Why wasn’t Scotland Conquered by England? – The First Scottish War of Independence
The role of the Scottish Catholic Church was absolutely critical in my opinion. It remained resolutely Scottish throughout the entire era. Bishops Robert Wishart of Glasgow and William de Lamberton of St Andrews ruled the Scottish church from the 1290s onward. Both were fervent nationalists. Despite the largely Anglo Norman blood of the former. This prevented Edward Longshanks from establishing legitimacy over Scotland as the bishops actively resisted him at every turn. And given that the Scottish church reported directly to Rome (or Avignon after 1309), Edward wasn’t able to neutralize their influence. This was most critical in the crowning of Robert the Bruce in 1306 despite him murdering his rival John Comyn inside a church whilst under sanctuary. It would have taken an extraordinary amount of patriotic fervour for medieval era bishops to ignore that most terrible of crimes. But they did so without a qualm and so secured the legitimacy of Bruce’s succession. His coronation took place within weeks of that murder which in the context of the times is truly extraordinary. The papacy was not amused; excommunicating Bruce twice (once in 1306 directly for that crime and then again in 1317 for failing to observe a ceasefire as ordered by the papacy). Before finally and very reluctantly come around to accepting the decision of the Scottish bishops to consecrate Bruce as the rightful king of Scotland. As late as the 1320s they were still negotiating with the papacy whilst under excommunication. The bishops created a fait accompli in 1306 and eventually Avignon was forced to accept that fact. This issue was finally sealed by the Scottish Churches issuing the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 which set out the formal ecclesiastical/legal case for Scottish independence. Which was formulated under the approving eye of Lamberton himself. Twin documents which were signed by all senior bishops and Scottish noblemen. The critical role of those 2 most senior Scottish bishops in securing the legitimacy of Scottish independence (which was what crowning Bruce represented) by creating facts on the ground that proved impossible to overturn is almost completely forgotten today. It contrasts sharply with Ireland where the Catholic church was hijacked early by Anglo Normans who appointed all the key bishops thereafter with the blessing of Rome. This prevented any Gaelic lord even of royal blood from claiming the throne and uniting the Irish clans. In the early 13th century, Brian au Neill who had impeccable royal blood connections tried but couldn’t get the pure Normal blooded senior bishops of the Catholic church to recognize him. And without that legitimacy and official church blessing more than two third of the Gaelic Irish lords remained inactive. Meanwhile in Scotland, the rest was all down to the incredible military talents of Bruce who could read battlefields better than Napoleon. And some long spears….
