When Robert II came to the throne in 1371, relations between Scotland and England were comparatively tranquil. Although substantial parts of southern Scotland remained occupied by English forces – a legacy of the Second Wars of Independence (1332- c.56) – the two kingdoms were at peace thanks to an ongoing truce, and the new king was keen to maintain this détente. By the later 1370s, however, conflict was gradually re-emerging. In large part, this was the work not of King Robert, but of powerful nobles on the Anglo-Scottish border, particularly the formidable Douglas family, which took advantage of the political
