Edward II. Makes Great Preparations to Relive Stirling
Edward, having obtained a partial reconciliation with his discontented barons, made immense preparations for the succour of the fortress of Stirling. He summoned the whole military force of his kingdoms to meet him at Berwick on the 11th of June. To this general muster ninety-three barons, comprehending the whole body of the great vassals of the crown, were commanded to repair with horse and arms, and their entire feudal service; whilst the different counties in England and Wales were ordered to raise a body of twenty-seven thousand foot soldiers; and although Hume, mistaking the evidence of the original record, has imagined that the numbers of this army have been exaggerated by Barbour, it is certain that the accumulated strength which the king commanded exceeded a hundred thousand men, including a body of forty thousand cavalry, of which three thousand were, both horse and man, in complete armour, and a force of fifty thousand archers. He now appointed the Earl of Pembroke, a nobleman experienced, under his father, in the wars of Scotland, to be governor of that country, and despatched him thither to make preparations for his own arrival.He ordered a fleet of twenty-three vessels to be assembled for the invasion of Scotland; in addition to these, he directed letters to the mayor and authorities of the various seaport towns, enjoining them to fit out an additional fleet of thirty ships; and of this united armament, he appointed John Sturmy and Peter Bard to have the command, He directed letters to O'Connor prince of Connaught, and twenty-five other Irish native chiefs, requiring them to place themselves, with all the military force which they could collect, under the orders of Richard de Burgh earl of Ulster, and to join the army at the muster; he made the same demand upon the English barons who possessed estates in Ireland. He requested the Bishop of Constance to send him a body of sixty mounted cross-bowmen. He took care that store of provisions for the troops, and forage for the cavalry, should be collected from all quarters; he placed his victualling department under strict organization; he appointed John of Argyle, who, probably, had no inconsiderable fleet of his own, to co-operate with the English armament, with the title of High Admiral of the western fleet of England; and he took care that the army should be provided with all kinds of useful artisans—smiths, carpenters, masons, armourers—and supplied with waggons and cars for the transport of the tents, pavilions, and baggage, which so large a military array necessarily included. The various writs, and multifarious orders, connected with the summoning and organization of the army of England, which fought at Bannockburn, are still preserved, and may be seen in their minutest details; and they prove that it far exceeded, not only in numbers but in equipment, any army which was ever led by any former monarch against Scotland.
With this great force, Edward prepared to take the field, and having first made a pilgrimage with his queen and the Prince of Wales to St Albans, and with the accustomed offerings requested the prayers of the church, he held his way through Lincolnshire to York and Newcastle, and met his army at Berwick. He here found, that the Earls of Warrene, Lancaster, Arundel, and Warwick, refused to attend him in person, alleging that he had broken his word given to the lord ordinars; but they sent their feudal services, and the rest of the nobility mustered, without anyabsentees, and with great splendour: so that the monarch, having reviewed his troops, began his march for Scotland in high spirits, and with confident anticipations of victory.
Meanwhile, Bruce, aware of the mighty force which was advancing against him, had not been idle.