Nemo me impune lacessit *
Although by 1066 the boundaries of Scotland were established, they were by no means secure. From
the north and west, the Norse had long been making inroads. From the south, England began to cast
covetous eyes northward. Over the next three centuries the struggle to maintain its independence
would consume all the nation’s energies.
At the start of the millennium, Norway claimed the Shetlands, Orkneys and Hebrides and enforced
those claims whenever it had a strong ruler. When it didn’t, local Jarls were only too quick to make their
own claims. In the end, the loosening of the Norsemen’s grip came, not from the crown, but from a half
Norse, half Scot named Somerled who carved out his own petty kingdom in the Western Isles and
mainland.
From the mid 1100’s Somerled expanded
his rule to stretch from the Isle of Man
north to the Butt of Lewis. The Lordship
of the Isles contained a mixed people of
Norse and Scottish blood, sharing under
one lord, a single culture and way of life.
Known as the Gall-Gaidheal (literally
meaning 'Foreign-Gaels') they came to
dominate the West of Scotland with their
influence centered on the swift galleys
from which they enforced their rule. The
islands and sea-lochs of the west of
Scotland gave the advantage to a
maritime power over the land-based
sovereignty of the Scots kings. Not only
were the islands separated by the sea but
the deep intrusions of the sea lochs and
rugged mountains meant travel by land
was three to five times as far as a galley
could sail. And galleys sailed faster than the land traveller,
Following Somerled’s death in battle against the Scottish crown, the Lordship of the Isles would be the
source of struggle for centuries and, although absorbed by Scotland, the loyalty of its inhabitants
would remain in question for centuries; until 1745 at Culloden when Bonnie Prince Charlie led the
Highland clans to defeat in the last battle on British soil.
The Orkneys and Shetlands would pass more peacefully into Scottish possession.
Though the north and west might take centuries to fully secure, the real threat was from the south.
Here a more numerous and powerful neighbour looked to annex Scotland’s land and peoples. It would be
a long hard struggle and bleed Scotland all but dry. Yet despite the disparity in strength and the Scots
many defeats, England would eventually recognise that the Scots were never going to accept conquest.
In the end, it was the peaceful ascension of the Scot's king James VI to the English throne that would
bring an end to the wars.
After Malcolm had redefined the Scottish border by absorbing the Lothians and securing the Border
region against Anglo-Saxon domination, a new enemy appeared that was to both strengthen and weaken
Scotland. These were the Normans. Led by William of Normandy they conquered England in 1066 and
reinvented government. Apart from some trials of strength on their part and a couple of abortive
attempts by the Scots to take advantage of the upheaval, William was content with the major prize.
The transformation in England also brought changes to Scotland. Edgar the Atheling or Saxon claimant
to the English throne sought sanctuary at the court of Malcolm Canmore. Malcolm, a recent widower,
became enamoured with Margaret, Edgar’s sister and the two were wed. Under Margaret’s authority,
the religious scene in Scotland changed with the influence of the Celtic church giving way to that of
Rome. Anglo-Saxon English thrived (even today the Scots dialect more nearly mirrors Old English than
does any in England itself). Trade and culture were also affected by a court with such a high Saxon
profile.
The other effect caused by the conquest of England was the gradual absorbsion of Norman knights into
the Scottish nobility and Norman clerics into the church. Much of this was due to the English demand
for hostages after a series of minor wars between the nations, generally settled in England’s favour.
One after another, the heirs to the Scottish throne were brought up in the English court, making
friends and allies amongst the Norman ruling class. When, eventually they returned, they brought with
them to the north their own entourage. Later, as rulers, they would reward past favours with titles,
either outright or by marriage to heiresses they held as wards. The net effect of this Norman
influence was to strengthen the central government and the role of the church and further undercut
the Celtic administrative and social structure.
For two and a half centuries, from the mid 1000’s to the end of the fourteenth century, Scotland was
relatively peaceful; at least compared to the years to come. The English made no serious attempt at
conquest and the Scots crown gradually extended its authority over the land.
Everything then changed, in 1286 King Alexander III died tragically by accident leaving only a young
granddaughter brought up in a foreign land to inherit the kingdom. All might have been well; an
arrangement had been made to betroth her to the heir to the English throne with the guarantee of the
independence of Scotland. This would certainly have assured the peace of Scotland, at least in the
immediate future. But it was not to be, Margaret, the Maid of Norway, died on her way home to
Scotland.
The scene was now set for the crisis that was to all but consume Scotland over the next half century.
With the direct line ended, there was no lack of claimants to the throne. Meanwhile, with the
uncertainty of the succession looming, King Edward I of England now began to look at Scotland as a
plum, ripe for the taking.
Of the claimants to the throne, the two strongest suits were those of John Balliol and Robert Bruce.
The enmity between those two factions caused disharmony amongst the Scots and played into the
hands of Edward. In the end Balliol was chosen, with the complicacy of the English monarch. That Bruce
also had sought Edward’s support shouldn’t be forgotten, but the upshot was that Edward now
insisted that the king of Scots owed fealty to the English crown.
This overlordship claimed by Edward did not sit well with many Scots and it wasn’t long before war
resulted. The disillusionment and disharmony amongst the Scots showed itself in the subsequent
debacle of the defeat of the Scottish army at Dunbar. With the Scots loss in battle and no unity to
oppose him, Edward quickly conquered Scotland. Balliol was forced to abdicate and removed as a
prisoner to London. In ten years, Scotland had gone from a strong secure independent nation
to but a province of England.
But Scotland wasn’t finished. The great lords had all sworn fealty to
Edward but from the ranks of the lesser gentry came William Wallace
to reignite the national spirit. He wasn’t alone, many ordinary Scots
flocked to him but the nobility in the main held back. A few nobles,
including Robert Bruce, son of the Robert Bruce who had contended
for the crown joined the struggle in what was at best a half-hearted
effort. Bruce was not yet ready for the kind of warfare the struggle
for Scotland’s survival required; he still thought of war in terms of
formal battles and chivalry.
Wallace, though, was every bit a practical soldier and as innovative as
Hannibal. He organised his army into what became known as schiltroms,
soldiers armed with spears or pikes , protected by shields and arrayed
in “hedgehog” formations. He generally avoided face to face
confrontations with the superior English and carried out a guerilla-like campaign. One great exception
was the battle of Stirling Bridge where he annihilated an English army by allowing half to pass over the
only bridge to the town of Stirling before rushing in to cut off reinforcements from the opposite bank.
It was a great victory but not the end of the war.
After Stirling Bridge, Wallace was forced on the defensive by the reinforced English invaders. Finally
he was betrayed by his own countrymen and suffered ignominious death at the hands of the English.
The Bruce had not only English enemies to contend with but the supporters of the abdicated king Balliol,
most notably the Comyns. In a series of campaigns against the Comyn’s and their supporters, the Bruce
Thus it was in 1314 that the largest ever army to invade Scotland made its way north. The Bruce
gathered together his army and, following the course Wallace had established, withdrew in front of the
English leaving a wasteland to his enemies. At Bannockburn, where the Firth of Forth may be forded and
just a few miles from Stirling, he prepared for battle on ground of his choosing.
The English arrived in the evening and in one famous encounter, Sir Henry de Bohun, arriving ahead of
the vanguard recognizing the Bruce, alone in front of the Scottish positions, charged. King Robert,
unarmoured and mounted on just a palfrey darted
out of the way of the lance and killed de Bohun with
a blow from his axe. It was a good omen for the
Scots.
That night the English, faced with the marshy
ground in front of the Scottish positions, were
forced into scattered and uncomfortable camps
wherever some semblance of dry ground might be
found.
The next morning, Edward II, eager to get to grips,
committed the English before a proper plan and
organization had been arrived at. Thus, though
greatly outnumbered, the Scots gained an initiative, able to use the ground to their advantage and deny
the English the full use of their superior cavalry. The Scottish schiltroms held and gradually ground
down the English charges. In the end, Edward fled ignominiously.
Bannockburn, although a decisive battle that secured Scotland for the time, was not to be the end of
the English threat. But it did put an end to any real chance of Scotland’s annexation. It gave the Bruce
the security to reestablish the nation, to rebuild and strengthen.
to be continued .........
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established a firm control of the land. All that were left were
some few castles in English hands. It was to one of these that
Edward Bruce, Robert’s brother made a chivalrous but foolish
agreement; should Stirling castle not be relieved within a year
then the castle would be surrendered. This was foolish in that
it forced the English hand and a new campaign was organized
to save the castle; Edward II could not afford to meekly let
it go.
Sir William Wallace