Source:Book of Pluscarden (Book IX, Chapter XXVIII)

"Book IX, Chapter XXVIII" The Book of Pluscarden (vol. 2)

CHAPTER XXVIII. King David Bruce goes over to France.

The names of the magnates who came from England to Scotlaud with this Edward were Henry Beaumont, the earl of Atholl, Henry Ferrers and his two brothers, Alexander de Mowbray, Richard Talbot, Walter Cumyn, Ralph Baroune and William of Stafford :²² and all who came from England were not over a thousand²³ persons. Thereupon, however, the same year, the friends of King David, who was in his minority and not able to take his revenge, made him leave the kingdom to the rule and governance of sir Andrew Murray le Riche and retire to France, to the king of France, where he was received with honour. He abode in that country eight years or more, and returned to the kingdom of Scotland with his wife, the sister of King Edward of England, in the year 1341, when he was eighteen. It , should also be noted that, immediately after the battle of Duplin, James Bane, bishop of Saint Andrews, betook himself across the sea through excessive grief. Subsequently, a short time after this, the town of Perth was taken by James and Simon Frisale (Fraser), and Duncan earl of Fife, the warden of the said town in the interest of Edward Balliol, was taken prisoner there, together with the said earl's wife and daughter. Among others they took Andrew Murray of Tulibardine, and doomed him to a traitor's most ignominious death. The said James and Simon Fresale afterwards levelled to the ground the walls of the said town of Perth. The year after the taking of Perth Thomas Randolph,²⁴ the younger earl of Murray, and Archibald Douglas, brother of the noble James Douglas, with a thousand chosen men, assembled secretly in the town of Moffat; and, while Edward Balliol, who had brought under his allegiance sir Alexander Bruce, earl of Carrick, with many of the nobles of the country, both Galloway²⁵ and elsewhere, was spending the night in the town of Annand, they went to reconnoitre him, and the said Edward, being pressed by night by the hostile pursuit of the aforesaid earls and their retainers, and many of his men having been slain, took to flight with one leg booted and the other naked, on a horse without saddle or bridle, with only a halter on. Here Henry Beaumont, John Mowbray and William Cumyn²⁶ were put to death, together with many other nobles of both Scotland and England; and here also the said earl of Carrick was taken and put to death²⁷ by the earl of Murray. But Edward Balliol, straightway after his escape, went to Edward king of England for help and succour; and the latter, like a base, faithless perjurer, breaking through the ties of the treaty of alliance and peace, and like a palterer with his oath and a breaker of his word, unmindful of his salvation and regardless of his own promise ratified by his seal and his oath, and against his own sister, promised him speedy succour, and quickly got together a large army, being joined by the Scottish partisans of the said Edward Balliol. So in the year 1333 the Scots, fearing the falseness of the English and hearing of the muster of King Edward, appointed sir Patrick earl of the Marches and sir Alexander Seton to guard the town of Berwick ; and at the same time the guardian of the kingdom of Scotland was sir Andrew Murray le Eiche, in the absence of the king who was still in France. Now the said guardian, hearing that Edward Balliol had approached the borders of Scotland, himself went in haste to Eoxburgh Castle and, while pursuing the English too precipitately, as before, on the bridge of that place, was taken prisoner by the English and brought and presented to the English king Edward, who was himself in person hastening to besiege the town of Berwick with a large force of men-at-arms. At the same time William Douglas of Liddesdale was taken prisoner at Lochmaben. But on the 2d of April²⁸ the king of England settled down to the siege of the said town of Berwick with a very large force of men-at-arms, and besieged that town of Berwick from the beginning of April until the 14th of August;²⁹ and on Saint Mary Magdalen's Day³⁰ was fought the woful battle of Halidon Hill, where a very great part of the nobles of Scotland were almost swept away, especially of those who sided with King David. For, when the king of England had laid the siege both by land and by sea, and the Scotsmen had manfully defended themselves inside, setting fire to great part of his fleet and sinking it, the noble William Seton being drowned with the burning ships before the eyes of his father who was on the wall of the town, at length, fearing the king's malice, the Scots inside offered to make terms on the Understanding that, if no reinforcements came to them from Scotland by a time limited, they should surrender the aforesaid town to him the king of England; and Thomas Seton, son of the captain of the said town, was given by his father as security for this. Meanwhile, however, Archibald Douglas, called the Tineman, had been made guardian of Scotland immediately after the capture of sir Andrew Murray on Roxburgh bridge; and, being very war-like and high-spirited, he straightway assembled the whole force of the men-at-arms of Scotland who sided with King David, to the number of sixty thousand, with whom he purposed invading England, according to the decision of the council, and laying it waste and consuming with fire and sword everything he could see, that thereby they might force the king to raise the siege in order to³¹ give them battle. So, when they came in sight of the said town, they showed themselves and their banners and standards to their countrymen on the walls of the said town ; and then, turning aside without sending messengers to. the besieged governors of the said town to unfold their purpose, they were minded to enter England. The besieged, however, being in doubt, secretly sent messengers to them from Berwick and urged them to fight with the English force, deeming them to be the stronger force. So, yielding to their advice, they unfortunately altered their mind and halted that night in a certain park of Donamis. But the king of England, hearing of this, came up to the gates before the day appointed in the said agreement for the town to be given up and surrendered, and demanded that the aforesaid town should be given up to him; and, because this was refused him, he straightway set up a gallows before the gates of the town and hanged the aforesaid Thomas Seton before the eyes of his father and mother and of all the others who were in the town. Next morning, which was the Day of the blessed virgin Margaret, they³² marched towards the town with great display, in order of battle, and recklessly, stupidly and unadvisedly chose a battle-ground at Halidon Hill, where there was a marshy hollow between the two armies, and where a great downward slope, with some precipices, and then again a rise lay in front of the Scots before they could reach the field where the English were posted, with their troops skilfully and prudently distributed and the vantage-ground well studied beforehand ; for in that place one champion was enough to overcome three. So, though they labour in vain, yet they attacked manfully and slew many on either side. At length the Scots, out of breath with climbing the above-mentioned hill, were forced to give way and scattered in flight, cut down and pitifully massacred, killed and taken prisoners and led off to the army of the king of England. Next morning the king of England ordered them to kill all the prisoners ; and this was accordingly done, save only with such as were kept in concealment. Now the names of the chief nobles who were slain on the side of David Bruce were these : James, John and Alan Stewart, sons of the noble Walter Stewart and brothers of Robert, afterwards king after David; Archibald Douglas, the aforesaid guardian of Scotland ; Hugh earl of Ross ; Kenneth earl of Sutherland ; Alexander Bruce earl of Carrick; Andrew, Simon and James Fresale, brothers ; and countless other nobles, whom it would be tedious to enumerate, and more pitiful than useful. The number of the slain in this battle was, by the estimate of heralds worthy of belief, over ten thousand men. Immediately after the battle was fought, as aforesaid, the lord earl of the Marches and the lord Seton, being without hope of rescue, surrendered to the said king the aforesaid town of Berwick, together with the castle, the inhabitants being saved harmless in life, limb and property; and they tendered the oath of allegiance to him as their lord paramount. That earl was compelled³³ by the said king of England to rebuild at his own expense the castle of Dunbar, which had been previously battered to pieces. But within a few days afterwards Edward Balliol overran the whole kingdom with the forces of the king of England, subduing it and unsettling it and distributing offices and keeping in the hands of the English and of the Scots who embraced his cause all the castles and strongholds but four, namely Dumbarton Castle, the warden whereof was sir Malcolm Fleming; Lochleven, the warden whereof was Alan de Vypont ; Kildrummie, the wardenship whereof remained in the hands of Christina Bruce ; and Urquhart Castle, of which Thomas Lauder, who was called the Good, had the wardenship ; and there was also the stronghold of Lochdoun, the warden whereof was the venerable John Thomson.

Page 200, n. 22. Bower, ii. 307, says “Radulphus baro de Stafford.”

Page 200, n. 23. Bower, ii. 307, says 600.

Page 200, n. 24. Bower, ii. 307-8, calls him John Randolph.

Page 200, n. 25. Bower, ii. 308, only says “D. Alexandrum de Bruce comitem de Carrick et D. Galwidiæ.”

Page 200, n. 26. Bower, ii. 308, says “Henry de Balliol, John Mowbray, Walter Cumyn and Richard Kirby.”

Page 201, n. 27. Bower, ib., says “delivered from death.”

Page 201, n. 28. Bower, ii. 310, as well as some texts of Fordun, say “pridie Idus Aprilis.”

Page 201, n. 29. Bower, ii. 310, says “usque ad decimum quartum Kal. Augusti.”

Page 201, n. 30. Bower says “the day before the Feast of Margaret.”

Page 202, n. 31. In text, voL i. p. 269, l. 12, “aut” should probably be “ut.”

Page 202, n. 32. That is, the Scots.

Page 203, n. 33. In text, vol. i. p. 270, 1. 18, “expulsus” should be “compulsus.” Compare Bower, ii. 311.

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Sources

• Buchanan, Maurice (c. 1461). Skene, Felix J. H. (ed.). The Book of Pluscarden. The Historians of Scotland. 2. Edinburgh: William Paterson (published 1880). OCLC 9891882. OL 6933769M.