Ph.D. St. Andrews University. Lover of Medieval History. Have published two monographs: The Lion, the Lily, and the Leopard: The Crown and Nobility of Scotland, France and England and the Struggle for Power (1100-1204) and Scotland after the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1296: Auld Amitie
The Lion, the Lily, and the Leopard examines the relationship between the three kingdoms of Scotl... more The Lion, the Lily, and the Leopard examines the relationship between the three kingdoms of Scotland, France, and England from c. 1100 until the crown of England lost Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine in 1204. Diplomatic and political relations are unique in the twelfth century because the three kingdoms were united by a ruling class that spanned the Channel. This aristocratic, Anglo-French structure beginning with the Norman invasion in 1066 disrupted and delayed the development of a unitary national identity within each of the three kingdoms. Men and women identified themselves with more than one royal overlord as long as they held fees of multiple kings and as such national identity was a moveable feast. This situation created a complex political web that often damaged consistent loyalty to any one king or overlord as each member of a kingroup changed alliances based on territorial threats and on the interests of their familial networks.
This monograph focuses in particular on the effect that political machinations in Western France had on the Anglo-French nobility spanning the Channel particularly during periods of increased animosities between the three crowns. Alliances formed between families in the Anglo-French realm had a significant impact on political decision-making in Scotland because of this structure that spanned the Channel to which the Anglo-French Scots were intimately bound. Families in Scotland who seemed to be far from the Anglo-French court were pulled into the Anglo-French conflict, mainly because of loyalties to extended kin groups in England and Normandy, which in turn affected the king of Scots’ agenda with the other two crowns. Even more importantly, this work dispels the prevailing myth that the Anglo-French who settled in Scotland did not see themselves as part of this cross-Channel world and that they were for all intense purposes ‘Scots’.
... He did homage to King Philip Augustus of France for Brittany, Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poit... more ... He did homage to King Philip Augustus of France for Brittany, Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poitou in 1202 only a few weeks before he was captured and probably murdered by his uncle.122 Arthur's role as count of Anjou and Maine is evident from the moment he began issuing ...
The Lion, the Lily, and the Leopard examines the relationship between the three kingdoms of Scotl... more The Lion, the Lily, and the Leopard examines the relationship between the three kingdoms of Scotland, France, and England from c. 1100 until the crown of England lost Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine in 1204. Diplomatic and political relations are unique in the twelfth century because the three kingdoms were united by a ruling class that spanned the Channel. This aristocratic, Anglo-French structure beginning with the Norman invasion in 1066 disrupted and delayed the development of a unitary national identity within each of the three kingdoms. Men and women identified themselves with more than one royal overlord as long as they held fees of multiple kings and as such national identity was a moveable feast. This situation created a complex political web that often damaged consistent loyalty to any one king or overlord as each member of a kingroup changed alliances based on territorial threats and on the interests of their familial networks.
This monograph focuses in particular on the effect that political machinations in Western France had on the Anglo-French nobility spanning the Channel particularly during periods of increased animosities between the three crowns. Alliances formed between families in the Anglo-French realm had a significant impact on political decision-making in Scotland because of this structure that spanned the Channel to which the Anglo-French Scots were intimately bound. Families in Scotland who seemed to be far from the Anglo-French court were pulled into the Anglo-French conflict, mainly because of loyalties to extended kin groups in England and Normandy, which in turn affected the king of Scots’ agenda with the other two crowns. Even more importantly, this work dispels the prevailing myth that the Anglo-French who settled in Scotland did not see themselves as part of this cross-Channel world and that they were for all intense purposes ‘Scots’.
... He did homage to King Philip Augustus of France for Brittany, Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poit... more ... He did homage to King Philip Augustus of France for Brittany, Anjou, Maine, Touraine and Poitou in 1202 only a few weeks before he was captured and probably murdered by his uncle.122 Arthur's role as count of Anjou and Maine is evident from the moment he began issuing ...
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Books by Melissa Pollock
This monograph focuses in particular on the effect that political machinations in Western France had on the Anglo-French nobility spanning the Channel particularly during periods of increased animosities between the three crowns. Alliances formed between families in the Anglo-French realm had a significant impact on political decision-making in Scotland because of this structure that spanned the Channel to which the Anglo-French Scots were intimately bound. Families in Scotland who seemed to be far from the Anglo-French court were pulled into the Anglo-French conflict, mainly because of loyalties to extended kin groups in England and Normandy, which in turn affected the king of Scots’ agenda with the other two crowns. Even more importantly, this work dispels the prevailing myth that the Anglo-French who settled in Scotland did not see themselves as part of this cross-Channel world and that they were for all intense purposes ‘Scots’.
Papers by Melissa Pollock
This monograph focuses in particular on the effect that political machinations in Western France had on the Anglo-French nobility spanning the Channel particularly during periods of increased animosities between the three crowns. Alliances formed between families in the Anglo-French realm had a significant impact on political decision-making in Scotland because of this structure that spanned the Channel to which the Anglo-French Scots were intimately bound. Families in Scotland who seemed to be far from the Anglo-French court were pulled into the Anglo-French conflict, mainly because of loyalties to extended kin groups in England and Normandy, which in turn affected the king of Scots’ agenda with the other two crowns. Even more importantly, this work dispels the prevailing myth that the Anglo-French who settled in Scotland did not see themselves as part of this cross-Channel world and that they were for all intense purposes ‘Scots’.