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THE BATTLE OF FLODDEN Friday September 9th, 1513 was a very black day for
Scotland. It was a day when Scotland lost a King and the flower of its
nobility. It plunged the country into a morass of uncertainty and rivalry
for the throne and left its government weak and ineffective, especially in
the Borders. In the summer or 1503, Princess Margaret, daughter
of King Henry VII of England married the Scottish King James IV in
Scotland. This union cemented a peace between the two countries. Even at
that time the wise and perceptive Henry of England could see that
eventually, a descendent of this marriage would rule both kingdoms and
bring stability to the whole island.
The Borders were a place in constant turmoil and not
under the full control of either the English or Scottish crowns. King
James determined to bring some kind of order to his side of the border and
he managed to keep it under control by harrying and hanging miscreants, as
did the English, but it was never a haven of peace and tranquillity. A darkening cloud Events such as the murder of the Scottish Middle
March Warden, Robert Kerr at a truce day in 1511 did nothing to aid
fraternal feelings. The end for any chance of peace between the two
kingdoms was the death of King Henry VII in 1509. He was succeeded by his
larger than life son, the famous Henry VIII, who certainly had no love for
Scotland or the Scots, despite his sister being married to the Scottish
king. Under Henry VIII of England, strife on the borders
was increasing and there were clashes between each countries respective
navy at sea. The main factor which lead directly to the Battle of Flodden,
was most likely the sharp increase in foraying by the English during
August 1513. Having had quite enough, the Scots retaliated and sent a
raiding force of their own into England. This force contained between
3,000 - 7,000 riders, the exact figures are unknown. The Scots gathered much plunder but the amount of it
made them slow getting back across the border into Scotland. This was to
prove fatal. They were ambushed by the English under Sir William Bulmer
and the Scots forces were decimated in the encounter. This raid later
became known as the 'Ill Raid' and brought matters between the two
countries to crisis point. Despite earnest counsel not to, King James of
Scotland crossed the border in late August with an army estimated to
contain between 60,000 - 100,000 men. He attacked and took English
strongholds, demolishing them in the process. England were fortunate that in this dark time there
came the man for the task, in the form of the Earl of Surrey, a skilled
fighter and hardened veteran. He was more than a match for King James IV
of Scotland, and despite being outnumbered, he managed to outgeneral the
Scottish monarch. The Earl of Surrey got behind the Scottish forces
encamped on Flodden Ridge, near the village of Branxton in Northumberland,
thus cutting off their direct line of retreat to Scotland.
Billhooks and pikes Flodden was the first battle where the armourer was
decisive to the outcome. The Scots pikes were not effective against the
English archers and the billhooks of the infantry. The English billhooks
were vicious weapons with a cleaving edge that lopped the tops off the
pikes and lances of the Scots. It turned them into nothing but poles,
useless for anything but prodding the enemy. Whilst the Scots pikes had
been devastating against the English at Bannockburn, technology had moved
on and the Scots had been left behind. During the battle the English
archers took a backseat to the billhooks of the infantry, a sign of
another change about to take place on future battlefields. The Scots were defeated and suffered a most grievous loss when King James IV of Scotland fell whilst fighting with his army. The kings bloodied and stripped body was later found on the field of battle by the Englishman, Lord Dacre - himself a March Warden, who was never forgiven by the Scots for that fact. In all around 10,000 Scotsmen fell at Flodden, including twelve earls, thirteen barons, five heirs to titles, three bishops and two abbots. The cream of Scotland's nobility had been wiped out at a stroke. It was a devastating blow from which Scotland was never truly to recover, but King Henry VII of England was to be proved right. A Scottish descendent of King James IV and his daughter Margaret did sit on a joint throne, in the form of King James the VI of Scotland and the I of England in 1603.
The flowers of the forest We'll hear
nae mair lilting at our ewe milking, The above pipe tune commemorates the Scots dead at Flodden
©Copyright - James of Glencarr |
