Battle of Byland

Battle of Byland

Part of: Scottish Wars of Independence

date	October 14, 1322
place	at Byland Abbey
output	scottish victory
consequences	Armistice of Bishopthorpe

Parties to the conflict
Kingdom of Scotland	Kingdom of England
Commander
Robert Bruce	Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond
Troop strength
unknown	unknown
losses
unknown	unknown

The Battle of Byland (also Battle of Blackhow Moor or Blakehoumor ) was a battle during the First Scottish War of Independence . On October 14, 1322, a Scottish army defeated the rearguard of an English army that had waged a campaign in Scotland. The fight was probably more of a skirmish , but the English King Edward II barely escaped capture and suffered a shameful defeat. In May 1323 England signed a long-term armistice with Scotland .

Preparations for another British campaign to Scotland

After his victory over the rebellious Earl of Lancaster and the other rebels by March 1322, Edward II again turned to war with Scotland. On March 25, 1322 he called his feudal army to Newcastle on June 13 . On May 11th, the start of the campaign was postponed to July 24th. The English army included contingents from all the leading magnates , among them that of the Earls of Pembroke , Arundel , Norfolk , Kent , Carlisle , Warenne , Richmond , Winchester , Louth , Athol and Angus , this forces the younger Despenser and Henry of Lancaster , but which himself did not take part in the campaign. Extensive supplies were procured for the campaign and brought to Newcastle. From there the supplies were to be transported by ship to Scotland, where the English wanted to occupy the ports.

Scottish advance into England

The Scots under King Robert Bruce anticipated the English attack and made an advance into the region around Carlisle on June 17 , while the English army was gathering on the east coast. Bruce pushed south for over 120 km as far as Lancaster . There he met reinforcements under the Earl of Moray and James Douglas , and together they burned Preston . The English king sent troops west from Newcastle on August 3rd to track down the Scots, but they had already withdrawn into Scottish territory on July 24th.

English campaign to Scotland in vain

By August 6th the bulk of the English army had gathered in Newcastle. It consisted of less than 300 knights and around 950 men-at-arms , plus around 2,100 light riders. The relatively small number of knights present shows how much the nobility had been decimated by the suppression of the rebellion of Lancaster and his followers. In addition to the riders, almost 20,000 foot soldiers were called out from England, Wales and Gascony, but the exact number is difficult to determine. Armed disputes between Welsh and English soldiers already broke out in Newcastle, and soldiers caused serious damage in a monastery. On August 12th, the English army crossed the Scottish border in the hope of fighting the Scots in an open field battle. However, the Scots avoided battle and instead retreated north under their king. In doing so, they took all supplies with them or destroyed them, leaving the English only with scorched earth . Robert Bruce finally set up camp at Culross Abbey and waited there for further developments. The English reached Crichton on August 18th, Musselburgh on August 19th and Leith on August 20th . In the ports, however, they waited in vain for the English supply ships. The king had already sent Henry de Beaumont back to Musselburgh to find out why only a few English ships called at the Scottish ports. Fourteen English ships had sunk in a storm, but most of the ships had not left the ports for fear of Flemish pirates. In fact, Dutch pirates had been attacking English ships and also coastal towns for a long time, but Edward II had taken only minor defensive measures so far. He now accused the Flemings of being allied with the Scots, but in fact the Flemish government was probably due to the illness of Count Robert III. , who died in September 1322, so weakened that she did not stop the activities of her seafarers.

Retreat of the English

Without having achieved success in the advance, the English army had to withdraw again due to lack of food. On August 21st the king left Leith, and the English army moved south through Melrose and Dryburgh . The English burned down Dryburgh and Melrose Abbey , among others . During the sack of Melrose, the English were suddenly attacked by Scottish troops under James Douglas, with heavy losses. The English suffered even greater losses from hunger and disease. Adam , the only known illegitimate son of Edward II, was among the dead . On September 2, the English army crossed the border into England again. Then the king dismissed most of his army.

The great English army had proved too cumbersome in the campaign to achieve success against the mobile Scottish forces. There were armored foot soldiers among the soldiers, but they had no opportunity to prove their worth. On the other hand, there was a lack of easy riders who had proven themselves a few months earlier in the pursuit of the rebels under Lancaster. Since the English no longer had any bases in Scotland, the Scots could simply avoid the English. Then they only had to wait until the English withdrew, weakened from hunger. The mass of English soldiers overwhelmed the supply lines, even if the king had tried to secure supplies by means of a fleet. A large part of the supplies, which had been collected at great expense and brought to Newcastle, rotted there after the end of the campaign. Because of the high casualties without a battle in Scotland, the campaign was viewed by contemporary chroniclers as an even worse defeat than the campaign of 1314, where at Bannockburn there was at least one battle against the Scots.

The ruins of Byland Abbey, from where Edward II barely escaped capture by the Scots

Persecution of the English king by the Scots

Without first noticing it, the English were pursued by a Scottish army. The Scots also crossed the border around September 30th. By October 12th, the Scots, led by Robert Bruce, were in Northallerton in Yorkshire and thus only 15 miles from the English king, who was staying at Rievaulx Abbey . After the release of the English Army, only the Earl of Louth, the Steward of the Household Richard Damory , the Northern English Baron Ralph Neville and the younger Despenser with her knights and soldiers were in the immediate entourage of Edward II Learned October of the Scots' pursuit and ordered the Earl of Carlisle and other barons and their entourage to come to them. The Earl of Carlisle was prevented from coming to the king's aid by Scottish troops who looted the area around Carlisle. After Carlisle and other magnates had not appeared with their troops, Edward II ordered the nearby Earl of Pembroke on October 13th to come to Byland Abbey with all available soldiers on October 14th . There he was to put the Scots together with the troops of the king and with the troops of the Earl of Richmond, who had since arrived, and with those of Henry de Beaumont.

Battle of Byland and flight of the English king

On the morning of October 14, Pembroke and Richmond encountered the attacking Scots while exploring near Blackhow Moor . A skirmish ensued during which part of the Scottish troops bypassed the English battle line. In a bold attack they stormed up a steep hill, whereupon the English position became untenable. The English fled, but Richmond fell into Scottish captivity along with Ralph Cobham , the French knight Henry de Sully , the Grand bouteiller de France and others. Pembroke probably fled to York with his vassal John Darcy after the battle . Edward II learned of the defeat at breakfast at Byland Abbey. He had to flee hastily, leaving the Privy Seal and numerous valuables behind. Closely pursued by the Scots, he fled to Bridlington Priory with the Earl of Kent, the younger Despenser and Henry de Beaumont . The prior of the monastery led the king to Burstwick , from where he could reach York on October 18th. The Scots retaliated with the destruction of Bridlington Priory and further raids in the East Riding of Yorkshire before they did not retreat across the border until November 2nd.

Escape of the English Queen

With this flight the danger for the king was not over, because at the end of September he had sent his wife, Queen Isabelle, to the supposedly safe Tynemouth Priory . The position of the monastery was easily defensible, but after the battle of Byland the English troops who were supposed to defend it were dispersed. The queen and her entourage were now behind the English lines, threatening capture by the Scots. Apparently Isabelle was only able to escape with Eleanor de Clare , the younger Despenser's wife. They may have had to take a boat across the open sea.

More fights in the Scottish Marches

After his return to England, the king had called a parliament on September 18, which met in York on November 14. In view of the humiliating defeat, it was decided on November 27th that the king and other magnates should stay in northern England for the winter to fend off further Scottish raids. The king appointed the Earl of Carlisle to defend the entire Scottish Marches , entrusting local commanders such as Thomas de Gray to defend Norham and Bishop Louis de Beaumont to defend Durham . To finance a new campaign against Scotland, Parliament approved high taxes on 1323, and new troops were called to York on February 2, 1323. However, the magnates' confidence in the king's military abilities was shaken, especially as the Scots made further advances as far as Bamburgh , Dunstanburgh , Warkworth and Alnwick Castle . The English garrisons of the castles were unable to counter these attacks.

Armistice of Bishopthorpe

The continuing Scottish raids induced the Earl of Carlisle to arbitrarily conclude an armistice with the Scottish king in Lochmaben on January 3, 1323 . Carlisle probably hoped the king would approve of this, but Edward II considered the truce to be treason and declared it invalid. He apparently mistakenly believed that Carlisle had already deliberately abandoned him in Byland, had him arrested and a little later executed as a traitor. Before Carlisle was executed, however, with the approval of the king, new negotiations began with the Scots over a truce. The Earl of Pembroke was primarily involved in the negotiations, while followers of Henry de Sully, who is in Scottish captivity, acted as mediators. On March 14th a provisional armistice, limited to May 22nd, was signed. This was extended on April 29th to June 2nd. Hugh Despenser , a son of the younger Despenser, John Hastings and other English nobles were held hostage while the Scottish Bishop of St Andrews and the Earl of Moray negotiated a longer-term truce in Newcastle and York. From May 1st, the British delegation again included Pembroke, the Bishop of Exeter , the younger Despenser and Robert Baldock , who finally, after lengthy negotiations, reached a thirteen-year armistice. This was sealed on May 30, 1323 by the King and the Privy Council with the Scottish ambassadors in the palace of the Archbishop of York in Bishopthorpe . The respective acquisitions were laid down in the contract. The peace was to be preserved by banning fortifications on both sides of the border and appointing officials to ensure compliance with the terms of the treaty. In addition, the English assured that Scottish ships would not be attacked on their journey along the English coasts. Since December 1322 Edward II had also carried out peace negotiations with the county of Flanders , which is allied with Scotland , which were concluded on April 5, 1323 with an armistice.

Failure of further negotiations with Scotland

For many English magnates, the armistice with Scotland was unacceptable, as they saw their claims to Scottish lands threatened. But even Edward II, despite the long contract period, was not ready to recognize Robert Bruce as the Scottish king. He called Edward Balliol , a son of the former Scottish King John Balliol , back to England from his exile in Brittany . To do this, he sent Bishop John Stratford to the Curia in Avignon to prevent the Pope from lifting the excommunication of the Scots. Pope John XXII. probably did not lift the excommunication, but he recognized Robert Bruce as the Scottish king. In the face of these diplomatic intrigues, the Scots broke off further peace negotiations in York in 1324. Instead, they renewed the Auld Alliance with France in April 1326 with the Treaty of Corbeil .

literature

• Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7
• Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. ISBN 0-521-54806-3

Individual evidence

1. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 127
2. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 127
3. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 426
4. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 228
5. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 130
6. ↑ Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
7. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 427
8. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 132
9. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 428
10. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 428
11. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 126
12. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 131
13. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 229
14. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 430
15. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 229
16. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 131
17. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 430
18. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 431
19. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 431
20. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 432
21. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 428
22. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 156
23. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 230
24. ↑ John Roland Seymour Phillips: Aymer de Valence, earl of Pembroke, 1307-1324. Baronial politics in the reign of Edward II. Clarendon, Oxford 1972, ISBN 0-19-822359-5 , p. 231
25. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 159
26. ^ Seymour Phillips: Edward II , p. 434
27. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 132
28. ^ Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II , p. 133