7/31/2023 0 Comments Warlike wolves![]() From this perspective, the alleged anarchy of medieval Scotland was a natural consequence of its more ‘primitive’ state, one that was tamed by a unified central authority based in London rather than Stirling or Edinburgh.Īnother factor was that many of the most prominent historians of the mid-20 th century had experienced first-hand the terror of one, if not two, world wars. This was accompanied by fervent support for the modern monarchy. This is partly due to the firmly pro-Union politics of the era, in which the unquestioned orthodoxy was that the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the Act of Union of 1707 had a ‘civilising effect’ on Scotland. Many historians, especially during the mid-20 th century when disciplines like castle studies flourished, were stuck on the idea that Scotland was an irredeemably warlike nation. So, why do we still think of that period, in Scotland specifically, as an especially venomous viper pit? Looking further afield, we find that political violence in late medieval Scotland was no more rife, and in some cases markedly less so, than in other European kingdoms. ![]() Three times as many English magnates were killed for political reasons than their Scottish counterparts (even though the magnate class in each country was comparable in size). It may surprise you, then, to learn that between 13 there were twice as many rebellions and three times as many civil war battles in England than there were in Scotland. On and on the list goes, full of examples of revenge, treachery, jealousy, violence and the rebalancing of power in favour of whoever sat on the throne. James IV’s unsuccessful siege against Archibald ‘Bell the Cat’ Douglas at Tantallon Castle in 1491. The rebellion of the Darnley Stewarts in Renfrewshire in 1489, which required the king’s army to come calling with a royal artillery train in tow. The infamous ‘Black Dinner’ of 1440 resulting in the murder of the Earl of Douglas at Edinburgh Castle, and the murder by the king’s own hand of another Douglas Earl suspected of treachery at Stirling in 1452. The alleged treason and subsequent execution of Murdoch, Earl of Albany, in 1425. It’s an enduring narrative, and there are numerous incidents that seem to support it. Primitive state The Black Dinner, showing William, Earl of Douglas, being seized before his execution by order of James II. In most conventional historical narratives, the crown is always presented as a force for stability, and the nobles always a force for ambition and chaos who need to be tamed like wild beasts. It’s a top-down view, one in which the institution of the crown is the ultimate, and rightful, authority. The knives were always out, and pointed in all directions.Īt least, that is the version of late medieval Scottish history that many students have been taught to accept. ![]() If any noble got too high and mighty, the king would lay siege to their castle, pry them out of their stone shells, put them in their place, and peace would return to the land. ![]() In contrast, the crown – at the time worn by James I – was a bulwark against the self-interested, anarchic nobility. That’s how Walter Bower, writing on the island haven of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth in the 1440s, described the Scottish nobility. ![]()
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