Archibald the Grim Series
By J R Tomlin
Young Archibald, the Black Douglas's bastard son, returns from exile to a Scotland ravaged by war. The war-hardened Knight of Liddesdale will teach him what he must learn. And with danger on every side, he must learn to sleep with one eye open and a claymore in his hand because even their closest ally may betray them...
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Page Length: 185
Genre: Historical Fiction, Scottish Historical Fiction
The Wars of Scottish Independence are considered to be two wars, but they are only 'sort of'. The first began with the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 and ended with the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton signed in 1328 between King Robert the Bruce and King Edward III.
A mere four years later, England's King Edward III repudiated the treaty he had signed and backed the invasion to place the pretender and English puppet, Edward Balliol, on the throne of Scotland. Balliol promptly declared that Scotland had always been a fief of England, deeded England most of southern Scotland, and swore that he would serve Edward for the rest of his life. Not surprisingly, Balliol was not loved in Scotland and was pretty promptly driven out. That did not end the renewed war, and this part of the war did not end until 1357 with the signing of the Treaty of Berwick. However, it is important in looking at the results of the war to note that the Treaty of Berwick included only a ten-year truce and was not a permanent peace treaty. It always included a financially crippling ransom for Scotland's King David II, who had been imprisoned by the English for over a decade.
When the treaty was signed, parts of Scotland and some Scottish castles, most importantly Roxburgh Castle and Lochmaben Castle, were still in England's hands. Some Scots were unwilling to accept the Scottish city of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which had been in English hands for most of the war, being handed over to the English. There was determination to push the rest of the English out of Scotland, which the Scots, led by the Douglases and their affinities, did with considerable determination over the following years. After a nine-day siege, Archibald Douglas, Lord of Galloway, finally took Lochmaben Castle from the English and "razed it to the ground" in February 1385. After that, the only Scottish castle left in English hands was Roxburgh, which the Scots did not regain until 1460. In the course of the action, metal fragments from the explosion of one of his cannons killed King James II of Scotland. After his death, the Scots stormed Roxburgh, captured and demolished it.
Despite the ruinous ransom payments and ongoing fighting, the initial results of the end of the war were positive on both sides of the border, with the renewal of trade and students from Scotland attending English universities. (The first Scottish university, St. Andrews, was not established until 1410) On the border between Scotland and England, there were intermittent, minor raids largely by both England and Scottish reivers, although occasionally a more major magnate took part, such as in 1372 when Henry, Lord Percy, the English March Warden, invaded Scotland with 7,000 troops, supposedly as punishment for reiver raids. The Scots did not meet him in battle, but he was forced to withdraw when his horses were loosed at night and frightened off.
However, the lack of a peace treaty meant that even this relative peace could not last, although it did last longer than one might have expected. This was in large part because England had problems of its own. In 1377 King Edward died, leaving his 10-year-old grandson, Richard II, as king.
A more peculiar conflict occurred in 1378. Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie carried out a surprise attack on Berwick and captured it with a small force of only 50 men. One has to assume he did not think he could hold Berwick-upon-Tweed or take Berwick Castle with only 50 men. They were immediately besieged by the town's governor, Thomas de Musgrave. Ramsay's uncle, Archibald Douglas (still Lord of Galloway), assembled a relief force of about 500 men, collecting more men on the way to Berwick. When Archibald learned that the force besieging Berwick numbered as many as possibly 10,000 men, he retreated toward Melrose, followed by the English army. Musgrave attacked. During the ensuing fight, Musgrave was unhorsed and taken prisoner. With Musgrave and other leaders captured, the remaining English, still alive, fled back to Berwick with news of their defeat. In the meantime, Ramsay and his men withdrew from Berwick. So make of all that what you will. Possibly it was just seeing how the English would react since they now had a child king.
This provocation was ignored because, as I mentioned, England had its own problems. It was embroiled in the Peasant's Revolt within four years of Richard II's ascension. Much of the English nobility was more concerned with saving their lives and putting down the revolt than attacking Scotland. Surprisingly to many, Scots offered sanctuary to John of Gaunt, who was conveniently 'away from London' at the start of the revolt. He was welcomed as a guest of Archibald Douglas and lodged at Holyrood Abbey for some time. Unfortunately, English gratitude was limited.
France and Scotland were long-time allies in what is known as the Auld Alliance, but since the Treaty of Berwick, Scotland had taken no part in the ongoing war between France and England. However, England was gradually losing ground against the French in the Hundred Years' War. In 1385, a now adult King Richard, since he could not defeat the French, led a 'punitive' invasion into Scotland, burning as he went as far as Edinburgh, including not just towns and cities but all monasteries in their path. Only Holyrood Abbey was spared at the behest of John of Gaunt. Other than vast destruction, nothing came of the invasion because the Scots refused battle, as was their usual policy, so Richard withdrew his army back to England.
Despite this unprovoked invasion, Scotland's elderly King Robert II took no action in response. His nobles, most of whom had gained their positions through war with England, were not pleased. Three years later, in 1388, the great magnates of Scotland carried out a two-pronged attack on the north of England. While Archibald Douglas, along with the king's second son, Robert, Earl of Fife, led an army down England's western coast to ravage the area of Carlisle while his cousin, James, newly Earl of Douglas, and John Dunbar, Earl of Moray, led another army of about 6,000 men through the middle of Northern England toward Durham and Newcastle, England.
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, in charge of the defense of the English marches, sent his sons Sir Henry Percy, nicknamed Hotspur, and Sir Ralph Percy, to attack the nearer force led by the Earl of Douglas. After minor skirmishing, Douglas and Moray moved off, destroying Ponteland Castle and laying siege to Otterburn Castle.
This decisive battle discouraged further attacks. England and Scotland soon had more than enough internal problems to deal with, so at least for a time, the long echoes of that dreadful war faded away.
J R Tomlin is the author of twenty historical novels.
Her historical novels are mainly set in Scotland. You can trace her love of that nation to the stories of Robert the Bruce and the Black Douglas that her grandmother read her when she was small and to her hillwalking through the Scottish Cairngorms where the granite mountains have a gorgeous red glow under the setting sun.
In addition to having lived in Scotland, she has traveled in the US, mainland Europe and the Pacific Rim. She now lives in Oregon.
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Thank you so much for hosting J R Tomlin. Such a fascinating guest post.
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The Coffee Pot Book Club
Thinks for hosting the article!
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