps 1,200–3,000 of them fell, and over 2,000 prisoners were taken.

Another memorial next to The Battle of Verneuil, another Franco-Scots army fought and were defeated by the English, Buchan fell at this battle, along with many Scots including Archibald, Earl of Douglas.

[weavingthetapestry]

The Battle of Largs and the Treaty of Perth, Part 3

(Reading time- roughly 16 minutes, here are parts 1 and 2)

A fair wind saw the Norwegian fleet reach Shetland within days, where it put into Bressay for a couple of weeks before continuing on to Orkney. There Hakon IV remained for the rest of July, negotiating with the inhabitants of Caithness across the Pentland Firth (who paid the king’s tax to avoid trouble), while sending some of his fleet further south to plunder in the Moray Firth. After around a month spent in the Northern Isles, demonstrating his lordship, the king then set sail again on the 10th of August, rounding Cape Wrath and joining up with the galleys of Magnus Olafsson, King of Mann, on the way south. The whole fleet now sailed unchecked through the Inner Hebrides, passing the recently devastated island of Skye and stopping briefly in Lochalsh, before moving on to the island of Kerrera, where Alexander II of Scotland had died of an illness just over fourteen years before, during his own Hebridean expedition. There, Hakon split his force in half again, and himself sailed a way further south to the island of Gigha, opposite the Kintyre peninsula (on the Scottish mainland).

On Gigha, the Norwegian king once again set about demonstrating his lordship. A friar who came to ask that his monastery be spared was granted royal protection. Angus Mor MacDonald of Islay and a certain Murchad (possibly Murchadh MacSween) also journeyed to meet the king there and swore fealty, however their allegiance was obviously suspect and they were obliged to give hostages for the safety of their territory. The other major Island magnate to appear at Gigha was less ready to side with the Norwegian king; Ewen MacDougall of Argyll had learnt from his earlier troubles and, though for some reason he still met with King Hakon in Gigha, he steadfastly refused to break his new oath to the king of Scots, and was temporarily arrested.

Though the loyalty of the Hebridean lords who came to Gigha was hardly inspiring, Hakon was not without allies in the west. The other half of his fleet were plundering Kintyre at this time, and these galleys were partly commanded by Irish sea magnates, namely Magnus Olafsson, the Crovan king of Mann, and Dubhgall mac Ruadhrí, now sole king of the Isles (as far as Norway was concerned). Lesser men also joined the campaign as the Norwegian fleet passed through the Isles, though in some cases this may have been in order to settle personal scores or win plunder. Dunaverty Castle in Kintyre was also surrendered to the king of Norway around this time. A smaller ship sent ahead by the king even managed to take the Stewart stronghold of Rothesay on Bute, and several villages there were burnt. Meanwhile King Hakon received more visitors at Gigha, messengers from Irish lords who had heard of his coming and begged assistance against the English. The king sent men across to Ireland to find out more, but for now continued on his original mission; recalling his entire fleet, he rounded the Mull of Kintyre soon after and finally sailed into the Firth of Clyde.

(This is a very crowded diagram but should hopefully help)

While his ships lay in Lamlash Bay, sheltered between Arran and the Holy Isle, Hakon was approached by Dominican friars: messengers from Alexander III of Scotland, then at Ayr. For some time thereafter envoys went between the two monarchs, attempting to negotiate a peace. Ewen of Argyll was also released with surprising goodwill, and even given gifts; it is possible that Hakon hoped Ewen would persuade the king of Scots towards peace, but still odd that he does not seem to have been seriously punished for his earlier disloyalty. Eventually though, the talks floundered- Hakon would not relinquish the Western Isles and Alexander particularly refused to part with Arran, Bute, and the Cumbraes. The Scots may also have been playing for time, knowing that the season was growing late and the weather worsening. Eventually King Hakon moved across to the Cumbraes, implicitly threatening the adjacent Ayrshire coast, and gave the Scots a last chance to negotiate seriously, with both kings present, or meet in battle. The Scots did not falter at this threat however, and the Norwegians swiftly retaliated by sending forty galleys up Loch Long to harry Scotland, under the command of Magnus, king of Mann, and Dubhgall, king of the Isles, along with the latter’s brother Alan mac Ruadhrí and other islesmen. Having burnt Loch Lomond and the Lennox, Alan Mac Ruadhrí’s contingent may have penetrated even further into the country: the earldom of Menteith bordered the Lennox and was possibly an appealing target since it was held de jure uxoris by Walter Stewart. Even Stirling Castle seems to have been placed on a war footing, and was perhaps a base of operations for those defending against Alan’s incursion.

However, while this assault was possibly too close to the heart of the kingdom for comfort, the Scots were ultimately to weather the storm- quite literally, as the predicted bad weather now set in, and a violent storm just after Michaelmas wrecked ten of the galleys in Loch Long. It also played havoc with the fleet in the Firth, scattering many ships and causing even Kristsuden, King Hakon’s dragon-prowed longship, to drift despite being weighed down with eight anchors. Several longships, as well as a supply ship, drifted ashore, where they were harassed by Scottish arrows, though the Scots withdrew when King Hakon sent boats to reinforce the stranded men. The next day, the 2nd of October, the king himself went ashore with several hundred men to supervise the salvaging of the goods on the supply ship. He also sent one of his more active captains, Ogmund Crowdance, with two hundred men to a small mound above the beach. The work proceeded without much incident until the supply ship was almost empty, when suddenly a Scottish army was spotted, approaching swiftly from the south. Even taking into account the possibility of Norwegian exaggeration, the Scottish host seems to have been reasonably large for an army which was presumably only one of several such forces put on alert along the coast. Norwegian estimates of perhaps as many as five hundred well-mounted knights may not have been far off the mark, and these were reinforced by a much larger number of foot soldiers, carrying mostly bows and Irish axes. The Scots made such an impressive spectacle that some assumed their king was among them. In fact the army was most likely led by the major local magnate Alexander Stewart, the High Steward of Scotland, and perhaps also his brother Walter, Earl of Menteith, who may have been Sheriff of Ayr at this time and whose role would have been to lead the common army.

(Not my picture)

Moving quickly, the Scots made a feint on Ogmund Crowdance’s position atop the mound, possibly attempting to cut his force off from the beach. To avoid being surrounded, the men on the mound descended to the beach, though some of the Norwegians thought they were retreating and fled in turn. Now, King Hakon’s followers pleaded with him to return to the ships, and though he initially refused, he was eventually compelled to board one of the boats and be rowed away. Meanwhile, the Scots advanced, flinging arrows and stones, while the Norwegians abandoned the supply-ship and fell back, some of them drowning when the boats they tried to escape in sank. Others met their attackers in battle, and a violent skirmish ensued where the Norwegians were outnumbered and several of King Hakon’s guardsmen fell, though Sturla Thordarson's saga claims the Scots lost more men. When the Norwegians regrouped, it was the Scots’ turn to withdraw and, after a long period of fighting, retreat, while the Norwegians, with no wish to fight further, returned to the sea, rowing back to their ships with great difficulty in the stormy conditions. The next morning, some Norwegians were sent back to count the dead, and bury them in a nearby church, (the Scots had had time to remove many of their dead to a wood). Meanwhile, the galleys that had been sent to raid up Loch Long rejoined the main fleet, and, after sending men to burn the ships that had been beached near Largs, King Hakon sailed back to Arran with his fleet. When brought news of Irish affairs by the messenger he had earlier sent, Hakon seems to have been of a mind to sail over to Ireland to help against the English, but was strongly opposed by his army, who seem to have been largely against prosecuting yet another war. Thus frustrated, Hakon sailed out of the Firth of Clyde, deciding to postpone his campaign till spring.

This then was the famous ‘Battle of Largs’, more accurately an inconclusive tussle on the beach in which most of the Norwegian force was not present, and the Scots were not gloriously victorious. The main near-contemporary source for the campaign is Sturla Thordarson’s saga of the life of Hakon Hakonarsson, and Sturla never explicitly attributes a victory to either side, though he does claim at points that the Scots had the worst of the fighting. The Scottish Chronicle of Melrose was as eager to attribute Norwegians' defeat to the hand of God (wrecking their fleet and spreading disease among them) as to Scottish military might. Thus the fight on the beach at Largs, at least of itself, does not seem to have struck any contemporary writers as particularly game-changing. This did not prevent later writers waxing lyrical upon the subject though. John of Fordun gives the number of Hakon’s fighting men as 20,000 which seems somewhat exaggerated (though the tally of ships is given as 160, which is likely near enough) and portrays the event as an unambiguous Scottish triumph where the royal army ‘swept down many [Norwegians], both nobles and serfs’. Fordun’s continuator Walter Bower added yet more to the story, thousands of Norwegians were slain in the 'severe battle' at Largs, and that King Hakon himself barely escaped with his life. Bower even adds a story of the spirit of St Margaret (with her husband and several sons) personally going to Largs to defend Scotland from ‘the usurper who is unjustly trying to subject my kingdom to his rule’. Some later historians were rather more discerning (Lord Hailes thankfully being one of them to an extent) but others, especially nineteenth century popular historians, raised the profile of the battle in the imagination of many Scots, with Taylor’s Pictorial History (for one) naming it as one of the most important ‘national’ events in Scottish history, thus placing it on a par with Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn. This approach is now rightly seen by most modern historians as something of a misrepresentation, at the very least.

(The mural designed by William Brassey Hole that depicts the Battle of Largs may be seen at the National Gallery of Scotland. Not my picture)

Nonetheless Largs does assume greater importance if considered in a wider context, both of the 1263 campaign and Hakon IV’s reputation. Though at first glance the Norwegian campaign seems impressive, with several castles taken, Hakon’s fleet accompanied by key Hebridean magnates, and his followers raiding the interior of the Scottish kingdom, there are in fact signs that it was a rather hollow effort. On several occasions, Hakon had been opposed or even overruled by his own men, while he had allowed Ewen MacDougall's defection to go largely unpunished. His army had attacked the Scottish mainland, but, crucially, Scotland weathered this assault, and nor were the Scots cowed, as others had been, by the sight of Hakon’s fleet in the Firth of Clyde nor by his threats of war. Hakon did not make another attempt on the mainland after Largs, preferring to postpone his campaign for the winter- a wise move in view of the weather, and the Scots' readiness to withstand assault, but it meant relinquishing his advantage. There were wider problems too. As Hakon sailed north again he rewarded his men, but it soon became clear that the Scots would simply exact revenge upon his adherents as soon as the Norwegians were out of the way. The Scottish Crown, stronger now than in 1098 and ruthlessly intent on expansion, was able to put pressure on the Hebrides in a way that Norway, due to both distance and resources, simply could not match in the long term. King Alexander III could also rely on stronger (if often self-serving) support from local magnates- when King Hakon stopped at Kerrera on his way north, he received news that Ewen of Argyll had attacked Mull, while later some of his men who went ashore in Sutherland were killed by Scots. Even as Hakon’s fleet sailed to Orkney, intending to winter there and then resume the campaign, it must have been clear that this would be an increasingly difficult undertaking. Certainly, Sturla Thordarson’s claim that, ‘In this expedition, king Hakon had won back again all the dominions that king Magnus Bareleg had acquired’, was not entirely truthful.

For now, Hakon dismissed some of his army upon returning to Orkney (though others went without leave), but soon the king’s campaign was brought to a more permanent end. Ever since summer, he had suffered intermittently from sickness, and now he became seriously ill, taking to his bed in the Bishop’s Palace at Kirkwall just after Martinmas. Though his health improved briefly, it soon deteriorated again and, as it became clear to the king that he was dying, he put his affairs in order, paying off retainers and writing advisory letters to his son, the lately crowned King Magnus, having affirmed that he had no other offspring living. Meanwhile, books were read to him day and night- first the Bible and then, as he grew weaker, works in Norse, the saints’ lives and, after, the sagas of kings. Sturla Thordarson writes that this continued until the saga of Hakon’s grandfather, Sverre, was finished near midnight on the 15th of December. Just after midnight, King Hakon finally passed. He was not yet sixty, but had ruled Norway for forty-six years. In the course of his long reign he achieved an end to the bitter civil wars that had divided Norway for over a century, and was also highly educated and a formidable military leader, who, for better or for worse, left Norway a much reformed kingdom. It was his misfortune to die in the middle of an ultimately disappointing campaign, which, if not before, was now definitely a failure. His body was returned to Bergen in the new year, where it was met by his son Magnus and interred in Christ Church. Meanwhile, the news of Hakon's death was allegedly brought to Alexander III of Scotland on the same day that his queen Margaret of England, gave birth to a son and heir Prince Alexander**.

While the Norwegians buried their king, the Scots wasted no time in pressing their advantage. Before Hakon’s body was even cold in the ground, the Earl of Ross was menacing Caithness on behalf of the Crown, while in the summer of 1264 Alan Durward and the earls of Buchan and Mar invaded the Isles, receiving Angus Mor of Islay’s submission. An invasion of the Isle of Man was only prevented by King Magnus Olafsson personally journeying to Dumfries to do homage to the King of Scots for the island; the submission of the man who had been such an active supporter of King Hakon only the previous year is a particularly strong example of the way the wind was blowing in 1264. Later, Alan Mac Ruadhrí would also come into King Alexander’s peace, though his brother King Dubhgall remained at large and in defiance of the Scottish Crown until his death in 1268, possibly in exile in Norway.

In light of all this- both the constant Scottish pressure on Norwegian possessions in the Hebrides and the recent loss of his father- it is little wonder that King Magnus of Norway was sick of the war in the west, as were many of his subjects. The Orcadians were the first to sue for peace, and the bishop and chancellor of Orkney sent messengers to the king of Scots as early as spring of 1264. These messengers were not at all successful however, as the Scots imprisoned some of the envoys and angrily accused the Norwegians of burning and plundering their land- which may seem somewhat rich coming from Scotland but it seems to me like the Scots were utilising a sense of righteous indignation while flexing their negotiating muscles and holding out for better terms than a mere suspension of hostilities. In any case, later on when the King of Norway himself sent envoys they were more readily welcomed, and the Scots seemed amenable to peace, recommending that the Norwegian king send more messengers in the future. Now negotiations proceeded more smoothly, with the two countries frequently exchanging emissaries over the next couple of years. Eventually King Magnus seems to have come to the opinion that only the permanent surrender of the Hebrides would ensure peace, but the Norwegians would not walk away empty-handed from this deal as it was decided that the Scots would pay a yearly fee for the islands- what is often known as the ‘annual’. Thus the Treaty of Perth was ratified in 1266, with the Scots agreeing to pay an annual fee of a hundred marks for the Hebrides and the Isle of Man, and King Alexander paying four thousand marks up front ‘for greater security’. Conflict between Norway and Scotland was finally brought to an end, and Scottish sovereignty over the Western Isles and Mann formally established.

Though some Scottish histories, having reached this point, like to shuffle the Western Isles offstage again until the Battle of Harlaw in 1411, the Treaty of Perth was only the start of a very new relationship between the Hebrides and the Scottish Crown, while the Isle of Man also went through considerable change in the century that followed. In fact, as Scotland entered an extended period of civil strife in the fourteenth century, the isles once again saw the rebirth of a strong, semi-independent political entity in the form of the Lordship of the Isles, and continued to take a distinctively Hebridean stance in Irish sea politics in the centuries that followed. But in 1266 the balance of power in the Atlantic certainly shifted, and Norway’s ability to insert itself into the political affairs of the British Isles was massively reduced, even despite their possession of Orkney and Shetland. By the early fourteenth century Norwegian politics had definitively shifted away from a focus on the west, while Scotland was now an increasingly centralised and coherent kingdom, at least officially, and this would become increasingly apparent over the course of the late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. With the exception of the Northern Isles (and later the loss of Berwick-upon-Tweed and Man), the borders of the Scottish kingdom by the end of the reign of Alexander III were much more similar to the way they look today, and the annexation of the Western Isles had an immeasurable effect on the way in which that country was viewed both by its inhabitants and the outside world.

*It is worth noting briefly England’s position in all this. Fractured by civil war at this point, the English were essentially unable to capitalise on Norwegian defeat, and it may well have turned out to be a good time for Norwegian intervention in Ireland if Hakon had gone through with it. Also, in 1262 Henry III wrote a very interesting letter to the king of Norway begging him not to invade the British Isles, which has been the source of much speculation since. 

**Prince Alexander of course died in 1284, following the deaths of his sister, brother and mother. Alexander III died in 1286, and his granddaughter- Hakon IV’s great-granddaughter- Margaret of Norway died, like her great-grandfather, in Kirkwall in 1290- this crisis of the succession indirectly led to the Wars of Independence.

Selected References for all three parts:

“Early Sources of Scottish History,’ Volume II, A.O. Anderson (sources such as the Icelandic Annals, Sturla Thordarson’s saga of Hakon Hakonarsson, the Chronicle of Melrose, the Chronicle of Mann, and several Irish Annals)

‘Chronica Gentis Scotorum’, by John of Fordun (trans. W.F. Skene)

‘Scotichronicon’, by Walter Bower (trans. D.E.R. Watt)

‘The Kingdom of the Isles’, R. Andrew McDonald

‘Kingship and Unity’, G.W.S. Barrow

‘Domination and Lordship, Scotland 1070-1230′, Richard Oram

‘The Wars of Scotland, 1214-1371′, Michael Brown

‘The Army of Alexander III’s Scotland’, G.W.S. Barrow in ‘Scotland in the Reign of Alexander III’, ed. Norman H. Reid

‘Norwegian Sunset- Scottish Dawn: Hakon IV and Alexander III’, by Edward J. Cowan (also in the above)

‘Alexander II’, Richard Oram

‘The Norwegian Invasion of Scotland in 1263: A Translation from Det Norske Folks Historie’ P.A. Munch

And others

[scotianostra]

On October 23rd 1295 the "Auld Alliance" treaty was signed between John Balliol, King of Scots, and Philippe IV of France.

Scots like to forget tenure as our King, but he does deserve to be remembered, he was our King rightfully, this was agreed on by all the parties during "The Great Cause" and at the end of the day, he too had enough of being used as a pawn by the English king Edward I. So how did the Auld Alliance come about?

During 1294, Edward I was preparing to go to war with France. He wanted his feudal lords to accompany him or send soldiers to join his army. In Edward's opinion, Balliol was another one of his nobles. He told him that he and other Scots would have to fight.

This caused outrage among many of the Scottish nobility, they believed Scotland was an independent country – Edward I had no right to ask Scottish people to fight for him and they refused to accept that their king would have to fight for England.

Also war would be expensive – it would cost the Scottish nobles in taxes and soldiers and Scotland had strong economic ties with France and did not want to fight their trading partners. The Scots and the French had traded for centuries. King David I had brought Norman families to Scotland. Wool from Scottish sheep was shipped to Flanders and wines from France were imported to Leith.

So the Scottish nobles, unhappy with Edward's demands and the performance of their king, that in 1295 they took action.

A new group of twelve 'Guardians of the Realm' was formed. They took several steps to defy Edward, the Guardians sent Scottish messengers to France to discuss how to deal with Edward I and in February 1296 a military and diplomatic alliance was agreed between Scotland and France. A treaty was signed in October which became known as the 'Auld Alliance' the treaty stated that if France was attacked, Scottish forces would invade England to help them.

Edward was furious with the actions of the Scottish nobles. He blamed Balliol for not keeping them under control. He decided to take action and invaded Scotland.

He first took Berwick, "sparing noone" figures vary of the slain, some sources say their may have been up to 30,000 killed, mostly civilians after a short siege. Dunbar fell next as Earl Warenne of Surrey marched the English north taking Edinburgh and Stirling, by the middle of the summer, Edward had travelled as far north as Elgin.

Balliol failed to offer effective leadership. He did not lead the Scots at Dunbar. When news of the defeat reached him, he fled to Comyn territory in the north. As king with only the limited powers Edward allowed him John could only do so much, most of his tenure was in an admin role although he also had to contend with a certain family, called Bruce and keeping the Comyns happy.

Following another failed attempt to rally any remaining Scottish support at Kincardine Castle, the nobles requested terms from Edward. Balliol officially surrendered to Edward in July 1296.

Edward I forced Balliol to apologise publicly. He removed the Royal Badge from Balliol's clothing. Subsequently, John became known as 'Toom Tabard' (meaning Empty Coat).

Balliol was imprisoned in the Tower of London until 1299 before being allowed to go into exile in France.

In the meantime Edward controlled Scotland and wanted to destroy any remaining symbols of Scottish identity and remove all evidence that Scotland was once an independent country, he ordered important records relating to the Scottish throne be removed to London -these were lost when the ship carrying them sank. The Stone of Destiny was transported to Westminster along with the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Black Rood of St Margaret, In August 1296, leading Scottish nobles and burgesses swore a personal oath to Edward in the Ragman Roll, the 1600 names on it included The Bruces, Comyns. One seal that was not on the document was that of William Wallace. There has been historical debate over the absence of the seal. Some historians argue that this is an early sign of Wallace's resistance to the English monarch, while others believe that he was simply not important enough to be included on the roll.

Despite Edward I's control over Scotland's major nobles, pockets of resistance continued. In the north east of Scotland, Andrew Moray led a campaign against English rule. Across the south west of the kingdom, William Wallace was engaged in skirmishes with English forces, but that's a different story.......