Survival of the fittest? - The military and political career of Duncan (IV) earl of Fife, 1289/90 – 1353 (original) (raw)
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‘The Two Andrew Murrays and the Scottish Wars of Independence (1296-1338)’
Almost a century ago, Evan Macleod Barron wrote his book The Scottish war of independence: a critical study (1914). In amongst the literary flourishes that informed his style of writing, Barron revealed an area of study that had been largely ignored in previous works – the history of the Scottish War of Independence as it related to northern Scotland. In particular, he brought to light the understudied figure of Andrew Moray of Bothwell. Rescuing him from his previous position in the shadow of William Wallace, Barron created a new area of interest within studies of this crucial period in Scottish medieval history. In spite of this, however, Moray remains a figure on the periphery of Scottish History. Moreover, modern historiography has extended the period of the Scottish Wars of Independence beyond the endpoint adopted by Barron, that of 1328. As we enter the period of the Second War of Independence, another Andrew Moray appears as a figure fighting for Scotland’s freedom from England, but remains a figure few people know much about. This talk will, therefore, consider the place of these two men – father and son – within the history of this period and attempt to fully examine their importance as leaders of Scottish resistance to English conquest.
Northern Scotland, 1994
charters, episcopal registers, university records, medieval chronicles and place names from the Gough Map, Professor Barrow argues that however obscured by the difficult geography of the country, with its mountains, fast rivers, bogs, and its many arms of the sea running far inland, it is still possible to discern a complex pattern of routes which existed throughout medieval Scotland by land and water. His essay on 'Popular Courts' follows a similar pattern: an enquiry, stimulated by a question put by Cosmo Innes in one of his Lectures on Scotch Legal Antiquities, as to whether early Scotland ever had local gatherings which could be equivalated to the English Court of the Hundred or Tithing. Using the evidence of words like Couthal and CuthilJ (Gaelic, ComhdhaiT) meaning assembly, which can be found in some sixty place names scattered throughout Scotland, he suggests a number of these look very much like meeting places where law enforcements and settlements of disputes took place. Many tributes have rightly been paid to Geoffrey Barrow's contribution to medieval Scottish history since his recent retirement as Fraser Professor of Scottish History and Palaeography at the University of Edinburgh; nor is it difficult to see why, looking at this sample of his prodigious output. Scholarship like his will inspire historians for many years to come. LESLIE J. MACFARLANE Medieval Scotland. Crown, Lordship and Community. Essays presented to G.W.S. Barrow. Edited by Alexander Grant and Keith J. Stringer. Pp.xvi, 319. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 1993. £25.00. This magnificent tribute to Professor Barrow brings together the work of two generations of Scottish medieval historians. The first, represented by such luminaries as Grant Simpson, Archibald Duncan, Donald Watt and Bruce Webster (and epitomised by Geoffrey Barrow himself), came to prominence in the 1950s and '60s. It was responsible for establishing Scottish medieval studies as a subject in its own right, deserving of scholarly examination. The second, represented here by the editors, Alexander Grant and Keith Stringer, as well as by other contributors, has carried on that tradition, and continues to flourish in centres of higher education both in Britain and North America, thanks largely to the tutelage and influence of Professor Barrow. Geoffrey BarroWs seminal research has led him to explore virtually every region of the northern kingdom, and to turn his critical skills to a wide variety of areas of enquiry. Both facets of his efforts are well attested in the thirteen essays collected here. Traditions first created by medieval chroniclers, then perpetuated by antiquarian studies, are subjected to the scrutiny and re-evaluation which informs so much of Barrow's own writings. Thus, Alan Macquarrie's reconstruction of the genealogy of the kings of Strathclyde demonstrates that Fordun's claims for the office as a stepping stone to the throne of the king of Scots was erroneous, and his essay does much to bestow on the ancient kingdom a history of its own. Similarly, Bruce Webster's energetic review of the nature of the English occupation of Scotland in the 1330s shows that the episode was no mere 'aftermath' of the victory achieved by Robert Bruce, but rather that it was 'an integral part of the Wars of Independence'. One of the central themes of Professor Barrow's work has been the commingling of Celtic and feudal, or Anglo-Norman, influences in high medieval Scotland, nowhere more
Warfare in the West Highlands and Isles of Scotland, c. 1544-1615
2016
Warfare has long been associated with Scottish Highlanders and Islanders, especially in the period known in Gaelic tradition as ‘Linn nan Creach’ (the ‘Age of Forays’), which followed the forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isles in 1493. The sixteenth century in general is remembered as a particularly tumultuous time within the West Highlands and Isles, characterised by armed conflict on a seemingly unprecedented scale. Relatively little research has been conducted into the nature of warfare however, a gap filled by this thesis through its focus on a series of interconnected themes and in-depth case studies spanning the period c. 1544-1615. It challenges the idea that the sixteenth century and early seventeenth century was a time of endless bloodshed, and explores the rationale behind the distinctive mode of warfare practised in the West Highlands and Isles. The first part of the thesis traces the overall ‘Process of War’. Chapter 1 focuses on the mentality of the social elite in the West Highlands and Isles and demonstrates that warfare was not their raison d'être, but was tied inextricably to chiefs’ prime responsibility of protecting their lands and tenants. Chapter 2 assesses the causation of warfare and reveals that a recurrent catalyst for armed conflict was the assertion of rights to land and inheritance. There were other important causes however, including clan expectation, honour culture, punitive government policies, and the use of proxy warfare by prominent magnates. Chapter 3 takes a fresh approach to the military capacity of the region through analysis of armies and soldiers, and the final thematic chapter tackles the conduct of warfare in the West Highlands and Isles, with analysis of the tactics and strategy of militarised personnel. The second part of this thesis comprises five case studies: the Clanranald, 1544-77; the Colquhouns of Luss and the Lennox, 1592-1603; the MacLeods of Harris and MacDonalds of Sleat, 1594-1601; the Camerons, 1569-1614; and the ‘Islay Rising’, 1614-15. This thesis adopts a unique approach by contextualising the political background of warfare in order to instil a deeper understanding of why early modern Gaelic Scots resorted to bloodshed. Overall, this period was defined by a sharp rise in military activity, followed by an even sharper decline, a trajectory that will be evidenced vividly in the final case study on the ‘Islay Rising’. Although warfare was widespread, it was not unrestrained or continuous, and the traditional image of a region riven by perpetual bloodshed has been greatly exaggerated.
The Shape of the State in Medieval Scotland, 1124-1290
This is the first full-length study of Scottish royal government in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries ever to have been written. It uses untapped legal evidence to set out a new narrative of governmental development. Between 1124 and 1290, the way in which kings of Scots ruled their kingdom transformed. By 1290 accountable officials, a system of royal courts, and complex common law procedures had all been introduced, none of which could have been envisaged in 1124. The Shape of the State in Medieval Scotland, 1124-1290 argues that governmental development was a dynamic phenomenon, taking place over the long term. For the first half of the twelfth century, kings ruled primarily through personal relationships and patronage, only ruling through administrative and judicial officers in the south of their kingdom. In the second half of the twelfth century, these officers spread north but it was only in the late twelfth century that kings routinely ruled through institutions. Throughout this period of profound change, kings relied on aristocratic power as an increasingly formal part of royal government. In putting forward this narrative, Alice Taylor refines or overturns previous understandings in Scottish historiography of subjects as diverse as the development of the Scottish common law, feuding and compensation, Anglo-Norman 'feudalism', the importance of the reign of David I, recordkeeping, and the kingdom's military organisation. In addition, she argues that Scottish royal government was not a miniature version of English government; there were profound differences between the two polities arising from the different role and function aristocratic power played in each kingdom. The volume also has wider significance. The formalisation of aristocratic power within and alongside the institutions of royal government in Scotland forces us to question whether the rise of royal power necessarily means the consequent decline of aristocratic power in medieval polities. The book thus not only explains an important period in the history of Scotland, it places the experience of Scotland at the heart of the process of European state formation as a whole.