Second War of Scottish Independence

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. Edward Balliol, claiming the kingdom of Scotland¹, in the beginning of August [6th August 1332], having in his invading army Henry de Beaumont, Earl of Buchan, Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, and David, Earl of Atholl, with two thousand five hundred men-at-arms and foot soldiers, entered Scotland at Kinghorn², where the Earl of Fife and Robert Bruce, the king's illegitimate son, Earl of Carrick, with ten thousand Scots, challenged the English to battle on the shore. But they were driven back by a few archers and other infantry before the men-at-arms could set foot on land, the rest fleeing, along with Alexander de Seton, son of Alexander, and nine hundred knights being killed. Immediately the English advanced toward the abbey of Dunfermline, which was well stocked with provisions.

Edwardus de Baliolo in regnum Scotia vendicans in principio Augusti habens in suo invades exercitu Henricum de-monte comitem de Boghan, Gilbertum de Umfrevile comitem de Angos, et David comitem de Athels, cum duobus millibus et quingentis armatis et peditibus, Scotiam apud Kyncorn intravit, ubi comes de Fif et Robertusrus, filius regis Roberti nothus, comes de Carrik, cum decem millibus Scotorum, Anglicos in ripa ad pugnam provocant, sed per paucos arcitenentes et alios pedites, antequam armati terram tangere possent, repelluntur, reliquis in fugam lapsis, una cum Alexandro de Seton filio Alexandri, milites nongenti interficiuntur, et statim versus abbatiam de Dunfermlin victualibus refertam processerunt.

Note 1. Baliol was secretly encouraged to undertake this expedition by King Edward, who was desirous of an opportunity to recover that superiority over Scotland he had renounced by the treaty of 1328. H. Knyghton, 2560.

Note 2. According to Knyghton, they landed at Kinghorn in Fifeshire, on the 7th of August, with three hundred men-at-arms and about three thousand foot. H. Knyghton, 2560.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. Forty thousand Scots also came, ready for battle, to a place called Gaskmore¹; but the English, spending that day in full sight of the Scots on the bank of a certain river, crossed the water at night under the lead of Alexander Mowbray, and climbed the hill where the Scots were. When morning [12th August 1332] came, the army, having left their horses behind except for forty Germans who were mounted in the rear, engaged the enemy. The Scots, truly by divine power, not by human, were defeated. The Earls of Mar, Menteith, Atholl, Moray, and Carrick met their deaths; Nigel Bruce, Alexander Bruce, twelve barons, eight hundred knights, two thousand men-at-arms, and thirteen thousand three hundred foot soldiers were slain. On the English side there fell two knights and thirty-three squires, and on the night before, in crossing the river, Sir Roger de Swynerton was drowned. The battle lasted from sunrise until the third hour of the day; for it was said that the bodies of the Scots were heaped to the height of a lance, and far more were suffocated, crushed beneath the bodies of others, than were slain by the sword. For the Scots, perceiving and mocking the small number of the English, hurried so rashly to the fight in hope of winning glory and fame that those in the forefront trampled down those beneath their feet and fell upon them, so that many were easily slain by few.

Quadraginta quoque millia Scotorum in loco qui Gaskmore vocatur parata ad pugnam venerunt; sed Anglici per diem illum, videntibus Scotis, in ripa cujusdam aquæ morantes, in nocte, Alexandro Moubray præcedente, aquam transeunt, et montem ubi Scoti erant ascendunt. Mane autem facto exercitus, dimissis equis exceptis quadraginta Alamannis, in equis a tergo existentibus, congrediuntur. Scoti, virtute divina revera non humana, devincuntur. Comites de Mar, de Meneteth, de Athels, de Morref, de Carrik, vitæ finem dederunt; Nigellus Brus, Alexander Brus, duodecim barones, octingenti milites, duo millia armatorum, tredecim millia et trecenti peditum sunt occisa. Ex parte vero Anglorum ceciderunt duo milites, XXXIII scutiferi, et in transitu aquæ nocte præcedenti Rogerus de Swynerton miles fuit submersus; duravit autem hoc bellum ab ortu solis usque ad horam diei tertiam; cadavera enim Scotorum altitudine unius lanceæ, ut ferebatur, fuerant elevata; et multo plures corporibus oppressi, quam in ore gladii interfecti, fuerant suffocati. Scoti enim paucitatem Anglorum perpendentes et deridentes, ut laudem sibi acquirerent et nomen, in tantum ad pugnam præpropere festinarunt quod qui recto erant præcedentes sub pedibus comprimentes conculcaverunt et super eos ceciderunt, sicque facile multi a paucis occisi sunt.

Note 1. The English encamped near Forteviot, on the left bank of the Earne; the Scottish army being posted on the opposite side of the river, on Dupplin moor.

Lanercost Chronicle. On the day [12th August 1332] after the feast of Saint Lawrence the Martyr, they advanced to the River Earn, where the Scots were positioned on the other side with thirty thousand warriors. But that day the Scots refused to cross the river to engage the English, nor did the English cross to them. However, after taking counsel, the English crossed the river by night and fell upon the Scottish foot soldiers, of whom they killed ten thousand, and routed the rest who were unarmed, pursuing them in flight. And when they returned at dawn and believed that the main Scottish army had likewise fled, behold! they encountered the Earl of Mar, the Guardian of Scotland, accompanied by the Earls of Fife, Moray, Menteith, and Atholl (whom the Scots had appointed), and Lord Robert de Bruce, the son of the late King Robert de Bruce — though not born in lawful wedlock — who was Earl of Carrick. There were two great divisions in the Scottish host, with twelve banners raised in the field at a place called Gledenmore, about two miles from the town of St John's [Perth]. At sunrise the battle began, and it lasted until the hour of high prime [around 9 a.m.].

In crastino autem post festum sancti Laurentii martyris procesierunt usque ad aquam de Eren, et ibi occurrerunt eis Scotti ex alia parte aque cum triginta millibus bellatorum, sed aquam illa die tran ire noluerunt ad Anglicos, nec Anglici transierunt ad eos, sed, accepto consilio, transierunt Anglici aquam de nocte, et inciderunt in pedites Scottorum, ex quibus decem millia occiderunt, et reliquos non armatos fugaverunt et perfecuti sunt eos, et cum rediissent in aurora diei et credidissent quod homines eorum armati similiter aufugissent, ecce! obviavit eis comes de Marre, custos Scotiæ, et in comitiva sua comites de Fife, de Moravia, de Menteth, de Athetel, quem Scotti constituerant, et dominus Robertus de Brus, filius quondam domini Roberti de Brus regis eorum, sed non de legitimo thoro natus, et erat comes de Carrick, et fuerunt du magna acies, in quibus erant vexilla duodecim elevata in campo duro apud Gledenmore ad duo miliaria juxta Villam Sancti Johannis, et in ortu solis inceperunt pugnare, et duravit bellum ufque ad altam primam diei.

Life of Edward of Carnarvan by a Monk of Bridlington. In the same year, on the 19th of July [1333], the Monday before the feast of Saint Margaret the Virgin, which was the appointed day, the King of England went into the field to arrange his army. First, he established a unit of 500 men-at-arms positioned around the town [Berwick], along with archers and infantry, to prevent the besieged townspeople from making any sorties, so that they could not attack the English from the rear with a surprise assault. This unit was placed under the command of the bannerets Ralph Basset and Thomas de Furnival, the knights Simon Ward and John de Moulton, and also the mayor of the town of Newcastle. He then divided the rest of the army into three divisions. The first he entrusted to his marshal and brother, John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall; to Henry de Beaumont, Earl of Buchan; and to Edward de Bohun, acting in place of the Earl of Hereford. David, Earl of Atholl, held the right wing of this division, towards the sea, while Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, commanded the left. The second division was commanded by the King of England himself, with wings formed to right and left as above. The third division he assigned to Edward Balliol, King of Scotland, likewise with the wings arranged in the same fashion. Archers were assigned to each wing. And because the principal and provocative cause of the coming conflict was that two hundred knights, as previously stated, were to enter the town [of Berwick] that day, the king appointed an equal number of chosen knights to meet them in battle and to block their entry.

Eodem anno, mensis Julii die XIX, feria proxima ante festum Sanctæ Margaret, virginis, quæ fuit dies Lunæ præfixus, rex Angliæ campum petiit, suum exereitum instructurus. Et primo constituit unam turmam quingentorum armatorum circa villam, adjunctis sagittariiss et peditibus, ut egressum obsessis civibus abnegarent, ne a tergo venientes incursione furtiva Anglicis infestarent; cui præfuerunt Radulfus Basset, Thomas de Fournivalle baneretti, Symon Warde et Johannes de Multone milites, ac etiam major villze Novi Castri. Reliquum vero exercitum in tres cuneos iunc divisit. Quorum [primum] marscallo fratrique suo Johanni de Eltham comiti Cornubiæ, Henrico de Beaumount comiti de Boghan, et Edwardo de Boun gerenti vices comitis Herfordiæ, commendavit. Comes de Aseecle David huie turmæ alam a dextris versus mare, et comes de Angos Gilbertus de Unfravilla aliam a læva similiter faciebat. Secundam vero aciem ipse rex Angliæ hine inde, ut superius, alis compositis; tertiam quoque turmam regi Scotiæ Balliolensi, alis ut superius dispositis, ut instrueret, assignavit. Sagittarii alis singulis deputantur; et quia principalis et præsumptuosa causa instantis certaminis erat quod equites ducenti, ut premittitur, villam deberent ingredi illo die, constituit. rex totidem electos equites ut mutuo confligerent et illorum aditum impedirent.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough. On the seventh day, however, at the request and persuasion of those in the castle and town of Berwick, especially Sir William de Keith, who informed them that if they returned and prepared to fight with the two kings, they would undoubtedly prevail, for they trusted in the multitude of their own people, since, compared with the Scots, the English army seemed very small, they returned and drew up four battle lines. In the first line were the Earl of Moray, Sir James Fraser, Sir Simon Fraser, and other barons; noble knights Walter Stewart, Reginald Cheyne, Patrick Graham, John Grant, John de Bardale, Patrick de Berchere, Robert de Caldecotes, Philip de Meldrum, William de Gardin, Thomas de Kirkpatrick, Gilbert Wiseman, Adam Gordon, William Gordon, James Garnegarth, Alan Grant, Robert Boyd, with 300 men-at-arms and 2,200 lightly armed from the commons. In the second line were the Steward of Scotland, his uncle James, Malcolm Fleming, William Douglas son of James Douglas, Duncan Campbell, David Lindsay, barons, William de Keith marshal of the army, and more than eleven knights, with 300 men-at-arms and 3,000 lightly armed from the commons. In the third line were the Lord of Carrick, Archibald Douglas, Alexander Bruce, the Earl of Lennox, John Campbell, and more than seventeen knights, with 300 men-at-arms and 4,300 lightly armed from the commons. In the fourth line were the Earls of Ross, Sutherland, Strathearn, and more than twelve knights, with 200 men-at-arms and 4,000 lightly armed from the commons. On the 14th day before the Kalends of August [19th July 1333], these attacked the said kings, but by divine power they were defeated, and almost all the nobles of Scotland, with a very great multitude of the people, fell, with only one knight and ten foot soldiers slain on the English side¹. The English that day were indeed in a narrow place, enclosed on almost every side by four kinds of foes: on one side was the sea, on another the River Tweed in full flow and very broad, on the third the town of Berwick full of enemies, and on the fourth the great host of Scots covering the land like locusts.

Septimo vero die per suos de castro et villa Berwici, præcipueque per Willelmum de Keth militem rogati et informati quod si redirent, et ad pugnandum cum duobus regibus se disponerent, indubitanter prævalerent; confidebant enim in multitudine populi sui, quia, respectu Scotorum, exiguus valde videbatur exercitus Anglicorum; redierunt igitur et quatuor acies disposuerunt, in quarum prima fuit comes Moraviæ, dominus Jacobus Frisel, dominus Simon Frisel, barones; milites vero nobiles Walterus Steward, Reginaldus de Chene, Patricius de Grame, Johannes Graunt, Johannes de Bardale, Patricius de Berechere, Robertus de Caldecotes, Philippus de Meldrom, Willelmus de Gardin, Thomas de Kyrkpatrick, Gilbertus Wiseman, Adam Gordun, Willelmus Gordoun, Jacobus Garnegarth, Alanus Graunt, Robertus Boid et cum illis CCC armatorum et MM CC de communitate leviter armati. In secunda acie senescallus Scotia, Jacobus avunculus suus, Malcolmus Fleming, Willelmus Douglas, filius Jacobus Douglas, Dunecanus de Cambel, David de Lyndesey, barones, Willelmus de Keth marescallus exercitus et plures quam undecim milites, cum CCC armatis, et de communitate MMM leviter armatorum. In tertia acie dominus de Carich, Archebaudus Douglas, Alexander Brus, comes de Levenax, Johannes Cambel, et plures quam XVII milites, cum CCC armatis, et de communitate MMMM CCC leviter armati. In quarta acie comites de Ros, de Sonderland, de Stretherne, et plures quam XII milites cum CC armatis et de communitate MMMM leviter armati. Hi enim XIV kalendas Augusti dictos reges invaserunt, sed virtute divina victi sunt, et cuncti fere proceres Scotia cum multitudine maxima corruerunt populi, uno tantum milite et peditibus decem Anglicis interfectis. In arcto utique positi sunt Anglici die illo, et inter quatuor genera hostium quasi undique conclusi: ex una parte erat mare, altera Tweda fluvius in fluxu suo valde spatiosus, tertia villa Berwici hostibus plena, et in quarta Scotorum exercitus copiosus, terram operiens sicut locustæ.

Note 1. Mr. Tytler, in his History of Scotland, justly remarks that we must consider this statement as a gross exaggeration and totally incredible. Edward, in his letter to the archbishops ordaining a general thanksgiving on occasion of his victory, says it was gained "without great injury, praised be the Most High, of our nation," an expression of itself amply sufficient to refute the assertion of the English historians.