October 14, 1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England

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Battle of Bannockburn, Battle of Old Byland, Edward II of England, Holyrood Abbey, Piers Gaveston, Robert I of Scotland, Robert the Bruce, Sir Thomas Grey

1322 – Robert I the Bruce, King of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at the Battle of Old Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland’s independence.

The Battle of Old Byland (also known as the Battle of Byland Abbey, the Battle of Byland Moor and the Battle of Scotch Corner) was a significant encounter between Scots and English troops in Yorkshire in on October 14, 1322, forming part of the Wars of Scottish Independence. It was a victory for the Scots, the most significant since Bannockburn.

Ever since Robert Bruce’s victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Scots had taken the initiative in the wars with England, raiding deep into the north of the country repeatedly and with comparative ease to attempt to force the English to the peace-table.

The English king, Edward II seemed incapable of dealing with the problem, distracted, as he often was, in a political struggle with his own barons and refused to even begin peace negotiations with the Scots which would have required recognizing Robert the Bruce as King of the Scots. In early 1322 the situation had become critical, with some senior English noblemen, headed by Thomas of Lancaster, preparing to enter into an alliance with the Scots.

It seems unlikely that Bruce had much confidence in Lancaster, who referred to himself as ‘King Arthur’ in his negotiations with the Scots, but he was quick to take advantage of the threat of civil war in England. Scarcely had the truce of 1319 expired in January 1322 than Sir James Douglas, Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray and Walter Stewart came over the border on a large-scale attack on the north-east.

The three commanders fanned out across the region: Douglas to Hartlepool, Moray to Darlington and Stewart to Richmond. Lancaster with his army at Pontefract did nothing to stop them. Edward ignored the Scots, instructing his lieutenant in the north, Sir Andrew Harclay, the governor of Carlisle, to concentrate his efforts against the rebel barons, whom he finally defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge. In the wake of this the Scots raiders slipped back across the border.

Edward II, King of England and Lord of Ireland

Edward’s invasion

Boroughbridge was a new beginning for Edward. The baronial opposition had been defeated and tainted with treason: the king had at last enjoyed his long-awaited revenge for the murder of Piers Gaveston. This was the high point of his reign and, emboldened by this rare triumph, he decided to embark on what was to be his last invasion of Scotland. It was to be a disaster.

By the time Edward was ready to begin his advance in early August, Bruce was more than ready. He deployed his usual tactics: crops were destroyed and livestock removed and his army withdrawn north of the River Forth. In all of Lothian the English are said only to have found one lame cow, causing the Earl of Surrey to remark; This is the dearest beef I ever saw. It surely has cost a thousand pounds and more!

In the Scalacronica, Sir Thomas Grey describes the whole campaign thus;
The king marched upon Edinburgh, where at Leith there came such a sickness and famine upon the common soldiers of that great army, that they were forced to beat a retreat for want of food; at which time the king’s light horse were defeated by James de Douglas. None dared leave the main body to seek food by forage, so greatly were the English harassed and worn out by fighting that before they arrived in Newcastle there was such a murrain in the army for want of food, that they were obliged of necessity to disband.

Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, and the border abbeys of Melrose and Dryburgh were destroyed in revenge by the English. The invasion had achieved precisely nothing. More seriously, the effect on national morale of the ignominious retreat of a starving army was almost as bad as the defeat at Bannockburn. Worse was to follow; for, as always, an English retreat was the signal for yet another Scottish attack.

Old Byland

Bruce crossed the Solway in the west, making his way in a south-easterly direction towards Yorkshire, bringing many troops recruited in Argyll and the Isles. The boldness and speed of the attack, known as The Great Raid of 1322, soon exposed Edward to the dangers on his own land. On his return from Scotland, the king had taken up residence at Rievaulx Abbey with Queen Isabella.

His peace was interrupted when the Scots made a sudden and unexpected approach in mid-October. All that stood between them and a royal prize was a large English force under the command of John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond. John had taken up position on Scawton Moor, between Rievaulx and Byland Abbey. To dislodge him from his strong position on the high ground Bruce used the same tactics that brought victory at the earlier Battle of Pass of Brander.

As Moray and Douglas charged uphill a party of Highlanders scaled the cliffs on the English flank and charged downhill into Richmond’s rear. Resistance crumbled and the Battle of Old Byland turned into a complete and bloody rout of the English. Richmond himself was taken prisoner, as were Henri de Sully, Grand Butler of France, Sir Ralph Cobham (‘the best knight in England’) and Sir Thomas Ughtred. Many others were killed in flight. Edward – ‘ever chicken-hearted and luckless in war’ – was forced to make a rapid and undignified exit from Rievaulx, fleeing in such haste that his personal belongings were left behind.

After Byland, says Sir Thomas Gray, the Scots were so fierce and their chiefs so daring, and the English so cowed, that it was no otherwise between them than as a hare before greyhounds. This was a significant victory for the Scots after their success at Myton on Swale and was soon followed 5 years later by their victory at Stanhope Park over Edward III.

June 21, 1377: Death of Edward III, King of England and Lord of Ireland

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Charles IV of France, Edward II of England, Hundred Years War, Isabella of France, King Edward III of England and Lord of Ireland, Philippa of Hainault, Philippe VI of France, Roger Mortimer, She-Wolf of France

Edward III (November 13, 1312 – June 21, 1377) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377.

Edward was born at Windsor Castle on November 13, 1312, and was often called Edward of Windsor in his early years, before his accession.

Edward was the son of Edward II, King of England and Lord of Ireland and his wife Isabella of France (c. 1295 – August 22, 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France, was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of King Philippe IV of France and Queen Joan I of Navarre.

The reign of his father, Edward II, was a particularly problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the king’s inactivity, and repeated failure, in the ongoing war with Scotland. Another controversial issue was the king’s exclusive patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of a male heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward II’s position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the young prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age.

In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, to perform homage for the English Duchy of Aquitaine. Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place and sent him to France to perform the homage. The young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French.

Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, and her lover Roger Mortimer. At age seventeen he led a successful coup d’état against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign.

Edward and Philippa of Hainault became engaged in 1326.

Philippa of Hainault was the daughter of Count William of Hainaut and French princess Joan of Valois, the second eldest daughter of the French prince Charles, Count of Valois, and Margaret, Countess of Anjou and Maine. Joan of Valois ws the sister of King Philippe VI of France

Their marriage was celebrated in York Minster on 24 January 24, 1328, some months after Edward’s accession to the throne of England and Isabella of France’s infamous invasion.

After her husband reclaimed the throne, Philippa influenced King Edward to take interest in the nation’s commercial expansion, was part of the successful Battle of Neville’s Cross, and often went on expeditions to Scotland and France.

After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself rightful heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what became known as the Hundred Years’ War.

Following some initial setbacks, this first phase of the war went exceptionally well for England; victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny, in which England made territorial gains, and Edward renounced his claim to the French throne. This phase would become known as the Edwardian War. Edward’s later years were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity and poor health.

Edward III Iis noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after the disastrous and unorthodox reign of his father, Edward II. Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe.

His fifty-year reign was one of the longest in English history, and saw vital developments in legislation and government, in particular the evolution of the English Parliament, as well as the ravages of the Black Death. He outlived his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince.

Around September 29, 1376 he fell ill with a large abscess. After a brief period of recovery in February 1377, the king died of a stroke at Sheen on June 21 and the throne passed to his grandson, Richard II.

Succession

In 1376, Edward III signed letters patent on the order of succession to the crown, citing in second position John of Gaunt, born in 1340, but ignoring Philippa, daughter of Lionel, born in 1338. Philippa’s exclusion contrasted with a decision by Edward I in 1290, which had recognized the right of women to inherit the crown and to pass it on to their descendants.

The order of succession determined in 1376 led to the throne the House of Lancaster in 1399 (John of Gaunt was Duke of Lancaster), whereas the rule decided by Edward I would have favoured Philippa’s descendants, among them the House of York, beginning with Richard of York, her great-grandson.

Edward was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in many ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, he was denounced as an irresponsible adventurer by later Whig historians such as Bishop William Stubbs, but modern historians credit him with some significant achievements.

As mentioned above, Edward III reigned for 50 years and from his death to the end of the reign of George III, who reigned for 59 years, Edward III was England’s longest reigning monarch. Although I must add James VI of Scotland reigned for 57 years in that realm.

April 22, 1355: Death of Eleanor of Woodstock, Duchess of Guelders

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Edward II of England, Edward III of England, Eleanor of Castile, Eleanor of Woodstock, English Princess, Isabella of France, Lord of Ireland, Philippe IV of France, Reginald II of Guelders

Eleanor of Woodstock (June 18, 1318 – April 22, 1355) was an English Princess and the Duchess of Guelders by marriage to Reginald II of Guelders. She was a younger sister of Edward III of England.

Early life

Eleanor was born at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire to King Edward II of England, Lord of Ireland and Isabella of France, the daughter of King Philippe IV of France and Queen Joan I of Navarre.

Eleanor was named after her paternal grandmother, Eleanor of Castile, daughter of Fernando III of Castile and Joan, Countess of Ponthieu.

It’s interesting to note that although Eleanor of Woodstock was named after her Castilian grandmother, her name traces back to English royalty.

Eleanor of Castile’s name, was Leonor in her native land but became Alienor or Alianor in England, and Eleanor in modern English. Eleanor of Castile was in turn named after her paternal great-grandmother, Eleanor of England, the daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England.

In 1325, there were negotiations between England and Castile for Eleanor to be betrothed to Alphonso XI of Castile, but this fell through due to the dowry.

In early 1328 Eleanor’s new sister-in-law, Philippa of Hainaut, wife of Edward III, became Eleanor’s guardian. In 1329, during the minority government, negotiations were underway for a match between Eleanor and the future Jean II of France; the following year the prospective bridegroom was Pedro, son of Alphonso IV of Aragon, but these negotiations fell through also.

Duchess of Guelders

In May 1332 Eleanor married the count of Guelders, Reinoud II “the black” (English: Reginald), of the House of Wassenberg (born c. 1287), a marriage arranged by her brother, Edward III, and her mother’s cousin Joan of Valois. The groom, quite dark of colour and according to chronicles, also of character, was a widower with four daughters. He was known for, among other things, having imprisoned his father for over six years.

According to legend, she was sent from court in 1336 under the pretext that she had leprosy. Her husband was reportedly under the influence of the priest Jan Moliart, who had been active in her exile and the false pretense of her alleged leprosy. During her supposed exile, she is said to have stayed in Deventer; she does appear to have been active as the protector of the Franciscan Friars, and a financier of their new church.

Again according to legend, her husband tried to annul the marriage. Although there is no firm evidence to support this story, which finds parallels in the legends surrounding numerous other royal women, Eleanor turned up in Court in Nijmegen to contest the annulment, and proceeded to strip down, proving she was no leper, and thus forcing her husband to take her back. He died from a fall from his horse on October 12, 1343.

She was regent as the guardian of their minor son Reginald III from 1343 until 1344.

On April 22, 1355, twelve years after she became a widow, Eleanor died at age 36 and was buried in the Franciscan church in Deventer. Her tombstone had the simple inscription ELEANOR on it; however, in England, on the south side of Philippa of Hainault’s tomb in Westminster Abbey there is an image of her and her husband.

April 15, 1282: Birth of Frédérick IV, Duke of Lorraine

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Albrecht I of Germany, Charles IV of France, Duke of Austria, Duke of Lorraine, Edward II of England, Frédérick IV of Lorraine, Friedrich the Handsome, Holy Roman Empire, House of Habsburg, House of Wittlesbach, Ludwig IV of Bavaria, Philippe VI of France

Frédérick IV (April 15, 1282 – August 23, 1328), called the Fighter, was the Duke of Lorraine from 1312 to his death.

Frédérick was born in Gondreville, the son and successor of Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine and Isabella of Rumigny.

On October 18, 1314, at the Diet of Frankfurt, the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire failed to elect as successor to Heinrich VII, Holy Roman Emperor, either the Habsburg claimant, Friedrich the Handsome, the Duke of Austria, or the Wittelsbach, Ludwig IV of Bavaria.

By marriage to Elisabeth, daughter of Albrecht I of Germany, Frédérick was the brother-in-law of Friedrich the Handsome, called Friedrich III of Germany by his supporters, of whom Frédérick IV of Lorraine was one.

On September 28, 1322, at the Battle of Mühldorf, both Frédérick IV and Friedrich the Handsome were captured. This was an opportunity for Charles IV of France to strengthen the Lorrainer ties to France and he quickly procured the duke’s release on the promise that Lorraine would not interfere in imperial affairs.

In 1324, he participated in an expedition in Aquitaine against Edward II of England’s estates, for Charles IV had built a fortress illegally on Edward’s territory and had sent his uncle, Count Charles III of Valois, against the English possessions after Hugh le Despenser and the Younger Despenser imprisoned Isabella of France, Charles IV’s sister and Edward’s queen. He took part in the War of Metz in 1325 and 1326. He joined Philippe VI of France, on his succession in 1328, and fought and died at the Battle of Cassel.

Personal life
In 1304, Frédérick IV married Elisabeth of Austria (1285–1352), Elisabeth was the tenth of twelve children to Albert I of Germany and his wife Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol.

They had the following children:

1.Rudolph (1320–1346), Duke of Lorraine
2. Margaret
3. Four children who died during childhood

February 1, 1328: Death of King Charles IV of France and Navarre

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Blanche of Burgundy, Charles IV of France, Charles of Valois, Edward II of England, Jeanne d'Évreux, King of France and Navarre, Marie of Luxembourg, Philippe VI of France, Pope John XXII, Tour de Nesle Affair

Charles IV (June 18/19, 1294 – February 1, 1328), called the Fair in France and the Bald in Navarre, was King of France and King of Navarre (as Charles I) from 1322 to 1328. Charles IV was the last king of the direct line of the House of Capét,

Charles was the third son of Philippe IV and Joan I, Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1274 until 1305; the daughter of King Henri I of Navarre and Blanche of Artois.

Charles IV-I, King of France and Navarre

By virtue of the birthright of his mother, Joan I of Navarre, Charles claimed the title Charles I, King of Navarre. From 1314 to his accession to the throne, he held the title of Count of La Marche and was crowned King of France in 1322 at the cathedral in Reims.

Unlike Philippe IV and Philippe V, Charles IV is reputed to have been a relatively conservative, “strait-laced” king – he was “inclined to forms and stiff-necked in defence of his prerogatives”, while disinclined either to manipulate them to his own ends or achieve wider reform.

Beginning in 1323 Charles was confronted with a peasant revolt in Flanders, and in 1324 he made an unsuccessful bid to be elected Holy Roman Emperor.

As Duke of Guyenne, King Edward II of England was a vassal of Charles, but he was reluctant to pay homage to another king. In retaliation, Charles conquered the Duchy of Guyenne in a conflict known as the War of Saint-Sardos (1324). In a peace agreement, Edward II accepted to swear allegiance to Charles and to pay a fine. In exchange, Guyenne was returned to Edward but with a much-reduced territory.

Marriages

In 1308 Charles married his first wife, Blanche of Burgundy, the daughter of Count Otto IV of Burgundy and Countess Mahaut of Artois, she was led to a disastrous marriage by her mother’s ambition.

Eight years before her husband’s accession to the thrones, early in 1314, Blanche and her sisters-in-law Margaret of Burgundy, and her own sister, Joan of Burgundy were allegedly caught in an act of adultery in the Tour de Nesle Affair. Charles IV’s sister, and their sister-in-law, Isabella of France was a witness against them.

As were their cousin Blanche of Burgundy, Margaret and Joan of Burgundy were members of the ducal House of Burgundy, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Margaret and Joan were the daughters of Robért II, Duke of Burgundy (1248–1306) and Agnes of France (1260–1327), the youngest daughter of Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence.

Margaret of Burgundy had married her first cousin once removed, Louis X, King of France and Navarre. Joan of Burgundy had married Philippe of Valois, Louis X’s cousin, in July 1313. From 1314 to 1328, they were count and countess of Maine; Philippe of Valois became Philippe VI of France in 1328.

Blanche was arrested and found guilty of adultery with a Norman knight. Margaret was imprisoned at Château Gaillard along with her sister-in-law Blanche of Burgundy. Joan of Burgundy was acquitted of the charge of adultery.

Blanche was imprisoned and not released even after becoming queen, until her marriage was annulled when she was moved to the coast of Normandy. After Charles assumed the throne he refused to release Blanche, their marriage was annulled, and Blanche retreated to a nunnery.

The date and place of her death are unknown; the mere fact that she died was simply mentioned on the occasion of her husband’s third marriage in April 1326.

Blanche had given birth to two children, Philippe and Joan, but both of them died young and Charles IV needed a son and heir to carry on the House of Capet.

On September 21, 1322 in either Paris or Provins Charles IV married Marie of Luxembourg, the daughter Heinrich VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Margaret of Brabant.

On May 15, 1323 Marie was consecrated Queen of France at Sainte-Chapelle by Guillaume de Melum, Archbishop of Sens. In the same year she became pregnant but she later miscarried a girl.

Whilst pregnant again in March 1324, Marie and Charles IV were travelling to Avignon to visit the pope when Marie fell out of the bottom of the coach. As a result, she went into labour and her child, a boy (Louis), was born prematurely, and died several hours later; Queen Marie died on March 26, 1324 and was buried at Montargis in the Dominican church.

Charles IV married again in 1325, this time to Jeanne d’Évreux: she was his first cousin, the daughter of Louis, Count of Évreux and Margaret of Artois. Since Jeanne was Charles’s first cousin, the couple required papal permission to marry, which they obtained from Pope John XXII.

They had three daughters, Jeanne, Marie and Blanche, who were unable to inherit the throne under principles of the Salic Law. The royal couple’s lack of sons caused the end of the direct line of the Capetian dynasty.

During half of his reign Charles IV relied heavily on his uncle, Charles of Valois, for advice and to undertake key military tasks.

Charles of Valois was a powerful magnate in his own right, a key advisor to Louis X, and he had made a bid for the regency in 1316, initially championing Louis X’s daughter Joan, before finally switching sides and backing Philippe V. Charles of Valois would have been aware that if Charles died without male heirs, he and his male heirs would have a good claim to the crown.

After the death of Charles of Valois, Charles became increasingly interested in a French intervention in Byzantium, taking the cross in 1326. Andronicus II responded by sending an envoy to Paris in 1327, proposing peace and discussions on ecclesiastical union.

A French envoy sent in return with Pope John XXII’s blessing later in the year, however, found Byzantium beset with civil war, and negotiations floundered. The death of Charles the next year prevented any French intervention in Byzantium.

Charles IV died on February 1, 1328 at the Château de Vincennes, Val-de-Marne, and is interred with his third wife, Jeanne d’Évreux, in Saint Denis Basilica, with his heart buried at the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in Paris.

When Charles IV died without a male heir, the senior line of the House of Capet, descended from Philippe IV, became extinct. He was succeeded in Navarre by his niece Joan II and in France by his paternal first cousin Philippe of Valois.

However, the dispute on the succession to the French throne between the Valois monarchs descended in male line from Charles’s grandfather Philippe III of France, and the English monarchs descended from Charles’s sister Isabella, was a factor of the Hundred Years’ War.

January 11, 1372: Death of Eleanor of Lancaster, Countess of Arundel

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3rd Earl of Arundel, Countess of Arundel, Edward II of England, Eleanor of Lancaster, Eleanor Plantagenet, Henry III of England, Henry of Lancaster, Richard FitzAlan

Eleanor of Lancaster, Countess of Arundel (sometimes called Eleanor Plantagenet; September 11, 1318 – January 11, 1372) was a member of the English Royal Family and the fifth daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth.

Her father, Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster (c. 1281 – 1345) was a grandson of King Henry III (1216–1272) of England and was one of the principals behind the deposition of King Edward II (1307–1327), his first cousin. Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancastern was the younger son of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester, a son of King Henry III by his wife Eleanor of Provence. Henry’s mother was Blanche of Artois, Queen Dowager of Navarre.

Eleanor married first on November 6, 1330 John de Beaumont, 2nd Baron Beaumont (d. 1342), son of Henry de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Buchan, 1st Baron Beaumont (c.1288-1340) by his wife Alice Comyn (1289-3 July 1349).

Henry de Beaumont was the grandson of John of Brienne, King of Jerusalem and later Latin Emperor of Constantinople by his third wife, Berengaria of Leon, making Henry a second cousin of Edward II of England.

John de Beaumont died in a jousting tournament on April 14, 1342. They had one son, born to Eleanor in Ghent whilst serving as lady-in-waiting to Queen Philippa of Hainault:

Henry de Beaumont, 3rd Baron Beaumont, (1340 — 1369), the first husband of Lady Margaret de Vere (d. 15 June 1398), the daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford by his wife Maud de Badlesmere. Henry and Margaret had one son, John de Beaumont, 4th Baron Beaumont KG (1361-1396).

Second marriage

On February 5, 1345 at Ditton Church, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, she married Richard FitzAlan, 3rd Earl of Arundel.

His previous marriage, to Isabel le Despenser, had taken place when they were children. It was annulled by Papal mandate as she, since her father’s attainder and execution, had ceased to be of any importance to him. Pope Clement VI obligingly annulled the marriage, bastardized the issue, and provided a dispensation for his second marriage to the woman with whom he had been living in adultery (the dispensation, dated March 4, 1345, was required because his first and second wives were first cousins).

The children of Eleanor’s second marriage were:

1.) Richard (1346–1397), who succeeded as Earl of Arundel
2.) John Fitzalan (bef 1349 – 1379)
3.) Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (c. 1353 – 19 February 1413)
4.) Lady Joan FitzAlan (1347/1348 – 7 April 1419), married Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford
5.) Lady Alice FitzAlan (1350 – 17 March 1416), married Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent (Thomas Holand)
Lady Mary FitzAlan (died 29 August 1396), married John Le Strange, 4th Lord Strange of Blackmere, by whom she had issue
6.) Lady Eleanor FitzAlan (1348 – d 29 Aug 1396) married Sir Anthony Browne.

Later life

Eleanor died at Arundel and was buried at Lewes Priory in Lewes, Sussex, England. Her husband survived her by four years, and was buried beside her; in his will Richard requests to be buried “near to the tomb of Eleanor de Lancaster, my wife; and I desire that my tomb be no higher than hers, that no men at arms, horses, hearse, or other pomp, be used at my funeral, but only five torches…as was about the corpse of my wife, be allowed.”

The memorial effigies attributed to Eleanor and her husband Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel in Chichester Cathedral are the subject of the celebrated Philip Larkin poem “An Arundel Tomb.”

These Dates in History: October 14, 1066, 1322 & 1586

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Battle of Hastings, Battle of Old Byland, Duke of Normandy, Edward II of England, Elizabeth I of England, Fotheringhay Castle, Harald Hardrada, Harold Godwinson, King of Scots, Mary I of Scotland, Robert the Bruce, Tostig, William the Conqueror

1066 – The Norman conquest of England begins with the Battle of Hastings.

The Battle of Hastings was fought on October 14, 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold II Godwinson, beginning the Norman conquest of England. It took place approximately 7 mi (11 km) northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory. Senlac Hill (or Senlac Ridge) is the generally accepted location in which Harold Godwinson deployed his army for the Battle of Hastings. It is located near what is now the town of Battle, East Sussex.

The background to the battle was the death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, which set up a succession struggle between several claimants to his throne. Harold Godwinson was elected by the Witan Council and crowned king shortly after Edward’s death, but faced invasions by William, his own brother Tostig, and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada (Harold III of Norway).

Harald Hardrada and Tostig defeated a hastily gathered army of Englishmen at the Battle of Fulford on September 20, 1066, and were in turn defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge five days later. The deaths of Tostig and Hardrada at Stamford Bridge left William as Harold’s only serious opponent.

While Harold and his forces were recovering, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey on September 28, 1066 and established a beachhead for his conquest of the kingdom. Harold was forced to march south swiftly, gathering forces as he went.

The exact numbers present at the battle are unknown as even modern estimates vary considerably. The composition of the forces is clearer; the English army was composed almost entirely of infantry and had few archers, whereas only about half of the invading force was infantry, the rest split equally between cavalry and archers.

Harold appears to have tried to surprise William, but scouts found his army and reported its arrival to William, who marched from Hastings to the battlefield to confront Harold. The battle lasted from about 9 am to dusk. Early efforts of the invaders to break the English battle lines had little effect; therefore, the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turning on their pursuers. Harold’s death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army. After further marching and some skirmishes, William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066.

There continued to be rebellions and resistance to William’s rule, but Hastings effectively marked the culmination of William’s conquest of England. Casualty figures are hard to come by, but some historians estimate that 2,000 invaders died along with about twice that number of Englishmen. William founded a monastery at the site of the battle, the high altar of the abbey church supposedly placed at the spot where Harold died.

1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at the Battle of Old Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland’s independence.

The Battle of Old Byland (also known as the Battle of Byland Abbey, the Battle of Byland Moor and the Battle of Scotch Corner) was a significant encounter between Scots and English troops in Yorkshire in on October 14, 1322, forming part of the Wars of Scottish Independence. It was a victory for the Scots, the most significant since Bannockburn.

Ever since Robert Bruce’s victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Scots had taken the initiative in the wars with England, raiding deep into the north of the country repeatedly and with comparative ease to attempt to force the English to the peace-table.

The English king, Edward II seemed incapable of dealing with the problem, distracted, as he often was, in a political struggle with his own barons and refused to even begin peace negotiations with the Scots which would have required recognizing Robert the Bruce as King of the Scots. In early 1322 the situation had become critical, with some senior English noblemen, headed by Thomas of Lancaster, preparing to enter into an alliance with the Scots.

It seems unlikely that Bruce had much confidence in Lancaster, who referred to himself as ‘King Arthur’ in his negotiations with the Scots, but he was quick to take advantage of the threat of civil war in England. Scarcely had the truce of 1319 expired in January 1322 than Sir James Douglas, Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray and Walter Stewart came over the border on a large-scale attack on the north-east.

The three commanders fanned out across the region: Douglas to Hartlepool, Moray to Darlington and Stewart to Richmond. Lancaster with his army at Pontefract did nothing to stop them. Edward ignored the Scots, instructing his lieutenant in the north, Sir Andrew Harclay, the governor of Carlisle, to concentrate his efforts against the rebel barons, whom he finally defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge. In the wake of this the Scots raiders slipped back across the border.

Edward’s invasion

Boroughbridge was a new beginning for Edward. The baronial opposition had been defeated and tainted with treason: the king had at last enjoyed his long-awaited revenge for the murder of Piers Gaveston. This was the high point of his reign and, emboldened by this rare triumph, he decided to embark on what was to be his last invasion of Scotland. It was to be a disaster.

By the time Edward was ready to begin his advance in early August, Bruce was more than ready. He deployed his usual tactics: crops were destroyed and livestock removed and his army withdrawn north of the River Forth. In all of Lothian the English are said only to have found one lame cow, causing the Earl of Surrey to remark; This is the dearest beef I ever saw. It surely has cost a thousand pounds and more!

In the Scalacronica, Sir Thomas Grey describes the whole campaign thus;
The king marched upon Edinburgh, where at Leith there came such a sickness and famine upon the common soldiers of that great army, that they were forced to beat a retreat for want of food; at which time the king’s light horse were defeated by James de Douglas. None dared leave the main body to seek food by forage, so greatly were the English harassed and worn out by fighting that before they arrived in Newcastle there was such a murrain in the army for want of food, that they were obliged of necessity to disband.

Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, and the border abbeys of Melrose and Dryburgh were destroyed in revenge by the English. The invasion had achieved precisely nothing. More seriously, the effect on national morale of the ignominious retreat of a starving army was almost as bad as the defeat at Bannockburn. Worse was to follow; for, as always, an English retreat was the signal for yet another Scottish attack.

Old Byland

Bruce crossed the Solway in the west, making his way in a south-easterly direction towards Yorkshire, bringing many troops recruited in Argyll and the Isles. The boldness and speed of the attack, known as The Great Raid of 1322, soon exposed Edward to the dangers on his own land. On his return from Scotland, the king had taken up residence at Rievaulx Abbey with Queen Isabella.

His peace was interrupted when the Scots made a sudden and unexpected approach in mid-October. All that stood between them and a royal prize was a large English force under the command of John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond. John had taken up position on Scawton Moor, between Rievaulx and Byland Abbey. To dislodge him from his strong position on the high ground Bruce used the same tactics that brought victory at the earlier Battle of Pass of Brander.

As Moray and Douglas charged uphill a party of Highlanders scaled the cliffs on the English flank and charged downhill into Richmond’s rear. Resistance crumbled and the Battle of Old Byland turned into a complete and bloody rout of the English. Richmond himself was taken prisoner, as were Henri de Sully, Grand Butler of France, Sir Ralph Cobham (‘the best knight in England’) and Sir Thomas Ughtred. Many others were killed in flight. Edward – ‘ever chicken-hearted and luckless in war’ – was forced to make a rapid and undignified exit from Rievaulx, fleeing in such haste that his personal belongings were left behind.

After Byland, says Sir Thomas Gray, the Scots were so fierce and their chiefs so daring, and the English so cowed, that it was no otherwise between them than as a hare before greyhounds. This was a significant victory for the Scots after their success at Myton on Swale and was soon followed 5 years later by their victory at Stanhope Park over Edward III.

1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, goes on trial for conspiracy against Queen Elizabeth I of England.

On 11 August 1586, after being implicated in the Babington Plot, Mary was arrested while out riding and taken to Tixall Hall in Staffordshire. In a successful attempt to entrap her, Walsingham had deliberately arranged for Mary’s letters to be smuggled out of Chartley. Mary was misled into thinking her letters were secure, while in reality they were deciphered and read by Walsingham. From these letters it was clear that Mary had sanctioned the attempted assassination of Elizabeth. Mary was moved to Fotheringhay Castle in a four-day journey ending on September 25.

On October 14, she was put on trial for treason under the Act for the Queen’s Safety before a court of 36 noblemen, including Cecil, Shrewsbury, and Walsingham.

Spirited in her defence, Mary denied the charges. She told her triers, “Look to your consciences and remember that the theatre of the whole world is wider than the kingdom of England”. She protested that she had been denied the opportunity to review the evidence, that her papers had been removed from her, that she was denied access to legal counsel and that as a foreign anointed queen she had never been an English subject and thus could not be convicted of treason.

She was convicted on October 25, and sentenced to death with only one commissioner, Lord Zouche, expressing any form of dissent. Nevertheless, Elizabeth hesitated to order her execution, even in the face of pressure from the English Parliament to carry out the sentence. She was concerned that the killing of a queen set a discreditable precedent and was fearful of the consequences, especially if, in retaliation, Mary’s son, King James VI, formed an alliance with the Catholic powers and invaded England.

Elizabeth asked Paulet, Mary’s final custodian, if he would contrive a clandestine way to “shorten the life” of Mary, which he refused to do on the grounds that he would not make “a shipwreck of my conscience, or leave so great a blot on my poor posterity”. On February 1, 1587, Elizabeth signed the death warrant, and entrusted it to William Davison, a privy councillor. On February 3, ten members of the Privy Council of England, having been summoned by Cecil without Elizabeth’s knowledge, decided to carry out the sentence at once.

Mary was beheaded on February 8,1587 at Fotheringhay Castle. Mary’s life, marriages, lineage, alleged involvement in plots against Elizabeth, and subsequent execution established her as a divisive and highly romanticised historical character, depicted in culture for centuries.

Braveheart

Tags

Braveheart, David O'Hara, Edward, Edward I of England, Edward II of England, Edward longshanks, Isabella de Valois, King of Scots, kINGS OF eNGLAND, Patrick McGoohan, Prince of Wales, Princess of Wales, Robert the Bruce, William Wallace

Continuing with reviews of historical movies with a royal theme I bring you the review of Brave Heart. I wrote this review a few years ago. I hope you enjoy it!

I want to preface this review by stating my educational background is in European history so this is a subject on which I have some understanding. Also, I’m a big fan of movies and I generally enjoy historical films. I also understand that many of the negative reviews of this film, though not all, stem from the historical inaccuracies of the movie. Yes, this film is not historically accurate and as an historian I do not have a problem with that. I reconcile this apparent contradiction by viewing the movie Braveheart as historical fiction and nothing more. There seems to be a double standard in regards to historical fiction. There are many historical novels out on the market that are not always historically accurate, and yet, I do not hear much, if any, backlash about that. So Hollywood’s dramatization of historical events carries the majority of the criticism. One of the things I like about historical movies is their ability to bring to life long forgotten time periods. I often tell people to enjoy the movies, don’t gather your historical information form them, and let the movies encourage your own efforts to learn about the true historical events.

With that out of the way, I feel Braveheart is a wonderful example of old fashioned epic storytelling. You have an underdog hero who overcomes immense hardship and adversity to make a huge impact on his world. Although the main character himself does not succeed in a literal sense of the word, he becomes a larger than life legend and a symbol for freedom and independence. This movie has much to entertain. It is loaded with romance, intrigue, betrayal, rivalries, drama, beautiful scenery, and epic and garish battle scenes. Although all of the actors were excellent, I want to specially mention Patrick McGoohan, who did a superb job depicting the ruthless King Edward I of England. He almost steals the whole movie. I really enjoyed David O’Hara as Stephen, the Irish Fighter, he provided some great lines of comic relief. This movie is an almost return to the epic movies of the 50s with updated special effects and it is very entertaining. So forget the historical inaccuracies and just enjoy the movie at face value: a great action and adventure movie.