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The outstanding military success of Robert Bruce was followed by his Scottish kingdom's diplomatic overtures. After an appeal from the Scottish nobility, the new Pope of Rome lifted Bruce's. May
1328 brought about a peace treaty signed at Northampton by the weary, helpless English king that recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom and Robert Bruce as king. The Declaration of Independence signed at Arbroath
was the culmination of Bruce's career. All his dreams fulfilled, he died one year later. One who for years had been an Anglo-Norman vassal of the King of England had made himself into a truly national Scottish hero.
Robert Bruce's daughter had married Walter FitzAlan, the Hereditary High Steward of Scotland, also known as Walter the Steward, the later form of which became Stuart. Thrown from a horse, Marjorie was killed, but
surgeons managed to deliver a son, Robert, cut from her body (in 1371, when he was 54 years old, the crippled boy became Robert II, the first of the royal line of Stuarts). Robert Bruce had then married Elizabeth de
Burgh; their five-year old son, David, acceeded to the throne as David II, with the Earl of Moray acting as Regent. In the meantime, in England, following the ignominious career and frightful death of Edward II, his son
became King Edward III in 1327. The new king planned to intervene in the affairs of Scotland by enlisting the support of many disaffected nobles whose lands had been forfeited in their earlier fight against Bruce. The
rival Scottish army marched on Scotland and defeatdthe troops of the Earl of Mar, who had succeeded Moray as military commander and crowned John Balliol's son Edward as King of Scotland at Scone. This was a grievous
error; Balliol was immediately sent packing by former supporters of Bruce. King Edward III's response was typical, and once again an English army was on the move in Scotland. There was to be no Bannockburn this time.
King Edward's armies captured Berwick, dispersed a French fleet that had come to aid the Scots and won a strategic battle at Halidon Hill. Worse, however, for Scotland's newly won independence was the defection of large
numbers of Scottish nobles and clergy to the winning side, with the result that the Lowlands were quickly overrun and garrisoned by the English. As on the borders of Wales, these garrison towns then quickly filled up
with English settlers, merchants and clergy, completely transformed the social structure (and the language). It was up to Bruce's grandson, Robert Stewart to restore the political situation. With England now finding
itself heavily engaged in the Hundred Years War with France, Stewart seized his opportunity. With French help, he drove the English out of Bute, captured Perth and cleared Scotland of invaders north of the Forth. In
1341, he brought his young Uncle David back from voluntary exile in France to reclaim his Scottish throne. Things looked promising for a while, but then disaster struck once more. After the French army had been
soundly thrashed at Crecy (where Welsh archers in the service of the English Crown had been very prominent), the King of France desperately needed Scottish intervention to relieve his forces. Accordingly, as a
diversion, David II unwisely sent an army to England. His soldiers were defeated at Neville's Cross and David was captured. He spent the next 12 years of his life as a prisoner at the court of Edward III. Here the young
Scot became thoroughly anglicized, preferring to live the easier life of an English court hanger-on than to endure the burdens of Scottish kingship. In the interim, Scotland was ruled once again by Robert Stewart, a
much stronger, forceful leader than David. Under Stewart, the English were defeated in a second diversionary attack by a Scottish army under Williams Douglas. Even Edward III, commanding his troops, was sent back
south of the border humiliated. This time Edward signed a 10-year truce and received an enormous ransom for the weak, vacillating David. He then sat back to await developments. He did not have to wait long. English
successes continued in France and many Scots had no stomach for further debilitating warfare. After all, it was their land that was continually being devastated by English armies and David went back to live his former
life of comparative ease in England. The Scots did not wish to see David's son succeed to their throne, despite an agreement he had made with King Edward. In 1371, the Scottish Parliament gave the throne to Robert
Stewart, who became Robert II, the first Stuart King. However, the unfortunate country's initial hopes of restored greatness were soon dashed -- a strong and brave leader in opposition, he proved to be anything but that
as King. In addition, his Norman background did not possess the authority and prestige of eight centuries of Scottish kingship. Thus, was set in motion what became the country's curse for centuries to come -- the
conflict between the nobility and the Crown. Robert Stewart died in 1390 after a reign that can hardly be called peaceful. Nobles fought among themselves especially over the highly disputed lands along the English
border. The battle of Otterburn, or Chevy Chase, in 1388 between the Douglas's and the Percy's only typified much of what went on in lawless Scotland. It was unable as a nation to take advantage of the English problems;
trying to hold on to their possessions in France. The infighting continued during the reign of Robert III, a disabled cripple who left the governing to his younger brother, the Duke of Albany who himself virtually
abdicated in 1399. Poor old Scotland!! The heir to the throne was the unfortunate Robert's son, James, who was sent to France by his father so that he would be safe from the Regents. He never reached his intended
destination. His ship was captured by pirates and taken to London where he was held hostage and remained for 18 years despite being proclaimed James I at the death of his father in 1406. The Scottish nobility took full
advantage of the king's absence and built their own estates into minor, but powerful kingdoms. The Douglas family owned the strongest of these minor kingdoms. Even the monarchy could not ignore the strength of this
powerful family. So, the pattern was set for years to come. In the northwest, the MacDonald lords continued to hold sway as autonomous monarchs, ignoring the central government. They had even formed a series of
alliances with the English kings that were renewed by Henry IV in 1408. The powerful MacDonalds then tried to extend their lands even further and allied with the MacLeans. They marched across Scotland to try to capture
the important city of Aberdeen. However, after a battle against the forces of the Regent, they were forced to return westward. In 1413, England's Henry IV was succeeded by his son Henry V whose glorious victories in
France gave him more one half of that nation. To help him in his fight against the all conquering English, the Dauphin of France relied upon the auld alliance and called upon Scotland for help. It was immediately
forthcoming. Under Albany's son Buchan, thousands of Scottish soldiers helped reverse the fortunes of the war. When Henry V died in 1422, he cursed the Scots nation. He is purported to have stated, "Wherever I go,
I find them in my beard." What a pity for the future of the Celtic nations that the Welsh rebellion under Owain Glyndwr had ended in failure a decade earlier. Owain had himself crowned Prince of Wales in 1404 at
a parliament in Machynlleth. He received envoys from Scotland, France and Castile and had formed an alliance with powerful English Lord Henry Percy (Hotspur). The capture of James I of Scotland in 1406 and the failure
of Percy dashed all hopes of the Welsh leader to capture the Crown of Britain from its English usurpers and restore it to its rightful owners. The death of Henry V would have been an ideal time for France, Scotland and
Wales to join forces in a three-pronged attack upon England. Be as that as it may, a long tradition of mutual respect and support began between the kingdoms of Scotland and France in 1422. The fighting qualities of
the Scots soldiers, no less than those of the Welsh were matched by their capacity for consuming vast quantities of food and drink: they thus earned their sobriquets Sacs a vin and Mangeurs de mouton.
Buchan was aided for his help to the Dauphin by becoming Constable of France and Commander-in-Chief of the French armies. For his help, Douglas was rewarded with the Duchy of Touraine. Albany, the Regent for so many
years, died in1420. It was time for James I to return to Scotland. Conditions were favorable. Henry V was dead, James was on good terms with young Henry VI's regents who were in control of England and the English had
been at with France for so long that they did not wish to get involved militarily with their northern neighbors. In 1424, after marrying Henry VI's cousin Joan, James came back home to practice the skills of statecraft
he had learned during his many years at the English Court. His expertise was sorely needed because much of his country was in complete disarray. The trouble was that Scotland had been in a state of administrative
chaos for so long, that many of the nobility were not willing to surrender any of their prerogatives to a central government presided over by the new king. James had to forcibly seize property from the Regent Albany. He
then ordered the Highland Chiefs to a Parliament at which he had many of them arrested and some even executed. Next, He dealt forcibly with a rebellion led by Alexander of the Isles and the Western clans, who was also
in opposition to his attempts at centralizing the government. In the Lowlands, where Douglas and the Earl of March had been causing trouble, James took command of the Crown Forces himself and succeeded in restoring the
situation. Following his redress of the imbalance between Crown and Nobility, James made his principal residence at Linlithgow, which he made into a magnificent palace. In 1428, he formally renewed the Auld Alliance
with France, sending a large Scottish force to fight successfully for Charles VII and Joan of Arc against the armies of England. Turning to affairs at home, James then began an ambitious program of social and
legislative reform, earning the title of Rex Legifer, the "Law Giver." However, King James's multifold activities in reforming the legal system, regulating the country's finances, raising new taxes and in
general trying to make his country one of law and order brought him the inevitable enemies. The proud Scottish nobles were not going to hand over what they considered their special privileges. In 1437, in what we can
only consider a disaster for Scotland, the unfortunate king was stabbed to death in a plot involving his uncle, his cousin and a close confidant. As James II, heir to the throne was only six years old, again a Regency
came to inflict its damage upon Scotland. The litany of murder continued with the deaths of the young Earl Douglas and his brother by William Crichton who had succeeded the boys' father as Regent in 1439. The Regent's
power destroyed the Douglas's and their vast estates were broken up. When James II reached the age of 19, he took command, attempting to continue the administrative reforms of his father, James l. Unfortunately for
his plans, old resentments still smoldered and an alliance had been formed between the young Earl of Douglas, the Earl of Crawford and John of the Isles who was anxious to restore the prerogatives lost by his father
Alexander at the hands of the Scottish Crown. It seemed that a quick way to settle differences was becoming a Scottish Way, for at a dinner to which he was cordially invited in 1452, the young Douglas was killed by the
dagger-wielding hand of the king himself. James II then completely routed those in opposition to his reign. The rest of the Douglas's were defeated at the Battle of Arkinholm and their estates forfeited by a decree of
Parliament. John of the Isles and the Earl of Crawford saw it in their best interests to make peace with the Crown. The English were having troubles of their own with the long and bitter rivalry for the throne that
became known as the Wars of the Roses. For the time being, Scotland enjoyed a period of peace. However, it was shattered by a foolish decision of James to intervene in the English civil wars on behalf of Henry VI. At
the siege of Roxburgh in 1460, James stepped too close to one of his guns and was killed when it exploded. Once again, just when conditions had seemed so very ripe for progress, the country found itself ruled by a
Regency. Scotland, despite its civil turmoil and constant wars, had started on the road that would eventually lead it to become the envy of Europe for its scholasticism and scientific achievements. In 1411, the
University of St. Andrews had been founded as a center for learning and the arts. It was to be followed by the Universities of Glasgow (1451) and Aberdeen (1494) which, like St. Andrews benefited greatly from close
contact with seats of learning in France as well as those in other parts of Europe. Intrigue and counter-intrigue, the ambitions of greater and lesser men, and a succession of plots and counter plots mark the Regency
years following the death of James II. In 1469, James III, recently wed to the daughter of the King of Norway, assumed control of Scotland. Intelligent but unsociable, uninterested in affairs of state, the new king was
hardly the one to restore the confidence and strength that the monarchy sorely needed. To safeguard his throne from the ever-present plotters, James imprisoned both his brothers, Albany and Mar. However, after killing
his guards, Albany made a daring rope escape. He managed to reach London where he audaciously assumed the style of King of Scots. The English welcomed the move, once more ready to cause trouble north of the border. In
1482, Albany joined an invading English army. James III had overreached himself; he was captured by a group of his own nobles and many of his supporters were executed. Albany and Mar assumed the Regency, but when the
English army returned home, Albany fled to France, eventually dying there in a tournament. A new group of conspirators then came on the scene, this time led by Archibald Douglas and Lord Home and aided by the Chief of
Clan Campbell, the first Earl of Argyll. James had no stomach to fight the rebels, but when the city of Stirling refused to give him refuge, he was forced to battle. The unfortunate king met an ignominious death after
the failure of his troops at Sauchieburn. Wounded after a fall from his horse, he was stabbed to death by a passer-by claiming to be a priest. In such inauspicious circumstances, the next Stewart King now appeared on
the scene. James IV, who wore an iron chain round his body for life as penance for the misfortune that brought him to the throne in 1488, was only fifteen years old. Thus, the Regency continued with Douglas holding
the reigns of power and his cronies and conspirators receiving rich rewards for their services. One of these was the minor Laird Hepburn of Hailes, who became Earl of Bothwell and Lord High Admiral. We shall read more
about the Bothwells later. In the meantime, James belied the doubts about his immaturity and proved to be an able leader. Early in his reign, at the head of his own troops, he defeated those who sought to depose him.
Because of his multi-faceted abilities, he was to become the most popular of all the Stewart Kings. Even the European scholar Erasmus, for a time tutor to one of James's many bastard sons, praised the Scottish king's
intellect and knowledge. |
