Battle of Flodden Field
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland
in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots
army under King James IV
and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey. It ended in victory for the English army, and was the largest battle (in terms of numbers) fought between the two nations.
with France by diverting Henry VIII
's English troops from their campaign against the French king Louis XII
. Henry VIII had also opened old wounds by claiming to be the overlord of Scotland which angered the Scots and the King. At this time England was involved in the War of the League of Cambrai
– defending Italy and the Pope
from the French (see Italian Wars
) as a member of the "Catholic League".
Pope Leo X
, already a signatory to the anti-French treaty of Mechlin, sent a letter to James threatening him with ecclesiastical censure for breaking his peace treaties with England on 28 June 1513, and subsequently James was excommunicated
by Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge
. James also summoned sailors and sent the Scottish navy, including the Great Michael to join the ships of Louis XII of France.
Henry was in France with the Emperor Maximilian
at the siege of Thérouanne
. Catherine of Aragon
was Regent in England and, on 27 August she issued warrants for the property of all Scotsmen in England to be seized.
of the Scottish East March who had been killed by John "The Bastard" Heron in 1508, James invaded England with an army of about 30,000 men in 1513. In keeping with his understanding of the medieval code of chivalry
, King James sent notice to the English, one month in advance, of his intent to invade. This gave the English time to gather an army and, as importantly, to retrieve the banner of Saint Cuthbert
from the Cathedral of Durham
, a banner which had been carried by the English in victories against the Scots in 1138 and 1346. After a muster on the Burgh Muir
of Edinburgh, the Scottish host moved to Ellemford, to the north of Duns
, and camped to wait for Angus
and Home
, and then crossed the River Tweed
near Coldstream
. By the 29 August, Norham Castle
was taken and partly demolished. The Scots moved south capturing the castles of Etal
and Ford
. A later chronicler, Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
, tells the story that James wasted valuable time at Ford enjoying the company of Lady Heron and her daughter.
, in the county
of Northumberland
, rather than at Flodden — hence the alternative name is Battle of Branxton. The Scots had previously been stationed at Flodden Edge, to the south of Branxton. The Earl of Surrey, writing at Wooler
Haugh on Wednesday 7 September, compared this position to a fortress in his challenge sent to James IV by Thomas Hawley
, the Rouge Croix Pursuivant. He complained that James had sent his Islay Herald
agreeing that they would join in battle on Friday between 12.00 and 3.00 pm, and asked that James would face him on the plain at Milfield
as appointed.
Next, Surrey moved to block off the Scots' route north and so James was forced to move his army and artillery 2 miles to Branxton Hill. The Scottish artillery included; 5 great curtals; 2 great culverin
s; 4 saker
s; and 6 great serpentines. When the armies were within 3 miles of each other Surrey sent the Rouge Croix pursuivant to James who answered that he would wait till noon. At 11 o'clock Lord Howard's vanguard and artillery crossed the Twissell Bridge. (Pitscottie says the king would not allow the Scots artillery to fire on the vulnerable English during this manouevre.) The Scots army was in good order in 5 formations, after the Almain (German) manner. On Friday afternoon the Scots host descended without speaking any word to meet the English.
According to English report, first the groups commanded by the Earls of Huntly
and Crawford
totalling 6000 men engaged Lord Howard and were repulsed and mostly slain. Baron Dacre's
company fought Huntly and the Chamberlain
Lord Home's men. Then James IV himself leading a great force came on to Surrey and Lord Darcy
's son who bore the brunt of the battle. Lennox and Argyll's commands were met by Sir Edward Stanley.
_-_2004-feb-06_-_looking_sse_from_the_monument.jpg)
After the artillery fire ended, according to the English chronicler Edward Hall
, "the battle was cruel, none spared other, and the King himself fought valiantly." James was killed within a spear length from Surrey and his body taken to Berwick upon Tweed. Hall says the King was fatally wounded by an arrow and a bill. The Earl of Surrey captured the Scottish guns, including a group of culverin
s made in Edinburgh by Robert Borthwick called the 'seven sisters,' which were dragged to Etal Castle. The Bishop of Durham
thought them the finest ever seen.
The biggest error the Scots made was placing their officers in the front line, medieval style. A Scottish letter of January 1514 contrasts this loss of the nobility with the English great men who took their stand with the reserves and at the rear. The English generals stayed behind the lines in the Renaissance
style. The loss of so many Scottish officers meant there was no one to coordinate a retreat.
used by the English over the pike
used by the Scots. As a weapon, the pike was effective only in a battle of movement, especially to withstand a cavalry charge. The Scottish pikes were described by the author of the Trewe Encounter as "keen and sharp spears 5 yards long." Although the pike had become a Swiss weapon of choice and represented modern warfare, the hilly terrain of Northumberland, the nature of the combat, and the slippery footing did not allow it to be employed to best effect. Bishop Ruthall
reported to Wolsey, 'the bills disappointed the Scots of their long spears, on which they relied.' The infantrymen at Flodden, both Scots and English, had fought in a fashion that in essence would have been familiar to their ancestors, and it has rightly been described as the last great medieval battle in the British Isles. This was the last time that bill and pike would come together as equals in battle. Two years later Francis I
defeated the Swiss pikemen at the Battle of Marignano
, using a combination of heavy cavalry and artillery, ushering in a new era in the history of war. An official English diplomatic report issued by Brian Tuke
noted the Scots' iron spears but concluded: 'the English halberdiers decided the whole affair, so that in the battle the bows and ordnance were of little use.'
Despite Tuke's comment (he was not present), tactically, this battle was one of the first major engagements on the British Isles where artillery was significantly deployed. John Lesley
, writing sixty years later, noted the Scottish bullets flew over the English heads while the English cannon was effective, the one army placed so high and the other so low. The battle is considered the last decisive use of the longbow, yet through the 16th century the English longbowmen continued to have success, as in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
. Many of these archers were recruited from Lancashire
and Cheshire
. Sir Richard Assheton raised one such company from Middleton
, near Manchester
. In gratitude for his safe return, he rebuilt St. Leonard's
, the local parish church. It contains the unique "Flodden Window" depicting each of the archers, and the priest who accompanied them, by name in stained glass. The success of the Cheshire yeomanry, under the command of Richard Cholmeley, led to his later appointment as Lieutenant of the Tower of London
.
", lost by his father's support for Richard III
. The arms of the Dukes of Norfolk still carry an augmentation of honour
awarded on account of their ancestor's victory at Flodden, a modified version of the Royal coat of arms of Scotland with an arrow through the lion's mouth.
at Woburn Abbey
. She sent news of the victory to Henry VIII at Tournai
with Hawley, and then sent James's coat (and iron gauntlets) on 16 September, with a detailed account of the battle written by Lord Howard. Brian Tuke mentioned in his letter to Cardinal Bainbridge that the coat was lacerated and chequered with blood. Catherine suggested Henry should use the coat as his battle-banner, and wrote that she had thought to send him the body too, but 'Englishmen's hearts would not suffer it.'
James's body was taken first to Berwick on Tweed, where according to Hall's Chronicle, it was viewed by the captured Scottish courtiers William Scott and John Forman who acknowledged it was the King's. The body was then embalmed and taken to Newcastle upon Tyne
. From York
, a city that James had promised to capture before Michaelmas
, the body was brought to Sheen Priory
near London.
James's banner, sword and his cuisses
, thigh-armour, were taken to the shrine of Saint Cuthbert at Durham Cathedral. Much of the armour of the Scottish casualties was sold on the field, and 350 suits of armour were taken to Nottingham Castle
. A list of horses taken at the field runs to 24 pages.
Soon after the battle there were legends that James IV had survived; a Scottish merchant at Tournai in October claimed to have spoken with him, Lindsay of Pitscottie records two myths; "thair cam four great men upon hors, and every ane of thame had ane wisp upoun thair spear headis, quhairby they might know one another and brought the king furth of the feild, upoun ane dun hackney," and also that the king escaped from the field but was killed between Duns and Kelso. Similarly, John Lesley adds that the body taken to England was "my lord Bonhard" and James was seen in Kelso after the battle and then went secretly on pilgrimage in far nations.
A legend arose that James had been warned against invading England by supernatural powers. While he was praying in St Michael's Kirk at Linlithgow
, a man strangely dressed in blue had approached his desk saying his mother had told him to say James should not to go to war or take the advice of women. Then before the King could reply, the man vanished. David Lindsay of the Mount and John Inglis could find no trace of him. The historian R. L. Mackie wondered if the incident really happened as a masquerade orchestrated by an anti-war party: Norman MacDougall
doubts if there was a significant anti-war faction.
, is said to have awaited news of her husband at Linlithgow Palace
, where a room at the top of a tower is called 'Queen's Margaret's bower.' Her 17 month old son became King James V
. The Parliament of Scotland
met at Stirling on 21 September 1513, where the infant King was crowned. Margaret Tudor was guardian or 'tutrix' of the King, but not made Regent of Scotland. Instead, John Stewart, Duke of Albany, a grandson of James II of Scotland
who lived in France was invited to be Regent in December. Margaret gave birth to James's posthumous son Alexander
in April 1514.
to Rome on 20 September, claiming 12,000 Scots had died with less than 500 English casualties. Italian newsletters put the Scottish losses at 18 or 20 thousand and the English at 5000. Brian Tuke, the English Clerk of the Signet, sent a newsletter stating 10,000 Scots killed and 10,000 escaped the field. Tuke reckoned the total Scottish invasion force to have been 60,000 and the English army at 40,000. George Buchanan
wrote in his History of Scotland (published in 1582) that, according to the lists that were compiled throughout the counties of Scotland, there were about 5,000 killed. A plaque on the monument to the 2nd Duke of Norfolk (as the Earl of Surrey became in 1514) at Thetford
put the figure at 17,000. Edward Hall, thirty years after, wrote in his Chronicle that "12,000 at the least of the best gentlemen and flower of Scotland" were slain.
As the nineteenth century antiquarian John Riddell supposed, nearly every noble family in Scotland would have have lost a member at Flodden. The dead are remembered by the song (and pipe tune) "The Flowers of the Forest
";
A legend grew that while the artillery was being prepared in Edinburgh before the battle, a demon called Plotcock had read out the names of those who would be killed at the Mercat Cross
on the Royal Mile
. According to Pitscottie, a former Provost of Edinburgh, Richard Lawson, who lived nearby threw a coin at the Cross to appeal from this summons and survived the battle.
Notable men who died included:
which so badly hampered the Scots advance is now drained. A monument, erected in 1910, is easily reached from Branxton village by following the road past St Paul's Church. There is a small car park and a clearly marked and signposted battlefield trail with interpretive boards which make it easy to visualise the battle. Only the chancel
arch remains of the medieval church where James IV's body was said to have rested after the battle – the rest is Victorian, dating from 1849 in the "Norman" style.
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
army under King James IV
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey. It ended in victory for the English army, and was the largest battle (in terms of numbers) fought between the two nations.
Background
This conflict began when James IV, King of Scots declared war on England to honour the Auld AllianceAuld Alliance
The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...
with France by diverting Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's English troops from their campaign against the French king Louis XII
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
. Henry VIII had also opened old wounds by claiming to be the overlord of Scotland which angered the Scots and the King. At this time England was involved in the War of the League of Cambrai
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars...
– defending Italy and the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
from the French (see Italian Wars
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western...
) as a member of the "Catholic League".
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
, already a signatory to the anti-French treaty of Mechlin, sent a letter to James threatening him with ecclesiastical censure for breaking his peace treaties with England on 28 June 1513, and subsequently James was excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
by Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge
Christopher Bainbridge
Christopher Bainbridge was an English Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of York from 1508 until his death.-Early life:...
. James also summoned sailors and sent the Scottish navy, including the Great Michael to join the ships of Louis XII of France.
Henry was in France with the Emperor Maximilian
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
at the siege of Thérouanne
Thérouanne
Thérouanne is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Thérouanne is located 10 miles southwest of Saint-Omer, on the D157 and D341 road junction.-Population:-History:...
. Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
was Regent in England and, on 27 August she issued warrants for the property of all Scotsmen in England to be seized.
Invasion
Using the pretext of revenge for the murder of Robert Kerr, a WardenLord Warden of the Marches
The Lord Warden of the Marches was an office in the governments of Scotland and England. The holders were responsible for the security of the border between the two nations, and often took part in military action....
of the Scottish East March who had been killed by John "The Bastard" Heron in 1508, James invaded England with an army of about 30,000 men in 1513. In keeping with his understanding of the medieval code of chivalry
Chivalry
Chivalry is a term related to the medieval institution of knighthood which has an aristocratic military origin of individual training and service to others. Chivalry was also the term used to refer to a group of mounted men-at-arms as well as to martial valour...
, King James sent notice to the English, one month in advance, of his intent to invade. This gave the English time to gather an army and, as importantly, to retrieve the banner of Saint Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, at that time including, in modern terms, northern England as well as south-eastern Scotland as far as the Firth of Forth...
from the Cathedral of Durham
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham is a cathedral in the city of Durham, England, the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Durham. The Bishopric dates from 995, with the present cathedral being founded in AD 1093...
, a banner which had been carried by the English in victories against the Scots in 1138 and 1346. After a muster on the Burgh Muir
Burgh Muir
The Burgh Muir was an area to the south of Edinburgh city centre upon which much of the southern portion of the city now rests, following expansions of the 18th and 19th centuries...
of Edinburgh, the Scottish host moved to Ellemford, to the north of Duns
Duns
Duns is the county town of the historic county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders.-Early history:Duns law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at its summit...
, and camped to wait for Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus , was a late medieval Scottish magnate. He became known as "Bell the Cat"...
and Home
Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home
Alexander Home, 3rd Lord Home His mother was Nicholace Ker, a daughter of George Ker of Samuelston, his father the 2nd Lord Home. Alexander Home was found guilty of treason in 1516 and executed....
, and then crossed the River Tweed
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying...
near Coldstream
Coldstream
Coldstream is a small town in the Borders district of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Tweed in Berwickshire, while Northumberland in England lies to the south bank, with Cornhill-on-Tweed the nearest village...
. By the 29 August, Norham Castle
Norham Castle
Norham Castle is a partly ruined castle in Northumberland, England, overlooking the River Tweed, on the border between England and Scotland. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument...
was taken and partly demolished. The Scots moved south capturing the castles of Etal
Etal Castle
Etal Castle is a medieval English castle situated at Etal, Cornhill on Tweed, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building....
and Ford
Ford Castle
Forde Castle is a Grade 1 listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument situated at a shallow crossing point on the River Till, Ford, Northumberland, England....
. A later chronicler, Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie was a Scottish chronicler, author of The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, 1436–1565, the first history of Scotland to be composed in Scots rather than Latin....
, tells the story that James wasted valuable time at Ford enjoying the company of Lady Heron and her daughter.
Battle
The battle actually took place near the village of BranxtonBranxton, Northumberland
Branxton is a village and civil parish in northern Northumberland, England. It lies about from the England-Scotland border and about from the Scottish border town of Coldstream, just off the A697 Newcastle-Edinburgh road...
, in the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, rather than at Flodden — hence the alternative name is Battle of Branxton. The Scots had previously been stationed at Flodden Edge, to the south of Branxton. The Earl of Surrey, writing at Wooler
Wooler
Wooler is a small town in Northumberland, England. It lies on the edge of the Northumberland National Park, by the Cheviot Hills and so is a popular base for walkers and is referred to as the "Gateway to the Cheviots"...
Haugh on Wednesday 7 September, compared this position to a fortress in his challenge sent to James IV by Thomas Hawley
Thomas Hawley
Thomas Hawley was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He began his career of royal service as a groom porter to Queen Margaret of Scotland from her marriage in 1503 until 1508...
, the Rouge Croix Pursuivant. He complained that James had sent his Islay Herald
Islay Herald
Islay Herald of Arms Extraordinary is a current Scottish herald of arms Extraordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon.The office was first mentioned in 1493. Islay is an island off the west coast of Scotland and was the headquarters of the Lord of the Isles...
agreeing that they would join in battle on Friday between 12.00 and 3.00 pm, and asked that James would face him on the plain at Milfield
Milfield
Milfield is a village in Northumberland, England about northwest of Wooler. The A697 road passes through the village.- History :Milfield is the likely location of the Northumbrian royal settlement of Maelmin, given "mael" is a Brythonic word meaning "field"...
as appointed.
Next, Surrey moved to block off the Scots' route north and so James was forced to move his army and artillery 2 miles to Branxton Hill. The Scottish artillery included; 5 great curtals; 2 great culverin
Culverin
A culverin was a relatively simple ancestor of the musket, and later a medieval cannon, adapted for use by the French in the 15th century, and later adapted for naval use by the English in the late 16th century. The culverin was used to bombard targets from a distance. The weapon had a...
s; 4 saker
Saker (cannon)
The saker was a medium cannon slightly smaller than a culverin developed during the early 16th century and often used by the English. It was named after the Saker Falcon, a large falconry bird native to the Middle East....
s; and 6 great serpentines. When the armies were within 3 miles of each other Surrey sent the Rouge Croix pursuivant to James who answered that he would wait till noon. At 11 o'clock Lord Howard's vanguard and artillery crossed the Twissell Bridge. (Pitscottie says the king would not allow the Scots artillery to fire on the vulnerable English during this manouevre.) The Scots army was in good order in 5 formations, after the Almain (German) manner. On Friday afternoon the Scots host descended without speaking any word to meet the English.
According to English report, first the groups commanded by the Earls of Huntly
Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly
Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman and the 3rd Earl of Huntly. He was granted Strathavon in Banffshire and the Brae of Lochaber. He was a member of the Privy Council of Scotland.-Biography:...
and Crawford
John Lindsay, 6th Earl of Crawford
John Lindsay, 6th Earl of Crawford was an Earl of Crawford.He was the son of David Lindsay, 1st Duke of Montrose and Elizabeth Hamilton, and married Marion Home....
totalling 6000 men engaged Lord Howard and were repulsed and mostly slain. Baron Dacre's
Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre
Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre of Gilsland, KG was the son of Humphrey Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre of Gilsland and Mabel Parr; great-aunt of queen consort Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII of England.-Early career:He was born in Cumberland...
company fought Huntly and the Chamberlain
Chamberlain of Scotland
Holders of the office of Lord Chamberlain of Scotland are known from about 1124.It was ranked by King Malcolm as the third great Officer of State, called Camerarius Domini Regis, and had a salary of £200 per annum alloted to him...
Lord Home's men. Then James IV himself leading a great force came on to Surrey and Lord Darcy
Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy
Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Darcy , was an English statesman and rebel leader, who was executed for his part in an English rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace.-Origins:...
's son who bore the brunt of the battle. Lennox and Argyll's commands were met by Sir Edward Stanley.
Edward Hall
Edward Hall , English chronicler and lawyer, was born about the end of the 15th century, being a son of John Hall of Northall, Shropshire....
, "the battle was cruel, none spared other, and the King himself fought valiantly." James was killed within a spear length from Surrey and his body taken to Berwick upon Tweed. Hall says the King was fatally wounded by an arrow and a bill. The Earl of Surrey captured the Scottish guns, including a group of culverin
Culverin
A culverin was a relatively simple ancestor of the musket, and later a medieval cannon, adapted for use by the French in the 15th century, and later adapted for naval use by the English in the late 16th century. The culverin was used to bombard targets from a distance. The weapon had a...
s made in Edinburgh by Robert Borthwick called the 'seven sisters,' which were dragged to Etal Castle. The Bishop of Durham
Thomas Ruthall
Thomas Ruthall was an English churchman, administrator and diplomat. He was a leading councillor of Henry VIII of England.-Life:...
thought them the finest ever seen.
The biggest error the Scots made was placing their officers in the front line, medieval style. A Scottish letter of January 1514 contrasts this loss of the nobility with the English great men who took their stand with the reserves and at the rear. The English generals stayed behind the lines in the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
style. The loss of so many Scottish officers meant there was no one to coordinate a retreat.
Weaponry
Flodden was essentially a victory of billBill (weapon)
The bill is a polearm weapon used by infantry in medieval Europe.The bill is similar in size, function and appearance to the halberd, differing mainly in the hooked blade form...
used by the English over the pike
Pike (weapon)
A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...
used by the Scots. As a weapon, the pike was effective only in a battle of movement, especially to withstand a cavalry charge. The Scottish pikes were described by the author of the Trewe Encounter as "keen and sharp spears 5 yards long." Although the pike had become a Swiss weapon of choice and represented modern warfare, the hilly terrain of Northumberland, the nature of the combat, and the slippery footing did not allow it to be employed to best effect. Bishop Ruthall
Thomas Ruthall
Thomas Ruthall was an English churchman, administrator and diplomat. He was a leading councillor of Henry VIII of England.-Life:...
reported to Wolsey, 'the bills disappointed the Scots of their long spears, on which they relied.' The infantrymen at Flodden, both Scots and English, had fought in a fashion that in essence would have been familiar to their ancestors, and it has rightly been described as the last great medieval battle in the British Isles. This was the last time that bill and pike would come together as equals in battle. Two years later Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
defeated the Swiss pikemen at the Battle of Marignano
Battle of Marignano
The Battle of Marignano was fought during the phase of the Italian Wars called the War of the League of Cambrai, between France and the Old Swiss Confederacy. It took place on September 13 and 15, 1515, near the town today called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan...
, using a combination of heavy cavalry and artillery, ushering in a new era in the history of war. An official English diplomatic report issued by Brian Tuke
Brian Tuke
Sir Brian Tuke , was the secretary of Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey. He became treasurer of the household.-Life:He may have been son of Richard Tuke and Agnes his wife, daughter of John Bland of Nottinghamshire...
noted the Scots' iron spears but concluded: 'the English halberdiers decided the whole affair, so that in the battle the bows and ordnance were of little use.'
Despite Tuke's comment (he was not present), tactically, this battle was one of the first major engagements on the British Isles where artillery was significantly deployed. John Lesley
John Lesley
John Lesley was a Scottish Roman Catholic bishop and historian. His father was Gavin Lesley, rector of Kingussie, Badenoch.-Early career:...
, writing sixty years later, noted the Scottish bullets flew over the English heads while the English cannon was effective, the one army placed so high and the other so low. The battle is considered the last decisive use of the longbow, yet through the 16th century the English longbowmen continued to have success, as in the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the Rough Wooing. It was the last pitched battle between Scottish and English armies, and is seen as the first modern battle in the British Isles...
. Many of these archers were recruited from Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. Sir Richard Assheton raised one such company from Middleton
Middleton, Greater Manchester
Middleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, south-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester...
, near Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. In gratitude for his safe return, he rebuilt St. Leonard's
Church of St Leonard, Middleton
St Leonard's is an Anglican parish church in Middleton, Greater Manchester, England. It was designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage in 1957....
, the local parish church. It contains the unique "Flodden Window" depicting each of the archers, and the priest who accompanied them, by name in stained glass. The success of the Cheshire yeomanry, under the command of Richard Cholmeley, led to his later appointment as Lieutenant of the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
.
Honours
As a reward for his victory, Howard was subsequently restored to the title of "Duke of NorfolkDuke of Norfolk
The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal and hereditary Marshal of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the...
", lost by his father's support for Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
. The arms of the Dukes of Norfolk still carry an augmentation of honour
Augmentation of Honour
In heraldry, an augmentation is a modification or addition to a coat of arms, typically given by a monarch as either a mere mark of favour, or a reward or recognition for some meritorious act...
awarded on account of their ancestor's victory at Flodden, a modified version of the Royal coat of arms of Scotland with an arrow through the lion's mouth.
Legends of a lost king
Thomas Hawley, the Rouge Croix pursuivant, was first with news of the victory. He brought the 'rent surcoat of the King of Scots stained with blood' to Catherine of AragonCatherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
at Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey , near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park.- Pre-20th century :...
. She sent news of the victory to Henry VIII at Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
with Hawley, and then sent James's coat (and iron gauntlets) on 16 September, with a detailed account of the battle written by Lord Howard. Brian Tuke mentioned in his letter to Cardinal Bainbridge that the coat was lacerated and chequered with blood. Catherine suggested Henry should use the coat as his battle-banner, and wrote that she had thought to send him the body too, but 'Englishmen's hearts would not suffer it.'
James's body was taken first to Berwick on Tweed, where according to Hall's Chronicle, it was viewed by the captured Scottish courtiers William Scott and John Forman who acknowledged it was the King's. The body was then embalmed and taken to Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. From York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, a city that James had promised to capture before Michaelmas
Michaelmas
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
, the body was brought to Sheen Priory
Sheen Priory
Sheen Priory in Sheen, now Richmond, London was a former Carthusian monastery founded in 1414 within the royal manor of Sheen, on the south bank of the Thames, upstream and approximately 9 miles southwest of the Palace of Westminster...
near London.
James's banner, sword and his cuisses
Cuisses
Cuisses are a form of medieval armor worn to protect the thigh. The word is the plural of the French word cuisse meaning 'thigh'. While the skirt of a maille shirt or tassets of a cuirass could protect the upper legs from above, a thrust from below could avoid these defenses. Thus, cuisses were...
, thigh-armour, were taken to the shrine of Saint Cuthbert at Durham Cathedral. Much of the armour of the Scottish casualties was sold on the field, and 350 suits of armour were taken to Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle
Nottingham Castle is a castle in Nottingham, England. It is located in a commanding position on a natural promontory known as "'Castle Rock'", with cliffs high to the south and west. In the Middle Ages it was a major royal fortress and occasional royal residence...
. A list of horses taken at the field runs to 24 pages.
Soon after the battle there were legends that James IV had survived; a Scottish merchant at Tournai in October claimed to have spoken with him, Lindsay of Pitscottie records two myths; "thair cam four great men upon hors, and every ane of thame had ane wisp upoun thair spear headis, quhairby they might know one another and brought the king furth of the feild, upoun ane dun hackney," and also that the king escaped from the field but was killed between Duns and Kelso. Similarly, John Lesley adds that the body taken to England was "my lord Bonhard" and James was seen in Kelso after the battle and then went secretly on pilgrimage in far nations.
A legend arose that James had been warned against invading England by supernatural powers. While he was praying in St Michael's Kirk at Linlithgow
Linlithgow
Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....
, a man strangely dressed in blue had approached his desk saying his mother had told him to say James should not to go to war or take the advice of women. Then before the King could reply, the man vanished. David Lindsay of the Mount and John Inglis could find no trace of him. The historian R. L. Mackie wondered if the incident really happened as a masquerade orchestrated by an anti-war party: Norman MacDougall
Norman Macdougall
Norman Macdougall is a Scottish historian who is known for writing about Scottish crown politics. He was a senior lecturer in Scottish history at the University of St Andrews....
doubts if there was a significant anti-war faction.
Scotland after Flodden
The wife of James IV, Margaret TudorMargaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
, is said to have awaited news of her husband at Linlithgow Palace
Linlithgow Palace
The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are situated in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the...
, where a room at the top of a tower is called 'Queen's Margaret's bower.' Her 17 month old son became King James V
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
. The Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
met at Stirling on 21 September 1513, where the infant King was crowned. Margaret Tudor was guardian or 'tutrix' of the King, but not made Regent of Scotland. Instead, John Stewart, Duke of Albany, a grandson of James II of Scotland
James II of Scotland
James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
who lived in France was invited to be Regent in December. Margaret gave birth to James's posthumous son Alexander
Alexander Stewart, Duke of Ross
Alexander Stewart, Duke of Ross was the fourth and last son of King James IV of Scotland and his queen Margaret Tudor....
in April 1514.
Casualties
Surrey's army lost 1,500 men killed. There were various conflicting accounts of the Scottish loss. A contemporary French source, the Gazette of the Battle of Flodden, said that about 10,000 Scots were killed, a claim made by Henry VIII on 16 September while he was still uncertain of the death of James IV. William Knight sent the news from LilleLille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
to Rome on 20 September, claiming 12,000 Scots had died with less than 500 English casualties. Italian newsletters put the Scottish losses at 18 or 20 thousand and the English at 5000. Brian Tuke, the English Clerk of the Signet, sent a newsletter stating 10,000 Scots killed and 10,000 escaped the field. Tuke reckoned the total Scottish invasion force to have been 60,000 and the English army at 40,000. George Buchanan
George Buchanan
George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...
wrote in his History of Scotland (published in 1582) that, according to the lists that were compiled throughout the counties of Scotland, there were about 5,000 killed. A plaque on the monument to the 2nd Duke of Norfolk (as the Earl of Surrey became in 1514) at Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...
put the figure at 17,000. Edward Hall, thirty years after, wrote in his Chronicle that "12,000 at the least of the best gentlemen and flower of Scotland" were slain.
As the nineteenth century antiquarian John Riddell supposed, nearly every noble family in Scotland would have have lost a member at Flodden. The dead are remembered by the song (and pipe tune) "The Flowers of the Forest
Flowers of the Forest
Flowers of the Forest is an ancient Scottish folk tune. Although the original words are unknown, the melody was recorded in c. 1615-25 in the John Skene of Halyards Manuscript as "Flowres of the Forrest", though it may have been composed earlier....
";
-
- We'll hae nae mair lilting, at the yowe-milking,
- Women and bairns are dowie and wae.
- Sighing and moaning, on ilka green loaning,
- The flowers of the forest are all wede away.
A legend grew that while the artillery was being prepared in Edinburgh before the battle, a demon called Plotcock had read out the names of those who would be killed at the Mercat Cross
Mercat cross
A mercat cross is a market cross found in Scottish cities and towns where trade and commerce was a part of economic life. It was originally a place where merchants would gather, and later became the focal point of many town events such as executions, announcements and proclamations...
on the Royal Mile
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile is a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scots mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle...
. According to Pitscottie, a former Provost of Edinburgh, Richard Lawson, who lived nearby threw a coin at the Cross to appeal from this summons and survived the battle.
Notable men who died included:
Battlefield today
The battlefield still looks much as it probably did at the time of the battle, but the burn and marshMarsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
which so badly hampered the Scots advance is now drained. A monument, erected in 1910, is easily reached from Branxton village by following the road past St Paul's Church. There is a small car park and a clearly marked and signposted battlefield trail with interpretive boards which make it easy to visualise the battle. Only the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
arch remains of the medieval church where James IV's body was said to have rested after the battle – the rest is Victorian, dating from 1849 in the "Norman" style.
500th Anniversary
Since 2008, there have been plans afoot to mark the Quincentennial of the battle on, and before the 9th September 2013.In fiction
- "Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field" (1808), an epic poem in six cantos by Sir Walter Scott
- The Battle of Flodden Field, told from several different perspectives, is the subject of the novel, "Flodden Field", by Elisabeth McNeill, pub.2007
- The Flowers of the Forest, a historical novel by Elizabeth Byrd, chronicles the life of Queen Margaret TudorMargaret TudorMargaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
of Scotland and culminates in the Battle of Flodden - Arthur SullivanArthur SullivanSir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
wrote an overture, his Overture Marmion (1867), inspired by the Scott poem. - There is no historical record of anyone from the Clan MunroClan Munro-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
taking part in the Battle of Flodden Field, however there is an old tradition that the Munros of Argyll are descended from a Flodden survivor. One of these descendants was Neil Munro (writer).
See also
- Percy FolioPercy FolioThe Percy Folio is a folio book of English ballads used by Thomas Percy to compile his Reliques of Ancient Poetry. Although the manuscript itself was compiled in the 17th century, some of its material goes back well into the 12th century...
- Selkirk Common Riding
- Teribus ye teri odinTeribus ye teri odinTeribus ye teri odin or teribus an teriodin is popularly believed to have been the war cry of the men of Hawick at the Battle of Flodden Field, and still preserved in the traditions of the town...
External links
- A monument of the Battle of Flodden
- Flodden 1513, the remembering Flodden project
- A detailed account of the battle
- Coldstream civic week. Main event is the rideout to the Flodden Memorial
- Flodden 500 years anniversary (2013): Follow the community archaeological project excavating in and around Flodden battlefield