a common vow of adherence to each other, victory being most
emphatically promised them. Nerved by every art of the church, by
their own desperate position, and by their thirst for vengeance, they
encamped around the grand standard which Thurstan had raised at
Elfer-tun, to command their piety and patriotism. It consisted of a
lofty spar, or mast, mounted on a huge four-wheeled car, and
terminating in a large crucifix, with a silver box attached,
containing the sacramental elements of the Romish Church. Around the
mast waved the holy banners of the sainted Peter of York, Wilfrid of
Ripon, and John of Beverley. Hugo de Sotevagina, Archdeacon of York,
inscribed this remarkable rhyme on the foot of the mast:--
"Dicitur a stando standardum quod stitit illic
Militæ probitas vincere sive mori.
Standard, from stand, this fight we aptly call:
Our men here stood to conquer or to fall."
From the turn of the lines we should infer that the inscription was
affixed subsequent to the battle.
Norman baron and Saxon peasant had not long to wait the trial of
strength. The summer was now far advanced, for David had been detained
before the strong fortress of Norham; but that stronghold once in his
hands, he marched onward, unopposed, until he approached the
neighbourhood of York. His standard was simply a wreath of blooming
heather, attached to a long lance. Eustace Fitz-John commanded the
guard of completely accoutred knights and men-at-arms which attended
Prince Henry, the commander of the first division, comprising
Lowlanders, defended by cuirasses, and armed with long pikes; the
archers of Teviotdale and Liddesdale; the troopers of Cumberland and
Westmoreland, riding small but useful horses; and the fierce
Galwegians, destitute of defensive armour, and bearing long and
slender pikes. The Highlanders and Islemen followed the first
division, and carried target, claymore, and the ancient Danish
war-axe. King David followed with a gallant body of Anglo-Norman and
English knights, and a mixed corps of warriors, gathered from various
parts of the land, brought up the rear.
With King David marched his warlike nephew, William MacDonoquhy,
flushed with the memory of his victory at Clitheroe, where, on the 4th
of June, he had defeated a strong force of the English, and gained
much spoil.
The position of the Anglo-Norman barons was extremely peculiar; not
only did King David claim Northumberland, where they held lands,
but they acknowledged him for their liege lord, holding from him
estates which were situate on the Scottish side of the border. Under
these circumstances they prudently despatched Robert Bruce, Earl of
Annandale, and Bernard de Baliol, to the Scottish camp, to offer terms
to the King. If his Scottish Majesty would withdraw his army, and
conclude a permanent peace, they engaged "to procure from Stephen a
full grant of the earldom of Northumberland in favour of Prince Henry."
The King was, however, firm in his resolution to maintain the cause of
the ex-Empress; and William MacDonoquhy declared that Bruce was a
false traitor. The two noblemen had no alternative but to renounce
their allegiance to the Scottish crown, and to beat a hasty retreat to
the English army.
The disposition of the Scottish army was then discussed, and David
proposed to place his Saxon archers and Norman knights in the van,
to commence the attack. Deep was the indignation of Malise, Earl of
Strathearn, and bitter his protest against the King's confidence in
Norman mail. Said he, "I wear no armour; but there is not one among
them who will advance beyond me this day."
The Norman, Allan de Piercy, angrily protested that the "rude earl"
boasted of that which he had not the courage to perform; whereon David
checked the growing quarrel, and pacified Malise by ordering the
Galwegians to take the van.
It was the 22nd day of August, the wide moor, gay with blooming
heather, was involved in a land-mist, and, as a further cover to their
approach, the wild Scots fired some villages. The English were,
however, already formed around the standard, expectant of the
inevitable conflict, and no doubt experienced neither alarm nor
disappointment when Bruce and Baliol came in on the spur, and declared
that the enemy was on the march.
Old Walter l'Espec spake a few soldierly words of hopeful exhortation
to his warriors, then placed his ungloved hand in that of the Earl of
Albemarle, with the dauntless exclamation, "I pledge thee my troth to
conquer or to die." Kindled to enthusiasm by the spirit of the valiant
old man, the soldiers gripped each other's hands, and the vow became
general. Archbishop Thurstan's representative was not slow to seize so
favourable a moment for increasing the enthusiastic ardour of the
troops, and he uttered a brief, but thrilling, harangue, in which,
according to the old chroniclers, he at once flattered and provoked
the emulous courage of the Anglo-Norman chivalry, by referring to the
achievements of their ancestors; kindled their resentment by pointing
them to the desecrated altars of their churches; assured them of a
swift and retributive vengeance; opened paradise to all who should
fall sword in hand that day, and encouraged them by reminding them of
their superiority over their enemies in respect of their arms and
armour. The form of absolution was then read, and answered by the
solemn "Amen" of the host. All was ready for the ordeal.
The knights and men-at-arms in both armies were similarly armed.
"From the Conquest to the close of the twelfth century but
little change had taken place in the armour and weapons of the
English; but five distinct varieties of body-armour were worn
by them about the time of the Standard--a scaly suit of steel,
with a _chapelle de fer_, or iron cap; a hauberk of iron rings;
a suit of mascled or quilted armour; another of rings set
edgewise; and a fifth of tegulated mail, composed of small
square plates of steel lapping over each other like tiles, with
a long flowing tunic of cloth below. Gonfarons fluttered from
the spear-heads; and knights wore nasal helmets and kite-shaped
shields of iron, but their spears were simply pointed goads."
According to some accounts, the English men-at-arms were drawn up in a
dense column, surrounding their holy standard; and the archers,
consisting of peasants and yeomen from the woods and wolds of
Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottingham, were posted in the van. It is
certain that the Norman barons and the men-at-arms dismounted, and
sent their horses to the rear, and the probability is that the mailed
troops occupied the front of battle, and protected the archers, who
were destitute of defensive armour. All the accounts of the battle
favour this inference, although it is distinctly stated that the
archers were broken, but afterwards rallied--a statement that seems
incredible, for the English army being outflanked, the broken archers
would have been cut to pieces, it being impossible for the dense
column that surrounded the standard to open its ranks to receive the
fugitives, while the charging Scots were pressing hot and hard upon
their rear, and the action of the spearmen was retarded by the
presence of the archers upon their front, as these unfortunates were
being massacred by the enemy.
The Galwegians made the first charge, with Ulgrick and Dovenald
leading. Their dreadful cries of _Albanigh, Albanigh!_ ("We are the
men of Albyn!") rolled like thunder over the field, as they rushed
furiously upon the Norman men-at-arms, threatening to bear down all
that withstood them with the forest of their long, thin pikes. The
centre of the English army was pierced, but the formation was too
dense to be shattered by a charge of pikemen, however furiously made,
and the long pikes were broken upon shield and hauberk, or shivered by
blow of sword and axe. The Galwegians bit deep, but fell in scores
along the front, and as they recoiled from the meeting, the archers
let fly a shower of shafts upon them. It was impossible to rally and
re-form in the face of that storm of deadly shafts, beating as hard
and fast as winter hail upon their naked bodies, and while numbers
fell, weltering in their gore, the disordered masses began to retire,
probably to the right and left, while the English taunted them with
derisive cries of "_Eyrych, Eyrych!_" ("You are but Irish!") which,
Scott remarks, "must have been true of that part of the Galwegians
called the wild Scots of Galloway, who are undoubtedly Scotch-Irish."
As the men of Galloway staggered back from the storm of arrows,
leaving Ulgrick and Dovenald dead upon the field, Prince Henry charged
down upon the English with his knights and men-at-arms upon the spur.
With spear, and sword, and axe, he won a bloody pathway sheer through
the English centre, and put to flight the servants who were posted in
the rear of the army in charge of their masters' horses. The
oft-quoted expression of Alred, that "they broke through the English
ranks as if they had been spiders' webs," must be regarded as largely
figurative, for two reasons. In the first place, the Galwegians were
re-forming with the utmost alacrity, and the other lines were bearing
down fast and stern, yet the English ranks closed in before they could
take advantage of the confusion caused by the cavalry, and presented
an impenetrable front to the advancing Scots. In the second place, the
prince achieved nothing by his charge, beyond chasing a few grooms
from the field. On his return, he found the battle over, and passing
undiscovered through the pursuing forces, succeeded, after many
perils, in reaching Carlisle on the 28th of August.
There is a curious, but not over-reliable story, that in the perilous
moment when the English were re-forming their ranks, and the remains
of Prince Henry's men-at-arms were dashing after the fugitives in the
rear, an English soldier, with singular presence of mind, averted the
impending storm by hewing off a Scotchman's head, and bearing it, at
point of spear, to the front, loudly exclaiming, "Behold the head of
the King of the Scots." Before this ominous spectacle the Galwegians
fell back in a sudden panic, arresting the advance of the second line,
and causing the third line to beat a hasty retreat without lifting
weapon on the field. Bare-headed, King David rode amid the breaking
ranks in a gallant effort to rally his soldiers; but all his efforts
proving fruitless, he assumed the command of his cavalry, and
protected, as far as possible, the retreat of his disorganised army.
There can, however, maugre this oft-told story, be no question that a
tremendous battle raged for upwards of two hours. The devoted savages
of Galloway rallied, and, supported by the second and third lines of
their army, closed in upon the English, "after giving three shouts in
the manner of their nation." Thus the holy standard, and its heroic
defenders, was belted with a wide and deep hem of raging enemies, who
sought, with sword and axe, to hew a passage through the phalanx of
spears that held them back. They combated fiercely together in a mist
of dust and heat; blood flowed like water, and the trampled earth was
dreadful with the bodies of the slain; but no despoiling hand reached
the standard; a hedge of glittering steel defended it, the Normans
fenced it with flashing swords, the serried spears sustained the
fierce attack, though indented here and there by the pressure of horse
and men. The continuous shower of shafts from the archers sorely
distressed and harassed the Scots, and abandoning all hope of breaking
or hewing down the valiant enemy, around which they had drawn their
triple line of warriors, they broke and fled. First the decimated
remnant of the savage heroes of Galloway recoiled, and spread
confusion through the second line, and then the outward hem of mixed
troops, who had never struck blow, wavered and broke; and the battle
of the Standard was lost and won.
David valiantly protected the retreat of his disordered army, leaving
some 12,000 upon the field. He halted at Carlisle, in grave distress
as to the fate of his son, who rejoined him three days later, as
before mentioned. Quarrels took place in his army, and weapons were
freely resorted to, and some blood shed.
The 200 mailed knights of King David lost nearly the whole of their
horses, and only nineteen carried their harness from the field. The
Norman barons were not particularly fortunate in making prisoners, but
fifty knights fell to their spear and sword. Of these, William Cumin,
the Scotch Chancellor, was detained in prison for a short time by the
Bishop of Durham, and, on being liberated, "gave thanks to God,"
desiring heartily that he never at any time should again meet with the
like experience. His companions in affliction were ransomed about the
time of the feast of All-Saints following.
The Scottish army having rallied at Carlisle, continued the war,
besieged and reduced, by famine, Wark Castle; and carried away as
prisoners a number of English women, who were ultimately restored to
their friends through the good offices of Alberic, Bishop of Ostia,
who, being seconded by King Stephen's wife, succeeded in bringing
about a peace, which was concluded on the 9th day of April, 1139.
Before the English army disbanded, Eustace Fitz-John, who had
garrisoned Malton with Scotch troops, received their attention. In the
conflict which ensued the town was stormed and given to the flames.
On this eventful day the English archers won their first laurels with
the long bow and arrows, two cubits in length; and this sanguinary
conflict derives an additional interest from the fact. As brave and
experienced warriors, the captains would probably perceive and
acknowledge the service performed by the Northumbrian infantry, but
not one of them considered the possibility of a day dawning that would
see the laurels of war bestowed upon the English archers, while the
Anglo-Norman chivalry had to be contented with less honourable
trophies of bravery and skill.
V.--AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARD.
The reign of Stephen was cursed by the worst evils of civil war. The
King was captured at Lincoln, A.D. 1140, being deserted by many of his
troops; but was afterwards exchanged for Robert, Earl of Gloucester,
who had been taken prisoner by Stephen's partisans. Ultimately
Matilda's son, Prince Henry, entered England, when it was arranged
that he should succeed to the throne on the King's death.
Under Henry's rule happier days dawned upon the Kingdom. A.D. 1160, a
great Council was held at York, said to be the first of such
assemblages to which the title of Parliament was applied. The King of
Scots attended, with his nobles and clergy, and rendered feudal homage
for his province of Lothian. Scott asserts that
"homage was done by the Scottish kings for Lothian, simply
because it had been a part, or moiety, of Northumberland, ceded
by Eadulf-Cudel, a Saxon Earl of Northumberland, to Malcolm
II., on condition of amity and support in war, for which, as
feudal institutions gained ground, feudal homage was the
natural substitute and emblem."
Malcolm, being greatly attached to the King of England, yielded to him
all his possessions in Cumberland and Northumberland, possessions
which Henry would probably have conquered had they not been ceded.
Malcolm was succeeded by his brother William, the declared enemy of
England. Invading Northumberland, he was surprised near Alnwick Castle
by Bernard de Baliol. Sixty cavaliers escorted him, and he made a
desperate charge upon the English, exclaiming, "Now we shall see who
are good knights." He was unhorsed, and carried off to Newcastle on
the spur. As the price of his liberty he performed feudal homage at
York for the whole of Scotland, placing hostages and certain
strongholds in King Henry's hands.
Henry died, broken-hearted and conquered by the repeated revolts of
his sons. On his accession Richard I. annuled the acts of his father,
as regarded the independence of Scotland, but homage for Lothian was
of course continued.
Early in 1190, a dreadful fire broke out in York, and rapidly spread,
being fanned by a strong wind. During the confusion a number of
thieves entered the house of a Jewish widow, slew her and her
children, and plundered the house. Benedict, the husband of the
murdered woman, had fallen in the massacre of Jews during King
Richard's coronation. Jocenus had attended Benedict to London, and had
effected his escape with much difficulty. Being very wealthy he feared
the fury of the mob, and took refuge in the castle, carrying with him
his treasures. His example was largely followed by the Jews. The
governor of the castle sallied out, leaving it in the hands of the
refugees. On his return he was largely accompanied, and the Jews, in
their fear, refused to admit him. He at once raised the country, and
besieged the castle. Their offer of ransom being rejected, in their
despair the Jews resolved to kill themselves, after destroying their
property and setting fire to the fortress. Jocenus cut the throats of
his wife and five children, and this dreadful example was largely
followed. The less courageous of the Jews then appealed to the
besiegers, told the story of the tragedy, and, as proof, threw at
their feet several mangled corpses. Protection was promised to the
survivors, when the gates were thrown open. The besiegers entered, and
completed the extermination of the Jews. The cathedral was then
visited, and the bonds and securities of the Jews, deposited there for
safe keeping, were destroyed.
William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, was deputed to punish the offenders.
He appointed Osbert de Longchamp governor of the county; and the
sheriff and governor of the castle were deprived of their offices, and
cast into prison. Fines were inflicted on many citizens, and a hundred
hostages taken.
On Richard's release from his German captivity, he sold many offices
to raise his ransom. For 3,000 marks Geoffrey Plantagenet, Archbishop
of York, purchased the office of Sheriff. This rendered him all but an
absolute prince of the province.
Early in his reign King John visited York, and held a convention,
which was attended by the King of Scotland, and many of his nobles.
The citizens abstained from any expression of welcome, and the
disgusted King consoled himself by exacting a fine of £100. In the
last year of the tyrant's life, York was besieged by the northern
barons, who were bought off with 1,000 marks.
Henry III. held a convocation at York in 1220, when his sister Joanna
was engaged to King Alexander of Scotland. In the following year his
majesty attended the espousals, celebrated in the cathedral church. On
this occasion Alexander's sister, Margaret, bestowed her hand upon
Hubert de Burgh, the justiciary.
Henry celebrated his Christmas festivities in York, A.D. 1230 and
1252. On the last occasion he bestowed the hand of his daughter
Margaret upon Alexander, King of Scotland. Matthew Paris gives a
particular and most interesting account of the ceremonies:--
"The Earl-Marshal earnestly demanded that the palfrey of the
King of Scotland, which he claimed as his right, should be
given to him, with its caparisons--not for its value, or out of
any avarice, but according to an ancient custom in such
cases--that it might not die away in his time through any
neglect of his."
Alexander
"would not submit to such an exaction, because, if he chose,
he might obtain these equipments from any Catholic prince, or
from some of his own nobles."
The Archbishop of York nobly performed his part.
"In making presents of gold, silver, and silken dresses, he
sowed on a barren shore four thousand marks which he never
afterwards reaped. But it was necessary for him to do these
things for a time, that his good fame might be preserved in its
integrity, and that the mouths of evil-speakers might be
closed."
Necessarily Edward I. was many times in Yorkshire during his Scottish
wars. In 1291 he treated the citizens to the spectacle of one of his
state-butcheries, when Rees-ap-Meredith, a descendant of the ancient
royalty of South Wales, was dragged on a hurdle to the gallows, and
hanged and quartered. In the year 1298, he obtained sole possession of
the port and lands of Wyke, afterwards known as Kingston-upon-Hull.
Under his royal patronage, the port speedily rose to a position of
great maritime importance. In the same year he twice summoned
Parliament to assemble at York, commanding the attendance of the
Scotch nobility, and declared the pains and penalties of high treason
against all absentees.
Six years later Edward concluded that the conquest of Scotland was
achieved, and disbanded his army. In 1307, he died upon the red
war-path, commenced in subtlety and falsehood. He drew his last breath
at Burgh-on-Sands, in Cumberland, on the 7th of July.
In Yorkshire the Barons ran Piers Gaveston to earth in the days of
Edward II. In 1311 they curtailed the royal power, and sentenced
Gaveston to perpetual banishment, attaching the death-penalty should
he re-enter the Kingdom. Edward commanded Gaveston to return, and
restored his honours and possessions. The Barons flew to arms, and
marched to York. The King fled to Newcastle, proceeded to Scarborough
Castle, where he left Gaveston in command, and vainly endeavoured to
raise an army.
Attacked by the Barons, Gaveston surrendered. Pembroke and Lord Henry
Percy engaged that he should be imprisoned in Wallingford Castle, and
that he should suffer no violence. Nevertheless he was carried to
Dedington Castle, near Banbury, when Pembroke departed, and Warwick
appeared upon the scene. Threatened with attack, the garrison declined
to defend their prisoner, and surrendered him into the hands of
Warwick. Gaveston was mounted upon a mule, surrounded by his enemies,
and carried to Warwick Castle with extravagant parade, being welcomed
with a loud flourish of trumpets. He read his fate in the fierce
elation of the Barons, but made a vain appeal for mercy. It was
rejected, and he was condemned to death.
VI.--BATTLE OF MYTON MEADOWS.
A.D. 1319.
After the battle of Bannockburn the whole of Scotland regained its
ancient freedom, saving only the border town and fortress of Berwick,
the security of which was zealously guarded by the unfortunate son of
the terrible "Hammer of Scotland."
The severe and even harsh discipline to which the burghers were
subjected by the commandant of the fortress caused much
dissatisfaction, and one of the inhabitants, a burgess named Spalding,
proposed, in the bitterness of his heart, to betray the place into the
hands of the Scottish monarch. King Robert eagerly entered into
negotiations which were placed before him by the Earl of March, and
deputed the conducting of the somewhat hazardous enterprise to his
favourite captains, Douglas and Randolph. The project was duly carried
to a successful termination, a body of troops scaling the walls under
cover of a dark night, being materially assisted by Spalding, who went
the rounds that night. Some confusion occurred, the governor of the
castle made a desperate sally into the town, and bloody fighting
followed before Douglas, Randolph, and Sir William Keith of Galston
succeeded in forcing the stubborn Southrons back to the shelter of
their works. Soon after the King appeared upon the scene, and, further
resistance obviously being futile, the castle was surrendered. For
Spalding it may be said that his action was probably more patriotic
than treacherous, as he was married to a Scottish woman, and was,
doubtless, himself of the same nationality.
This loss was severely felt by the English, and was bitterly resented
by King Edward. It was followed by a dreadful invasion of the northern
provinces of England, when Northallerton, Boroughbridge, and
Skipton-in-Craven were committed to the flames, and Ripon only secured
immunity from a similar visitation by the payment of a ransom of one
thousand marks. The unhappy people were utterly without protection,
and the Scots leisurely returned to their own country, driving their
miserable captives before them "like flocks of sheep."
Involved with his barons in those wretched complications which
embittered his reign, Edward the II. was so mortified by the loss of
Berwick, that he hastily came to an arrangement with the malcontents,
and raising his banner prepared to invade Scotland, and attempt the
recovery of the town and fortress which had so suddenly passed out of
his possession.