Edward's Military Campaigns in Wales and Scotland

Role of the king in medieval warfare

• decided if a war was necessary and sent out orders to knights to assemble an army

• order and pay to make weapons and army

• the King (if able to fight) and his leading nobles would be the decision-makers on the battlefield

• for an army, the death or capture of the enemy’s king could be a winning strategy

• whether a king was successful or not in battle would determine his reputation during his reign

Cavalry

• well-armed and highly trained

• at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298, Edward had 800-1000 cavalry with him (around 1/6 of his forces)

• armour depended on the wealth of the knight

• role was to charge and destroy the enemy’s infantry

Infantry

• sometimes had up to 20,000

• villages were set quotas of soldiers to fulfil and criminals could receive a pardon if they volunteered

• archers were utilised to stop or deter the enemy’s cavalry charge and weaken the infantry’s defensive position

• foot soldiers were used to advance of an enemy in a tight mass to force them to surrender

Specialists

• specialist weren’t necessarily used on the battlefield but the army relied on them to survive

• woodcutters chopped down trees and made roads

• carpenters made weapons

• engineers constructed bridges

• blacksmiths provided weapons, armour and horseshoes

• farmers provided food for soldiers and horses

Weaponry

• crossbow was heavier than a bow but was more powerful, soldiers didn’t have to be skilled to use it

• the sword was used by knights & infantrymen in close combat and required training to be used

  battle axe was a heavy powerful axe used in hand-to-hand combat that could damage armour

• the trebuchet was a wooden catapult with could throw missiles over long distances

Seige

• a castle or town would be targeted

• if the castle or town did not surrender, supply routes would be blocked, starving the inhabitants into submission

• if this failed the attacking army would directly assault the castle or town walls to gain access

• they could scale the walls using ladders, dig underneath the walls to collapse them or use siege engines

Difficult situation with the Prince of Wales

• Henry III’s weak reign allowed the Welsh to side with Simon de Montfort during the Baron’s War

• in 1267, the Treaty of Montgomery acknowledged Llywelyn ap Gruffudd’s right to rule Wales and was awarded the title Prince of Wales

• Llywelyn refused to attend Edward’s coronation in 1274 and refused to swear allegiance or pay dues to Edward as his overlord so Edward captured his fiancee

• in 1276, Ll

• Llywelyn was branded a rebel and Edward prepared for war with Wales

Welsh War of 1277

• Edward isolates Anglesey where most of the grain supplying Welsh forces came from so the Welsh ran short of supplies and either surrendered or switched sides

• Llywelyn signed the Treaty of Aberconwy in Nov which acknowledged Edward as his overlord

• control of Wales meant access to wool but the country needed to be at peace to prevent the disruption of trade

Welsh War of 1282-83

• Llywelyn’s bro Dafydd ap Gruffudd rebelled against the English laws and the treatment of the Welsh by attacking and destroying Hawarden Castle

• Edward prepared for war

• originally the war went well for the Welsh however superior military force and control of Anglesey meant the army starved again

• in Dec 1282, Llywelyn was killed in battle so Dafydd became Prince of Wales

• Dafydd asked for peace but Edward wanted to finish the war with a complete English victory

• Dafydd was captured and tried for treason - he was guilty and executed

• in 1284 the Statute of Rhuddlan made Wales part of England

• Edward spent £120,000 to secure his control over Wales by building castles (Ring of Iron)

The Great Cause

• in 1290, Scotland was left without an heir so Edward was decided to judge the claimants

• Edward chose John Balliol as king because he was considered weaker therefore would make it easier for Edward to control

Bad relationship with the Scots

• in 1292, Edward insisted Balliol paid homage to him and demanded the Scots provide him with money and troops to fight the French but the Scots refused and formed an alliance with the French

• Balliol was replaced with twelve Guardians in 1295

• in March 1295, Edward and a army marched into Scotland to lay siege to Berwick which Edward gained control

• in autumn of 1296, Edward returned with English officials in Scotland

Battle of Stirling Bridge

• 11th Sept 1297

• William Wallace was a Scot who objected to English rule

• English army was easily defeated

• William Wallace became the Guardian of Scotland

Battle of Falkirk

• Wallace managed to invade northern England as far as Durham before Edward invade Scotland again

• in 1298, a council of war was held in York before Edward marched into Scotland

• Wallace retreated but destroyed food supplies as he went to weaken the English army

• at the camp in Falkirk, the Scots were defeated

Why Edward never colonised Scotland

• 1303 - Edward invaded Scotland

• 1304 - Edward was working out terms to rule Scotland

• 1305 - Wallace was captured & killed so Edward became ruler

• 1306 - Robert the Bruce refused to accept English rule and so was crowned

• 1307 - Edward led another army into Scotland but died before reaching Scotland