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Wall-Breakers and River-Bridgers: Military Engineers in the Scottish Wars of Edward I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 January 2014

A. Z. Freeman
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Extract

Welshmen and Scotsmen provoked their stronger neighbors of England in the late thirteenth century into wars that almost filled the reign of Edward I. Whether in keeping with “Manifest Destiny” or not, King Edward accepted the provocation of the Welsh and sent his troops into their land in an attempt to subjugate them; by a workmanlike series of campaigns he conquered and pacified them between 1277 and 1294. Then began an almost unbroken period of war against the Scots, a period lasting well beyond Edward's own death in 1307. By their persistence and by their tactics the Scots forced Edward and his people to a major effort, one that made every Englishman aware of his obligation, whether to fight, to feed the fighters, or to support the fighters with works.

For medieval soldiers, like their modern descendants, war was mostly a matter of working and waiting. Battles punctuated the wars, then as now, and at these times the combat troops spent their strength. During the long stretches between battles, however, support elements continued to supply the troops and put them into position to fight. The men in the armies of Edward I who kept the war going in this way and kept going themselves were the auxiliaries: the ditchers, woodcutters, smiths, carpenters, paymasters, provisioners, and the engineers. Important as they were in medieval warfare, the engineers have received little credit for it. Their work, bridging, building fortifications, and operating artillery, rarely rates a description in a chronicle and they receive little notice in secondary works.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of British Studies , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , May 1971 , pp. 1 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © North American Conference of British Studies 1971

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References

1. T. F. Tout provides the best starting place for this subject in his Chapters in Mediaeval Administrative History (Manchester, 1920–1933), vols. I, II, passimGoogle Scholar. Sir James H. Ramsay has also treated the topic, as part of the general history of the Scottish wars, in his Dawn of the Constitution (Oxford, 1908)Google Scholar. J. E. Morris has provided the best view of auxiliaries in the field, but his interest lay in Wales, so while the system of use and procurement was similar to that in Scotland, the evidence is not direct. Morris, J. E., The Welsh Wars of Edward the First (Oxford, 1901)Google Scholar.

2. Perhaps we should think of these documents as did C. R. Cheney when he said, “Records, like the little children of long ago, only speak when they are spoken to, and they will not talk to strangers.” Cheyney, C. R., The Records of Medieval England: An Inaugural Lecture (Cambridge, 1956), p. 11Google Scholar. These reticent but responsive children are extraordinarily numerous. After the great efforts of the 17th and 18th century antiquaries, the nationalistic compilations of the 19th century added to the valuable pile of records, and by now the number of parchment progeny is vast. The period under discussion is particularly rich in records, partly because the offices whose activity they document expanded their operations, at the same time becoming more nearly public offices than they had been before. The result of this early expression of Parkinson's Law is happy for the medievalist trying to learn the details of military engineers. Now gathered from various unsafe resting places like the Tower of London and many a noble muniment room, the records are safe and available at the Public Record Office and the British Museum.

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31. Ibid.

32. Ibid.

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34. Ibid.

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37. Ibid.

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