VALENCE, Aymer de
Eventual second Earl of Pembroke, de Valence was related to the French royal house and was one of the Lords Ordainers who attempted to curb the power of Edward II and Gaveston. At this time he was the young, thrusting commander (knighted only in 1297) and trusted by Edward I with control of the English army in Scotland.
WALLACE, William
The legend who led Scottish forces to victory at Stirling Bridge and defeat at Falkirk was forced to relinquish his Guardianship and eventually betrayed to the English. Described as a ‘chief of brigands’ at the time of the rebellion, he was barely of the nobility of Scotland and accepted by them unwillingly and only while he was winning. He was, however, the only one of them all who never gave in, or changed sides. The arguments regarding his prowess continue – there is, even allowing for hero-worship, enough evidence to show his personal fighting skills, though historians disagree on his expertise with commanding large bodies of men, claiming Moray was the one with this (being a noble born and so trained to it). They offer as proof of this, the glorious victory of Stirling Bridge with Moray present, and the disaster at Falkirk, organized by Wallace alone. This seems dubious to me – if nothing else, what few documents we have reveal Wallace as a man who, if not skilled in diplomacy and dealing with foreign interests, had the wit to surround himself with those who did. Similarly, he would not be short of experts in the grand tactics of the age – but no battle ever goes to plan. If you look closely at the battle at Falkirk, it becomes clear that even the victor, King Edward 1, greatest warrior general in Christendom, badly mismanaged the affair himself and almost lost control of his knights. Ironically, of course, it was Wallace’s own brigand tactics that became the norm for Scottish armies too small and weak to oppose their neighbour’s forces – hit and run, almost all the way down to Bannockburn. However, the one glaring flaw in the Wallace character is also the one which made him great – the undying obsession with putting John Balliol back on the throne and a refusal to admit when that cause was lost.
WISHART, Robert, Bishop of Glasgow
One of the original Guardians of Scotland following the death of King Alexander III – and partly responsible for inviting Edward I to preside over subsequent proceedings – Bishop Wishart became the engine of rebellion and a staunch supporter of first Wallace, then Bruce. He and Lamberton, Bishop of St Andrews, were instrumental in bringing support to Bruce. The bishops’ reasons for rebelling were simple – the Scottish church was responsible only to the Pope, who appointed all their senior prelates; they did not want the English version, where the King performed that function, and could only maintain that difference if Scotland remained a distinct and separate realm.
GLOSSARY
ALAUNT
Large, short-coated hunting dog of the mastiff type, used for bringing down large game.
AVENTAIL
Neck guard on a helmet, usually made from MAILLE.
BABERY
Term for any ape, but applied to the carvings on the eaves of churches – which were wonderful confections of people, beasts and mythology – apes featured prominently, frequently wearing the garb of bishops and priests as a sly joke by masons.
BACHLE
Untidy, shabby or clumsy. Can be used to describe bad workmanship, a slouching walk, or simply to insult someone as useless and more. Still in use, though more usually spelled bauchle.
BARBETTE
Women’s clothing – a cloth chin strap to hide the neck and chin, to which was attached a variety of headgear, most commonly the little round hat known then as a turret and nowadays as a pillbox. Compulsory for married women in public and still seen on nuns today.
BASCINET
Open-faced steel helm, sometimes covering down to the ears. The medieval knight or man-at-arms usually wore, in order from inside out – a padded arming cap, a COIF of MAILLE, a bascinet and, finally, the full-faced metal helmet, or HEAUME.
BATTUE
A hunt organized as if it was a mêlée at a TOURNEY, usually involving indiscriminate slaughter of beasts driven into an ambush.
BLACK-AFFRONTED
Ashamed. A Scots term still in use today and probably derived from the act of covering your heraldic shield (affronty is a heraldic term) in order not to be recognized. Scots knights did this as they fled from Methven, in order not to be subsequently accused of being supporters of Bruce.
BLIAUT
An overtunic worn by noble women and men from the 11th to the 13th century, notable for the excessively long drape of sleeve from the elbow in women, from mid forearm on the male version.
BRAIES
Linen, knee-length drawers, as worn by every male in the Middle Ages. Women had no true undergarments, though ‘small clothes’ were sometimes worn by gentlewomen.