The Thistle and the Rose: Scotland's Auld Alliance

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Auld Alliance, the enduring bond between Scotland and France that shaped both kingdoms for nearly three centuries. Beginning with the Treaty of Paris in 1295, sealed by John Balliol and Philip IV, they trace its evolution through the Hundred Years' War, where Scottish soldiers fought alongside Joan of Arc at Orleans and helped secure French victories. The alliance was personal as much as political: royal marriages linked the Stuart and Valois dynasties, and Mary Queen of Scots' childhood at the French court made her more French than Scottish, a fact that would later haunt her reign. But the alliance had its costs. The Scots' loyalty to France dragged them into disastrous conflicts, including the Battle of Flodden in 1513, where James IV and much of Scotland's nobility perished fighting for the French cause. The partnership also fueled English paranoia, leading to the Rough Wooing and the eventual union of the crowns. Through treaties, battles, and marriages, Lucas and Luna reveal how the Auld Alliance was not just a diplomatic formality but a lived reality — a web of family ties, cultural exchanges, and mutual defense pacts that finally crumbled in the sixteenth century, leaving only the name and the memory. #AuldAlliance #TreatyOfParis #JohnBalliol #MaryQueenOfScots #BattleOfFlodden #StuartDynasty #ValoisDynasty #HundredYearsWar #JoanOfArc #RoughWooing #ScotsGuard #FrenchCourt #ScottishHistory #FrenchHistory #MedievalDiplomacy #RoyalMarriage #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo