Par-delà le sang et la guerre : les enjeux de la conceptualisation diplomatique de l’Alliance franco-écossaise au Moyen Âge

Abstract

The history of the relationship between France and Scotland is deeply rooted in the unstable context of late medieval Europe. First drafted in the late 13th century, the yet-to-be Auld Alliance” was to stand for several centuries. Its heritage, overshadowed either by sentimentalism or harsh criticism, is still a matter for debate. This study aims at exploring this narrative and at pushing beyond the usual and restrictive boundaries of traditional warfare. By looking at the diplomatic sources that initially defined and shaped the Alliance, it appears that the Franco-Scottish league was serving more than one purpose, that its military aspects were inherently limited, and that its main ambition was probably not to crush the English might on conventional battlefields. The Alliance was built and promoted in the name of peace, as a public and international display of mutual love between Christian princes, involving their peoples and realms in the process. The Alliance proved to be a powerful tool of legitimacy for the kings of France and Scotland, as well as a political and highly symbolic apparatus aimed at mutually reinforcing the rightful stance of the allies against the cruel and ungodly claims of the English kings.