The man who would be king

The year 1299, while good for the Scots in general, was not good for Robert de Bruce. Even though he was co-Guardian of Scotland, Bruce was now faced with the threat of the return of John Balliol, the exiled King of Scots, with French military support. The restoration of Balliol would spell the end of his hopes of being king - and, dear God, did that man want to be king. 

It would also pose severe difficulties for his enemy, Edward I. Yet it was a case of guessing which way the King of France, Philip the Fair, would choose to jump. That was no mean feat: Philip was famously inscrutable and virtually impossible to second-guess. Hence his nickname (among others) of The Owl, after his unnerving habit of sitting in absolute silence on his throne, stern and unblinking.

After lengthy negotiations, Philip had just agreed to a permanent peace with Edward. To seal the deal, Edward agreed to marry Philip's sister Margaret (about forty years his junior) while his heir, Prince Edward, would marry the French king's daughter Isabella. 

In context, it seems difficult to believe that Philip would shatter the hard-won peace of two kingdoms, all for the sake of aiding the Balliol Scots. To send a French army to Scotland would mean reopening the war with England, almost immediately after both kings had agreed to bury the hatchet. While Philip held the advantage in Flanders and Gascony, his resources were severely overstretched, and only a fool would take such risks. Whatever else might be said about the Iron King, he was no fool. To reopen the war would also place Margaret and Isabella, held at the English court, in grave danger.

No doubt all these calculations passed through Bruce's able mind. Not that he was content to simply wait on events. While King Edward got to know his young French wife, Bruce harried the English garrison occupying his castle at Lochmaben.  

Then, in August 1299, Bruce went north to Glasgow to meet his fellow Guardian, Sir John Comyn, and an impressive array of Scottish nobles. Bruce was accompanied by Sir Malcolm Wallace, one of William's relatively obscure brothers. 

The aim of this meeting was to plan a campaign against the English garrisons in south-east Scotland. Comyn had already sent an advance party into Selkirk Forest, soon followed by the main Scottish force led by Bruce, Comyn, and the great earls and prelates. 

All was set for a major combined assault on Roxburgh. Bruce and Comyn, however, decided to fight each other instead.