=18. The Scots in France.=--During the Regency the Scots did good service to their old allies of France, who were sorely pressed by the English. Henry the Fifth of England had conquered nearly all France, and had been proclaimed heir of the French king. A company of 700 Scots, led by _John Stewart, Earl of Buchan_, second son of Albany, went to the help of the French. They arrived safely in France, in spite of the careful watch upon the seas kept up by the English in order to prevent them. By their aid the French gained their first victory in this war at the battle of _Beaugé_ in 1421. Buchan was made _Constable_ of France. He was then sent back to Scotland on an embassy to seek the help of _Douglas_ on the part of the King of France. An alliance was made between them in 1423, and Douglas came to France, where the rich _Duchy of Touraine_ and many other lands were conferred upon him. But Douglas was slain not long after at the battle of _Verneuil_ in 1424. Most of the Scots fell with him, for the English refused them quarter, as Henry had James of Scotland in his camp, and he gave orders that all the Scots bearing arms on the French side should be looked upon as traitors fighting against their King. The remnant that were left were formed into a royal bodyguard, the beginning of the famous _Scots_ _Guard_ of the French kings. Archibald, Earl of Douglas, who fell at Verneuil, was called "_Tine-man_," or lose-man, because in every battle in which he took part he fought on the losing side. =19. Death of Albany.=--Albany died in 1419. His son _Murdoch_ succeeded him as Governor, but there is no record of his being confirmed in that office by the Estates. As he had not the talents of his father, he had no control over the barons. Every man was his own master, and the land was filled with violence. The obvious remedy was to bring home the King, and Douglas and some of the other nobles treated with the English government for his release. =20. Summary.=--Under the immediate successors of Robert the First, Scotland nearly lost all the advantages which he had won for her. The country was torn by civil strife; the kings were weak and useless; the nobles became so strong and overbearing that their power more than equalled that of the Crown, and they set at nought the King's authority. All social improvement was at a standstill. Still we find during this period the first stirrings of a desire for increase of knowledge and greater liberty of religious thought. Two events mark this: the burning of _John Reseby_, with his books, on a charge of heresy, at _Perth_ in 1408; and the opening of the first University in Scotland, founded at _St. Andrews_ by _Henry Wardlaw_, the bishop, in 1410. The history of Scotland was now first written by two natives of the country; _John of Fordun_, who wrote the "_Scotichronicon_," and _Andrew Wyntoun_, who wrote a metrical chronicle. CHAPTER V. THE JAMESES.