Unit 5 - King Robert and the war against England, 1310–23 - Bannockburn settling the war - essay

Question 1

Intro - context

Answer 1

• uncertain beginning to reign murdering John Comyn at Greyfriars Church Feb 1306
• hiding away winter 1306-07, taking a long time to secure authority first parliament in March 1309 at St Andrews
• Bannockburn Spring 1314 saw smaller 6,000 Scottish army defeat 15,000+ army of England by forcing cavalry onto marshy land

Question 2

Intro - argument

Answer 2

• did not settle the war
• Factors - continued fighting with Engish, Scotland failed to capitalize, lack of external recognition
• Barrow says effective, but align with Brown and McNamee who say not very important

Question 3

Continued fighting with English - knowledge and analysis

Answer 3

• failed to capture Edward II as he fled field - unable to weaken England sufficiently
• continued battles after Bannockburn - greater scale and less frequency - June 1315 Durham, July 1315 Carlisle
• Ed unable to counter Brucean raids after Bannockburn, deep into Yorkshire and Lancashire (October 1322) - but they did not force him to abandon claim to Scottish overlordship
• led to a series of truces - 1315 to 1322 total more than £20,000, but delayed and extended war and relieved tension on English king
• April 1333 English siege of Berwick

Question 4

Continued fighting with English - evaluation and historiography

Answer 4

• Traquair - did not bring victory in Anglo-Scottish warfare and merely caused a stalemate England would not give up Scotland but neither could they win it
• was not anywhere near a final victory

Question 5

Lack of external recognition - knowledge and analysis

Answer 5

• Papacy continued to interfere on behalf of English, Pope John XXII tried to impose a two-year truce after his election in 1316 - did not bring international support
• papal documents did not start recognising Robert as king until 1324, decade after victory at Bannockburn
• May 1328 (14 years after Bannockburn) for Treaty of Edinburgh-Northamption and formal recognition of Scottish independence along with culmination of war - Ed II murdered and King Robert very ill by then
• this finally renounced claims to sovereignty over Scotland
• October 1328 when interdict from Scotland and excommunication was fully lifted

Question 6

Lack of external recognition - evaluation and historiography

Answer 6

• Brown - Bannockburn did not end war against England, merely added to Robert’s prestige without giving family a secure title to the throne
• did not change the views of church or England

Question 7

Scotland failed to capitalize - knowledge and analysis

Answer 7

• if nothing else, morale boost and certainly gave breathing room
• Robert resurrected Irish campaign due to confidence from Bannockburn, in May 1315 Edward with 6,000 - pressuring England, but burdening Scottish resources and killing heir
• Berwick remained under English control until 1318 - did not cause immediate expulsion of English supporters from Scottish territory
• 1323 Bishopthrorpe 13 year truce, organised defence of borders and protected shipping - vital for Scots who needed economic assistance, but prevented building on military ascendancy

Question 8

Scotland failed to capitalize (Ireland) - evaluation and historiography

Answer 8

• McNamee - England remained the stronger country by far and had no reason to give in to the Scots
• Penman - a campaign too far, Scots quickly overran Ulster, could not capture the English colonial capital at Dublin or persuade the native Irish to unite against English
• Robert could not capitalise on gains from Bannockburn, and Scotland unimproved in still having English occupation and unable to expand territory