MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND ON DISC 2013 ISBN 978-1-909634-06-0 MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND DURING THE TIME OF SIR WILLIAM WALLACE and KING ROBERT THE BRUCE by JESSIE SPITTAL Edited by Sheila Pitcairn Pitcairn Publications. The Genealogy Clinic, 18 Chalmers Street, Dunfermline KY12 8DF Tel: 01383 739344 Email enquiries @pitcairnresearh.com 2 SETTING THE SCENE Looking back Here in Dunfermline we are lucky. Why . because history is all around us. We can see it, touch it, feel it, walk over it and imagine how it was. Buildings such as the Monastery, the Royal Palace and the Abbey are real places. People lived in them, worked in them and worshipped in them. Kings were born in Dunfermline. It was the capital of Scotland. It was a place of pilgrimage. It received visits from all the important players of the Middle Ages. William Wallace came to Dunfermline. Wallace’s mother died here. Edward I of England and his soldiers were unwelcome visitors here. King Robert the Bruce chose to be buried here. Medieval is the word used to describe the Middle Ages. Historians tell us that this period lasted from AD 400 to AD 1450 but this project is concerned mainly with the later years. How did people live in those days? Who were the important people? Why were the English and the Scots fighting? People had lived in Scotland for centuries. At the top of a hill at a place called Cairnpapple near Bathgate in West Lothian, we can see the graves of people who lived before Christ was born i.e. BC. They lived during what was called the Bronze Age. The Bronze Age ws followed by a period we call the Iron Age. Then in AD 2 the Romans came north as far as Falkirk and built the Antonine Wall. Scotland in those days was a land of many parts and different peoples. The scots ruled the west of the country having come from Ireland around AD 500. The lands of the Picts stretched north from the Scotswater, now the River Forth. The kingdoms were united under Kenneth macAlpine in AD 843 to become know first as Alba, and then as Scotland. Malcolm Canmore became the King of Scotland in 1058. In 1069-70 Malcolm Canmore married Margaret, the monastery was established here, and Dunfermline became a place of great importance. In Abernethy, in the North of Fife, there is a Round Tower of an Irish Celtic design and Historic Scotland’s information Board tells us that MALCOLM CANMORE AND WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR MET AT ABERNETHY IN 1072 POSSIBLY HERE. We all know that William the Conqueror invaded Britain in AD 1066 but did you know that he had visited Fife? <><><><><><> 3 THE FEUDAL SYSTEM The Feudal System can be compared to a triangle. The further down the triangle you go, the more people there were at each level. At the top was the King or Queen. The monarch was the most important person in the land and there was only one. The clergy was a group of people associated with the church, and was made up of priests and ministers. They came next in the triangle and held a lot of power, land and riches. Following the clergy were the nobles: the greater and lesser barons. They too were powerful people and had land and money. They were the king’s vassals and held the title of Earl. Most of the population were free tenants or serfs. They are at the bottom level of the triangle and they had little money and no land. KING OR QUEEN CLERGY GREATER AND LESSER BARONS FREE TENANTS SERFS <><><><><><> 4 THE LEVELS OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM The king had to be a strong ruler or he could be overthrown. He gave part of his kingdom to those people whom he felt he could trust and to those who had served him well in times of war. That was when he needed their help most. When war threatened, the king sent for these people. They were known as his vassals – the greater barons, the lords and the earls - and they could not refuse to come. They, in turn, brought their men with them. This meant that the king could gather an army at any time. All the men came fully armed and carried with them the food they would need for the campaign. There was an agreement that they must serve the king for up to forty days but, although the king couldn’t force them to stay longer, some undoubtedly did. The clergy were a powerful group of people. Often they were the second sons of land owners. The first son would be seen as the successor to his father’s title and lands. Second sons of such people are likely to have received some education usually from members of the clergy. They may have had to live away from home while they studied and so they formed friendships and alliances with other men like themselves. In the accounts of the lives of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, the clergy and bishops played an important role. Free tenants were said to be free because they were not slaves like the serfs. They could move about from one place to another. They rented land from the barons and worked for them. The money to pay the rent came from the produce of the land e.g. grain, cattle, sheep and poultry. A free tenant and the men he employed had to work on their master’s farm at certain times of the year . such as seed-time and harvest .His grain was ground at the baron’s mill but, in order to pay for this, the free tenant had to give some of his grain to his master. When the baron went to war, the free tenant had to go too, taking with him his own weapons and his own food. So he was not so free after all! When he was away from home it could be a hard and difficult time for both the free tenant and his family. Serfs were the lowest class and had the hardest lives. The lords and the clergy all had serfs. A serf and his family were slaves and could be bought and sold like cattle. They were not allowed to leave the land on which they had been born and they could not marry unless they had their lord’s permission. Serfs often tried to run away but, by law, they had to be sent back to their master if they were found. <><><><><><> 5 THE FEUDAL SYSTEM Cut out the groups of people and match them to their correct definitions. GREATER AND LESSER BARONS SERFS KING OR QUEEN FREE TENANTS CLERGY The least important people in the triangle. Religious people including priests and ministers. The person at the top of the Feudal System. People who have a certain amount of power and money. Those people who are directly above serfs in the Feudal System. <><><><><><> 6 BARONS The barons were the most important class in the Feudal System. When a baron received lands from the king he went down on his knees in the king’s presence, look the king’s hands, and swore an oath that he would be faithful to the king for the rest of his life. If there was not already a castle on the baron’s land, he would build one. It had to be very strong so that it could not be taken easily by an enemy. Often castles were built in a place which made it difficult for an enemy to attack e.g. on top of a hill, in the middle of a lake or in a bog. The baron lived in his castle with his family and his retainers. Retainers were the men who stayed close to the baron to protect him and serve him. Near the castle were hamlets where the people who worked on his land lived. It was from this land that the lord got food for himself and his household. The baron had various duties to perform e.g. when the king needed him for advice or in times of war. Then the baron had to put himself at the head of his retainers and march to wherever the king was. Every baron had a court on his land where criminals were tried. He had the right of pit and gallow. That means that the baron could drown women and hang men when they were found guilty of crimes that deserved the death penalty. However it was usual for the baron to employ a bailie who tried the people who were brought before the court. <><><><><><> 7 AMUSEMENTS FOR THE BARONS The baron did not have much business to look after he filled up his time with amusements. A writer, who lived in those times listed the amusements of a feudal baron as: hunting, fishing, fencing, jousting, bear baiting, playing chess, receiving guests, talking with ladies, holding court, keeping himself warm and watching the snow fall. Hunting This was the main amusement of the baron. It was exciting in those days because not only were there foxes, hares and rabbits to be killed, there were bigger, fiercer animals such as wolves and wild boar. Hawking Ladies took part in this sport too. They would watch with great interest as a trained falcon was released, soared upwards and then turned and swooped down to kill other birds and small animals. Tournaments A great amusement was the tournament or tourney. Because fighting was the chief occupation of the barons their main ambition was to be a brave and skilful warrior.