Anniversary - Battle of Flodden Field

A generation of Scottish nobility slaught e re d

BATTLE OF FLODDEN FIELD September 9, 1513

IN 1513, King Henry VIII of England invaded France as part of the War of the League of Cambrai or the War of the Holy League, a conflict that focused on Italy, but which involved most of Europe at one time or another. Scotland had a mutual defence treaty with France against England, known as the Auld Alliance, so King James IV of Scotland felt obliged to become involved. In line with his perception of the rules of chivalry at the time, he notified the English of his intention to invade, and a month later did so, quickly taking Norham Castle and a number of other English strongholds in Northumberland. The English raised an army under the Earl of Surrey which, though outnumbered by the Scots, hastened north to give battle. James had positioned his army on the strong defensive line of Flodden Edge. Surrey outflanked him to the east, crossing the River Till to take up positions to his north centred on the village of Branxton, which cut off the Scottish Army's lines of communication back to Scotland. James responded by moving his army a mile north from Flodden Edge to a lower ridge that still overlooked the English positions to their north. At 4pm on September 9, 1513, the English army was lined up along a low ridge centred on Branxton facing south, and the Scots were lined up along the higher ridge to the south, facing north. Between the two armies lay a valley of mostly marsh (which is today marked by a hedge and a stream). The battle began with an artillery duel. Most of the lighter Scottish artillery was on board the Scottish fleet, which was assisting the French against the English. The heavy Scottish guns that were being used had difficulty lowering their firing angles to target the English troops on the lower ridge opposite. The smaller and more maneuverable English guns easily picked off the Scottish guns and wreaked havoc on Scottish lines. In response, the left wing of the Scottish army advanced, doing consid-

in a battle that need not have happened

Up to 10,000 Scotsmen died out of an army of 25,000. In one afternoon, Scotland lost its king, James IV, as well as an archbishop, two bishops, 11 earls, 15 lords and 300 knights. The English lost just 1,700 out of an army of around 20,000.

Flodden memorial at the site of the battle

Most of the Scots were equipped with long pikes, which had proved very effective on the continent, but they had not had time to train properly in their use, and the morass on the valley floor made their users extremely vulnerable to the English infantry equipped with much shorter billhooks.

erable damage to the right wing of their enemy. Seeing their success, the rest of the Scottish army surged down into the valley which was far marshier than the part crossed by the initial Scottish advance. The Scots rapidly became bogged down, unable to keep their formation or effectively attack the English. Most of the Scots were equipped with long pikes, which had proved very effective on the continent, but they had not had time to train properly in their use, and the morass on the valley floor made their users extremely vulnerable to the English infantry equipped with much shorter billhooks. It was here that the Scots suffered most of their casualties. The left wing of the Scottish army, having won their part of the battle, had withdrawn, perhaps assuming that their colleagues would have as little difficulty defeating the English as they had. The battle came to a halt as light started to fade after 6pm, and both sides withdrew in good order. The English commander, the Earl of Surrey, was unsure about the outcome of the battle until the following morning, when the piles of Scottish bodies, which included the Scottish monarch, revealed just how complete his victory had been. Branxton Church as the site of some burials after the battle. Many Scottish nobles are believed to have been taken to Yetholm (a small village in the Scottish Borders) for interment, it being the nearest consecrated ground in Scotland. Not only had the Scots lost, but they had lost to the English "B" team. Never again would any Scottish monarch believe it was possible to defeat an English army on the field of battle. Almost every noble family in Scotland lost a loved one at Flodden. The dead are remembered by the song and pipe tune Flowers of the Forest.