Froissart: Gobbet 4 Flashcards
What is the context of this gobbet i.e. which battle?
Battle of Otterburn 1388
Why does the context of the battle undermine Froissart’s account, especially relating to direct speech?
-Froissart not present in these battles
-Indeed he did interview both sides of Scottish and English, key details could have been missed out as consequence of direct speech
How validity be questioned from the Scottish side interviewee being a knight from the Douglas household?
Scottish squires and knights - particularly those of the Douglas household = can assume bias due to closeness with Earl of Douglas
Counter-argument of Scottish knight interviewee validity drawback.
Despite this, Froissart was well travelled and before this chronicle was written, he briefly stayed with the Douglas family so would have gotten a sense of James Douglas’ personality
Why is James Earl of Douglas’ family significant for this gobbet? - relate to “ancestors” line and “shout Douglas”
Earl James Douglas from long family line of honourable soldiers in war = reputation and Douglas traditions of loyalty and bravery to uphold
“Shout Douglas” = ideas of continuing the Douglas’ legacy through chivalric imagery. - positive warfare depictions, especially regarding death
clearly family ties were important in warfare
what does the “raise my banner” suggest?
war images of chivalry, continuation of legacy to provoke enemies.
What is the W.C.D for the Douglas Family and raising of the banner?
W.C.D = James Douglas associated with being a key figure for Scottish Independence, as fought beside the Bruce family - married to Isabella Stewart whom was the granddaughter of Robert the Bruce.
- Legacy of Independence lives on.
Drawbacks of raising the banner?
-romanticises battles
-could be for entertainment purposes, however also combined with reality as it is likely the Scots were devoted like Froissart depicts as they were striving for independence from the English.
What is Froissart’s opinion of Scots which can be seen in this gobbet - provide an example from rest of extract.
Clearly admires bravery of Scots in battle as he provides further images of the Scot’s mightiness evident by his depiction of Scots at Battle of Otterburn e.g. “dauntlessly wielding their axes”
