History of Scotland

Our ongoing history of Scotland that chronicles the events in Scotland over the past million years with a special focus on the last thousand as you might expect. We have also digitised a copy of Patrick Tytler's History of Scotland which is an eccentric but wonderfully written history of the the mediaeval years in Scotland. The project of chronicling Scotland's history is ongoing, as is the process of organising and structuring and linking the pages together.

Parliament at Scone

To assist him in this war, he summoned Baliol, and others of the most powerful of the Scottish nobles, to attend him in person with their armed vassals; but his insolent and overbearing conduct had entirely disgusted the Scots. They treated his summons with scorn; and, instead of arming their vassals for his assistance, they assembled a parliament at Scone. Its first step was, under the pretence of diminishing the public charges, to dismiss all Englishmen from Baliol's court; and having thus got rid of such troublesome spies upon their measures, they engaged in a treaty of alliance with France, and determined upon war with Edward. Many estates in Scotland were at this time held by English barons, and many also of the most powerful of the Scottish nobility possessed lands in England. Anxious for a general union against the common enemy, the Scottish estates in the hands of English barons were forfeited, and their proprietors banished; while those Scottish nobles who remained faithful to Edward had their lands seized and forfeited.

In this way Robert Bruce lost his rich lordship of Annandale. It was given to John Comyn earl of Buchan, who instantly assumed the rights of a proprietor, and took possession of its castle of Lochmaben —an injury which, in that fierce age, could never be forgotten.

Edward, although enraged at the conduct of the Scottish parliament, and meditating a deep revenge, was at this time harrassed by a rebellion of the Welsh, and a war with France. Dissimulation and policy were the weapons to which he had recourse, whilst he employed the interval which he gained in sowing dissension among the Scottish nobles, and collecting an army for the punishment of their rebellion. To Bruce, the son of the competitor for the crown, whose mind was irritated by the recent forfeiture of his estates, he affected uncommon friendship; regretted his decision in favour of the now rebellious Baliol; declared his determination to place him on the throne, of which the present king had shown himself unworthy; and directed him to inform his numerous and powerful friends in Scotland of this resolution.

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Baliol confined by the Scots and a Regency appointed

Bruce either trusted to the promises, or was intimidated by the power of Edward. Besides this, Comyn earl of Buchan, who now mainly directed the Scottish councils, was his enemy, and held violent possession of his lordship of Annandale. To join with him was impossible; and accordingly this powerful baron and his son, afterwards king, with Dunbar earl of March, and Umfraville earl of Angus, repaired to Edward, and renewed to him their oaths of homage. The undecided character of Baliol was ill calculated to remove this disunion amongst the Scottish nobles; and the party who then ruled in the Scottish parliament, dreading a submission upon the part of their king, secluded him from all power, confined him in a mountain fortress, and placed the management of affairs in the hands of twelve of the leading nobles.

The measures adopted by these guardians were decided and spirited. They, in the name of the King of Scots, drew up an instrument, renouncing all fealty and allegiance to Edward, on account of the many and grievous injuries committed upon his rights and property as King of Scotland.

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Treaty with France

They despatched ambassadors to France, who concluded a treaty of marriage and alliance, by which the niece of Philip, daughter of Charles count of Valois, was to be united to the eldest son of Baliol the French king engaging to assist the Scots with troops kept at his own charges; and they assembled an army under the command of Comyn earl of Buchan, which invaded Cumberland. This expedition, however, returned without honour, having been repulsed in an attempt to storm Carlisle.

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A war with England

Nothing could be more favourable for Edward than the miserably disunited state of Scotland. He knew that three powerful factions divided the country, and hindered that firm political union, without which, against such an enemy, no successful opposition could be made. Bruce, and his numerous and powerful followers, adhered to England. The friends of Baliol, and that part of the nation which recognised him for their sovereign, beheld him a captive in one of his own fortresses, and refused to join the rebels who had imprisoned him; and the party of Comyn, which had invaded England, were either so destitute of military talent, or so divided amongst themselves, that a handful of the citizens of Carlisle compelled them to retreat with loss into their own country. These advantages, the result of his own able and artful policy, were easily perceived by the King of England. It was now his time for action, and for inflicting that vengeance upon his enemies, which, with this monarch, the longer it was delayed, was generally the more sure and terrible.

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Edward invades Scotland

He assembled a numerous and well appointed army. It consisted of thirty thousand foot, and four thousand heavy-armed horse. He was joined by Beck, the warlike Bishop of Durham, at the head of a thousand foot and five hundred horse; and with this combined force, and the two sacred banners of St John of Beverley and St Cuthbert of Durham carried before the army, he marched towards Scotland. It appears, that some time before this, Edward had thought proper to grant a prolongation of the term agreed on for the decision of the question of Macduff, and had required Baliol to attend him as his vassal at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. On arriving there, he summoned the King of Scotland; and after waiting a few days for his appearance, advanced to the eastern border, and crossed the Tweed with his main army below the Nunnery of Coldstream. On the same day the Bishop of Durham forded the river at Norham; and the whole army, marching along the Scottish side, came before the town of Berwick, then in the hands of the Scots.

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Siege and sack of Berwick

Edward was determined, at all sacrifices, to make himself master of this city. It was celebrated for the riches and the power of its merchants; and the extent of its foreign commerce, in the opinion of a contemporary English historian, entitled it to the name of another Alexandria. It was protected only by a strong dike, but its adjacent castle was of great strength, and its garrison had made themselves obnoxious to the king, by plundering some English merchant ships which had unsuspiciously entered the port. The king summoned it to surrender, and offered it terms of accommodation, which, after two days'"consideration, were refused. Edward, upon this, did not immediately proceed to storm, but drew back his army to a field near a nunnery, about a mile from the town, and where, from the nature of the ground, he could more easily, conceal his dispositions for the attack. He then despatched a large division, with orders to assault the town choosing a line of march which concealed them from the citizens; and he commanded his fleet to enter the river at the same moment that the great body of the army, led by himself, were ready to storm. The Scottish garrison fiercely assaulted the ships, burnt three of them, and compelled the rest to retire; but they, in their turn, were driven back by the fury of the land attack. Edward himself, mounted on horseback was the first who leaped the dike; and the soldiers, animated by the example and presence of their king, carried everything before them. All the horrors of a rich and populous city sacked by an inflamed soldiery, and a commander thirsting for vengeance, now succeeded. Seventeen thousand persons, without distinction of age or sex, were put to the sword; and for two days the city ran with blood like a river. The churches, to which the miserable inhabitants had fled for sanctuary, were violated and defiled with blood, spoiled of their sacred ornaments, and turned into stables for the English cavalry.

In the midst of this massacre a fine trait of fidelity occurred. The Flemings at this period carried on a lucrative and extensive trade with Scotland, and their principal factory was established in Berwick. It was a strong building, called the Red-hall, which, by their charter, they were bound to defend to the last extremity against the English. True to their engagements, thirty of these brave merchants held out the place against the whole English army. Night came, and still it was not taken. Irritated by this obstinate courage, the English set it on fire, and buried its faithful defenders in the burning ruins. The massacre of Berwick, which took place on Good Friday, was a terrible example of the vengeance which Edward was ready to inflict upon his enemies. Its plunder enriched his army, and it never recovered its commercial importance and prosperity. Sir William Douglas, who commanded the castle, after a short defence surrendered, and swore fealty to the King of England; and its garrison, after taking an oath not to bear arms against that country, were allowed to march out with military honours.

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Baliol's renunciation of his homage

Henry abbot of Arbroath, attended by three of his monks, appeared at his court, and delivered to him the instrument containing Baliol's renunciation of his homage. "You have,'' said the Scottish king, "wantonly summoned me to your courts; you have committed grievous outrages and robberies upon my subjects, both by sea and land; you have seized my castles and estates in England, killed and imprisoned my subjects, and the merchants of my realm; and when I demanded a redress of these injuries, you have invaded my dominions at the head of a vast army, with the purpose of depriving me of my crown; and have cruelly ravaged the land. Wherefore, I renounce that fealty and homage, which have been extorted from me; and do resolve openly to oppose myself, in defence of my kingdom, against Edward of England."

Edward received this letter with angry contempt. "The senseless traitor!" said he; "of what folly is he guilty! But since he will not come to us, we will go to him !"

Enraged at the dreadful vengeance inflicted on Berwick, the Scottish army, under the Earls of Ross, Menteith, and Athole, made a second inroad into England; and, imitating the example of Edward, with merciless severity ravaged Redesdale and Tynedale, carrying away a great booty, and sparing neither sex nor age. The flames of towns and villages, and the ashes of the ancient monasteries of Lanercost and Hexham, marked their destructive progress; but the vengeance of the Scots was short-lived, and their plans unconnected. That of their enemy was the very opposite: it was deep-laid in its plans, simultaneous in its. movements, and remerseless in its contemplation of consequences.

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Defence of Dunbar by Black Agnes

The castle of Dunbar was at this time one of the strongest, and, by its situation, most important in Scotland. Its lord, Patrick earl of Dunbar, served in the army of Edward; but his wife, the countess, who held the castle, and hated the English, entered into a secret negotiation with the Scottish leaders, for its delivery into the hands of her countrymen. The Earls of Ross, Athole, and Menteith, the barons John Comyn, William St Clair, Richard Seward, and John de Mowbray, with thirty-one knights, and a strong force, threw themselves into the place; and, assisted by the countess, easily expelled the few soldiers who remained faithful to England.

On being informed of this loss, Edward determined upon recovering it at all hazards; and for this purpose despatched the Earl of Surrey with ten thousand foot', and a thousand heavy-armed horse. When summoned by Warrene, the garrison agreed to surrender, unless relieved within three days; and the Scots, anxious to retain so important a place, led on the whole of their army, and possessed themselves of a strong and excellent position on the high ground above Dunbar. Forty thousand foot, and fifteen hundred horse, encamped on the heights, near Spot; and, confident of rescue, the garrison of the castle insulted the English from the walls, as if already beaten.

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Defeat of the Scots at Dunbar

On the first appearance of the Scottish army, Surrey steadily advanced to attack it. On approaching the high ground, it was necessary to deploy through a valley; and the Scots imagined they observed some confusion in the English ranks, when executing this movement. Mistaking this for flight, they precipitately abandoned their strong position on the hills, and rushed down with shouts upon the enemy. Meanwhile, before the lines could meet, the English earl had extricated himself from the valley, and formed into compact order. The Scots, ruined, as they had often been, by their temerity, perceived their fatal error when it was too late. Instead of an enemy in flight, they found an army under perfect discipline, advancing upon their broken and disordered columns; and having in vain endeavoured to regain their ranks, after a short resistance they were completely routed. Three hundred and fifty years after this, Cromwell, on the same ground, defeated the army of the Scottish Covenanters, which occupied the same admirable position, and with equal folly and precipitancy deserted it. Surrey's victory was complete, and for the time decided the fate of Scotland. Teh thousand men fell on the field, or in the pursuit. Sir Patrick de Graham, one of the noblest and wisest of the Scottish barons, disdained to ask for quarter, and was slain in circumstances which extorted the praise of the enemy.

A great multitude, including the principal of the Scottish nobility, were taken prisoners; and, next day, the King of England coming in person with the rest of his army before Dunbar, the castle surrendered at discretion. The Earls of Athole, Ross, and Menteith, with four barons, seventy knights, and many other brave men, submitted to the mercy of the conqueror.All the prisoners of rank were immediately sent in chains to England, where they were for the present committed to close confinement in different Welsh and English castles. After some time, the king compelled them to attend him in his wars in France; but even this partial liberty was not allowed them, till their sons were delivered into his hands as hostages."

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Timeline of Scottish History

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History of Scotland

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