The Battle of Arkinholm was fought on 1 May 1455, at Arkinholm near

Langholm Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk in the Southern Uplands. Location and geography Langholm sits nort ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, during the reign of King

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. ...

. Although a small action, involving only a few hundred troops, it was the decisive battle in a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

between the king and the Black Douglases, the most powerful aristocratic family in the country. As the king's supporters won it was a significant step in the struggle to establish 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 ...

Background

The Black Douglases had already suffered some losses before the battle. The king's supporters had taken their castle at

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 p ...

, and some allies such as the Hamiltons had defected. The head of the family,

James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, 3rd Earl of Avondale KG (1426–1491) was a Scottish nobleman, last of the 'Black' earls of Douglas. Early life The son of James the Gross, 7th Earl of Douglas, by his wife Lady Beatrice Sinclair, daug ...

, had gone 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 ...

to rally support, but his three younger brothers were at the battle.

Battle

There is some uncertainty about the leadership of the royal army. By some accounts it was led by

George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, Lord Douglas, Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest (c. 1427 – 12 March 1463)Alan R. Borthwick, 'Douglas, George, fourth earl of Angus (c.1417–1463)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University ...

, head of the Red Douglas family, a senior aristocrat, and third cousin to the Earl of Douglas. However other accounts describe it as a force of local Border families,

Johnstone Johnstone ( sco, Johnstoun,
gd, Baile Iain) is a town ...

Carruthers Carruthers, sometimes Caruthers, is a Scottish people, Scottish surname and Clan Carruthers, clan, originating from the lands of Carruthers in Dumfriesshire. The place name is derived from the Cumbric language, Cumbric elements ''ker'' ("fort") and ...

, Maxwells, and Scotts, who had previously been dominated by the Black Douglases but now rebelled against them, led by the

Laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

John Johnstone of

Johnstone Johnstone ( sco, Johnstoun,
gd, Baile Iain) is a town ...

in Annandale, who succeeded his father in 1455. Of the three Douglas brothers: Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray was killed in the battle and his head presented to the king, Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormonde was captured and executed shortly afterwards, and

John Douglas, Lord of Balvenie John Douglas, Lord of Balvenie (or Balveny, Balvany) (c. 1433–1463) was the youngest of the five Black Douglas brothers, who rebelled against King James II of Scotland. Biography Early life Balvenie was the son of James Douglas, 7th E ...

escaped to

.Battle of Arkinholm
oxfordreference.com. Retrieved 29 June 2013.

Aftermath

Shortly after the battle the Black Douglases were attainted, the last few castles held by them fell, and they ceased to be a serious force in Scotland. After the battle the Douglas, the Earl of Angus (Red Douglas) was awarded the earldom of Douglas, previously held by the Black Douglases along with the original possessions of his ancestors in Douglasdale. Thomas Carruthers, the 2nd son of John Carruthers the 3rd Laird of Holmains, received a charter for the lands of Corry on 23 July 1484, for his services at the Battle of Arkinholm. The lands of Corry were forfeited from George Corry for implication of him in the Albany-Douglas invasion. A song about the battle has been recorded by

The Corries The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued ...

, with words by George Weir and music by Roy Williamson.

Background

Battle

Aftermath

References

Further reading