The Barons' Letter

in reply to the Pope, February 1301

I have chosen this to complement the work on the four rolls of the Scottish Campaign. There will be biographies of those who sealed, with heraldic references to other parts of the site.

Following their defeat at the Battle of Falkirk, 22 July 1298, the Scots addressed a letter to Pope Boniface VIII, attempting to persuade him that Edward had no right of superiority over the Scottish king. The Pope sent a letter to Edward from Agnani, dated 27 June 1299, almost a year later. In it, following advice from the French, he claimed the feudal superiority of Scotland for himself. The letter was entrusted to Robert Winchelsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, who gave it to Edward at Sweetheart Abbey, shortly after the siege of Caerlaverock, on about 26th August 1300. At a Parliament summoned by Edward at Lincoln on 13th - 20th January 1301, the letter was composed and sealed, but not sent, probably because the Pope's attention had been diverted elsewhere and Edward had consequently decided to ignore the problem.

Seven earls and sixty five barons sealed the letter, which is now in the Public Record Office.

The links are to the seal, a biographical note, and references to early rolls, where applicable.