| 1331 |
|
|
| 1331 |
|
Henry Beaumont, one of the nobles dispossessed of his Scottish lands (including the Earldom of Buchan) by the treaty Northampton, comes up with a plan for a private army to invade Scotland, raised by himself and other prominent 'disinherited' nobles, including Edward Balloil, eldest son of King John of Scotland, who had abdicated in 1296. |
| 1331 |
February |
A grand embassy, including the bishops of Worcester and Norwich, and Sir William Montague, leaves for France to negotiate terms of homage for Edward III. |
| 1331 |
|
Charles, count of Alençon, takes and sacks Saintes |
| 1331 |
30 March |
Edward writes letters saying he had not done liege homage before because been advised that there was some doubt as to whether he actually needed to. An agreement is reached between Philippe VI and Edward III that releases Edward from having to perform liege homage for the Aquitaine by saying, in writing, that the homage at Amiens was liege homage. Philippe pardon's Edward for his tardiness in the matter and revokes the decree of confiscation in Parliament. |
| 1331 |
4 April |
Edward, in greatest secrecy, dressed as a merchant, leaves England to meet with Philippe VI. He is accompanied by the Bishop of Winchester and only 15 of his knights. He leaves behind letters saying he has gone to fulfill a pilgrimage vow, and to do 'certain other things touching the well being of ourselves and our kingdom'. |
| 1331 |
April |
Philippe VI meets Edward III at Pont-Sainte-Maxence, north of Paris, and they retire to Philippe's hunting lodge at Sainte-Christophe. There Philippe declares that he is satisfied with the letters clarifying Edward's
earlier homage, and that Edward need not do homage again. The Count d'Alençon has been recalled, and Edward will be paid an indemnity for the sack of Saintes, as d'Alençon exceeded his authority, and the letters ordering him to desist did not arrive until too late. Edward expresses interest in joining Philippe in a crusade against the Spanish Moslems, and the kings part on reasonably amicable terms. |
| 1331 |
June |
Oliver Ingham is re-appointed Seneschal of Guyenne/Gascony. |
| 1331 |
12 July |
William de la Pole and his brother Richard dissolve their partnership, possibly in anticipation of William de la Pole becoming Mayor of Kingston-on-Hull. |
| 1331 |
September |
Parliament meets at Westminster. Chancellor John Stratford addresses the gathering, outlining three alternatives to the Anglo-French problem; Submitting the outstanding disputes to the arbitration of the peers of France, by negotiating a marriage alliance and permanent treaty, or by war. Parliament advises that arbitration and war are too risky, and that negotiations should continue. |
| 1331 |
|
At a tournament in Cheapside King Edward III fights Henry of Lancaster, William Montague and a dozen others against all comers. The press of spectators is so great that the Queen's viewing stand collapses. |
| 1331 |
Winter |
Edward Balloil moves from his estates in France to Yorkshire, there joining Henry Beaumont in his plans for an invasion of Scotland. |
| 1332 |
|
|
| 1332 |
|
Princess Isabella Plantagenet is born. |
| 1332 |
March |
In response to King Philippe VI's statement that he would not make any concessions to an embassy, but only to Edward III in person, Edward asks Parliaments advice in the matter. Parliament, not in the mood to press the point, responds tepidly that Edward could go if he thought it useful, and when he affairs allowed. |
| 1332 |
|
Edward III alerts the sheriffs of the northern counties that he has received reports of armed men preparing to invade Scotland in breach of the peace, and orders them to be stopped and arrested. No action is taken, however, and the Balloil/Beaumont invasion plans proceed. |
| 1332 |
July |
Pope John XXII calls for Philippe VI to lead a crusade against the Seljuk Turks, to sail from the ports of Languedoc on 1 May, 1335
|
| 1332 |
20 July |
Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray and Regent of Scotland, dies at Musselburgh, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, where he was waiting for Edward Balloil's invasion force. |
| 1332 |
31 July |
Edward Balloil and Henry Beaumont, along with a collection of English adventurers, Scots exiles and mercenaries, set sail from Yorkshire ports. |
| 1332 |
2 August |
A gathering of Scottish nobles at Perth name Donald, Earl of Mar as regent. He is chosen because he is the young king's closest male relative, but he has few political skills and no military experience. He is also of questionable background and loyalty, having lived most of his life in England, a friend and courtier of Edward II. |
| 1332 |
6 August |
Edward Balloil lands at Kinghorn, in Fife, and marches towards Dunfermlin. |
| 1332 |
11 August |
Battle of Dupplin Moor. Balloil's army, attacked by a larger Scottish force, is victorious, mostly through the use of the longbow. Donald, Earl of Mar and Robert Bruce (a bastard son of Robert the Bruce) are amongst the dead. |
| 1332 |
17 August |
Edward Balloil crowned King of Scotland at Perth. His grip on the kingdom is so questionable that at his coronation feast his knights are in full armor. |
| 1332 |
9 September |
Parliament, summoned to discuss the affairs of Ireland, advise Edward III to proceed at once to the north of England, fearing that Edward Balloil's invasion will fail and the Scots will invade. They vote him a ten percent tax on moveables and a fifteen percent tax on unmovables to pay for the effort.
|
| 1332 |
Third week September |
Edward III leaves London and marches an army north to York. |
| 1332 |
24 September |
Edward Balloil is crowned King of Scotland at Scone, after which he moves to Roxburgh, and receives submissions. |
| 1332 |
Mid-October |
Edward III and his army reach York, where he is informed of Edward Balloil's coronation. |
| 1332 |
2 October |
King Philippe VI of France announces his intention to lead a crusade to the middle east before an assembly of notables at Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. |
| 1332 |
10 October |
Charles of Navarre, called by some Charles the Bad, is born in Evreux, France. |
| 1332 |
Late October |
Archibald Douglas, who has been appointed Guardian of Scotland, makes a truce with Edward Balloil, supposedly to let the Scottish Parliament assemble and decide who their true king was. Emboldened by the truce, Balloil dismisses most of his English troops and moves from Roxburgh to Annan, on the north shore of the Solway Firth. |
| 1332 |
Late November |
Edward Balloil issues two public letters, Saying that with the help of England he had reclaimed his kingdom, and acknowledging that Scotland was always had been a fief of England. He also promised 2,000 librates of land for Edward III, on the border, to include Berwick-on-Tweed, and that he would, for the rest of his life serve Edward III with 200 men-at-arms, wherever had need of them. |
| 1332 |
4 December |
Parliament opens in York. Given the distance of the city, there was a very low attendance. |
| 1332 |
8 December |
After two delays to allow delegates to get there, Parliament opens its main proceedings. Those few that are there are addressed by Geoffrey Scrope, Chief Justice of the King's Bench, who explains that the Anglo-Scottish peace of 1328 could be ignored, as it had been made by others who had taken advantage of Edward III's youth, and that there were two ways in which the current situation could be handled. Either Edward III could take the kingdom for himself, or he could support one of the rival claimants to the throne. Parliament was asked to deliberate on which of these was best. Though it was clear from the speech that Edward III wanted to be told to annex the kingdom, Parliament, after a long deliberation tells him that they are too few, and the matter to weighty, for them to decide, and that it should be put off until a Parliament in January. |
| 1332 |
17 December |
Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland, attacks Edward Balloil at Annan, in the early hours of the morning. Most of Balloil's companions are killed while still in their beds, though Balloil himself manages to escape through a hole in the wall, and flees, half naked and on an unbridled horse, to Carlyle. |
| 1333 |
|
|
| 1330 |
|
A son, Jean, is born to Philippe VI of France and Jeanne de Bourgogne, but dies within the year. |
| 1333 |
20 January |
A reassembled Parliament, apparently uneasy with King Edward III's new ambitions in Scotland, disperses without offering any advice on the matter. Meanwhile the King and his Council decide to invade Scotland in force. Edward III moves the seat of his government to York. |
| 1333 |
March |
Edward Balloil, leading half of Edward III's forces, marches into the Scottish lowlands from Carlyle, heading for Berwick-on-Tweed. |
| 1333 |
End of April |
 Edward III marches from Newcastle with the remainder of the army, heading for Berwick. |
| 1333 |
Second week May |
Edward III reaches the south bank of the Tweed, finding Edward Balloil already encamped on the north bank. |
| 1333 |
June |
 Edward III and Edward Balloil lay siege to Berwick. By the end of the month much of the town had been destroyed by fire and catapults, and the garrison weakened by repeated assaults. |
| 1333 |
|
Archibald Douglas attempts to relieve the city, staging diversions to the south. Tweedmouth is burned, and Bamburgh Castle, 15 miles south, where Queen Philippa is quartered, is laid siege to. Edward III does not leave Berwick. |
| 1333 |
28 June |
The Warden of Berwick agrees to surrender in two weeks, unless help arrived. |
| 1333 |
12 July |
The Warden of Berwick fails to honor his promise to surrender. Edward III begins to hang the hostages, beginning with the son of the garrison commander, and continuing to hang two a day. |
| 1333 |
Third week July |
Archibald Douglas crosses the Tweed to attempt to relieve Berwick-on-Tweed directly. |
| 1333 |
19 July |
Archibald Douglas finds the English army drawn up on Halidon Hill. Dismounting his knights he charges the English position, and his army is destroyed under a hail of arrows. He, and the new regent of Scotland, the Earl of Mar are slain, along with four other Scots earls. The few prisoners that are taken are put to death. |
| 1333 |
|
King David II of Scotland flees to Dumbarton Castle, along with his Queen. Less than half a dozen castles continue to support him. |
| 1333 |
20 July |
Berwick-on-Tweed surrenders to Edward III, and is immediately annexed to the English crown, along with the county which it is the capital of. |
| 1333 |
2 October |
King Philippe VI of France publicly takes the cross in a grand ceremony in the Pré-aux-Clercs outside the abbey of St. Germain, outside Paris. |
| 1333 |
December |
Theologians at Paris declare in favor of the Beatific Vision. They also point out that the pope has not made any firm statement in the matter, and ask him to confirm their decision. |
| 1334 |
|
|
| 1334 |
|
The last male heir of the Rudel line dies, leaving a rich inheritance disputed between two women, his widow, Mathe d'Albret, and his sister, who is married to the Count of Périgord. The dispute over the inheritance leads to a deepening of the already bitter feud between the counts of Albret and the counts of Perigord. While the matter is in litigation before the parlement in Paris the counts engage in open warfare. |
| 1334 |
|
Philippe VI pays 1,000 marks to the Scots Earl of Moray, John Randolph, who had taken refuge in his court after Edward Balloil's victories in Scotland, to bring King David II of Scotland and his court to France for asylum. |
| 1334 |
February |
King Edward Balloil summons the Scots Parliament t0 Holyrood Abbey to ratify his agreement with King Edward III. Edward III compromises some, agreeing not to hear appeals from Scotland, and not requiring Balloil's attendance at English Parliaments. On all other points he remains firm. |
| 1334 |
Spring |
Robert d'Artois, heavily disguised, arrives in England, seeking asylum at the court of Edward III, explaining that he had been slandered by his enemies in France and intends to return as soon as he can do so safely. Edward allows him to remain, but gives him no help against the French King. |
| 1334 |
May |
King David II of Scotland, with his queen and his court, arrive in Normandy. They are installed by Philippe in Chateau Galliard in Normandy. |
| 1334 |
June |
King Edward Balloil meets with King Edward III at Newcastle and cedes to him most of the English speaking lowlands of Scotland, eight counties in all. |
| 1334 |
|
Philippe VI, deciding that he cannot abandon his allies, the Scots, derails the Anglo-French peace negotiations by declaring to Edward III's embassy at Senlis that any treaty between France and England must include the exiled King of Scotland. The grand embassy, who's members include John Stratford, Archbishop of Canturbury, Sir William Montague, William Clinton and Chief Justice Scrope, is unprepared to deal with this, having no instructions on the subject, and foundering on this subject they leave empty handed to return to England. |
| 1334 |
|
Philippe VI appoints new commissioners, with expanded powers, to the Anglo-French commission meeting in Agen to negotiate land issues in the Aquitaine. |
| 1334 |
19 June |
King Edward Balloil does homage to King Edward III for the Kingdom of Scotland in the Dominican convent at Newcastle. |
| 1334 |
July |
Robert Stewart and John Randolph, Earl of Moray, lead an insurrection in the south west of Scotland. Stewart, only 18 at the time, attacks and takes Dunoon Castle by sea, followed quickly by Rothesay. |
| 1334 |
|
John Randolph, Earl of Moray, crosses the Clyde and raises most of the south-west in his support. He is a 'youth not yet fully grown', but he and Robert Stewart set themselves as joint regents of Scotland and proceed to set up the beginnings of a government. |
| 1334 |
August |
The insurrection led by John Randolph and Robert Stewart spreads to most of Scotland. |
| 1334 |
24 August |
King Edward Balloil's close associates and supporters refuse to make a common effort against the rebels, and disperse to their castles to resist them individually. Balloil flees to Berwick-on-Tweed, barely escaping a raiding party sent to apprehend him. |
| 1334 |
September |
Parliament, sitting at Westminster, hears the news of Edward Balloil's expulsion from Scotland, and of the mistreatment of his English supporters. They vote a new subsidy to King Edward III to make war on Scotland. The church is pressured to make a 'donation', and Edward increases his borrowing from the bankers. |
| 1334 |
29 September |
The new commission in Agen meets and falls quickly to arguing over matters both of substance and procedure. The French commissioners demand the surrender of Blanquefort and Veyrines. Edward III's Seneschal advises him to comply, but Edward balks, as he is reluctant to let the fortresses fall in to the hands of the Count d'Armagnac, who is a French sympathizer. |
| 1334 |
October |
One of the French commissioners from Agen leaves for Paris to secure the confiscation of the County of Ponthieu until such time as Edward III returns the fortresses of Blanquefort and Veyrines. |
| 1334 |
November |
King Philippe VI of France sends to King Edward III of England, stating his intention to send an embassy to discuss the Scottish situation. |
| 1334 |
November |
King Edward III invades Scotland with approximately 4,000 men, making Roxburgh his primary objective. The Scots pursue a strategy of avoiding pitched battles. |
| 1334 |
15 November |
Edward III sends a letter to Philippe VI, saying that what was needed was a reappraisal of the existing treaties, and conventions between the two kings, as well as the resumption of the detailed work of the Aquitaine commission. |
| 1334 |
Winter |
The worst winter for many years descends upon England and Scotland, upsetting Edward III's plans of invasion by depriving him of his reinforcements. |
| 1334 |
4 December |
Pope John XXII, aged eighty five, dies at Avignon. |
| 1334 |
20 December |
Cardinal Jaques Fournier is elected pope. He is a Cistercian theologian and a former inquisitor. He is also no great friend to the French kingdom, and has a particular dislike for Mile de Noyers. |
| 1334 |
After Christmas |
Edward III conducts a military probe through the forest of Etterick, in an attempt to find the rebels. Edward Balloil, having led a smaller force up from Carlisle conducts a search for them in Peebles. Between them they only succeed in laying waste to large tracts of the western lowlands. |
| 1335 |
|
|
| 1335 |
|
Mile de Noyers, a Burgundian noble, becomes a dominant force in the French royal Council. He is a determined man, with definite ideas on the matters of foreign policy and where French interests lay. |
| 1335 |
|
Edward III buys the massive Cog Edward for the sum of 450 l. |
| 1335 |
January |
Philippe VI's embassy arrives in England, headed by the Bishop of Avranches. |
| |
8 January |
Cardinal Jacques Fournier is enthroned as pope Benedict XII. |
| 1335 |
February |
Edward III and Edward Balloil return to England. |
| 1335 |
|
A large ship carrying provisions from the French is seen at Dumbarton Castle, discharging wine and armor for the Scots. Edward III begins to requisition ships in Bristol, Falmouth, Plymouth and Southampton to search for and blockade other such shipments. |
| 1335 |
18 February |
Edward III arrives in Newcastle and receives Philippe VI's embassy. He responds that he will consider his reply and send it at some later time. The French ambassadors ask to be allowed to attempt mediation. Edward, out of troops and money, agrees, despite having no real intention of making peace. |
| 1335 |
|
Three of the ambassadors from France travel to Scotland, where they find chaos. John Randolph and Robert Stewart have fallen out, and are seizing whatever royal revenues they can get their hands on and surrounded by armed camps of jealous and suspicious nobles. |
| 1335 |
Easter |
The ambassadors from France negotiate a truce to last until Midsummer. |
| 1335 |
March |
Due to a revaluation of the French currency, in an attempt to restore stronger currency in the wake of repeated devaluations, a bullion shortage forces French mints to close. |
| 1335 |
6 March |
King Edward III informs the recruiting officers of thirty-seven counties to be ready to meets the King's need for troops when the order is given. |
| 1335 |
26 March |
Edward III, advised by a council of noblemen and ecclesiastical magnates at Nottingham, decides to invade Scotland again. |
| 1335 |
27 March |
Writs are issued through England calling for all contingents to be in arms at Newcastle by 11 June. |
| 1335 |
Spring |
French and Scottish privateers are allowed to use the Channel ports of France. |
| 1335 |
April |
The bitterly divided Scots leaders meet in Dairsie, in Fife, and agree to follow the now traditional plan of avoiding battle with the English. They also decide to evacuate the inhabitants of the lowlands
as much as possible, moving them to the safety of the hills. |
| 1335 |
20 April |
An English ship, the Little Lechevard of Southampton, is attacked in the Seine estuary by a Scots privateer, John of St. Agatha. After killing the master of the ship he takes the cargo off to Honfleur and scuttles the ship. The cargo is seized by the baillis of Rouen, but returned to John after he defends his actions as a legitimate act of war. |
| 1335 |
27 May |
Parliament meets at York, and is informed of Edward III's plans for the summer campaign, which they endorse. |
| 1335 |
End of May |
The French embassy leaves York to return to France, clearly having been duped by Edward III. |
| 1335 |
June |
Edward III sends a party of spies to Calais, to report on French activities. |
| 1335 |
Mid-June |
Jean de Normandie, Prince of France falls suddenly ill at Taverny. The illness is serious, and processions and public prayers are held throughout France. |
| 1335 |
Early July |
The French royal Council decides to send a force of 6,000 soldiers, including 1,000 men-at-arms, to Scotland. |
| 1335 |
7 July |
Philippe VI writes to Edward III saying that the Scots had been 'frequently, continually, insistently' asking for his aid, and that he was bound to honor their request by sending his 6,000 troops. In an attempt to avoid an open breach between France and England, and the almost certain cancellation of the planned crusade, he invites Edward III to submit his differences to arbitration by the Pope and himself. |
| 1335 |
|
Jean de Normandie, Prince of France, is pronounced out of danger from his illness. |
| 1335 |
?July? |
Philippe VI informs the Benedict XII of his intention to help the Scots. The pope responds to Philippe's ambassador that he did not agree that Philippe was obliged to do so, that the Crusade would have to be cancelled, that it would damage the King of France in his own realm, cost him more money than he had, and more than likely be useless, as Edward III would probably win anyway. He also said that Philippe was not qualified as an arbitrator, as he was biased in support of one of the parties in question. |
| 1335 |
|
Pope Benedict XII appoints two mediators, Hugh d'Aimery and another, who traveled to Paris, to speak first to Philippe, and them move on to Amiens, to await an English escort. |
| 1335 |
July |
Pope Benedict XII offers generous terms of reconciliation to envoys of Louis of Bavaria. |
| 1335 |
Second week of July |
Edward III has 13,000 men under arms. This is three times as many men as for the Roxburgh campaign, and is the largest English army which Edward ever took into Scotland. The plan is for a three pronged attack, one part of the army, under Edward III, to march north from Carlyle, the rest, Under Edward Balloil, to march west from Berwick-on-Tweed, the two to meet on the Clyde, while a naval force was to land men in the Clyde estuary. |
| 1335 |
Mid-July |
Edward III receives reports of raiding parties of Scots and other foreign troops gathering in the ports of Normandy, and that warships and other sea transport was being sought and gathered by French officers from Sluys to Mont-Saint-Michel. In response he orders castles surveyed and repaired throughout the south of England and Wales, and beacons are prepared on hilltops to warn the coastal towns. Whatever recruits that could be scraped up after the muster for the army in Scotland were raised. |
| 1335 |
Second half of July |
Edward III and Edward Balloil march into Scotland, meeting no real opposition, and destroying everything in their path. |
| 1335 |
22 July |
The Parlement of Paris is informed of Philippe VI's plans to send troops to Scotland. |
| 1335 |
End of July |
Edward III and Edward Balloil meet up at Glasgow. Finding no enemy in the south-west, they turn north. Edward III installs himself at Perth, while his army looted and destroyed the surrounding countryside. |
| 1335 |
31 July |
Pierre Roger, Archbishop of Rouen, announces the Philippe VI's decision to send troops to Scotland in a sermon in the courtyard of the royal palace in Paris. |
| 1335 |
August |
For national defense the realm of England is divided into three sections (North of the Trent (including Lincolnshire), South of the Trent, and Wales and the marches. Assemblies of notables in each section gather and plan their responses to the possible French invasion, with special captains in each to requisition shipping, and keepers of the coast organized for sea watches. |
| 1335 |
|
Despite the defense measures, eight French ships get through the Solent in August, three of them landing troops. Two of these are captured and their raiding parties stranded and killed or captured. |
| 1335 |
|
John Randolph, Earl of Moray and the most effective of the Scots leaders, is taken in a border skirmish with English garrison troops. This leaves Roger Stewart, who is brave but inexperienced and immature, and David of Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, who is unreliable and ambitious. The Earl of Atholl submits to Edward III almost immediately at Perth, and Stewart follows suit somewhat later. |
| 1335 |
20 August |
Edward III, at Perth, receives Philippe VI's letter informing him of the French troop movements. Edward responds immediately, saying that the crusade will not be threatened, as he will soon have the country pacified, that it was surprising that Philippe should stand on the side of the Scots, rather than on the side of Edward III, his own cousin and vassal, and anyway Edward III was dealing with his own vassals, so the offer of arbitration was offensive. |
| 1335 |
Last week of August |
Edward III's Irish troops finally leave Dublin, theoretically to take Dumbarton Castle. They instead land on the Isle of Bute and lay siege to Roxburgh. |
| 1335 |
Mid-September |
Edward III's Irish troops, having wasted their time in the siege of Roxburgh and faced with the oncoming winter, return home. |
| 1335 |
|
Edward III's main army moves south to be paid off and disbanded, the entire campaign having achieved very little beyond destruction of the Scottish countryside. Edward Balloil returns with them, as he has no place to call his own in Scotland at this point. He spends the winter at Holy Island, off Northumberland, running up bills he can't afford to pay. |
| 1335 |
End of September |
The remaining leaders of the Scottish resistance gather at Dumbarton Castle and select Sir Andrew Murray as Guardian of Scotland. He is the brother-in-law of Robert Bruce, one of the few Scots nobles who never submitted to Edward Balloil, and possesses both personality and ruthlessness to rival Edward III's. He is also an associate of Sir William Douglas, a brilliant guerrilla leader. |
| 1335 |
Mid-October |
Sir Andrew Murray contacts Edward III and proposes a truce to begin negotiations. Edward agrees, and a truce is declared until 12 November, and is extended periodically until Christmas. It, and the negotiations that follow, do not include or protect Edward Balloil. |
| 1335 |
November |
A French Embassy arrives in Newcastle. |
| 1335 |
1 November |
Papal legate Hugh d'Aimery reaches Newcastle, and begins to hold meetings with all three parties in the Anglo-Scottish dispute. |
| 1335 |
First week of November |
Talks between the English and the Scots begin in Bathgate, near Edinburgh. |
| 1335 |
|
David of Strathbogie, now a supporter of Edward Balloil begins a campaign of murder, destruction and eviction in the coastal lowlands between Perth and Aberdeen, in order to bring the Scots to obedience, he claims. He lays siege to Sir Arthur Murray's castle at Kildrummy, where Sir Arthur's wife mounts a 'stowt and manly resistance'. |
| 1335 |
St. Andrew's Day |
Sir Arthur Murray, having left the talks at Bathgate and gathered some 800 supporters (including William Douglas) attacks and defeats David of Strathbogie by the river Dee in the forest of Culbean. Strathbogie makes a stand by an oak tree and fights until he dies. Leaving her money and most of her wardrobe behind, his widow flees to Lochindorb, which the Scots proceed to lay siege to. |
