August 1299. After Robert de Bruce and John Comyn had stopped trying to throttle each other, the Scottish assembly at Peebles split up. This was due to an urgent letter, informing them that certain Scots loyal to Edward I were ravaging northern Scotland.
The 'certain Scots' were Sir Alexander Comyn, brother of the Earl of Buchan, and Lachlan MacRuarie. Comyn remained in English allegiance all through 1296-1304, while Lachlan was a west Highland captain of gallowglass infantry. Ironically, in 1297 he and his kinsmen had attacked the lands of Edward's ally, Alexander MacDonald of Islay. Now it was all change.
Apart from the unseemly Bruce-Comyn brawl, the Scottish position was otherwise reasonably secure. The Comyns were able to appoint a Scottish sheriff of Roxburgh, to harass English garrisons in the south-east and even carry war into northern England. The English, meanwhile, had no-one in overall charge of those parts of Scotland under their control. Edward had gone south after the battle of Falkirk, leaving two royal lieutenants whose position was only temporary.
From Bruce's perspective, however, this was no good at all. His rivals, the Comyn faction, were now dominating affairs in Scotland. John Comyn in particular was the effective head of Scottish resistance to Edward I, and it was he who decided military strategy. Bruce, in contrast, was stuck out on a limb.
The awkwardness of his situation was emphasised in a letter sent by the Guardians to Edward in November 1299, agreeing to his truce. This was sent in the names of the 'guardians of the kingdom of Scotland in the name of the renowned prince, the lord John, illustrious king of Scotland, chosen by the community of the said kingdom...'
In other words, the Comyns were now in charge, and they wanted the restoration of the exiled King of Scots, John Balliol. Once he returned - and this was a very real possibility - Bruce's driving ambition to become king would be ruined forever.
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