The Battle of Brechin was fought on 18 May 1452 during the reign of

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his father. ...

, about two and a half miles north north east of

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

. It has been regarded as part of the civil war during his reign between the king and an alliance of powerful noble families led by the Black Douglases, which as the king won was significant in the development of a relatively strong centralised monarchy in Scotland during the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

. A royalist army formed by the

Clan Gordon Clan Gordon is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Gordon lands once spanned a large territory across the Highlands. Presently, Gordon is seated at Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire ...

and Clan Ogilvy, led by

Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Huntly (died 15 July 1470), who adopted the family name of Gordon from about 1457, was a powerful 15th-century Scottish magnate. He was knighted in 1439/1440 and was Lord of Badenoch, Gordon, Strathbogie and Cluny. ...

, defeated the rebel

Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford (1423–1453) was a late medieval Scottish nobleman, and a magnate of the north-east of that country. Life Alexander Lindsay was the son of David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford and Marjory Ogilvie, the daug ...

, a leading ally of the Black Douglases who was known as "The Tiger". Shortly after Crawford submitted to the king, leaving the Black Douglases more isolated, to be defeated at the

Battle of Arkinholm The Battle of Arkinholm was fought on 1 May 1455, at Arkinholm near Langholm in Scotland, during the reign of King James II of Scotland. Although a small action, involving only a few hundred troops, it was the decisive battle in a civil war bet ...

in 1455. However, it has been argued that it was a localised conflict in the north-east of Scotland, of only limited relevance to wider conflicts in Scotland as a whole in spite of the fact that the Gordons fought under the royal banner.

References

External links

Scottish-places article on BrechinBritish-history.ac.uk article on Brechin
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017

1452 in Scotland Brechin