Battle of Dupplin Moor
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between supporters of the infant David II
, the son of Robert the Bruce, and rebels supporting the Balliol
claim in 1332. It was a significant battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence
.
in 1329 left Scotland with a four-year-old king, David II
(1329–1371). His right to the throne was far from absolute, and in the early 1330s was challenged by Edward Balliol
, son of John Balliol
. The rebels were known as 'The Disinherited', since they lost their land as a consequence of the Battle of Bannockburn
.
In the winter of 1331, in response to the urgings of Henry Beaumont, chief among the disinherited, Balliol left his home in France and came to England, where he settled in Standal Manor in Yorkshire. Beaumont then visited Edward III, the young English king. The purpose of the meeting was recorded in the Brut Chronicle: "So came Sir Henry of Beaumont to Kyng Edward of Engeland and praiede him, in way of charitie, that he wolde grant of his grace unto Sir Edward Balliol that he moste safliche gone bi land from Sandall for to conquere his ritz heritage in Scotland." Edward agreed to let him go, but by sea, not land.
By the summer of 1332 all of the preparations for the expedition were complete. The size of the force assembled by Balliol and Beaumont cannot be established with any real accuracy, but the sources all agree that it was fairly modest: the Bridlington Chronicle suggests a figure of 500 men-at-arms and 1000 foot; Henry Knighton, prone on occasions to wild exaggeration, puts forward a figure of 300 men-at-arms and 3000 foot; while the Lanercost Chronicle, probably the most reliable, suggests a total force in the region of 1500 to 2800. All agree that by far the largest proportion of the footmen were archers, armed with the longbow
. By mid July Balliol's little armada of some 88 ships waited for the right moment to sail. It came with the news that Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, the guardian of the infant David, had died suddenly on 20 July.
ports to Kinghorn
in Fife
to get round the terms of the Treaty of Northampton that did not permit English forces to cross the Tweed. From Kinghorn they marched to Dunfermline
and then on towards Perth
. On 10 August they camped at Forteviot, just south of the River Earn, a few miles short of their objective. To the north of the river Donald, Earl of Mar
, the new regent, had taken up position with a much stronger force on the heights of Dupplin Moor. The disinherited now faced one Scottish army to their front with another commanded by Patrick Earl of Dunbar
fast approaching from the rear.
In view of their predicament it comes as no surprise that morale in Balliol's camp began to sink. According to Thomas Gray, the disinherited lords were so dismayed by the size of Mar's army that they accused Henry Beaumont of having betrayed them with false promises of Scottish support for Balliol. But Beaumont, the most experienced soldier on either side, reacted to this dangerous situation with coolness and precision. It was obvious that they could not wait for Dunbar to link up with Mar. He decided to risk crossing the Earn at night, and launching a surprise attack on the enemy.
On the opposite bank of the river the Scots had a clear view of Balliol's small army. Mar was so confident of his strength and the superiority of his position that he did not even bother to set a watch, and his army settled down on the night of 10 August, relaxed enough to spend much of the time drinking, convinced of an easy victory the following day. At midnight, unobserved by the carousing Scots, Sir Alexander Mowbray led a picked force across a nearby ford shown to him by the sole traitor from the Scottish camp, one Murray of Tullibardine.
After crossing the ford Mowbray climbed up the rising ground towards Gask, where he immediately attacked the slumbering Scottish camp followers, in the mistaken belief that he had encountered Mar's host. He learned his mistake by daybreak on 11 August; but by that time the rest of the army had safely crossed the Earn and taken up a strong defensive position on some high ground at the head of a narrow valley. Mar had been outflanked. Learning of the rapid approach of the main Scots force, Balliol's army was ordered to form a line, with the archers projecting outwards on both flanks and the men-at-arms in the centre, the whole formation resembling a quarter moon. All were dismounted, save for a small group of Germans to the rear. Beaumont now made ready to employ tactics that had been demonstrated in outline at Boroughbridge
ten years before, which in their fully evolved form were to allow the English to dominate the battlefields of Britain and western Europe for the next hundred years.
The Scots were angry that their enemy had been allowed to carry out so simple a manoeuvre under their noses. Lord Robert Bruce
, the illegitimate son of the late king, made no secret of his conviction that Mar's incompetence was evidence of treachery. Mar denied this, and like the Earl of Gloucester
at Bannockburn, resolved to be the first into battle. Lord Robert claimed this honour for himself and both charged off to destruction, followed by their disorganised schiltron
s, all semblance of generalship gone. Bruce and Mar's wild charge was met by great clouds of arrows, which fell in rapid succession on the Scottish flanks. Each bowman was so skilled, and could fire at such speed, that he had several arrows in the air at one time. The badly armoured Scots with their unvizored helmets had no protection against the repeated volleys. Bruce's battalion, pushing through the storm of missiles, was the first to make contact with the enemy centre, forcing Beaumont and the men-at-arms to yield some ground. But the arrow fire was so unrelenting and fierce that his flanks converged towards the middle, as if seeking shelter from a storm. The front units were pushed forward on to Beaumont's spears. Retreat or redeployment was made impossible by the arrival of Mar's schiltron, charging down the narrow glen, and straight into the rear of Lord Robert's men. The crush was so great that many fell never to rise again. The chronicler and historian John Capgrave describes the carnage at Dupplin thus;
The bodies of the Scots were piled so high above each other that it is said they reached the height of a spear. The English surrounded the bloody heap, thrusting in their swords and spears, so that no one could be taken out alive. Scots losses were heavy: Mar and Bruce were both killed, as was Thomas Randolph, 2nd Earl of Moray
, Murdoch III, Earl of Menteith and Alexander Fraser, the High Chamberlain
. Ironically the King's Marischal, Sir Robert Keith, who scattered Edward II
's archers at Bannockburn, was also among the slain. The exact number of the dead is unknown, but estimates range from a low of 2000 to a high of 13000. English losses were light, amounting to no more than thirty-three knights and men-at-arms. The Earl of Fife
tried to lead the survivors of Mar's shattered army on an orderly retreat; but this turned into a rout after Beaumont and others took to horse, charging off in pursuit. Many who escaped the carnage inflicted by the archers were cut down by the cavalry.
A stone cross
, now in St. Serf's Church in Dunning, once marked the traditional site of the battle, although there is no strong reason to locate the battle there.
, 34 years before, far exceeding the setback at Methven
. The losses were heavy, but they could be made good, and Dunbar's army, probably as strong as Mar's, was still in the field. However, the worst casualty of all was the national confidence that had grown from the successive victories of King Robert Bruce
, which had produced an illusory sense of invulnerability. Once again the nation had tasted serious defeat, and the effect it had on morale surely explains Dunbar's reluctance to engage Balliol's tired little army in battle. In his classic study, The History of War in the Middle Ages, Sir Charles Oman says of Dupplin: "The Battle of Dupplin forms a turning point in the history of Scottish wars. For the future the English always adopted the order of battle which Balliol and Beaumont had discovered. It was the first in a long series of battles won by a combination of archers and dismounted men-at-arms".
. But dangerously isolated in a hostile country he moved his forces south to the old Balliol patrimony in Galloway
, the only part of Scotland that showed any kind of support for the new king. In December at Annan
he was surprised by a party of Bruce loyalists and chased half-dressed across the English border. Any future attempt to recover his throne would have to be with the open support of the English king.
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
, the son of Robert the Bruce, and rebels supporting the Balliol
House of Balliol
The House of Balliol was a Picard and Anglo-Norman family who began to rule some estates in England in the reign of William Rufus. In the late 13th and 14th centuries, two members of the house were kings of Scotland....
claim in 1332. It was a significant battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence
Second War of Scottish Independence
The Second War of Scottish Independence was the second cluster of a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries....
.
Background
The death of Robert IRobert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
in 1329 left Scotland with a four-year-old king, David II
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
(1329–1371). His right to the throne was far from absolute, and in the early 1330s was challenged by Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol was a claimant to the Scottish throne . With English help, he briefly ruled the country from 1332 to 1336.-Life:...
, son of John Balliol
John of Scotland
John Balliol , known to the Scots as Toom Tabard , was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296.-Early life:Little of John's early life is known. He was born between 1248 and 1250 at an unknown location, possibilities include Galloway, Picardy and Barnard Castle, County Durham...
. The rebels were known as 'The Disinherited', since they lost their land as a consequence of the Battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...
.
In the winter of 1331, in response to the urgings of Henry Beaumont, chief among the disinherited, Balliol left his home in France and came to England, where he settled in Standal Manor in Yorkshire. Beaumont then visited Edward III, the young English king. The purpose of the meeting was recorded in the Brut Chronicle: "So came Sir Henry of Beaumont to Kyng Edward of Engeland and praiede him, in way of charitie, that he wolde grant of his grace unto Sir Edward Balliol that he moste safliche gone bi land from Sandall for to conquere his ritz heritage in Scotland." Edward agreed to let him go, but by sea, not land.
By the summer of 1332 all of the preparations for the expedition were complete. The size of the force assembled by Balliol and Beaumont cannot be established with any real accuracy, but the sources all agree that it was fairly modest: the Bridlington Chronicle suggests a figure of 500 men-at-arms and 1000 foot; Henry Knighton, prone on occasions to wild exaggeration, puts forward a figure of 300 men-at-arms and 3000 foot; while the Lanercost Chronicle, probably the most reliable, suggests a total force in the region of 1500 to 2800. All agree that by far the largest proportion of the footmen were archers, armed with the longbow
Longbow
A longbow is a type of bow that is tall ; this will allow its user a fairly long draw, at least to the jaw....
. By mid July Balliol's little armada of some 88 ships waited for the right moment to sail. It came with the news that Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, the guardian of the infant David, had died suddenly on 20 July.
Battle
The rebels and their English allies sailed on 31 July from several YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
ports to Kinghorn
Kinghorn
Kinghorn is a town in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth opposite Edinburgh...
in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
to get round the terms of the Treaty of Northampton that did not permit English forces to cross the Tweed. From Kinghorn they marched to Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
and then on towards Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
. On 10 August they camped at Forteviot, just south of the River Earn, a few miles short of their objective. To the north of the river Donald, Earl of Mar
Earl of Mar
The Mormaer or Earl of Mar is a title that has been created seven times, all in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation of the earldom was originally the provincial ruler of the province of Mar in north-eastern Scotland...
, the new regent, had taken up position with a much stronger force on the heights of Dupplin Moor. The disinherited now faced one Scottish army to their front with another commanded by Patrick Earl of Dunbar
Earl of Dunbar
The title Earl of Dunbar, also called Earl of Lothian or Earl of March, was the head of a comital lordship in south-eastern Scotland between the early 12th century and the early 15th century. The first man to use the title of Earl in this earldom was Gospatric II, Earl of Lothian, son of Gospatric,...
fast approaching from the rear.
In view of their predicament it comes as no surprise that morale in Balliol's camp began to sink. According to Thomas Gray, the disinherited lords were so dismayed by the size of Mar's army that they accused Henry Beaumont of having betrayed them with false promises of Scottish support for Balliol. But Beaumont, the most experienced soldier on either side, reacted to this dangerous situation with coolness and precision. It was obvious that they could not wait for Dunbar to link up with Mar. He decided to risk crossing the Earn at night, and launching a surprise attack on the enemy.
On the opposite bank of the river the Scots had a clear view of Balliol's small army. Mar was so confident of his strength and the superiority of his position that he did not even bother to set a watch, and his army settled down on the night of 10 August, relaxed enough to spend much of the time drinking, convinced of an easy victory the following day. At midnight, unobserved by the carousing Scots, Sir Alexander Mowbray led a picked force across a nearby ford shown to him by the sole traitor from the Scottish camp, one Murray of Tullibardine.
After crossing the ford Mowbray climbed up the rising ground towards Gask, where he immediately attacked the slumbering Scottish camp followers, in the mistaken belief that he had encountered Mar's host. He learned his mistake by daybreak on 11 August; but by that time the rest of the army had safely crossed the Earn and taken up a strong defensive position on some high ground at the head of a narrow valley. Mar had been outflanked. Learning of the rapid approach of the main Scots force, Balliol's army was ordered to form a line, with the archers projecting outwards on both flanks and the men-at-arms in the centre, the whole formation resembling a quarter moon. All were dismounted, save for a small group of Germans to the rear. Beaumont now made ready to employ tactics that had been demonstrated in outline at Boroughbridge
Battle of Boroughbridge
The Battle of Boroughbridge was a battle fought on 16 March 1322 between a group of rebellious barons and King Edward II of England, near Boroughbridge, northwest of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the king and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, his most powerful subject, it...
ten years before, which in their fully evolved form were to allow the English to dominate the battlefields of Britain and western Europe for the next hundred years.
The Scots were angry that their enemy had been allowed to carry out so simple a manoeuvre under their noses. Lord Robert Bruce
Robert Bruce (bastard)
Lord Robert Bruce was an illegitimate son of King Robert I of Scotland and an unknown mother. His father made him Lord of Liddesdale...
, the illegitimate son of the late king, made no secret of his conviction that Mar's incompetence was evidence of treachery. Mar denied this, and like the Earl of Gloucester
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester.-Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation :...
at Bannockburn, resolved to be the first into battle. Lord Robert claimed this honour for himself and both charged off to destruction, followed by their disorganised schiltron
Schiltron
A sheltron is a compact body of troops forming a battle array, shield wall or phalanx....
s, all semblance of generalship gone. Bruce and Mar's wild charge was met by great clouds of arrows, which fell in rapid succession on the Scottish flanks. Each bowman was so skilled, and could fire at such speed, that he had several arrows in the air at one time. The badly armoured Scots with their unvizored helmets had no protection against the repeated volleys. Bruce's battalion, pushing through the storm of missiles, was the first to make contact with the enemy centre, forcing Beaumont and the men-at-arms to yield some ground. But the arrow fire was so unrelenting and fierce that his flanks converged towards the middle, as if seeking shelter from a storm. The front units were pushed forward on to Beaumont's spears. Retreat or redeployment was made impossible by the arrival of Mar's schiltron, charging down the narrow glen, and straight into the rear of Lord Robert's men. The crush was so great that many fell never to rise again. The chronicler and historian John Capgrave describes the carnage at Dupplin thus;
The bodies of the Scots were piled so high above each other that it is said they reached the height of a spear. The English surrounded the bloody heap, thrusting in their swords and spears, so that no one could be taken out alive. Scots losses were heavy: Mar and Bruce were both killed, as was Thomas Randolph, 2nd Earl of Moray
Thomas Randolph, 2nd Earl of Moray
Thomas Randolph, 2nd Earl of Moray , a Scottish military commander, held his title for just 23 days.The son of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, a companion-in-arms of King Robert the Bruce, he succeeded his father on July 20, 1332....
, Murdoch III, Earl of Menteith and Alexander Fraser, the High Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
. Ironically the King's Marischal, Sir Robert Keith, who scattered Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
's archers at Bannockburn, was also among the slain. The exact number of the dead is unknown, but estimates range from a low of 2000 to a high of 13000. English losses were light, amounting to no more than thirty-three knights and men-at-arms. The Earl of Fife
Donnchadh IV, Earl of Fife
Donnchadh IV, Earl of Fife [Duncan IV] was sometime Guardian of Scotland, and ruled Fife until his death. He was the last of the native Scottish rulers of that province....
tried to lead the survivors of Mar's shattered army on an orderly retreat; but this turned into a rout after Beaumont and others took to horse, charging off in pursuit. Many who escaped the carnage inflicted by the archers were cut down by the cavalry.
A stone cross
Dupplin Cross
The Dupplin Cross is a carved, monumental Pictish stone, which dates from around 800A.D. It was first recorded by Thomas Pennant in 1769, on a hillside in Strathearn, a little to the north Forteviot and Dunning...
, now in St. Serf's Church in Dunning, once marked the traditional site of the battle, although there is no strong reason to locate the battle there.
Outcome
The Battle of Dupplin Moor was the worst Scottish defeat since the Battle of FalkirkBattle of Falkirk (1298)
The Battle of Falkirk, which took place on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence...
, 34 years before, far exceeding the setback at Methven
Battle of Methven
The Battle of Methven took place at Methven in Scotland in 1306, during the Wars of Scottish Independence.-Comyn's Death:In February 1306, Robert Bruce and a small party of his followers killed John Comyn, also known as the Red Comyn, before the high altar of the Greyfriars Church in Dumfries...
. The losses were heavy, but they could be made good, and Dunbar's army, probably as strong as Mar's, was still in the field. However, the worst casualty of all was the national confidence that had grown from the successive victories of King Robert Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
, which had produced an illusory sense of invulnerability. Once again the nation had tasted serious defeat, and the effect it had on morale surely explains Dunbar's reluctance to engage Balliol's tired little army in battle. In his classic study, The History of War in the Middle Ages, Sir Charles Oman says of Dupplin: "The Battle of Dupplin forms a turning point in the history of Scottish wars. For the future the English always adopted the order of battle which Balliol and Beaumont had discovered. It was the first in a long series of battles won by a combination of archers and dismounted men-at-arms".
Aftermath
A few weeks after the battle Edward Balliol was crowned king at SconeScone, Scotland
Scone is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The medieval village of Scone, which grew up around the monastery and royal residence, was abandoned in the early 19th century when the residents were removed and a new palace was built on the site by the Earl of Mansfield...
. But dangerously isolated in a hostile country he moved his forces south to the old Balliol patrimony in Galloway
Galloway
Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...
, the only part of Scotland that showed any kind of support for the new king. In December at Annan
Battle of Annan
The Battle of Annan, known in the sources as the Camisade of Annan took place on December 16, 1332. It took place at Annan, Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. In it the Bruce loyalist supporters of King David II of Scotland surprised Edward Balliol and his supporters while they were in bed, and...
he was surprised by a party of Bruce loyalists and chased half-dressed across the English border. Any future attempt to recover his throne would have to be with the open support of the English king.