The War of the Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1550) was fought between Scotland and England. War was declared by Henry VIII of England, in an attempt to force the Scots to agree to a marriage between his son Edward and Mary, Queen of Scots. Scotland benefited from French military aid. Edward VI continued the war until changing circumstances made it irrelevant in 1550. It was the last major conflict between Scotland and England before the Union of the Crowns in 1603, excepting perhaps the English intervention at the Siege of Leith in 1560, and was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century.
The term "Rough Wooing" was only coined many years later by Sir Walter Scott.[1] The phrase appears to derive from a famous remark attributed to George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly by Patrick Abercromby in his edition of Jean de Beaugué's history of the war; "We liked not the manner of the wooing, and we could not stoop to being bullied into love."[2]
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In 1542, a Scottish army came to grief at the Battle of Solway Moss[3] and James V died soon after, leaving Mary an infant sovereign in the care of her mother Mary of Guise. The English marriage for Mary proposed by the Treaty of Greenwich was conditionally accepted by the Scottish government led by Regent Arran. However, Arran was slow to advance the marriage due to strong internal factions favouring alliance with France and the continuance of the Catholic religion in Scotland. Twenty years later, the English diplomat Ralph Sadler reported Adam Otterburn's words to him on the Scottish opinion of the marriage;
"Our people do not like of it. And though the Governor and some of the nobility have consented to it, yet I know that few or none of them do like of it; and our common people do utterly mislike of it. I pray you give me leave to ask you a question: if your lad was a lass, and our lass were a lad, would you then be so earnest in this matter? ... And lykewise I assure you that our nation will never agree to have an Englishman king of Scotland. And though the whole nobility of the realm would consent, yet our common people, and the stones in the street would rise and rebel against it.[4]
In Scotland civil war ensued with the Regent opposed by the Douglas faction in the East and Matthew, Earl of Lennox in the West at Glasgow. With this internal background, the Scots then faced the anger of Henry VIII, after the Scottish Parliament renounced the Greenwich treaty in December 1543. Five days later, on 20 December, war was declared in Edinburgh by the messenger Henry Ray, Berwick Pursuivant.[5] Henry had released a number of Scottish noblemen captured at the battle of Solway Moss on licence, hoping they would build consensus for the marriage. In March 1544, he sent his Richmond Herald to the Privy Council of Scotland to demand their return.[6]
Major hostilities began with an attack on Edinburgh on 3 May 1544,[7] led by the Earl of Hertford and Viscount Lisle. Hertford had instructions to burn Edinburgh and issue Henry's proclamation of 24 March 1544, which laid the blame on Cardinal Beaton's "sinister enticement" of Regent Arran.[8] Hertford had also considered establishing an English garrison at Leith but the Privy Council had vetoed this plan. Henry VIII had also asked him to destroy St Andrews, but Hertford pointed out the extra distance would be troublesome. After burning St Mynettes on the north side of the Forth and taking fishing boats for landing-craft, the English army landed at Granton, then occupied Leith.[9] Hertford parleyed with Adam Otterburn who was Provost of Edinburgh but he had been instructed not to make terms. The next day the troops entered Edinburgh's Canongate, and set the city on fire. Edinburgh Castle was defended by cannon-fire commanding the Royal Mile. Hertford decided not to lay siege but thoroughly burn the city. According to the English contemporary account, all the houses within the suburbs and city walls were burnt including Holyroodhouse and the Abbey. The English ships at Leith were loaded with looted goods and sailed with the captured Unicorn and Salamander. The army returned to England by land, burning towns and villages along the way.[10] Soon after the English force landed, Regent Arran released the Earl of Angus and George Douglas of Pittendreich who had been imprisoned in Blackness Castle. Although they had been supporters of the English marriage, Arran now needed the support of the Douglas family against an English invasion.[11] Following this attack, Sir William Eure and Ralph Eure made a number of raids across the border from Berwick upon Tweed, burning houses and buying the loyalty of Scots who became "assured men."
Against these English incursions, the Scots won a victory at the Battle of Ancrum Moor in February 1545.[12] Scotland was included the Treaty of Camp, or Treaty of Ardres, of 6 June 1546, which concluded the Italian War of 1542-1546. This brought 18 months of peace between England and Scotland.[13] However, in May 1546 Fife lairds had murdered the Francophile Cardinal Beaton at St Andrews Castle. These Protestant lairds became known as the Castilians, and garrisoned the castle against Regent Arran, hoping for English military support.[14]
The English retained a fort they had established at Langholm in the Scottish borders. Unable to secure its return by diplomatic leverage, Regent Arran reduced it by force on 17 July 1547 following an unsuccessful attempt in June. At the same time, a French naval force took St Andrews Castle from the Castilians.[15] An English invasion then quelled internal dissent in September 1547, when the English won a major encounter at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh[16] close to Musselburgh, and put much of southern Scotland under military occupation. Haddington was occupied, along with Broughty Castle near Dundee. Beginning on 5 April 1548, Sir Robert Bowes built a fort at Lauder.[17] Increased French support included the services of military engineers like Migliorino Ubaldini who strengthened Edinburgh Castle and Dunbar. At the command of Grey of Wilton, Musselburgh was burnt by the English on 9 June 1548 and Dunbar on 12 June. On 16 June 10,000 French troops arrived at Leith, and besieged Haddington with artillery.[18]
Mary was taken to safety and bethrothal to the dauphin in France in August 1548[19] and Piero Strozzi began to fortify Leith with 300 Scottish workmen. Strozzi had been shot in the leg at Haddington and was carried around the works by 4 men in a chair.[20] By May 1549, the English army on the frontier included 3200 soldiers with 1700 German and 500 Spanish and Italian mercenaries.[21] However, with more military and financial assistance from France brought by Paul de Thermes, the Scots were able to maintain resistance. André de Montalembert, sieur d'Essé took Inchkeith on 19 June 1549.
The English abandoned Haddington on 19 September 1549. Hostilities ended with Scotland comprehended in the Treaty of Boulogne of 24 March 1550, which was primarily between France and England. Peace was declared in England on Saturday 29 March 1550; a week earlier the Privy Council had sent secret orders to English commanders telling them not to move cannon that would be abandoned to the Scots.[22] There were conditions to return prisoners and dismantle border fortifications. As part of the treaty six French and English hostages were to be exchanged on 7 April. These were, for France; Mary of Guise's brother the Marquis de Mayenne; Louis Trémoille; Jean de Bourbon, Comte de Enghien; Francis de Montmorency; Jean d'Annebaut son of the Admiral of France; Francis of Vendôme, were sent to London. For England; Henry Brandon; Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford; George Talbot; John Bourchier, 5th Baron FitzWarren; Henry Fitzalan; Henry Stanley. The hostages at both courts were well entertained and most had returned home by August 1550.[23] In France, Henry II organised a triumphal entry to Rouen on 1 October 1550. Mary of Guise and Mary, Queen of Scots took part.[24] There were banners depicting the French victories in Scotland; and a herald recited,
"Voila Dondy, Edimpton, Portugray,
Où Termes prist & Essé le degrè,
Pour devenir chevalier de ton ordre.
Sire, voyez ceste Ysle de Chevaulx,
Voyez aussy le fort chasteau de Fargues,
O quants assaulx, escarmouches & cargues,
Voila aussi le fort pres de Donglass,
Et plus deca ou est assis ce bourg,
Est le chasteau conquis de Rossebourg.
Here are Dundee, Haddington, Broughty Craig,
Where de Thermes, with d'Essé,
became knights of your order.
Sire, see Inchkeith,
Also see strong Fast Castle,
So much assault, skirmish and hassle,
Here also close to Dunglass,
Further the side where sits the burgh
the castle conquered is Roxburgh.[25]
The Treaty of Norham in 1551 formally ended the war and the English military presence withdrew from Scotland.[26] By October 1551, Mary of Guise herself was welcomed in England and she travelled from Portsmouth to meet Edward VI in London.[27]
The peace concluded at Norham Castle and church on 10 June 1551 was negotiated by Thomas Erskine, Master of Erskine, Lord Maxwell, Sir Robert Carnegy of Kinnaird, and Robert Reid, Bishop of Orkney with Louis St Gelais, Seigneur de Lansac, representing Henry II of France. The English delegation included Sir Robert Bowes, Sir Leonard Beckwith, Sir Thomas Challoner and Richard Sampson, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry.[28] The terms included: the English abandoning their holdings in Scotland; the border and Debatable Lands to revert to original lines and usage; Edrington and fishing rights on the Tweed returned to Scotland; all captives, pledges, and hostages to be returned.[29] Edward VI ratified the treaty on 30 June and Mary on 14 August 1551.[30]
The English objective to forward a union between Scotland and England had wavering support among some sectors of the Scots population. These Scots may not have relished French domination of Scottish affairs or may have seen alliance with England as furthering the Protestant cause. A number of books and pamphlets were published in England as propaganda to encourage these feelings. These focussed on four aspects of the conflict; long-standing debates about the rights of the English crown in Scotland; the perceived injustice of the Scottish rejection of the Treaty of Greenwich; and the merit of the Protestant religion. The English commander at Broughty, Andrew Dudley, hoped to distribute bibles printed in English which were not freely available in Scotland. Scotland countered the English propaganda with the Complaynt of Scotland, probably printed in France in 1549. Another work, Ane Resonyng by William Lamb did not make it to the press.
The first of these books was written before the battle of Solway Moss. This was A Declaration, conteyning the iust causes and consyderations, of this present warre with the Scottis, wherein alsoo appereth the trewe & right title, that the kings most royall maiesty hath to the soveraynitie of Scotlande. A journal of Hertford's raid on Edinburgh of 1544 was printed as The Late expedicion of the Earl of Hertford into Scotland. A contribution by a Scot in England, John Elder, remained unpublished. This was intended to preface a detailed description and map of Scotland. Elder claimed that the northern lords of Scotland, who were 'red-shanks' of Irish descent would be loyal to Henry VIII, and reject the French culture imposed by Cardinal Beaton and the Scottish court.[31] (Elder would later become the tutor of Lord Darnley.)
Somerset began a new round in 1547 shortly before the battle of Pinkie by publishing the Scot James Henrisoun's, An Exhortacion to the Scottes to conforme themselfes to the honourable, Expedient & godly Union betweene the two realmes of Englande & Scotland. This was followed by Somerset's printed Proclamation of 4 September 1547, and the Epistle or Exhortation of February 1548. The Pinkie campaign was described by William Patten in The Expedition into Scotland of the most worthy Prince, Edward Duke of Somerset. A Welshman, Nicholas Bodrugan, added his Epitome of the title of the kynges majestie of Englande, which looks back to Geoffrey of Monmouth to justify English claims and seeks to reassure Scottish fears that the civil law of England was harsher than Scots law.[32] In October 1548, Sir John Mason and other clerks were rewarded £20 for their archival researches into "records of matters of Scotland" for these tracts.[33]
Lord Methven understood the effect of the English propaganda and raised concern with Mary of Guise in June 1548.[34] The Protestant Fife lairds who had killed David Beaton and held the Regent's son, James Hamilton hostage at St Andrews Castle gambled on English assistance. Lord Gray and the Master of Ruthven were also happy to deal with the English. Other Scots were induced to sign bonds and take payments from the English and became "assured men". This mostly happened in the war-zones of the border and around English garrisons. A sample bond for assurance was drafted by a Scot Henry Balnaves at St Andrews Castle in December 1546.[35] After the war ended many Scots were accused of assurance or collaboration as a crime; 192 citizens of Dundee were acquitted in 1553 and the whole town of Dumfries received a pardon.[36] In July 1549 with English losses in France the assurance system ceased.[37] James Henrisoun then asked his English masters;
"Whether it were better to conquer hearts without charges, or burn, and build forts at great charges, which will never conquer Scotland?"[38]
At the end of the war the French celebrated their successful intervention at fêtes like the entry to Rouen. The details of these events were published in illustrated festival books. In England a number of the English commanders had their portraits painted celebrating their martial prowess, including John Luttrell, James Wilford, Thomas Wyndham, and a picture (now lost) was made to commemorate Edward Shelley who was killed at Pinkie.[39] Exploits during the siege of Haddington were later celebrated by the Elizabethan author Ulpian Fulwell in 1575.