ABSTRACT
Froissart’s vivid descriptions of the discomforts of campaigning in Scotland and the absolute necessity of ensuring that the armies were properly supplied with victuals and all the other things needed provide the background to Edward I’s concern with using the naval resources of his kingdom to supply his forces in Scotland. In 1298, at the siege of Falkirk, the English army had almost starved for lack of supplies. Clearly, an army could not expect to live off the country in Scotland but must rely on all supplies being brought up from the south with transport by water being the most practical method. The succession to the throne of Scotland was then disputed among no fewer than 13 claimants. Edward I claimed feudal overlordship over Scotland and was called upon to arbitrate in the ‘Great Cause’, as it was known, in 1291.
