Soules conspiracy

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The Soules conspiracy (also Soulis conspiracy ; English Soules conspiracy ) was the attempt by a group of Scottish nobles to overthrow King Robert Bruce . Before the conspirators could carry out their plans, the conspiracy was exposed in the summer of 1320 .

background

During the Scottish War of Independence , the Scots under Robert Bruce repulsed an English siege of Berwick in September 1319 . In April 1320 numerous Scottish barons sealed the Declaration of Arbroath , in which they assured that they would never recognize English rule over Scotland. Despite this apparently impressive support from the Scottish nobility , there were a number of barons who opposed Robert Bruce's rule and wanted to overthrow him. It is not known how the conspirators wanted to proceed. For a longer period between August 1320 and November 18, 1320 no documents from Robert Bruce have been preserved. The conspiracy is barely reported in the chronicles of John Barbour , Thomas Gray, and the Scotichronicon .

The Conspiracy

The conspirators were mainly barons who only submitted to Bruce after the English defeat at Bannockburn in 1314. The Scottish king had mostly accepted them with grace. In addition, many of the conspirators were related to the Comyn family. Most of the members of this previously powerful family were bitter opponents at the beginning of Robert Bruce's reign until they had to flee Scotland after the defeat at Inverurie in 1308. The conspiracy was named after William Soules , whose mother was a sister of John Comyn, 7th Earl of Buchan . According to the chronicler Barbour, the conspirators wanted William Soules to become king. Soules father Nicholas de Soulis had claimed the Scottish throne in 1291 . Although his claims had no prospect of success, Soules would have had a claim to the throne. Nevertheless, it is considered unlikely that the conspirators wanted to make Soules king. It is more likely that they wanted to murder Bruce and, as his successor, proclaim Edward Balliol as king, the eldest son of King John Balliol, who was forced to abdicate in 1296 . By 1304 the Guardians and numerous Scottish barons had continued the war against England on behalf of Balliol. Presumably out of loyalty to Balliol, John Comyn of Badenoch had refused an accession to the throne of Bruce in 1306, whereupon Bruce had murdered him. Perhaps some conspirators saw Bruce as an obstacle to peace with England after the English king continued the war despite the defeat at Bannockburn and did not want to recognize Bruce as king. Probably from the end of 1318, after the failure of the Bruce War in Ireland and the death of Edward Bruce , the conspiracy formed. Edward Bruce was the last brother and previous heir of the king, who was without male descendants at the time. Edward Balliol had returned to England in 1318 and was available as heir apparent. But he should have accepted the supremacy of the English king.

Detection, suppression and condemnation

Before the conspirators could implement their plans, the conspiracy was uncovered, although there are various reports about it. According to one version, the Earl of Dunbar and Murdoch Menteith found out about the conspiracy. Dunbar belonged to a Scottish embassy that was to travel to the papal court in Avignon . Perhaps he learned of the conspiracy during the trip to France, perhaps even from members of the delegation that accompanied the English King Edward II on his visit to France. Dunbar immediately returned to Scotland and informed the king. How Menteith found out about the conspiracy is unclear. After Thomas Gray he found out about the plans of the conspirators in England, whereupon he switched sides and warned Robert Bruce. But Menteith had probably already changed sides in December 1318 at the latest, long before the conspiracy was discovered. According to John Barbour, the conspiracy is said to have been betrayed by a woman whose name he did not find out. This woman could have been the Countess of Strathearn , but Isabel Strathbogie would have had reasons for betraying the conspiracy, too .

In any case, Bruce acted swiftly and arrested Soules and about a dozen other nobles. Here perhaps was Philip and Robert Mowbray killed. Some conspirators, including Ingram de Umfraville and Sir William Mowat, were able to flee to England. Soules, David Brechin and Roger Mowbray were charged with high treason, and Bruce called a parliament in Scone on August 4, 1320 . Before this assembly, later called Black Parliament , Soules and the Countess of Strathearn confessed to the conspiracy, whereupon they were sentenced to life imprisonment. With Gilbert Malherbe , John of Logie , Richard Broun and David Brechin four conspirators were sentenced to death. Brechin was not convicted of participating in the conspiracy, but because he had learned of the conspiracy but had not warned the king. The convicts were dragged for execution as traitors , then hanged and ultimately beheaded . Others were acquitted, including Eustace of Maxwell , Walter of Barclay and Patrick of Graham. The body of the presumably killed Roger Mowbray was carried on a stretcher in front of the parliamentary assembly and convicted of treason. After this conviction, the king was able to confiscate his property and the body was then quietly buried. The possessions of the other conspirators were also confiscated by the king and distributed to his supporters. Numerous sons, relatives and followers of the convicts also had to flee Scotland. Robert Bruce rewarded Menteith by making him Earl of Menteith before 1323.

consequences

The Soules conspiracy arguably had more supporters among the Scottish nobles than earlier research assumed. About a quarter of the barons who had sealed the Declaration of Arbroath in April 1320 had been more or less involved in the conspiracy. Nor was it an expression of brief discontent on the part of some barons, but was prepared over a longer period of time. Because the English government knew of the conspiracy and possibly supported the conspirators, the conspiracy posed a serious threat to the rule of Bruce Usurper was considered. However, through the exposure of the conspiracy and the condemnation of the conspirators, Bruce's rule was consolidated. When, after the death of Bruce in 1332, the so-called disinherited invaded Scotland to establish Edward Balliol on the throne, they were joined by many Scottish nobles who had apparently already sympathized with the conspirators in 1320.

literature

  • Michael Penman: 'A fell coniuracioun agayn Robert the douchty king': the Soules conspiracy of 1318-1320. In: The Innes Review, 50 (1999), pp. 25-57.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ 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. 221.
  2. ^ A b Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 429.
  3. ^ 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. 226.
  4. ^ A b c Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 219.
  5. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 190.
  6. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , pp. 219 220.
  7. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 201.
  8. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 430.
  9. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 223.
  10. ↑ Michael Penman: 'A fell coniuracioun agayn Robert the douchty king': the Soules conspiracy of 1318-1320. In: The Innes Review, 50 (1999), p. 28.
  11. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 220.
  12. ↑ Michael Penman: 'A fell coniuracioun agayn Robert the douchty king': the Soules conspiracy of 1318-1320. In: The Innes Review, 50 (1999), p. 57.