Broken covenants

In August 1301 the English campaign in Scotland ground to a halt, scuppered once again by lack of money and supplies. There were also diplomatic pressures to contend with. Philip le Bel chose this moment to throw his weight behind the Guardians, and sent envoys to treat with the English at Glasgow.

Philip le Bel

The terms discussed expose the weakness of Edward’s position in Scotland at this time. His envoys agreed to a truce with the Scots, to commence on 26 January 1302 and end on 1 November. For the duration of the truce all of the lands and castles which he had taken in southwest Scotland during the summer of 1301 would be placed in the custody of Philip’s agents. When the truce expired, they would be handed back to the English. The Scots, apparently, didn’t get a look-in.

Edward had been burned like this before. In the negotiations over Gascony in 1294, he had agreed to hand over key towns and castles to Philip, who would then return them after a grace period of forty days. Instead the French king simply broke his own covenant and confiscated the duchy.

Now it was happening all over again. Except it wasn’t. Edward wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice, and in the autumn of 1301 drew up new indentures for the supply of his garrisons in southwest Scotland. Massive purveyances of food were ordered from England and Ireland for the garrisons of Dumfries, Lochmaben and Ayr. This would not have happened if the English king meant to hand over his recent conquests to the French. Thus the peace talks at Glasgow were so much hot air: if Philip wanted those castles, he would have to send a French army to Scotland to take them.

Robert de Bruce

Everyone, the Scots included, must have been aware of Philip’s past behaviour, and that there was zero chance he would honour the terms of any truce. He may have toyed with the idea of turning Scotland into a permanent outpost of France. This idea had been suggested to him by the English traitor, Thomas Turberville, in 1295. In a secret letter to the French king, Tuberville advised him to send men to Scotland:

"Wherefore I counsel you forthwith to send great persons into Scotland; for if you can enter therein, you will have gained it for ever."

Another who had cause for concern was Robert de Bruce. To pile pressure on Edward, Philip dangled the threat of John Balliol’s return to Scotland. If this happened, it could spell the end of Bruce’s ambitions as well as Edward’s. As the English and French diplomats cut and parried at each other in Glasgow, Brucie had much to ponder.