Treaty of Paris (1295)

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The Treaty of Paris was an alliance between Scotland and France concluded in Paris on October 23, 1295 .

Starting position

Shortly after his accession to the throne in 1292, the Scottish King John Balliol found himself exposed to increasing pressure from the English King Edward I. The English king had previously acted as arbiter in the Scottish succession dispute and assessed the claims of the aspirants to the Scottish throne . For this he had claimed supremacy over Scotland. After Balliol's accession to the throne, the English king continued to hold on to his claim to suzerainty over Scotland.

Negotiations and contract conclusion

When a war broke out between England and France in 1294 , the English King asked John Balliol and several Scottish magnates to provide him with arms as a vassal. In March 1294, the French king therefore regarded the Scots as opponents. The Scots, however, refused to provide the requested weapon aid with excuses. After that there were probably first contacts between Scotland and France, although it is unclear from which side these had originated. As early as June 1295, the French king saw the Scots as possible allies. When in July 1295 two English negotiators, Bishop Bek and Earl Warenne, who were friends with Balliol, came to Scotland, their mission was unsuccessful. Two days after Balliol met Bek, a Scottish parliament in Stirling decided to send an embassy to France. The delegation was headed by Bishop William Fraser of St Andrews, including Bishop Matthew Crambeth of Dunkeld and Barons John de Soules and Ingram de Umfraville . The embassy was supposed to make an alliance offer to the French king Philip IV . The French king saw this alliance as an opportunity to expand his planned alliance with the Norwegian king Erik II into a Nordic alliance directed against England. The French king saw himself threatened by the English king, who had made alliances with Aragón and with various German princes from the Rhineland and the Netherlands. With this encirclement of France, the French king wanted to counter a threat to England from the north and the sea, so that the English forces had to be divided. On October 22nd, 1295, the French king sealed the alliance with Norway and the following day the alliance with Scotland. On February 23, 1296, John Balliol and a Scottish parliament confirmed the treaty with France.

Content of the contract

According to the agreement, the Scots, both the king and the magnates, prelates, and citizens of the cities were to wage war on land and sea against England as long as it was at war with France. If the English king was to leave England to wage a campaign on mainland Europe, the Scots should undertake a large-scale campaign to England. In return, if Scotland were to be attacked by England, the French king promised to launch attacks on England or to send considerable support to the Scots. Both parties gave assurances that they would not conclude a separate peace with England. In addition, Edward Balliol , the eldest son of the Scottish king, should marry Johanna , a daughter of Karl von Valois and thus a niece of the French king.

consequences

The Scottish alliance with France was in fact a declaration of war on England. In the spring of 1296 the English king led his army north and was able to occupy Scotland in a swift campaign. John Balliol was captured and forced to abdicate. As a result, the English King placed Scotland under his direct administration, which led to a nationwide rebellion in 1297 and the Scottish War of Independence . The alliance had thus fulfilled its purpose for the French king, since it had bound the powers of the English king. After an unsuccessful campaign by the English king to Flanders in 1297, an armistice was signed between England and France in 1298. However, the peace negotiations dragged on. However, the French king continued to support the Scottish struggle for independence diplomatically in order to put the English king under pressure. As a result of these diplomatic efforts, the King of England placed John Balliol in the care of the Pope in 1299. Scottish ambassadors remained in France, and probably in 1299 the former Scottish Guardian William Wallace came to Paris, where Philip IV presented him as a gift. In 1302 the Scots achieved further successes thanks to French help. The English king concluded a nine-month truce with them, while the Pope surrendered John Balliol to the French king. The Scottish hopes of being able to move the English king to a peace now were destroyed by the French defeat in the battle of spurs in the war with Flanders in July 1302. The French king now fully concentrated on the fight against Flanders. Although a high-ranking Scottish embassy traveled to France with James Stewart , John de Soules, the Earl of Buchan and Bishop Lamberton in 1302 , the French king made the peace of Paris with England in May 1303 . The Scots were excluded from this peace. The English king now had a free hand for the war in Scotland and was able to force almost all Scottish rebels into submission through a major campaign until February 1304.

The Paris Treaty as the beginning of the Auld Alliance?

The Treaty of Paris is often seen as the beginning of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France, an alliance that lasted into the 16th century. This view is wrong for a number of reasons. For one thing, the Scottish kings almost regularly concluded an alliance with England in the event of a conflict with England. The first known alliance was made by Wilhelm the Lion in 1173. On the other hand, the alliance concluded in 1295 ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1303. When Robert Bruce continued the Scottish struggle for independence in 1306 and rose to be king of the Scots, the French king did not support this rebellion. This was certainly due to the fact that Bruce had previously murdered his rival John Comyn in a church and was therefore excommunicated . It was not until the beginning of 1309 that Philip IV recognized Robert Bruce as King of Scotland in a letter, but at the same time urged him to make peace with the English king. The Scottish-French alliance was not renewed until 1326 by the Treaty of Corbeil .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 88.
  2. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 174.
  3. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 90.
  4. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 277.
  5. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 91.
  6. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 191.
  7. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 279.
  8. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 195.
  9. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 281.