Battle of Myton

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Myton
Alleged battlefield at Myton (2007)
Alleged battlefield at Myton (2007)
date September 12, 1319
place Myton-on-Swale
output scottish victory
consequences Demolition of the siege of Berwick
Parties to the conflict

Flag of Scotland.svg Kingdom of Scotland

Flag of England.svg Kingdom of England

Commander

Douglas Arms 1.svg James Douglas , Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray
Moray Coat of Arms.svg

John Hotham ,
William Melton

Troop strength
10,000-15,000 men 10,000-20,000 men
losses

unknown

unknown, probably high

The Battle of Myton ( English also Chapter of Myton ) was a battle during the First Scottish War of Independence . On September 12, 1319, a Scottish army defeated a poorly equipped English army that had been formed to defend York. September 20th is also mistakenly mentioned as the date of the battle.

prehistory

When an English army under King Edward II besieged the Scottish border fortress of Berwick from September 7, 1319 , the Scots under Sir James Douglas and Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, made an advance to England to relieve the besieged city. However, the Scottish King Robert Bruce wanted to avoid an open field battle against the better equipped English knights, so that the Scottish advance should mainly disrupt the siege of Berwick or even induce the English to break off the siege.

The way to battle

The Scottish army, which supposedly comprised 20,000 men, but probably more between 10,000 and 15,000 men, advanced via Carlisle to Cumberland and thus bypassed the besiegers at Berwick. The Scots marched through Northumberland and Durham as far as Boroughbridge and Myton-on-Swale in Yorkshire , allegedly being led by Edmund Darel , a treacherous knight of the English king. The defenders of York are said to have learned from a captured Scottish spy that the Scots were trying to surprise and capture Queen Isabelle , who was near the city. This report was hardly believed, but Isabelle was first taken to York and then by ship to Nottingham Castle . The English, however, continued to fear a Scottish attack on York, where the royal administration had been since September 1318. With Yorkshire troops already at Berwick, Archbishop William Melton of York and Royal Chancellor John Hotham, along with Nicholas Fleming , Mayor of York, hastily raised an army to defend the city. The army is said to have been 10 to 20,000 strong, but it consisted almost entirely of poorly equipped and inadequately armed citizens from York and residents from the surrounding area, who were accompanied by numerous clergy. This army marched on September 12 in the direction of Myton-on-Swale, more than twenty kilometers away, in the hope of surprising the Scots and thus defeating them.

Course of the battle

Myton-on-Swale is about five kilometers east of Boroughbridge on both sides of the River Swale , just above its confluence with the River Ure . Presumably the English army from York advanced on the east bank of the Swale to cross the River Swale over the Myton Bridge. The Scots noticed the English army and set fire to hay diemen , so that the English were blinded by the smoke. Scottish horsemen then bypassed the English army and blocked the retreat across the bridge, while the main Scottish army attacked the disoriented and inexperienced English. The English suffered heavy losses. Mayor Fleming was among the numerous dead, and many other Englishmen drowned in the River Swale or the River Ure while fleeing. Officers Andrew de Tange , William and Richard Airmyn were among the many prisoners . Archbishop Melton and Chancellor Hotham barely managed to get to York, where they shut the city gates before the expected Scottish siege. In view of the numerous clergy who had accompanied the English army, many of whom were killed, the Scots mockingly referred to the battle as the Chapter of Myton .

consequences

After the English besiegers off Berwick had learned of the defeat of Myton on September 14th, the Earl of Lancaster left the siege army with his large retinue on September 16th. Possibly he wanted to put the Scots on their retreat or at least protect his own northern English possessions, but due to his departure the king broke off the siege of Berwick on September 17th and withdrew to Newcastle . The Scots did not advance further to York after the Battle of Myton, but moved further south to Castleford . So they were not far north of Pontefract , one of the most important castles of the Earl of Lancaster. Then they turned west around September 14th and marched north via Airedale and Wharfedale, pillaging. To the west of the Pennines , they looted and ravaged the region, burned the crops and captured large amounts of livestock. Eventually they escaped back to Scotland via Stainmoor , Gilsland and Carlisle.

After the defeat of Myton and the failure of the siege of Berwick, the English began negotiations with Scotland at the end of October 1319, which finally led to the conclusion of an armistice for at least two years on December 25th. For January 1320 Edward II called a parliament in York. During Parliament, John Hotham was dismissed as royal chancellor , possibly because of the disastrous defeat of Myton .

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 347
  2. ^ English Heritage Battlefield Report: Myton 1319. Retrieved August 31, 2018 .
  3. Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 346
  4. Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 348
  5. ^ English Heritage Battlefield Report: Myton 1319. Retrieved August 31, 2018 .
  6. Seymour Phillips: Edward II . New Haven, Yale University Press 2010. ISBN 978-0-300-15657-7 , pp. 348
  7. Natalie Fryde: The tyranny and fall of Edward II, 1321-1326 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003. ISBN 0-521-54806-3 , p. 42
  8. John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 248
  9. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 342.
  10. John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 250
  11. 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. 187
  12. John Robert Maddicott: Thomas of Lancaster, 1307-1322. A Study in the Reign of Edward II. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1970, p. 254

Coordinates: 54 ° 5 '59.3 "  N , 1 ° 20' 14.3"  W.