Scotland in the High Middle Ages: Encyclopedia II - Scotland in the High Middle Ages - Military

Scotland in the High Middle Ages - Military

After the "Norman Conquest" of David I, the warriors of Scotland can be classed as of two types. Firstly, the native exercitus Scoticanus (i.e. "Gaelic army"); and, secondly, the exercitus militaris (i.e. "feudal army"). The Gaelic army formed the larger part of all pre-Stewart Scottish armies, but in the wider world of European (i.e. French) chivalry the feudal section was the more prestigious. The native Scots, like all early medieval Europeans, practiced organized slave-raiding. Presumably, they did so with each other. However, our main record of it comes from when they practised it against their Norman and post-Conquest Anglo-Saxon neighbour. John Gillingham argues that this was one of the things which made the Scots (and other Celts) particularly barbarous in the eyes of their "Frankish" neighbours, because the French had largely abandoned this form of warfare.^[65]

As with so many changes in this period, the introduction of the feudal army can be traced primarily to the reign of David I, although French and English knights were used in moderation by his older brothers. The tension which these knights produced is well recorded in contemporary sources. At the Battle of the Standard, the Gaels oppose the positioning of the French soldiers in the van of the king's army. Ailred of Rievaulx attributes this opposition to the Galwegians, but we know it was the Scottish Gaels in general, as the native spokesman is given as Máel Ísu , then the Mormaer of Strathearn and highest ranking noble in the army.^[66]

The advantage French military culture possessed was manifold. French knights used expensive suits of armour, whereas the Scots were "naked" (of armour, rather than dress). They possessed heavy cavalry, and other weapons such as crossbows and siege engines, as well as fortification techniques far more effective and advanced than anything possessed by the native Scots. Moreover, their culture, particularly their feudal ideology, made them reliable vassals, who because they were foreign, were even more dependent on the king. Over time, the Scots themselves became more like the French warriors, and the French warriors adopted many of the Gaelic military practices, so that by the end of the period, a syncretic military culture existed in the kingdom. When the feudal army was destroyed at the Battle of Dunbar (1296), the Scots were dependent once again on the Gaelic army. However, owing to two centuries of adaptation and the leadership of the Gaelic-speaking Scoto-Norman Robert Bruce, this army was able to defeat the attempted takeover by the English-crown.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Military", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki