Moved to the marrow

On 6 April 1299 the king of France, Philip the Fair, wrote to Robert de Bruce and John Comyn in their role as joint Guardians of Scotland. Philip declared that he was 'moved to his very marrow by the evils brought on their country through hostile malignity' i.e. the invasion of Edward I. He also said that he admired 'their constancy to their king and their shining valour in defence of their native land against injustice'. 

In light of his own antics in Flanders and Gascony, Philip was a fine one to talk of 'hostile malignity'. The destruction of the Knights Templar, his most notorious deed, still lay in the future. Already, however, Philip had started to debase the French currency to pay for his wars.

The French king's words must have chilled Bruce to his own marrow. The very last thing Bruce wanted was the return of King John Balliol at the head of a French army. Yet this was what Philip was implying: although he did not promise immediate aid, he told the Scots that he was 'carefully ponderings ways and means of helping them'.

Though Philip never sent material aid to Scotland, he did apply diplomatic pressure to have John Balliol transferred from English to papal custody. Balliol's imprisonment was quite comfortable: he was allowed his own clerks and servants, and permitted to hunt in the royal forests outside London. Edward I may have toyed with the idea of reinstating Balliol as an earl in England, but all that was scotched (pun intended) by the Scottish revolt in 1297.

Philip's efforts paid off in dramatic style. In July 1299 the pope sent a letter to Edward, demanding the release of Balliol and any Scottish clerics in custody. Then Philip weighed in and insisted that Balliol should be released as part of the Anglo-French peace treaty. 

Since the treaty offered Edward's best hope of peace with France, and recovering his lost lands of Gascony and Ponthieu, he had little option but to accept. On 18 July Balliol was duly released into the custody of the bishop of Vicenza, acting for the pope. 

There was one final drama. Before he could embark, Balliol was caught at Dover trying to smuggle out the gold crown and Great Seal of Scotland, which he was apparently carrying on his person. This is very odd: Balliol had been in English custody for the past year, and yet had somehow managed to hide these precious items from his captors. Perhaps he had very large pockets. 

(Attached is an image of the Great Seal of King John Balliol)