A grab for the kingship

Back to Robert de Bruce. In early 1302 he submitted to Edward I, who promised to support the Bruce claim to the Scottish throne, in exchange for Bruce support against the Guardians of Scotland i.e. the Comyn/Balliol faction and their allies. Bruce may have been with the English king at Roxburgh in mid-February, before the latter went back to England. At the beginning of March Bruce was at Linlithgow in the company of two English nobles: Robert Clifford, now lord of Caerlaverock, and John de St John, former seneschal of Gascony. A few days later Bruce was at the grange of Maybole, which (I think) lay in South Ayrshire. There he issued a deed, which acknowledged that he would no longer ask the tenants of Melrose Abbey living in his earldom of Carrick to serve with him in a Scottish army going 'abroad'. That could mean overseas, or any considerable distance from home. Now he had returned to Edward's peace, Bruce no longer had to demand military service of his vassals. He was also in receipt of money and supplies sent up from England to support the king's men in Scotland. For instance, in November one of Bruce's yeomen, Robert de Anand, received a cache of wine, wheat and 'hard fish' for his lord's use. The standard interpretation is that Bruce and King Edward had need of each other, to stave off the threat of John Balliol returning to Scotland with a French army. Personally I am not convinced: Philip the Fair, King of France, had summoned Edward to military service in Flanders in the autumn of 1301. Edward responded by sending troops to join the French army in November. That was about two months before Bruce submitted to Edward in early 1302. Even Philip, whose motives are often inscrutable, was unlikely to ally with Edward and fight him at the same time. The French king had now abandoned his policy of war with England, in favour of drawing upon English resources to attack the Flemings. Possibly Bruce had fore-guessed – or been forewarned – that Philip was going to ditch his Scottish allies. Before that could happen, it made sense for Bruce to jump into bed with Edward, who would now have a free hand against the Scots. Once the English king had conveniently destroyed his enemies, Bruce could make a grab for the kingship. Invite your friends and earn rewards If you enjoy David Pilling's History Stuff, share it with your friends and earn rewards when they subscribe. Invite Friends © 2024 History Stuff 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104