Border Bloodshed: Scotland, England and France at War, 1369 1403

Alastair J. MacDonald is a professor of history at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

Detailing Scotland’s military offensives against England as largely the product of government policy, this account contends that the initiative launched with careful timing, and, when Robert II was king, involved close cooperation with France. The analysis of the three countries’ foreign sentiments illustrates that war was not solely fought with political or financial objectives in mind, but that the hatred of the English, the search for renown, and the sheer enjoyment of fighting also inspired the Scots to launch the brutal and ultimately futile offensives against England.