Ellis' Letters S1 V1 Letter XXXII. 16 Sep 1513. Queen Catherine (age 27) to King Henry VIII (age 22)^th, after the Battle of Flodden Field. A. D. 1513.

[MS. COTTON. VESP. F. in. fol. 15. Orig.]

Sir

MY Lord Howard (age 70) hath sent me a Lettre open to your Grace, within oon of myn, by the whiche ye shal see at length the grete Victorye that our Lord hath sent your subgetts in your absence; and for this cause it is noo nede herin to trouble your Grace with long writing, but, to my thinking, this batell hath bee to your Grace and al your reame the grettest honor that coude bee, and more than ye shuld wyn al the crown of Fraunce; thankend bee God of it: and I am suer your Grace forgetteth not to doo this, which shal be cause to send you many moo suche grete victoryes, as I trust he shal doo. My husband, for hastynesse, w^t Rogecrosse I coude not sende your Grace the pece of the King of Scotts (deceased) cote [coat] whiche John Glyn now bringeth. In this your grace shal see how I can kepe my premys, sending you for your baners a Kings cote. I thought to sende hymself (deceased) unto you, but our Englishemens herts wold not suffre it. It shuld have been better for hym to have been in peax than have this rewards. Al that God sendeth is for the best.

My Lord of Surrey (age 40), my Henry, wold fayne knowe your pleasur in the buryeng of the King of Scotts (deceased) body, for he hath writen to me soo. With the next messanger your grace pleasur may bee herin knowen. And with this I make an ende: prayng God to sende you home shortly, for without this noo joye here can bee accomplisshed; and for the same I pray, and now goo to our Lady at Walsyngham [Map] that I promised soo long agoo to see. At Woborne [Map] the xvj. day of Septembre.

I sende your grace herin a bille founde in a Scottisshemans purse of suche things as the Frenshe King sent to the said King of Scotts to make warre against you, beseching your a to sende Mathewe hider assone this messanger commeth to bringe me tydings from your Grace.

Your humble wif and true servant

KATHERINE (age 27).

Calendars. 22 Sep 1513. Have sent a message full of comfort to the schismatic king, thus:

The King of Scots, of all men the most perfidious, has been killed in fair fight by the Earl of Surrey, who attacked the king's own camp in a certain forest called Bermuiwood in England, all the nobility of Scotland being slain with the king. In the conflict 10,000 Scots were slain, and as many more in the flight. The battle was fought on the 9th of this month. All the ordnance of the Scots, their tents and the rest of their baggage were taken, the course of the whole business being as follows:

On the eve of St. Bartholomew the false and perjured King of Scots invaded England, and took the castle of Norham, not without shame to certain persons, razing it to the ground. He then led his army towards Berwick, burning the villages in every direction. The Earl of Surrey, Lord Dacres, Earl Latimer (Comes Latavier), Scrope (Scopre), and other great personages of those parts had not yet mustered, but each made such haste that on the 7th of September the Earl of Surrey summoned and challenged the aforesaid perjured King of Scots to give battle on the following Friday. Such was the reliance placed by that king on his French and Scottish commanders, that he thought all England together would not dare to oppose him; but the Earl of Surrey kept his engagement and promise. Lord Howard, the admiral, having heard that the King of Scots most boastfully proclaimed that he had long sought him by land and sea, as one who from fear always fled and avoided battle, quitted the royal fleet, left a deputy in command, forthwith landed and sent a message to the perjured King of Scots that he would lead the van of the army, not on horseback, but on foot, lest he should be supposed a craven and a runaway. He moreover warned the King of Scots not to take him alive, as he had determined not to capture any Scot, however noble he might be, even were it the king himself, but to kill him; promises which were fulfilled.

Accordingly on the appointed day the army attacked the Scots, whose forces were assembled on the summit of an hill, at the distance of a mile from its base, the hill being so strengthened and defended by ordnance that the assailants were obliged to wade through a certain marshy pass, leaving the guns in the rear.

The army of the Scots formed five lines in square battalions, representing the figure of a spear head; all being equidistant from the English army, which was divided into two lines with two wings. In spite of the Scottish artillery, which inflicted little or no damage, Lord Howard marched to the foot of the hill where he halted a short time, until the other wing of the rearguard had joined the last of his lines.

Thereupon the Scots came down the hill in very good order after the German fashion, with iron spears in masses. The Earl of Huntly, the Earl of Airlie and the Earl of Crauford broke upon Lord Howard. This force all perished, including the earls.

The perjured King of Scots attacked the Earl of Surrey, at whose side Lord Darcy's son was following; near him Lord Maxwell, a Scot, with Lord Herries, his brother, were killed, and practically all the rest of the Scottish nobles, the list of whose names had not yet been received. In these two engagements no prisoners were made, no quarter given. The Earl of Hauewes and the Earl of Argyle, with a very great force attacked Sir Edward Stanley, who slew the greater part of them. Lord Edmund Howard, who led his brother's right wing, was assailed by the Chamberlain of Scotland. He was thrice felled by the Chamberlain to the disgrace of his soldiers, who were cowards, but Lord Dacres succoured him with fifty horse. The Chamberlain of Scotland alone got home alive, although like the rest he lost all his men.

After the performance of these feats the entire army of the Scots took to flight. The rout began at noon and lasted until night. The English halbardiers decided the whole affair, so that in this battle the bows and ordnance were of little use. Only one English gentleman, an obscure knight, fell; the rest of the killed did not amount to four hundred.

Of the Scots upwards of 10,000 men were captured and slain in flight, and as many were killed on the battle field.

At the time of this engagement Lord Lovel was at Nottingham with 15,000 men, on his march towards Scotland, the queen being already forty miles beyond London with 40,000.

The Scots numbered in reality 60,000 men, though there were said to be 80,000. The English were 40,000, though reported to be only 30,000; and this is the end of James, late King of Scots, of all mankind the falsest.

At the time of this engagement Lord Lovel was at Nottingham with 15,000 men, on his march towards Scotland, the queen being already forty miles beyond London with 40,000.