Battle of Dunbar (1296)

Battle of Dunbar

Part of: Scottish Wars of Independence

date	April 27, 1296
place	Dunbar (Scotland)
output	English victory

Parties to the conflict
Kingdom of England	Kingdom of Scotland
Commander
John de Warenne	John Comyn
Troop strength
about 300 horsemen and 2000 foot soldiers	unknown
losses
unknown	unknown, probably minor

The Battle of Dunbar was an altercation in the First Scottish War of Independence . It took place on April 27, 1296 near Dunbar (Scotland) . The Scottish army under John Comyn, 7th Earl of Buchan was defeated by the English army under John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey .

prehistory

John Balliol came to the Scottish throne on November 17, 1292 with the help of the English King Edward I. The English king continued to claim supremacy over Scotland over the next few years. He considered himself the chief judge of Scotland and asked John Balliol to help him in the war against France . The Scots refused and concluded an alliance with France in October 1295 , which amounted to a declaration of war. The English king then called his army to Newcastle on March 1, 1296 .

Strength of armies

According to the information provided by the chroniclers, the English army is said to have consisted of over 5,000 horsemen and 30,000 foot soldiers, but according to the pay lists it consisted of around 1,000 horsemen and 10,000 foot soldiers. The Scottish army was due to rally at Selkirk on March 18th . It is said to have been over 40,000 strong, but it probably consisted of only 2,000 to 3,000 men. It was not just outnumbered by the English. The English could fall back on trained archers, and the ranks of the English magnates consisted to a large extent of well-trained and equipped knights. The Scottish army, on the other hand, consisted mainly of lightly armed and poorly trained lancers, a few archers and only a weak cavalry. The English king paid the soldiers wages, while the Scottish armies were only held together by the hope of spoils of war. Above all, the English had more experience through the wars in Wales than the Scots, whose last combat action was the war against Norway in 1263.

The way to battle

On March 25, Edward I reached Wark-on-Tweed Castle with his force . On March 30, the English army captured the poorly fortified border town of Berwick . In retaliation for the massacre of the people of Berwick by English soldiers, a Scottish army led by the Earls of Ross , Menteith and Atholl invaded Northumberland from Jedburgh on April 8th . The Scots marched south of Hexham , pillaging and pillaging . On the way back they reached Dunbar Castle , whose owner Patrick Dunbar, 7th Earl of Dunbar supported the English king, although he was a Scot. However, his wife Marjory Comyn, or possibly his brother, opened the gates to the Scots. The English king had meanwhile ordered the Earl of Surey to besiege Dunbar Castle. Surrey moved to Dunbar with about 300 horsemen and 2,000 foot soldiers and reached the castle shortly after the Scots reached the castle. The English force also included 100 Durham horsemen , commanded by their Bishop, Antony Bek of Durham. The Scots, trapped in the castle, wanted to hand over the castle, but asked for permission from John Balliol, who camped with the Scottish army just a few kilometers away at Haddington . The Scottish army led by the Earl of Buchan then moved to Dunbar.

Course of the battle

The battle probably took place at the Lammermuir Hills about 2 miles south of Dunbar Castle. There are different details about the exact course of the battle. When the English were preparing for battle, the Scots misinterpreted this as preparation for retreat. Thereupon the Scots attacked hastily and were defeated by the English. According to other sources, the Earl of Surrey left part of his army behind to prevent the crew from failing at Dunbar Castle and turned west with his main body to face the Scots for battle. They had to cross a deeply cut stream, the Mock Burn . The Scots believed the English were on the run and launched a violent attack. However, the experienced and well-trained English knights were able to quickly take their battle formation, repel the Scottish attack and then go over to the counterattack. The Scottish army was completely crushed, and the knight Sir Patrick Graham and many foot soldiers were killed by the English horsemen on the run. The number of victims in the battle is also unclear. According to English chroniclers and according to older information, it is considered the defeat of the entire Scottish army. On the other hand, the fight is said to have lasted only a short time, and based on the number of casualties it was perhaps more of a larger engagement with one fallen and four captive Scottish knights. Only a part of the Scottish army took part in this battle, otherwise King John Balliol would certainly have been in command.

The site of the battle, recorded in 2008

consequences

The consequences of the battle were decisive. When the English main army arrived at Dunbar with Edward I the next day, the garrison of the castle surrendered. Three Scottish earls and several barons were captured in this way. This defeat ended the organized Scottish resistance. Immediately after the handover of Dunbar, the occupation of Roxburgh Castle also surrendered , most of the other castles followed a little later. John Balliol fled to Northern Scotland, but in a hopeless situation he had to surrender in early July. Scotland was occupied by English troops and at the end of August the English king took over administration of the country.

Web links

• Battlefield entry . In: Historic Scotland .
• Battlefields of Britain: FIRST BATTLE OF DUNBAR (1296)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Battlefield entry . In: Historic Scotland .
2. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Scotland. The Later Middle Ages (The Edinburgh History of Scotland, Vol. II. ) Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh 1974, ISBN 0-05-002038-2 , p. 49.
3. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California Press, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 471.
4. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 101.
5. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 102.
6. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California Press, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 473.
7. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 175.
8. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California Press, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 474.