The English invasion of Scotland of 1298 was a military campaign undertaken by
Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...
in retaliation to a Scottish uprising in 1297, the defeat of an English army at the
Battle of Stirling Bridge
The Battle of Stirling Bridge ( gd, Blà r Drochaid Shruighlea) was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne ...
and Scottish raids into Northern England.
While the English defeated a Scottish army at the
Battle of Falkirk, Edward I, hampered by food shortages, was only able to reach
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
before heading back to England.
Background
The situation in Scotland had seemed resolved when Edward I returned to England on 16 September 1296, but Scottish resistance soon emerged in most parts of Scotland.
On 11 September 1297, the Scottish forces, under the joint command of
Andrew de Moray and
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence.
Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army ...
, met an English army commanded by
John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The Scottish army deployed to the north-east of the bridge, and let the vanguard of the Earl of Surrey's army cross before attacking it. The English
cavalry proved ineffective on the boggy ground around the bridge, and many were killed. The bridge collapsed as reinforcements tried to cross and the English on the opposite side of the river then fled the battlefield. The Scots suffered relatively light casualties, but Andrew Moray was seriously wounded in the battle. His death of his wounds dealt a profound blow to the Scottish cause.
After retaking a number of English controlled castles in Scotland and effectively reducing the English control to areas in Scotland around those castles still held by the English, Wallace turned his mind to the administration of the country. One of his early decisions was to reestablish commercial and diplomatic ties with Europe and win back the overseas trade which Scotland had enjoyed under
Alexander III.
Wallace soon mounted an invasion of northern England, crossing into
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land ...
. The Scots army followed the English army fleeing south. Caught between two armies, hundreds of refugees fled to safety behind the walls of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
. The Scots laid waste a swathe of countryside before turning west into
Cumberland and pillaging all the way to
Cockermouth
Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...
, before Wallace led his men back into Northumberland and fired 700 villages. Wallace then returned from England laden with booty.
[
In March 1298, Wallace was knighted, reputedly by one of the leading nobles of Scotland, and was appointed Guardian of the Kingdom of Scotland in the name of the exiled King John Balliol. He began preparations for what was surely to follow: a confrontation with Edward I.][
In January 1298, Philip IV of France had signed a truce with Edward I, that did not include Scotland, thereby deserting his Scots allies.
]
Invasion
Edward returned to England from campaigning in Flanders on 14 March 1298 and called for his army to assemble at Roxburgh
Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at leas ...
. He moved the seat of government to York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and called the Scottish magnates to attend. The failure of the Scottish magnates to attend resulted in them being charged with treason.[Prestwich, p.479] Edward I left York on 25 June for Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
. On 3 July, he invaded Scotland, intending to crush Wallace and all those daring to assert Scotland's independence. The army travelled from Roxburgh by Lauder
The former Royal Burgh of Lauder (, gd, Labhdar) is a town in the Scottish Borders in the historic county of Berwickshire. On the Southern Upland Way, the burgh lies southeast of Edinburgh, on the western edge of the Lammermuir Hills.
Etymo ...
then Kirkliston
Kirkliston is a small town and parish to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, historically within the county of West Lothian but now within the City of Edinburgh council limits. It lies on high ground immediately north of a northward loop of the Al ...
, Edward I choosing not to enter the English controlled town of Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
. Edward I then moved the camp to Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...
.[Crome, p.59] Supplies were brought from Carlisle and from ships along the eastern coast of Scotland.[Crome, p.58] Berwickshire
Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...
and the Lothians
Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scott ...
had been cleared and blighted by the Scots to reduce the food available to the English army.
While the English army was awaiting supplies, a force under the command of Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham attacked the castles of Dirleton
Dirleton is a village and civil parish in East Lothian, Scotland approximately east of Edinburgh on the A198. It contains . Dirleton lies between North Berwick (east), Gullane (west), Fenton Barns (south) and the Yellowcraigs nature reserve ...
, Hailes and Tantallon. The castles yielded to the English and were torched.[Crome, p.60] At the main English camp Edward I was injured by his war horse which trampled him, causing three broken ribs.
On 22 July, Edward's army attacked a much smaller Scottish force led by Wallace near Falkirk. The English army had a technological advantage with the English longbowmen decimating Wallace's spearmen grouped in schiltron
A schiltron (also spelled sheltron, sceld-trome, schiltrom, or shiltron) is a compact body of troops forming a battle array, shield wall or phalanx. The term is most often associated with Scottish pike formations during the Wars of Scottish Indep ...
s and the light cavalry by firing scores of arrows over great distances. The Scottish cavalry fled the battlefield and in the ensuing rout, many Scots were killed at the Battle of Falkirk, although it is impossible to give a precise number.
The English army continued onto Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
, capturing Stirling Castle and after staying a few weeks, started returning to England due to lack of supplies. The southern march took the English army from Stirling by Falkirk, Torphichen
Torphichen ( ) is a historic small village located north of Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland. The village is approximately 18 miles (20 km) west of Edinburgh, 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Falkirk and 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Linlithgow. ...
, Abercorn
Abercorn (Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a pop ...
, Braid and Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...
. The English had been expecting ships with supplies from Ireland at Ayr, however they did not arrive.[Prestwich, p.482] The English found Ayrshire had been deserted and laid waste by the Scots. Edward I attacked and captured Lochmaben Castle
Lochmaben Castle is a ruined castle in the town of Lochmaben, the feudal Lordship of Annandale, and the united county of Dumfries and Galloway. It was built by Edward I in the 14th century replacing an earlier motte and bailey castle, and later ...
and then travelled to Carlisle where he found the supplies had been looted.[Crome, p.63] Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk
Roger Bigod (c. 1245 – bf. 6 December 1306) was 5th Earl of Norfolk.
Origins
He was the son of Hugh Bigod (Justiciar), Hugh Bigod (1211–1266), Justiciar, and succeeded his father's elder brother Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk (1209â ...
and Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford
Humphrey (VII) de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford (1276 – 16 March 1322) was a member of a powerful Anglo-Norman family of the Welsh Marches and was one of the Ordainers who opposed Edward II's excesses.
Family background
Humphrey de Bohun's ...
and their retinues left the English army after a dispute with Edward I at Carlisle. The army then travelled via Jedburgh
Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in s ...
, Roxburgh and into England and Alnwick then Newcastle.
Aftermath
Although Edward I failed to subdue Scotland completely before returning to England, Wallace's military reputation was ruined. He retreated to the thick woods nearby and resigned his guardianship in December. Stirling Castle was besieged by the Scots in 1299 and the English garrison was forced to surrender. Edward I began preparations for a new invasion in 1299, however due to his impending marriage to Margaret of France, the half sister of Philip IV of France, he had to wait until 1300 to launch another invasion of Scotland.
Citations
References
* Crome, Sarah. Scotland's First War of Independence. 1999
* Prestwich, Michael. Edward I. 1988, University of California Press. {{ISBN, 9780520062665
1298 in Scotland
1298 in England
England–Scotland relations
Invasions by England
Invasions of Scotland
13th-century military history of Scotland