Scotland's Second War of Independence, 1332-1357

294 Pages·2016·3.653 MB·English

by  Iain A. Macinnes

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THE SECOND SCOTTISH WAR OF INDEPENDENCE began in 1332, only
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four years after the previous conflict had ended. Fought once more s ’
a cotland s
for the continued freedom of Scotland from English conquest, the
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war also witnessed a revival of Scottish civil conflict as the Bruce-
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Balliol fight for the Scottish crown recommenced once more. Breaking
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out sporadically until peace was agreed in 1357, the Second Scottish s second War of
War is a conflict that resides still in the shadow of that which preceded
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it: compared to the wars of William Wallace and Robert Bruce, e
Edward I and Edward II, this second phase of Anglo-Scottish warfare c Independence
is neither well-known nor well-understood. o
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This book sets out to examine in detail the military campaigns of this d –
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period, to uncover the histories of those who fought in the war, and 1332 1357
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to analyse the behaviour of combatants from both sides during
a
ongoing periods of both civil war and Anglo-Scottish conflict. It
analyses contemporary records and literary evidence in order to r
reconstruct the history of this conflict and reconsiders current debates
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regarding: the capabilities of the Scottish military; the nature of
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contemporary combat; the ambitions and abilities of fourteenth-
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century military leaders; and the place of chivalry on the medieval n
battlefield. d
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DR IAIN A. MACINNES is a Lecturer and Programme Leader in p
Scottish History at the UHI Centre for History, University of the e
Highlands and Islands. n
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Cover: Image of Anglo-Scottish warfare from Froissart’s Chroniques, Plantin- e
Moretus Museum, Antwerp, MS 15.4, f. 1r © Museum Plantin-Moretus,
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Antwerp - UNESCO, World Heritage. Photo: Peter Maes.
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Warfare in History 1
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MacInnes
I a. M I
aIn ac nnes
warfare in history
Scotland’s Second War
of Independence, 1332–1357
warfare in history
issn 1358–779x
Series editors
Matthew Bennett, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, UK
Anne Curry, University of Southampton, UK
Stephen Morillo, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, USA
This series aims to provide a wide-ranging and scholarly
approach to military history, offering both individual studies
of topics or wars and volumes giving a selection of contem-
porary and later accounts of particular battles; its scope ranges
from the early medieval to the early modern period.
New proposals for the series are welcomed; they should be
sent to the publisher at the address below.
Boydell and Brewer Limited, PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk
ip12 3df
Previously published volumes in this series are listed at the back
of this volume
Scotland’s Second War
of Independence, 1332–1357
Iain A. MacInnes
the boydell press
© Iain A. MacInnes 2016
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of Iain A. MacInnes to be identified as
the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2016
The Boydell Press, Woodbridge
ISBN 978-1-78327-144-3
The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620–2731, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
The publisher has no responsibility for the continued existence or accuracy of
URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and
does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate
or appropriate
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgements viii
Abbreviations x
A Note on Terminology xiii
Introduction 1
1 Anglo-Scottish Relations, 1332–1357 11
Two Kings in One Kingdom: A Scottish Military Collapse? (1332–34) 11
Rebellion, Resurgence and Recovery (1334–36) 16
Winning the Battle for Hearts and Minds (1337–40) 30
The Return of the King: David II and Royal War Leadership (1341–46) 40
Casting a Long Shadow: Recovery after Neville’s Cross (1346–57) 50
2 The Organisation of War 60
Scottish Military Organisation 60
Leadership 68
The Structure and Size of Scottish Armies 71
The Scottish Soldier: Armour and Weapons 81
Funding and Supply 88
Naval Activity 92
3 Dramatis Personae: Military Biographies 98
Kings and Guardians 99
Noble Military Leaders 116
The Rank and File 148
The ‘Enemy’: the Balliol Scots and the Disinherited 151
4 The Conduct and Realities of War 157
War in the Countryside 157
The Urban Landscape 168
The Ecclesiastical Landscape 173
Combatants 183
vi scotland’s second war of independence
5 Perceptions of War 198
War and Chivalry: The Chroniclers’ Perspective 200
I – ‘A support for the old, for maidens and for Holy Church’ 203
II – Honour 210
III – Bravery 215
IV – Probity 219
War and Chivalry: The Warriors’ Perspective 223
I – The Warrior and Christian Chivalry 223
II – The Warrior and the Business of War 229
Conclusion 239
Bibliography 245
Index 266
Illustrations
Plates
Plate 1. Image of ‘Scots’ attacking English people from the Luttrell
Psalter (©British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.169) 206
Plate 2. Image of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell from the Luttrell Psalter
(©British Library Board, Add. 42130, f.202v) 231
Plate 3. Effigy of John of Eltham, Westminster Abbey
(©Dean and Chapter of Westminster) 232
Plate 4. Effigy of Alexander Stewart of Buchan, Dunkeld Cathedral
(©Dunkeld Cathedral Chapter House Museum Trust) 232
Plate 5. Scottish heraldic devices taken from the Armorial de Gelre
(©Royal Library of Belgium, Manuscripts, Ms. 15652-56, f.64) 235
Plate 6. Scottish armorial devices from the Balliol Roll
(©British Library Board, Add. Roll. 77242) 236
Maps
Map 1. The castles of Scotland (1332–1357) xiv
Map 2. The Scottish invasion of 1333 and its impact on
Northumbrian religious houses 178
Tables
Table 1. Valuation of Scottish horses purchased by David II 73
Table 2. Scottish earls at Dupplin Moor, Halidon Hill and
Neville’s Cross 117
The author and publishers are grateful to all the institutions and individuals listed
for permission to reproduce the materials in which they hold copyright. Every effort
has been made to trace the copyright holders; apologies are offered for any omis-
sion, and the publishers will be pleased to add any necessary acknowledgement in
subsequent editions.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to a great many people for their assistance and encouragement
during the process of producing this book. For their financial support I
would like to thank the University of Aberdeen and the University of the
Highlands and Islands. Thanks are also due to the staff at the National
Archives, Kew, the British Library and the National Archives of Scotland for
their assistance during my periods of research. Thanks also go to the Master
and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, the British Library, the
Dean and Chapter of Westminster, the Friends of Dunkeld Cathedral, the
Royal Library of Belgium and the Museum Plantin-Moretus, Antwerp,
for allowing me to use and reproduce images from their collections. No
small thanks are also due to Caroline Palmer and Rob Kinsey at Boydell
& Brewer for their assistance, and in particular their understanding, during
the production of this book. And to the anonymous readers of drafts of this
book, my thanks for their helpful comments.
A number of academics helped me along my way through the long process
of turning this work into a monograph. I would not have started on this
theme at all without the suggestion of Professor Matthew Strickland.
Regards go to various staff at Aberdeen University who played various roles
during the early stages of my research. These include Dr Nathan Abrams,
Dr Jackson Armstrong, Dr Andrew MacKillop and Dr Micheal Ó Siochru,
as well as Mrs Barbara MacGillvary and Mrs Gillian Brown of the History
departmental secretariat. Credit must also go to Dr Andrew Ayton and
Dr Peter Murray for their thoughtful consideration of and comments on
earlier versions of this manuscript. Thanks are also due to my colleagues at
the Centre for History, University of the Highlands and Islands (past and
present), for their support during the latter phases of this project. Thanks
therefore go to Dr Karen Cullen, Professor Jim Hunter, Dr Karly Kehoe,
Dr Jim MacPherson, Dr Elizabeth Ritchie, Dr Iain Robertson, Dr David
Worthington, Dr Kathrin Zickermann and Ms Alison MacWilliam.
Special mention must go to Dr Alastair Macdonald and Dr David Ditch-
burn who have provided continuous support and feedback throughout this
process. Their efforts throughout the research and writing of this book have
made the whole thing possible, and their continued support is very much
appreciated. Grateful thanks also go to various people who have provided
assistance, both academic and practical, to the production of this book.
acknowledgements ix
In no particular order these include Dr Helen Brown, Iona and Gordon
Henshall, Dr Jennifer MacDonald, Dr Steffi Metze, Dr Alan Fimister and
Dr Barry Robertson. Ultimate thanks go, of course, to my family: to my
grandmother, Helen Heath, for her support through the early years of
this work, even though she has not been able to witness its conclusion;
to my parents, Norman and Helen MacInnes, and my sister Gemma, for
their support (in various forms) and helpfulness whenever I have required
anything of them. And lastly heartfelt thanks to my partner, Dr Victoria
Connor, for her constant support, in spite of her own workload, and for her
ceaseless encouragement whenever things proved difficult.
The publication of this book has been made possible by a grant from
The Scouloudi Foundation in association with the Institute of Historical
Research.
The publication of this book has also been made possible by a grant from
the Strathmartine Trust.