Bruce's War in Ireland

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Ireland around 1300, areas ruled by England pink

The Bruce War in Ireland from 1315 to 1318 was the attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to conquer Ireland , which was under English rule . The campaign failed with total defeat and the expulsion of the Scots from Ireland.

prehistory

During the First Scottish War of Independence , Robert Bruce fought against English supremacy in Scotland from 1306. In March 1306 he had risen to be King of the Scots. After initial setbacks, from 1307 he succeeded step by step in conquering the castles and fortresses in Scotland occupied by English troops and driving back the English. When the English King Edward II led a large army to Scotland in 1314, the Scots, led by Robert Bruce, were able to decisively defeat it in the Battle of Bannockburn . Despite the heavy defeat, the English king did not give up his claims to Scotland and refused to recognize Robert Bruce as the Scottish king. The Scots then resumed their raids on northern England.

Objectives of the campaign

After the victory at Bannockburn, Robert Bruce wanted to expand the theater of war. He not only resumed the Scottish raids on northern England, but also planned an attack on Ireland, which was largely under English rule . This attack had several goals. For one thing, men and supplies for the British attacks had constantly come to Scotland from Ireland. The ports of Dublin , Dundalk and Drogheda served as bases for English ships attacking the west coast of Scotland. It was not until February 1315 that John of Lorne , expelled from Scotland by Robert Bruce and now in English service, conquered the Isle of Man . He apparently wanted to use the strategically important island as a base for further attacks on the West Scottish islands. The Scottish attack on Ireland was planned in response to the attack on Man. Possibly Ireland should also be conquered in order to provide Scotland with additional grain and cattle. The Scots expected help from the local Irish population as Ireland was not completely subdued by England and parts of the Irish chiefs continued to fight the English. These Scots' strategic goals were complemented by family ambitions of the Bruce brothers. Edward Bruce , the younger brucer of Robert Bruce, himself aspired to a royal dignity and wanted to declare himself High King of Ireland . In addition to the dream of a unified Scottish-Irish Empire, the close traditional ties between western Scotland and Ulster also played an important role in the project . Edward Bruce found his most important allies among the allies of the West Scottish nobleman Angus Og MacDonald, who was allied with Bruce . The leader of these allies, Domhnaill O'Neill of Tyrone, is said to have invited Edward Bruce to Ireland and ceded his claim to the title of king to him. O'Neill hoped with the help of the Scots to defeat his own Irish opponents, especially Aed O'Domhnaill. This was supported by Scottish exiles led by John MacSween . Bruce's landing in Ireland sparked old local conflicts.

The Scottish Invasion of Ireland

Landing in Ulster

Edward Bruce landed at Larne in Antrim on May 26, 1315 . His army was probably small, but battle-tested. In addition to Edward Bruce, she included experienced military officers, Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray , John Soulis and Philip Mowbray . In addition, warriors from the Hebrides, especially the MacDonalds and MacRuairis , some of whom had already gained experience in combat in Ireland, formed the core of the Scottish armed forces. On June 6, 1315 Edward Bruce was enthroned as High King of Ireland with the support of Domhnaill O'Neill and other Irish nobles. At the same time, Edward Bruce began the siege of Carrickfergus Castle , the main castle of Ulster, which also threatened the supply lines to Scotland. Although the castle could only be conquered after a year of siege, the fortress was neutralized by the siege. On June 29th, after a tough battle, the Scots captured Dundalk, where they wreaked havoc among the population. This should move the sometimes reluctant Irish population to join the Scots, because otherwise the Scots would treat them as opponents. Richard de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster , had mobilized his vassals against the Scots. After a few minor skirmishes and destruction of towns and villages, Edward Bruce was able to defeat the contingent from Ulster and the earl's other estates on September 1st at Connor in Down . Thereupon de Burgh took no more active action against the Scottish invaders and limited himself to the defense of his other Irish possessions. The defeat of the Earl of Ulster secured Edward Bruce a base in Ulster, which he was now trying to expand. In mid-September 1315, the Earl of Moray returned to Scotland with five ships loaded with loot from Ireland. One ship sank on the way, but the other four ships returned to Ireland with 500 other Scottish fighters after their unloading. However, Moray had apparently remained in Scotland.

English defenses

The time and place of the Scottish landing had come as a surprise to the English, although the English King Edward II may have heard of the planned Scottish campaign as early as March 1315. Even before he heard of the Scottish invasion, the English king gave the order in June 1315 to set up an English fleet in the Irish Sea. This order came too late to stop the Scottish landing and, like other orders from the king, was not implemented due to lack of money. After learning of the Scottish invasion, the English king acted quickly. On September 1, 1315, a council meeting of the magnates in Lincoln decided to send the official John Hotham to Ireland. Hotham had already held several offices in Ireland and was now supposed to organize further resistance against the Scots there. However, Hotham was initially stuck in Chester after Scottish pirates led by Thomas Dun sacked the port of Holyhead on Anglesey and boarded a royal ship, the James of Caernarfon . Hotham only reached Dublin on November 5th. There he organized the defense of the city. Due to the activities of Dun off North Wales, the English government also feared a landing of Irish and Scots in Wales at the end of 1315. In fact, Edward Bruce is said to have been in contact with Sir Gruffydd Llwyd , the English steward of Cardiganshire , in 1315 or 1316 . A Scottish landing in Wales was apparently never seriously considered. Perhaps, however, the Scots hoped that the English would strengthen their castles in Wales so that more English forces would be bound. Because of his contacts with Bruce, Gruffydd Llwyd was imprisoned from December 1316 to around 1318.

Scottish advance in the winter of 1315-1316

After Edward Bruce had established his position in Ulster, he led his army south. The Scots continued to plunder on a large scale, burned farms and villages and killed the inhabitants. In December 1315 Bruce defeated a force led by Roger Mortimer of Wigmore at Kells . However, he did not succeed in conquering the mighty Trim Castle . After his defeat Mortimer, but also the former Justiciar Theobald de Verdon, withdrew to England. This left Meath virtually defenseless and Dublin was also at risk. But John Hotham managed to convince the remaining Anglo-Irish magnates to continue the fight. The Scots bypassed Dublin and advanced into Kildare in southern Ireland. There they met an Anglo-Irish army, led by the Justiciar Edmund Butler and the Southern Irish magnates, at Ardscull near Athy on January 26, 1316. The Anglo-Irish army was the last army the English could muster in Ireland and fought defensively, while the Scots were exhausted after the month-long campaign and also emaciated due to the scarce supplies. They attacked only half-heartedly, so the battle ended in a draw. The losses were small, but the Scots withdrew to Ulster in view of their limited supplies. This made the battle a turning point in the campaign. The successful English resistance at Ardscull was certainly also due to the organization of Hotham. In early May 1316, Hotham returned to England to report to the king. Above all, he thanked John FitzGerald , who was made Earl of Kildare .

Further course of the war in 1316

Edward Bruce stayed in Ulster for the remainder of 1316. He tried to establish a government there and appointed judges. In the spring and summer of 1316, the Scots captured the castles of Greencastle and Northburgh . In late July or early August 1316, Robert Bruce is said to have moved to Ireland, where he reinforced the siege of Carrickfergus, which surrendered in September 1316. The stay of the Scottish King in Ireland is not considered secure. Edward Bruce then traveled to Scotland and took part in the Parliament in Cupar in Fife on September 30, 1316 , where he solicited further support. In November 1316, the English King sent Roger Mortimer of Wigmore to Ireland as King's Lieutenant . Mortimer first traveled to Wales, where he raised troops.

The so-called remonstrances

Edward Bruce received support in Ireland not only from a few Irish chiefs and petty kings. Some Irish Franciscans also preached for the support of Edward Bruce. They claimed that English rule was illegitimate and that Ireland was subject only to the Pope. In 1316 the English Franciscan Geoffrey of Aylsham turned to Michael von Cesena , the general of the Franciscan Order, on behalf of Edward II . Aylsham managed to convince the Order General to forbid the Irish Franciscans from preaching in favor of Bruce. Pope John XXII. supported this ban. Partly because of the sermons, there were spontaneous revolts of the Irish population against English rule in Leinster , Desmond and Thomond in the second half of 1316 . A letter was probably written in autumn 1317 and presented to the Pope in Avignon in January 1318 as the so-called Remonstrances of the Irish Princes . This letter of complaint was said to have been written by several Irish chiefs and petty kings. They are said to have asked the Pope to revoke the Bull Laudabiliter , with which King Henry II approved the conquest of Ireland in the 12th century. But there are no indications that the Irish princes were behind the letter. Presumably the Franciscan Michael Mac Lochlainn , who ran unsuccessfully for the office of Archbishop of Armagh in 1303 and who later became Bishop of Derry, wrote the forgery as propaganda on behalf of Edward Bruce. However, she could not take the Pope for the fight of Bruce, as the English king had much higher diplomatic influence at the papal court.

The great Scottish campaign of 1317

In January 1317 Robert Bruce himself moved to Ireland with an army to give his brother's war a new impetus. After the arrival of these reinforcements, the Scots and their Irish allies, especially the O'Neills, prepared a new campaign. Irish Franciscans continued to preach against the English, and the sick John of Lorne had withdrawn with his ships so that the Scots controlled the Irish Sea. After a council meeting in Carrickfergus, the Scottish-Irish army set out to conquer Dublin or to win a decisive victory against the army of Justiciars Edmund Butler. At the beginning of February 1317, Edward Bruce began a destructive campaign with Robert Bruce, the Earl of Moray, Domhnaill O'Neill and others. They burned Slane down in Meath. Before February 23, the army stood outside Dublin, where the English defenders had burned the buildings outside the city walls. The Earl of Ulster had sought refuge behind the walls of Dublin after a lost battle at Ratoath . But now he was suspected of secretly supporting his son-in-law Robert Bruce and was arrested. However, the Scots were not prepared for a long siege, because due to a severe famine , they had very little supplies. They circumvented the city and moved southwest through Leinster and Munster until they reached Limerick in early April . But neither the O'Briens in Thomond nor other Irish tribes joined the Scots. An Anglo-Irish army under Edmund Butler followed them. It disrupted the Scottish advance, but avoided an open battle. The Scots' conquest of Limerick failed. The decisive turning point came in early April 1317 when the new King's Lieutenant Roger Mortimer landed with reinforcements in southern Ireland. Without sufficient supplies, without support from the Irish people and with further fighting, the Scots withdrew to Ulster. Although the Scots declared the campaign a success, in fact they had achieved nothing. They had made a long campaign full of privation, plundered plentifully, but suffered from hunger and disease. Not only the King of Scots, but also his brother and heir Edward and the potential Guardian , the Earl of Moray, were in constant danger of being killed or captured. Around May 22, 1317 Robert I and probably also the Earl of Moray returned to Scotland. Although Edward Bruce stayed in Ireland, the failure of the large-scale campaign had made it clear that the Scottish attempt to conquer Ireland had failed . Edward Bruce had failed to get any other Irish chiefs to his side, and after the campaign he could do little more than maintain his position in Ulster. From May to October 1317 little is known about the further activities of Edward Bruce.

Further course of the war and Scottish defeat in 1318

In the summer of 1317, the Italian Antonio Pessagno , who was in English service, wanted to hire five Genoese galleys with a crew of 1,000 in order to regain naval control in the Irish Sea. The British government did not have the money for this plan. Presumably at the same time, the Anglo-Irish Baron John d'Athy was supposed to deploy 15 ships to attack the Scots in the Irish Sea, but he was only able to get 6 ships. Nevertheless, on July 2, 1317, he was able to defeat and kill the notorious pirate Thomas Dun, so that the English gained control of the Irish Sea. In October 1317, Roger Mortimer took action against the de Lacy family in Meath without Edward Bruce doing anything to support his allies. In May 1318 Mortimer was recalled to England. After receiving reinforcements from Scotland in the autumn of 1318, Edward Bruce finally made a new push in early October, apparently desperate and with no apparent plan. He met an Anglo-Irish army under the command of Edmund Butler and John de Bermingham , who were preparing for battle. In the Battle of Faughart on October 14, 1318, the Scottish army was decisively defeated. Edward Bruce and many of his subordinates fell. A little later, in another battle near Derry, a son of Domhnaill O'Neill and a member of the Macdonald family, perhaps Alexander Og , fell in the fight against Aed O'Domhnaill . By December 1318, the English were able to recapture the castles still held by Scottish troops, including Carrickfergus.

consequences

The Scottish attack on Ireland led to a relocation of Scottish forces and a decrease in raids on northern England. The Scottish resources were insufficient to conquer Ireland and to carry out further raids into the north of England, as a large part of the Scottish troops were bound by the campaign in Ireland. It was not until the beginning of 1318 that the Scots began to campaign again against the north of England. With the death of Edward Bruce, Robert Bruce not only lost one of his closest confidants, but also his last male relative and previous heir to the throne. As a result, he had to take new precautions in the event of his death.

literature

  • Seán Duffy: Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars: the Invasions of Ireland 1306-1329 . Tempus, Stroud 2002, ISBN 0-7524-1974-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 212.
  2. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 164.
  3. ^ A b Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 265.
  4. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 253.
  5. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 264.
  6. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 254.
  7. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 167.
  8. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 255.
  9. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 68.
  10. ↑ a b c Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 256.
  11. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 166.
  12. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 168.
  13. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , p. 248.
  14. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 260.
  15. ↑ a b c Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 262.
  16. ↑ a b c Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 261.
  17. ^ A b c Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 173.
  18. ^ Ian Mortimer: The greatest traitor. The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Ruler of England, 1327-1330. Pimlico, London 2003, ISBN 0-7126-9715-2 , p. 70.
  19. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 169.
  20. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 171.
  21. ^ A b c Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 338.
  22. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 181.
  23. ↑ a b c Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 257.
  24. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 264.
  25. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 174.
  26. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 178.
  27. ^ A b Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , pp. 188.
  28. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 258.
  29. ↑ Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 254.
  30. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 213.