History of Scotland by Patrick Tytler 2

Edward invades Scotland

He assembled a numerous and well appointed army. It consisted of thirty thousand foot, and four thousand heavy-armed horse. He was joined by Beck, the warlike Bishop of Durham, at the head of a thousand foot and five hundred horse; and with this combined force, and the two sacred banners of St John of Beverley and St Cuthbert of Durham carried before the army, he marched towards Scotland. It appears, that some time before this, Edward had thought proper to grant a prolongation of the term agreed on for the decision of the question of Macduff, and had required Baliol to attend him as his vassal at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. On arriving there, he summoned the King of Scotland; and after waiting a few days for his appearance, advanced to the eastern border, and crossed the Tweed with his main army below the Nunnery of Coldstream. On the same day the Bishop of Durham forded the river at Norham; and the whole army, marching along the Scottish side, came before the town of Berwick, then in the hands of the Scots.

Siege and sack of Berwick

Edward was determined, at all sacrifices, to make himself master of this city. It was celebrated for the riches and the power of its merchants; and the extent of its foreign commerce, in the opinion of a contemporary English historian, entitled it to the name of another Alexandria. It was protected only by a strong dike, but its adjacent castle was of great strength, and its garrison had made themselves obnoxious to the king, by plundering some English merchant ships which had unsuspiciously entered the port. The king summoned it to surrender, and offered it terms of accommodation, which, after two days'"consideration, were refused. Edward, upon this, did not immediately proceed to storm, but drew back his army to a field near a nunnery, about a mile from the town, and where, from the nature of the ground, he could more easily, conceal his dispositions for the attack. He then despatched a large division, with orders to assault the town choosing a line of march which concealed them from the citizens; and he commanded his fleet to enter the river at the same moment that the great body of the army, led by himself, were ready to storm. The Scottish garrison fiercely assaulted the ships, burnt three of them, and compelled the rest to retire; but they, in their turn, were driven back by the fury of the land attack. Edward himself, mounted on horseback was the first who leaped the dike; and the soldiers, animated by the example and presence of their king, carried everything before them. All the horrors of a rich and populous city sacked by an inflamed soldiery, and a commander thirsting for vengeance, now succeeded. Seventeen thousand persons, without distinction of age or sex, were put to the sword; and for two days the city ran with blood like a river. The churches, to which the miserable inhabitants had fled for sanctuary, were violated and defiled with blood, spoiled of their sacred ornaments, and turned into stables for the English cavalry.

In the midst of this massacre a fine trait of fidelity occurred. The Flemings at this period carried on a lucrative and extensive trade with Scotland, and their principal factory was established in Berwick. It was a strong building, called the Red-hall, which, by their charter, they were bound to defend to the last extremity against the English. True to their engagements, thirty of these brave merchants held out the place against the whole English army. Night came, and still it was not taken. Irritated by this obstinate courage, the English set it on fire, and buried its faithful defenders in the burning ruins. The massacre of Berwick, which took place on Good Friday, was a terrible example of the vengeance which Edward was ready to inflict upon his enemies. Its plunder enriched his army, and it never recovered its commercial importance and prosperity. Sir William Douglas, who commanded the castle, after a short defence surrendered, and swore fealty to the King of England; and its garrison, after taking an oath not to bear arms against that country, were allowed to march out with military honours.

Baliol's renunciation of his homage

Henry abbot of Arbroath, attended by three of his monks, appeared at his court, and delivered to him the instrument containing Baliol's renunciation of his homage. "You have,'' said the Scottish king, "wantonly summoned me to your courts; you have committed grievous outrages and robberies upon my subjects, both by sea and land; you have seized my castles and estates in England, killed and imprisoned my subjects, and the merchants of my realm; and when I demanded a redress of these injuries, you have invaded my dominions at the head of a vast army, with the purpose of depriving me of my crown; and have cruelly ravaged the land. Wherefore, I renounce that fealty and homage, which have been extorted from me; and do resolve openly to oppose myself, in defence of my kingdom, against Edward of England."

Edward received this letter with angry contempt. "The senseless traitor!" said he; "of what folly is he guilty! But since he will not come to us, we will go to him !"

Enraged at the dreadful vengeance inflicted on Berwick, the Scottish army, under the Earls of Ross, Menteith, and Athole, made a second inroad into England; and, imitating the example of Edward, with merciless severity ravaged Redesdale and Tynedale, carrying away a great booty, and sparing neither sex nor age. The flames of towns and villages, and the ashes of the ancient monasteries of Lanercost and Hexham, marked their destructive progress; but the vengeance of the Scots was short-lived, and their plans unconnected. That of their enemy was the very opposite: it was deep-laid in its plans, simultaneous in its. movements, and remerseless in its contemplation of consequences.

Defence of Dunbar by Black Agnes

The castle of Dunbar was at this time one of the strongest, and, by its situation, most important in Scotland. Its lord, Patrick earl of Dunbar, served in the army of Edward; but his wife, the countess, who held the castle, and hated the English, entered into a secret negotiation with the Scottish leaders, for its delivery into the hands of her countrymen. The Earls of Ross, Athole, and Menteith, the barons John Comyn, William St Clair, Richard Seward, and John de Mowbray, with thirty-one knights, and a strong force, threw themselves into the place; and, assisted by the countess, easily expelled the few soldiers who remained faithful to England.

On being informed of this loss, Edward determined upon recovering it at all hazards; and for this purpose despatched the Earl of Surrey with ten thousand foot', and a thousand heavy-armed horse. When summoned by Warrene, the garrison agreed to surrender, unless relieved within three days; and the Scots, anxious to retain so important a place, led on the whole of their army, and possessed themselves of a strong and excellent position on the high ground above Dunbar. Forty thousand foot, and fifteen hundred horse, encamped on the heights, near Spot; and, confident of rescue, the garrison of the castle insulted the English from the walls, as if already beaten.

Defeat of the Scots at Dunbar

On the first appearance of the Scottish army, Surrey steadily advanced to attack it. On approaching the high ground, it was necessary to deploy through a valley; and the Scots imagined they observed some confusion in the English ranks, when executing this movement. Mistaking this for flight, they precipitately abandoned their strong position on the hills, and rushed down with shouts upon the enemy. Meanwhile, before the lines could meet, the English earl had extricated himself from the valley, and formed into compact order. The Scots, ruined, as they had often been, by their temerity, perceived their fatal error when it was too late. Instead of an enemy in flight, they found an army under perfect discipline, advancing upon their broken and disordered columns; and having in vain endeavoured to regain their ranks, after a short resistance they were completely routed. Three hundred and fifty years after this, Cromwell, on the same ground, defeated the army of the Scottish Covenanters, which occupied the same admirable position, and with equal folly and precipitancy deserted it. Surrey's victory was complete, and for the time decided the fate of Scotland. Teh thousand men fell on the field, or in the pursuit. Sir Patrick de Graham, one of the noblest and wisest of the Scottish barons, disdained to ask for quarter, and was slain in circumstances which extorted the praise of the enemy.

A great multitude, including the principal of the Scottish nobility, were taken prisoners; and, next day, the King of England coming in person with the rest of his army before Dunbar, the castle surrendered at discretion. The Earls of Athole, Ross, and Menteith, with four barons, seventy knights, and many other brave men, submitted to the mercy of the conqueror.All the prisoners of rank were immediately sent in chains to England, where they were for the present committed to close confinement in different Welsh and English castles. After some time, the king compelled them to attend him in his wars in France; but even this partial liberty was not allowed them, till their sons were delivered into his hands as hostages."

Edward's Continued Success

Edward was not slow to follow up the advantages which this important success had given him. Returning from Lothian, he sat down before the castle of Roxburgh, which was surrendered to him by James, the Steward of Scotland, who not only swore fealty and abjured the French alliance but prevailed upon many others of the Scottish nobility to forsake a struggle which was deemed desperate, and to submit to England. It was at his instigation that Ingeram de Umfraville surrendered the castle of Dumbarton, and gave up to Edward his daughters, Eva and Isobel, as hostages. Soon after, the strong fortress of Jedburgh was yielded to his mercy; and his victorious army being reinforced by a body of fifteen thousand men from Wales, he was enabled to send home that part of his English force, which had suffered most from fatigue in this expedition.

Baliol's Feudal Penance

With these fresh levies he advanced to Edinburgh, made himself master of the castle after a siege of eight days;IT passed rapidly to Stirling, which he found abandoned; and while there, the Earl of Ulster, with a new army of thirty thousand foot and four hundred horse, came to join the king, and complete the triumph of the English arms. The monarch continued his progress without opposition to Perth, where he halted to keep the feast of the nativity of John the Baptist, with circumstances of high feudal solemnity, regaling his friends, creating new knights, and solacing himself and his barons. In the midst of these rejoicings, messengers arrived from the unhappy Baliol, announcing his submission, and imploring peace.

Edward disdained to treat with him in person, but informed him, that he intended, within fifteen days, to advance to Brechin; and that on Baliol's repairing to the castle there, the Bishop of Durham would announce the decision of his lord superior. This was.none other than that of an absolute resignation of himself and his kingdom to the mercy of his conqueror; to which Baliol, now the mere shadow of a king, without a crown, an army, or a nobility, dejectedly submitted. In presence of the Bishop of Durham, and the Barons of England, he was first stript of his royal robes; after which they spoiled him of his crown and sceptre, and compelled him, standing as a criminal, with a white rod in his hand, to perform a humiliating feudal penance, f He confessed, that, misled by evil counsel and his own weakness, he had grievously offended his liege lord; he recapitulated his various transgressions, his league with France, and his hostilities against England; he acknowledged the justice of the invasion of his kingdom by Edward, in vindication of his violated rights; and three days after this, in the castle of Brechin, he resigned his kingdom of Scotland, its people and their homage, into the hands of his liege lord Edward, of his own free will and consent.

He is sent with his son to the Tower

After this humiliating ceremony, Baliol delivered his eldest son, Edward, to the King of England, as a hostage for his future fidelity; and this youth, along with his discrowned father, were soon after sent by sea to London, where they remained for three years in confinement in the Tower.

Thus ended the miserable and inglorious reign of John Baliol, a prince whose good dispositions might have ensured him a happier fate, had he been opposed to a less terrible and ambitious enemy than Edward the First; or had the courage and spirit, in which he was not deficient, been seconded by the efforts of a united nobility. But Edward, with a policy not dissimilar to that which we have adopted in our Eastern dominions, had succeeded in preventing all union amongst the most powerful Scottish barons, byarraying their private and selfish ambition against the love of their country; by sowing dissension in their councils, richly rewarding their treachery, and treating with unmitigated severity those who dared to love and defend the liberty of Scotland; and Baliors character was not of that high stamp, which could unite such base and discordant materials, or baffle a policy so deep, and a power so overwhelming.

Edward's Progresses Through Scotland

The spirit of the Scottish people was for the time completely broken; and Edward, as he continued his expedition from Perth to Aberdeen, and from thence to Elgin in Moray, did not experience a single check in his progress; while most of the Scottish barons, who had escaped death or imprisonment, crowded in to renounce the French alliance, and renew their oaths of fealty. On his return from the north to hold his parliament at Berwick, in passing the ancient Abbey of Scone, he took with him the famous and fatal stone upon which, for many ages, the Scottish kings had been crowned and anointed. This, considered by the Scots as their national palladium, along with the Scottish sceptre and crown, the English monarch placed in the cathedral of Westminster, as an offering to Edward the Confessor, and a memorial of what he deemed his absolute conquest of Scotland; a conquest, however, which, before a single year had elapsed, w3s entirely wrested from his hands.

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Timeline of Scottish History

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Timeline of Scottish History

History of Scotland by Patrick Tytler 2

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