THE 14th CENTURY
A! Fredome is a noble
thing
Fredome mays men to haiff liking ;
Fredome all solace to man giffis;
He levys at es that frely levys.
(John Barbour, The Bruce)
On March 19 1286, Alexander III, King of Scots, left his companions at Edinburgh Castle and set out through the storm towards Kinghorn where Yolande, his beautiful young French wife, waited for him. It was a rendezvous he was not destined to keep for the next morning his lifeless body was found at the bottom of a cliff.
The death of the King threw Scotland into a state of disarray as Alexander died without a male heir and his closest relative was a young grand-daughter in far off Norway, Margaret. Long negotiation resulted in a Marriage treaty with the future Edward II of England and the "Maid of Norway" sailed for Scotland. Tragically, the young Queen took ill during the voyage and died in Orkney having never set foot on Scottish soil. The house of Canmore was effectively extinguished and thirteen claimants to the throne emerged. Of these, two had strong, virtually equal, claims. They were Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick and John Balliol, Lord of Galloway. The contest was so close that eventually, Edward I of England was asked to adjudicate. Having secured oaths of fealty from both contenders, he chose Balliol as King of Scots. Edward soon made it clear that John was his feudal inferior and interfered in Scottish affairs, a situation intolerable for a king. The Scene was set for war and in 1296, the storm broke...
For many years, Gaddgedlar have been portraying the men and women of the Wars of Independence. The Soldiers who fought alongside Wallace and Bruce on the bloody fields of Stirling Bridge, Falkirk, Bannockburn and countless smaller engagements. We pride ourselves on having been the first group in Scotland to give an accurate portrayal of fourteenth century Scots and one of our aims is to redress the damage done to Scottish History by Hollywood Films such as Braveheart.
A small selection of photo's can be found here
Information on costume from this period can be found here
It is a commonly held belief that Scotland and England have always been at war. This is not the case and more information on Anglo-Scottish relations in the years before the Wars of Independence can be found here.
Did John Balliol ever escape the consequences of his accession?
"In the Manner of the Flemings" Why did Robert I score such a crushing victory at the battle of Bannockburn?
The Declaration of Arbroath: One of the most important Scottish Legal Documents of the period.
The Rise of Clan Donald and the Lords of the Isles
A 14th Century Military Revolution? The changing face of warfare in the 14th Century