calgacus
Dec 03, 2003, 10:46 PM
SCOTLAND AND THE WORLD BEFORE THE UNION
This article will show the important and extensive relations that Scotland enjoyed with continental Europe before its energies were turned towards the colonies of her new master, England, who annexed her in the early 18th century. As you will see, the Scots were not the inward nation you may have thought they were before the Union and the Enlightenment.
It is possible to discuss the activity of Scots on the continent before the Norman period. In early middle ages, Scots were part of a wider Celtic influence on continental, or rather, Frankish Europe through the prestigious Celtic Church and the advanced literary culture of Celtic and Northumbrian lands. Men such as St Columbanus, Johannes Scottus Eriugena and Sedulius Scottus were all part of this, as were Northumbrians like St Boniface. However, such in such a movement, Scotland was on the periphery mainly because most of Scotland was not part of the Gaelic world at this point. The centers of this culture lay in Ireland, Iona and Northumbria, not mainland Scotland.
CRUSADES
By the time of the Crusades, Norman expansion in England and the Normanizing policies of kings such as Malcolm Canmore and David I, brought the Scots into the larger world of Catholic Christendom, although, like other fresh Frankisizing lands such as Scandinavia and Spain, it was still very much on the periphery. The few Scottish armed pilgrims, who took part in the 1st Crusade, were described by a Picard commentator as follows:
“You might have seen a crowd of Scots, a people savage at home but unwarlike elsewhere, descend from their marshy lands, with bare legs, shaggy cloaks, their purse hanging from their shoulders; their copious arms seemed ridiculous to us, but they offered their faith and devotion as aid”
The comment about the “copious arms”, is one also made by the Roman historian Tacitus, who says “the physique of the people presents many varieties, whence inferences are drawn: the red hair and the large limbs of the inhabitants of Caledonia proclaim their German origin”(Agricola xi.2 ). Such negative portraits of the Scots seem to have been common in the period. A commander at the siege of Lisbon in 1147, facing the imminent desertion of his English knights, exhorted
“Who would deny that the Scots are barbarians? Yet, in our company, they have never yet broken the rules of loyalty and friendship.”
St Louis of France, that famous Crusading king, telling his son to win the loyalty of his subjects, is reported as saying
“I would prefer that a Scot should come from Scotland and govern the people well and faithfully, than that you, my son, should be seen to govern badly”
Scots fought in most of the Crusades, albeit as semi-outsiders. Earl Patrick of Dunbar led the Scots in Damietta Crusade of St Louis. His death on 1248 in Marseilles was noted by French chroniclers. In St Louis’s Crusade of 1270, there are Scots in the contingent of Louis and in the contingent of Edward I of England. Scots are particularly prominent in Spain, like the Black Douglas, a hero of the Wars of Independence, who died at Teba de Hardales in 1330. They also fought in Malta against the Turks. The most famous of these is probably Colin Campbell of Glenorchy. They occasionally fought for the Teutonic Knights too, in their Crusades against Novgorod and Lithuania.
ITALY
Scots were brought to Italy by Crusading, by Hohenstaufen universities and by military service that became such a notorious part of the Renaissance. The intellectual known as Michael Scotus was an Arabic translator in Spain before heading to Sicily where he became the tutor and court “astrologer” of Friedrich II. Scots turn up at universities in Bologna, Pavia, Ferrara, Padua, Perugia and Rome. There was a prominent merchant family from Piacenza called the Scotti, who claimed to have arrived from Scotland in the time of Charlemagne. They took the name Douglas Scotti, and spread their operations to other Italian cities such as Siena. Their family origins seem to have given them added status, as it was important for Italian merchant families to have exotic connections.
In military capacities, Scots were much active too. Scots were part of the notorious “White Band” formed by the Englishman John Hawkwood. The foremost French military leader of the early 16th century was Franco-Scot named Bernard Stuart de Aubigny. A good part of the French armies fighting in Italy in this period were Scots. Stuart himself became governor of Calabria, Viceroy of Naples and ruler of Milan. However, connections with Italy were never that great. With France, however, it is a different story.
FRANCE
Scotland signed an alliance treaty with France in 1296. France, however, was very weak and did little to keep her end of the bargain. Things changed, though, in the 1330s. England by this point has failed in her attempts to take over Scotland, but has not given up; while the French king was giving refuge to the exiled Scots king David II. The 100 Years War broke out in this decade, partly as a result of the tension created by David II. Despite the fact that all English hope of taking Scotland had gone, and English ambition had seemingly gone too, the Scots still chose to honour their alliance obligations to the French. When Edward III defeated the French at Crecy, the Scots responded by invading England, and were defeated at Neville’s Cross. The French sent subsidies to Scotland, and even military aid, but when French troops arrived in Scotland, relations deteriorated. So the alliance afterwards proceeded on a smaller scale.
HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR
All through the 100 Years’ War, Scots fought in the French armies. In 1419, in response to the crisis of Henry V, the dauphin (Charles VII) turned to Scotland for help. Between 1419 and 1423, Scots soldiers arrived in their tens of thousands. The Scots victory at Bauge was important for slowing down the English advance, but when they were defeated at Verneuil in 1424, the French were as glad as the English. The two main commanders of these expeditions, John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, was made Constable of France; and Archibald, Earl of Douglas, was granted the Duchy of Touraine. In 1425, Charles VII formed the Garde Écossais , a group of a 120 Scots archers who formed the official royal bodyguard of the French king until the Revolution.
FRANCE: NON-MILITARY CONNECTIONS
After 1300, Scots began to look towards France for her University system. They mainly went to Paris, but also to Avignon and Orleans. In the last, already by 1336 there was a Scottish “nation” society. In Paris, there was a “Scots College”, fellows of which often became Rector, like John Harvey. The schism of 1378-1418 made study in France difficult, which lead to the formation of St Andrews University. Nevertheless, Scottish students never stopped going there. In fact, 17 rectors of the University of Paris up to the Reformation were Scots. The Scottish scholar John Mair, “Joannes Mair Glegernocencis”, became a colossal figure there, and established a coterie of Scottish scholars at the university who dominated much of its intellectual life. George Buchanan, the teacher Mary Queen of Scots and of Michel de Montaigne, studied there. Many other prominent Scots, like Barbour, the famous poet, and John Napier (probably), the devisor of logarithms, went there too.
THE LOW COUNTRIES
Scotland also had strong links with the Low Countries. These links developed mainly because of the Baltic-North Sea trade, the Scottish demand for Dutch and Flemish manufactured goods and the Dutch/Flemish demand for Scottish wool, salmon, coal and other products. Scots traders traded mainly with Bruges, but when that port silted up, they shifted to Middleburg and, more especially, Veere, both of which became Staple ports in their turn. This legacy has faded somewhat in the modern Low Countries, but modern Netherlandish towns like Bruges and Veere, still contain streets with names like “schottendyk”, as well as Scottish churches. The 13th century Flemish word for Cod was “aberdaan”. In the 17th century, Scots students began to be attracted away from Paris to Dutch universities such as Leiden. This was caused by the Reformation and the shared Calvinist faiths of both nations. Leiden itself became the model for Edinburgh University, one of the most, if not the most, important educational centers of the Enlightenment. The Netherlando-Scottish connections hence were not inconsequential.
This article will show the important and extensive relations that Scotland enjoyed with continental Europe before its energies were turned towards the colonies of her new master, England, who annexed her in the early 18th century. As you will see, the Scots were not the inward nation you may have thought they were before the Union and the Enlightenment.
It is possible to discuss the activity of Scots on the continent before the Norman period. In early middle ages, Scots were part of a wider Celtic influence on continental, or rather, Frankish Europe through the prestigious Celtic Church and the advanced literary culture of Celtic and Northumbrian lands. Men such as St Columbanus, Johannes Scottus Eriugena and Sedulius Scottus were all part of this, as were Northumbrians like St Boniface. However, such in such a movement, Scotland was on the periphery mainly because most of Scotland was not part of the Gaelic world at this point. The centers of this culture lay in Ireland, Iona and Northumbria, not mainland Scotland.
CRUSADES
By the time of the Crusades, Norman expansion in England and the Normanizing policies of kings such as Malcolm Canmore and David I, brought the Scots into the larger world of Catholic Christendom, although, like other fresh Frankisizing lands such as Scandinavia and Spain, it was still very much on the periphery. The few Scottish armed pilgrims, who took part in the 1st Crusade, were described by a Picard commentator as follows:
“You might have seen a crowd of Scots, a people savage at home but unwarlike elsewhere, descend from their marshy lands, with bare legs, shaggy cloaks, their purse hanging from their shoulders; their copious arms seemed ridiculous to us, but they offered their faith and devotion as aid”
The comment about the “copious arms”, is one also made by the Roman historian Tacitus, who says “the physique of the people presents many varieties, whence inferences are drawn: the red hair and the large limbs of the inhabitants of Caledonia proclaim their German origin”(Agricola xi.2 ). Such negative portraits of the Scots seem to have been common in the period. A commander at the siege of Lisbon in 1147, facing the imminent desertion of his English knights, exhorted
“Who would deny that the Scots are barbarians? Yet, in our company, they have never yet broken the rules of loyalty and friendship.”
St Louis of France, that famous Crusading king, telling his son to win the loyalty of his subjects, is reported as saying
“I would prefer that a Scot should come from Scotland and govern the people well and faithfully, than that you, my son, should be seen to govern badly”
Scots fought in most of the Crusades, albeit as semi-outsiders. Earl Patrick of Dunbar led the Scots in Damietta Crusade of St Louis. His death on 1248 in Marseilles was noted by French chroniclers. In St Louis’s Crusade of 1270, there are Scots in the contingent of Louis and in the contingent of Edward I of England. Scots are particularly prominent in Spain, like the Black Douglas, a hero of the Wars of Independence, who died at Teba de Hardales in 1330. They also fought in Malta against the Turks. The most famous of these is probably Colin Campbell of Glenorchy. They occasionally fought for the Teutonic Knights too, in their Crusades against Novgorod and Lithuania.
ITALY
Scots were brought to Italy by Crusading, by Hohenstaufen universities and by military service that became such a notorious part of the Renaissance. The intellectual known as Michael Scotus was an Arabic translator in Spain before heading to Sicily where he became the tutor and court “astrologer” of Friedrich II. Scots turn up at universities in Bologna, Pavia, Ferrara, Padua, Perugia and Rome. There was a prominent merchant family from Piacenza called the Scotti, who claimed to have arrived from Scotland in the time of Charlemagne. They took the name Douglas Scotti, and spread their operations to other Italian cities such as Siena. Their family origins seem to have given them added status, as it was important for Italian merchant families to have exotic connections.
In military capacities, Scots were much active too. Scots were part of the notorious “White Band” formed by the Englishman John Hawkwood. The foremost French military leader of the early 16th century was Franco-Scot named Bernard Stuart de Aubigny. A good part of the French armies fighting in Italy in this period were Scots. Stuart himself became governor of Calabria, Viceroy of Naples and ruler of Milan. However, connections with Italy were never that great. With France, however, it is a different story.
FRANCE
Scotland signed an alliance treaty with France in 1296. France, however, was very weak and did little to keep her end of the bargain. Things changed, though, in the 1330s. England by this point has failed in her attempts to take over Scotland, but has not given up; while the French king was giving refuge to the exiled Scots king David II. The 100 Years War broke out in this decade, partly as a result of the tension created by David II. Despite the fact that all English hope of taking Scotland had gone, and English ambition had seemingly gone too, the Scots still chose to honour their alliance obligations to the French. When Edward III defeated the French at Crecy, the Scots responded by invading England, and were defeated at Neville’s Cross. The French sent subsidies to Scotland, and even military aid, but when French troops arrived in Scotland, relations deteriorated. So the alliance afterwards proceeded on a smaller scale.
HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR
All through the 100 Years’ War, Scots fought in the French armies. In 1419, in response to the crisis of Henry V, the dauphin (Charles VII) turned to Scotland for help. Between 1419 and 1423, Scots soldiers arrived in their tens of thousands. The Scots victory at Bauge was important for slowing down the English advance, but when they were defeated at Verneuil in 1424, the French were as glad as the English. The two main commanders of these expeditions, John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, was made Constable of France; and Archibald, Earl of Douglas, was granted the Duchy of Touraine. In 1425, Charles VII formed the Garde Écossais , a group of a 120 Scots archers who formed the official royal bodyguard of the French king until the Revolution.
FRANCE: NON-MILITARY CONNECTIONS
After 1300, Scots began to look towards France for her University system. They mainly went to Paris, but also to Avignon and Orleans. In the last, already by 1336 there was a Scottish “nation” society. In Paris, there was a “Scots College”, fellows of which often became Rector, like John Harvey. The schism of 1378-1418 made study in France difficult, which lead to the formation of St Andrews University. Nevertheless, Scottish students never stopped going there. In fact, 17 rectors of the University of Paris up to the Reformation were Scots. The Scottish scholar John Mair, “Joannes Mair Glegernocencis”, became a colossal figure there, and established a coterie of Scottish scholars at the university who dominated much of its intellectual life. George Buchanan, the teacher Mary Queen of Scots and of Michel de Montaigne, studied there. Many other prominent Scots, like Barbour, the famous poet, and John Napier (probably), the devisor of logarithms, went there too.
THE LOW COUNTRIES
Scotland also had strong links with the Low Countries. These links developed mainly because of the Baltic-North Sea trade, the Scottish demand for Dutch and Flemish manufactured goods and the Dutch/Flemish demand for Scottish wool, salmon, coal and other products. Scots traders traded mainly with Bruges, but when that port silted up, they shifted to Middleburg and, more especially, Veere, both of which became Staple ports in their turn. This legacy has faded somewhat in the modern Low Countries, but modern Netherlandish towns like Bruges and Veere, still contain streets with names like “schottendyk”, as well as Scottish churches. The 13th century Flemish word for Cod was “aberdaan”. In the 17th century, Scots students began to be attracted away from Paris to Dutch universities such as Leiden. This was caused by the Reformation and the shared Calvinist faiths of both nations. Leiden itself became the model for Edinburgh University, one of the most, if not the most, important educational centers of the Enlightenment. The Netherlando-Scottish connections hence were not inconsequential.