Notes
References, unless abbreviated (see pp. 195–6), are given in full on the first occasion in which they appear in each chapter but in shortened form thereafter.
Chapter 1. Setting the Scene
1. Matthew Paris’s English History from the Year 1235 to 1272, tr. J.A. Giles (London, 1854) vol. III, pp. 30–1.
2. See Nigel Saul, For Honour and Fame: Chivalry in England, 1066–1500 (London, 2011), p. 76.
3. Matthew Paris included a famous story in which a blameless young man, whom Edward encountered on the road, was ordered to be mutilated by Edward’s followers. Marc Morris interprets this account as ‘exaggerated gossip’, because the details are so vague, although he also notes that record sources provide other evidence of delinquent behaviour on the part of Edward’s household. Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 28.
4. Maurice Keen, Chivalry (London, 1984), p. 16.
5. See Richard W. Kaeuper, Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe (Oxford, 1999), pp. 121–8 and passim.
6. The Metrical Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, ed. William Wright (Rolls Series, 1887), 2 vols, ii, p. 765.
7. English Historical Documents, 1189–1327, ed. Harry Rothwell (London, 1975), pp. 904–5.
8. See Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 207.
9. Caroline Burt, Edward I and the Governance of England (Cambridge, 2013).
10. The most obvious evidence is perhaps provided by the work of the ‘Trailbaston’ commissions, which is briefly discussed below (p. 167).
11. Andrew M. Spencer, Nobility and Kingship in Medieval England: The Earls and Edward I, 1272–1307 (Cambridge, 2014), quote at p. 259.
12. One issue concerned the building of castles. Llywelyn objected to English lords building castles on land to which he had a claim; he also argued that the English government had no right to prevent him from building a castle and borough at Dolforwyn, on his own land, as it sought to do. Prestwich, Edward I, pp. 173–4.
13. Quoted in Prestwich, Edward I, p. 205.
14. See Prestwich, Edward I, p. 111.
15. Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 145.
16. Quoted, in translation, in E.L.G. Stones, Edward I (Oxford, 1968), p. 2. For an alternative translation, which differs in some respects, see Antonia Gransden, Historical Writing in England, c. 550 to c. 1307 (London, 1974), p. 506.
17. T.F. Tout, ‘Margaret (1240–1275)’, rev. Norman H. Reid, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18045].
18. For this episode, see Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 129.
19. For a good discussion see G.W.S. Barrow, ‘The Anglo-Norman Impact, c. 1100 to c. 1286’, in Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation, c. 1100–1707, ed. Bob Harris and Alan R. MacDonald (Dundee, 2006), pp. 17–31.
20. Is it significant, as argued by A.A.M. Duncan, that even Scottish supporters of Edward I tended to send letters to him in Latin, given that Edward would almost certainly have preferred to receive letters written in French? (Latin, unlike Scots or Gaelic, would of course have been understood by educated men on both sides of the border.) See A.A.M. Duncan, The Kingship of the Scots, 842–1292 (Edinburgh, 2004), pp. 173–4. However, Geoffrey Barrow cites some more circumstantial evidence of the use of French in Scotland, and is therefore inclined to take a more cautious view: G.W.S. Barrow, ‘French after the Style of Petithachengon’, in Church, Chronicle and Learning in Medieval and Early Renaissance Scotland, ed. Barbara Crawford (Edinburgh, 1999), pp. 187–94.
21. Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain/ tr. Lewis Thorpe (London, 1966), esp. pp. 54–75.
22. Stones, Anglo-Scottish Relations, p. 40.
23. For the English alternative, which omits Alexander’s defiant words and has Robert Bruce ‘the Noble’ swear fealty on his behalf, see Stones, Anglo-Scottish Relations, pp. 38–40.
24. See Jessica Nelson, ‘Yolande (d. in or after 1324)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2008) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/96816].
Chapter 2. To Reduce the King and Kingdom of Scotland to His Rule
1. For a discussion of this oath, see A.A.M. Duncan, ‘The Community of the Realm of Scotland and Robert Bruce’, Scottish Historical Review, 45 (1966), pp. 186–7.
2. Dauvit Broun has recently demonstrated there were indeed seven Guardians (as opposed to six, as was previously thought), though Bishop William of Dunkeld may have died shortly after his appointment. See Dauvit Broun, ‘New Information on the Guardians’ Appointment in 1286 and on Wallace’s Rising in 1297’ (2011). Available online via http://www.breakingofbritain.ac.uk/feature-of-the-month/.
3. ‘Institutions’ being defined here in the sense of a well-established collection of customs, traditions and laws.
4. Alan Young, Robert the Bruce’s Rivals: The Comyns, 1212–1314 (East Linton, 1997), p. 151.
5. See, for example, Michael Brown, The Wars of Scotland: 1214–1371 (Edinburgh, 2004), p. 159.
6. Michael Brown, ‘Aristocratic Politics and the Crisis of Scottish Kingship, 1286–96’, Scottish Historical Review, 229 (2011), pp. 1–26, especially pp. 5–10.
7. Bower, p. 8; see also Brown, Wars of Scotland, p. 158.
8. Prestwich, ‘Edward I and the Maid of Norway’, Scottish Historical Review, 188 (1990), p. 164.
9. The term is derived from the southern French word bastir/ meaning ‘to build’.
10. See Morris, Great and Terrible King/ p. 217.
11. Lanercost Chronicle, p. 59.
12. Abernethy received no further punishment, but he was still in prison in 1291 and appears to have died in custody. His motive for the murder of Earl Duncan remains uncertain.
13. The terms of the Birgham agreement are printed and translated in G.W.S. Barrow, ‘A Kingdom in Crisis: Scotland and the Maid of Norway’, Scottish Historical Review, 188 (1990), pp. 137–41.
14. Quoted in Fiona Watson, ‘The Wars of Independence’, in Scotland: The Making and Unmaking of the Nation, c. 1100–1707, ed. Bob Harris and Alan R. Macdonald (Dundee, 2006), p. 33.
15. Scottish Historical Documents/ ed. Gordon Donaldson (Edinburgh, 1970), pp. 41–3, quotation at p. 43.
16. A.A.M. Duncan, The Kingship of the Scots, 842–1292 (Edinburgh, 2002), pp. 199, 208, quoting the ‘Bamburgh memorandum’ of 1321.
17. Quoted in Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 231.
18. Quoted in Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 240.
19. For the most important modern account of the Great Cause, which provides a detailed discussion of all the available evidence, see Duncan, Kingship of the Scots, especially chapters 12 and 13. For a clear summary of the key issues, see, inter alia, A.D.M. Barrell, Medieval Scotland (Cambridge, 2000), pp. 96–103.
20. Duncan, Kingship of the Scots, p. 316; Brown, Wars of Scotland, p. 167.
21. The King of Norway’s claim was based on the right of his late daughter, although his action was perhaps intended as a lever to obtain the last of the money that was owed for his late wife’s dowry. Edward possessed a distant claim to the Scottish throne through his descent from Matilda of Scotland, the queen of Henry I of England. However, it is more likely that he briefly considered asserting his right on the basis that Scotland should ‘revert’ to him, now that he was recognised as overlord, in the absence of a direct heir.
22. It is sometimes suggested that Count Florence was encouraged to put forward a spurious claim by Edward, as the delay would enable the latter to consolidate his grip on Scotland. This point is discussed, for example, in Barrell, Medieval Scotland/ pp. 101–2.
23. Stones, Anglo-Scottish Relations, pp. 63–4.
24. Intriguingly, a treatise was produced early in John’s reign that was presumably intended to provide guidance for the new king. Now known as ‘The Scottish King’s Household’, it was written in French and provides information about various aspects of royal administration in Scotland. See Amanda Beam, The Balliol Dynasty, 1210–1364 (Edinburgh, 2008), pp. 125–6.
25. Stones, Anglo-Scottish Relations, p. 65.
26. Stones, Anglo-Scottish Relations, p. 66.
27. Morris, Great and Terrible King/ p. 269, quoting the Evesham Chronicle.
28. Edward eventually felt compelled to swear an oath that his actions had not been motivated by lust!
29. Edward had received 100,000 marks three years earlier, when he was permitted to take control of a papal tax, which was intended to be used as funds for a crusade. This was held on Edward’s behalf by the Riccardi, with whom he had a longstanding relationship. However, the Riccardi had also been taken by surprise by the turn in political events: they had invested the money elsewhere, Philip of France confiscated some of their assets, and they now lacked the liquidity to meet Edward’s demands.
Chapter 3. The Bodies Fell Like Autumn Leaves
1. Stevenson, Documents, pp. 20–1.
2. See Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance/ pp. 93–4.
3. It has been estimated that between a quarter and a third of the cavalry were usually knights. See Prestwich, Armies and Warfare, p. 51.
4. Prestwich, Armies and Warfare/ p. 34.
5. Only a man’s most expensive horse would be listed, although the value enrolled would be the result of negotiation with a royal clerk. In some cases the valuation may have reflected the social status of the owner, as opposed to the true market value of his horse.
6. Prestwich, Armies and Warfare/ p. 35, citing the work of Andrew Ayton.
7. For a more detailed discussion of the armour worn in the period covered by this book, see Christopher Gravett, English Medieval Knight 1200–1300 (Oxford, 2002) and Idem, English Medieval Knight 1300–1400 (Oxford, 2002). See also Frédérique Lachaud, ‘Armour and Military Dress in Thirteenth- and Early Fourteenth-Century England’, Armies, Chivalry and Warfare in Medieval Britain and France, ed. Matthew Strickland (Stamford, 1998).
8. Lachaud, ‘Armour and Military Dress’, p. 357.
9. See Plate 6.
10. Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance, p. 47.
11. Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance, p. 52.
12. See, for example, Nigel Saul, For Honour and Shame: Chivalry in England, 1066–1500 (London, 2011), p. 26.
13. Andrew M. Spencer, Nobility and Kingship in Medieval England: The Earls and Edward I, 1272–1307 (Cambridge, 2014), p. 82.
14. See David Simpkin, The English Aristocracy at War: From the Welsh Wars of Edward I to the Battle of Bannockburn (Woodbridge, 2008), especially pp. 183–5. Simpkin’s work offers a very detailed account of the mechanics of recruitment.
15. Cited in Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance, p. 101.
16. Gerald of Wales, The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales, tr. Lewis Thorpe (London, 1978), pp. 112–13.
17. Adam Chapman, ‘Welshmen in the Armies of Edward I’, Impact of the Edwardian Castles/ pp. 179–80, quoting the work of Lodewyk van Veltham.
18. For a preliminary study, see David Bachrach, ‘Edward I’s Centurians: Professional Soldiers in an Era of Militia Armies’, Soldier Experience/ pp. 109–28.
19. Lachaud, ‘Armour and Military Dress’, pp. 347–8.
20. For the figures in this paragraph see A.Z. Freeman, ‘Wall-Breakers and River-Bridgers: Military Engineers in the Scottish Wars of Edward I’, Journal of British Studies, 10:2 (1971), p. 2.
21. See, for example, G.W.S. Barrow, ‘The Army of Alexander III’s Scotland’, Scotland in the Reign of Alexander III, ed. Norman Reid (Edinburgh, 1990), pp. 132–47; and the chapters by Michael Prestwich and Matthew Strickland in A Military History of Scotland.
22. Matthew Strickland, ‘The Kings of Scots at War, c. 1093–1286’, in A Military History of Scotland, pp. 118–19.
23. Watson, Under the Hammer, pp. 23–4.
24. Barrow, ‘The Army of Alexander III’s Scotland’, pp. 141–2.
25. Barrow, ‘The Army of Alexander III’s Scotland’, p. 139, citing Hakon’s Saga.
26. For this story, see Guisborough, pp. 271–2; and Scalacronica, p. 37.
27. Guisborough, p. 273.
28. Lanercost Chronicle/ p. 134; Rishanger, p. 373.
29. For more information about medieval English chronicles, see Antonia Gransden, Historical Writing in England I, c. 550 to c. 1307 (London, 1974), and Idem, Historical Writing in England II, c. 1307 to the Early Sixteenth Century (London, 1982). For the broader context see Chris Given-Wilson, Chronicles: The Writing of History in Medieval England (London, 2004). For a discussion of Gesta Annalia II, see Dauvit Broun, ‘A New Look at Gesta Annalia attributed to John of Fordun’, in Church, Chronicle and Learning in Medieval and Early Renaissance Scotland, ed. Barbara Crawford (Edinburgh, 1999).
30. Guisborough, p. 274.
31. Rishanger, p. 373.
32. See Traquair, Freedom’s Sword, p. 47; Matthew Strickland, ‘A Law of Arms or a Law of Treason? Conduct of War in Edward I’s Campaigns in Scotland, 1296–1307’, in Violence in Medieval Society, ed. Richard Kaeuper (Woodbridge, 2000), p. 66.
33. Rishanger, p. 374.
34. Strickland, ‘Law of Arms’, p. 67.
35. A point forcefully made by Sean McGlynn, for example in the context of his discussion of similar events at Limoges in 1370. See Sean McGlynn, By Sword and Fire: Cruelty and Atrocity in Medieval Warfare (London, 2008), especially pp. 182–5.
36. Cynthia Neville (ed.), ‘A Plea Roll of Edward I’s Army in Scotland, 1296’, Miscellany of the Scottish History Society, vol. XI (1990). Available online at http://www.deremilitari.org/RESOURCES/SOURCES/plearoll.htm. The original is preserved in the National Archives (E39/93/15).
37. For John’s diffidatio, see Stones, Anglo-Scottish Relations, pp. 70–4.
38. Lanercost Chronicle/ p. 136.
39. See Traquair, Freedom’s Sword, p. 49.
40. For a discussion of this invasion and its significance, see McGlynn, By Sword and Fire, pp. 208–19.
41. Guisborough, p. 278.
42. For a more detailed account of the Battle of Dunbar, see, for example, Traquair, Freedom’s Sword, pp. 50–1.
43. Chronicle of Bury St Edmunds, p. 131.
44. Quoted in Prestwich, Edward I. The translation quoted there is by E.L.G. Stones. See also Langtoft, p. 253, for a somewhat less engaging translation.
45. See Traquair, Freedom’s Sword, p. 50; Prestwich, Edward I, p. 473. For an alternative interpretation, whose author is more inclined to take these figures seriously, see Alistair Macdonald, ‘Courage, Fear and the Experience of the Later Medieval Scottish Soldier’, Scottish Historical Review, 235 (2013), p. 203.
46. The earl of Mar appears to have died in custody in 1297. William, earl of Ross, remained in custody until 1303, when he agreed to swear fealty to Edward and was restored to his estates. In 1306 he was responsible for the capture of the earl of Atholl and Robert the Bruce’s wife (see p. 180), for which he was later obliged to make reparation.
47. Langtoft, p. 251.
48. Lanercost Chronicle, p. 144.
49. These were the so-called Crown of Arthur and Y Groes Nawdd, a sacred relic that was believed to be a piece of the true cross.
50. Langtoft, pp. 265–7.
51. Scalacronica, p. 39.
Chapter 4. He Lifted Up His Head
1. See Scalacronica, p. 218, n. 16.
2. ‘John of Fordun’, p. 319.
3. For an excellent summary of Cressingham’s career see Henry Summerson, ‘Cressingham, Hugh of (d. 1297)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004; online edition, Jan. 2008) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/6671].
4. Barbour, The Bruce, pp. 54–6.
5. Stevenson, Documents, p. 198.
6. Michael Brown, The Wars of Scotland: 1214–1371 (Edinburgh, 2004), p. 181.
7. Guisborough, p. 296. Quoted and translated in Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 110.
8. Rishanger, p. 226, quoted and translated in Alexander Grant, ‘Bravehearts and Coronets: Images of William Wallace and the Scottish Nobility’, in Wallace Book, p. 102. Similar sentiments can be found in most English chronicles of this period.
9. Bower, p. 83.
10. ‘John of Fordun’, p. 321.
11. The best modern biography of Wallace is Fisher, Wallace, which discusses most of the relevant evidence; see pp. 5–26 for Wallace’s early life. See also Wallace Book, especially the essays by A.A.M. Duncan and Alexander Grant.
12. For a discussion of this and other related matters, see A.A.M. Duncan, ‘William, Son of Alan Wallace: The Documents’, in Wallace Book, pp. 42–63, especially pp. 47–53.
13. It has been pointed out that both William and Malcolm Wallace were given the names of Scottish kings, which is perhaps suggestive of aspiration. See Grant, ‘Bravehearts and Coronets’, pp. 91–2. Grant is also inclined to believe that Malcolm’s knighthood was long-standing: i.e. that he did not owe his knighthood to his association with William, after the latter had achieved power and influence in Scotland.
14. CDS/ ii, no. 822, p. 191.
15. An argument cautiously suggested in Grant, ‘Bravehearts and Coronets’, pp. 102–3.
16. Blind Harry, The Wallace, ed. Anne McKim (Edinburgh, 2003), pp. 117–18.
17. For a good discussion, see Duncan, ‘William, Son of Alan Wallace’, pp. 58–9, and references there cited. See also Scalacronica, p. 41.
18. He was forced to leave valuables behind. Guisborough, p. 295.
19. As noted in a letter to Edward from Hugh Cressingham. Stevenson, Documents, pp. 202–3.
20. Dauvit Broun, ‘New information on the Guardians in 1286 and on Wallace’s rising in 1297’ (2011). Available online via http://www.breakingofbritain.ac.uk/feature-of-the-month/.
21. CDS, ii, no. 887, p. 233.
22. CDS/ ii, no. 900, p. 235.
23. Alternatively, of course, he might have been acutely conscious of his role in the events at Lanark, and therefore considered it prudent to make his own terms. As noted in Broun, ‘New information on the Guardians’.
24. Stevenson, Documents/ p. 212.
25. Stevenson, Documents, p. 202. It is often suggested that Cressingham had raised this force in Northumberland, but given the numbers involved this seems unlikely. Since Welshmen are known to have fought with Cressingham at the Battle of Stirling in September, it seems probable that he was able to recruit on a much wider scale.
26. Stevenson, Documents, pp. 202–3.
27. Stevenson, Documents/ p. 227.
28. Stevenson, Documents/ p. 207.
29. Stevenson, Documents, pp. 223–4.
30. Stevenson, Documents/ p. 226.
31. Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance, pp. 171–5.
32. Prestwich, Edward I/ pp. 408–9; Idem, Plantagenet England, 1225–1360 (Oxford, 2005), p. 168.
33. Pope Boniface’s position was outlined in the bull Clericis Laicos/ issued in 1296.
34. Guisborough, p. 290. Quoted and translated in Prestwich, Edward I/ p. 416.
35. Guisborough, p. 291. Quoted and translated in Andrew M. Spencer, Nobility and Kingship in Medieval England: The Earls and Edward I, 1272–1307 (Cambridge, 2014), p. 237.
36. Prestwich, Edward I, p. 421.
37. See Prestwich, Edward I, p. 392.
38. Flores, p. 296. Quoted and translated in Prestwich, Edward I, p. 422.
39. Prestwich, Edward I/ p. 422. It was intended that the funds raised from the sale of the wool would be used to pay outstanding debts to Edward’s allies on the continent.
40. Prestwich, Edward I/ p. 422.
41. See Fisher, Wallace, pp. 97–8, 113.
42. See Morris, Great and Terrible King, pp. 303–4.
43. Guisborough, pp. 298–303. For a good modern account, including a more detailed analysis of the sources, see Michael Prestwich, ‘The Battle of Stirling Bridge: An English Perspective’, in Wallace Book, especially pp. 65–71. For a particularly detailed narrative, which follows Guisborough closely, see Pete Armstrong, The Battles of Stirling Bridge and Falkirk: William Wallace’s Rebellion (Oxford, 2003), pp. 35–52.
44. Guisborough, p. 300. Quoted and translated in Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 114.
45. Lanercost Chronicle, p. 164.
46. Sir Charles Oman, A History of The Art of War in the Later Middle Ages: Volume II: 1278–1485 (London, 1991, first published 1924), p. 76.
47. Andrew M. Spencer, ‘John de Warenne, Guardian of Scotland and the Battle of Stirling Bridge’, England and Scotland at War/ pp. 39–52.
48. See Scott L. Waugh, ‘Warenne, John de, sixth earl of Surrey (1231–1304)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/28734]. Waugh describes Surrey as ‘hesitant and perhaps even pusillanimous on the battlefield and in politics’.
49. Chronicle of Bury St Edmunds, p. 144.
50. Prestwich, ‘The Battle of Stirling Bridge’, p. 74.
Chapter 5. The Road to Falkirk
1. Quoted in Morris, Great and Terrible King/ p. 306.
2. These letters included a famous message to the burghers of Lubeck in Germany, encouraging the resumption of trade with Scotland; this letter is the original source of our knowledge about Wallace’s seal, for which see above, p. 67, and the references there cited.
3. For a discussion, see Fisher, Wallace, pp. 113–14.
4. Guisborough, p. 304. Quoted and translated in Colm McNamee, ‘William Wallace’s Invasion of Northern England’, Northern History, 26 (1990), p. 40.
5. ‘John of Fordun’, p. 322.
6. Guisborough, p. 304.
7. Flores, p. 321.
8. Guisborough, pp. 305–6.
9. For this paragraph see McNamee, ‘William Wallace’s Invasion of Northern England’, pp. 49–52.
10. It should be noted that, unusually, the earls agreed to serve in return for pay – perhaps due to the increased difficulties involved in winter campaigning. See Prestwich, Edward I, pp. 478–9.
11. The Roll is printed in Scotland in 1298. Documents relating to the campaign of King Edward the First in that year, and especially to the Battle of Falkirk, ed. Henry Gough (Paisley, 1888), pp. 131–57.
12. Prestwich, Edward I, p. 479. See also Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance, pp. 68–9.
13. David Simpkin, The English Aristocracy at War: From the Welsh Wars of Edward I to the Battle of Bannockburn (Woodbridge, 2008), pp. 79–91.
14. Simpkin, English Aristocracy at War, p. 93.
15. For this paragraph, see Watson, Under the Hammer/ p. 61; Adam Chapman, ‘Welshmen in the Armies of Edward I’, in Impact of the Edwardian Castles, pp. 178–9.
16. Chronicle of Bury St Edmunds, p. 144.
17. See, for example, John Gillingham, The Wars of the Roses (London, 1981), p. 45.
18. Stevenson, Documents, p. 351.
19. David Bachrach, ‘Military Logistics during the Reign of Edward I of England, 1272–1307’, War in History, 13:4 (2006), pp. 423–40, especially p. 425, citing the work of J. Masschaele.
20. Scotland in 1298, p. 124.
21. Watson, Under the Hammer, p. 63.
22. Watson, Under the Hammer/ p. 62, quoting PRO [now TNA] E101/552/2.
23. Quoted in Dauvit Broun, ‘Rethinking Scottish origins’ (Inaugural Lecture as Professor of Scottish History, 12 November 2013), available online at http://glasgow.academia.edu/DBroun, p. 24.
24. Fisher, Wallace/ p. 137.
25. Bower, pp. 89–91.
26. Bower, p. 85.
27. See Fisher, Wallace/ p. 94 (although Fisher is inclined to see a glimmer of truth in Bower’s account).
28. Bower, p. 89.
29. CDS, ii, no. 1689, p. 456.
30. These included Geoffrey Mowbray, William Hay of Lochwarret (now Borthwick) and William Ramsay of Dalhousie. See Barrow, Robert Bruce/ p. 134.
31. Guisborough, pp. 323–8. My own narrative has also been particularly influenced by the modern accounts in Pete Armstrong, The Battles of Stirling Bridge and Falkirk: William Wallace’s Rebellion (Oxford, 2003), pp. 62–79; Fisher, Wallace, pp. 139–57; and Watson, Under the Hammer, pp. 61–7.
32. See Watson, Under the Hammer, pp. 63–4.
33. Guisborough tells us specifically that Bek was sent from Kirkliston, after Edward had already been staying there for several days, although given the limited timescale available it seems possible that his chronology might be slightly flawed here.
34. Guisborough, p. 325. Quoted and translated in Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 131.
35. Scotland in 1298, pp. 127–8. Quoted and translated in Watson, Under the Hammer, p. 66.
36. Guisborough, p. 326. Quoted and translated in Fisher, Wallace, p. 146.
37. Armstrong, Stirling Bridge and Falkirk/ p. 64.
38. For the most important narrative accounts, see Guisborough, pp. 327–8; Rishanger, pp. 385–7; Lanercost Chronicle, p. 166; ‘John of Fordun’, p. 323. Relevant excerpts from these sources are also printed (in the original Latin), together with various others, in Scotland in 1298, pp. xv–xxxii.
39. An alternative site to the north of Falkirk has been favoured in the past, but in the absence of any new evidence I am inclined to accept the conclusions of the most recent historians of the battle – particularly in the case of Pete Armstrong, who has evidently made a careful study of the relevant terrain. (For a brief description of the battlefield and the surrounding area today, see Armstrong, Stirling Bridge and Falkirk, pp. 91–3.)
40. Guisborough, p. 327. Quoted and translated in Fisher, Wallace/ p. 150.
41. See J.F. Verbruggen, The Art of Warfare in Western Europe, tr. S. Willard and R.W. Southern (2nd English edition, Woodbridge, 1997), pp. 184–5.
42. Rishanger, p. 385.
43. For a wide range of other examples, see Verbruggen, Art of Warfare in Western Europe, pp. 217–21, especially p. 219.
44. See, for example, Matthew Bennett, ‘The Myth of the Military Supremacy of Knightly Chivalry’, in Armies, Chivalry and Warfare in Medieval Britain and France, ed. Matthew Strickland (Stamford, 1998), pp. 304–16.
45. For an excellent recent example, see Alistair Macdonald, ‘Courage, Fear and the Experience of the Later Medieval Scottish Soldier’, Scottish Historical Review, 235 (2013), pp. 179–206.
46. Quoted and translated in Society at War: The Experience of England and France during the Hundred Years War, ed. Christopher Allmand (new edition, Woodbridge, 1998), p. 28.
47. Quoted and translated in Prestwich, Armies and Warfare, p. 220.
48. For a more detailed discussion, see Verbruggen, Art of Warfare in Western Europe, pp. 187–90.
49. A.A.M. Duncan, ‘The Battle of Falkirk’, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, ed. Clifford J. Rogers (Oxford, 2010), vol. II, p. 34.
50. Felton is identified as a millenar in J.E. Morris, The Welsh Wars of Edward I (Stroud, 1998, first published 1901), p. 287.
51. Lanercost Chronicle, p. 166.
52. ‘John of Fordun’, p. 323.
53. See Alexander Grant, ‘Bravehearts and Coronets: Images of William Wallace and the Scottish Nobility’, in Wallace Book, p. 101.
54. See, for example, Fisher, Wallace, pp. 166–7.
55. Macdonald, ‘Courage, Fear and the Experience of the Later Medieval Scottish Soldier’, pp. 204–6.
56. John Sadler, Border Fury: England and Scotland at War 1296–1568 (Harlow, 2006, first published 2005), pp. 75–6.
57. For some interesting examples of medieval battle plans, and further discussion, see Matthew Strickland and Robert Hardy, The Great Warbow: From Hastings to the Mary Rose (Stroud, 2005), pp. 319–25, 339–43.
58. This apparently occurred, for instance, at the Battle of Neville’s Cross, fought in 1346 between the English and the Scots. See Strickland and Hardy, The Great Warbow, p. 453 n. 123.
59. The Political Songs of England, ed. Thomas Wright (Edinburgh, 1888), 4 vols, iii, pp. 15–27, especially pp. 24–5.
60. Norman Macdougall, James IV (East Linton, 1997), p. 286, quoting Pedro de Ayala.
61. Lanercost Chronicle, p. 166.
62. Watson, Under the Hammer, p. 67.
Chapter 6. The Days Were Long and Fine
1. Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 314.
2. For Edward’s peles, see Chris Tabraham, ‘Scottorum Malleus: Edward I and Scotland’, in Impact of the Edwardian Castles/ pp. 186–8.
3. For the figures in this and the next three paragraphs, see Watson, Under the Hammer, pp. 69–76.
4. Watson, Under the Hammer/ p. 77, quoting PRO [now TNA] E101/7/9.
5. Discussed in Watson, Under the Hammer, p. 79.
6. See John Carmi Parsons, ‘Margaret (1279?–1318)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004; online edition, Jan. 2008) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/18046].
7. Barrow, Robert Bruce, pp. 140–1, quoting PRO [now TNA] c.47/22/8.
8. Watson, Under the Hammer/ p. 84.
9. Prestwich, Edward I, pp. 483–4.
10. During the years between 1297 and 1304 there were several investigations of trespasses into Surrey’s private parks. Discussed in Andrew M. Spencer, ‘A Warlike People? Gentry Enthusiasm for Edward I’s Scottish Campaigns, 1296–1307’, Soldier Experience, p. 107.
11. Marc Morris has argued, citing the contemporary opinion of Peter Langtoft as further evidence, that Edward faced a ‘deliberate, political boycott’ during this campaign. Morris, Great and Terrible King/ p. 321.
12. Rishanger, pp. 402–3.
13. CDS, ii, no. 1949, p. 518.
14. Rishanger, p. 407.
15. Prestwich, Edward I/ p. 525, quoting the Annals of Worcester.
16. See above, p. 36.
17. Palgrave, Documents, pp. 218–19.
18. Watson, Under the Hammer/ p. 104.
19. Prestwich, Edward I, p. 486, quoting PRO [now TNA] E159/73 m.16.
20. See, for example, Traquair, Freedom’s Sword, p. 94.
21. Morris, Great and Terrible King/ p. 324. For the Welsh subsidy, see Rees Davies, Age of Conquest: Wales 1063–1415 (Oxford, 2000, first published 1987), p. 386.
22. The ports claimed they were owed almost £2,500. Royal clerks subsequently argued that this claim was offset by other payments they had already made, although eventually the crown agreed to pay a lesser sum of £500. See Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance, p. 144.
23. See Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance, p. 143.
24. Maurice Keen, Chivalry (Yale, 1984), p. 139.
25. The Roll of Caerlaverock, ed. Thomas Wright (London, 1864), pp. 4–5.
26. The Roll of Caerlaverock, p. 14.
27. This was Joan’s second marriage. Her first marriage was to Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester (d. 1295), with whom she had several children.
28. The Roll of Caerlaverock, p. 1.
29. The Roll of Caerlaverock, p. 26.
30. The Roll of Caerlaverock, p. 26.
31. Clifford J. Rogers, Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages (Westport, USA, 2007), p. 35. Clare succeeded to the earldom of Gloucester in 1308, and was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn.
32. The Roll of Caerlaverock, p. 25.
33. Rishanger, p. 440.
34. The Roll of Caerlaverock, p. 30.
35. Liber Quotidianus Contrarotulatoris Garderobae, 1299–1300, ed. J. Topham et al (London, 1787), p. 165. He is described as ‘Robert of Ulm’, for example, in Prestwich, Armies and Warfare, pp. 285–6. Ulm is in southern Germany.
36. See R.H. Richens, Elm (Cambridge, 2012, first published 1983), pp. 215, 221.
37. The Roll of Caerlaverock, p. 34.
38. Kelly DeVries and Robert Douglas Smith, Medieval Military Technology (second edition, Toronto, 2012), p. 126.
39. As noted in Rogers, Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages, p. 123.
40. The Roll of Caerlaverock/ p. 35.
41. Lanercost Chronicle, p. 175. For further discussion, see Matthew Strickland, ‘A Law of Arms or a Law of Treason? Conduct of War in Edward I’s Campaigns in Scotland, 1296–1307’, in Violence in Medieval Society, ed. Richard Kaeuper (Woodbridge, 2000), pp. 69–71.
42. Langtoft, pp. 247–8.
43. See Tabraham, ‘Scottorum Malleus’, p. 188.
44. Keith made his peace with Edward in 1303, and became an important official in Edward’s Scottish administration of 1305. However, he later swore allegiance to Robert the Bruce, and went on to lead the Scottish cavalry at Bannockburn.
45. Rishanger dates the encounter to 8 August (‘the [full] moon before the feast of St Lawrence [i.e. 10 August]’), whereas E.W. Safford’s itinerary of Edward’s movements, which is based on administrative evidence, does not place him at the Cree until 12 August. Rishanger, p. 441; Itinerary of Edward I: Part II: 1291–1307, ed. E.W. Safford (List and Index Society, 132, 1976), p. 160.
46. Rishanger, pp. 440–2.
47. Watson, Under the Hammer/ p. 108.
48. Scimus, Fili is printed and translated in Stones, Anglo-Scottish Relations, pp. 81–7.
49. Rishanger, p. 447. Quoted, in translation, in Traquair, Freedom’s Sword/ p. 98.
50. See above, note 35. Discussed by H.M. Colvin in History of the King’s Works, p. 411.
51. Rishanger, p. 447. Quoted and translated in Barrow, Robert Bruce/ p. 149.
52. Langtoft, p. 327.
Chapter 7. To Annoy His Enemies
1. Stevenson, Documents, p. 296 (where the letter is misdated; see also Watson, Under the Hammer, p. 109).
2. Guisborough, p. 245.
3. Henry de Keighley was briefly imprisoned towards the end of Edward’s reign.
4. CDS, ii, no. 1191, p. 305.
5. Lanercost Chronicle/ p. 240.
6. For the figures in this paragraph, see Prestwich, Edward I, p. 493.
7. Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance/ p. 128.
8. Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance, pp. 132–3.
9. Morris, Great and Terrible King/ p. 332.
10. Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 248, quoting the Lanercost Chronicle. (See also Lanercost Chronicle, p. 195, where a slightly different translation is offered.)
11. Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 159.
12. History of the King’s Works, p. 412.
13. See Clifford J. Rogers, Soldiers’ Lives Through History: The Middle Ages (Westport, USA, 2007), pp. 124–5.
14. As noted in Chris Tabraham, Scotland’s Castles (London, 2005), p. 49.
15. Lanercost Chronicle, p. 174.
16. Stevenson, Documents, p. 431.
17. Stevenson, Documents/ p. 432.
18. CDS, ii, no. 1230, p. 314. Discussed in Watson, Under the Hammer/ p. 128.
19. For these writs, see CDS, v, nos 260–3, pp. 168–9.
20. Quoted in Barrow, Robert Bruce/ p. 154.
21. Quoted in Traquair, Freedom’s Sword, p. 102.
22. Among many other arguments, the Scots put forward an alternative ancient history of the British Isles, in which an unbroken line of independent Scottish kings derived their descent from Scota, the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh.
23. See, for example, Barrow, Robert Bruce, pp. 155–6.
24. Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 335, quoting Parliamentary Writs/ ed. Palgrave.
25. Lanercost Chronicle, p. 172.
26. CDS, v, no. 263, p. 169.
27. Traquair, Freedom’s Sword, p. 108.
28. Morris, Great and Terrible King, pp. 335–6.
Chapter 8. All This Scottish War
1. See Nicola Coldstream, ‘James of St George’, in Impact of the Edwardian Castles, pp. 37–45.
2. For a good discussion of the works at Linlithgow and Selkirk, including all the figures in this and the next paragraph, see History of the King’s Works, pp. 412–15.
3. See, for example, Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 338.
4. History of the King’s Works, p. 414, quoting PRO [now TNA] E101/9/30/(19).
5. For this paragraph see Watson, Under the Hammer, pp. 154–9.
6. CDS, v, no. 292, pp. 174–5.
7. Stevenson, Documents, p. 448.
8. For the account of Roslin, see ‘John of Fordun’, pp. 325–8, quote at p. 326.
9. Langtoft, pp. 345–7.
10. Watson, Under the Hammer, p. 171.
11. Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 167, quoting Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, i, pp. 454–5.
12. Stevenson, Documents, pp. 449–50, quote at p. 449.
13. Alan Young, Robert the Bruce’s Rivals: The Comyns, 1212–1314 (East Linton, 1997), p. 174, quoting the cartulary of Arbroath Abbey.
14. CCR, 1302–1307, p. 299.
15. For the next three paragraphs, see History of the King’s Works, pp. 416–17; Michael Haskell, ‘Breaking the Stalemate: The Scottish Campaign of Edward I, 1303–4’, in Thirteenth-Century England VII, ed. Michael Prestwich, Richard Britnell and Robin Frame (Woodbridge, 1999), p. 226.
16. Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 339, quoting Parliamentary Writs, ed. Palgrave, pp. 366–7.
17. Prestwich, War, Politics and Finance, pp. 97–8.
18. See Haskell, ‘Breaking the Stalemate’, pp. 229–31.
19. Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 339.
20. Watson, Under the Hammer/ p. 174.
21. Scalacronica, pp. 45–7.
22. Langtoft, p. 349.
23. See, for example, Haskell, ‘Breaking the Stalemate’, p. 226.
24. Langtoft, p. 349.
25. Watson, Under the Hammer, pp. 174–5.
26. Langtoft, p. 349.
27. Prestwich, Edward I, p. 499. Prestwich (p. 501) suggests the mixture would have been put into earthenware pots, which would then be launched into the castle.
28. Watson, Under the Hammer, quoting PRO [now TNA] E159/76 m.21.
29. Haskell, ‘Breaking the Stalemate’, pp. 229–31.
30. Guisborough, p. 357.
31. Watson, Under the Hammer, p. 180.
32. ‘John of Fordun’, p. 328.
33. Palgrave, Documents/ p. 287.
34. As noted in Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 169.
35. Traquair, Freedom’s Sword, p. 116.
36. See Watson, Under the Hammer/ p. 188.
37. Stevenson, Documents, pp. 475–7, quote at p. 476.
38. Stevenson, Documents, pp. 472–3, quote at p. 473.
39. Stevenson, Documents/ pp. 479–80.
40. Stevenson, Documents, p. 481.
41. Stevenson, Documents, pp. 482–3.
42. CDS, iv, p. 475.
43. Scalacronica, p. 47.
44. Flores, p. 118, quoted and translated in Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 168.
45. Traquair, Freedom’s Sword, pp. 119–20.
46. Scalacronica, p. 47.
47. Flores/ p. 318. Discussed in Antonia Gransden, Historical Writing in England, c. 550 to c. 1307 (London, 1974), pp. 462–3.
48. See Rishanger, pp. 222–3 (where this chronicle is printed alongside the other writings that can be more firmly attributed to William Rishanger).
49. CDS, ii, no. 1560, p. 405.
50. Langtoft, p. 357.
51. Oliphant later entered English allegiance. He was the commander at Perth when the town was taken by Robert the Bruce in 1313.
52. Haskell, ‘Breaking the Stalemate’, p. 233.
53. The date of Soules’ death is uncertain, but he is thought to have died before 1310.
Chapter 9. Burn, Kill and Raise the Dragon
1. Flores, pp. 120–1.
2. For a more detailed discussion, see Caroline Burt, Edward I and the Governance of England (Cambridge, 2013), pp. 216–35.
3. Stevenson, Documents, p. 471.
4. See, for example, Barrow, Robert Bruce, pp. 170, 179.
5. Langtoft, p. 353.
6. Palgrave, Documents/ p. 276. Quoted and translated in Fisher, Wallace/ p. 222.
7. Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 185; see also CDS, ii, no. 1465, p. 383.
8. Langtoft, p. 323.
9. Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 178.
10. Dafydd ap Gruffydd endured a similar fate almost twenty years before, and other earlier examples might also be cited.
11. Stones, Anglo-Scottish Relations, pp. 121–2.
12. The various narrative sources that describe the incident are discussed and quoted extensively by A.A.M. Duncan in the notes of The Bruce (pp. 78–81).
13. In 1304, at the siege of Stirling, Bruce had sealed a pact of mutual assistance with Bishop Lamberton of St Andrews. Both men had submitted to Edward by this time, but as the pact did not except their allegiance to the English king, it is difficult to imagine this was not treasonable in some way (as Edward would have understood it). See Barrow, Robert Bruce/ p. 171.
14. Michael Brown, The Wars of Scotland, 1214–1371 (Edinburgh, 2004), p. 199.
15. Flores/ p. 130.
16. Palgrave, Documents/ p. 320.
17. Stones, Anglo-Scottish Relations/ p. 133.
18. CDS, ii, no. 1747, p. 471.
19. Barbour, The Bruce/ p. 90.
20. J.R.H. Moorman, ‘Edward I at Lanercost Priory 1306–7’, English Historical Review, 263 (1952), p. 173.
21. Valence’s date of birth is uncertain, but is estimated to have been around 1275. See J.R.S. Phillips, ‘Valence, Aymer de, eleventh earl of Pembroke (d. 1324)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan. 2008) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/942].
22. CDS, ii, no. 1754, p. 473.
23. Flores, pp. 131–2.
24. Conceivably the ‘swans’ took the form of a subtlety or entremet, an elaborate type of dish that was served between larger courses, often as a form of entertainment. In the later medieval period birds would sometimes be cooked, seasoned and then served in their plumage, although foodstuffs were also shaped to resemble other things (such as castles).
25. CDS, ii, no. 1773, pp. 476–7.
26. As suggested in Malcolm Vale, The Princely Court: Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe (Oxford, 2001), pp. 218–19.
27. Palgrave, Documents/ p. 349.
28. CDS/ ii, no. 1786, pp. 479–80.
29. Guisborough claimed that Valence was initially unwilling to fight because it was a holy day – the Sunday after the feast of St John – but in fact it was a Tuesday. For a discussion, see The Bruce, pp. 94–5 (note).
30. Scalacronica, p. 53. In Barbour’s narrative, Bruce’s reins are seized by Sir Philip Mowbray, who is much keener to prevent the escape of the ‘new-made king’, but of course the outcome is the same. Barbour, The Bruce, p. 100.
31. CDS, v, no. 492, p. 213.
32. The Statutes of the Realm/ ed. Alexander Luders et al (Record Commission, 1810), 11 vols in 12, i, p. 147. Translation adapted following Morris, Great and Terrible King/ p. 356. The ordinance itself was particularly concerned with the problem of corrupt officials, who were apparently exploiting the resources of the Forest for their own benefit (and to ‘the intolerable damage’ of Edward and his heirs).
33. Barbour, Bruce, p. 90.
34. CDS, ii, no. 1782, pp. 478–9.
35. CDS, ii, no. 1790, pp. 480–1.
36. Letters Patent dated 7 April. See CDS, ii, no. 1755, p. 473.
37. Matthew Strickland, ‘Treason, Feud and the Growth of State Violence: Edward I and the “War of the Earl of Carrick”, 1306–7’, in War, Government and Aristocracy in the British Isles, c. 1150–1500, ed. Chris Given-Wilson, Ann Kettle and Len Scales (Woodbridge, 2008), especially pp. 102–4.
38. Prestwich, Edward I, p. 507; above, n. 20.
39. CDS, ii, no. 1832, p. 491.
40. CDS, v, no. 492, pp. 216–17.
41. Matthew Strickland (see above, n. 37) interprets the execution of the earl of Atholl as a particularly significant moment. Atholl, a magnate with English royal blood in his veins, would have been seen – unlike noble Welshmen – as a member of a wider aristocratic world. No earl had been executed as a traitor in England since the reign of William the Conqueror. Strickland therefore argues that Atholl’s death paved the way for the bloodletting of Edward II’s reign (and later), which included the execution of Edward II’s own uncle.
42. Scalacronica, p. 53.
43. Flores, p. 324.
44. The Political Songs of England, ed. Thomas Wright (Edinburgh, 1888), 4 vols, iii, p. 70.
45. Barrow, Robert Bruce, p. 213.
46. Guisborough, p. 382. Quoted and translated in Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 359.
47. CDS, ii, nos 1895 and 1896, p. 504.
48. CDS, ii, no. 1979, p. 526.
49. Quoted in Barrow, Robert Bruce, pp. 222–3; see also CDS, ii, no. 1926, p. 513.
50. CDS/ ii, no. 1979, p. 526.
51. Guisborough, p. 379.
52. For the date of Edward’s departure from Carlisle, see Morris, Great and Terrible King/ p. 418, n. 46.
53. For the references and quotations in this paragraph, see Prestwich, Edward I/ p. 557.
Epilogue
1. The Political Songs of England/ ed. Thomas Wright (Edinburgh, 1888), 4 vols, iv, p. 25. See also, for example, Langtoft, pp. 381–3; Lanercost Chronicle/ p. 182.
2. See Morris, Great and Terrible King, p. 363.
3. Morris, Great and Terrible King, pp. 377–8.
4. Colm McNamee, Robert Bruce: Our Most Valiant Prince, King and Lord (Edinburgh, 2011, first published 2006), p. 138, quoting Annales Paulini.
5. David Ditchburn discusses a wide range of interesting evidence in Scotland and Europe: The Medieval Kingdom and its Contacts with Christendom, 1214–1560 (East Linton, 2000).
6. The so-called ‘Treaty of Perpetual Peace’, signed in 1502, lasted barely ten years. There was further conflict as the sixteenth century progressed, some of which was just as savage and intensive as the more famous Wars of Independence.
7. See Michael Camille, Mirror in Parchment: The Luttrell Psalter and the Making of Medieval England (London, 1998), pp. 284–9.
8. The Declaration of Arbroath [http://www.nas.gov.uk/downloads/declarationArbroath.pdf].
9. Prestwich, Edward I, pp. 514–15.
10. Lanercost Chronicle/ p. 182.
11. CDS, ii, no. 1909, p. 598.
12. Bower, pp. 331–3.