Battle of Falkirk (1298)
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The Battle of Falkirk (''Blàr na h-Eaglaise Brice'' in Gaelic), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the
First War of Scottish Independence The First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until the ''de jure'' restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty ...
. Led by
King 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 vassa ...
, the English army defeated the Scots, led by
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 ...
. Shortly after the battle Wallace resigned as
Guardian of Scotland The Guardians of Scotland were regents who governed the Kingdom of Scotland from 1286 until 1292 and from 1296 until 1306. During the many years of minority in Scotland's subsequent history, there were many guardians of Scotland and the post was ...
.


Background

After the
Battle of Stirling Bridge The Battle of Stirling Bridge ( gd, Blàr 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 ...
, from November 1297 until January 1298, Wallace led a Scottish army south. From
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
to Carlisle, the Scots raided the countryside, bringing back the spoils. King Edward learned of the defeat of his northern army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. After concluding a truce with the French king, Philip the Fair in October 1297, he returned to
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on 14 March 1298 to continue the ongoing organising of an army for his second invasion of Scotland which had been in preparation since late 1297. As a preliminary step he moved the centre 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 ...
, where it was to remain for the next six years. A council-of-war was held in the city in April to finalise the details of the invasion. The Scottish magnates were all summoned to attend, and when none appeared they were all declared to be traitors. Edward then ordered 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 ...
on 25 June. The force counted 2,000 armoured cavalry and about 12,000 infantry receiving wages, though, after the manner of medieval armies there would have been many more serving without pay either as a statement of personal independence, forgiveness of debts to the crown, criminal pardons or just for adventure, including 10,900 Welshmen. Stuart Reid estimates Edward's force at 214 knights with 900 troopers, 1000 cavalry supplied by the Earls, 500 mercenary
crossbowmen An arbalist, also spelled arbelist, is one who shoots a crossbow. Background An extensive list of archaic words for medieval crossbowmen is given by Payne-Gallwey. Richardson, in his 1839 dictionary, did not make specific reference to the cross ...
, 2000 archers with billmen from the Lancashire and Cheshire feudal levies, and 10,500 Welshmen, though the infantry may only have totalled 8,000. Edward left Roxburgh on 3 July and reached
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 ...
in two weeks, where he awaited supplies expected to arrive along the coastal ports, delayed due to weather. In the interim, Edward dealt with a Welsh mutiny. Finally, on 20 July, Edward advanced, reaching
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 ...
on 21 July. Edward was on the point of falling back on
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 ...
, when he received intelligence the Scots were at
Torwood Torwood ( gd, Coille Tor) is a small village located north-northwest of Larbert, north-west of Falkirk and south-southeast of Stirling. Torwood lies within the Falkirk Council area of Scotland. The population recorded in the 2011 UK Census ...
, near Falkirk, ready to harass his retreat. Edward reportedly said that he "would not trouble them to seek me", and placed his army south of Falkirk on the morning of the 22nd. Edward wanted to make camp and feed his men while waiting for his infantry to catch up with his cavalry. His cavalry commanders though, favoured an immediate attack. Reid calculates the Scots could have manned four
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 with about 1000 men each, in addition to the cavalry and archers. These men would have come from the sheriffdoms of Fife, Kinross, Midlothian, Haddington, Stirling, Linlithgow, Lanark, Merse and Teviotdale. With that, Wallace supposedly said, "I have browghte yowe to the ryng. Hoppe yef ye canne!" Absent were forces under the Comyns and Robert Bruce. Also absent was
Andrew Moray Andrew Moray ( xno, Andreu de Moray; la, Andreas de Moravia), also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was an esquire, who became one of Scotland's war-leaders during the First Scottish War of Independence. Moray, he ...
, co-victor with Wallace at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, having been mortally wounded in that battle. It was Moray who used the schiltrons offensively.


Battle

The Scots army, again made up chiefly of spearmen as at Stirling Bridge, was arranged in four great "hedgehogs" known as
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. The long spears ( pikes) pointing outwards at various heights gave these formations a formidable and impenetrable appearance. The gaps between the schiltrons were filled with archers, with 500 mounted knights at the rear. On Tuesday 22 July, the English cavalry, divided into four
battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, advanced in echelon. The
vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...
, led by the Earl of Lincoln, moved to the left to avoid a marshy area, followed by the battle of the
Earl of Surrey Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, a close companion of William the Conqueror. It is currently held as a subsidiary title by the Dukes of Norfol ...
. The battle of Anthony Bek,
Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...
, followed by the King's battle, moved around the marshy area to the right, toward the Scottish left flank. Lincoln's and Bek's battles charged the Scots and Lincoln quickly routed the Scottish cavalry. The Scots bowmen commanded by Sir John Stewart, the younger brother of the
High Steward of Scotland The title of High Steward or Great Steward is that of an officer who controls the domestic affairs of a royal household. In the 12th century King David I of Scotland gave the title to Walter fitz Alan, a nobleman from Brittany, whose descendan ...
, stood their ground but were overrun by the English cavalry. However, the schiltrons held firm, with the knights making little impression on the dense forest of long spears, and 111 horses were killed in the vain attempts. Edward's cavalry fell back as his infantry and archers arrived. Edward's archers, crossbowmen and slingers began raining projectiles on the inexperienced and poorly-armoured Scottish spearmen. The schiltrons were an easy target; they had no defence and nowhere to hide. Pinned in place by the English cavalry and infantry, unable to retreat or attack, the battle was lost for the Scots almost as soon as the first arrows began to fall. The English waited, this time observing the King's command, until the Scottish ranks were thinned out and disordered enough to allow them to break up the schiltrons. The English cavalry and infantry then attacked the wavering Scottish spearmen, and the schiltrons broke and scattered.


Aftermath

Edward occupied Stirling and raided
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
, St. Andrews and Ayrshire. Yet, he retreated to Carlisle by 9 September. Edward invaded again in the summer of 1300. Casualties among the Scottish leaders were not particularly heavy, but did include Wallace's second-in-command, Sir John de Graham, as well as Sir John Stewart, and Macduff of Fife. In the words of Reid, "while unquestionably a good partisan leader, William Wallace's military abilities were simply not up to the job of organizing, training and leading a conventional military force." At Falkirk, Wallace "simply drew up his army in an open field and froze." In the words of Evan Macleod Barron, it was Moray who "possessed military genius and military training", while Wallace possessed qualities that "make a great guerilla leader." Barron goes on to say, "Falkirk should never have been fought at all ... it hardly looks as if the brain which conceived the plan of battle at Falkirk was the same as that which conceived the plan at Stirling Bridge." Though Wallace resigned his leadership and guardianship, he still "represented the mass of the people." Hence Edward's determination to "capture at all costs the man who was in himself the embodiment of that popular hostility, and who was in addition, a warrior of skill and daring and a leader who had won the heart and the imagination of the people."


The Falkirk Roll of Arms

The Falkirk Roll is a collection of the arms of the English bannerets and noblemen present at the battle of Falkirk. It is the oldest known English occasional roll of arms, and contains 111 names and blazoned shields. Following are a collection of modern illustrations of the Falkirk Roll based on the blazons published in Henry Gough's book, ''Scotland in 1298. Documents Relating to the Campaign of King Edward the First.'' File:The Falkirk Roll of Arms - Panel 1 - La Vaunt Garde.jpg, Panel 1 – ''La Vaunt Garde'' ("The Vanguard") File:The Falkirk Roll of Arms - Panel 2 - La Batayle le Eveske de Dureme.jpg, Panel 2 – ''La Batayle le Eveske de Dureme'' ("The Bishop of Durham's Battle") File:The Falkirk Roll of Arms - Panel 3 - La Bataille le Roy.jpg, Panel 3 – ''La Bataille le Roy'' ("The King's Battle") File:The Falkirk Roll of Arms - Panel 4 - La Quarte Bataille.jpg, Panel 4 – ''La Quarte Bataille'' ("The Fourth Battle")


Possible battle sites

The site of the battle is uncertain. There have been three proposed sites: at Campfield, around the modern Central Retail Park; south of Callendar Woods (as depicted in the diagrams above), and; at Mumrills, the site of the Antonine Fort.
Walter of Guisborough Walter of GuisboroughWalter of Gisburn, Walterus Gisburnensis. Previously known to scholars as Walter of Hemingburgh (John Bale seems to have been the first to call him that).Sometimes known erroneously as Walter Hemingford, Latin chronicler of t ...
stated that the Scots were positioned "on hard ground ... on one side of a hillock". The ''
Scalacronica The ''Scalacronica'' (1066–1363) is a chronicle written in Anglo-Norman French by Sir Thomas Grey of Heaton near Norham in Northumberland. It was started whilst he was imprisoned by the Scots in Edinburgh Castle, after being captured in an a ...
'' reported that the site was "on this side of Falkirk." Stuart Reid has suggested the burgh muir of Falkirk (i.e. "the plain which is called Falkirk"), while also acknowledging a consensus among historians, that located the Scots' position below Callendar Wood, with Glen Burn in front.


References

* * * Prestwich, M., ''Edward I'', 1997, Yale University Press, New Haven & London, (pbk.)


Further reading

* Bain, J., ''The Edwards in Scotland, 1296–1377'', 1961. * Barrow, G. W. S.,'' Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland'', 1976 * Brown, C., "William Wallace", 2004. * Morris, J. E., ''The Welsh Wars of Edward I'', 1994. * Nicholson, R. ''Scotland – the Later Middle Ages'', 1974. * Oman, C., ''The Art of War in the Middle Ages'', 1898. * Santiuste, D., ''The Hammer of the Scots: Edward I and the Scottish Wars of Independence'', 2015. * Fordun, John, '' Chronica Gentis Scotorum'' (''Chronicle of the Scottish nation''), 1363. Translated from the Latin text by Felix J. H. Skene. Ed. by William F. Skene. 1872


External links


Wallace and the Battle of Falkirk (1297)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkirk, Battle Of, 1297 1298 in Scotland Battles of the Wars of Scottish Independence Falkirk Conflicts in 1298
Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
13th-century military history of Scotland Edward I of England