John de Soules

Coat of arms of John de Soules

Sir John de Soules (also: John de Soulis or John Soulis ) († before 1310) was a Scottish knight and politician.

origin

John de Soules was the second son of Nicholas de Soules, Lord of Liddesdale and his wife, who was believed to be Annora de Normanville . After the death of his father in 1264, his older brother William de Soulis († around 1292/3) inherited the family's estates in southern Scotland. As a younger son, Soules received only the small lordship of Westerkirk , which he held as a fiefdom from Enguerrand de Guines .

Service as diplomat and role during the Scottish succession dispute

John is mentioned in the entourage of his brother from around 1280. Before 1284 he was knighted, in that year he accompanied in the service of King Alexander III. the embassy negotiating the marriage of Yolande de Dreux to the king. Possibly before 1286, but certainly before 1289, he served as sheriff of Berwick . In 1290 he was one of the nobles who took part in the negotiations that led to the conclusion of the Treaty of Birgham . When the succession to the throne was unclear after the death of the aspirant to the throne Margarete , the Scottish nobles transferred the decision to the English King Edward I of who should become the next Scottish king. That is why Soules and numerous other Scottish nobles swore allegiance to the English king on June 13, 1291. For this he had to hand over Berwick Castle to the English as sheriff . Subsequently, Soules and his brother William, as representatives of the aspirant to the throne Robert (V) de Brus, belonged to the assembly that was to decide on the succession to the throne, chaired by the English king. His nephew Nicholas , his brother's son, claimed the throne himself as the descendant of an illegitimate daughter of King Alexander II . In 1293 John de Soules took part in the parliament of the new King John Balliol , where he vouched for the loyalty of the young Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick , a grandson of Robert (V) de Brus.

Role during the First Scottish War of Independence

Another service as a diplomat

In 1295 Soules was one of the four envoys who negotiated the Scottish alliance with France , and he played an essential part in the conclusion of the alliance. He is not mentioned in the Ragman Rolls , the list of the Scots who swore allegiance to Edward I after the victory of the English king in the war against Scotland in 1296. In the period between 1295 and around 1299 he is not mentioned in Scotland or England, and it is believed that he was in France during this time. In February and May 1299 he received monetary payments from King Philip IV of France . In July 1299 he was in Damme , where he was waiting for a ship to cross over to Scotland. At that time John Balliol, deposed in 1296, was released from the custody of Pope Boniface VIII and handed over to the French king. Soules may have returned to Scotland in 1299, but there is no evidence of this. It is more likely that the rest of the Scottish ambassadors returned without him. Soules, however, stayed in France, where he was now able to keep in touch with John Balliol. It is possible that he was staying with this one in Picardy .

Guardian of Scotland

In May 1301 Soules was back in Scotland, where he was the sole Guardian of Scotland as the successor to the quarreling Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick and John Comyn of Badenoch . It is possible that he had previously been entrusted with the office by Balliol in France, as he sealed documents as Guardian in the name of John Balliol. To this end, he again installed a chancellor for Scotland in Nicholas Balmyle . When Edward I tried to be recognized by the Pope as the overlord of Scotland, Soules held a council meeting and finally sent two lawyers with a list of counter-arguments to Baldred Bisset , the Scottish representative at the Curia . In addition, Soules took over the lead in the armed struggle against the English occupiers, which was led again more strongly during his reign. Together with Ingram de Umfraville , he led a guerrilla war against the English army, which had invaded south-west Scotland under the Prince of Wales, in the summer of 1301 . The battle successfully led by Soules in south-west Scotland probably moved Simon Fraser , Herbert Morham and other barons to fight on the Scottish side again. On September 7th and 8th, 1301 Soules and Ingram de Umfraville undertook a futile attack on Lochmaben Castle , after which they gathered their troops at Loudoun in the futile hope of being able to relieve the besieged Bothwell Castle . Since the army of the Prince of Wales could not unite with the army of the king, not least because of the attacks of Soules, the English pincer attack had failed. Edward I therefore agreed to a nine-month armistice in January 1302.

Renewed service as a diplomat, exile and death

The Scottish hopes now rested on the peace negotiations between France and England. In the autumn of 1302, Soules returned to France with a high-ranking delegation to persuade the French king not to make a peace in which Scotland was not included. As his successor, John Comyn was likely re-elected Guardian. However, the French king made the peace of Paris with the English king in the spring of 1303 , from which the Scots were excluded. With no prospect of French support, the Scots' military situation was now hopeless. By February 1304 all Scottish leaders with the exception of Soules, William Wallace and Simon Fraser submitted to the English king. The English king sentenced Soules to a two year exile before he was allowed to return to Scotland, but Soules did not accept this condition and did not submit to the English king. Instead, he voluntarily lived in exile in France until his death. After Robert Bruce declared himself king in 1306, the English king declared the possessions of Soules forfeited and gave them to John Lovel . Soules died in 1310 at the latest.

Marriage and offspring

Soulis was believed to have married Margaret , a daughter of Merleswain, Lord of Ardross before 1295 . She was the widow of Hugh de Perisby . His wife inherited part of her father's possessions, so Soules came into possession of part of Adross in Fife . He had a daughter with his wife:

• Muriella Soulis ⚭ Richard Lovel († 1351), Lord of Hawick and Castle Cary

Edward I had given Soules the guardianship of his possessions after the death of Hugh Lovel, Lord of Hawick . Soules engaged the underage heir Richard Lovel to his daughter, who apparently was able to inherit part of the possessions of Soules.

Aftermath

Of the Scottish leaders in the struggle against England, Soules has long been neglected by historians. Fordun and other Scottish chroniclers did not think very highly of him, as he could not prevent the Scots' military defeat. Presumably they judged him so negatively because the related William Soulis was convicted in 1320 as a traitor to the king. John de Soules, on the other hand, had been quite successful as a diplomat and statesman, and given his position as a knight with only a small estate, his diplomatic skills evidently impressed the Scottish magnates.

literature

• RC Reid, T. M'Michael: The Feudal Family of De Soulis. In: Transactions and journal of the proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Series III, Volume 26 (1947-48), pp. 163-196.

Web links

• AAM Duncan: Soulis, Sir John (d. Before 1310). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

Individual evidence

1. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 162.
2. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 49.
3. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 34.
4. ↑ RC Reid, T. M'Michael: The Feudal Family of De Soulis. In: Transactions and journal of the proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Series III, Volume 26 (1947-48), p. 174.
5. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 113.
6. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 66.
7. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, pp. 166-167.
8. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 67.
9. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 70.
10. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 171.
11. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 177.
12. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 182.
13. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 451.
14. ↑ RC Reid, T. M'Michael: The Feudal Family of De Soulis. In: Transactions and journal of the proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Series III, Volume 26 (1947-48), p. 175.
15. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 162.
16. ↑ RC Reid, T. M'Michael: The Feudal Family of De Soulis. In: Transactions and journal of the proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Series III, Volume 26 (1947-48), p. 180.
17. ↑ RC Reid, T. M'Michael: The Feudal Family of De Soulis. In: Transactions and journal of the proceedings of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Series III, Volume 26 (1947-48), p. 190.
18. ↑ AAM Duncan: Soulis, Sir John (d. Before 1310). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

predecessor	Office	successor
John (III) Comyn , Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick	Guardian of Scotland 1301-1302	John (III) Comyn