A 77 
 
 (
 
 LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF
 
 YORKSHIRE BATTLES.
 
 YORKSHIRE BATTLES 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD LAMPLOUGH, 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 "THE SIEGE OF HULL," "MEDIAEVAL YORKSHIRE,' 
 "HULL AND YORKSHIRE FRESCOES," ETC. 
 
 HULL: 
 
 WILLIAM ANDREWS & CO. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & Co., 
 
 LIMITED. 
 
 1891.
 
 HULL : 
 WILLIAM ANDREWS AND CO. 
 
 PRINTERS, 
 DOCK STREET.
 
 To TIIK 
 
 REV. E. G. CHARLESWORTH, 
 
 VICAR OF ACKLAM, 
 
 A CONTRIBUTOR TO AND LOVER OF 
 YORKSHIRE LITERATURE, 
 
 E. L. 
 
 is Dolume 
 
 IS 
 
 MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.
 
 Contents. 
 
 I'AGE 
 
 I. WlNWIDFIELD, ETC. I 
 
 II. BATTLE OK STAMFORD BRIDGE ... ... ... 15 
 
 III. AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE 36 
 
 IV. BATTLE OF THE STANDARD ... ... ... .. 53 
 
 V. AFTER THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARD 75 
 
 VI. BATTLE OF MYTON MEADOWS ; 83 
 
 VII. BATTLE OF BOROUGHBRIDGE ... ... ... ... 101 
 
 VIII. BATTLE OF BYLAND ABBEY ... ... ... ... 116 
 
 IX. IN THE DAYS OF EDWARD III. AND RICHARD II. 131 
 
 X. BATTLE OF BRAMHAM MOOR 139 
 
 XI. BATTLE OF SANDAL 150 
 
 XII. BATTLE OF TOWTON ... ... ... ... ... 165 
 
 XIII. YORKSHIRE UNDER THE TUDORS ... ... ... 173 
 
 XIV. BATTLE OF TADCASTER ... ... ... ... ... 177 
 
 XV. BATTLE OF LEEDS 183 
 
 XVI. BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD ... ... ... ... ... 187 
 
 XVII. BATTLE OF ADWALTON MOOR ... ... ... ... 192 
 
 XVIII. BATTLE OF HULL 196 
 
 XIX. BATTLE OF SELBY 199 
 
 XX. BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR ... ... ... ... 203 
 
 XXI. BATTLE OF BRUNNANBURGH 216 
 
 XXII. FIGHT OFF FLAMBOROUGH HEAD ... ... ... 221 
 
 INDEX 227
 
 preface. 
 
 T X the history of our national evolution York- 
 shire occupies a most important position, 
 and the sanguinary record of Yorkshire Battles 
 possesses something more than material for the 
 poet and the artist. Valour, loyalty, patriotism, 
 honour and self-sacrifice are virtues not uncommon 
 to the warrior, and the blood of true and brave 
 men has liberally bedewed our fields. 
 
 It was on Yorkshire soil that the tides of 
 foreign invasion were rolled back in blood at 
 Stamford Bridge and Northallerton ; the mis- 
 fortunes attendant upon the reign of weak and 
 incapable princes are illustrated by the fields of 
 Boroughbridge, Byland Abbey, and Myton-upon- 
 Swale, and, in the first days of our greatest 
 national struggle, the true men of Yorkshire freely 
 shed their blood at Tadcaster, Bradford, Leeds, 
 Wakefield, Adwalton Moor and Hull, keeping
 
 x PREFACE. 
 
 open the pathway by which Fairfax passed from 
 Selby to Mars ton Moor. 
 
 Let pedants prate of wars of kites and crows ; 
 we take national life as a unity, and dare to face 
 its evolution through all the throes of birth, own- 
 ing ourselves debtors to the old times before us, 
 without being either so unwise or ungenerous as 
 to contemn the bonds of association, and affect a 
 false and impossible isolation. 
 
 To the educated and intelligent our Yorkshire 
 Battles present interesting and important studies 
 of those subtle and natural processes by which 
 nations achieve liberty, prosperity, and greatness. 
 
 E. L. 
 
 HULL LITERARY CLTB, 
 January 6th, 1891.
 
 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 LWINWIDFIELD, ETC. 
 
 FROM the earliest ages of our recorded na- 
 tional history the soil of Yorkshire has been 
 the " dark and bloody ground " of mighty chief- 
 tains and their armed thousands. Where the 
 sickle gleams to-day amid the golden fields of 
 autumn, our ancestors beheld the flashing steel 
 of mighty hosts, and triumphed by the might of 
 their red right hand, or endured the bitter humilia- 
 tion of defeat. 
 
 Vain was the barrier of Hadrian's Wall to 
 restrain the fiery Caledonians from their prey in 
 the old times before us, when the Roman Eagle 
 was borne above the iron cohorts of the Empire 
 through the remote and rugged Northland. When 
 Severus visited the island, to maintain his rule 
 and quell the raging storms of invasion, he found 
 the city of York surrounded by barbarians, and
 
 2 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 encountered and drove them afar in bloody de- 
 feat. When the Roman gallies bore off the last of 
 the legionaries, and the Britons were left to their 
 own resources, the tide of devastation spread wide 
 and far, and the suffering people were driven to 
 the verge of despair. According to William of 
 Malmsbury, the Romans had drained the land of 
 its best blood, and left it cursed with a sottish 
 and debauched population. Hordes of Picts and 
 Scots inundated the land, fired its villages, over- 
 threw its cities, and slew the inhabitants with the 
 edge of the sword. Oft has the pathetic earnest- 
 ness of Gildas been quoted : " The barbarians 
 drive us to the sea, the sea throws us back on the 
 barbarians ; thus two modes of death await us, 
 we are either slain or drowned." 
 
 Again the clang of arms and the loud tones of 
 war rang through the north, when the White- 
 horse Standard of the Saxons was spread upon 
 the breeze, and the tall, muscular warriors, with 
 their long, fair hair and flowing beards, swept 
 towards the borders, filling the Briton with as- 
 tonishment and admiration. Then blood flowed 
 like water, and the fiery Picts were turned to 
 sullen flight ; but, ere long, Yorkshire plain and 
 hill groaned under a fresh burden of blood as
 
 WINIVIDFIELD. 3 
 
 Briton and Saxon strove together for the mastery. 
 The tide of war ebbed and flowed around the 
 ancient city of York, and sanguinary and nu- 
 merous were the engagements that ensued before 
 the Britons relinquished the sovereignty of the 
 island. 
 
 The history of Edwin, King Deira and Bernicia, 
 is worthy of a passing notice ; he was left an 
 orphan at the tender age of three years, when 
 King Ethelfrith seized his inheritance of Deira, 
 and pursued his steps with implacable persistency 
 until Redwald King of East Anglia took him 
 under his protection. Ethelfrith at once marched 
 upon Redwald, and two sanguinary battles fol- 
 lowed, the usurper perishing in the last conflict. 
 Redwald then placed Edwin upon the throne of 
 Deira and Bernicia. 
 
 Edwin was a pagan, but on espousing the sister 
 of Ethelbald, King of Kent, he came under the 
 influence of Bishop Paulinus, and his conversion 
 followed. On Easter Day, 626, Edwin gave 
 audience to his subjects in his "regal city" on the 
 Derwent, a few miles from York. Doubtless it 
 was a favourable time for the presenting of peti- 
 tions, for during the night the Queen had given 
 birth to a daughter.
 
 4 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Towards the conclusion of the morning's busi- 
 ness, a messenger was ushered into the royal 
 presence, and, when about to address the King, 
 drew forth a long double-edged knife, with which 
 he attempted to stab the monarch, throwing all 
 the weight of his body into the blow. Lila, the 
 King's minister, perceiving his master's danger, 
 interposed his body, which was transpierced by 
 the weapon, which inflicted a slight wound up- 
 on the King. Upon the instant the assassin 
 was slain by a score of weapons, but not before he 
 had also killed Forthhere, one of Edwin's house- 
 hold. It transpired that the murderer was a 
 servant of Cuichelm, king of the West Saxons, 
 and was named Eumer. The knife had been 
 poisoned, and though robbed of its virulence in 
 passing through the body of Lila, the King had 
 to endure somewhat at the hands of his physician, 
 and was no doubt under some apprehension of 
 death. In conversation with Paulinus he vowed 
 to accept the Christian religion if he recovered 
 from his wound, and succeeded in punishing the 
 murderous treachery of Cuichelm, and on Whit- 
 Sunday the infant princess received Christian 
 baptism. 
 
 The avenging army of Northumbria burst into
 
 WINIVIDFIELD. 5 
 
 the fair Westland with sword and spear, and 
 Edwin carried his banner through many a san- 
 guinary engagement, when the strong growing 
 corn was trampled under foot and cursed with red 
 battle-rain, as the massy columns of Northumbria 
 drove over the field, banners flapping overhead, 
 javelins and stones beating in a terrible shower 
 along the front, whilst a forest of portended pikes 
 rent and overwhelmed all who dared to brave the 
 dreadful onset. 
 
 On the King's return he hesitated long before 
 professing the Christian religion, and called his 
 chiefs to take council with him. To his surprise 
 the way was prepared for him. Coifi, chief of the 
 pagan priests, doubted the power of his gods. He 
 gave them careful service, omitted nothing, and 
 deserved well of them, yet he was not first in the 
 King's favour, nor prosperous in his undertakings. 
 
 One of Edwin's chieftains took a more just and 
 elevated view of the subject : " The present life of 
 man, O King, seems to me, in comparison of 
 that time which is unknown to us, like the swift 
 flight of a sparrow through the room wherein you 
 sit at supper in winter, with your commanders and 
 ministers, and a good fire in the midst, whilst 
 storms of rain and snow prevail abroad the
 
 6 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 sparrow, I say, flying in at one door and im- 
 mediately out at another, whilst he is within, is 
 safe from the wintry storm ; but after a short 
 space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes 
 out of your sight, into the dark winter from which 
 he had emerged. So this life of man appears for a 
 short space, but of what went before, or what is to 
 follow, we are utterly ignorant. If, therefore, this 
 new doctrine contains something more certain, it 
 seems justly to deserve to be followed." 
 
 The result was that Coifi undertook to dese- 
 crate his gods, assuming sword and spear, and 
 mounting a stallion, forbidden to priests. Great 
 was the astonishment and awe of the people as 
 the royal party rode towards the temple. As Coin 
 approached he brandished his spear, and hurled it 
 into the building. As it clashed upon the floor an 
 awful cry burst from the priests, but no dire 
 catastrophe followed, and fire being applied to the 
 temple, building and gods were alike consumed. 
 The impotence of the pagan gods established, the 
 conversion of the people rapidly followed, and 
 the wise and good King reigned over a flourish- 
 ing state for several years. 
 
 Unhappily, the virtues of the King and the 
 affection of his subjects were no protection from
 
 WINWIDFIELD. 7 
 
 misfortune, and the chequered life went down 
 in ruin and defeat. Penda, the pagan King of 
 Mercia, a wretch inured to crime, entered into 
 a confederacy with Cadwalla, King of North 
 Wales, and, after vowing to compass the destruc- 
 tion of all the Christians in the island, marched 
 against King Edwin. 
 
 The royal Northumbrian was neither slow to 
 mass his troops nor meet his arch-enemy ; but 
 the triumph that had so often attended his arms 
 was not vouchsafed in this inauspicious hour ; 
 and when the terrible waves of battle rolled 
 against each other at the village of Hatfield, 
 near Doncaster, in the October days of 633, 
 his throne and crown went down in the fierce 
 storm, though brave men flung themselves before 
 his banners, and struggled with the savage foe 
 as long as life lingered in the hacked and bleeding 
 frame. 
 
 Falling with honour in the van of battle, Edwin 
 breathed out his life amidst the roar of the con- 
 tending hosts, and so the day darkened ere the 
 night closed on Christian Northumbria. By the 
 King's side fell his son, the gallant young Osfrid, 
 and the slaughter of the defeated army being very 
 great, a season of extreme depression ensued.
 
 8 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Great as the confusion was, the dead King re- 
 ceived the last melancholy offices, his head being 
 buried in the porch of the church at York, and 
 the Abbey at Whitby receiving his body. 
 
 In the year 655, when the winters of eighty 
 years had bleached the head of the warlike and 
 ferocious Penda, he again participated in a tre- 
 mendous conflict which took place on the Field of 
 Victory, or Winwidfield, on the northern bank of 
 the Aire, near Leeds. The occasion of the war 
 was as follows: Adelwald, King of Diera, was 
 threatened by Oswy, King of Bernicia, and per- 
 ceiving that he could only hope to retain his 
 crown by compassing the ruin of that powerful 
 monarch, he formed a league with the Kings of 
 Mercia and East Anglia, and declared war against 
 Oswy, who, dismayed by so powerful a coalition, 
 strove, by every possible means, to avert the 
 bursting of the storm. All his efforts proving 
 futile, he humbled himself in fervent supplications 
 for victory on the solemn eve of the impending 
 battle, and recorded a religious vow that, in the 
 event of his being delivered from his enemies, his 
 infant daughter, Elfleda, should be devoted to the 
 service of the Holy Church. While Oswy was 
 buried in supplication the shrewd brain of Adel-
 
 WINWIDFIELD. 9 
 
 wald was busily revolving the position. Should 
 Oswy be defeated, he would be at the mercy 
 of his allies of Mercia and East Anglia, and his 
 own destruction and the division of his kingdom 
 might be anticipated. To obviate such a disas- 
 trous result Adelwald resolved to reserve his own 
 forces, and leave his allies to deal with Oswy, 
 when he might reasonably hope to secure his 
 kingdom against the decimated army, or armies 
 of the victor. On the morning of the i5th of 
 November, the four Kings marshalled their forces, 
 spearmen, and other variously armed infantry 
 and cavalry; and Penda, animated and impetuous, 
 his fiery spirit undimmed by the four score years 
 that had passed over his head, rushed to the 
 attack, and the clash of arms and tumult of war 
 resounded over the field as the troops of Oswy 
 nobly sustained the fierce assault. At this junc- 
 ture, the crafty Adelwald, assured that the deadly 
 game would be continued to the bitter end, began 
 to retire his troops, and the Mercians, losing 
 heart under the suspicion of his treachery, relaxed 
 their efforts, and commenced a hasty and confused 
 retreat. Penda and his numerous chieftains ap- 
 pealed to them, and strove to restore their broken 
 ranks, but in vain. Oswy pressed them hard ;
 
 io YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 smote them with fierce charges of cavalry, and 
 with the rush of his serried spearmen bore down 
 all resistance. The Kings of Anglia and East 
 Mercia were put to the sword, and their armies 
 decimated and scattered. Oswy, secured in the 
 possession of life and throne, exulted in the 
 signal victory which had blessed his arms. Amid 
 the lifeless thousands that encumbered the san- 
 guinary field, twenty-eight vassal chieftains of the 
 highest rank had fallen with their Kings. 
 
 Oswy satiated his regal ambition by taking 
 possession of the realms of his conquered adver- 
 saries, but he respected the crown of the crafty 
 Adelwald, who retained the glittering bauble until 
 his death, a few years later. 
 
 Before the Saxon monarchy had time to de- 
 velope, the Danes visited the unhappy island with 
 fire and sword. Coasting along the shores, inter- 
 rupting the commerce, blocking up the mouths of 
 the rivers, or penetrating far inland, their only 
 mission to plunder and destroy, they proved a 
 terrible curse to the nation, and brought the 
 islanders to the verge of ruin and despair. 
 
 With the name of Penda, is associated that of a 
 very opposite Prince, Alfred, King of the North- 
 umbrians, as he is styled in the Anglo-Saxon
 
 WINWIDFIELD. 1 1 
 
 Chronicle. Alfred espoused Kyneburga, Penda's 
 daughter, by whom he had issue one son, Osred, 
 who succeeded to the throne. 
 
 This talented Prince ascended the throne after 
 many vicissitudes, and was slain at Ebberston 
 on the i Qth January, 705, and was buried in the 
 church of Little Driffield. It appears that the 
 country was being ravaged by a large body of 
 Danes and Norwegians, and that Alfred pursued 
 and engaged them, holding them to a desperate 
 trial of arms for the whole of the short winter's 
 afternoon. The gloomy night was closing in 
 on the dreadful scene, and the Northmen were 
 breaking before the charges of the royal troops, 
 when an arrow smote the King, and he fell in 
 the front of battle. On the instant a Danish 
 warrior charged the prostrate monarch, and, before 
 a hand could be raised in his defence, wounded 
 him in the thigh. In haste and confusion the 
 wounded man was carried away from the scene of 
 strife, and concealed in a cave until the invaders 
 had retired, when he was borne to the castle of 
 Deira-field, and every attention given to recover 
 him from his wounds, but after a week of suffering 
 he expired, to the regret of his subjects. 
 
 In the year 867, a great conflict for the sove-
 
 i2 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 reignty of Northumbria was maintained between 
 Osbert and Ella, the former having been expelled 
 from his throne and the latter elected thereto 
 in his stead. At this unhappy juncture, the 
 Danish chieftains, Hinguar and Hubba, brought a 
 powerful fleet into the H umber, and therewith 
 passed their land forces over the river into North- 
 umbria, directing the march of their principal 
 forces upon York, and marking their track in 
 blood and ashes. The common danger arrested 
 the course of the internecine feud, and Osbert 
 and Ella proposed to combine their forces for the 
 defence of the capital. Before this junction 
 could, however, be effected the Northmen fell 
 upon York, and Osbert, without waiting for his 
 ally, threw himself into the city, and attacked 
 the advancing Danes. For a time the battle 
 raged hotly. The banners were brought to the 
 front, and the leaders fought gallantly beneath 
 them, animating their followers by their example 
 and exhortations. So fierce was the defence 
 of the Northumbrians that the Danes were driven 
 back, but only to again struggle forward through 
 dust and blood to the devoted city. Osbert and 
 his chieftains strove nobly to hold up against 
 the heavy masses that bore down upon them with
 
 WINWIDFIELD. 13 
 
 such determined energy. Again and again they 
 cast themselves upon the steel-bound ranks of 
 their enemies, only to be borne down in the press, 
 before the descending swords, and lie beneath the 
 feet that pressed forward and entered the city 
 in triumph. Scarcely had Hubba and Hinguar 
 established themselves, before Ella approached, 
 and addressed himself to the storming of the 
 walls. So fierce and stubborn was the onslaught, 
 that his troops broke through the defences and 
 penetrated the Danish lines. The Northman was 
 never more to be feared than when at bay, with 
 the sword above his head. The Danes sallied 
 out, slew or drove out all the Northumbrians who 
 had entered the city, and, engaging them in 
 the open field, put Ella and the flower of his 
 army to the sword. The day was fittingly con- 
 cluded by a fiendish massacre of the citizens of 
 York. 
 
 In Saxon and Danish times Northumbria was 
 continually invaded, and in the days of King 
 Athelstan the famous battle of Brunanburgh was 
 fought north of the H umber, and, if we may 
 attach any importance to the speculations of some 
 of our Yorkshire antiquaries, our favoured county 
 was the scene of that desperate conflict. As a
 
 14 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 matter of fact, the exact locality of the battle has 
 not yet been established on sufficient evidence, 
 and no doubt our historians will continue to 
 regard it as unascertained.
 
 II. BATTLE OF STAMFORD BRIDGE. 
 
 A.D. 1066. 
 
 TWO circumstances secured the triumph of 
 William, Duke of Normandy, when he in 
 vaded Saxon England in the year 1066. The 
 first was the temporary withdrawal of the Saxon 
 fleet, for the purpose of securing supplies ; the 
 second was the enmity of Tosti Godwinsson, who 
 incited Harold Hardrada to attempt the subjuga- 
 tion of the island. Had the Saxon fleet kept 
 the sea, had Harold encountered the invader with 
 the unbroken strength of his army of defence, the 
 Norman might have effected a landing, but it 
 would have been with decimated forces, and 
 probably in the face of an army that would have 
 offered a desperate resistance to their disembarka- 
 tion, and would have called them to an even more 
 bloody conflict than that of Senlac. 
 
 The chain of events which led to the Battle of 
 Stamford Bridge may be traced back to that 
 memorable scene when the aged and heroic 
 Northumbrian, Jarl Siward, lay dying in his house
 
 1 6 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 at York. Disdaining to meet death in other 
 than his customary guise of warrior and chief, 
 he caused his servitors to invest his gigantic 
 frame in the iron panoply of war, to arm him with 
 the heavy sword and tempered battle-axe which 
 he had so long and ably employed in the national 
 service, and so breathed his last, leaving the wild 
 hordes of Northumbria to be disposed of by King 
 Edward, for his son, the afterwards far-famed 
 Waltheof, was too young to rule over so extensive 
 and warlike a province. No doubt Harold em- 
 ployed his great influence with King Edward 
 to secure the aggrandisement of his own family, 
 for his brother Tosti was invested with command 
 of the province. 
 
 Tosti was the most froward of the sons of 
 Godwin, and showed none of the high qualities 
 and sincere patriotism which distinguished God- 
 win and his son Harold. 
 
 Cruel and passionate, Tosti was ill-fitted to 
 govern a proud and inflammable people like the 
 Northumbrians. The following passage from 
 Roger of Wendover illustrates the violent dis- 
 position of the Earl : " Tosti quitted the King's 
 court in a rage, and coming to the city of Here- 
 ford, where his brother Harold had prepared a
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 17 
 
 great feast for the King, he cut off the limbs of 
 all the servants, and put an arm, or some other 
 member, in each of the vessels of wine, mead, ale, 
 or pickle ; after which he sent a message to the 
 King, that on coming to his lodgings, he would 
 find the food seasoned to his mind, and that he 
 should take care to carry away the delicacies 
 with him." 
 
 Tosti's rule in Northumbria came to a sudden 
 termination, A.D. 1065. The "Anglo-Saxon Chro- 
 nicle" thus records the event : " All the thanes 
 in Yorkshire and Northumberland gathered them- 
 selves together, and outlawed their Earl, Tosty, 
 and slew his household men, all that they might 
 come at, as well English as Danish : and they 
 took all his weapons at York, and gold and silver, 
 and all his treasures which they might anywhere 
 there hear of, and sent after Morkar, the son of 
 Elgar the Earl, and chose him to be their Earl : 
 and he went south with all the shire, and with 
 Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire, and Lincoln- 
 shire, until he came to Northampton : and his 
 brother Edwin came to meet him with the men 
 who were in his earldom, and also many Britons 
 came with him. There came Harold, the Earl, 
 to meet them ; and they laid an errand upon him
 
 1 8 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 to King Edward, and also sent messengers with 
 him, and begged that they might have Morkar for 
 their Earl. And the King granted it, and sent 
 Harold again to them at Northampton, on the eve 
 of St. Simon's and St. Jude's Mass ; and he 
 made known the same to them, and delivered a 
 pledge thereof to them : and he there renewed 
 Canute's law. But the northern men did much 
 harm about Northampton whilst he went on their 
 errand, inasmuch as they slew men and burned 
 houses and corn ; and took all the cattle which 
 they came at, that was many thousand : and 
 many hundred men they took and led north with 
 them ; so that shire, and the other shires which 
 there are nigh, were for many years the worse. 
 And Tosty the earl, and his wife, and all those 
 who would what he would, went south over sea 
 with him to Baldwin, the earl, and he received 
 them all ; and they were all the winter there." 
 
 The indignation of Tosti was extreme, and was 
 not unnaturally directed towards his brother, 
 Harold, who had used his influence with the Con- 
 fessor to obtain the pardon of the turbulent 
 Northumbrians, and the confirmation of Morcar 
 in the possession of the earldom. That Harold 
 was actuated by personal motives cannot be ques-
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 19 
 
 tioned, for he procured the government of Mercia 
 for Earl Edwin, and espoused the sister of these 
 potent nobles. It was obvious that a crisis must 
 come in his history, and in that of his country, and 
 as a man and a patriot he could not afford to be 
 hampered by the crimes of his brother, and by the 
 disaffection and revolt of a province so remote 
 and difficult of access as Northumbria. Although 
 Harold was at the head of an army when he 
 treated with the Northumbrians at Northampton, 
 it is apparent from the passage already quoted 
 that they were assembled in such numbers and 
 array, that any attempt to reinstate Tosti in the 
 earldom would have resulted in a battle, and 
 probably would have necessitated an armed in- 
 vasion of Northumbria. 
 
 On the 5th of January, 1066, King Edward 
 fulfilled the number of his days, and on the mor- 
 row was buried in Westminster Abbey. From 
 the day of his death England entered upon a 
 long course of stormy and disastrous years ; and 
 it must be confessed that to his own folly in 
 promising the succession to his kinsman, William, 
 Duke of Normandy, the national troubles are to 
 be largely attributed. It is said that Edward's 
 last hours were vexed by the vision of a warrior
 
 20 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 shooting a bloody arrow, portending evil days for 
 the Kingdom ; and also that he gave a reluctant 
 consent to the succession of Harold, warning him 
 that the result would be very grevious. 
 
 The citizens of London, the nobility, and clergy, 
 were largely favourable to the claims of Harold ; 
 the lineal heir to the crown being the Con- 
 fessor's nephew, Edgar Atheling a youth of far 
 too tender years to wear the crown to which 
 the Duke of Normandy and Harold Godwinson 
 aspired. No man wished to behold the Norman 
 duke seated upon the throne of the great Alfred ; 
 and when Harold caused himself to be proclaimed 
 king on the evening of the day of the Confessor's 
 death, his action was ratified by the Witena- 
 gemot, and the crown was placed upon his head 
 by Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 In the North alone was any disaffection mani- 
 fested towards King Harold, and he met it by 
 paying the Northumbrians a visit, in which he 
 was accompanied by Wulstan, Bishop of Wor- 
 cester. He was favourably received, and won the 
 esteem and support of the Northumbrians. 
 
 In the true sense of the word, Harold was an 
 elected king, chosen of the nation ; not a tyrant 
 and usurper.
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 21 
 
 Earl Tosti spared no pains to raise up enemies 
 against his brother during the period of his 
 enforced banishment, and succeeded in inducing 
 the famous Norwegian monarch, Harold Har- 
 drada, to make a descent upon the island. Too 
 impatient to await the appearance of his ally, 
 Earl Tosti was the first to raise sword in the 
 land, coming from beyond sea with a fleet 
 of daring adventurers, Flemings, and others. 
 Landing in the Isle of Wight, he enforced con- 
 tributions of food and money, and proceeded to 
 ravage the coast as far as Sandwich. Harold 
 had, however, provided so largely for the pro- 
 tection of his Kingdom by the formation of a 
 large fleet, and of formidable land forces, that 
 Tosti was compelled to beat a speedy retreat, 
 and directed his course to the North, taking 
 " some of the boatmen with him, some willingly 
 and some unwillingly." Entering the Humber, 
 he devastated the Lindsey shore with fire and 
 sword ; but being beset by the troops of Morcar 
 and Edwin, he was deserted by the greater part 
 of his fleet, and was obliged to precipitately retire 
 into Scotland with the twelve gallies that re- 
 mained to him. King Malcolm III. hospitably 
 entertained the fugitive prince at his court, but
 
 22 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 all the solicitations of Tosti failed to induce him 
 to invade the territories of King Harold. Tosti 
 succeeded in attaching a number of adventurers to 
 his cause, or rather a number of pirates followed 
 his fortunes in the hope of obtaining plunder, and 
 with the certainty of being allowed to slaughter 
 the inhabitants of the coasts, and to ravage the 
 land. 
 
 Where the North Sea foams around the Ork- 
 neys, Tosti was to meet the Norwegian monarch ; 
 and the Orkeyinga Saga thus narrates his arrival 
 and departure : "At this time, when the brothers, 
 Paul and Erlendr, had taken up the rule in 
 Orkney, there arrived at the east side of the 
 island from Norway Harold Sigurdson with a 
 large army. He came first to Shetland. Went 
 from thence to Orkney. There he left Queen 
 Ellisif, and their daughters, Maria and Ingigerdi. 
 From Orkney he had much help. Both the jarls 
 joined the expedition of the king. The king 
 thence went south to England, and landed where 
 it is called Klifland, and came to Skardaborg." 
 
 Tosti and his gallies joined the Norwegians, 
 and in the expressive phraseology of the time : 
 "Tosti submitted to him and became his man." 
 Northumbria was the seat of war, the Saxon fleet
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 23 
 
 and Harold's army of defence being located in 
 the South, for the arrival of the armament of 
 the Duke of Normandy was daily expected, and 
 Tosti and his ally had therefore every prospect 
 of obtaining a strong hold of the North, the 
 population of which was largely of Danish origin. 
 
 From the first the proceedings of the invaders 
 were not calculated to win over the Northum- 
 brians to their cause. As the great fleet of 500 
 sail bore for the H umber, numerous troops were 
 landed to ravage the coast ; and a fierce swoop 
 was made upon Scarborough, which was burnt 
 to the ground. Sailing up the H umber, the 
 invaders continued their evil work, and the sky 
 was lurid with flame and dark with smoke, and 
 slaughtered peasants were strewn on the soil 
 which they had ploughed and sown in the earlier 
 days of the year, when they looked forward to 
 the harvest of the scythe and sickle, nor dreamt 
 that Autumn would bring upon them the sharp 
 chastisement of the sword. 
 
 York was the prize for which the invaders 
 offered, and, sailing up the Ouse, they moored 
 their fleet at the village of Riccall, ten miles 
 from the city, upon which they at once directed 
 their march. Jarls Edwin and Morcar made
 
 24 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 strenuous efforts to arrest the invaders, but the 
 northern forces were insufficient to meet so numer- 
 ous and powerful an army as that of Hardrada. 
 Nevertheless, the brothers assembled such troops 
 as they could collect, and took up a position at 
 Fulford to cover the city. Hardrada occupied 
 a defensive position, with the river on his right 
 flank, and a morass on his left. Edwin and 
 Morcar showed no lack of spirit in the combat 
 which ensued, and promptly charged the Nor- 
 wegian lines, which they penetrated, making a 
 very great slaughter ; but being too weak in num- 
 bers to reap the full advantage of their valour, 
 they were unable to rout the ranks which they 
 had thrown into disorder ; and the Norwegians 
 clung to their ground, and maintained a hand- 
 to-hand conflict until the arrival of large rein- 
 forcements from the fleet enabled them to push 
 back the Northumbrian ranks, and to charge 
 them in turn. This was decisive of the battle : 
 the Northumbrians had exhausted their strength 
 in the first conflict, and could not stem the tide 
 of fresh warriors that bore down upon them, 
 with their ringing war-song, and with flashing 
 spears and axes. The disordered ranks of the 
 Northumbrians were speedily broken, and the
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 25 
 
 army dissolved in a wild rout of savage fugi- 
 tives, oft turning stubbornly at bay, and exacting 
 a heavy price for their lives. Many of the 
 Northumbrians were forced into the river, or 
 took to the water in their endeavours to escape 
 the vengeance of the unsparing Norwegians, so 
 that more men of the Saxon army perished 
 in the Ouse than fell by the sword on the field 
 of Fulford. "And this fight was on the vigil of 
 St. Matthew the apostle, and it was Wednesday." 
 
 Morcar and Edwin retired into York with the 
 remnant of fugitives that rallied around them ; 
 but their numbers were insufficient for the de- 
 fence of the city, and they retreated thence, when 
 Harold and Tosti entered in triumph at the 
 head of a division of their army, and received 
 the submission of the citizens, who furnished 
 them with provisions, and placed hostages in their 
 hands ; " and they agreed upon a full peace, so 
 that they should all go with him south, and this 
 land subdue." 
 
 The Norwegians had retired from the city, and 
 taken up a position at Stamford Bridge, part of 
 the army remaining at Riccall for the protection 
 of the fleet, while the commanders appear to 
 have been engaged in projects for organising an
 
 26 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 army to march south ; but the enemy was ap- 
 proaching by forced marches ; and on the 26th 
 of September, 1066, the decisive battle of Stam- 
 ford Bridge was fought. 
 
 No sooner was Harold apprised of the invasion 
 of Northumbria, than he placed himself at the 
 head of his army, advanced his ensigns ; and 
 pressed forward with such celerity that, on the 
 23rd of September, his army occupied Tadcaster. 
 On the following day he entered York ; the 
 Norwegians, who had been left in occupation, 
 retiring before him. The battle commenced at 
 sunrise on the 25th ; and the forces of Harold 
 and Tosti appear to have been taken by surprise, 
 for a large number of Norwegians were with 
 the fleet at Riccall. Under any circumstances, 
 however, Hardrada was certain to provide for 
 the safety of his fleet ; and the fact that he 
 afterwards drew large reinforcements from it does 
 not of itself imply that he was taken by surprise, 
 unless, indeed he had under-estimated the forces of 
 Harold, and had prepared for battle accordingly. 
 
 The armies were sufficiently powerful for so 
 important an occasion, each consisting of some 
 60,000 men ; those of Hardrada being adven- 
 turers and soldiers by profession ; whilst the war-
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 27 
 
 like element was sufficiently developed in Harold's 
 army, many of the troops being veterans, and all 
 accustomed to wield arms, for there had not been 
 time to collect hasty levies, such as some of 
 those that fought at Hastings three weeks later. 
 
 Before the battle commenced, Harold God- 
 winson dispatched a troop of twenty horse to 
 negotiate with the enemy, no doubt in the hope 
 of winning over his brother Tosti, against whom 
 his mind revolted from engaging in war. Tosti 
 manifested a marked disposition to accede to his 
 brother's wishes on being informed that he 
 should be reinstated in his territories and hon- 
 ours ; but, on his demanding what price would 
 be paid to secure his ally, Harold Sigurdson, he 
 was met by the significant reply: "Six feet of 
 earth ; or, as he is a giant, he shall have seven." 
 
 Then Tosti swore a great oath that no man 
 should ever say that Tosti, son of Godwin, broke 
 faith with Harold, son of Sigurd ; whereon the 
 trumpets sounded, and the Saxon advance began. 
 
 The Norwegians occupied a purely defensive 
 position on rising ground in the rear of the Der- 
 went ; the narrow wooden bridge, which spanned 
 the river, being held by a strong detachment 
 posted on the Saxon side of the water. There
 
 28 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 is a strange legendary story told of a gigantic 
 Norwegian holding the bridge, single-handed, 
 against the Saxon army for three hours ; meeting 
 every rush of the assailants with tremendous 
 blows of a huge battle-axe, and only falling by 
 a treacherous blow from the spear of a Saxon 
 soldier, who, in a boat, passed underneath the 
 bridge, and directing a stroke of his spear be- 
 tween the planks, smote the warrior underneath 
 his mail, and so slew him. Considering that 
 Harold's army contained both archers and slingers, 
 it is difficult to believe that three hours should 
 be lost, and forty Saxons slain by this terrible 
 warrior, before he fell to the cowardly stroke of 
 a concealed enemy. 
 
 It is certain, however, that the bridge was 
 stormed by the Saxons, and that Harold Hard- 
 rada maintained a defensive position while they 
 crossed, although he might have attacked them 
 at great disadvantage while forming in the open 
 ground. Being deficient in cavalry, he had 
 formed his troops somewhat in the old Scottish 
 fashion of the Schiltron : massing them in one 
 huge circular column, with the front rank kneel- 
 ing, and all presenting their pikes, so that the 
 bristling column might scarcely be broken by
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 29 
 
 the most desperate and repeated charges, and 
 the soldiers, who loved fighting with the wild 
 Norse love, which has not yet died out of the 
 earth, might safely count upon a feast of blows 
 that day. 
 
 Hardrada occupied the centre of his army, 
 with his jarls and captains around him, and his 
 famous war-standard, the " Land-Ravager," float- 
 ing above his head. He was mounted upon a 
 powerful black war-horse, his hauberk and helmet 
 were of burnished steel, and a long blue cloak 
 rendered him conspicuous amidst his warlike 
 thousands, over whom he towered in the phy- 
 sical superiority of his gigantic stature ; as the 
 battle commenced he lifted his powerful voice, 
 and sang his war-song, kindling the enthusiasm 
 of his warriors, and preparing them for the storm 
 that was about to burst upon them. 
 
 Before the main-battle commenced, the force 
 that guarded the bridge had to be driven back, 
 and if there be any truth in the story of its 
 sturdy defence, Hardrada's reinforcements should 
 have reached him before the Saxons passed the 
 bridge. 
 
 The initiative was forced upon Harold God- 
 winson, and no slackness was shown by the
 
 30 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Saxons in closing in upon their formidable ad- 
 versaries. The charges were repeated again and 
 again, and the famous Saxon twibil did good 
 service that day ; nor were the spearmen wanting 
 in their efforts, while the Saxon cavalry charged 
 again and again. The day wore on ; the cries 
 of battle and the clash of weapons sounded far ; 
 the Norwegian host was belted by a wide hem 
 of the dead. The Saxon light troops did good 
 service on this memorable day, and brought down 
 many of the sea-rovers by the discharge of their 
 missiles. Although both armies suffered severely, 
 the battle endured steadily ; the invaders main- 
 tained their formation with stubborn valour, and 
 the Saxons continued their attacks with equal 
 determination. In the heat of the battle an 
 arrow smote King Hardrada in the throat, and 
 he died in the midst of his army, at the foot of 
 his standard, to the sound of ringing steel and 
 fierce war-cries. 
 
 Although the noble form of Hardrada was 
 missed from the press, and his war-cry no longer 
 presaged victory to the Norwegian host, his val- 
 iant troops maintained the field with unabated 
 ardour ; and Prince Olave bringing up reinforce- 
 ments from the fleet, the strife waxed fiercer,
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 31 
 
 and the most sanguine might question with whom 
 the victory would rest. Harold was an expert 
 warrior, and failing to penetrate the Norwegian 
 ranks by dint of hard fighting, he feigned a 
 retreat, and induced them to abandon their close 
 formation, in the excitement of attack and pursuit, 
 when he turned upon their disordered lines, and 
 the field instantly became the scene of a fierce 
 hand-to-hand encounter, with its dreadful attend- 
 ant carnage. Tosti, and many of the Norwe- 
 gians, fell in the last stubborn effort to maintain 
 the field, for although the generous Saxon offered 
 them quarter, it was disdainfully refused by the 
 maddened Northmen. 
 
 The following quaint and pithy account of the 
 battle is taken from the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," 
 and is well worthy of quotation : " Then, during 
 this, came Harold, King of the Angles, with all 
 his forces, on the Sunday, to Tadcaster, and there 
 drew up his force, and went thence on Monday 
 throughout York ; and Harold, King of Norway, 
 and Tosty, the Earl, and their forces, were gone 
 from their ships beyond York to Stamford-bridge, 
 because it had been promised them for a certainty, 
 that there, from all the shire, hostages should be 
 brought to meet them. Then came Harold, King
 
 32 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 of the English, against them, unawares, beyond 
 the bridge, and they there joined battle, and very 
 strenuously, for a long time of the day, con- 
 tinued fighting : and there was Harold King of 
 Norway and Tosty the Earl slain, and number- 
 less of the people with them, as well of the 
 Northmen as of the English : and the Northmen 
 fled from the English. Then was there one 
 of the Norwegians who withstood the English 
 people, so that they might not pass over the 
 bridge, nor obtain the victory. Then an English- 
 man aimed at him with a javelin, but it availed 
 nothing ; and then came another under the 
 Bridge, and pierced him terribly inwards under 
 the coat of mail. Then came Harold, King of 
 the English, over the bridge, and his forces on- 
 ward with him, and there made great slaughter, 
 as well of Norwegians as of Flemings. And 
 the King's son Edmund, Harold let go home 
 to Norway, with all the ships." 
 
 Dreadful were the events of that September 
 day, and most dismally tragic the retreat from 
 Stamford Bridge to Riccall ; the pursuers wielding 
 sword and spear with merciless energy on the 
 rear of the fugitive army, while ever and anon the 
 Northman turned upon his foe and died fighting.
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 33 
 
 The fleet was reached by the war-worn Nor- 
 wegians, but afforded them no refuge, for the 
 Saxons pressed on to the attack, and captured 
 ship after ship, and in some instances appear to 
 have fired the vessels, failing to carry them by 
 the sword, for the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" 
 says: " And the English from behind hotly 
 smote them, until they came, some to their 
 ships, some were drowned, and some also burned ; 
 and thus in divers ways they perished, so that 
 there were few left. The King then gave his 
 protection to Clave, son of the King of the Nor- 
 wegians, and to their bishop and to the Earl of 
 Orkney, and to all those who were left in the 
 ships : and they then went up to our King, and 
 swore oaths that they ever would observe peace 
 and friendship toward this land, and the King 
 let them go home with twenty-four ships." 
 
 On the low plain of Riccall the dead lay thickly, 
 and to this day the villagers point out to the 
 curious visitor the huge earthen mounds that 
 cover the bones of the Norwegians. 
 
 The Harold Hardrada Saga gives us a last 
 glimpse of the remnant of the forlorn fleet, as 
 it sailed from the ancient port of Ravenser : 
 " Olafr, son of Harold Sigurdson, led the fleet 
 
 D
 
 34 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 from England, setting sail at Hrafnseyri, and in 
 the autumn came to Orkney. Of whom Stein 
 Herdisson makes mention : 
 
 ' The King the swift ships with the flood 
 Set out, with the autumn approaching, 
 And sailed from the port, called 
 Hrafnesyrr (the raven tongue of land). 
 The boats passed over the broad track 
 Of the long ships ; the sea raging, 
 The roaring tide was furious around the ships' sides.' " 
 
 The memory of the Norwegian giant who held 
 the bridge was perpetuated by the people of 
 Stamford, for Drake tells us that they " have a 
 custom, at an annual feast, to make pies in the 
 form of a swill, or swine tub, which tradition says 
 was made use of by the man who struck the 
 Norwegian on the bridge, instead of a boat." 
 
 Harold is accused of having disgusted his army 
 by refusing them a share of the spoil ; but this is 
 difficult to reconcile with the known generous 
 character of the man ; and no prince could have 
 been more nobly seconded by his troops than 
 was Harold on the field of Senlac. 
 
 Brief indeed was the victor's respite from the 
 dangers of the field ; for, as he was presiding at 
 a great feast of his chieftains and officers at York, 
 a messenger entered the hall in haste, and de-
 
 STAMFORD BRIDGE. 35 
 
 livered his ominous message that William of Nor- 
 mandy had disembarked his army at Pevensey, 
 unopposed, on the 29th of September. 
 
 The march south was at once commenced ; and 
 on the 1 4th of October a murderous battle was 
 fought at Senlac, raging with unwavering fury 
 from sunrise to sunset. King Harold, his bro- 
 thers Leofwin and Gurth, fell in the front of battle, 
 with the flower of the army ; and from that day 
 the Norman rule commenced in England.
 
 III. AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE. 
 
 WILLIAM, Duke of Normandy, landed at 
 Pevensey on the eve of St. Michael, 
 1066, and cast up fortifications for the protection 
 of his army. Not venturing to penetrate into the 
 country, he awaited the approach of the Saxon 
 army. He had not long to wait. The route from 
 York to Hastings was covered by forced marches, 
 and, with a decimated and wearied army, Harold 
 Godwinson took up his position before the Nor- 
 man host. His rear was protected by rising 
 ground ; his front and flanks by trenches and 
 huge wooden piles. He had especially to fear 
 the Norman cavalry and archers, and took every 
 precaution to defend his troops against them. 
 
 On the eve of the battle the Saxons regaled 
 themselves with strong ale, and chanted legendary 
 songs by their bivouac fires ; but the Normans 
 occupied themselves in religious services, as be- 
 fitted hired cut-throats and the "scum of Europe."
 
 AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE. 37 
 
 Harold's banner, embroidered in gold with the 
 figure of a warrior, in battle attitude, was fixed 
 near the " hoar apple tree." The men of Wessex 
 brought with them their great banner, emblazoned 
 with a golden dragon. 
 
 On the 1 4th October, Harold's birthday, the 
 battle was fought. The Norman army advanced 
 in three lines : the light infantry and archers 
 under Roger de Montgomerie ; the men-at-arms 
 under Martel ; and the knights, esquires, and 
 picked men-at-arms under the command of the 
 Duke. 
 
 As the Normans advanced they raised the song 
 of Roland, and the minstrel Taillefer claimed first 
 blood, as a sturdy Saxon fell to his sword. 
 
 The Norman archers shot their arrows fast 
 and well, point-blank against the Saxons, but the 
 palisades proved a most efficient protection, and 
 from their bows, and slings, and military machines, 
 the Saxons replied, but they were not famous in 
 missile warfare. Then the Norman lines closed 
 on front and flanks, with thrust of lance, and fierce 
 axe-play against the stout wooden piles, and all 
 the while the heavy Saxon twibils rose and fell, 
 crashing through Norman helm and shield, as 
 horse and rider bit the dust, and from the Saxon
 
 38 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 rear the heavy javelins came whirling through 
 the air. The dead and wounded lay thick on 
 both sides of the palisades, and blood trickled 
 and curdled in the dust. With unflinching cour- 
 age the conflict was maintained, amid a tumult of 
 discordant sounds : the clash and clatter of steel 
 against steel, the groans of the wounded, and the 
 sudden death-yells of those whose spirits fled as 
 the axes came crashing through helm and brain- 
 pan, or lance was driven sheer through corset 
 and breast : above the heat and roar of the melee 
 pealed the Saxon war-cry : " Christ's Rood ! the 
 Holy Rood!" answered by the sonorous Norman 
 death-cry : " Our lady of help ! God be our 
 help!" 
 
 The day sped to the heat and languor of the 
 mid October noon, and the Normans toiled before 
 the Saxon front, and belted it with flashing steel. 
 
 With painful anxiety Duke William saw his 
 repeated charges spent against the Saxon army, 
 saw his ranks shaken and thinned, without one 
 foot of ground being won. He now bade his 
 archers shoot high in the air, so that their 
 arrows might descend upon the heads of the 
 Saxons. By this the slaughter was dreadfully 
 increased within the Saxon lines, but the warriors
 
 AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE. 39 
 
 were unshaken in their resolution to maintain 
 their ground. 
 
 Along the front the Saxons nobly avenged 
 their slaughtered brethren, and William poured 
 his whole army against them in a murderous 
 charge. Quicker rose and fell the Saxon axes, 
 and, recoiling from the shock, the surging mass 
 of mail-clad warriors rolled down the ravine, be- 
 tween two hills, and many men were trampled 
 to death by the struggling horses. Surely a 
 charge of heavy cavalry would, at this crisis, 
 have secured the throne and crown of Harold. 
 Thrice the stalwart form of Norman William 
 sank amid the surges, as three horses were slain 
 beneath him. A cry arose that the Duke was 
 slain, and panic and defeat appeared inevitable, 
 when William rode, bare-headed, among his war- 
 riors, and reformed their ranks. 
 
 During the dreadful carnage, Harold maintained 
 the van, fighting with heroic courage, although 
 suffering severely from an arrow-wound which 
 had destroyed one of his eyes. William's stren- 
 uous efforts were nobly seconded by his officers, 
 and especially by his half-brother, Odo, the war- 
 like bishop of Bayeux. Foiled in every attempt 
 to penetrate the Saxon lines, and hopeless of
 
 4 o YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 beating them out of their defences, William drew 
 the Saxons by a feigned retreat of his cavalry, 
 and on passing the broken ground, turned upon 
 them, and cut them to pieces. Twice was the 
 ruse repeated, and although the Saxons main- 
 tained their position with undaunted front, their 
 ranks were terribly thinned and shaken. 
 
 The charges were repeated, again and again, 
 and the Normans rolled back in blood. The day 
 waned, but the desperate attacks were foiled. At 
 length a number of palisades were displaced, and 
 the Norman horse bit into the Saxon masses, 
 hewing a bloody pathway, and paying heavily for 
 every foot they won. Twenty knights vowed to 
 take Harold's banner, and William of Normandy, 
 rendered desperate by his peril, was anxiously 
 seeking the Saxon hero. The conflict inside the 
 palisades was tremendous. Harold's brothers, 
 Gurth and Leofwin, perished in the van : the 
 King was slain ; there was a bloody rally round 
 the royal banner ; ten of the Norman knights 
 were hewn down, but the banner was captured, 
 and the Norman flag elevated in its place. Still 
 the Saxons would not fly ; the " Golden Dragon " 
 was taken, and they were reduced to a mere mob 
 of struggling warriors. The grey of evening
 
 AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE. 41 
 
 merged into the dusk of night before the retreat 
 commenced. In retreat they were almost as 
 dangerous as in battle, and repeatedly turned 
 and drew Norman blood. The Normans were 
 driven back, William advanced to their succour, 
 and while their leader, Eustace of Boulogne, was 
 whispering in the Duke's ear, he was struck on 
 the back by a heavy Saxon axe, and fell, in- 
 sensible, from his horse, the blood gushing from 
 his mouth and nostrils. 
 
 The Normans, relaxing the pursuit, rode their 
 horses over the slain Saxons, in savage elation, 
 before returning solemn thanks to God for the 
 victory. 
 
 Gurtha, the mother of Harold, came to beg 
 the hero's body, to give it burial ; but William 
 is reported to have refused, ordering the corse 
 to be buried on the strand, remarking, with un- 
 knightly anger " He guarded the. coast while he 
 was alive, let him thus continue to guard it after 
 death." The dead King was, however, interred 
 in Waltham Abbey, which he had founded and 
 endowed ; or, if Tovi, Canute's standard-bearer, 
 was the original founder of the abbey, yet Harold 
 was largely its benefactor. 
 
 On the field of Senlac King William built the
 
 42 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 famous Battle Abbey, that priests might perpet- 
 ually pray for the souls of the slain, but, as 
 Palgrave remarks : "All this pomp and solemnity 
 has passed away like a dream. The ' perpetual 
 prayer ' has ceased for ever the roll of Battle is 
 rent the shields of the Norman lieges are trod- 
 den in the dust the Abbey is levelled to the 
 ground and a dark and reedy pool fills the spot 
 where the foundations of the quire have been un- 
 covered, merely for the gaze of the idle visitor, 
 or the instruction of the moping antiquary." 
 
 Yorkshire endured terrible evils at the hands 
 of the Conqueror, as he penetrated its wilds with 
 his famous bowmen and men-at-arms. 
 
 The year 1068 witnessed a Northumbrian 
 revolt, which was easily quelled ; but a more 
 determined effort to cast off the Norman yoke 
 was made in the following year. The events are 
 thus recorded in the " Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," 
 and were graphically realized by the acutely sym- 
 pathetic mind of the Rev. Charles Kingsley in 
 his stirring story of " Here ward, the last of the 
 English." The accuracy of the latter part of the 
 title of his novel is, however, generally disputed : 
 
 "A.D. 1068 This year King William gave 
 the earldom of Northumberland to earl Robert,
 
 AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE. 43 
 
 and the men of that country came against him, 
 and slew him and 900 others with him. And then 
 Edgar etheling marched with all the Northum- 
 brians to York, and the townsmen treated with 
 him ; on which King William came from the 
 south with all his troops, and sacked the town, 
 and slew many hundred persons. He also pro- 
 faned St. Peter's minster, and all other places, 
 and the etheling went back to Scotland. 
 
 "After this came Harold's sons from Ireland, 
 about Midsummer, with sixty-four ships, and 
 entered the mouth of the Taff, where they in- 
 cautiously landed. Earl Beorn came upon them 
 unawares with a large army, and slew all their 
 bravest men ; the others escaped to their ships, 
 and Harold's sons went back again to Ireland. 
 
 "A.D. 1069 This year died Aldred, Arch- 
 bishop of York, and he lies buried in his cathe- 
 dral church. He died on the festival of Protus 
 and Hyacinthus, having held the see with much 
 honour ten years, all but fifteen weeks. 
 
 " Soon after this, three of the sons of Sweyne 
 came from Denmark with 240 ships, together 
 with earl Osbern and earl Thorkill, into the H um- 
 ber, where they were met by child Edgar and 
 earl Waltheof, and Merle-Sweyne, and earl Cos-
 
 44 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 patric with the men of Northumberland and all the 
 landsmen riding and marching joyfully with an 
 immense army ; and so they went to York, 
 demolished the castle, and found there large 
 treasures. They also slew many hundred French- 
 men, and carried off many prisoners to their ships ; 
 but, before the shipmen came thither, the French- 
 men had burned the city, and plundered and burnt 
 St. Peter's minister. When the King heard of 
 this, he went northward with all the troops he 
 could collect, and laid waste all the shire ; whilst 
 the fleet lay all the winter in the H umber, where 
 the King could not get at them. The King 
 was at York on Midwinter's day, remaining on 
 land all the winter, and at Easter he came to 
 Winchester." 
 
 It was on the iQth of September that the 
 Danes and Northumbrians entered York, and, 
 amid the flame and smoke of burning houses, 
 stormed the Norman stronghold, and put the 
 garrison to the sword. Egbert, the seventh 
 Archbishop of York, had founded a valuable 
 library in the city, but it was utterly consumed 
 in the flames. 
 
 The triumph of King William was not so easily 
 achieved as might be supposed from the account
 
 AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE. 45 
 
 given in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle;" and had 
 he not succeeded in buying off the Danish fleet, 
 it is quite possible that all the fruit of his great 
 victory at Senlac might have been swallowed up 
 at York. Although the Northumbrians were not 
 strong enough to brave the Normans in open 
 field, they defended York against all the attacks 
 of the King's troops for a period of six months, 
 and the garrison only surrendered when they 
 were in danger of perishing from starvation. 
 
 During the siege Waltheof Siwardson especi- 
 ally distinguished himself, and on one occasion 
 defended, single-handed, a breach in the city-wall, 
 dashing out the brains of the Normans as they 
 came within the sweep of his axe. 
 
 In the first burst of rage on receiving news 
 of the slaughter of the Norman garrison, William 
 vowed to lay the whole of Northumbria in ashes, 
 and he carried out with ruthless severity this rash 
 and cruel resolution. The troops who fought be- 
 neath his banner were mercenary cut-throats, the 
 fit agents of his vengeance, and they addressed 
 themselves to the work of destruction with a keen 
 appreciation. The peasantry fell by the edge of 
 the sword, neither age nor sex being respected : 
 the shrieking children were mingled in the com-
 
 46 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 mon ruin. Cottages were fired, orchards hewn 
 down, the instruments of husbandry destroyed, 
 and every energy was bent to the destruction of 
 human life, and to ensure by starvation the death 
 of those whom the sword failed to reach. For 
 nine years after the storm had passed over the 
 devoted province, the ground remained unfilled, 
 and the villages unrestored. The wretched fugi- 
 tives who hid their heads in forests and caves 
 were driven to feed upon the flesh of unclean 
 cats and dogs, and finally they endeavoured to 
 prolong their miserable lives by the last resort 
 to cannibalism. It is computed that one hundred 
 thousand persons perished in a district of sixty 
 miles in length. The sea-ports were subjected 
 to the same severities, that, in case of further 
 Danish invasions, the ships might be unable to 
 obtain supplies. 
 
 York itself was not spared by the ruthless Nor- 
 man. The prisoners, who had been delivered 
 into William's hands by the extreme pangs of 
 famine, were put to the sword, and the city was 
 given to the flames. 
 
 During his expedition to Northumbria, William 
 narrowly escaped receiving the reward of his 
 demerits, an example of poetic justice that would
 
 AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE. 47 
 
 have been particularly striking to the historian, 
 and useful to the moralist. 
 
 While on the march from Hexham to York, he 
 became involved in a wild and unknown country ; 
 his horses perished, his soldiers were reduced 
 to the extremes of suffering and privation ; and 
 William missed his way, in the obscurity of a 
 night-march, and was reduced to a state of great 
 anxiety, not to say fear, being uncertain of the 
 ground over which he wandered, and equally un- 
 certain of the direction in which his troops were 
 marching. 
 
 The North continued to suffer from war and 
 invasion. Malcolm wasted Northumberland, A.D. 
 1079, and his wild Scots invaded the country as 
 far as the Tyne, and re-entered Scotland with 
 much spoil, and many prisoners. 
 
 The bishopric of Durham had been bestowed 
 upon Walcher of Lorraine, and as he equally 
 governed by crozier and sword, taxing the people 
 heavily, and allowing his Norman mercenaries to 
 plunder, insult, and slay his flock at their pleasure, 
 he was bitterly hated ; and, when his servant 
 Gilbert murdered Liulf, a noble Englishman, 
 who had married Jarl Siward's widow, the mother 
 of the heroic Waltheof, their rage knew no bounds.
 
 48 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Walcher consented to confer with the Northum- 
 brians at Gateshead, and was attended by a large 
 escort. Every Englishman carried a weapon 
 with him, concealed beneath his garment, and 
 the bishop, becoming alarmed for his life, took 
 refuge in the church, which was speedily fired, 
 when the murderer and his accomplice were driven 
 out, and received a summary requital for their 
 crime. Compelled to sally out by flame and 
 smoke, the bishop appeared among the raging 
 multitude, his face wrapped in the skirt of his 
 robe. There was silence, then a voice gave the 
 death-words : " Good rede, short rede ! slay ye 
 the bishop !" and the protector of murderers was 
 slain. His escort of a hundred men, Normans 
 and Flemings, died beneath Northumbrian steel 
 in that awful hour, only two of his servants, 
 menials of English birth, being saved. 
 
 Vengeance was delegated to Odo of Bayeux, 
 and there was no Here ward, no Waltheof to 
 welcome him with blood-wet steel. He entered 
 Durham unopposed, a Norman army at his back, 
 and slew or maimed all the men that he could 
 find. 
 
 Seven years later, and William lay dying in 
 the monastery of St. Gervas, passing to his last
 
 AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE. 49 
 
 account at sunrise on the 9th of September, 
 as the bells of St. Mary tolled the hour 
 of prime. His last words were : "I recommend 
 my soul to my Lady Mary, the holy mother 
 of God." 
 
 Rufus succeeded, and in his reign the King's 
 army besieged Durham Castle, and received its 
 surrender. This arose from the revolt of Odo of 
 Bayeux, who was captured at Rochester Castle, 
 and sent out of the country, to the sound of 
 Saxon curses and the triumphant strains of Saxon 
 trumpets, for the proud prelate who had cursed 
 England with his presence since the day of Sen- 
 lac was conquered by Saxon steel at last. 
 
 The North was again ravaged by the Scots, 
 A.D. 1091, when Rufus marched to protect it, and 
 " Edgar Atheling mediated a peace between the 
 kings." The following year saw the King again 
 in the North, with a large following, when, "he 
 repaired the city (Carlisle), and built the castle. 
 And he drove out Dolfin, who had before go- 
 verned that country, and having placed a garrison 
 in that castle he returned into the South, and 
 sent a great number of rustic Englishmen thither, 
 with their wives and cattle, that they might settle 
 
 there and cultivate the land." 
 
 E
 
 50 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 A.D. 1093. "King Malcolm returned home to 
 Scotland, and as soon as he came thither, he as- 
 sembled his troops and invaded England, ravaging 
 the country with more fury than behoved him : and 
 Robert, Earl of Northumberland, with his men, 
 lay in wait for him, and slew him unawares. 
 He was killed by Morael of Bamborough, the 
 earl's steward, and King Malcolm's own god- 
 father : his son Edward, who, had he lived, would 
 have been King after his father, was killed with 
 him. When the good Queen Margaret heard 
 that her most beloved lord, and her son, were 
 thus cut off, she was grieved in spirit unto 
 death, and she went with her priest into the 
 church, and having gone through all befitting 
 rites, she prayed of God that she might give up 
 the ghost." 
 
 The Northern province had little rest from 
 marching armies, sieges, and battles. In the 
 Easter of 1095, Robert, Earl of Northumberland, 
 treated with contempt the King's summons to 
 attend the court at Winchester ; whereon the 
 King took an early opportunity of attacking him, 
 seized his principal servants and officers, took 
 Tynemouth Castle, and after vainly besieging Bam- 
 borough, built a castle, Malveisin, or " evil neigh-
 
 AFTER STAMFORD BRIDGE. 51 
 
 hour," over against it, and leaving therein a strong 
 garrison departed. After the King's departure, 
 the earl sallied out one night, riding towards Tyne- 
 mouth, when a part of the garrison of Malveisin 
 pursued after him, carried him off, wounded, and 
 slew or captured his attendants. On this Rufus 
 ordered his captains to carry Northumberland to 
 Bamborough Castle, and summon it to surrender, 
 threatening to put out the earl's eyes if the castle 
 continued to hold out. The scheme was success- 
 ful, the countess a young and beautiful woman, 
 recently married to Northumberland at once 
 surrendered, when the unhappy earl was con- 
 demned to a life-long imprisonment. 
 
 The mysterious death of William Rufus, who 
 was found in the New Forest, slain by an arrow, 
 on the 2nd of August, A.D. 1 100, was followed 
 by the accession of Henry I., when the Northern 
 provinces of the island enjoyed a period of un- 
 wonted repose, which was terminated by the 
 usurpation of Stephen of Blois, when the Scottish 
 invasions re-commenced, and the battle of the 
 Standard was fought. 
 
 During these years York was steadily rising 
 from its ashes, after the Conqueror's fiery chastise- 
 ment, when, on the 4th June, 1137, a fire acci-
 
 52 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 dently broke out, and the city was again con- 
 sumed. 
 
 Of the patriots who combatted so valiantly 
 against the Conqueror during the invasion of 
 Northumbria, Earl Edwin was slain in 1071, 
 being betrayed to the Normans by three of his 
 servants ; Morcar, after joining Hereward in the 
 famous Camp of Refuge, fell into the hands of 
 the King, and was cast into prison, pursuant to a 
 sentence of imprisonment for life, but, when the 
 Conqueror lay on his death-bed, he ordered his 
 release, and William Rufus immediately re-com- 
 mitted him to prison ; Earl Cospatrick was ban- 
 ished for the slaughter of the Normans at Durham 
 and York, and received honours and lands from 
 the King of Scotland. Hereward was murdered 
 by the Normans, but exacted an heroic price for 
 his life.
 
 IV. BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 
 
 A.D. 1138. 
 
 "*HE crown which the Conqueror won at 
 Hastings was fated to pass from the direct 
 male line of succession in the third generation. 
 
 Robert, the eldest of King William's sons, was 
 passed over by his father, who transmitted the 
 crown to Rufus. When that violent, but not 
 wholly ungenerous, prince was slain in the New 
 Forest Prince Henry, the Conqueror's youngest 
 son, usurped the crown, and ultimately overcame 
 his brother Robert, seized his Duchy of Normandy, 
 and condemned him to a life-long imprisonment. 
 
 Each of the brothers had a son bearing the 
 name of his grandsire, and it appeared certain 
 that the feud of the fathers would be perpetuated 
 by the children. 
 
 William, son of Robert, had many stout friends, 
 and enjoyed, in a special degree, the protection
 
 54 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 of the King of France ; hence wars and revolts 
 arose in the King's usurped Duchy of Normandy, 
 and it seemed probable that when King Henry 
 died the duchy would be re-conquered by Robert's 
 son. All the energies of King Henry were 
 therefore turned to securing the duchy for his son. 
 In the year 1120 he carried the prince to Nor- 
 mandy, and, by his valour and address in the 
 field, seconded by his crafty policy, he succeeded 
 in restoring peace and order in the duchy, and 
 also in detaching his nephew's chief supporters 
 from his cause. 
 
 When about to sail from Barfleur, he was ac- 
 costed by an ancient mariner, who claimed that 
 his father had piloted the Conqueror to England 
 in 1066, and besought the honour of now carrying 
 King Henry across the Channel. The King had 
 already made his arrangements, but he entrusted 
 Prince William and his suite to the care of Fitz- 
 Stephen. It was a serene, moonlight night when 
 the Blanche Nef sailed, but the prince had pro- 
 vided too generously for the good cheer of the 
 mariners, and a drunken and careless crew carried 
 him to his fate. The Blanche Nef struck on the 
 rocks of the Ras de Catte, and rapidly filled. 
 Prince William was hastily thrust into the ship's
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 55 
 
 boat, but he insisted upon attempting the rescue 
 of his half-sister, and vainly, but generously, sac- 
 rificed his life in the endeavour. 
 
 The position of Duke Robert's son was ap- 
 parently more hopeful now that he was the only 
 lineal male heir to the throne. King Henry was 
 not, however, the less earnest in his endeavours 
 to transmit all his dignities to his own children. 
 Thus reads the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," for 
 1127: "This year at Christmas, King Henry 
 held his court at Windsor, and David, King of 
 Scotland, was there, and all the headmen of Eng- 
 land, both clergy and laity. And the King caused 
 the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and all the 
 thanes who were present, to swear to place Eng- 
 land and Normandy, after his death, in the hands 
 of his daughter the princess, who had been the wife 
 of the Emperor of Saxony. And then he sent her 
 to Normandy, accompanied by her brother Robert, 
 Earl of Gloucester, and by Brian, the son of 
 the Earl Alan Fergan ; and he caused her to be 
 wedded to the son of the Earl of Anjou, named 
 Geoffrey Martell." 
 
 In the following year the brief, but brilliant, 
 career of Prince William came to an end. After 
 a most honourable campaign, whilst "he was be-
 
 56 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 sieging Eu against King Henry, and expected on 
 the morrow to receive its surrender, for the enemy 
 was almost worn-out, the young man died of a 
 slight wound in the hand, leaving behind him an 
 endless name." 
 
 Robert of Normandy fulfilled the number of 
 his days in the year 1134. No doubt the state- 
 ment of Matthew Paris was quite correct : 
 "When the King heard of his death, he did not 
 grieve much, but commanded the body to be 
 reverently interred in the conventual church of 
 Gloucester." 
 
 King Henry had reigned many years, and com- 
 mitted many crimes to secure his crown, but, such 
 is the irony of fate, he was not permitted to enjoy 
 his triumph long, for, on the ist of December, 
 he died through over-indulgence in supping on 
 lampreys, and, to use the expressive ambiguity 
 of Carlyle, "went to his own place, wherever 
 that might be." 
 
 Prominent among the nobles of England was 
 Stephen, Count of Blois, the son of the Con- 
 queror's daughter Adela, and the first peer of the 
 realm -a position which he put to the proof when 
 the oath of allegiance was taken to the ex- Em- 
 press Matilda, Robert, Duke of Gloucester, having
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 57 
 
 vainly claimed precedence, although he could only 
 claim as the natural son of the King. 
 
 Stephen was a brave, generous, and popular 
 noble, and both the peers and commons of Eng- 
 land would have preferred his rule to that of the 
 King's daughter ; when, therefore, he made claim 
 to the throne no opposition was raised. " For 
 when the nobles of the kingdom were assembled 
 at London, he promised that the laws should be 
 reformed to the satisfaction of every one of them, 
 and William, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was 
 the first of all the nobles to take the oath of 
 fidelity to the Empress as Queen of England, 
 now consecrated Stephen to be King. In fine, 
 all the bishops, earls, and barons who had sworn 
 fealty to the King's daughter and her heirs gave 
 their adhesion to King Stephen, saying that it 
 would be a shame for so many nobles to submit 
 themselves to a woman." 
 
 Having obtained the crown, Stephen assisted in 
 burying the corpse of his uncle, being one of those 
 who sustained the coffin on their shoulders. How 
 suggestive such a scene must have appeared to 
 many who were present. The dead King had 
 broken the closest ties of relationship and blood 
 in obtaining the crown ; the retribution that took
 
 58 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 the shape of his son's untimely death was to 
 some extent compensated by the death of his 
 nephew ; but no sooner is the old King dead 
 than his nephew usurps the crown, maugre his 
 vows of allegiance to Matilda, and piously assists 
 in conveying him to the grave. 
 
 For the moment no man seemed disposed to 
 maintain the claims of the ex- Empress : the first 
 to move on her behalf being her uncle David, 
 King of Scotland, a humane and religious prince, 
 who occupied the same relationship to Stephen's 
 wife that he did to the ex- Empress. 
 
 In his first invasion David succeeded in 
 occupying Carlisle and Newcastle, but being 
 confronted by Stephen at the head of a powerful 
 army, a treaty was entered into at Durham, 
 whereby King David engaged to abandon hos- 
 tilities on certain territorial concessions being 
 made to him. Thrice in one year Northumbria 
 was inundated by the wild Scots, and Stephen, 
 harassed by his treacherous barons, could only 
 avenge his unhappy subjects by laying waste the 
 frontiers of Scotland. 
 
 The wildest storm of war swept over North- 
 umbria in the year 1138, the unfortunate inhabit- 
 ants of that province being mercilessly slaughtered
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 59 
 
 in requital for the sins of their princes and nobles 
 sins in which they had neither art nor part. 
 David was deeply afflicted by the enormous 
 cruelties which his troops perpetrated, but he 
 was utterly unable to control their passions, and 
 endeavoured to quieten his conscience by con- 
 demning the acts of his armies, and by his royal 
 munificence to the church James the First 
 expressed his appreciation of the liberality of 
 his predecessor by remarking that, "He kythed 
 a sair saint to the crown." 
 
 The tumultuary army which followed him 
 " consisted of Normans, Germans, and English, 
 of Cumbrian Britons, of Northumbrians, of men 
 of Teviotdale and Lothian, of Picts commonly 
 called men of Galloway, and of Scots." 
 
 Barely threescore years and ten had elapsed 
 since William the Norman had carried fire and 
 sword through Northumbria. The charred and 
 blackened ruins of grange and village were not 
 yet entirely hidden by the dense growth of 
 bramble and thorn ; and the human bones, that 
 had been gnawed by the wolves in their mid- 
 night banquets in the evil days that succeeded 
 the Confessor's death, had not yet mouldered into 
 their kindred earth.
 
 60 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 It was in the wild and stormy season of the 
 opening spring of 1138 that King David com- 
 menced his operations. 
 
 Shaken to its centre, Northumbria lay at the 
 mercy of the invader : again the sword reaped 
 its bloody harvest, again the torch performed its 
 evil office, and the midnight skies were illumined 
 by the glare of burning homesteads and villages. 
 The highways and byeways were strewn with the 
 dead : with the gashed clay of strong men, of 
 women, and of little children. Age and woman- 
 hood lay together in dishonoured death ; the white 
 hairs and the flowing tresses trodden in the same 
 bloody mire, and, most cruel spectacle ! the little 
 babes, pierced and shattered by spears, lay where 
 they had been cast in fiendish sport by the pitiless 
 barbarians. The blood of the priests reeked 
 upon the altars of the most High God, and the 
 sacred fanes were heaped with the sweltering cor- 
 ruption of slain worshippers. Miserable fugitives 
 turned their faces towards the H umber, striving 
 to escape the hot-footed Scot, who pressed so 
 keen and fast upon their track. 
 
 The remnant of the maddened people, des- 
 perate in their despair, only required a leader to 
 organise and direct their strength.
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 61 
 
 Thurstan, the aged Archbishop of York, al- 
 though bowed down to the verge of the grave 
 by the weight of many years and infirmities, 
 came forward to organise the strength of his 
 afflicted people. Stephen being unable to dis- 
 engage himself from the toils of his revolted 
 barons, the civil war having already broken out 
 in the south, despatched Bernard de Baliol to 
 the north, at the head of a body of men-at-arms. 
 The real strength of the movement was, however, 
 the combination of those eminent northern barons, 
 William, Earl of Albermarle, Robert de Ferrars, 
 William Percy, Roger de Mowbray, Ilbert de 
 Lacy, and the veteran Walter 1'Espec, who, 
 responding with prompt energy to the suppli- 
 cations of Archbishop Thurstan, gathered their 
 vassals together, and prepared to take the field, 
 as soon as all arrangements were completed, and 
 the widely scattered strength of the North was 
 concentrated. 
 
 To draw the people to one standard, and to 
 animate them with an unconquerable fortitude, 
 was the peculiar work of the Archbishop ; but, 
 being too infirm to take a public part in the excit- 
 ing scenes which were being enacted, he deputed 
 Ralph Nowel, the titular Bishop of Orkney, to
 
 62 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 carry out his plans. This prelate caught the 
 spirit of his superior, and a signal success re- 
 warded his efforts. Processions of the clergy 
 were organised, and the exhibition of crosses, 
 relics, and religious banners, tended to increase 
 the devoted courage of the superstitious peasantry. 
 The whole of the male population was called to 
 arms, and a certain victory was promised, with 
 a quick transition into paradise for those w r ho 
 perished on the field. Thirsk was the rendez- 
 vous, and, as the news was carried through the 
 province, men-at-arms and knights came trooping 
 in, attended by the desperate peasantry, whose 
 rude arms, and lack of defensive armour, but ill 
 befitted them for what promised to be so dubious 
 and sanguinary an enterprise. 
 
 Three days were occupied in fasting and de- 
 votion : the troops then took 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 ter-
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD, 63 
 
 initiating 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 
 Militse 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 neighbour- 
 hood 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, de- 
 fended by cuirasses, and armed with long pikes ;
 
 64 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 the archers of Teviotdale and Liddesdale ; the 
 troopers of Cumberland and Westmoreland, riding 
 small but useful horses ; and the fierce Galwe- 
 gians, 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,
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 65 
 
 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 alter- 
 native 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 pro- 
 test 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 pro- 
 tested 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.
 
 66 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 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 ap- 
 proach, 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 disap- 
 pointment when Bruce and Baliol came in on the 
 spur, and declared that the enemy was on the 
 march. 
 
 Old Walter 1'Espec spake a few soldierly words 
 of hopeful exhortation to his warriors, then placed 
 his ungloved hand in that of the Earl of Albe- 
 marle, 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 chron- 
 iclers, 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
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 67 
 
 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, com- 
 posed 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, sur-
 
 68 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 rounding their holy standard ; and the archers, 
 consisting of peasants and yeomen from the woods 
 and wolds of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nott- 
 ingham, 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
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 69 
 
 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 hau- 
 berk, 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 Dove- 
 nald dead upon the field, Prince Henry charged 
 down upon the English with his knights and
 
 70 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 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 Aired, 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 ad- 
 vancing 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
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 71 
 
 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
 
 72 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 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 re- 
 sorted to, and some blood shed. 
 
 The 200 mailed knights of King David lost 
 nearly the whole of their horses, and only nine-
 
 BATTLE OF THE STANDARD. 73 
 
 teen 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 pris- 
 oners 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, suc- 
 ceeded in bringing about a peace, which was 
 
 concluded on the Qth 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
 
 74 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 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 ex- 
 changed 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 assemb- 
 lages to which the title of Parliament was applied. 
 The King of Scots attended, with his nobles and 
 clergy, and rendered feudal homage for his prov- 
 ince of Lothian. Scott asserts that " homage
 
 76 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 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 con- 
 dition 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 North- 
 umberland, 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 acces- 
 sion Richard I. annuled the acts of his father,
 
 MASSACRE AT YORK. 77 
 
 as regarded the independence of Scotland, but 
 homage for Lothian was of course continued. 
 
 o 
 
 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 de- 
 stroying 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
 
 78 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Jews than 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 de- 
 puted 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
 
 HENRY III. AT YORK. 79 
 
 welcome, and the disgusted King consoled him- 
 self 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 
 1 2 20, when his sister Joanna was engaged to 
 King Alexander of Scotland. In the following 
 year his majesty attended the espousals, cele- 
 brated 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 ex-
 
 8o YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 action, 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 pre- 
 served 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 de- 
 scendant 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.
 
 DEATH OF EDWARD I. 81 
 
 Six years later Edward concluded that the 
 conquest of Scotland was achieved, and dis- 
 banded his army. In 1307, he died upon the 
 red war-path, commenced in subtlety and false- 
 hood. He drew his last breath at Burgh-upon- 
 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 re- 
 stored 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. Never- 
 theless he was carried to Dedington Castle, near 
 Banbury, when Pembroke departed, and War- 
 wick appeared upon the scene. Threatened with 
 attack, the garrison declined to defend their 
 prisoner, and surrendered him into the hands
 
 82 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 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 re- 
 jected, 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 Spald- 
 ing, 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 termi- 
 nation, a body of troops scaling the walls under
 
 84 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 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, Ran- 
 dolph, 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, Bo- 
 roughbridge, and Skipton-in-Craven were com- 
 mitted to the flames, and Ripon only secured 
 immunity from a similar visitation by the payment 
 of a ransom of one thousand marks. The un- 
 happy people were utterly without protection, 
 and the Scots leisurely returned to their own 
 country, driving their miserable captives before 
 them ''like flocks of sheep."
 
 BATTLE OF MYTON MEADOWS. 85 
 
 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. 
 
 The royal army assembled at Newcastle in the 
 month of July, and, being very strong, Edward 
 was hopeful of bringing the expedition to a suc- 
 cessful termination. No measure was omitted for 
 the securing of the object in view, and a powerful 
 fleet from the Cinque ports followed the army 
 with supplies of stores and warlike material. 
 The walls of the fortress being so low that the 
 warriors at the base could exchange stroke of 
 lance with the defenders of the ramparts, Ed- 
 ward prepared to carry the place by assault, no 
 doubt remembering the feat of his great sire in 
 1296, when he rode his good steed Bayard over 
 ditch and wall, and commenced the work of 
 pitiless slaughter with his 'own strong right hand. 
 
 Bruce, equally determined to retain the place, 
 had appointed his gallant son-in-law, Walter, the 
 high-steward of Scotland, to the command of the
 
 86 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 town and castle. The garrison was reinforced 
 by 500 volunteers, all gentlemen, friends and 
 relations of the steward. Provisions to serve 
 for a year having been laid up, the gallant Scots 
 awaited the course of events. 
 
 However sanguine Edward of Caernarvon may 
 have been, he certainly exhibited all reasonable 
 prudence before Berwick, and, before commencing 
 active operations, caused his camp to be strongly 
 fortified. When the hour of attack arrived, the 
 valiant Scots who manned the walls of Berwick 
 found they had a double danger to meet, as the 
 English mariners were bringing up one of their 
 largest ships, which was crowded with soldiers, 
 who clung to the masts, rigging, and spars, ready 
 to leap upon the ramparts, as soon as the sailors 
 brought up alongside the walls, and got the 
 vessel in position with their grappling irons. As 
 the vessel drew near, gleaming w r ith steel, and 
 presenting a most formidable appearance, she 
 suddenly took the ground, and in a moment all 
 was confusion, the mariners straining every nerve 
 to get her off into deep water again. All these 
 attempts proving in vain, and as the vessel lay 
 stranded at ebb-tide, she was set on fire by the 
 Scots, and consumed, to the great elation of the
 
 BATTLE OF MYTON MEADOWS. 87 
 
 garrison, and equally to the disgust of the 
 English. 
 
 While this exciting incident was b^ing enacted, 
 Edward was furiously assaulting the town from 
 the land, sending his fierce stormers, who were 
 abundantly supplied with scaling ladders, to the 
 attack by thousands, and covering their advance 
 by the incessant discharge of his archers, whose 
 long and deadly shafts swept the ramparts like 
 a hail-storm. But the Scots met the storm with 
 indomitable bravery, fringing their walls with 
 glittering pikes, hurling down showers of missiles 
 upon the enemy, casting down their ladders, and 
 sending their heavy axes through the iron skull- 
 caps of the stormers before they could make good 
 their foot-hold upon the ramparts. After long 
 hours of stubborn and sanguinary toil, Edward 
 withdrew his troops to the shelter of their en- 
 trenchments, and both parties rested after their 
 severe and exhausting toil : but at the base of 
 the walls, and upon the bloody ramparts many 
 brave men slept their long death-sleep. 
 
 Untamed by their repulse,' the English soldiers 
 prepared to renew their efforts, and set to work 
 upon the construction of a huge military machine 
 called a " Sow " : this was framed of solid timber,
 
 88 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 and moved upon heavy rollers, the roof sloping and 
 affording an efficient protection to the soldiers who 
 toiled with pick and spade beneath its cover, in- 
 tent upon undermining the walls of the beleagured 
 hold. The " Sow " was especially dangerous to 
 the Scots in the present case, for the whole length 
 of the walls being exposed to repeated assaults, 
 they were so completely outnumbered that they 
 were unable to spare any considerable number 
 of men to guard against its action, and should 
 once a breach be effected in the walls it would 
 be impossible to arrest the pressure of Edward's 
 stormers, who kept the hardy Scots fully 
 employed even while their ramparts were 
 intact. 
 
 When the English engineers levelled the ground, 
 and wheeled the heavy machine against the walls, 
 and the miners were waiting, pick in hand, to fall 
 to work, the contending warriors awaited the re- 
 sult with equal anxiety and interest. Berwick was 
 indebted for its safety to the labours of a Flemish 
 engineer named John Crab, who had prepared a 
 huge catapult for the purpose of hurling heavy 
 missiles against the terrible "Sow," and, as it 
 approached the wall, he discharged a huge mass 
 of rock against it. The flight of the missile was
 
 BATTLE OF MYTON MEADOWS. 89 
 
 regarded with the utmost interest by both parties, 
 but it failed to strike the machine, and a second 
 discharge was equally inoperative, and the "Sow" 
 now drew near the walls, amid the exulting shouts 
 of the besiegers ; but Crab had now obtained a 
 better idea of the power of his catapult, and, 
 calculating the distance to a nicety, sent a large 
 piece of rock upon the mid-roof of the doomed 
 " Sow." The massive stone went thundering and 
 crashing through the solid timber, and, as cries 
 of rage and dismay burst from the English troops, 
 the miners came rushing wildly from the ruined 
 machine, and sought to gain the trenches, while 
 the Scots sent their arrows and missiles after 
 them, exclaiming, in grim mockery and exult- 
 ation, "Behold, the English sow has farrowed!" 
 The Scots were inspired by their success, the 
 English aggravated by repeated disappointments 
 and repulses, and the conflict necessarily waxed 
 fiercer, Crab working his military engines with 
 great vigour, hurling showers of missiles upon 
 the assailants, and giving the unlucky " Sow " 
 its coup de grace in the form of a quantity of 
 blazing and highly inflammable material, which 
 quickly set it on fire. Amid the tumult of the 
 assault it continued to burn, sending up showers
 
 9 o YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 of sparks and dense volumes of smoke, until it 
 was reduced to ashes. 
 
 The English fleet was brought up to second 
 the efforts of the stormers, but John Crab had so 
 many cranes and springals in position, and hurled 
 his huge copper-winged darts, heavy iron chains, 
 and grappling hooks, and bundles of ignited tow, 
 saturated with pitch, with such unfailing precision 
 that the commanders were fairly daunted, and, 
 fearing to involve the fleet in utter destruction, 
 drew off, and the Scots, thus opportunely relieved, 
 directed their undivided attention to the repeated 
 assaults of the enemy. 
 
 During those hours of murderous strife the 
 grand steward was passing from point to point 
 with a reserve of 100 men, and wherever he 
 found the garrison hardly pressed he succoured 
 them with a few men, and animated them by his 
 example and exhortations ; and where the slaugh- 
 ter had been especially heavy he made good 
 the loss from his fast diminishing reserves. The 
 conflict was at its height, and the steward had 
 done all that he could to strengthen the sorely- 
 pressed garrison, only one soldier remaining in 
 attendance upon him, when the startling news 
 was brought that Edward's warriors had des-
 
 BA TTLE OF M YTON ME A DO IVS. 9 1 
 
 troyed the barriers at St. Mary's gate, which 
 they were endeavouring to burn down. 
 
 Hastily collecting a band of warriors, he pressed 
 forward to the threatened point, passing numbers 
 of young lads and fearless women busily engaged 
 in collecting the missiles thrown over the walls 
 by the enemy, and on approaching the scene of 
 peril, he commanded the gate to be thrown open, 
 and charging through the flame and smoke at the 
 head of his brave followers he fell upon the 
 assailants, sword in hand, and after a fierce con- 
 flict drove them off, restored the defences, and 
 made fast the door again. The conflict ended 
 in the utter repulse of the English forces, never- 
 theless the garrison was sorely thinned and ex- 
 hausted, so that unless it was augmented by 
 reinforcements, or some diversion was made in 
 its favour, but little prospect of maintaining the 
 fortress remained. 
 
 It was the policy of Robert Bruce never to 
 risk a battle with his powerful enemies, and 
 although sorely tried by the dangerous state to 
 which Berwick was reduced, he maintained his 
 resolution, but attempted a diversion by des- 
 patching Douglas and Randolph with 1 5,000 men 
 to make a raid upon the northern shires of Eng-
 
 92 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 land, and, if possible, to fall upon York, and 
 carry off Queen Isabella, who there awaited the 
 issue of the campaign, imagining that she was 
 secured from all peril by her distance from the 
 theatre of war and by the strong walls of the 
 city. 
 
 The Scots were not slow in carrying out the 
 instructions of King Robert, but crossed the 
 Solway, and made a rapid march upon York, 
 only to find that their project had been dis- 
 covered, and the Queen's escape secured. It 
 appears that a Scottish spy had fallen into the 
 hands of the English, and confessed, " how our 
 enemy, James Douglas, with a chosen band of 
 men, would come to these parts in order to carry 
 off the Queen, and those whom he should find 
 resisting should be killed at the same time." The 
 danger of Queen Isabella, whose character was 
 then unimpeached, aroused all the loyal energies 
 of the Archbishop and Mayor of York, and 
 hastily collecting a body of armed men, they 
 made a rapid march to secure her majesty's 
 safety, and caused her to be conveyed by water 
 to Nottingham. 
 
 The attempt to draw Edward from the siege 
 of Berwick by threatening the safety of his queen
 
 BATTLE OF MYTON MEADOWS. 93 
 
 having failed, the Scottish captains proceeded to 
 carry out the second part of their programme 
 with the utmost energy, and giving loose to their 
 wild passion for burning and plundering, they 
 wrought terrible mischief upon the northern towns 
 and villages, as though determined to extort from 
 King Edward the heaviest price for the fortress 
 of Berwick, should he decide to maintain the 
 siege, in spite of every obstacle, until it fell into 
 his hands. 
 
 Deeply touched by the distress of the peas- 
 antry, the Archbishop of York, William de 
 Melton, and the Mayor, Nicholas Fleming, at- 
 tempted to organise an army, and check the 
 depredations of the Scots, who had carried their 
 wild riders to the gates of York, and set the 
 suburbs on fire. 
 
 Perhaps history can furnish no more rash 
 undertaking than this : Randolph and Douglas 
 were cool and experienced captains, and ferocious 
 soldiers ; the troops they commanded were vet- 
 erans, accustomed to victory, and experienced in 
 the hardships and toils of the field ; men who 
 could only be approached by tried and steady 
 soldiers, and who were not likely to yield the 
 palm to the flower of the English army. To
 
 94 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 meet these, the Archbishop had to rely upon 
 burghers and peasants, men little accustomed to 
 the use of arms, and entirely deficient in military 
 training, and for whom no competent leaders 
 could be found. No lack of energy was shown 
 by the Archbishop and Mayor, and the hasty 
 and untried levies responded to their exhort- 
 ations with equal zeal. There was no time to 
 prepare the volunteers for the ordeal, no oppor- 
 tunities for testing their courage in skirmishes, 
 for training them to advance upon such dangerous 
 enemies as the Scots, or to retire before them in 
 good order if they found them too strongly posted 
 to be attacked with any prospect of success. 
 
 As though to compensate all physical defects 
 by an extraordinary weight of spiritual influence, 
 the numbers of the army were augmented by 
 many priests, who are supposed to have been 
 brought together at York for the celebration of 
 the feast of St. Matthew. 
 
 Ten thousand men were all that the Arch- 
 bishop could bring into the field, and with these 
 he marched after the Scots, who prepared to 
 receive his attack at " Myton Meadow, near the 
 Swale water," supposed to be a large field, at 
 that time unenclosed, and situate some three
 
 BATTLE OF MYTON MEADOWS, 95 
 
 miles east of Boroughbridge, just above the 
 confluence of the rivers Ure and Swale, and in 
 the immediate locality of the obscure village of 
 Myton. 
 
 Half the army of Douglas and Randolph would 
 probably have sufficed to worst the English in 
 fair and open field, but the Scots commanders 
 had been long accustomed to foil the English 
 by ambuscades and surprises, the fatal English 
 archers, and their usual superiority in numbers, 
 necessitating the utmost caution on the part of 
 the Scots when engaging with their formidable 
 Southern foes ; and on this unfortunate day the 
 Scots prepared an ambush, which was certain 
 to foil the onset of the English, and to cast them 
 into that confusion which ends in panic where 
 undisciplined troops are concerned. 
 
 On the English approaching the bridge across 
 the Swale, the Scots, or more probably an ad- 
 vanced division of them, feigned a retreat, drawing 
 the Englishmen within the toils of an ambush, 
 that was prepared for their destruction. To 
 ensure their more complete defeat, they were 
 permitted to cross the bridge, and while pushing 
 on, no doubt in some uncertainty, they were 
 suddenly involved in dense clouds of smoke,
 
 96 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 which, drifting before the wind, veiled the move- 
 ments of the enemy. The Scots had fired three 
 haystacks, and were coming furiously down upon 
 their enemies under cover of the smoke, having 
 concentrated their forces "after the manner of a 
 shield." Before the onset was delivered, the 
 Scottish army separated into two divisions, and 
 uttering their dreadful battle-cry, one division 
 threw itself between the English and the bridge, 
 cutting off every prospect of retreat, while the 
 other charged full upon the Archbishop's troops. 
 Confused by the drifting smoke, the dreadful 
 war-cries of Douglas and Randolph, the English 
 troops were so completely taken by surprise that 
 they were half-beaten before a blow was struck. 
 With no regular troops to maintain the van and 
 rear, and give them steadiness by example, and 
 without leaders to form them in the best way 
 to meet the charging enemy into whose hand 
 they were so rashly delivered, the confused mass 
 of Englishmen were held at utter disadvantage. 
 With steady charge the Scottish spearmen bore 
 down upon them, the billmen and swordmen 
 rushed upon their ranks like a tempest, and the 
 men-at-arms taking them in the rear, a bloody 
 massacre ensued. Utterly unable to maintain
 
 BATTLE OF MYTON MEADOWS. 97 
 
 their ranks, hurled upon each other by the furious 
 charges of the enemy, smitten, broken, trampled 
 under foot, the English, after a vain attempt at 
 defence, broke, and sought to secure their safety 
 by a headlong flight. Beset on every side, 
 followed close by the victors, cut off from the 
 bridge, the wretched troops lost all heart, and, 
 seized with panic, thought not of attempting to 
 make a stand against their enemies, but turned 
 all their energies to secure their escape. A 
 scene of dreadful carnage followed : the Scots 
 were pitiless in their triumph, and cut down the 
 fugitives with remorseless activity. The English 
 vainly attempted to cross the Swale, and dreadful 
 and tragic scenes took place on the bank and 
 in the waters of the river. The fugitives who 
 hesitated to cast themselves into the water fell 
 by the sword of the pursuer, and of those who 
 attempted to pass the river about a thousand 
 were drowned. The approach of night alone 
 saved the army from utter destruction, and the 
 total loss was computed at nearly 4,000 men, of 
 whom 300 were priests, arrayed in full canonicals, 
 but who were put to the sword with merciless 
 severity by the Scots, who lost few men them- 
 selves, and treating the slaughter of the church- 
 
 H
 
 98 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 men as a pleasant joke referred to the battle 
 as the Chapter of Mitton. It was fought on the 
 1 3th, September, 1319. 
 
 Sir Nicholas Fleming, who was serving as 
 Mayor of York for the seventh year, was slain 
 on the field. The pursuit was close, but the 
 Archbishop of York and the Bishop of Ely, 
 although hardly pushed, succeeded in effecting 
 their escape. The Archbishop's cross was among 
 the missing, however, the cross-bearer having 
 secreted it in the hope of preserving it from the 
 Scots ; but a peasant finding it by chance was 
 tempted to conceal it in his hut for some days, 
 when the pricking of his conscience becoming too 
 severe he penitently restored it to the rightful 
 owner. 
 
 The loss of the Scots was insignificant, but the 
 churchyard of My ton received a huge and ghastly 
 burthen of slain Yorkshiremen. The corpse of 
 Sir Nicholas Fleming was tenderly cared for, and 
 buried in the church of St. Wilfred, York, the 
 citizens deeply lamenting the loss of their 
 patriotic mayor, for the repose of whose soul 
 special provisions were made by the Arch- 
 bishop. 
 
 From the bloody field of Myton the hardy
 
 BATTLE OF MYTON MEADOWS. 99 
 
 Scots pursued their way triumphantly to Castle- 
 ford, where they crossed the river Aire, and 
 proceeding through Airedale, Wharfedale, and 
 Craven, bore off many captives and much plunder, 
 entering Scotland in safety.
 
 VII. BATTLE OF BOROUGHBRIDGE. 
 
 A.D. 1321. 
 
 ON the ist of July, 1312, a dark and tragic 
 deed was enacted on the gentle eminence 
 of Blacklow, where the Avon winds through a 
 calm and peaceful scene. The sun shone brightly 
 on the flashing waters of the river, on the summer 
 foliage of wood and grove, and on the polished 
 steel mail of armed men, for the English barons, 
 Arundel, Lancaster, and Hereford, were actors 
 in the tragedy, and their banners waved from 
 the ranks of numerous men-at-arms, pikemen, 
 and archers, for at length, by mingled violence 
 and guile, they had won into their own hands 
 the life of the King's favourite, and him they 
 now called upon to conclude the drama of life 
 with what spirit and courage he could command 
 for so trying an occasion. Then stood forward 
 the handsome and talented young knight, the 
 favourite of his unhappy monarch, hurried by 
 rough hands to the fatal block, and the grim
 
 BATTLE OF BOROUGHBRIDGE. 101 
 
 headsman performed his unholy office, striking 
 off the head of Piers Gaveston, sometime Earl 
 of Cornwall, and with all his faults an accomp- 
 lished knight, deserving of a better fate. 
 
 Chief of the self-constituted judges who thus 
 presumed to rid themselves of a personal enemy, 
 was Thomas Earl of Lancaster, the grandson of 
 Henry the Third, and the most potent noble in 
 the whole realm of England. To this exalted 
 person, a prince of many virtues, Gaveston had 
 humbled himself, and pleaded, but vainly pleaded, 
 for mercy. Lancaster could not forgive the gibes 
 of his fallen enemy. The " stageplayer" and 
 " old hog " now held the life of the offender in 
 his hands ; his proud heart indignantly remem- 
 bered the shame and mortification of that day 
 when, in the lists of the tournament, his haughty 
 crest was abased to the very dust, as the lance 
 of the upstart Gaveston hurled him from his 
 saddle. So Lancaster avenged himself for defeat 
 and unmerited insult, and the rude barons de- 
 clared that he had done well. 
 
 But Edward of Caernarvon remembered the 
 deed of shame, and waited, as weak and gentle- 
 minded men will sometimes wait, until circum- 
 stances should enable him to demand of Lancaster
 
 102 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 a full reckoning for the blood that had been shed. 
 In the first bitterness of his wrath he attempted 
 to meet the barons in the field, but they were too 
 powerful for so unwarlike a monarch as Edward 
 to contend with, and being averse to endanger 
 the peace of the Kingdom by attacking the King 
 in his own person, they submitted to his clemency, 
 and were restored to favour. Persuaded to pardon 
 the crime Edward would not legalize it by de- 
 claring Piers Gaveston a traitor, although impor- 
 tuned to take this step by the most powerful of 
 the barons. 
 
 Time passed, and all men forgot the Gascon 
 knight Piers Gaveston, or only remembered him 
 to blame his follies and exult in the sharp and 
 sudden punishment that overtook him. 
 
 After the triumphs achieved by Edward the I. 
 in his attempts to subjugate Scotland, and destroy 
 its national life by ruthlessly slaying her patriots 
 with the soldier's sword or the headsman's axe, 
 it was with extreme bitterness that the English 
 endured the humiliation of defeated armies and 
 invaded provinces. They had taken to the sword, 
 and when that sword fell from the hands of Ed- 
 ward at Burgh-on-Sands it was seized by Randolph 
 and Douglas, and mercilessly it was used, until in
 
 BATTLE OF BOROUGHBRIDGE. 103 
 
 the invaded, blood-stained Northern provinces 
 of England the fear and hatred of the Scots 
 became a passion, and he was indeed a bold or 
 foolish man who presumed to enter into negoti- 
 ations with the national enemy. 
 
 Naturally King Edward's hold upon the loyalty 
 of his subjects was weakened by the Northern 
 troubles, for the stubborn English mind regarded 
 the red-handed crimes of the father as the vir- 
 tuous enterprise of a great monarch, and contrasted 
 with his success the feeble efforts of his son : it 
 was the glory of Berwick and Falkirk contrasted 
 with the disasters of Bannockburn and Berwick : 
 it was the ravaged, outraged Scotland of the first 
 Edward contrasted with the wasted and blood- 
 stained Northumbria of the second Edward. 
 
 So troubles thickened around the life-path of 
 Edward of Caernarvon. His authority was sub- 
 verted, and so low had he descended in the 
 estimation of his feudatories, that Queen Isabella 
 was denied admission into the King's Castle of 
 Leeds, in Kent, then held by the Lord of Badles- 
 mere, under his majesty's authority, and for his 
 majesty's use. The Queen's attendants naturally 
 insisted upon being admitted, and endeavoured to 
 force their way into the castle, when the garrison
 
 io 4 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 proceeded to extremities, and several of her ma- 
 jesty's suite were slain. This high-handed pro- 
 ceeding of Badlesmere caused a revulsion of 
 feeling in favour of the King, and availing 
 himself of the transient emotion, he gathered 
 together a powerful army. For once his actions 
 were energetic, and his blows fell heavily. He 
 took Badlesmere prisoner, and loaded him with 
 chains, at the same time inflicting a heavy and 
 well-merited punishment upon his lawless vassals. 
 He made an unexpected visit to the Lords of 
 the Marches, and captured and hanged twelve 
 knights. Like all weak-minded men he knew 
 no moderation in the hour of success, and pre- 
 sumed more upon a transient advantage than 
 a great monarch would have done if successful 
 in the utter destruction of a hostile party. 
 
 This sudden change in the royal fortunes 
 alarmed the barons, and many made submission ; 
 but Edward cast them into prison, and seized 
 their castles. Great Lancaster was now sorely 
 discomposed, and learned, too late, to fear the 
 monarch whose authority he had so openly 
 slighted. It had been long suspected that this 
 potent noble had entered into a confederacy with 
 the Scots, to avert the doom which would prob-
 
 BATTLE OF BOROUGHBRIDGE. 105 
 
 ably overtake him if deserted by the English 
 barons, or defeated by the royal forces. The 
 time had now arrived when it was necessary to 
 call in the national enemy to his rescue ; and in 
 this crisis of his fortunes he openly avowed his 
 unpatriotic measures, took up arms, and urgently 
 appealed to the King of Scotland for assistance. 
 Before those redoubtable warriors, Moray and 
 Douglas, assembled their men-at-arms and pike- 
 men, the promptitude of Edward had prevailed. 
 
 Finding that he could not maintain himself 
 against King Edward until succoured by the 
 Scottish reinforcements, Lancaster marched north- 
 ward, and was joined by the Earl of Hereford. 
 This accession of strength did not, however, 
 enable him to assume the offensive, although it 
 encouraged him to make a stand at Burton-upon- 
 Trent, where he took up a position that com- 
 manded the bridge, in the vain hope of holding 
 the royal forces at bay, and of receiving rein- 
 forcements from the disaffected barons. 
 
 The noble blood that had already been shed 
 in requital of treason against the crown had 
 operated forcibly upon the reasoning faculties of 
 Edward's violent and restless barons, and they 
 prudently kept their steeds in stall, and swords
 
 io6 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 in scabbard, leaving Lancaster and Hereford, 
 with their band of adherents, to make the best 
 of their quarrel with the King, alone and unaided, 
 unless they could succeed in reaching the Scottish 
 border and forming a junction with the Scots 
 under Randolph and Douglas. It would have 
 fared ill with the nation if Lancaster's design 
 had succeeded, for although Robert Bruce was 
 too wise a monarch to attempt to annex any of 
 the English territory, being satisfied to strictly 
 maintain the integrity of the Kingdom of Scot- 
 land, yet Lancaster might have involved the 
 nation in the distractions of a wide-extending 
 civil war, for placed in so desperate a position 
 he would necessarily have urged the Scots to 
 press any advantage that their arms might have 
 achieved, and although the resistance of the 
 English would have been the rising of the nation 
 against a foreign invader, yet Lancaster might 
 have succeeded in winning over some of the 
 barons, especially as Edward knew not the art 
 of attaching them to his interests, but was pos- 
 sessed of an unhappy facility in disgusting them 
 by his too-obvious lack of the qualities necessary 
 to a great prince in the middle ages. 
 
 Lancaster failed in his proposed operations, and
 
 BATTLE OF BOROUGHBRIDGE. 107 
 
 was obliged to beat a hasty retreat to secure 
 himself from the advancing royalists. On the 
 1 6th March he approached Boroughbridge, to 
 find it defended by the Warden .of the Western 
 Marches, Sir Andrew Harcla, and the Sheriff 
 of Yorkshire, Sir Simon Ward. The crisis had 
 come : but the conflict was not to win a sceptre, 
 or a protectorship, but to escape from the axe 
 and block wherewith traitors were requited for 
 their misdeeds in the days of the Plantagenets. 
 
 In happier and more fortunate times Earl 
 Lancaster had bestowed the accolade of knight- 
 hood upon Andrew Harcla, and he now en- 
 deavoured to induce the loyal knight to make 
 common cause with him against King Edward. 
 Harcla was too prudent a man to take so rash 
 and ruinous a step, and Lancaster drew up his 
 soldiers to attempt to force the old wooden bridge, 
 which spanned the river Ure. 
 
 The hasty levies which Harcla and Ward had 
 called to arms consisted largely of northern 
 archers, famous for their skill with the bow, 
 and they were strongly posted at the head of 
 the bridge. To ford the river was impossible, 
 it being sixty yards wide at that part; to follow 
 the course of the river and seek to cross at some
 
 io8 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 other point, with Ward and Harcla marching en 
 rapport on the opposite side of the river, and with 
 the royal troops nigh at hand, closing in upon 
 their rear, was to risk an almost inevitable and 
 irremediable disaster. Lancaster's one path to 
 freedom was by the storming of the bridge, and 
 they accordingly prepared for their last passage- 
 at-arms. 
 
 The archers were ordered forward to clear the 
 bridge, and a deadly trial of skill commenced ; 
 the long, keenly-barbed shafts sweeping like a 
 hail of death from end to end of the bridge : in 
 a moment the dead lay thick at either end, and 
 the brave and determined archers of either army 
 mutually faced with admirable courage the fierce 
 sleet of death that smote them down in bloody 
 heaps. It could not last : the superiority of the 
 northern archers was beyond dispute, and Lan- 
 caster ordered back the remains of his archers 
 to a less exposed position, to make room for 
 bills and pikes, and the lances of the dismounted 
 men-at-arms, for the bridge was too old and 
 full of holes to admit of a charge of horse. A 
 violent conflict ensued, blood was spilled freely, 
 and the bridge was heaped with the slain, for 
 the old Northumbrian war- fury rose to the fierce
 
 BATTLE OF BOROUGHBRIDGE. 109 
 
 music of clashing steel and resonant war-cries, 
 and the defensive position of the royal troops, so 
 deeply massed at the head of the bridge, gave 
 them every advantage over their assailants, who 
 could only bring a few lances to the front in the 
 hopeless struggle to beat a bloody pathway for 
 their escape. The insurgents fought desperately, 
 as men entrapped, fighting for bare life, or ex- 
 acting the heaviest price from the slayer. Here- 
 ford set a noble example to the unfortunate 
 soldiers, charging on foot, sword in hand, the 
 foremost man in the sanguinary toil ; but an unto- 
 ward stroke mocked his valour, and discouraged 
 the devoted vassals who fought beneath his flag. 
 Under the rickety old bridge, with its gaping 
 timbers, lurked a felon Welshman, armed with 
 a long spear, waiting for some noble victim, 
 whom he could thus slay without risking his own 
 person. The-wished for opportunity at length 
 occurred, as Hereford headed the desperate 
 charge of the Lancastrians, and sustained the 
 fight in the vicinity of his concealed enemy. 
 Suddenly, to the dismay and horror of his friends, 
 he reeled and fell heavily upon the bridge ; the 
 pallor of death overspread his features, and the 
 blood gushed from his wounds. The Welshman
 
 no YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 had gashed his bowels by a murderous stroke 
 of his lance. 
 
 Lancaster now attempted to ford the river with 
 a portion of his troops, but this proved impossible 
 in face of the deadly superiority of the opposing 
 archers. Sir Roger Clifford was wounded in the 
 head ; Sir William Sulley and Sir Roger Berne- 
 field were slain outright ; the Earl's army was 
 utterly demoralised, his loss was severe, and 
 abandoning the last hope of forcing the river, he 
 utterly lost heart, and retired into the town, 
 taking refuge in a chapel. 
 
 De Harcla now ordered the royal troops to 
 advance, and they rushed furiously over the 
 bridge, bearing down the last feeble defence of 
 the disheartened Lancastrians, and pursuing the 
 scattered fugitives with a cruel ardour. Many 
 archers and pikemen fell by sword and bill in 
 that dark hour, vassals whose only crime was 
 obedience to the lords whose badge they wore. 
 Many knights and barons surrendered their 
 swords, and were rudely haled away in bonds, 
 to await the punishment that follows unsuccessful 
 treason. That day the shadow of death gloomed 
 over many a brave young soldier, whose valour 
 might have been worthily employed in defending
 
 BA TTLE OF BORO UGHBRIDGE. 1 1 1 
 
 the northern borders against the incursions of the 
 Scots. 
 
 Earl Lancaster was speedily surprised in the 
 chapel where he had hidden his unhappy head. 
 Exulting in having achieved so notable a capture, 
 the rough soldiers laid rude hands upon him, 
 whereon he sadly gazed upon the crucifix, and 
 fervently and pathetically ejaculated, " Good Lord, 
 I render myself unto Thee, and put me unto Thy 
 mercy !" And great was his need of the Divine, 
 for of human mercy he was to receive none. 
 His knightly armour was torn off, never to be 
 resumed, and, after many insults, he was con- 
 veyed to York, to be hailed with derisive cries 
 of " King Arthur !" by the rude populace, as 
 they cast the street mud at him. In his famous 
 Castle of Pontefract was a new dungeon, built by 
 his directions, and to which entrance was obtained 
 by means of a trap-door in the turret of the 
 tower. To Pontefract the Earl was carried, and 
 lowered into this gloomy dungeon, so close a 
 type of the grave to which he was hourly drawing 
 near. 
 
 King Edward was not long in reaching Ponte- 
 fract with his army ; when Lancaster was brought 
 to trial before his majesty and the loyal barons
 
 ii2 YORKSHIRE BATTLES, 
 
 who marched with him. Among them were the 
 Spensers, around whom he had hoped to draw 
 the toils, and whom he regarded with indignation 
 and disgust, as the rapacious, upstart favourites 
 of a weak and foolish prince. The Spensers 
 looked upon him as their most dangerous enemy, 
 and Edward was only fierce when defending his 
 favourites : who should speak of mercy in such 
 an hour as that ? Certainly none of Edward's 
 barons, however deeply they might deplore the 
 fate of the noble Earl, for their plea for mercy 
 might be regarded as a proof of disloyalty, and 
 Edward was showing a leven of that savage 
 spirit which existed so strongly in his father, 
 and was shown by the butchering of so many 
 noble Scotchmen on the scaffold. 
 
 The condemnation and sentence were speedily 
 arrived at. Lancaster was to be hanged, drawn, 
 and quartered, but being of the royal blood he 
 was spared the torture which meaner traitors 
 were subjected to, and the punishment was com- 
 muted to decollation. 
 
 On the 22nd of March the headsman waited 
 for Lancaster, who was led to the scaffold, 
 mounted on a miserable hack, insulted and re- 
 viled by the spectators, many of whom pelted
 
 BATTLE OF BOROUGHBRIDGE. 113 
 
 him with mud. Calm and dignified, he implored 
 the grace of heaven to enable him patiently to 
 endure the sorrow of that bitter hour. The block 
 was placed upon a hill near his castle, and he 
 knelt with his face to the east, expecting the 
 stroke of the executioner ; but his pitiless enemies 
 ordered him to turn to the north, from whence 
 he had expected the Scottish succours, and in 
 this position he received his death-blow. 
 
 The rebellion of Lancaster involved many 
 noblemen in his ruin. Ninety-five knights and 
 barons were cast into prison, and stood their 
 trial for high treason. Other bloody executions 
 followed with merciless barbarity. The lords 
 Warren-de- Lisle, William de Fouchet, Thomas 
 Mandute, Fitz- William, Henry de Bradburne, and 
 William Cheney, suffered at Pontefract ; and Clif- 
 ford, Mowbray, and Deynville were decapitated 
 at York. Thus bloodily did King Edward avenge 
 the death of Gaveston for there can be little 
 doubt that the blow aimed at the Spencers, and 
 the recollection of Gaveston's doom, were the 
 motives that moved him to such a cruel exercise 
 of his power over his revolted and defeated sub- 
 jects. Perhaps a more humane and generous 
 policy might have averted the evil days, when he
 
 ii4 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 was left as helpless in the hands of his enemies 
 as was Lancaster on the day of his defeat and 
 capture. In reguerdon of his great service to 
 the crown, Sir Andrew Harcla was exalted to 
 the rank of Earl of Carlisle. 
 
 Among the revolted barons who fought with 
 Lancaster and Hereford at Boroughbridge, was 
 John de Mowbray, lord of the vale of Mowbray, 
 of Kirby Malzeard, and Thirsk and Upsall Cas- 
 tles. Tradition still retains his name, and gives 
 a strangely wild and legendary account of his 
 death ; probable enough, but not to be received 
 as authentic history. In the breaking up of the 
 Lancastrian troops, in the last stormy passage 
 of the day, John de Mowbray, disengaging himself 
 from the press, put spurs to his horse, and rode 
 off, in the direction of Upsall Castle, near Thirsk, 
 where he hoped to secure his safety. The roy- 
 alists, however, were soon on his track, pressed 
 him hard, and reached him as he was making 
 his way through a lane, within sight of Upsall 
 Castle. In a moment he was seized and un- 
 helmed, and his throat stretched across the trunk 
 of a fallen tree as one of the King's men struck 
 off his head. His armour was then stripped off 
 and suspended from the branches of an oak tree,
 
 BA TTLE OF BORO UGHBRIDGE. 1 1 5 
 
 his body being cast into a way-side ditch. The 
 tradition is preserved in the name of the lane 
 which is still called Chop Head Loaning. The 
 Rev. Thomas Parkinson, F.R.H.S., gives this 
 tradition at length in his interesting volume, 
 " Yorkshire Legends and Traditions," and quotes 
 Mrs. Susan K. Phillips' poetical version of the 
 legend a poem which would have delighted Sir 
 Walter Scott. 
 
 The blood-stained old wooden bridge across 
 the Ure has long ceased to bear the traffic of 
 the locality, and a handsome stone erection now 
 replaces it. Harcla and Ward's old fighting 
 ground, that bristled with sword and spear and 
 deadly bill on the i6th of March, 1321, is now 
 more prosaic soil, burdened with houses, timber, 
 and coal-yards ; and is partly cleft by a short 
 canal, the property of the River Ure Navigation. 
 When the river was embanked in 1792, the ex- 
 cavators at the Old Banks, below the bridge, 
 discovered some presumed relics of the battle, 
 consisting of many fragments of arms and armour.
 
 VIII. BATTLE OF BYLAND ABBEY. 
 
 A.D. 1322. 
 
 A FTER the tragedy of Earl Lancaster's 
 <^TA. revolt had been concluded by the whole- 
 sale executions of the barons and knights im- 
 plicated in that misguided movement, the Scots, 
 commanded by Randolph, Earl of Moray, invaded 
 the Western marches, and ravaged the country in 
 their customary barbarous style, slaying all who 
 attempted resistance, and driving before them all 
 the flocks and herds that their swift and well- 
 organised cavalry could collect. What they could 
 not carry away they burnt, returning to Scotland 
 without having received a check in the field. 
 W 7 here they had passed, the summer sun gleamed 
 brightly on ruined cots and devastated fields, and 
 the English peasantry, inured to toil and suffering, 
 gazed despairingly upon the ruin of the fruit of 
 the soil, fostered by their hard labour, and by 
 the sun and rain of the departed months. 
 
 While the Scots were acting Edward of Caer-
 
 BA TTLE OF B YLAND ABBE Y. 117 
 
 narvon was preparing to take the field. Referring 
 to the English monarch's victory at Borough- 
 bridge, Sir Walter Scott makes the following 
 reflections : " This gleam of success on his arms, 
 which had been sorely tarnished, seems to have 
 filled Edward, who was of a sanguine and buoyant 
 temperament, with dreams of conquest over all 
 his enemies. As a king never stands more 
 securely than on the ruins of a discovered and 
 suppressed conspiracy, he wrote to the pope to 
 give himself no further solicitude to procure a 
 truce or peace with the Scots, since he had 
 determined to bring them to reason by force." 
 
 Edward spared no pains to ensure the success 
 of the expedition into Scotland, and Parliament 
 authorised military levies in the country to the 
 extent of one man from every English hamlet 
 and village, and a proportionate number from 
 the towns and cities. Subsidies of money were 
 largely granted, and enabled Edward to obtain 
 supplies of arms and provisions from over seas, 
 besides reinforcing his army with soldiers from 
 Acquitaine. 
 
 The Scottish monarch timed his movements, 
 and organised his plans to check the English 
 advance, with his customary foresight and energy ;
 
 ii8 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 and although the cruel slaughter of so many of 
 his nearest relatives and dearest friends might 
 well have steeled his heart against the English, 
 we are bound to admit that his repeated de- 
 vastations of the Northumbrian provinces were of 
 incalculable service in protecting Scotland from 
 hostile attacks, although they might and did 
 excite the English to cross the border in ex- 
 peditions organised for the purpose of revenge. 
 
 Bruce never wanted for an army to invade 
 England an army that repaid its toils by the 
 plunder of the enemy, and this is clearly illus- 
 trated by the campaign that ended with the battle 
 of Byland Abbey ; while Edward was spending 
 months in raising an army, taxing the people, and 
 making forced levies, drawing supplies of men 
 and munitions from his continental provinces, 
 Bruce had but to raise his standard, when a 
 numerous army followed him, to win the re- 
 guerdon of their toil with sword and spear from 
 the fertile English provinces. 
 
 King Robert dared not risk the liberties of 
 Scotland by meeting the powerful hosts of Eng- 
 land, with their deadly archers, in the open field, 
 and his plan of defence was therefore to devastate 
 the English borders with fire and sword, to the
 
 BA TTLE OF B YLAND ABBE Y. 119 
 
 farthest practicable limit, and to drive all the 
 flocks and herds on the Scottish border far inland, 
 wasting the country as far as the Firth of Forth. 
 
 As soon as Moray had performed his raid on 
 the West marches, he was instructed to join his 
 forces with those of Douglas, and cross the bor- 
 ders in a more easterly direction, while King 
 Robert penetrated into Lancashire through the 
 Western marches. The expedition commenced 
 on the ist of July, and was concluded on the 
 24th, when the Scotch army re-entered Scotland 
 in triumph, with numerous waggons heavily laden 
 with the plunder of the English. The vale of 
 Furness had been the scene of their triumphant 
 march, and they left it utterly desolated ; barns, 
 stacks and ricks, and fields of ripening grain had 
 been given to the flames, or trampled under foot. 
 
 The unhappy peasantry, abandoning their rude 
 cots, sought such refuge as the woods and wilds 
 afforded, or haply took shelter in the nearest 
 walled town. Men-at-arms and burghers took 
 spear and bow in hand, made fast their gates, 
 and kept careful watch lest the enemy should 
 burst upon them with fire and sword some 
 dreadful night. The wasted country gleamed 
 with the light of burning villages, and many a
 
 120 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 rude border-fortress was taken by assault before 
 King Edward headed his warriors and marched 
 northward with his mail-clad barons and stout 
 yeomen. 
 
 The wary Scots waited not for the approach 
 of the splendid army that marched behind the 
 banners of the unfortunate Edward of Caer- 
 narvon ; although the English warriors were 
 animated by an intense desire to avenge their 
 wrongs, and not a monarch in Christendom but 
 might have quailed at the prospect of joining 
 battle with them, yet all their high courage and 
 warlike accomplishments failed to serve them in 
 their contest with the Bruce. 
 
 Pressing onward, rank after rank, squadron after 
 squadron, with the glitter of thousands of lances, 
 pikes, and bills, and with hundreds of banners 
 floating on the breeze, the warriors of King 
 Edward found neither foes to fight nor plunder 
 to repay their toil, but " a land of desolation, 
 which famine seemed to guard." The transport 
 of stores for so large an army was attended with 
 extreme toil and difficulty, for the wasted soil 
 would not even afford forage for the English 
 horses. The English captains, hoping that by 
 some chance the enemy might be brought to an
 
 BA TTLE OF B YLAND ABBE Y. 121 
 
 engagement, resolutely maintained their advance, 
 and the patient soldiers held on their way, in 
 spite of increasing difficulties and dangers. It 
 was the month of August, and the fatigue of the 
 heavily armed troops must have been excessive. 
 At length the toil-worn army reached the capital, 
 but without any amelioration of their condition, or 
 the prospect of an engagement. The sole spoil 
 between England and Edinburgh was one lame 
 bull. Well might Earl Warenne declare, " By 
 my faith, I never saw dearer beef." A fleet with 
 supplies was expected in the firth, but it was 
 detained by adverse winds, and after vainly 
 waiting for three days, during which the troops 
 began to experience the pangs of hunger, Edward 
 reluctantly commanded the retreat to commence. 
 They knew that Bruce had massed his army 
 at Culross, and was keeping them under obser- 
 vation, but it was impossible to get within sight 
 of the Scottish army, or to force an engagement. 
 In their retreat the suffering and enraged soldiery 
 burst into the convents of Dryburgh and Melrose, 
 from which all but a few aged and infirm monks 
 had retired : these unfortunates they put to the 
 sword, defiled the sanctuaries, and carried off the 
 consecrated vessels.
 
 122 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Bruce was now following hard and fast on the 
 track of the retreating army, alert to seize every 
 advantage, and anxious to secure the safety of 
 his kingdom by inflicting a crushing blow upon 
 his enemy. The English soldiery were harassed 
 by being kept continually on the alert, and by the 
 scarcity of provisions, but their greatest disaster 
 awaited them on their native soil. Travel-wasted 
 and famine-stricken they entered England, and 
 were liberally supplied with food from the prin- 
 cipal magazines in the north. Partaking with the 
 impatient avidity of starving men, they sickened 
 in great numbers, and in a few days 16,000 were 
 carried off by inflammation of the bowels ; and of 
 the sick who recovered, few were ever again fit 
 for service in the field. 
 
 To avert further disasters, and renew the 
 strength and spirit of the survivors, the King 
 formed a camp at Byland Abbey, some fourteen 
 miles from York ; and there the sorely-tried and 
 weary soldiers found a temporary rest, and again 
 enjoyed sufficient supplies of wholesome food. 
 
 The position was extremely strong, and under 
 ordinary circumstances might perhaps have been 
 considered unassailable when held by English 
 archers and men-at-arms. It was a country of
 
 BATTLE OF BYLAND ABBEY. 123 
 
 rocks and woods, where deep ravines cleft the 
 rocks, and formed huge cliffs, easy of defence. 
 The soldiers were judiciously posted on the ele- 
 vated ground surrounding the abbey, a steep ridge 
 very difficult to scale, the pass to which was 
 narrow and easily defended by veteran soldiers. 
 The exact ground that was held cannot now be 
 ascertained ; it was certainly an elevated ridge, 
 and very probably that now known as the Old 
 Stead Bank, at one end of which is a piece 
 of land called " Scot's corner." If this is the 
 scene of the conflict, it took place about a mile 
 and a half to the north-west of the abbey. Doubt- 
 less the royal troops were still demoralised by the 
 mortifying results of the campaign, disheartened 
 by their losses, and weakened and dejected by 
 their sufferings. 
 
 King Robert's troops were largely mounted on 
 small and active ponies, which enabled them to 
 follow fast upon the tracks of the English. 
 Crossing the Tweed, he attempted to carry Nor- 
 ham Castle, but failed, and directed his march 
 towards Byland Abbey, for he had intelligence 
 that the English army had there formed their 
 camp. By a forced march he appeared in front 
 of the English, to their great surprise. No doubt
 
 i2 4 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Bruce inferred that the English had lost all heart, 
 for Cressy, Poictiers, and Agincourt were then 
 unfought, and the world knew little of what the 
 indomitable British spirit could endure, when 
 great and esteemed captains animated the war- 
 riors to the conflict. Edward II. was neither 
 great nor fortunate in arms, and was dining in 
 the abbey, attended by his principal officers, when 
 the Scots appeared and commenced the attack. 
 
 It was the i4th day of October, and the Scots 
 commenced the conflict by a desperate attempt 
 to carry the pass that was the key to the English 
 position. Earls Pembroke and Richmond were 
 there, however, directing the defence, and, al- 
 though taken by surprise, the English soldiers 
 made good their position with great courage. 
 The pikemen held the crest of the rock in solid 
 formation, ready to charge should the Scots force 
 the pass, and bear them down again : the archers 
 swept the front of the position with showers of 
 arrows, and huge masses of rock were hurled 
 upon the advancing enemy. The terrible Scottish 
 infantry swept on with their long spears and 
 heavy bills and claymores, and a hot encounter 
 ensued. The Scots were so roughly handled, 
 and the position was so strong, that Bruce des-
 
 BA TTLE OF B YLAND ABBE Y. 125 
 
 paired of winning it by storming the pass. To 
 Douglas was appointed the arduous duty of con- 
 tinuing the conflict, Randolph, with four squires, 
 fighting under his command, as volunteers. The 
 English advanced post that defended the ascent 
 of the cliff was commanded by Sir Thomas Ught- 
 red and Sir Ralph Cobham two gallant English 
 knights who acquitted themselves nobly. There 
 was great bloodshed, and hard fighting for some 
 time. Bruce, who fully realised the position, 
 headed a chosen band of Highlanders, active and 
 daring men, and resolved to attempt to take the 
 English in the rear, for closely engaged with the 
 furious attacks of Douglas, and probably believing 
 the natural defence sufficient for their protection, 
 the English had neglected to post their troops in 
 such a position as would secure them in case of 
 a rear attack being made. Bruce seems to have 
 realised the necessity of his attack being too 
 sudden and secret to admit of defensive meas- 
 ures being taken, and, making a circuit, his High- 
 landers quickly and noiselessly scaled the high 
 rocks in flank and rear of the English army. 
 What followed may be easily imagined. The 
 charge of the Highlanders was resistless, and 
 being unexpected, a dreadful scene of slaughter
 
 i 2 6 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 and panic ensued. Vainly the English sought 
 to close in, and meet the foe that burst upon 
 rear and flank : this diversion naturally distracted 
 the attention of the troops who supported the at- 
 tacks of Douglas and Randolph, and those hardy 
 warriors forcing the pass won the heights, where 
 a terrible conflict was going on, the English 
 troops breaking away, and taking to flight when- 
 ever the opportunity offered. Good men were 
 there, although the panic-stricken fled, and many 
 fell on that corpse-encumbered and blood-stained 
 ridge, fighting at close quarters, and dying in 
 their tracks. The bravest were cut down, and 
 those that could escape the toils took to hurried 
 flight. The battle was soon over ; not so the 
 pursuit. Great was the slaughter that ensued, 
 but the actual loss of life is not chronicled. 
 
 So unexpected and complete was the victory of 
 the Scots, that Edward was utterly incapable of 
 making an attempt to rally his troops, or effect 
 any orderly retreat. Mounting a swift horse, he 
 directed his flight to York with all conceivable 
 speed, leaving behind him his plate, money, and 
 treasure, and even the privy seal. Walter Stewart 
 followed hard after him with 500 horse, and had 
 it not been for the swiftness of the royal steed,
 
 BA TTLE OF B YLAND ABBE Y. 127 
 
 in all probability England would have undergone 
 the humiliation of having her monarch borne a 
 prisoner from her own soil by the invaders. As 
 it was, the Scottish warrior could ill brook the 
 loss of the intended prize, and he lingered before 
 the walls of York with his slender force of men- 
 at-arms until the shades of evening began to close 
 over the scene ; but so dejected and dispirited 
 were the royal troops that they tamely submitted 
 to the affront, although in sufficient numbers to 
 have swept away the stout riders of Stewart. 
 The Despensers succeeded in effecting their es- 
 cape from the scene of confusion and bloodshed, 
 and the day after the battle accompanied the 
 King to Bridlington. With them went the Earl 
 of Kent, John de Cromwell, and John de Ross. 
 
 Many Englishmen had taken refuge in the 
 Abbey of Rivaulx when the struggle became too 
 obviously hopeless ; and among the knights and 
 nobles who there surrendered their swords to 
 the Scots were the Earl of Richmond, and Sir 
 Henry de Sully. The prisoners were treated 
 with the greatest courtesy, being simply regarded 
 as chivalrous warriors doing their devoir in the 
 field ; but the Earl of Richmond had expressed 
 himself in most disrespectful terms against the
 
 128 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Bruce, and to show his opinion of such ungentle 
 behaviour King Robert ordered the earl to be 
 closely confined. 
 
 On the 22nd of October the Scottish army 
 returned to their own country, laden with spoil, 
 including ^400 exacted for the ransom of 
 Beverley : they left behind them a ravaged and 
 ruined country. 
 
 Andrew de Harcla for some reason or other 
 had failed to join King Edward with his levies, 
 but, halting near Boroughbridge, had wasted the 
 country. This was a suspicious circumstance, 
 and was openly commented upon, with the im- 
 plication that he had entered into a league with 
 the Scots, and would not act against them. It 
 was in the last days of the year that these grave 
 charges were brought before the royal notice, 
 when the earl's arrest was immediately ordered. 
 
 Surrounded by his retainers, and occupying the 
 strong fortress of Carlisle, the earl might have 
 successfully resisted the King's arms until an 
 opportunity of effecting his escape into Scotland 
 offered ; and Lord Lucy, who put the royal 
 orders into execution, resorted to strategy rather 
 than force. 
 
 Attended by Sir Hugh de Moriceby, Sir Richard
 
 BATTLE OF BYLAND ABBEY. 129 
 
 de Denton, Sir Hugh de Lowther, four squires, 
 and a small party of soldiers, Lord Lucy entered 
 Carlisle Castle, with as little ostentation as possible, 
 his soldiers dispersing, to re-assemble in small 
 parties near the gates. Lord Lucy and his 
 knights then sought the presence of de Harcla, 
 and demanded his instant surrender, with the 
 option of defending himself against their attack. 
 The Earl declined to defend himself against the 
 four warriors, but as he was being carried off a 
 cry of treason was raised, and the keeper of the 
 inner ward, making a movement to close the gate, 
 was immediately slain by Sir Richard de Denton. 
 At the same moment Lord Lucy's soldiers seized 
 the gates, and the Earl's doom was virtually 
 sealed. He was tried before the chief justiciary, 
 Jeffrey de Scroop, and was sentenced to degra- 
 dation and death ; being found guilty of having 
 entered into a treasonable undertaking with King 
 Robert, to whom he guaranteed the crown of 
 Scotland in return for services to be rendered in 
 England no doubt embracing the destruction of 
 the royal favourites, the Despensers. 
 
 It is difficult to believe that Harcla would enter 
 into so dubious an undertaking, so soon after 
 the failure of the powerful Earl of Lancaster. If
 
 130 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 he had acted as the agent of the Barons, we may 
 believe that some particulars of the confederation 
 would have been elicited during his trial. The 
 statement that he summoned the principal inhabit- 
 ants of Cumberland to meet him at Carlisle, 
 informed them that he had entered into a treaty 
 with the King of Scotland, and succeeded in 
 obtaining their support, is scarcely to be credited. 
 The Earl is generally regarded as the scapegoat 
 who bore the sins of Byland Battle to the block. 
 Degraded from his nobility, despoiled of the in- 
 signia of his knightly merit, the unfortunate man 
 was conducted to the scaffold at Carlisle on the 
 2nd of March, 1322, and there executed. 
 
 Edward was induced by this final disaster to 
 give more serious attention to negotiations for 
 peace. Henry de Sully, the French knight, 
 used his influence to bring the two monarchs to 
 an understanding, and a preliminary truce was 
 agreed to at Thorpe, and finally a truce for 
 thirteen years was ratified by Robert Bruce, King 
 of Scotland, and Edward the II. of England, at 
 Berwick, on the 7th of June, 1323 ; a merciful 
 peace after such long and bloody strife, and for 
 which the name of Henry de Sully deserves to 
 be held in honourable remembrance.
 
 IX. IN THE DAYS OF EDWARD III. 
 AND RICHARD II. 
 
 KING Edward directed his first essay in 
 arms against the Scots, in requital of 
 their sanguinary invasions of the North. 
 
 The flower of his army was supposed to consist 
 of 2,000 men-at-arms under Lord John of Hain- 
 ault, and the distinction thus bestowed upon 
 foreign troops aroused the honest wrath of the 
 English. King Edward was accompanied by his 
 mother. Queen Isabella, and while the court was 
 engaged in festivities in the monastery of the 
 Friars Minors, at York, on Trinity Sunday, a 
 dreadful tumult arose in the suburbs the Hain- 
 aulters and the Lincolnshire archers, being quar- 
 tered near each other, engaged in a dreadful 
 conflict. A great part of the army was drawn 
 into the quarrel ; houses were fired, and lighted 
 the scene of murder with a weird and fitful 
 light.
 
 1 32 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 All authority was defied, and exhaustion alone 
 arrested the conflict, which was renewed later 
 on, when the Hainaulters combined, and beat up 
 the quarters of the bowmen of Lincoln and North- 
 ampton, slaughtering three hundred of them 
 before the tumult was quelled. 
 
 After this the English foot entered into a 
 confederation to cut off the Hainaulters, and the 
 young King had great difficulty in restoring 
 peace and order in his army. 
 
 The campaign was extremely unfortunate. 
 Douglas surprised the camp one night, cut down 
 the royal tent, raised his war-cry in the midst 
 of the startled army, and, after nearly capturing 
 the King, effected his escape. The Hainaulters 
 received ,14,000 for their assistance. 
 
 The Hainaulters were again at York in the 
 following January, on the occasion of the marriage 
 festivities of King Edward and Queen Philippa. 
 
 The foreigners distinguished themselves by 
 firing the suburbs of the city, and by insulting 
 the wives, daughters, and female servants of the 
 citizens, who challenged them to mortal combat. 
 The foreigners lost 527 men, slain by the sword 
 or the waters of the Ouse, and slaughtered 242 
 Englishmen.
 
 NEVILLES CROSS. 133 
 
 Several Parliaments were held at York in Ed- 
 ward's reign, and when David Bruce invaded 
 Northumbria in 1346, Queen Philippa raised her 
 standard in the city. The Scots kept York 
 under observation for some time, and attacked 
 the suburbs. 
 
 The impending battle was fought near Durham 
 on the 1 7th of October. After a vain attempt 
 to cut off the English archers, the Scots closed 
 in a hand-to-hand conflict, and fought under a 
 deadly hail of arrows. The English steadily won 
 ground, and the Scots began to break before 
 repeated repulses and attacks. The King fought 
 like a lion ; his banner disappeared ; the Earl 
 of March and the Great Steward retired their 
 divisions, believing the King was slain. He still 
 fought on ; eighty loyal gentlemen supporting 
 him. He was surrounded, wounded in the leg, 
 two spears were entangled in his harness, his 
 sword was dashed out of his hand, and he was 
 called upon to surrender. Maddened by mortifi- 
 cation and pain, he struck out with his gauntleted 
 fist. John Copeland lost two teeth by the King's 
 hand, but was gratified by receiving his surrender. 
 
 After Edward's days of warfare and pride came 
 to an end, Richard II. reigned in his stead.
 
 134 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Some little ferment occurred in Beverley and 
 Scarborough, but Wat Tyler's death prevented 
 the movement from spreading. 
 
 In 1385 Richard quartered his army at Be- 
 verley, during an expedition to Scotland. A 
 Bohemian knight, Sir Meles, was insulted by 
 two of Sir John Holland's squires, and protected 
 by two archers, retainers of Lord Ralph Stafford. 
 A heated dispute was settled by the death of 
 one of the squires, who was shot by an arrow. 
 The guilty archer appealed to Lord Ralph Staf- 
 ford for protection, and Lord Ralph at once 
 sought Sir John Holland, who was also out in 
 quest of Sir Meles, vowing to avenge the death 
 of his favourite squire. Knight and lord met 
 in a narrow lane, and, it being dark, did not 
 recognise each other until the challenge passed, 
 when Holland drew his sword, exclaimed, " Staf- 
 ford, I was inquiring for you ; thy servants have 
 murdered my squire, whom I loved so much ; " 
 then he smote the young lord, and laid him 
 dead at his feet. 
 
 Holland took sanctuary at Beverley, and King 
 Richard confiscated his possessions, and declared 
 that he should be executed if he ventured out 
 of bounds.
 
 DO UGLAS AT NE WCASTLE. 1 3 5 
 
 Holland was the King's half-brother by their 
 mother Joan, the widow of the Black Prince, 
 and she besought pardon for the guilty knight, 
 and so bitterly bewailed his peril, that, after three 
 days of continuous weeping, she expired. Holland 
 was then pardoned. He was afterwards raised to 
 the rank of Earl of Huntingdon, and being seized 
 by the vassals of the late Duke of Gloucester, 
 whom he had held in deadly hatred, he was 
 delivered to the headsman's axe. 
 
 For six months, A.D. 1392, the Courts of 
 King's Bench and Chancery were held at York, 
 Richard being at feud with the citizens of Lon- 
 don. He bestowed the title of Lord Mayor 
 upon the mayors of York ; presented the city 
 with the first mayor's mace ; and created the 
 first Duke of York in the person of Edward 
 Plantagenet, the fifth son of Edward III. and 
 Queen Philippa. 
 
 In Richard's reign the battle of Otterburn 
 was fought. Earl Douglas won Sir Henry 
 Percy's lance before the barriers of Newcastle, 
 and vowed that it should float from the loftiest 
 tower of Dalkeith Castle. Percy swore that it 
 should not be carried out of Northumberland, 
 and Douglas promised to plant it before his
 
 136 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 tent, that Percy might have an opportunity of 
 regaining it. 
 
 On the following night Percy, with 6,000 horse 
 and 8,000 foot, furiously attacked the Scots, who 
 were encamped at Otterburn. Douglas, by a 
 skilful movement, took the English in flank, 
 and a hot encounter ensued, which was inter- 
 rupted as a dark cloud swept before the moon. 
 It passed, and the battle was resumed, as the 
 scene was flooded with light. Douglas smote his 
 way through the press, wielding his axe in both 
 hands. Three spears smote him, and man and 
 horse went down. He was found dying, defended 
 by his chaplain, William Lundie, who bestrode 
 him, curtail-axe in hand. Douglas thanked God 
 that few of his ancestors had died in bed or 
 chamber. He reminded his friends of the old 
 prophecy that a dead Douglas should win a field ; 
 and commanded them to raise his fallen banner 
 and his war-cry, but to tell none that he lay dying 
 there. His orders were followed, and the English 
 were defeated. 
 
 The De la Poles, merchants of Hull, rose to 
 power during the reigns of Edward III. and 
 Richard II. Edward received princely assistance 
 from the brothers during his French wars, and
 
 THE DE LA POLES, 137 
 
 in 1327 bestowed the office of Chief Butler upon 
 Richard. William he created a Knight-Banneret. 
 Sir Michael was appointed Admiral of the King's 
 fleet in the North, and was raised to the peerage 
 as Earl of Suffolk. In 1389 he died at Paris, 
 a broken-hearted exile. His son and successor 
 followed Henry V. to France, and died, of a 
 malignant disease, before the walls of Harfleur. 
 Michael, his eldest son, took up his honours, but 
 perished on the field of Agincourt, a few weeks 
 later. William, the fourth earl, famous as a 
 statesman and warrior, was foully slain in the 
 roads of Dover, his head being struck off against 
 the side of the long-boat of the ship Nicholas. 
 His son, created Duke of Suffolk in 1462, married 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Duke of York. 
 Their eldest son, John, Earl of Lincoln, was de- 
 clared heir to the crown by Richard III. He 
 fell at the battle of Stoke, June i6th, 1487. The 
 fifth Earl of Suffolk was brought to the block 
 in 1513 ; and the exile, Richard, fought beneath 
 the banner of King Francis, and was slain amid 
 the rout at Pavia in 1525, when King Francis 
 was taken prisoner, after a desperate defence. 
 
 In "The Story of the De la Poles," J. Travis- 
 Cook, F.R.H.S., furnishes the student with a very
 
 138 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 interesting account of this talented but unfortu- 
 nate family. 
 
 Edward Baliol's expedition against Scotland, 
 fruitful of so much suffering and useless blood- 
 shed, sailed from Ravenser in 1332. The crown 
 that he won was as suddenly lost as acquired.
 
 X. BATTLE OF BRAMHAM MOOR. 
 
 A.D. 1408. 
 
 IN 1387 the Barons of England deprived King 
 Richard of the reins of government, and 
 impeached his friends, the Archbishop of 
 York, the Duke of Ireland, the Earl of Suf- 
 folk, Sir Robert Tresilian, and Sir Nicholas 
 Brember. Brember and Tresilian were publicly 
 executed, the others secured their safety by 
 flight. 
 
 Years passed, and Richard recovered his autho- 
 rity, when he punished the lords appellant, 
 sparing only his cousin Hereford and the Duke 
 of Norfolk. Some conversation appears to have 
 passed between these nobles, and Hereford ac- 
 cused Norfolk of having expressed his suspicion 
 that Richard would yet revenge himself upon 
 them for their past offence, and especially for the 
 affair of " Radcot Bridge," when the Duke of 
 Ireland's forces were dispersed. 
 
 Norfolk denied the charge, and the King per-
 
 1 40 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 mitted the quarrel to be decided by wager of 
 battle. The 29th of April, 1398, was appointed 
 for the trial ; the place, Coventry. The noble- 
 men had put spurs to their horses, when Richard, 
 under the advice of his council, stopped the 
 combat, and banished the offenders as guilty 
 of treason. Norfolk's sentence was for life ; 
 Hereford's for ten years. 
 
 The Londoners were incensed at losing their 
 favourite, Hereford, and when his father, the aged 
 John of Gaunt, died on the Christmas following 
 his son's banishment, and Richard seized his 
 estates, the general indignation was extreme ; for 
 the King had granted legal instruments to both 
 the exiles, securing to them any inheritance which 
 might fall to them. 
 
 In face of the gathering storm Richard sailed 
 for Ireland. On the 4th July, 1399, three small 
 ships entered the H umber, and Hereford, attended 
 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Fitz- 
 Allan, son of the late Earl of Arundel, a few 
 servitors, and fifteen men-at-arms, landed at Ra- 
 venser Spurn. 
 
 Shut out of Hull, he was met at Doncaster by 
 the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, 
 who espoused his cause, affecting to believe his
 
 BATTLE OF B RAM HAM MOOR. 141 
 
 assertion that he had returned to claim the estates 
 of his father. 
 
 King Richard threw himself into Conway Castle, 
 and Northumberland induced him to leave his 
 refuge, to make terms with Hereford. Drawn 
 into an ambush, Richard was delivered into his 
 cousin's hands. Northumberland had sworn on 
 the sacramental elements to keep faith with the 
 King, and Richard thus reproached him, on the 
 moment of his seizure, " May the God on whom 
 you laid your hand reward you and your accom- 
 plices at the last day." 
 
 On the ist of October, the day following his 
 coronation, Henry IV. signed a licence for Mat- 
 thew Danthorpe, a hermit, who had welcomed 
 him at Ravenser Spurn, granting him permission 
 to erect a hermitage and chapel on that desolate 
 place. 
 
 Richard was imprisoned, and expired in a 
 dungeon of Pontefract Castle, but whether by 
 stroke of Sir Piers Exton's axe, or broken down 
 by famine, matters not now. 
 
 Northumberland was honoured by the dignity of 
 Constable of England, and at the coronation bore 
 a naked sword on the King's right hand. He was 
 further guerdoned by a grant of the Isle of Man.
 
 1 42 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 On the /th of May, 1402, the Percies defeated 
 Earl Douglas at the battle of Homildon, inflicting 
 a heavy loss upon the Scots, and capturing 
 Douglas ; Murdoch, son of the Duke of Albany, 
 and other captains to the total sum of eighty. 
 
 King Henry forbade the ransoming of the 
 prisoners, an interference which aroused the bitter 
 wrath of the Percies. As though in mockery of 
 their pride, he bestowed upon them the Scottish 
 estates of the Douglas, and ordered them to 
 abstain from ransoming Sir Edward Mortimer, 
 Hotspur's brother-in-law, who had fallen into the 
 hands of Owen Glendower, the Welsh patriot. 
 
 These impositions of the royal commands re- 
 sulted in the revolt of the Percies. The Scotch 
 prisoners were released, and assisted the Percies 
 in the field. The captive Mortimer married 
 Glendower's daughter, and drew that chieftain 
 into the conspiracy. The lineal heir to the throne 
 was Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March. Him 
 
 Northumberland proposed to raise to the throne, 
 
 
 virtually partitioning the kingdom between the 
 
 Percies, Mortimers, and Glendower. 
 
 The revolt came to the issue of battle at 
 Shrewsbury, on the 2ist July, 1403, when Percy 
 and Douglas penetrated the centre of the royal
 
 BATTLE OF BRAMHAM MOOR. 143 
 
 army, and Hotspur, casting up the ventaille of 
 his helmet, was shot in the brain by an arrow, 
 and fell in the press. The victorious advance 
 was turned into a rout. Of Prince Henry, it is 
 written : "The prince that daie holpe his father 
 like a lustie young gentleman." 
 
 Northumberland was marching to join his sons, 
 but retired into Warkworth Castle on receiving the 
 news of their defeat. The King, either from fear 
 or policy, condoned his part in the revolt. 
 
 When the Archbishop of York, Richard Scrope, 
 took up arms in 1405, the Earl was implicated 
 in his revolt. Sir John Falconberg had raised 
 the banner of revolt in Cleveland, but Prince 
 John and the Earl of Westmoreland had de- 
 feated the rebels. The Archbishop's army was 
 so strong, for it had been augmented by Lord 
 Bardolph and Thomas, Lord Mowbray, that the 
 royal captains resorted to treaty, and induced 
 the Archbishop to disband his army. No sooner 
 was this done than the leaders of the revolt were 
 arrested. 
 
 The Archbishop of York, Lord Mowbray, Sir 
 John Lamplugh, Sir Robert Plumpton, and sev- 
 eral other unfortunates, were put upon their trial, 
 and condemned to death. On the 8th June the
 
 144 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Archbishop of York was executed at his palace of 
 Bishopthorpe, and his head, with that of Mow- 
 bray, was piked and exposed on York walls. 
 
 The city of York was heavily fined, and the 
 King proceeded to Durham, where he executed 
 Lords Hastings and Fauconbridge, and Sir John 
 Griffith. 
 
 Northumberland, " with three hundred horse, 
 got him to Berwike," but on the King's ad- 
 vance passed into Scotland, accompanied by Lord 
 Bardolph. 
 
 After brief exile, the end came. " The earle of 
 Northumberland, and the lord Bardolfe, after 
 they had been in Wales, in France, and Flanders 
 to purchase aid against King Henrie, were re- 
 turned backe into Scotland, and had remained 
 there now for the space of a whole yeare : and 
 as their evill fortune would, while the King held 
 a councill of the nobilitie at London, the saide 
 earle of Northumberland and lord Bardolfe, in a 
 dismall houre, with a great power of Scots returned 
 into England, recovering diverse of the carle's 
 castels and seigneories, for the people in great num- 
 bers resorted unto them. Hereupon encouraged 
 with hope of good successe, they entered into York- 
 shire, and there began to distroie the countrie."
 
 BATTLE OF BRAMHAM MOOR. 145 
 
 The Sheriff of Yorkshire, Sir Thomas Rokeby, 
 is stated to have lured the old warrior to his 
 doom. Sir Nicholas Tempest reinforced him at 
 Knaresborough, and the little army crossed the 
 Wharfe at Wetherby. They had achieved a suc- 
 cession of trifling successes, but now Sir Thomas 
 Rokeby interposed his forces, cut off their retreat, 
 and compelled them to give battle, on the 28th 
 February, 1408, on Bramham Moor, near Hazle- 
 wood. 
 
 They were brave men who thus stood opposed. 
 Northumberland's troops were incited by their 
 dangerous position, by the hope of recovering 
 their lost possessions, and by their hatred of the 
 King. On the other hand, the royalists were 
 anxious to gain the honours and rewards which 
 princes bestow. 
 
 The Sheriff was not slack to close, but advanced 
 his standard of St. George, and sounded the 
 charge, as Northumberland bore down upon him 
 with his lances, doing battle once more beneath 
 his banner, that displayed the proud emblazon- 
 ments of the house of Percy. 
 
 The onset was fierce and bloody. Lances 
 shivered to splinters ; men went down in their 
 blood, wounded and dying ; riderless horses burst
 
 146 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 from the press, and wildly galloped over the moor. 
 Lances were cast aside, as knights and men-at- 
 arms fell-to with sword, and mace, and axe, testing 
 mail, smashing shield and casque, and finding and 
 bestowing wounds and death despite of guarding 
 weapons and tempered plate-mail. 
 
 The archers were fiercely at work, pouring their 
 long shafts upon the rear ranks ; the footmen face 
 to face with the wild play of deadly bill and thrust 
 of pike. Morions were cleft, corsets pierced, and 
 men fell thick and fast. The battle was hotly 
 maintained, but for a short time, the insurgents 
 being sorely over-matched. Northumberland fell 
 never to rise again until rough hands stripped 
 off his mail, and held him for the butcher's work 
 of headsman's axe and knife. There ended Lord 
 Bardolph's many troubles, as he fell, a sorely 
 wounded and dying man, into the Sheriffs hands. 
 
 The leaders fallen, no further object for con- 
 tention remained to the rebels, and the defeat was 
 complete and irretrievable. The tragedy of the 
 battlefield had to be concluded by the rush of 
 the pursuers, eager to maim and slay ; and by the 
 useless rally of defeated men, turning fiercely at 
 bay, to claim blood for blood and life for life ; 
 and, alas ! by the seizure of flying men, doomed
 
 BATTLE OF BRAMHAM MOOR. 147 
 
 to rope and axe in reguerdon of their last act 
 of vassalage to the devoted house of North- 
 umberland. 
 
 The Earl's head, " full of silver horie hairs, 
 being put upon a stake, was openly carried 
 through London, and set upon the bridge of the 
 same citie : in like manner was the lord Bardolfe's. 
 The bishop of Bangor was taken and pardoned 
 by the King, for that when he was apprehended, 
 he had no armour on his backe. The King, to 
 purge the North parts of all rebellion, and to take 
 order for the punishment of those that were ac- 
 cused to have succoured and assisted the Earl of 
 Northumberland, went to Yorke, where, when 
 many were condemned, and diverse put to great 
 fines, and the countrie brought to quietnesse, he 
 caused the abbot of Hailes to be hanged, who 
 had been in armour against him with the foresaid 
 earle." 
 
 So, after his treacheries, his aspiring ambitions, 
 the once puissant Earl of Northumberland was 
 brought as low as Richard of Bordeaux when he 
 lay upon his bier at St. Paul's, his set and rigid 
 face, bared from eyebrows to chin, for the in- 
 spection of the Londoners, and, in its surrounding 
 swathing of grave-clothes, in its dreadful emacia-
 
 148 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 tion, eloquent of the unrecorded tragedy of secret 
 murder. 
 
 A grant of the manor of Spofforth, a former 
 possession of the slain Earl, rewarded the loyalty 
 of Sir Thomas Rokeby. 
 
 In the reign of Henry V., an attempt was again 
 made to restore the lineal heir to the throne, an 
 augury of the War of the Roses commenced in 
 his son's reign. The Earl of Marche, the 
 object of the conspiracy, himself betrayed it to 
 the King. Henry, whose assassination had been 
 planned, took immediate revenge upon the prin- 
 cipal offenders, Richard, Earl of Cambridge, Lord 
 Scroop of Masham, and Sir Thomas Grey. They 
 were executed at Southampton, on the i3th of 
 August, 1415, at the moment when the royal fleet 
 was sailing from the harbour to add the terrors 
 of invasion to unhappy France, then suffering 
 from internecine strife. 
 
 There is an old tradition that on the day of 
 Agincourt the shrine of St. John of Beverley 
 exuded blood, and when King Henry was in 
 Yorkshire he naturally paid his devotions at the 
 shrine. He was accompanied by his Queen ; and 
 it was at this time that he received the sad news 
 of the death of his brother Clarence at Beauje.
 
 BATTLE OF B RAM HAM MOOR. 149 
 
 The Duke was dashing over the narrow bridge 
 when the charging Scots burst upon him ; Sir 
 John Carmichael shivered his lance upon the 
 Duke's corset, Sir John Swinton smote him in 
 the face, and, as he dropped from the saddle, 
 the Earl of Buchan, with one blow of a mace, or 
 "steel hammer," dashed out his brains.
 
 XL THE BATTLE OF SANDAL. 
 
 A.D. 1460. 
 
 A LTHOUGH Henry VI. was beloved by his 
 <^*- subjects, he was subjected to the vicissi- 
 tudes of the Wars of the Roses. His Queen, 
 Margaret of Anjou, was unpopular with the 
 people, her favourite minister, William De la Pole, 
 was hated of the nobles, and nobles and commons 
 were alike exasperated by the loss of the French 
 possessions. 
 
 Richard, Duke of York, a brave soldier, and 
 popular with the people, was the lineal heir to the 
 throne, and he was determined to assert his claim. 
 The first battle was fought at St. Albans, on 
 the 23rd May, 1455. The royalists maintained 
 the town, being commanded by Lord Clifford, the 
 Dukes of Buckingham and Somerset, and the 
 Earls of Northumberland and Stafford. York 
 fiercely attacked, being supported by Norfolk, 
 Salisbury and Warwick. The Northern archers 
 poured their shafts into the town, and inflicted
 
 THE BATTLE OF SANDAL. 151 
 
 great slaughter, and the Earl of Warwick, "seizing 
 his opportunity, moved to the garden side of the 
 town, and attacking it at the weakest side, forced 
 
 the barriers." A desperate conflict ensued, Somer- 
 set, Northumberland, and Clifford were slain, 
 and King Henry, Stafford, Buckingham, and 
 Dudley were wounded by arrows. Abbot Wethem- 
 stede states that he saw, " here one lying with his 
 brains dashed out, here another without his 
 arm ; some with arrows sticking in their throats, 
 others pierced in their chests." 
 
 The King was defeated and captured, and the 
 Yorkists divided the government. The Duke was 
 created Constable of the Kingdom, Salisbury Lord 
 Chancellor, and Warwick governor of Calais. 
 
 Each party watched the other, and the pious 
 King attempted to reconcile the leaders in 1458, 
 when they went in solemn procession to St. 
 Paul's, the Duke of York leading the Queen, 
 and the opposing barons being paired accordingly. 
 
 A few weeks later, and Warwick fled into 
 Yorkshire, the two factions being put into opposi- 
 tion by a brawl between the servants of Warwick 
 and Queen Margaret. 
 
 In September, 1459, the Yorkists were again 
 in arms, and Salisbury, feigning to fly before
 
 152 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Lord Audley and the royalists, turned upon them 
 as they were crossing a brook on Bloreheath, and 
 bore them down with lance and bill. The conflict 
 was somewhat desultory, and lasted five hours, the 
 victory remaining with the Yorkists. Lord Aud- 
 ley was slain, and with him 2,400 men, including 
 the good knights Thomas Dutton, John Dunne, 
 Hugh Venables, Richard Molineaux, and John 
 Leigh. 
 
 Henry and York met at Ludlow, when Sir 
 Andrew Trollop carried his command over to 
 the King, and the Yorkists, panic-stricken by 
 this defection, dispersed. 
 
 The Duchess of York, and two of her sons, fell 
 into Henry's hands, and was sent to her sister, 
 Anne, Duchess of Buckingham. At Coventry, 
 November 2oth, Parliament attainted and con- 
 fiscated the estates of " the duke of York, the 
 earl of March, the duke of Rutland, the earl of 
 Warwick, the earl of Salisbury, the lord Powis, 
 the lord Clinton, the countess of Salisbury, sir 
 Thomas Neville, sir John Neville, sir Thomas 
 Harrington, sir Thomas Parr, sir John Conyers, 
 sir John Wenlock, sir William Oldhall, Edward 
 Bourchier, sq., and his brother, Thomas Vaughan, 
 Thomas Colt, Thomas Clay, John Dinham,
 
 THE BATTLE OF SANDAL. 153 
 
 Thomas Moring, John Otter, Master Richard 
 Fisher, Hastings, and others." On the sub- 
 mission of Lord Powis he received the King's 
 grace, but lost his goods. 
 
 Warwick, March, and Salisbury fled to Calais, 
 and Somerset, the newly-appointed governor, 
 proceeded to attempt the reduction of the fort- 
 ress ; but, by a clever counter-stroke, Warwick 
 captured the fleet, Lord Rivers and his son being 
 surprised before they could leave their bed. Rivers 
 " was brought to Calais, and before the lords, 
 with eight-score torches, and there my lord Salis- 
 bury rated him, calling him ' knave's son, that 
 he should be so rude to call him and these other 
 lords traitors ; for they should be found the 
 King's true liege-men, when he would be found 
 a traitor.' And my lord Warwick rated him, and 
 said, ' that his father was but a squire, and 
 brought up with King Henry V., and since made 
 himself by marriage, and also made a lord ; and 
 that it was not his part to hold such a language 
 to lords, being of the king's blood.' And my lord 
 March rated him likewise. And Sir Anthony 
 was rated for his language of all the three lords 
 in likewise." A notable scene, and picturesque : 
 making easy the mental transition to a later
 
 154 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 period, when these fierce lords called for block 
 and headsmen, and their prisoners made short 
 shrift. Indeed the period was very near. Osbert 
 Mountford, despatched to reinforce Somerset, 
 was captured at Sandwich, carried to Calais, and 
 beheaded on the 25th June, 1460. 
 
 On the 5th June Salisbury and Warwick landed 
 at Sandwich, and reached London with 25,000 
 men arrayed under their banners. Margaret 
 strove to shut them out of the city, but in vain ; 
 and Lord Scales discharged the Tower guns 
 against them. 
 
 On the i Qth of July the two armies engaged at 
 Northampton. Margaret, with a strong escort, 
 watched the conflict with the keenest anxiety. 
 The heavy rains rendered the King's artillery 
 inoperative, yet, after five hours of sanguinary 
 fighting, the battle was decided by the treachery 
 of Lord Grey, of Ruthin, who carried his com- 
 mand over to the Yorkists. 
 
 King Henry was captured, and carried, in 
 honourable captivity, to London. Margaret fled 
 to Scotland, accompanied by Somerset and the 
 young Prince of Wales. 
 
 Richard of York entered London, appeared 
 before the peers, and advanced to the throne,
 
 THE BATTLE OF SANDAL. 155 
 
 placing his hand upon the canopy. This mute 
 claim was received in silence, that was broken by 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury, as he enquired 
 whether the Duke would not wait upon the King. 
 York haughtily replied, " I know of none in this 
 realm than ought not rather to wait upon me," 
 and turning his back upon the peers, retired. 
 
 It was admitted by the lords that Richard 
 was the lineal heir to the throne, but Parliament 
 had elected Henry IV. to the crown, Henry 
 V. had succeeded, and his son, the present King, 
 had been accepted by the lords and commons, 
 and, but for the ambition of York, his title would 
 have remained unquestioned. The peers passed 
 over the claims of the young Prince of Wales, 
 and decided that the King should retain the 
 crown, but that, on his death, York and his heirs 
 should inherit it. 
 
 Margaret was immediately summoned to Lon- 
 don, and prepared for the journey by raising her 
 standard. Before she appeared upon the scene 
 the battle of Sandal was fought. 
 
 The Yorkists now freely dipped their hands 
 in blood. Lords Hungerford and Scales were 
 allowed to pass out of the Tower free men, but 
 the soldiers and officers had "to abide by the
 
 156 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 law." Lord Scales was murdered within the 
 week by mariners serving Warwick and March. 
 He was seen " lying naked in the cemetery of the 
 church of St. Mary Overy, in South wark. He 
 had lain naked, being stripped of his clothes, for 
 several hours on the ground, but afterwards on 
 the same day he was honourably interred by the 
 earls of March, Warwick, and others," In the 
 same month, July, Sir Thomas Blount, of Kent, 
 with five others of the household of the Duke of 
 Exeter, were accused before " the Earl of War- 
 wick and the other justiciaries of the King, of 
 illegally holding the Tower," and "were drawn 
 to Tyburn and beheaded, and shortly afterwards 
 John Archer, who was in the councils of the 
 duke of Exeter, shared the same fate." 
 
 Duke Richard was declared heir-apparent on 
 the Qth of November, with the present title of 
 Lord Protector, and an allowance of ,10,000 
 to maintain the dignity. The Yorkshire royalists 
 were in arms, and "had destroyed the retainers 
 and tenants of the Duke of York and Earl of 
 Salisbury." Salisbury and York immediately 
 marched for the North. 
 
 Their vanguard struck Somerset's army at 
 Worksop, and was cut off. On the 2ist De-
 
 THE BATTLE OF SANDAL. 157 
 
 cember York occupied his Castle of Sandal. His 
 army consisted of 6,000 men, too few to cope 
 with the enemy lying at Pontefract under Somer- 
 set and Northumberland. The Duke might 
 have maintained the defensive until the Earl of 
 March came up from the Welsh borders, but on 
 the 3Oth of December he sallied out to rescue a 
 foraging party from the Lancastrians. With so 
 numerous an army to feed, and in a position 
 so remote from succour, Richard might reason- 
 ably risk something to protect his foragers. 
 
 Vainly Sir David Hall argued against so peril- 
 ous an adventure. The drawbridge was lowered, 
 and York's banner was given to the wintry wind. 
 It bore for device a Falcon volant, argent, with 
 a fetter-lock, or. The bird was depicted in the 
 effort of opening the lock, typical of the crown. 
 
 Behind the falcon-banner marched 4,000 ve- 
 terans. With the Duke there rode to his last 
 battle, Salisbury and the good knights, Thomas 
 Nevill, David Hall, John Parr, John and Hugh 
 Mortimer, Walter Limbrike, John Gedding, Eus- 
 tace Wentworth, Guy Harrington, and other not- 
 able men-at-arms. 
 
 Raising the war-cry of York, and sounding 
 trumpets, they charged through the drifting snow-
 
 158 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 flakes, and awoke the fury of the battle. The 
 Duke was out-numbered and surrounded, but 
 fought stubbornly, being nobly seconded by his 
 heroic army. Lord Clifford hotly attacked him, 
 exerting every effort to cut off his retreat. Duke 
 Richard valiantly attempted to cut his way 
 through and retire into Sandal, but Clifford as 
 sternly drew around him the iron bonds of war, 
 prevented all retreat, and held him to the trial. 
 The battle was extremely sanguinary, and the 
 Lancastrians fought as though they were the 
 red-handed arbiters of the whole dispute, and, 
 like avenging angels, must wash out the treason 
 of York in streams of blood. As Montfort fought 
 at Evesham so fought the Lord Protector that 
 day exacting the heaviest price for his doomed 
 life. Weapons whirled before his face, rang on 
 his mail, and probed the jointed armour with 
 point and edge until the good steel harness was 
 dinted and stained with gore. Many warriors 
 perished around him, and he, too, fell, sorely 
 stricken, and died in his blood, amid the tramp- 
 ling of iron-clad feet, and the clash of crossing 
 swords, as friends and foes fought hand-to-hand 
 above his body. The crisis came. The falcon- 
 banner fell, and the pursuing swords maimed
 
 THE BATTLE OF SANDAL, 159 
 
 and slew the fugitives, burdening the old year 
 with the sorrows of the widow and the orphan. 
 In the triumphant van, in the moment of victory, 
 Richard Hanson, Mayor of Hull, laid down his 
 life for Queen Margaret and her fair son. Salis- 
 bury won his way through the press, to fall by 
 headsman's axe. Rutland broke away from the 
 slaughter, reached Wakefield Bridge, to perish 
 by the steel of Clifford, happy in his early death 
 that saved him from the infamy of bloody years 
 that tarnished the fame of his brothers, March, 
 Clarence, and Gloucester. 
 
 Some chroniclers represent the Queen as com- 
 manding her army in person, and as luring the 
 Duke to meet her in open field. Dissuaded 
 from the encounter by his friends, he declared 
 that: "All men would cry wonder, and report 
 dishonour, that a woman had made a dastard of 
 me, whom no man could even to this day report 
 as a coward ! And surely my mind is rather to 
 die with honour than to live with shame ! Ad- 
 vance my banners in the name of God and of 
 St. George." This is not the York of history. 
 
 Rutland is represented as a boy, aged twelve 
 years, a spectator, not a combatant, and accom- 
 panied by his tutor, Aspall. Clifford overtook
 
 160 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 him, and demanded his name. " The young gentle- 
 man dismayed, had not a word to speak, but 
 kneeled on his knees, craving mercy and desiring 
 grace, both with holding up his hands and making 
 a dolorous countenance for his speech was gone 
 for fear." "Save him," cried Aspall, "he is a 
 prince's son, and peradventure may do you good 
 hereafter." Said Clifford, "By God's blood thy 
 father slew mine, and so will I thee and all thy 
 kin," and so smote him to the heart with his 
 dagger, and bade the chaplain, "Go, bear him to 
 his mother, and tell her what thou hast seen and 
 heard." Doubtless Clifford was as red-handed a 
 sinner as any of the barons, but probably no 
 worse. He is said to have cut off the Duke's 
 head, crowned it with paper, and carried it upon 
 a pole to the Queen, exclaiming, "Madam, your 
 war is done : here I bring your King's ransom." 
 
 Such are some popular errors, perpetuated by 
 historians who have followed the romantic ver- 
 sions of Grafton and Hall. Margaret did not 
 lure York to his fate, for she was in Scot- 
 land when the battle was fought, and he did 
 not sally out to fight a battle, but to rescue his 
 foragers. The execution of Yorkist prisoners 
 was simply a retaliation for the treason and
 
 THE BATTLE OF SANDAL. 161 
 
 I 
 
 blood-guiltiness of the Yorkists, and was carried 
 out without the Queen's knowledge. Clifford 
 may have vowed to avenge his father's death 
 upon the house of York, and Rutland may have 
 fallen to his sword : but the duke was in his 
 eighteenth year, and no doubt an approved man- 
 at-arms. As recorded, he had been attainted of 
 treason a few months prior to his death. We 
 may safely conclude that there were no school- 
 boys on Wakefield-Green on the 3Oth of Decem- 
 ber, 1460, and the only tutors there were tutors 
 in arms. 
 
 William of Wyrcester's account of the battle 
 may be considered the most probable, and best 
 authenticated : " The followers of the Duke of 
 York, having gone out to forage for provisions 
 on the 2 Qth of December, a dreadful battle was 
 fought at Wakefield between the Duke of Somer- 
 set, the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Neville, 
 and the adverse party, when the Duke of York, 
 Thomas Neville, son of the Earl of Salisbury, 
 Thomas Harrington, Thomas Parr, Edward 
 Bourchier, James Pykering, and Henry Rathforde, 
 with many other knights and squires, and soldiers 
 to the amount of two thousand, were slain in the 
 
 field. After the battle, Lord Clifford slew the 
 
 M
 
 1 62 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 young Earl of Rutland, the son of the Duke of 
 York, as he was fleeing across the bridge at 
 Wakefield ; and in the same night the Earl of 
 Salisbury was captured by a follower of Sir And. 
 Trollope, and on the morrow beheaded by the 
 Bastard of Exeter at Pontefract, where at the 
 same time the dead bodies of York, Rutland, 
 and others of note who fell in the battle, were 
 decapitated, and their heads affixed in various 
 parts of York, whilst a paper crown was placed 
 in derision on the head of the Duke of York." 
 Thus perished Duke Richard in his fiftieth year. 
 
 Edward, Earl of March, Richard's eldest son, 
 was at Gloucester when the news reached him of 
 the disaster before Sandal Castle. He promptly 
 advanced his army to intercept the Lancastrians, 
 and dispute their advance upon the capital. 
 
 Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, harassed 
 his rear with a tumultuary army of Welsh and 
 Irish troops. Marching to engage an army, 
 and alarmed by a powerful enemy in the rear, 
 was too critical a position for Edward not to 
 appreciate its danger. On the 2nd of February, 
 1461, he turned furiously upon the enemy, at 
 Mortimer's Cross, Herefordshire, and defeated 
 Pembroke with a loss of 3,800 men.
 
 THE BATTLE OF SANDAL. 163 
 
 At Hereford Edward halted, and handed over 
 to the headsman Owen Tudor, Sir John Throck- 
 morton, and eight of the Lancastrian captains 
 the captives of his sword and lance at Mortimer's 
 Cross. 
 
 London threw open its gates to the victor on 
 the 4th of March, and he was proclaimed King, 
 under the title of Edward IV.
 
 XII. THE BATTLE OF TOWTON. 
 
 A.D. 1461. 
 
 MARGARET of Anjou had the honour of 
 defeating the famous Warwick. Thus 
 Wyrcester : " After the battle of Wakefield 
 Queen Margaret came out of Scotland to York, 
 where it was decided by the Council of the 
 Lords to proceed to London and to liberate King 
 Henry out of the hands of his enemies by force 
 of arms. Shortly after the Feast of the Purifica- 
 tion, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Dukes 
 of Exeter and Somerset, the Earls of North- 
 umberland, Devonshire, and Shrewsbury, the 
 Lords Roos, Grey of Codnor, Fitzhugh, Gray- 
 stock, Welles and W T illoughby, and many others, 
 amounting in all to 24,000 men, advanced upon 
 St. Albans, and at Dunstable destroyed Sir 
 Edward Poyning, and 200 foot." 
 
 Margaret's tumultuary army consisted of Eng- 
 lish, Irish, Welsh, and Scotch troops, and their ex- 
 cesses tended to the ruin of the Lancastrian cause.
 
 THE BATTLE OF TO WTO N. 165 
 
 On the 1 7th of February the second battle of 
 St. Albans was fought. At first the Lancastrians 
 fell back before Warwick's archers, but, renewing 
 the attack, they fought their way to St. Peter's 
 Street, driving the enemy before them. On 
 reaching the heath at the north end of the town, 
 the Yorkists made a stand, and, after a furious 
 struggle, were put to the rout. Warwick lost 
 Sir John Grey of Groby, and 2,300 men. King 
 Henry was rescued from the hands of Warwick, 
 but Margaret ungenerously executed his warders, 
 Lord Bonville, and the veteran Sir Thomas 
 Kyriel, although the King had pledged his word 
 for their safety. 
 
 Margaret reached Barnet, but London feared 
 her and her rude army. When she sent for 
 " victuals and Lenten stuff," the mayor and 
 sheriffs obeyed her orders, but the commons 
 stopped the carts at Cripplegate. March and 
 Warwick were drawing near, London would not 
 admit her army, and Margaret "fled northward, 
 as fast as she might, towards York." 
 
 Henry was deposed by the Yorkists, and the 
 Earl of March declared King in his stead. Ed- 
 ward IV. carried on the war with vigour. Nor- 
 folk visited his estates to raise troops ; Warwick
 
 1 66 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 marched out with the vanguard, the infantry fol- 
 lowed, and lastly, on the i2th of March, Edward 
 issued out of Bishopgate with the rearguard. 
 
 On the 28th of March Lord Fitzwalter secured 
 Ferrybridge, but at daybreak the Lancastrians 
 fell on : Fitzwalter was slain as he issued from 
 his tent, in his night gear, to quell, as he thought, 
 a quarrel of his rude soldiery. Clifford pressed 
 the fugitives furiously, and they carried a panic 
 into the camp of Edward, that was only arrested 
 when Warwick slew his horse, swearing upon the 
 cross-hilt of his sword, that, ''Who would might 
 flee ; but he would tarry with all who were pre- 
 pared to stand and fight the battle out." 
 
 The troops recovered courage, and Edward 
 proclaimed freedom to depart for all who desired 
 to quit before the battle ; threatening severe 
 punishments to any who, remaining, manifested 
 fear in the presence of the enemy. Such cowards 
 were to be slain by their companions. No man 
 accepted the permission to retire. 
 
 Lord Fauconbridge then fell upon Clifford, 
 defeated him, and recovered the post. During 
 the retreat Clifford paused, to remove his gorget, 
 and was struck on the throat, and slain, by a 
 headless arrow.
 
 THE BATTLE OF TO WTO N. 167 
 
 Edward crossed the river, and confronted the 
 enemy on Towton field. The Lancastrians were 
 formed on an elevated ridge between Towton 
 and Saxton, and presenting a front some two 
 miles in extent. The Yorkists occupied a neigh- 
 bouring ridge. A broad battle-space lay between 
 the two armies. 
 
 The villagers were at mass in Saxton Church 
 when " the celebration with palms and spears 
 began," for it was Palm Sunday. The heavy 
 clouds hung low in the sombre sky, and as the 
 wind arose the snow began to fall heavily, and 
 was driven full into the faces of the Lancastrians. 
 
 It was nine o'clock when, from the heavy 
 masses of Edward's army, looming portentiously 
 through the thickened air, the flight arrows des- 
 cended upon the Lancastrians, and mingled with 
 the wind-driven snow. In an instant the snow 
 was red with blood, and dead and wounded men 
 encumbered the ground. 
 
 Falconberg having advanced his archers, and 
 struck the first blow, retired them, drawing the 
 Lancastrian fire. The Queen's archers shot 
 fierce and fast, but uselessly exhausted their 
 quivers, when the Yorkists took a terrible re- 
 venge, pouring a deadly sleet of arrows upon
 
 1 68 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 their enemies. It is said that they drew the 
 Lancastrian arrows from the soil, leaving a few 
 to impede the Queen's advance. 
 
 Somerset determined to close, and ordered a 
 general advance. Knights dashed from point to 
 point along the lines ; Northumberland and Trol- 
 lope closed their decimated ranks, and moved to 
 the attack. Edward's army had suffered little, 
 and was kept well in hand. It advanced steadily 
 to meet the tide of war that surged madly forward 
 through the mirk air and falling snow. 
 
 King Edward commanded the centre : the 
 lion of England crested his helmet, he carried a 
 long lance, with a peculiar vamplate, and the 
 crimson velvet housings of his steed were powdered 
 with suns and white roses. When the armies 
 joined battle, he dismounted, and fought on foot. 
 Warwick commanded the right wing, Lord 
 Falconberg the left, and Sir John Denman 
 and Sir John Venloe were in charge of the rear- 
 guard. 
 
 " As if battle were the gate of Paradise, and 
 the future an incomprehensible dream, they raised 
 against each other a tumultous shout of execra- 
 tion and defiance." The front ranks struck, with 
 shivering of knightly lances on the wings, and
 
 THE BATTLE OF TO WTO N. 169 
 
 with deadly play of mauls, of bills and pikes in 
 the van. The slaughter was dreadful : the moans 
 of the dying were drowned in the clashing of steel, 
 fierce war-cries, and the rush of stormy winds. 
 Savagely assailed, and beaten by the pitiless, 
 incessant snow, the Lancastrians valiantly main- 
 tained their ground, although their original superi- 
 ority in numbers was more than balanced by 
 their first losses and their exposed position. The 
 front ranks fought desperately, for Edward of 
 York had issued orders that no quarter should 
 be extended to the vanquished. The archers 
 of York poured their last arrows into the rear 
 of the Queen's army. 
 
 Norfolk should have commanded the van, but, 
 seized with a sudden sickness, he had remained 
 at Pontefract with the rear-guard. His orders 
 were to bring forward his command, with any 
 reinforcements that might reach him. Edward 
 anxiously awaited his arrival. The battle raged 
 for hours ; the imprisoned peasantry in ' Saxton 
 Church fearfully awaited the end ; and Edward 
 was scarcely less anxious, for the murderous 
 butchery of the hand-to-hand fight favoured 
 neither army. Norfolk was steadily marching 
 through the wintery weather with his hardy
 
 170 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 soldiers, and messenger after messenger reached 
 him requesting him to hurry up the reserves. 
 
 The form of battle was lost, as the two hosts 
 were locked in the sanguinary struggle. The 
 dark and stormy day was glooming to a wild and 
 early night, when a louder tumult of battle rose 
 on the Lancastrian left flank at North Acres. 
 Norfolk was on the field, and had struck his 
 enemy. The Lancastrians could not bear up 
 under the augmented storm, and the retreat com- 
 menced. In the confusion the retiring wings 
 struck each other, and the difficulties of the posi- 
 tion were increased. Edward urged his infuriated 
 soldiery to unsparing vengeance, and the Lancas- 
 trians turned again and again upon their pursuers. 
 Ere they reached the river Cock a tributary of 
 the Wharfe the Lancastrian army had merged 
 into a dense and tumultuary crowd of fugitives, 
 upon whose flank and rear the Yorkists hung with 
 the blood-thirsty fury of barbarians. On reaching 
 the stream the massacre became frightful, and the 
 waters were tinged with gore and darkened with 
 the slain, and are stated to have communicated 
 their dreadful burthen and sanguinary stains to the 
 Wharfe. For three days the Lancastrians were 
 hunted out and butchered by the victors.
 
 THE BATTLE OF TO WTO N. 171 
 
 On the gloomy night of that fatal 2Qth of 
 March, 1461, a stormy rout of knights and men- 
 at-arms urged their jaded war-horses through the 
 narrow streets of York, calling loudly upon the 
 King and Queen to mount in hot haste and ride 
 for their lives. That night the King and Queen, 
 with the young prince, rode through Bootham, 
 through the gloom of Galtres forest, fugitives, en 
 route for Scotland. 
 
 The total loss was computed at 40,000 souls, 
 the Lancastrians being heavily in excess. The 
 death-roll contains the names of the Earls of 
 Northumberland, Westmoreland, and Shrewsbury ; 
 of Lords Dacres and Wells, and Sir Andrew 
 Trollope. 
 
 At York Edward executed the Earls of Devon- 
 shire and Ormond, Sir Baldwin Fulford, Sir 
 William Talboys, and Sir William Hill. The 
 Earl of Wiltshire suffered at Newcastle on the 
 ist of May. The heads of York and Salisbury 
 were replaced by those of Devonshire and Hill. 
 
 According to tradition, " The Lord Dacres was 
 slain in Nor-acres." Having removed his gorget 
 he was shot in the throat by the cross-bow bolt 
 of a lad lurking behind a burtree, or elder-bush. 
 
 The blood and snow froze on the field of
 
 172 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Towton, and when the thaw came the furrows 
 overflowed with mingling blood and water. 
 The slain were buried in vast pits ; and there 
 is a strange legendary belief that the roses 
 which so persistently flourish upon the field, 
 and the petals of which are pure white, slightly 
 flushed with red, sprang from the commingling 
 blood of the partisans of the red and white roses. 
 
 Edward was duly crowned, but his throne was 
 threatened by the plots of the Lancastrians, al- 
 though he kept the headsman's axe steadily at 
 work. In 1462 the Scots caused some trouble in the 
 North; and, towards the close of the year, Margaret 
 appeared in arms, but precipitately retired without 
 being able to make head against the King. 
 
 In 1464 Margaret again appeared in the 
 North, when the gallant Sir Ralph Percy was 
 slain on Hedgely Moor, fighting for the red 
 rose. The battle of Hexham followed a rout 
 of the Lancastrians, whose leaders, Somerset, 
 Ross, and Hungerford, were executed. 
 
 Sir Ralph Grey having betrayed Bamborough 
 Castle to the Queen, and then defended it against 
 Edward, was executed at Doncaster. 
 
 Margaret escaped, but Henry ultimately fell into 
 Edward's hands, and was committed to the Tower.
 
 XIII. YORKSHIRE UNDER THE 
 TUDORS. 
 
 EDWARD IV. disgusted the Earl of War- 
 wick by espousing Elizabeth, widow of 
 Sir John Grey, of Groby, and the Yorkshire 
 rising:, known as the Thrave of St. Leonard, 
 
 o' 
 
 followed. The defeat and death of the royal 
 captains, the Earls of Devon and Pembroke, was 
 succeeded by Edward's confinement in Middle- 
 ham Castle, and his escape to the Continent, 
 when Warwick restored King Henry to the 
 throne. On the I4th March, 1471, Edward 
 landed at Ravenser Spurn and defeated Warwick 
 at the battle of Barnet, when the king-maker and 
 his brother Montacute were slain. On the day 
 of Barnet, Queen Margaret, her son and his 
 bride, landed at Weymouth, and the battle of 
 Tewkesbury was fought on the 4th May, when 
 Prince Edward was slain, and Queen Margaret 
 captured. Edward was now firmly fixed upon 
 the throne, and in 1478 he requited the numerous
 
 174 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 treacheries of his brother Clarence by procuring 
 his condemnation on a charge of high treason. 
 Clarence perished in the Tower, either being 
 drowned in a butt of wine, or permitted to drink 
 himself to death. On the Qth of April, 1483, 
 Edward IV. departed this life, leaving two sons, 
 Edward and Richard. Richard, Duke of Glou- 
 cester, promptly appeared upon the scene, seized 
 Lord Rivers, the Queen's brother, and Lord 
 Grey, her son, and sent them to Pontefract, 
 where they were executed. Procuring possession 
 of the persons of his nephews, he caused them to 
 be murdered, and usurped the throne. Nemesis 
 followed him; he lost his only son, and was 
 defeated and slain at Bosworth Field by Henry 
 Tudor, who espoused Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Edward IV., and was crowned under the title of 
 Henry VII. Richard had proclaimed John 
 De-la-Pole, Earl of Lincoln, heir presumptive to 
 the throne, but this unfortunate nobleman was 
 slain at the Battle of Stoke, ostensibly fighting in 
 the cause of the Pretender, Lambert Simnel. 
 The wars of the Roses were now ended, and 
 Henry concluded the series of diabolical tragedies 
 by obtaining the condemnation and execution of 
 the Earl of Warwick, Clarence's son, and the
 
 HENRY VIII. 175 
 
 lineal heir to the throne. He was judicially 
 murdered on the 24th November, 1499. 
 
 Henry's love of gold led to a revolt in York- 
 shire, A.D. 1489, when the people, furious against 
 the imposition of a tax, murdered the Earl of 
 Northumberland, and took up arms; to be 
 defeated and severely punished. 
 
 Henry VIII. succeeded to the throne, and by 
 the suppression of the monasteries roused the 
 indignation of the Yorkshire people, who made 
 an armed remonstrance, known as the Pilgrimage 
 of Grace. But for the moderation of the people, 
 Henry's throne might have been overturned, and 
 His Majesty requited their loyalty by wholesale 
 executions, and by hanging Sir Robert Constable 
 over the Beverley gate at Hull, and executing 
 Robert Aske at York. Another of the leaders, 
 Lord Darcy, was executed on Tower Hill. 
 
 The reign of Edward VI. witnessed a tumul- 
 tuary outbreak at Seamer, consequent upon 
 changes that had been made in the forms of 
 religious worship. It was promptly put down by 
 troops from York, and the ringleaders were 
 executed. 
 
 During the reign of Queen Mary there was 
 some little excitement in Yorkshire, consequent
 
 176 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 upon Sir Thomas Wyat's insurrection, when 
 Thomas, son of Lord Stafford, seized Scarborough 
 Castle, and paid with his life for the daring 
 exploit. 
 
 The nation was sorely disturbed by the compli- 
 cations resulting from the lust and religion of 
 Henry VIII., when Elizabeth ascended the 
 throne, and Her Majesty's interference with the 
 affairs of Scotland, and her imprisonment of Mary 
 Stuart, added to the difficulties of the position. 
 
 The Northern Rising, headed by Thomas 
 Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and Charles 
 Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, occurred in 
 November, 1569, and was promptly suppressed, 
 and followed by the customary severities. 
 
 Fortunately royal lines die out, and with 
 Elizabeth the Tudors ceased ; but only to entail 
 upon the nation the wars and revolutions resulting 
 from the follies of the Stuarts.
 
 XIV. THE BATTLE OF TADCASTER. 
 
 A.D. 1642. 
 
 WHEN Charles I. visited Hull in 1639, he 
 was most loyally received by the people; 
 but his second visit, on the 23rd of April, 1642, 
 ended in a bitter disappointment, and brought on 
 the resort to arms. His power had waned, the 
 Star Chamber was a tyranny of the past; Stafford 
 was surrendered to the block, and Laud was in 
 prison. 
 
 Before Charles reached the town, he was 
 requested to defer his visit, and on appearing be- 
 fore the Beverley gate, he found it closed, the draw- 
 bridge raised, shotted cannon frowning upon him, 
 pikemen and musketeers holding the ramparts. 
 
 Sir John Hotham dare not for his life admit the 
 King. Vain the orders, the threats, the per- 
 suasions of Charles ; he was compelled to retire, 
 after commanding the garrison to hurl the traitor 
 over the walls. Sir John was deeply distressed ; 
 he had heard himself proclaimed a traitor by the
 
 178 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 royal heralds, who sounded trumpets before the 
 walls. 
 
 On the 3rd of June, the nobility and gentry of 
 Yorkshire met the King on Heworth Moor, and 
 from that day the nation was virtually in arms. 
 
 On the 2nd of July, the Royalists occupied 
 Hull Bridge, and the " Providence " entered the 
 Humber with military stores for the King. 
 Hotham attempted to capture the stores, but his 
 troops were driven back, and the munitions of 
 war were carted to York, being escorted by a 
 large force of the King's friends. 
 
 Shortly after Hull was besieged, and the banks 
 of the river being cut, the country around was 
 submerged. Batteries were erected and the town 
 cannonaded, but with little effect. As the month 
 waned, sorties were organised, and the royal lines 
 penetrated. One day the foot were scattered 
 and the royal cavalry had to retire to Beverley. 
 Reinforcements from London encouraged Sir 
 John Meldrum, who assisted in the defence, in 
 repeating the sorties. On one occasion the Earl 
 of Newport was hoisted out of his saddle by a 
 cannon ball, and hurled into a ditch. He was 
 with difficulty rescued, being reduced to a state of 
 insensibility. The siege was raised.
 
 THE BATTLE OF TADCASTER. 179 
 
 At Nottingham, on the 25th of August, Charles 
 raised his standard. It was blood-red, bore the 
 royal arms, quartered, with a hand pointing to the 
 endangered crown, and the motto, '' Give to 
 Caesar his due." It was almost instantly levelled 
 with the ground as a sudden blast of wind swept 
 with a weird moaning across the face of the hill. 
 
 Cumberland maintained the King's cause in the 
 loyal North, and to counteract his influence, 
 Parliament appointed Lord Fairfax to the com- 
 mand of the Northern forces, his son, Sir Thomas, 
 acting as General of Horse. 
 
 Various skirmishes ensued, Fairfax operating 
 from his head-quarters at Tadcaster. On one 
 occasion the loyal city of York was insulted by 
 one of Fairfax's officers, who fired a pistol in 
 Micklegate Bar. 
 
 At Wetherby, the younger Fairfax was sur- 
 prised by Sir Thomas Glemham, but the 
 explosion of a powder magazine induced the 
 Royalists to draw off. Sir Thomas was in great 
 peril, being repeatedly fired upon at close 
 quarters. Major Carr, of the King's army, was 
 slain, and the Parliamentarian Captain Atkinson 
 was mortally wounded, his thigh being fractured 
 by the repeated blows of pistols.
 
 i8o YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 The Earl of Newcastle assuming the command 
 of the Cavaliers, attacked Fairfax at Tadcaster. 
 A bridge over the Wharfe led to the main street 
 of Tadcaster, and Fairfax cast up a breastwork to 
 command this bridge, while he posted musketeers 
 in a number of houses that flanked the position. 
 The attack commenced on the morning of Tues- 
 day, the 7th of December, eight hundred 
 Parliamentarians withstanding the numerous army 
 of Newcastle. When Fairfax beheld Newcastle's 
 cavaliers marching down the York Road, and 
 over the fields on each side, he resolved to 
 evacuate the town, perceiving the impossibility of 
 holding it against so numerous an enemy. It 
 was, however, too late to retire in the face of the 
 enemy, and the troops had barely time to occupy 
 the position at the bridge before Newcastle made 
 a determined attack upon them. Planting two 
 demi-culverins to command the bridge, and 
 hurrying up his infantry, Newcastle opened the 
 ball at eleven o'clock. For five hours the 
 cavaliers attacked, and the Parliamentarians 
 as gallantly defended the position. 
 
 Again and again the King's men came steadily 
 on, with pikes in the front, and the musketeers 
 firing and reloading with the most determined
 
 THE BATTLE OF TADCASTER. 181 
 
 courage ; but ere they could reach the breastwork 
 the brave men of Nunappleton and Denton, and 
 the stout-hearted burghers of Bradford and 
 Bingley, smote them with a storm of shot, 
 shattered and thinned their ranks sending them 
 back to re-form and renew the attack with the 
 same obstinate but unavailing courage. After a 
 while the fight slackened, the Royalists lining the 
 hedges and maintaining a brisk exchange of shot 
 with their adversaries. 
 
 It was important that Newcastle should effect a 
 lodgment within the lines of defence by carrying 
 the houses on the river banks, and several 
 desperate attempts to effect this were made. 
 Some fierce conflicts resulted, and many men 
 were slain. At length Newcastle carried one of 
 the houses that commanded the main body of the 
 Parliamentarians. In this strait, Major-General 
 Gifford was ordered forward to retake the lost 
 positions. Some heavy fighting at close quarters 
 ensued, and pike and sword were red with blood, 
 and the soil cumbered with the slain and wounded, 
 before the stubborn Royalists were driven out, 
 and the buildings re-occupied. 
 
 As the shades of evening closed over the 
 mournful scene of slaughter and confusion, New-
 
 1 82 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 castle sent forward another party against one of 
 the houses. It was his last effort, and was 
 gallantly made ; but the hail of bullets smote so 
 fiercely in the face of the division, that it was 
 driven back in confusion, with some loss of men, 
 including Captain Lister, a young and promising 
 officer, whose death was deeply lamented. 
 
 Newcastle drew off, intending to renew the 
 attack on the following morning. Upwards of a 
 hundred dead and wounded men were left upon 
 the field. 
 
 Lord Fairfax retained the honours of the field, 
 but was compelled to retire his forces, and accord- 
 ingly occupied the town of Selby. His position 
 was extremely precarious, and he was deeply 
 distressed by the necessity of leaving the towns of 
 the West exposed to the attacks of their powerful 
 enemies.
 
 XV. THE BATTLE OF LEEDS. 
 
 A.D. 1643. 
 
 ON the 1 4th December, Sir Thomas Fairfax 
 and the gallant Captain Hotham sallied 
 out of Selby, and stormed Sherborn, to come 
 back on the spur, closely pursued by the enraged 
 Goring. 
 
 Sir William Savile, of Thornhill, compelled 
 Leeds and Wakefield to surrender ; and on Sun- 
 day, December i8th, attacked Bradford with 200 
 foot, six troops of dragoons, and five of horse. 
 A spirited engagement ensued, and the Royalists 
 were beaten off. Shortly after, Sir Thomas made 
 a night-march through the Royalist lines, and 
 entered Bradford with 300 foot and three troops 
 of horse. 
 
 Reinforced by numerous recruits Sir Thomas 
 resolved to attack Sir William Savile, who was 
 strongly entrenched in Leeds. The approaches 
 from the Bridge and Hunslet Lane were defended 
 by breastworks, and two demi-culverins com-
 
 1 84 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 manded the long, broad Briggate, or principal 
 street. 
 
 On Monday, January 23rd, 1643, Fairfax 
 summoned the town with 2,000 clubmen, 1,000 
 musketeers, six troops of horse, and three of 
 dragoons at his back. Sir William Savile re- 
 joined by a gallant defiance, having 1,500 foot 
 and 500 horse posted in the town. Sir Thomas 
 had formed his troops in two divisions to storm 
 both sides of the town, and they advanced to 
 attack as a snowstorm burst over the moor. 
 
 The watchword was " E manual," and with 
 sounding trumpets Sergeant-Major Forbes and 
 Captain Hodgson fell on at the head of five 
 companies of foot and one of dismounted 
 dragoons. They were saluted with a volley of 
 musketry, all but inoperative. The musketeers 
 had aimed too high. 
 
 The roar of battle rose at the end of Ludgate, 
 when Sir William Fairfax and Sir Thomas Nor- 
 cliffe assaulted the entrenchments, and was an- 
 swered from the south side of the river, where 
 the stormers were fighting their way to the south 
 end of the bridge. Here they established them- 
 selves, and flanked the defenders of the works 
 at the north-end of the bridge, who were
 
 THE BATTLE OF LEEDS. 185 
 
 holding Forbes and his stormers in check. Sir 
 William Savile ordered up one of the demi- 
 culverins, and planted it upon the bridge, to 
 arrest the Parliamentarian advance. Maitland, 
 who led the attack, despatched a party of 
 dragoons to the waterside, and compelled the 
 defenders of the lower breastwork to retire, when 
 Forbes occupied the deserted position. Schofield, 
 a minister of Halifax, celebrated this success by 
 singing a verse of the Ixvii. psalm ; and as it was 
 concluded the cheers of the dragoons announced 
 the evacuation of the upper breastwork. Still 
 singing the psalm, Forbes charged up the Brig- 
 gate, and captured the demi-culverins. Here 
 they were met by Sir William Fairfax, who had 
 gallantly forced his way into the town. 
 
 Fairfax had stormed three positions, and cap- 
 tured Leeds, after three hours of close fighting. 
 His conduct was highly eulogised. 
 
 Sir William Savile and the Rev. Mr. Robinson 
 swam their horses across the Aire, and escaped. 
 Unhappily Captain Beaumont was drowned in 
 the attempt. 
 
 Fairfax lost about twenty men, and took 460 
 prisoners, the two demi-culverins, a number of 
 muskets, and fourteen barrels of gunpowder.
 
 1 86 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 The prisoners were allowed to depart on en- 
 gaging not to arm against Parliament. 
 
 Sir Thomas Fairfax being in delicate health 
 returned to the head-quarters at Selby. New- 
 castle withdrew from Wakefield, and concentrated 
 his army at York, leaving the country between 
 Selby and the West open to the Fairfaxes, who 
 occupied Howley Hall, between Wakefield and 
 Bradford.
 
 XVI. THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD. 
 
 A.D. 1643. 
 
 WHILE the Fairfaxes held Selby, Queen 
 Henrietta landed at Bridlington, where 
 she was briskly cannonaded by Vice-Admiral 
 Batten, whose ungallant conduct was generally 
 reprobated. Fairfax offered her Majesty an 
 escort of Yorkshire Parliamentarians. 
 
 The plots of the Hothams closed Hull to the 
 Fairfaxes, and they resolved to march to Leeds, 
 a distance of twenty miles, although exposed to a 
 Hank attack. Sir Thomas drew off the enemy by 
 marching a division in the direction of Tadcaster, 
 thus enabling Lord Fairfax to carry the main 
 body to Leeds. 
 
 The Royalists believed that Sir Thomas had 
 designs upon York, and Goring followed hot upon 
 his track, and on Whin Moor, near the village of 
 Seacroft, charged his rear and right flank, and 
 dispersed the Parliamentarians, of whom a few 
 were wounded or slain, and many were captured.
 
 i88 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 After a sharp pursuit and some shrewd blows, 
 Sir Thomas Fairfax and Sir Henry Foulis reached 
 Leeds with a few troopers. 
 
 Chiefly for the purpose of obtaining prisoners 
 for the exchange of his captured soldiers, Sir 
 Thomas resolved to make an attempt upon Wake- 
 field, then held by Goring with seven troops of 
 horse and six regiments of foot. Outworks, 
 trenches, breastworks, and several cannon 
 defended the town. 
 
 The Royalist officers were given to drinking 
 and playing at bowls, and although aware of Fair- 
 fax's advance, he found some officers in liquor 
 when the attack began. Doubtless this refers to 
 the few; the majority would be on the alert like 
 gallant and loyal gentlemen. 
 
 At midnight on Saturday, the 2oth of May, 
 Sir Thomas marched from Howley with 1,500 
 horse and foot, drawn from the garrisons of Leeds, 
 Bradford, Halifax, and Howley. At four o'clock, 
 he approached Wakefield, to find the enemy on 
 the alert. Driving a body of horse out of Stanley, 
 he assailed Wrengate and Northgate. Major- 
 General Gifford, Sir Henry Foulis, Sir William 
 Fairfax, and other brave officers, supported Sir 
 Thomas. The stormers were saluted bv a hot
 
 THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD. 189 
 
 fire from muskets and cannon, but suffered little 
 thereby. Undaunted by their hot reception, the 
 stormers faced the hail of shot and fell on with 
 pike and musket, capturing the works and turning 
 the guns upon the enemy. Driving the cavaliers 
 before him, Fairfax cleared the streets, capturing, 
 with many others, General Goring, Sir Thomas 
 Bland, Lieut. -Colonel Sir Geo. Wentworth, 
 Lieut.-Colonel Saint George, Lieut. -Colonel Mac- 
 moyler, Sergt. -Major Carr, Captains Carr, Knight, 
 Wildbore, Rueston, Pemberton, Croft, Ledgard, 
 Lashley, Kayley, and Nuttall ; Capt.-Lieut. 
 Benson, Sergt.-Major Carnabie. Left wounded 
 in Wakefield, upon their engagement to be true 
 prisoners, Lieutenants Munckton, Thomas, Wheat- 
 ley, Kent, Nicholson ; Ensigns Squire, Vavasor, 
 Masken, Lampton, Ducket, Stockhold, Baldwin- 
 son, Davis, Carr, Gibson, Smathweight, Ballinson, 
 Watson, Smelt, H ally burton, and Cornet Wivell 
 
 Too weak to retain his conquest, Fairfax 
 marched off in triumph with his prisoners, 
 captured cannon, colours, arms, ammunition, etc. 
 
 London greatly rejoiced on receiving news of the 
 victory. Parliament ordered public thanksgivings 
 to be observed in the city ; and in the churches 
 and chapels narratives of the action were read.
 
 1 90 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 The following is the official account of the 
 battle, as made to Lord Fairfax : "On Saturday 
 night, the 2Oth of May, the Lord General Fairfax 
 gave orders for a party of i ,000 foot, three com- 
 panies of dragoons, and eight troops of horse, 
 to march from the garrison of Leeds, Bradford, 
 Halifax, and Howley ; Sir Thomas Fairfax 
 commanded in chief. The foot were commanded 
 by Sergt.-Major-General Gifford and Sir William 
 Fairfax. The horse were divided into two bodies, 
 four troops commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax, 
 and the other four troops by Sir Henry 
 Foulis ; Howley was the rendezvous, where they 
 all met on Saturday last, about twelve o'clock of 
 night ; about two next morning they marched 
 away, and coming to Stanley, where two of the 
 enemy's troops lay, with some dragoons, that 
 quarter was beaten up, and about one-and-twenty 
 prisoners taken. About four o'clock in the morn- 
 ing we came before Wakefield, where, after some 
 of their horse were beaten into the town, the foot, 
 with unspeakable courage, beat the enemies from 
 the hedges, which they had lined with musketeers, 
 into the town, and assaulted it in two places, 
 Westgate and Northgate, and after an hour and a 
 half fight, we recovered one of their pieces, and
 
 THE BATTLE OF WAKEFIELD. 191 
 
 turned it upon them, and entered the town at both 
 places at one and the same time. When the 
 baracadoes were opened, Sir Thomas Fairfax, 
 with the horse, fell into the town, and cleared the 
 street, when Colonel Goring was taken by Lieut. 
 Alured, brother to Captain Alured, a member of 
 the house ; yet in the Market Place there stood 
 three troops of horse and Colonel Lampton's 
 regiment, to whom Major-General Gifford sent a 
 trumpet with offer of quarter, if they would lay 
 down their arms. They answered they scorned 
 the motion. Then he fired a piece of their own 
 ordnance upon them, and the horse fell in among 
 them, beat them out of the town, and took all 
 their officers, expressed in the enclosed list, 
 twenty-seven colours of foot, three cornets of 
 horse, and about 1,500 common soldiers. The 
 enemy had in the town 3,000 foot and seven 
 troops of horse, besides Colonel Lampton's 
 regiment, which came into the town after he had 
 entered the town. The enemy left behind them 
 three pieces of ordnance, with ammunition, which 
 we brought away. Signed, Thomas Fairfax, 
 Henry Foulis, John Gifford, William Fairfax, 
 John Holmes, Robert Foulis, Titus Leigh ton, 
 Francis Talbott."
 
 XVII. THE BATTLE OF ADWALTON 
 MOOR. 
 
 WITH an army of 12,000 men at his back 
 the Marquis of Newcastle was bound to 
 clear Yorkshire of the Parliamentarians. Having 
 stormed Howley Hall, he marched upon Brad- 
 ford, halting on Adwalton Moor on the 2Qth 
 of June, 1643 ; making a careful disposition of 
 his army, and placing his artillery in position, as 
 though apprehensive of an attack from his active 
 and daring opponents. 
 
 The audacity of the Fairfaxes was justified by 
 their desperate position. Hull was closed to 
 them by the defection of the Hothams ; the 
 open towns of the West were exhausted, and 
 they were surrounded by enemies in the heart 
 of a hostile country. 
 
 While Newcastle was encamping on Adwalton 
 Moor, Fairfax was preparing to march upon him 
 at four o'clock on the following morning. The 
 excitement in Bradford was intense. The sue-
 
 THE BATTLE OF AD WALTON MOOR. 193 
 
 cess of Fairfax could alone deliver them from 
 the hands of the Royalists, who were deeply 
 exasperated against the stubborn burghers. 
 
 The march of the Parliamentarians was delayed 
 until eight o'clock, in consequence of the tardiness 
 or treachery of Major-General Gifford, if we may 
 believe the grumblings of Sir Thomas Fairfax, 
 who was doubtless impatient to be at the enemy. 
 
 The main body of the Cavaliers was posted 
 before the hamlet of Adwalton, and a " Forlorn 
 Hope," as the advanced guard was called, held 
 the Westgate Hill, half a mile distant from the 
 army. 
 
 Here Fairfax dealt his first blow, and swept 
 the Cavaliers before his advancing army. So 
 first blood was claimed, and scattered on the 
 turf lay the mangled forms of many brave men, 
 their cold, still faces looking doubly pallid and 
 sad in the bright morning sunshine. 
 
 Jutting out from the main road by Westgate 
 Hill, Hodgson's Lane led up to Newcastle's 
 position, and entered Warren's Lane, opening 
 on the moor from Gomersal. 
 
 Lord Fairfax, with 3,000 men against 12,000, 
 had to fight a defensive battle, and lining the 
 hedges at the head of Warren's Lane with
 
 i 9 4 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 musketeers, he ordered Gifford to move down 
 Hodgson's Lane upon Newcastle's position. 
 
 The ground was scarcely occupied before twelve 
 troops of cavalry swept across the moor, trumpets 
 sounding, armour clashing, and the long, thin 
 rapiers flashing back the morning's sun. Ere 
 they reached the Roundheads, the muskets flashed 
 from the hedge-rows, and as the white smoke 
 drifted on the breeze, and the loud report rang 
 out, the gallant Cavaliers retired with thinned 
 and disordered ranks, leaving Colonel Howard 
 and many other gallant men dead upon the 
 field. Again they charged, again broke before 
 the deadly fire of the musketeers, leaving 
 another colonel upon the field. Then Fairfax 
 charged, and bore them, sorely buffeted 
 and cut-up, before his strong riders, until 
 they found protection beneath the muzzle of 
 their cannon. 
 
 Gifford was handling his infantry with such 
 address that Newcastle's spirits drooped, and he 
 thought of commanding a retreat. But he had 
 bold, strong gentlemen beneath his banners, and 
 Colonel Skerton, heading a stand of pikes, broke 
 Gifford's ranks, and made deadly work as the 
 royal horse followed his charge. The Parlia-
 
 THE BATTLE OF AD WALTON MOOR. 195 
 
 mentarians were not allowed time to rally, but 
 were driven into Bradford. 
 
 Sir Thomas had no order to retire, and was 
 not aware of the defeat of his father's command. 
 For some time he maintained his ground, and 
 succeeded in carrying his troops into Halifax. 
 
 The next morning he was in Bradford. A 
 day of heavy fighting followed, but the place 
 could not be maintained. Sir Thomas attempted 
 to pass through the royal lines, but his party was 
 dispersed, and his wife captured by the enemy. 
 He gained Leeds, where the news arrived that 
 the Hothams had been arrested, and Hull was 
 open to the Parliamentarians. The Fairfaxes 
 resolved to make the attempt to reach the 
 fortress, and succeeded after many perils, Sir 
 Thomas being shot through the wrist during a 
 skirmish, and fainting from excessive pain and 
 loss of blood.
 
 XVIII. THE BATTLE AT HULL. 
 
 A.D. 1643. 
 
 NEWCASTLE marched upon Hull, drove 
 Sir Thomas Fairfax out of Beverley, and 
 besieged the town with 12,000 foot and 4,000 
 horse, on the 2nd of September, 1643. Attempts 
 were made to command the H umber by the 
 erection of forts at Hessle and Paull, and red- 
 hot shot were thrown into the town. A sally was 
 beaten back, but the besiegers were hindered by 
 the cutting of the banks of the Hull and H umber, 
 when the country around was laid under water. 
 Oliver Cromwell and Lord Willoughby of Par- 
 ham visited the town to consult with the Fairfaxes 
 as to the best measures for the defence, but ap- 
 peared satisfied that it could be maintained. The 
 sorties of the garrison were spirited, and attended 
 with some success. On the 9th October the 
 Royalists attempted to carry the town by es- 
 calade, and almost succeeded. The Charter 
 House battery was stormed, but re-captured, and
 
 THE BA TTLE A T HULL. 1 9 7 
 
 many lives were lost. The gallant Captain 
 Strickland was slain while leading the stormers. 
 On the morning of the nth of October a pitched 
 battle was fought before the town. Fairfax 
 organised a force of 1,500 men, drawn from the 
 garrison, burghers, and the crews of the war- 
 ships in the H umber. 
 
 Meldrum and Lord Fairfax issued out of the 
 Hessle and Beverley gates, and took the Roy- 
 alists by surprise, driving them out of their 
 works ; but being assailed by fresh troops from 
 the main body of the besiegers, they were very 
 roughly handled, and driven under the town 
 walls, when the cannon opened upon the Cava- 
 liers, and enabled Meldrum and Fairfax to 
 re-form their troops. 
 
 Supported by the fire of the town guns, the 
 Parliamentarians renewed their attack ; and, in 
 the face of a heavy fire, stormed the enemy's 
 works, the dispute being very severe, and the 
 fighting stubbornly maintained at close quarters. 
 Newcastle's warriors made a gallant attempt to 
 re-conquer their lost forts, but the cannon were 
 turned upon them, and the Parliamentarians 
 repulsed every attack. After three hours of 
 hard fighting the Cavaliers retired, having re-
 
 198 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 ceived over one hundred discharges of the town 
 guns. 
 
 An anxious night was passed, for the Parlia- 
 mentarians expected Newcastle to renew his 
 attempts to regain his forts and cannon, but 
 the Marquis had suffered heavily, and, taking 
 council with his officers, resolved to abandon 
 the siege, and retire under cover of the night. 
 His main army retired upon York, securing the 
 retreat by breaking down bridges and obstructing 
 the roads. 
 
 The men of Hull rejoiced in the capture of 
 two famous cannon, Gog and Magog, a demi- 
 culverin, four small drakes mounted on one 
 carriage, two large brass drakes, and a saker. 
 
 The burghers spent the following day in public 
 thanksgiving, and thus observed the anniversary 
 of their deliverance until the restoration of the 
 Stuarts.
 
 XIX. THE BATTLE OF SELBY. 
 
 A.D. 1644. 
 
 IN 1644 King and Parliament were so closely 
 matched that any accession of strength to 
 either party would tend to the speedy conclusion 
 of the conflict. When, on the 4th of March, the 
 Earl of Leven occupied Sunderland with 30,000 
 Scots, reinforcements for Parliament, the greatest 
 concern was felt by all good Cavaliers, and the 
 Marquis of Newcastle promptly brought up his 
 Yorkshire Royalists, and held Leven at bay. 
 
 In this strait Sir Thomas Fairfax was ordered 
 to the North to reinforce the Scots with cavalry, 
 and enable them to engage the King's men. 
 Lord Fairfax joined his son near Hull, and, 
 augmenting his forces, it was resolved to attack 
 Selby, which was defended by barricades, and 
 garrisoned by a strong force of foot and horse 
 under the command of Colonel Bellasis, the son 
 of Lord Falconberg. 
 
 On the iith of April, 1644, the Parliament-
 
 200 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 arians advanced to the storm. The army was 
 formed into three divisions, commanded by Lord 
 Fairfax, Sir John Meldrum, and Colonel Bright. 
 Sir Thomas Fairfax supported with his cavalry. 
 The steady advance was met by the red flash 
 of the guns, and the smoke rose and drifted 
 over the front. But the drums beat on, the 
 pikemen held bravely to the front, and the 
 musketeers began to handle their guns, as 
 the front ranks poured into the trenches, leaving 
 on the green sward behind them the silent forms 
 of slain men, whose white, drawn faces looked very 
 sad in the midst of the fresh young grass, and 
 under the shifting April clouds. In the trenches 
 and by the barricades some hot work went on, 
 with clash of pikes and hail of bullets, until the 
 Cavaliers were fairly beaten from their defences, 
 and their reluctant officers, failing to rally their 
 disordered ranks, retired them from the front. 
 The lines were won, but Colonel Bellasis held 
 the open ground with his horse, ready to sweep 
 back the hostile foot should they attempt any 
 further advance, and a desultory fire of musketry 
 was maintained, until Sir Thomas Fairfax suc- 
 ceeded, after a fierce struggle, in breaking down 
 a barricade and making way for his horse. Then
 
 THE BATTLE OF SELBY. 201 
 
 the files of heavy cavalry came crashing over the 
 disputed ground, beating under hoof the heaps 
 of debris and rubbish, and overthrowing all who 
 strove with pike and musket to bar their path. 
 Sir Thomas occupied the ground between the 
 houses and the river, when, with trumpets sound- 
 ing the charge, a numerous body of royal horse 
 bore down upon them. The charge was gallantly 
 received, and a severe conflict ensued, when, 
 beaten back by dint of steel and lead, the Roy- 
 alists broke away in confusion, and availing 
 themselves of the bridge of boats, crossed the 
 river and took to flight. 
 
 Scarcely had the panting warriors time to 
 re-form their disordered ranks before the fiery 
 Bellasis burst upon them in a furious charge, 
 eager to avenge his defeated horse. Cold steel 
 met in thrust and parry ; the pistols flashed, and 
 brave men fell thickly as, hand-to-hand, in dust 
 and smoke, the sharp hot melee held ; then rider- 
 less steeds broke away from the shock ; Sir 
 Thomas was hurled from his steed amid plunging 
 hoofs and slashing steel, but was rescued by his 
 gallant troopers, and re-mounted. The Cavaliers 
 fought as King's men should that day, but were 
 over-weighted by Fairfax's heavy horse, and
 
 202 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 driven off in headlong flight for York, leaving 
 Colonel Bellasis a prisoner in the hands of the 
 victorious Roundheads. 
 
 In the meantime the Parliamentarian foot had 
 made good their hold of the town, and accepted 
 the surrender of the royal foot. 
 
 The results of this engagement were remark- 
 able. The Fairfaxes had only defeated some 
 two or three thousand men, and wrested a small 
 town from the King's hands, yet the strong city 
 of York trembled for its safety, and Newcastle 
 was urgently requested to return and defend the 
 county. He complied. The Scots were at liberty. 
 Fairfax immediately joined them with his little 
 army ; and, on the i Qth of April, York was block- 
 aded by the combined forces. Manchester aug- 
 mented the besieging army ; York was closely- 
 invested, its fall was imminent; and King Charles 
 urgently demanded ol Prince Rupert the raising 
 of the siege. Gallantly was the demand met, 
 but was followed by the famous battle of Marston 
 Moor, from the effects of which the royal cause 
 never recovered.
 
 XX. BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. 
 
 A.D. 1644. 
 
 KING Charles was fully conscious of the 
 perilous position in which he would be 
 placed if York fell, and Yorkshire passed into 
 the hands of the enemy ; he therefore instructed 
 Prince Rupert to march to the relief of York, 
 using the following impressive language : " I 
 command and conjure you, by the duty and 
 affection which I know you bear me, that, all 
 new enterprise laid aside, you immediately march, 
 according to your first intention, with all your 
 force to the relief of York ; but if that be either 
 lost, or have freed themselves from the besiegers, 
 or that, for want of powder, you cannot undertake 
 that work, that you immediately march with your 
 whole strength to Worcester, to assist me and 
 my army, without which, or your having relieved 
 York by beating the Scots, all the successes you 
 may afterwards have, most infallibly will be use- 
 less unto me."
 
 204 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 Gathering up forces as he advanced, Rupert 
 marched to the succour of the city, and occupied 
 Knaresborough and Boroughbridge on the even- 
 ing of the 3Oth of June. On the following 
 morning the Parliamentarians drew up on H es- 
 say Moor, to arrest Rupert's advance. Out- 
 generaling his adversaries, the Prince marched 
 to Poppleton Ferry, halted his army, and entered 
 York with 200 Cavaliers. That night a council 
 of war was held, and Rupert resolved to give 
 battle to the enemy. The Marquis of Newcastle 
 endeavoured to dissuade the Prince from this 
 step, and begged him to await the arrival of 
 a reinforcement of 5,000 men, expected in the 
 course of a few days. Rupert is accused of 
 behaving with discourtesy towards Newcastle, 
 and for this there can be no defence. There 
 was, however, good reason for fighting, and at 
 once. Certainly the Prince could not be ex- 
 pected to put a great value on Newcastle's 
 advice. Rupert had achieved many successes, 
 and had relieved York by a masterly movement ; 
 on the other hand, Newcastle had not achieved 
 any remarkable success, and had allowed himself 
 to be besieged in York without fighting a battle. 
 If he could hold Lesle in check, surely he might
 
 BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. 205 
 
 have attempted to raise the blockade of York 
 before Manchester arrived with reinforcements. 
 Had Rupert waited for reinforcements, would 
 the Parliamentarians have accepted battle, or 
 retired to some stronger position ? Rupert was 
 in a favourable position, with a tried army, 
 almost as strong as that of the enemy, and if 
 he did not at once give battle as favourable an 
 opportunity might not again occur. Having re- 
 lieved York, was he to retire and leave the 
 enemy in Yorkshire to again besiege the city, 
 or capture the various royal strongholds ? Two 
 nearly equal armies were opposed on Yorkshire 
 soil, would one army leave the other in posses- 
 sion ? would the Parliamentarians compel the 
 Cavaliers to fight ? or would the two armies 
 move away in different directions, seeking other 
 fields and other foes ? Rupert and the Parlia- 
 mentarian leaders knew that they were there to 
 fight. The King's affairs absolutely demanded 
 a victory, and the blame that attaches to Rupert 
 is that he forgot the general in acting the part 
 of a captain of horse, and so lost a battle that 
 it was within his capabilities to have won, as 
 the conduct of his army abundantly proved. 
 The morning of the 2nd of July beheld Ru-
 
 206 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 part's army in motion ; but the enemy were 
 marching upon Tadcaster, not expecting an en- 
 gagement. A threatening movement of Rupert's 
 cavalry was promptly checked, and both armies 
 began to form for battle under the Earls of 
 Leven and Manchester and Lord Fairfax on 
 the one hand ; and Rupert, Goring, Lucas, and 
 Sir John Urrie on the other. Some time elapsed 
 before the various divisions reached the field, 
 and stood opposed in order of battle. 
 
 The Parliamentarians occupied a gentle emin- 
 ence covered by a crop of rye, beaten down by- 
 horse and foot. The regiments of Scotch and 
 English were intermixed, that the grace or blame 
 of victory or defeat might be equally shared. 
 The centre consisted of serried masses of pike- 
 men and musketeers, commanded by Leven and 
 the elder Fairfax ; Sir Thomas Fairfax led the 
 right wing, consisting of his Yorkshire cavalry, 
 supported by three regiments of Scottish horse, 
 and out-flanked by the village of Marston. The 
 left wing, extending to Tockwith village, was 
 commanded by Manchester and Cromwell. Their 
 field word was " God with us !" Before them 
 was the open moor, held by the King's men, 
 but the furze and broken ground was calculated
 
 BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. 207 
 
 to retard their charges. Between the two armies 
 extended a ditch and hedge, soon to be immor- 
 talised as the scene of some heavy fighting and 
 dreadful slaughter. 
 
 Some uncertainty exists as to the disposition 
 of the Royalists, the various accounts of the 
 battle being very contradictory, but it may be 
 assumed that the centre was commanded by 
 Goring, Sir Charles Lucas, and General Porter ; 
 Newcastle heading his own regiment of white- 
 coated pikemen. Rupert carried his huge red- 
 cross banner, emblazoned with the arms of the 
 Palatinate, on the left wing ; and Sir John Urrie 
 commanded the right. Grant seems disposed to 
 support the statement of Rushworth, that Rupert 
 led the right wing, and Sir Charles Lucas the 
 left. 
 
 Rupert's position was excellent for the fighting 
 of a defensive battle. To cross the ditch that 
 lay between the armies was a serious undertaking 
 for either army, but especially for the Parlia- 
 mentarians, as Rupert had lined the hedge with 
 musketeers, and had planted a battery on an 
 eminence behind his centre, thus demanding a 
 heavy sacrifice of life from the Parliamentarians 
 before they could exchange blows with his centre,
 
 208 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 and, in the event of his assuming the offensive, 
 the advance would be partially covered by the 
 battery. 
 
 The combined armies consisted of about 46,000 
 men, and were of almost equal strength, the 
 Parliamentarians having, probably, some little 
 advantage in numbers. For several hours no 
 hostile movement took place, with the exception 
 of a few discharges of cannon, by one of the 
 first shots of which the loyal Sir Gilbert Hough- 
 ton lost his son. Apparently both parties were 
 awed by the importance of the impending con- 
 flict, and reluctant to make the first movement, 
 with all the difficulties attending the passage of 
 the ditch and hedge. 
 
 The pleasant summer afternoon waned into 
 evening, peaceful and calm. Seven o'clock 
 approached : surely the bloody bout would be 
 delayed until the morrow. Occasionally the can- 
 non roared, and a few men fell ; one of these 
 unfortunates was young Walton, Cromwell's nep- 
 hew, who was severely wounded ; and it is 
 supposed that this brought about the Parlia- 
 mentarian attack. 
 
 "It was now between six and seven, and 
 Rupert, calling for provisions, dismounted, and
 
 BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. 209 
 
 began to eat his supper. A large number of 
 his followers did the like. Newcastle strolled 
 towards his coach to solace himself with a pipe. 
 Before he had time to take a whiff, the battle had 
 begun. " Gardiner. 
 
 Manchester moved forward his infantry in 
 heavy masses, with pikes and muskets ready for 
 the deadly work, and attempted the passage of 
 the ditch, while Cromwell's magnificent cuiras- 
 siers swept forward to clear the same formidable 
 obstacle, and engage the enemy's right. Rupert 
 hurried forward a large body of musketeers to 
 meet Manchester's attack, and at the same time 
 swept their ranks by the deadly discharges of his 
 field battery. Rupert's musketeers being covered 
 by the hedge, inflicted heavy loss upon the 
 Parliamentarians, and Manchester vainly exerted 
 himself to re-form their shattered ranks. Two 
 cannons were hurried up, and the officers ex- 
 posed themselves with the utmost devotion to 
 encourage their troops, but they were powerless 
 to advance in the face of that deadly shower of 
 bullets, and the position was becoming critical 
 in the extreme, when relief came, and that not 
 a moment too soon. Cromwell, making a wide 
 
 sweep, gained the open moor, found room for 
 
 p
 
 210 YORKSHIRE BATTLES, 
 
 a charge, and bore down upon the enemy's 
 right with a tremendous and fatal force. A short 
 but desperate conflict ensued as Cromwell carried 
 his Ironsides through the sorely buffeted and 
 shattered squadrons of the royal horse. Pressing 
 on, he stormed the battery and put the gunners 
 to the sword. A moment's breathing space was 
 allowed the horses, and then the musketeers, who 
 held Manchester's advance in check with their 
 forks planted in the ditch-bank, maintaining a 
 steady and destructive fire, became the object 
 of attack. These brave soldiers did not attempt 
 to meet the charge, but retreated in close order, 
 with presented pikes, and although they suffered 
 severely from the fury of the enemy, they 
 endeavoured to check the successive charges by 
 the repeated fire of their muskets. 
 
 There was no braver man in the field than 
 Sir Thomas Fairfax, but he suffered a sad defeat 
 on that memorable July evening. The ground 
 occupied by his troops w r as broken and inter- 
 sected by a number of lanes ; not difficult to 
 defend, but preventing united action when the 
 moment for the advance arrived. Nevertheless 
 he struggled forward, wasting his strength by a 
 succession of weak charges, but unable to find
 
 BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. 211 
 
 room for a general attack. The fiery Rupert 
 was opposed to him, and swept his ranks by a 
 cruel and incessant fire of musketry, until little 
 hope for the Parliamant remained in this part 
 of the field. For a time the impending ruin 
 was averted by Cromwell, who charged the 
 Prince's infantry, and afforded Fairfax an oppor- 
 tunity of re-forming his torn and wearied forces ; 
 but in the midst of the struggling advance of 
 the over-mastered Parliamentarians Rupert de- 
 livered his grand charge, and storming over and 
 through every obstacle, , filled this part of the 
 field with a wild rout of unhappy fugitives, 
 amongst whom the keen rapiers of his gay 
 Cavaliers wrought terrible havoc. The brother 
 of Sir Thomas Fairfax was mortally wounded, 
 but the good knight clung desperately to the 
 ground with 500 of his own horse and a regi- 
 ment of lancers, to be wounded and fairly borne 
 off the field by the impetuous Rupert. Here 
 the Prince took a deadly and fatal revenge on 
 the Scotch cavalry, put them to headlong flight, 
 and bore on in stormy pursuit, while the royal 
 infantry was exposed to the attacks of Man- 
 chester's foot and Cromwell's victorious Iron- 
 sides. Had Rupert succoured his centre at this
 
 212 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 stage of the battle he must have compelled the 
 Parliamentarians to yield to him the victory. 
 
 Nobly the royal foot met the deadly storm of 
 battle ; exerting such heroic courage that they 
 fairly pushed back the Parliamentarian advance, 
 and the King's prospects were yet promising, 
 maugre the terrible handling received from Crom- 
 well. That gallant soldier held his cavalry well 
 in hand, albeit their ranks were somewhat thinned 
 by shot and steel ; and they now wrested the 
 victory from the rashly impetuous Rupert. The 
 Marquis of Newcastle's incomparable regiment 
 of Northumbrians perished here. They were 
 known as " lambs," or " whitecoats," from the 
 colour of their doublets, and resisted Cromwell to 
 the last. Again and again he charged them, but 
 they returned blow for blow, and, disdaining all 
 offers of quarter, perished almost to a man, the 
 few that were saved owing their lives rather to 
 the magnanimity of their enemies than to any 
 exertions of their own to escape the slaughter. 
 They fell in their proper battle-order, and pre- 
 sented a ghastly spectacle as they lay upon the 
 field in rank and file, their white coats cruelly 
 slashed with many a crimson stain. The re- 
 mainder of the royal foot were now taken in
 
 BATTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. 213 
 
 the rear by the Ironsides, and sustained a bloody 
 and ruinous defeat. Before their ruin was con- 
 summated the Prince returned, and a fierce conflict 
 ensued. Rupert had counted the victory as 
 already won, and rage and mortification added 
 to the fury of the last sanguinary and stubborn 
 conflict. Cromwell was wounded in the neck, 
 and his charge was all but abortive, when Leslie 
 came up and retrieved the mishap by a terrible 
 onslaught that sent Rupert's over-mastered war- 
 riors in wild confusion from the field. The 
 infantry now surrendered, and Cromwell captured 
 all the cannon, baggage, &c., of the royal army, 
 which was pursued almost to the gates of York. 
 
 At a late hour throngs of wounded men and 
 fugitives from the field appeared before Mickle- 
 gate-Bar, but the soldiers of the garrison were 
 alone admitted into the city, and the confusion 
 that ensued was of the most deplorable and 
 painful character. 
 
 Cromwell remained on the field, anxious and 
 alert, fearful that the impetuous Rupert might 
 rally some remains of his army, and, by a sudden 
 onslaught under cover of night, wrest from his 
 shattered army the victory so hardly won by dint 
 of heavy fighting.
 
 2i 4 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 The general loss was estimated at 7,000 men, 
 Prince Rupert losing over 3,000 slain, and 3,000 
 prisoners, including many officers. The Parlia- 
 mentarians captured forty-seven colours, twenty- 
 five pieces of artillery, a number of carbines 
 and pistols, 130 barrels of gunpowder, and 10,000 
 arms. Among their prisoners were Generals 
 Sir Charles Lucas, Tilliard, and Porter, and 
 Lord Goring's son. Amongst the gallant gentle- 
 men who laid down their lives for King Charles 
 on Marston Moor were Lord Kerry, Sir Francis 
 Dacres, Sir William Lampton, Sir Charles 
 Slingsby, Sir William \Ventworth, Sir Marma- 
 duke Luddon, Sir Richard Gledhill, Colonel 
 John Fenwick, Sir Richard Graham, and Captain 
 John Baird. Sir Richard Gledhill, as a matter 
 of fact, died in his own house an hour after he 
 succeeded in gaining its shelter. He had received 
 twenty-six wounds. Sir Charles Lucas was in- 
 formed that he could select some of the slain for 
 private interment, and in thus distinguishing one 
 unfortunate Cavalier caused a bracelet of silky 
 hair to be removed from his wrist, "as he knew 
 an honourable lady who would thankfully receive 
 it." The Scots suffered severely, and the Eng- 
 lish lost Captains Micklethwaite and Pugh, and
 
 BA TTLE OF MARSTON MOOR. 2 1 5 
 
 Sir Thomas Fairfax had to deplore the loss of his 
 brother Charles, and of Major Fairfax. 
 
 No two accounts of the battle agree, and Crom- 
 well, whose conduct conduced so largely to the 
 winning of the battle, has been even accused of 
 cowardice by one writer. Rapin says, "I shall not 
 undertake to describe this battle, because in all 
 the accounts I have seen I meet with so little 
 order or clearness that I cannot expect to give 
 a satisfactory idea of it to such of my readers as 
 understand these matters." 
 
 The Parliamentarians assumed a white badge 
 to distinguish them from their opponents. 
 
 Prince Rupert would probably have won the 
 battle had he acted as a commander-in-chief in- 
 stead of leading a wing ; but it was then custo- 
 mary for each of the three commanders to fight 
 his own battle, with too little regard to the 
 general issue, when there was no commander 
 directing the operations of the divisions. 
 
 The King's affairs never recovered from the 
 results of this battle, and the royal cause un- 
 doubtedly received its death-blow on Marston 
 Moor, when the last of the Yorkshire battles 
 was fought.
 
 XXL BATTLE OF BRUNNANBURGH. 
 
 A.D. 937. 
 
 KING Athelstan reigned in troublous days, 
 with the restless Danish population in 
 the North, the Welsh in the West, the Scots 
 ready to support his enemies, and his own nobles 
 discontented and disloyal. Athelstan had con- 
 ferred upon Sithric, King of Northumberland, the 
 hand of his sister ; but the prince violated his 
 obligations, and was only secured from punish- 
 ment by the sudden stroke of death. 
 
 Sithric's sons, Anlaf and Godfrid, took refuge 
 in Ireland and Scotland ; and a confederation 
 of the princes of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and 
 Cumberland, seconded by a Danish fleet, threat- 
 ened the crown of Athelstan. 
 
 After four years of preparation and recruiting 
 the storm burst. In 937 Anlaf entered the 
 H umber at the head of a huge armada of 615 
 sail, and occupied Bernicia. 
 
 Athelstan, with a powerful army, marched to
 
 BATTLE OF BRUNNANBURGH. 217 
 
 the North and encamped at Brunnanburgh. It 
 is said that Anlaf entered the King's camp 
 disguised as a minstrel, and was liberally re- 
 warded by Athelstan, but, in his pride, buried 
 the gold, and was perceived by one of the royal 
 soldiers, who then recognised him, but permitted 
 him to retire from the camp before he apprised 
 Athelstan of the identity of the minstrel. His 
 excuse that had permitted Anlaf to escape be- 
 cause he had at one period sworn fealty to him, 
 was accepted as a sufficient reason ; but Athel- 
 stan removed his camp, and shortly after the 
 Bishop of Sherburn came up with his troops 
 and occupied the ground that Athelstan had 
 vacated. 
 
 That night Anlaf made a sudden attack upon 
 the Saxons, and slew the Bishop of Sherburn and 
 many of his followers, before he was driven off. 
 
 The day of battle dawned. Each army was 
 formed into two corps. Athelstan commanded 
 the West Saxons ; Turketul, his heroic chan- 
 cellor, led the warriors of Mercia and London. 
 Anlaf and his wild Northmen opposed the King ; 
 Constantine, King of Scotland, confronted Turk- 
 etui with his Scots and Cumbrians. 
 
 At sunrise the war-smiths fell to, with sleet
 
 218 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 of arrows and deadly play of bills and spears, 
 as the banners were pushed forward. Bravely 
 the golden-haired Athelstan acquitted himself 
 in the van, amid the communion of swords and 
 the clashing of bills, the conflict of banners and 
 the meeting of spears, when the keen javelins 
 strewed the soil with the slain, and the unerring 
 arrows carried death above the guarding shield. 
 Athelstan's sword dropped in the press, but as 
 Otho, Archbishop of Canterbury, entreated the 
 heavenly aid, a sword of celestial potency filled 
 the empty sheath, and with it Athelstan fought 
 until night closed upon the scene. 
 
 As the day was drawing towards eventide, 
 with the wild war-wrestle at its maddest, and 
 the song of the fiery Northman rolling like 
 thunder over the field, now heaped with slain 
 and wounded men, for the front ranks had been 
 mown down, and renewed again and again, 
 Turketul headed a veteran corps of spearmen, 
 and made an irresistible charge upon the Scots. 
 Vainly Constantine strove to hold his ground ; 
 his fierce Scots were over-weighted, broken, and 
 borne down. Anlafs Northmen were dismayed, 
 and gave ground. Turketul charged them ; a 
 brief, fierce struggle ensued ; then he penetrated
 
 BATTLE OF BRUNNANBURGH. 219 
 
 their ranks ; flight commenced ; the field was 
 covered with fugitives ; the Northmen anxiously 
 striving to regain their nailed barks, and crowd 
 all sail for Ireland. 
 
 Then pressed the West Saxons hard on " the 
 footsteps of the loathed nations." " They hewed 
 the fugitives behind, amain, with swords mill- 
 sharp," while on the battle-stead lay five i( youth- 
 ful kings, and seven eke of Anlafs earls." "Con- 
 stantine, hoary warrior, he had no cause to exult 
 in the communion of swords. Here was his 
 kindred band of friends o'erthrown on the falk- 
 stead, in battle slain ; and his son he left on the 
 slaughter-place, mangled with wounds, young in 
 the fight." 
 
 The slaughter was dreadful, but the throne of 
 Athelstan was secured, and his northern subjects 
 humbled. He left behind him a terrible carnage 
 field, " the sallowy kite the corse to devour, and 
 the swarthy raven with horned nib, and the dusky 
 1 pada,' erne white-tailed, the corse to enjoy, 
 greedy war-hawk, and the grey beast, wolf of 
 the wood. Carnage greater has not been in this 
 island ever yet of people slain, before this, by 
 edges of swords, as books us say. old writers, 
 since from the east hither. Angles and Saxons
 
 220 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 came to land, o'er the broad seas Britain sought, 
 mighty war-smiths, the Welsh o'ercame, earls 
 most bold, this earth obtained." 
 
 In later years Anlaf obtained considerable suc- 
 cesses over King Edmund, and the northern 
 provinces were ceded to him ; but scarcely had 
 he obtained this high position ere death touched 
 his brow, and kingly pride and vain ambition were 
 overcome. 
 
 Despite the labours of Yorkshire and Lanca- 
 shire antiquaries, the locality of Brunnanburgh 
 must be regarded as unascertained, and no evid- 
 ence has been produced that can justify its 
 inclusion in the list of Yorkshire battles.
 
 XXII. FIGHT OFF FLAMBOROUGH 
 HEAD. 
 
 A.D. 1779. 
 
 IN the years 1778 and 1779 British commerce 
 suffered severely from the attacks of Paul 
 Jones. 
 
 In September of the latter year he cruised 
 along the East coast with the " Bonne Homme 
 Richard," 40 guns, 375 men; the "Alliance," 40 
 guns, 300 men ; the " Pallas," 32 guns, 275 
 men; and the "Vengeance," 12 guns, 70 men. 
 On the 2oth of September, Bridlington was 
 alarmed by an express stating that Paul Jones 
 was off Scarborough ; that evening he was seen 
 by the fishermen of Flamborough, and a fleet of 
 merchantmen crowded into Bridlington bay, and 
 the harbour was soon thronged with vessels, a 
 number being chained alongside the piers. The 
 townsfolks mustered, rudely armed, and supported 
 the two companies of Northumberland Militia, 
 who marched to the quay with drums beating.
 
 222 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 The Baltic fleet, with a freight valued at 
 ,600,000 pounds, was approaching the coast, 
 convoyed by the " Serapis," 40 guns, captain, 
 Pearson; and the ''Countess of Scarborough," 
 20 guns, captain, Piercy. On Thursday, Sep- 
 tember 23rd, the fleet approached Scarborough, 
 and was warned by the bailiff that the enemy 
 was in the neighbourhood. Captain Pearson 
 then signalled the fleet to bear down upon his 
 lee, but the ships continued their course. About 
 noon a scene of confusion ensued as the leading 
 ships perceived the enemy bearing down upon 
 them. The two captains hoisted all sail, pre- 
 pared for action, and took the post of danger. 
 
 Twilight was closing over waves and cliff 
 when, at about twenty minutes past seven, the 
 " Serapis " challenged the " Bonne Homme 
 Richard," and saluted him with a cannon shot. 
 The American flag was run up, and the shot 
 returned. Captain Pearson delivered a broadside, 
 which was returned, and for some time the battle 
 was carried on by repeated discharges of cannon. 
 The moon arose with unusual brilliancy, and the 
 natives of Flamborough thronged to the cliffs to 
 witness the exciting scene. Paul Jones attempted 
 to board, but with bayonet, pike, and cutlass the
 
 FIGHT OFF FLAMBOROUGH HEAD. 223 
 
 British tars maintained their decks, and the 
 " Bonne Homme Richard " sheered off. An 
 attempt to lay the " Serapis " square with her 
 adversary was foiled, and the " Bonne Homme 
 Richard " was laid across the bows of the " Se- 
 rapis." With cannon and small arms a murderous 
 conflict was maintained, then the jib-boom of the 
 " Serapis" gave way, and the ships fell broadside 
 to broadside, with yard-arms locked ; swaying 
 and reeling as they ripped up each other's sides 
 with repeated broadsides, although the muzzles 
 of the cannons touched, and many of the port- 
 lids were torn away. 
 
 The night closed in, and the conflict continued. 
 The decks of the " Serapis " were swept by shot, 
 covered with the slain and wounded. For two 
 hours her crew maintained the fight with heroic 
 courage. Combustibles were thrown upon her 
 decks, ten times she took fire ; a hand-grenade 
 exploded a cartridge, and the explosion ran along 
 the line of guns where the cartridges lay, abaft the 
 main-mast. Many men were killed or wounded, 
 and the guns remained unfought to the end. 
 
 During this murderous work the " Alliance " 
 sailed round and round the combatants, and raked 
 the " Serapis " with successive broadsides.
 
 224 YORKSHIRE BATTLES. 
 
 On a cry for quarter being raised, Captain 
 Pearson boarded the " Bonne Homme Richard," 
 but at once retired on perceiving a numerous 
 party of the enemy lying in ambush. The battle 
 re-commenced, when the "Alliance" again raked 
 the " Serapis," inflicting dreadful slaughter, and 
 bringing down the mainmast. 
 
 The " Serapis " was little better than a wreck, 
 and the old flag was reluctantly hauled down. 
 Paul Jones received the conquered enemy most 
 courteously. Without the aid of the "Alliance" 
 the " Bonne Homme Richard " would have been 
 captured. She was on fire in two places, the guns 
 on her lower deck were dismounted, and she 
 had seven feet of water in her hold. Out of 
 her crew of 375 men, 306 were killed and 
 wounded. The total loss of the two English 
 ships did not reach half that number. On the 
 following day the "Bonne Homme Richard" 
 was abandoned, and, before all her wounded 
 could be removed, went to the bottom. 
 
 The " Countess of Scarborough " fought the 
 "Pallas" and "Vengeance" for upwards of two 
 hours, and only struck when a third vessel bore 
 down upon her. 
 
 The King of France presented Paul Jones with
 
 FIGHT OFF FLAMBOROUGH HEAD. 225 
 
 a gold-hiked sword, and requested the American 
 Government to sanction the bestowal of the mili- 
 tary Order of Merit upon the gallant adventurer. 
 
 Captain Pearson was knighted, and was re- 
 warded by the merchants for saving the Baltic 
 fleet. He was appointed Lieutenant-Governor 
 of Greenwich, and received the Freedom of the 
 corporations of Hull, Scarborough, Appleby, and 
 Dover.
 
 Aclela, daughter of William I., 56 
 
 Aclelwald, KingofDeira, 8-10 
 
 Aire, River, 8, 99, 185 
 
 Airedale, 99 
 
 Albany, Duke of, 142 
 
 Albemarle, William, 3rd Earl of, 
 
 61, 66 
 
 Alberic, Bishop of Ostia, 73 
 Aldred, Archbishop of York, 43 
 Alexander II., King of Scotland, 
 
 79,80 
 Alexander III., King of Scotland, 
 
 79 
 Alfred, King of the North-IIumb- 
 
 rians, 10, 1 1 
 
 Alfred, King of England, 20 
 Alnwick Castle, 76 
 Aired, 70 
 
 Alured, Lieut., 191 
 Alured, Captn., 191 
 Anlaf, 216-220 
 Annandale, Robert Bruce, Lord of, 
 
 64-66 
 
 Appleby, 225 
 Archer, John, 156 
 Arundel, Edmund Fitz-Alan, 2nd 
 
 Earl of, loo 
 Aske, Robert, 175 
 Aspall, 159-160 
 Athelstan, King of Mercia, 13, 
 
 216-220 
 
 Atkinson, Captn., 179 
 Audley, John Touchet, 6th Lord, 
 
 152 
 Avon, River, loo 
 
 Badlesmere, Bartholomew, 1st Lord 
 
 cle, 103-4 
 
 Baird, Captn., John, 214 
 Baldwin V. , Earl of Flanders, 18 
 Balclwinson, Ensign, 189 
 Baliol, Bernard de, 6l, 64-66, 76 
 
 Baliol, Edward, King of Scotland, 
 138 
 
 Ballinson, Ensign, 189 
 
 Bamborough Castle, 50-51, 172 
 
 Banbury, 8 1 
 
 Bangor, Bishop of, 147 
 
 Bardolph, Thomas, 5th Lord, 143-7 
 
 Barfleur, 54 
 
 Battles : Adwalton Moor, 193-5 
 ,, Agincourt, 124, 137, 148 
 ,, Bannockburn, 83, 103 
 ,, Barnet, 173 
 ,, Beauje, 149 
 ,, Bloreheath, 152 
 ,, Borough bridge, 107-110 
 ,, Bos worth, 174 
 ,, Bramham Moor, 145-6 
 ,, Brunnanburgh, 13-14, 217- 
 
 220 
 
 ,, Byland Abbey, 122-128 
 
 ,, Cressy, 124 
 
 ,, Durham, or Neville's 
 
 Cross, 133 
 
 ,, Ebberston, II 
 
 ,, Evesham, 158 
 
 ,, Falkirk, 103 
 
 ,, off Flamborough, 222-5 
 
 ,, Fulford, 24 
 
 ,, Hastings, or Senlac, 27, 
 
 37-41, 53 
 
 ,, Hedgeley Moor, 172 
 
 ,, Hexham, 172 
 
 ,, Homilclon, 142 
 
 Hull, 196-8 
 
 ,, Leeds, 183-6 
 
 ,, Marston Moor, 202 
 
 ,, Mortimer's Cross, 162-3 
 
 ,, My ton Meadows, 95-8 
 
 ,, Northampton, 154 
 
 ,, Otterburn, 135 
 
 ,, Pavia, 137 
 
 ,, Radcot Bridge, 139
 
 228 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Battles : Sandal, or Wakefield 
 
 Green, 157-162 
 Selby, 199-201 
 Shrewsbury, 142 
 St. Albans (first), 150-1 
 St. Albans (second), 164-5 
 Stamford Bridge, 15, 25-34 
 Standard, the, 51 
 Stoke, 137, 174 
 Tadcaster, 180-182 
 Tewkesbury, 173 
 Towton, 166-172 
 Wakefield, 188-191 
 Winwidfield, 8-10 
 
 Beaumont, Captn., 185 
 
 Bellasis, Col., 199-202 
 
 Benedict, a rich Jew of York, 77 
 
 Benson, Captn. -Lieut., 189 
 
 Beorne, Earl, 43 
 
 Bernefield, Sir Roger, no 
 
 Berwick, 83-93, IO 3 I 3> J 44 
 
 Beverley, 128, 134, 148, 178, 196 
 
 Bingley, 181 
 
 Bishopthorpe, 144 
 
 Blacklow, loo 
 
 Blanche Nef, 54 
 
 Bland, Sir Thomas, 189 
 
 Blount, Sir Thomas, 156 
 
 Bonville, William, 1st Lord, 165 
 
 Bootham, 171 
 
 Boroughbridge, 84, 95, 107-111, 
 114-115, 117, 128, 204 
 
 Bourchier, Edward, 161 
 
 Bosworth, Battle of, 174 
 
 Bradbourne, Henry de, 113 
 
 Bradford, 181, 183, 188, 190, 192, 
 194 
 
 Bramham Moor, 145 
 
 Brember, Sir Nicholas, 139 
 
 Brian, son of Earl Alan Fergan, 55 
 
 Bridlington, 127, 187, 221 
 
 Bright, Col., 200 
 
 Bruce, Robert, Earl of Annandale, 
 64-66 
 
 Bruce, Robert, Earl of Carrick and 
 King of Scotland, 83-5, 91-2, 
 106, 117-125, 128-130 
 
 Bruce, David, King of Scotland, 
 
 133 
 
 Buchan, Earl of, 149 
 Buckingham, Duchess of, 152 
 Buckingham, Henry Stafford, 2nd 
 
 Duke of, 150-151 
 Burgh, Hubert de, 79 
 Burgh-upon-Sands, 8l, 102 
 
 Burton-upon-Trent, 105 
 Byland Abbey, 118, 122-7, '3 
 
 Cadwalla, King of the West Britons, 
 
 7 
 
 Calais, 153-4 
 Cambridge, Richard Plantagenet, 
 
 4th Earl of, 148 
 Canterbury, Wm. Corbois, Arch- 
 bishop of, 57 
 Canterbury', Thos. Fitz-Alan [alias 
 
 Arundel), Archbishop of, 140 
 Canterbury, Thomas Bourchier. 
 
 Archbishop of, 155 
 Canute, King of England, 18, 41 
 Carlisle, 49, 58, 70-73, 128-130 
 Carmichael, Sir John, 149 
 Carnabie, Sergt.- Major, 189 
 Carr, Major, 179 
 
 ,, Sergt. -Major, 189 
 ,, Captn., 189 
 ,, Ensign, 189 
 Castleford, 99 
 Chapter of Mitton, 98 
 Charles I., King of England, 177- 
 
 179, 203 
 
 Cheney, William, 113 
 Chop Head Loaning, 115 
 Cinque Ports, 85 
 Clarence, Thomas Plantagenet, 2nd 
 
 Duke of, 148-9 
 Clarence, George Plantagenet, 3rd 
 
 Duke of, 159, 174 
 Clay, Thomas, 152 
 Cleveland, 143 
 Clifford, Sir Roger, no 
 
 ,, Thomas de Clifford, 8th 
 
 Lord, 150-1 
 ,, John de Clifford, gih Lord, 
 
 158-162, 166 
 Clinton, John de Clinton, 5th Lord, 
 
 IS2 
 
 Clitheroe, 64 
 Cobham, Sir Ralph, 125 
 Cock, River, 170 
 Coifi, a pagan priest 5-6 
 Colt, Thomas, 152 
 Constable of England (Duke of 
 
 Northumberland), 141 
 Constable, Sir Robert, 175 
 Constantine, King of Scotland, 217- 
 
 219 
 
 Conway Castle, 141 
 Conyers, Sir John, 152 
 Copeland, John, Esquire, 133
 
 INDEX. 
 
 229 
 
 Cornwall, Piers de Gaveston, Earl 
 of, 81-2, 100-2 
 
 Cospatric, 4th Earl of Northumber- 
 land, 44, 52 
 
 Coventry, 140, 152 
 
 Crab, John, a Flemish engineer, 
 88-90 
 
 Cruft, Captn., 189 
 
 Cromwell, John de, 127, 
 
 ,, Oliver, 196, 206, 208-13, 
 
 215 
 Cuichelm, King of the West Saxons, 
 
 4 
 
 Culross, 121 
 Cumberland, 179 
 Cumin, William, Chancellor of 
 
 Scotland, 73 
 
 Dacres, Ralph, 1st Lord, 171 
 
 ,, Sir Francis, 214 
 Dalkeith Castle, 135 
 Uanthorpe, Matthew, hermit, 141 
 Darcy, Thomas, 1st Lord, 175 
 David I., King of Scotland, 55, 58- 
 
 60, 63, 64-5, 71-2 
 David II., King of Scotland, 
 
 133 
 
 Dedington Castle, 81 
 Dora-field, Castle of, 1 1 
 Denman, Sir John, 168 
 Denton, Sir Richard de, 129 
 Denton, 181 
 Derwent, River, 3, 127 
 Despencer, Sir Hugh, 112, 113, 
 
 127, 129 
 
 Despencer, Hugh, Earl of Win- 
 chester, 112, 113, 127, 129 
 Devonshire, Thomas Courtenay, 
 
 I4th Earl of, 171 
 Devonshire, Humphrey Stafford, 
 
 1 5th Earl of, 173 
 Deynville, 113 
 Doncaster, 7, 140, 172 
 Dovenald, 68-9 
 Douglas, Sir James, 83-4, 91-3, 
 
 95-6, 102, 105-6, 119, 125-6, 
 
 132 
 Douglas, James, Earl of, 135-6 
 
 ,, Archibald (Tine-man) 
 
 Earl of, 142 
 Dryburgh, 121 
 Dunstable, 164 
 Durham, Geoffrey Ruftus, Bishop 
 
 of, 73 
 Durham, 47-9, 52, 58, 144 
 
 Edgar Alhcling, 20, 43, 49 
 Edward, the Confessor, King of 
 
 England, 16-20, 59 
 Edward I., King of England, 80, 
 
 81, 83, 85, 102, 112 
 Edward II., King of England, 81, 
 
 83-88, 90, 92-93, 100-7, 1 1 1-2, 
 
 117-8, 120-1, 124, 126-7, 128, 
 
 130 
 Edward III., King of England, 
 
 I3I-3, 135 
 Edward IV., King of England, 163, 
 
 165-174 
 
 Edward V., King of England, 174 
 VI., ,, 175 
 
 Edwin, King of Northumbria, 3-8 
 ,, Earl ,, ,, 17, 
 
 19, 21, 23-5, 52 
 
 Egbert, Archbishop of York, 44 
 Ella, Usurper of Northumbria, 12-3 
 Ely, John Hotham, Bishop of, 98 
 Espec, Walter 1', 61, 66 
 Exeter, Henry Holland, 4th Duke 
 
 of, 156, 164 
 
 Fairfax, Ferdinand, 2nd Lord, 179- 
 
 !87, 193-7, 199-200, 202-6 
 Fairfax, Sir Thomas, 179-202, 206, 
 
 2IO-II 
 
 Fairfax, Sir William, 184-5, l88 > 
 
 190-1 
 Falconberg, William Nevill, 7th 
 
 Lord, 167-8 
 
 Fitz-John, Eustace, 63-73 
 Fleming, Nicholas, Mayor of York, 
 
 92-5, 98 
 Foulis, Sir Henry, 188, 190-1 
 
 Gaunt, John of, 2nd Duke of Lan- 
 caster, 140-1 
 
 Gaveston, Piers de, 81-2, 100-2, 113 
 
 Gifibrd, Major-General John, 181, 
 188, 190-1, 193-4 
 
 Glemham, Sir Thomas, 179 
 
 Gloucester, Robert, 1st Earl of, 
 55-6, 75 
 
 Gloucester, Thomas Plantagenet, 
 1st Duke of, 135 
 
 Gloucester, Richard Plantagenet, 
 3rd Duke of, 159, 174 
 
 Goring, Lord George, 183, 187, 
 188-9, I 9 I > 206-7 
 
 Hanson, Richard, Mayor of Hull, 
 159
 
 230 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Harcla, Sir Andrew, 1st Earl of 
 Carlisle, 107-8, no, 114-5, 
 128-30 
 
 Harold Hardrada, King of Nor- 
 way, 15, 21-32 
 Harold, King of England, i5-!8, 
 
 20-3, 26-9, 31-7, 39-41, 43 
 Henguar, a Danish chief 12-3 
 Henrietta, Queen of Charles I., 187 
 Henry I., King of England, 53-8 
 Henry II., King of England, 75-6 
 Henry III., King of England, 79- 
 
 80, 101 
 Henry IV., King of England, 141-4, 
 
 I55 164-5 
 Henry V., King of England, 137, 
 
 148, 153, 155 
 Henry VI., King of England, 150-5, 
 
 160, 165, 171-3 
 Henry VII., King of England, 
 
 174-5 
 Henry VIII., King of England, 
 
 175-6 
 Henry, Prince, of Scotland, 63, 65, 
 
 69-70, 72 
 Hereford, Humphrey de Bohun, 
 
 2nd Earl of, 100, 105-6, 109- 
 
 10, 114 
 Hereford, Henry Plantagenet, 1st 
 
 Duke of, 139-41 
 Herewarcl le Wake, 42, 48, 52 
 Hessay Moor, 204 
 Holland, Sir John, I3th Earl of 
 
 Huntingdon, 134-5 ; and 1st 
 
 Duke of Exeter 
 Hotham, Sir John, 177-8, 187, 192, 
 
 195 
 
 Hotham, Captn. John, 183, 187, 
 
 190, 192 
 
 Houghton, Sir Gilbert, 208 
 Hubba, a Danish chief, 12, 13 
 Hull, Kingston-upon-, 80, 140, 175, 
 
 177-8, 187, 192, 195, 199, 225 
 Hungerford, Robert, 3rd Lord, 155, 
 
 172 
 
 Ireland, Robert Vere, Ninth Earl of 
 Oxford, and First Duke of, 139 
 
 Isabella, Queen of Edward II., 92, 
 103-4, 131 
 
 John, King of England, 78, 79 
 John, Prince, First Duke of Bed- 
 ford, 143 
 Jones, Paul, 221-5 
 
 Keith, Sir William, of Galveston, 
 
 84 
 Kent, Edmund Plantagenet, Fourth 
 
 Earl of, 127 
 Kyriel, Sir Thomas, 165 
 
 Lacy, Ilbert de, 61 
 
 Lancaster, Thomas Plantagenet, 
 
 Second Earl of, loo-i, 104- 
 
 114, 116, 129 
 Lancaster, John of Gaunt, Second 
 
 Duke of, 140-1 
 Lancaster, Henry Plantagenet, 
 
 Third Duke of, 141 
 Leeds, 6, 183-5, l &7-9> 195 
 Leeds Castle, Kent, 103-4 
 Leven, Earl of, 199. 206 
 Lincoln, John de la Pole, Ninth 
 
 Earl of, 137, 174 . 
 London, 20, 57, 147, 154, 163-165, 
 
 178, 189 
 Longchamp, William, Bishop of 
 
 Ely, 178 
 Lucas, Sir Charles, 206-7, 2I 4 
 
 MacDonoquhy, William, 64, 65 
 Malcolm III., King of Scotland, 
 
 21, 47, 5 
 Malcolm IV., King of Scotland, 
 
 76 
 Malcolm II., King of Scotland, 
 
 76 
 
 Malise, Earl of Strathearn, 65 
 Manchester, Earl of, 202, 205-6, 
 
 209-11 
 March, Edmund Mortimer, Fifth 
 
 Earl of, 148 
 March, Edward, Titulary Earl of, 
 
 i5 2 -3, i5 6 -7, 159, 162-3, 165 
 Margaret of Anjou, 150-1, 154-5, 
 
 159-60, 164, 167, 171-3 
 Matilda, daughter of Henry I., 55- 
 
 .58, 75 
 
 Matilda, Queen of Stephen, 73 
 
 Meldrum, Sir John, 178, 197, 200 
 
 Melton, William de, Archbishop of 
 York, 92-4, 96, 98 
 
 Montacute, John Nevill, First Mar- 
 quis of, 1 73 
 
 Morkar, First Earl of Northumber- 
 land, 17-18, 21, 23, 24-5, 52 
 
 Mortimer, Edmund, Fifth Earl of 
 March, 142 
 
 Mowbray, Roger de Mowbray, 
 Second Lord de, 61
 
 INDEX. 
 
 231 
 
 Mow bray, John de Mowbray, 
 Second Lord de, 113, 114 
 
 Mowbray, Thomas de, Sixth Lord, 
 143-4 
 
 Newcastle, 58, 76, 81, 85, 135, 171 
 Newcastle, Marquis of, lSo-2, 186, 
 
 192-4, 196-9, 202, 204, 207, 
 
 209, 212 
 
 Newport, Earl, 178 
 Norfolk, Thomas, Baron Mowbray, 
 
 First Duke of, 139-40 
 Norfolk, John Mowbray, Third 
 
 Duke of, 150 
 Norfolk, John Mowbray, Fourth 
 
 Duke of, 165, 169-70 
 Northampton, 17, 18, 19, 154 
 Northumberland, Henry Percy, 
 
 Twelfth Earl of, 140-47 
 Northumberland, Henry Percy, 
 
 Thirteenth Earl of, 150-151 
 Northumberland, Henry Percy, 
 
 Fourteenth Earl of, 157, 161, 
 
 164, 168, 171 
 Northumberland, Henry Percy, 
 
 Sixteenth Earl of, 175 
 Northumberland, Thomas Percy, 
 
 Nineteenth Earl of, 176 
 Nottingham, 92, 179 
 Nowel, Ralph, Titular Bishop of 
 
 Orkney, 61, 66 
 
 Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, 39, 48-9 
 Ormond, Earl of, 171 
 Osbert, King of Northumbria, 12-13 
 Osred I. , King of Northumbria, 1 1 
 Oswy, King of Northumbria, 8-10 
 Otho, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 218 
 
 Parkinson, the Rev. Thomas, 
 F.R.H.S., 151 
 
 Pearson, Captain, 222-5 
 
 Pembroke, Aylmer de Valence, 
 Tenth Earl of, 124 
 
 Pembroke, Jasper Tudor, Sixteenth 
 Earl of, 162 
 
 Pembroke, William Herbert, Seven- 
 teenth, Earl of, 173 
 
 Penda, King of Mercia, 7-11 
 
 Percy, Sir Henry, K.G. /'Hotspur," 
 135-6, 142-3 
 
 Philippa, Queen, 132-3, 135 
 
 Phillips, Mrs S. K., 115 
 
 Pole, de la, Sir William, 137 
 
 Pole, de la, Sir Richard, 137 
 
 Pole, de la, Michael, First Earl of 
 
 Suffolk, 137 
 Pole, de la, Michael, Second Earl 
 
 of Suffolk, 137 
 Pole, de la, Michael, Third Earl of 
 
 Suffolk, 137 
 Pole, de la, William, Fourth Earl 
 
 and First Duke of Suffolk, 137 
 Pole, de la, John, Second Duke of 
 
 Suffolk, 137 
 Pole, de la, John, Ninth Earl of 
 
 Lincoln, 137 
 Pole, de la, Edmund, Fifth Earl of 
 
 Suffolk, 137 
 Pole, de la, Richard, Titulary Duke 
 
 of Suffolk, 137 
 Pontefract, ill, 113, 141, 157, 162, 
 
 174 
 
 Porter, General, 207, 214 
 Powis, Lord, 152-3 
 
 Randolph, Thomas, Earl of Moray, 
 83-4 91-3. 95-6, 102, 105-6, 
 116, 119, 125-6 
 
 Richard I., King of England, 76-8 
 
 Richard II., King of England, 133- 
 136, 139-41, 147 
 
 Richard III., King of England, 
 
 137 
 
 Richmond, John de Dreux, Ninth 
 
 Earl of, 124, 127-8 
 Rivers, Richard Widvile, First 
 
 Lord, 153 
 Rivers, Anthony Widvile, Second 
 
 Lord, 174 
 Robert, Earl (Robert Comyn, Third 
 
 Earl of Northumberland), 43 
 Robert, Earl (Robert de Mowbray, 
 
 Eighth Earl of Northumber- 
 land), 50-1 
 Robert, Duke of Normandy, 53-4, 
 
 56 
 
 Rokeby, Sir Thomas, 145-6, 148 
 Roos, Thomas de Roos, Tenth 
 
 Lord, 164 
 
 Rupert, Prince, 202, 215 
 Rutland, Edmund Plantagenet, 
 
 Titulary Duke of, 152, 159-162 
 
 Salisbury, Richard Nevill, Eighth 
 Earl of, 150-3. 156-7, 159, 161- 
 , 162, 171 
 
 Saville, Sir William, of Thonihill, 
 183-5
 
 232 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Scales, Thomas de Scales, Seventh 
 
 Lord, 154-6 
 Scarborough, 23, Si, 134, 221-2, 
 
 225 
 Scroop, Jeffrey de, Chief Justiciary, 
 
 129 
 Scroop, Henry le Scroop, of 
 
 Masham, Third Lord, 148 
 Shrewsbury, John Talbot, Fifth 
 
 Earl of, 164, 171 
 Si ward, Earl of Northumbria, 15- 
 
 16, 47 . 
 Somerset, Edmund de Beaufort, 
 
 Second Duke of, 150-1 
 Somerset, Henry de Beaufort, Fifth 
 
 Earl of, 153-4, 156-7, 161, 164, 
 
 168, 172 
 Stafford, Humphrey de Stafford, 
 
 Fifth Earl, 150-1 
 Stafford, Henry, First Lord, 176 
 Stephen, King of England, 51, 56, 
 
 57-8, 61, 75 
 Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 
 20 
 Sulley, Sir Henry de, 127, 130 
 
 Tadcaster, 26, 31, 179, 187, 206 
 
 Thurstan, Archbishop of York, 61, 
 62 
 
 Tilliard, General, 214 
 
 Tosti Godwinsson, Earl of North- 
 umbria, 15-7, 19-23, 25-27, 
 31-2 
 
 Travis-Cook, John, F.R.H.S., 137 
 
 Trollop, Sir Andrew, 152, 162, 168, 
 171 
 
 Tudor, Henry, Sixteenth Earl of 
 Richmond, 174 
 
 Turketul, 217-8 
 
 Urrie, Sir John, 206, 207 
 
 Wakefield, 159, 161-2, 164, 183, 186 
 Walcher of Lorraine, Bishop of 
 Durham, Sixth Earl of North- 
 umberland, 47, 48 
 Wales, Edward,- Prince of, 154-5, 
 164, 171, 173 
 
 Waltheof Siwardsson, Fifth Earl of 
 Northumberland, 16, 43, 45, 
 47-8 
 
 Ward, Sir Simon, Sheriff of York- 
 shire, 107-8, 115 
 
 Warwick, Guy de Beauchamp, 
 Eleventh Earl of, 81 
 
 Warwick, Richard Nevill, Sixteenth 
 Earl of, 150-4, 156, 164-6, 1 68, 
 
 173 
 Warwick, Edward Plantagenet, 
 
 Eighteenth Earl of, 174-5 
 W T elles, Leo de Welles, Sixth Lord, 
 
 164, 171 
 Westmoreland, Ralph Nevill, First 
 
 Earl of, 140, 143 
 Westmoreland, Charles Nevill, Sixth 
 
 Earl of, 176 
 
 Widvile, Sir Anthony, 153 
 William, Duke of Normandy, 19-20, 
 
 23, 35-41 
 W 7 illiam I., King of England, 44- 
 
 49, 5 1 '54, 59 
 
 William II. (Rufus), King of Eng- 
 land, 49-53 
 
 William, son of Robert Duke of 
 Normandy, 53-56 
 
 William, son of Henry I., 54-55 
 
 Willoughby, Richard Welles, 
 Seventh Lord, 164 
 
 Willoughby, of Parham, Lord, 196 
 
 Wiltshire, James Butler, Second 
 Earl of, 171 
 
 Wulstan, Bishop of Worcester, 20 
 
 York, i, 16-17, 25-26, 43-47, 75' 
 
 81, 92-94, 126-7, 131-3, 135, 
 
 144, 171, 202-5, 2I 3 
 York, Walter de Grey, Archbishop 
 
 of, 139 
 York, Richard Scroop, Archbishop 
 
 of, 143-4 
 York, Edward Plantagenet, First 
 
 Duke of, 135 
 York, Richard Plantagenet, Fifth 
 
 Duke of, 174 
 York, Richard Plantagenet, Eighth 
 
 Duke of, 137, 150-2, 154-62,171
 
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 James Nayler, the Mad Quaker who claimed to be the Messiah. By WILLIAM 
 
 ANDREWS, F.R.H.S. 
 
 Duke Richard's Doom: A Legend of Sandal Castle. By EDWARD LAMPLOUGH. 
 Obsolete Industries of the East Riding. By JOHN NICHOLSON. 
 Bolton Abbey: Its History and Legends. BY ALFRED CHAMBERLAIN, B.A. 
 To Bolton Abbey. By the Rev. E. G. CHARLESWORTH. 
 
 A CAREFULLY COMPILED INDEX. 
 
 Opinions of the Press. 
 
 The following are extracted from a number of favourable reviews of 
 " YORKSHIRE IN THE OLDEN TIMES." 
 
 The Bury Free Press says : " The volume is one of wide and varied interest, which will 
 secure for it readers in all parts of the country." 
 
 The Shields Daily Gazette states : " The work consists of a series of articles contri- 
 buted by various authors, and it thus has the merit of bringing together much special 
 knowledge from a great number of sources. It is an entertaining volume, full of interest 
 for the general reader, as well as for the learned and curious." 
 
 The Hornsea Gazette concludes its notice by saying : " The work is one which cannot 
 fail to instruct and entertain the reader." 
 
 It is pronounced by the Hull Examiner "a most readable and well-bound volume." 
 
 Says the Malton Gazette: " Unlike many books akin to it, this work contains nothing 
 not of permanent and exclusive worth, and Mr. Andrews' latest book is one which the 
 future historian of the shire of many acres will be glad to avail himself of." 
 
 The Chtistian Leader finishes a long and favourable review as follows : "The volume 
 is one of diversified interest, likely to find readers in other parts of the country as well as 
 in the great province to which it has particular reference." 
 
 The Edition is limited to 400 copies, and only a few remain on sale. 
 An early application for copies necessary. 
 
 LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT, & Co. 
 HULL: WILLIAM ANDREWS & Co., THE HULL PRESS.
 
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