Auld Alliance

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The Auld Alliance (Scots for "Old Alliance"; Vieille Alliance in French) was the alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. The Scots word auld meaning old has become a partly affectionate term for this periodic alliance between the two countries before the Union of Crowns, whereby the Scottish monarch James VI, acceded to the throne of England (as James I).

The alliance played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that period except for Louis XI.^[1] By the late 14th century, the renewal occurred regardless of whether either kingdom was involved in a conflict with England.^[2]

The alliance dates from the treaty signed by John Balliol and Philip IV of France in 1295 against Edward I of England. The terms of the treaty stipulated that if either country was attacked by England, the other country would invade English territory, as happened at the Battle of Flodden, 1513. The alliance played an important role in conflicts between both countries and England, such as the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Hundred Years' War, the War of the League of Cambrai and the Rough Wooing.

History

The dynastic turmoil caused by the death of Scotland's seven-year-old queen, Margaret, left Edward I of England with an irresistible opportunity to assert his authority over Scotland. By 1295 it was clear that Edward was on a course for total subjugation of Scotland. In response the Council of Twelve who had taken over the government of Scotland temporarily, sought alliances wherever they could be found. With France and England close to war following Philippe IV's declaration of England's possession of Gascony forfeit in 1293, alliance with France was a clear course to take. In October 1295, a Scottish embassy to Philippe agreed the Treaty of Paris.^[3]

As with all subsequent renewals of what became the Auld Alliance, the treaty slightly favoured France more than Scotland. The French were required to do no more than continue their struggle against the English in Gascony. However, the cost of any outright war between Scotland and England was to be borne entirely by the Scots. Nevertheless, Scotland, as remote and impoverished as it was, was now aligned to a major European power. Even if more symbolic than actual, the benefits of the alliance mattered greatly to Scotland.^[4]

In the short term however, the treaty proved to have no protection against Edward whose swift and devastating invasion of Scotland in 1296 all but eradicated its independence. Furthermore, the cessation of hostilities between England and France in 1299, followed by the treaty of "perpetual peace and friendship" allowed Edward to devote all of his attention and forces to attacking the Scots. Scotland, in the end, owed its eventual survival to the military acumen and inspiration of Robert the Bruce and the mistakes of Edward II rather than its Auld Alliance with France.

In 1326, Robert the Bruce renewed the alliance, with the Treaty of Corbeil. The motive for this renewal was precautionary more than anything: neither realm seemed to have much to fear from England at the time. This, however, rapidly changed after 1330 when Edward III set out to complete his conquest of Scotland and to reassert his power in France. For the first time the Franco-Scottish alliance had been given a sense of emergency.

In 1346 Edward overwhelmed French forces at the Battle of Crécy. Two months later David II of Scotland was captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross, in a botched invasion of Northern England. His 11-year absence as Edward's prisoner only increased the internal turmoil and power struggles of Scotland. David II was forced to reach a deal with Edward III to gain his freedom. Even after his release in 1357, David spent most of his remaining reign attempting to further English interests in Scotland.^[4]

The alliance was renewed between the two kingdoms in 1371, with the embassy of the Bishop of Glasgow and the Lord of Galloway to France. The treaty was signed by Charles V at the Château de Vincennes on 30 June, and at Edinburgh Castle by Robert II on 28 October.^[5] The accession of pro-French Robert II led to the immediate renewal of the alliance, however the benefits to Scotland were mixed. Plans were drawn up in 1385 for a Franco-Scottish invasion of England. This included the dispatch of a small French force to Scotland for the first time. These plans never came to any form of action after the French invasion failed to materialise. The deteriorating relations between France and Scotland were summed up by the French Chronicler Jean Froissart who "wished the King of France would make a truce with the English for two or three years and then march to Scotland and utterly destroy it".^[6]

Yet it was necessity that had driven the two kingdoms together and the need to resist aggressive new Lancastrian Kings of England that kept the alliance together in the 15th century. France was on the brink of surrendering to the forces of Henry V and in 1418 the Dauphin, Charles VII, called on his Scottish allies for help. Between 1419 and 1424 as many as 15,000 Scottish troops were sent to France.^[7][8]

French and Scottish forces together won against the English at the Battle of Baugé in 1421. As it marked the turning point of the Hundred Years War, the significance of this battle was great. However, their victory was a short-lived one: at Verneuil in 1424, the Scots army was defeated. Despite this defeat, the Scots had given France a valuable breathing space, effectively saving the country from English domination.^[4]

In addition, in 1429 Scots came to the aid of Joan of Arc in her famous relief of Orléans. Scottish soldiers also served in the Garde Écossaise, the loyal bodyguard of the French monarchy. Many Scottish mercenaries chose to settle in France. Some were granted lands and titles in France.^[1] In the 15th and 16th centuries, they became naturalised French subjects.^[1]

Through the rest of the 15th century the alliance was formally renewed four times.^[4] The eventual victory of France in the Hundred Years War combined with the turmoil in England following the War of the Roses meant that the English threat was greatly reduced thus rendering the alliance almost obsolete. The marriage in 1502 of Henry VIII's sister Margaret to James IV of Scotland appears to have finally ended the Franco-Scottish alliance for good.

It underwent a dramatic revival in 1512 when it was formally reviewed (as it was again in 1517 and 1548). Both soon petered out but Scotland still suffered badly following the death of James IV and most of his nobles at Flodden in 1513. Periodic Anglo-French and Anglo-Scottish conflict throughout the 15th century continued, but the certainties that had driven the Auld Alliance were disappearing. As Protestantism gained ground in Scotland opinion grew there that favoured closer links with England than with France.^[4]

In 1558 the alliance between the two kingdoms was finally revived with the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to the future Francis II of France, but only until 1560.^[9] Yet with her exile in 1568 to England, Scotland was transformed by its new king James VI who was heir to the English throne as well as Scotland's. His desire to form close links with England meant that the alliance had outlived its usefulness. In the 1560s, after more than 250 years, formal treaties between Scotland and France were officially ended by the Treaty of Edinburgh.^[10] With the Scottish Reformation, Scotland was declared Protestant, and allied itself with Protestant England instead. During the Reformation, the Protestant Lords of the Congregation had rejected the Auld Alliance and brokered English military support with their treaty of Berwick against the French Regent Mary of Guise.

Two hundred Scottish soldiers were sent to Normandy in 1562 to aid the French Huguenots in their struggle against royal authority during the French Wars of Religion. The Garde Écossaise, however, continued until 1830 when Charles X of France abdicated.

Wider influence

Although principally a military and diplomatic agreement, the alliance also extended into the lives of the Scottish population in a number of ways: including architecture, law, the Scots language and cuisine, due in part to Scottish soldiery within the French army. Part of the influence on law was due to Scots often going to French universities, something which continued up until the Napoleonic Wars.^[11] Other intellectual influences from France continued into the 18th century as well.^[12] Examples of architectural influence include two Scottish castles built with French castle-building in mind: Bothwell and Kildrummy^[13]

At the height of the alliance, French was widely spoken in Scotland and French still has an influence on the Scots language.

Despite all these exchanges of culture, Scottish historian J.B. Black, said of the alliance: "The Scot['s...] love for their 'auld' ally had never been a positive sentiment nourished by community of culture, but an artificially created affection based on the negative basis of hatred of England, and merely for the benefits brought by the philosophical theory that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"."^[14]

Legacy

"La plus vieille alliance du monde"

In a speech which he delivered in Edinburgh in June 1942, Charles de Gaulle described the alliance between Scotland and France as "the oldest alliance in the world". He also declared that:^[15]

"In every combat where for five centuries the destiny of France was at stake, there were always men of Scotland to fight side by side with men of France, and what Frenchmen feel is that no people has ever been more generous than yours with its friendship."

In 1995, celebrations were held in both countries for the 700th anniversary of the beginning of the alliance.^[2]

In 2011, British historian Dr Siobhan Talbott published the result of her research on this matter and concluded accordingly that the Auld Alliance is actually unrevoked after all.^[16]

See also

• Duke of Aubigny
• Duke of Lennox
• Foreign alliances of France

References

Notes

Sources

• Michel, F.X., Les Écossais en France, les Français en Écosse II vols. London 1862. (in French)

Further reading

• An Antidote to the English: The Auld Alliance, 1295–1560 by Norman Macdougall, ISBN 1-86232-145-0

External links

• Royal document listing payments to many of the Scottish contingents
• French Institute website