Background
When Henry VIII of England broke from the Roman Catholic Church, he asked James V of Scotland, his nephew, to do the same. James ignored his uncle's request and further insulted him by refusing to meet with Henry at York. Furious, Henry VIII sent troops led by Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk against Scotland. In retaliation for the massive English raid into Scotland, James assigned Robert, Lord Maxwell, the Scottish Warden of West March, the task of raising an army. [3] [4]
James wrote to Pope Paul III on 9 November 1542 about the English raid, and explained that he had defied Henry's attempts to convert him to the Protestant faith by waging war with his vast resources gained from the dissolution of the monasteries. [5] The Earl of Angus wrote that Cardinal Beaton and the Earl of Moray had intended to follow the Scottish army into England at the East March and serve a papal interdict in English churches. [6]
An order for the muster of Scottish forces at the Kirk of Morton (near Bogrie, in Scotland) before dawn on 22 November survives. Men from Dumfries, Peebles, Selkirk, and Hawick were summoned. The note mentions their routes; from Dumfries to Hoddom and Kirkconnel tower in Ecclefechan; from Peebles to Moffat; from Selkirk to Eskdalemuir. [7]
Battle
On 24 November 1542, an army of 15,000–18,000 Scots advanced into England. Lord Maxwell, though never officially designated commander of the force, declared he would lead the attack in person. A report of George Douglas of Pittendreich, who was not present, and some later chronicle accounts, say that in the absence of Maxwell, Oliver Sinclair, James V's favourite, declared himself to be James's chosen commander. According to this account of the battle, the other commanders refused to accept his command and the command structure disintegrated. [8] The English commanders, Lord Wharton and Sir William Musgrave, made reports of the battle. Musgrave stated that Maxwell was still in charge and fought with the rest of the Scottish nobles, who were forced to dismount on the bank of the River Esk. [9]
The Scots' advance into England was met near Solway Moss by Lord Wharton and his 3,000 men. The battle was uncoordinated and may be described as a rout. Sir Thomas Wharton described the battle as the overthrow of the Scots between the rivers Esk and Lyne. The Scots, after the first encounter of a cavalry chase at "Akeshawsill", now Oakshawhill, moved "down" towards Arthuret Howes. They found themselves penned in south of the Esk, on English territory between the river and the Moss (a peat bog), and after intense fighting surrendered themselves and their 10 field guns to the English cavalry. Wharton said the Scots were halted at the Sandy Ford by Arthuret mill dam. [10] The Scots were 'beguiled by their own guiding', according to one Scottish writer. [11] Several hundred of the Scots may have drowned in the marshes and river. [1]
James, who was not present at the battle (he had remained at Lochmaben), withdrew to Falkland Palace, humiliated and ill with fever. The news that his wife had given birth to a daughter instead of a son further crushed his will to live, and he is reported to have stated that the House of Stewart "came with a lass and will go with a lass". He died at Falkland two weeks later at the age of thirty. According to George Douglas, in his delirium he lamented the capture of his banner and Oliver Sinclair at Solway Moss more than his other losses. [12]
Aftermath
Gervase Phillips has estimated that only about seven Englishmen and 20 Scots were killed but 1,200 Scottish prisoners were taken, [2] including Sinclair, the Earls of Cassilis, Glencairn, and Maxwell. [13] Prisoners taken to England included Lord Gray and Stewart of Rosyth. A number of the Scottish earls, lords, and lairds were released; they sent hostages, called 'pledges', to England in their place. [14] On 14 December 1542, Thomas Wharton's report of the battle was read to the Privy Council, and they ordered that Scottish prisoners entering London should wear a red St Andrew's cross. Among the captured guns were four falconets with the cast cipher of 'JRS' for 'Jacobus Rex Scotorum' and the Scottish royal arms with an imperial crown. [15]
Eustace Chapuys reported that the Scottish prisoners attended Henry's court on Christmas Day wearing swords and dirks. They were able to talk to the French ambassador, and Henry gave them each a present of a gold chain. These hostages and prisoners were mostly well treated in England, as it was hoped that when they returned to Scotland after their ransoms had been paid, they would further the English cause. Some of the high-ranking prisoners taken at the battle were exchanged for their 'pledges' at Carlisle on 10 January 1543. [16] Chapuys said the return of some prisoners was prevented at this time by the Scottish government, which claimed they were traitors for losing the battle, or suspected they were now being influenced by Henry. As their families were arrested, these prisoners could not provide their pledges and stayed on the border at Berwick-upon-Tweed. [17]
However, a modern historian Marcus Merriman sees the battle and hostage-taking more as the culmination of James V's war rather than the beginning of Henry VIII's War of Rough Wooing (also known as the Nine Years' War). He notes that the capture of so many Scottish nobles at the time of the birth and accession of Mary, Queen of Scots, did not affect Henry's policy or the Scottish lords' subsequent rejection of the Treaty of Greenwich in December 1543. [18]
Schedules of prisoners, keepers, and pledges
The chief Scottish prisoners were taken to Newcastle upon Tyne, and were listed with their English keepers at that time in a schedule prepared by Sir Thomas Wharton; [19] below the keepers of their substitute 'pledges' or hostages are added from a list compiled later in 1543 amongst the papers of the Earl of Shrewsbury. [20]
- James Douglas of Drumlanrig; keeper, the Master Customar of Carlisle.
- John Maxwell of Cohill; keeper, William Sandes; pledge, Archibald Maxwell, his brother, a child, in Yorkshire.
- James Sinclair; keeper Alexander Musgrave; pledge, as for Oliver Sinclair.
- John Charteris; keeper, William Porter
- Robert Charteris; keeper, John Wharton
- John Maxwell, brother of Lord Maxwell; pledge, his nephew Hugh Maxwell in Yorkshire.
- Patrick Hepburn; keeper Lionel Carnaby
- Walter Ker, laird of Graddon; keeper Thomas Denton; his pledge with Sir William Gascoigne, senior.
- George Hume, laird of Ayton; keeper Thomas Warcup
- Laird of Awncastell (John Maitland, laird of 'Awik Castle', Annan); keeper Simon Musgrave; pledge, his brother with Thomas Wentworth.
- William, Earl of Menteith; keeper Lancelot Lancaster.
- Robert Erskine, son of Lord Erskine; keeper Edward Aglionby.
- Patrick, Lord Gray; keeper Walter Strickland; pledges with the Archbishop of York.
- Laurence, Lord Oliphant: keeper Sir John Lowther; pledges with the Bishop of Durham.
- Oliver Sinclair: keeper Sir John Lowther: pledge, son of the Laird of Cleisburn
- Hugh, Lord Somerville; keeper Sir Thomas Curwen
- Malcolm, Lord Fleming; keeper Sir William Musgrave. Deceased when the Talbot-Shrewsbury papers list was compiled.
- Gilbert Kennedy, Earl of Cassilis; keeper Sir Thomas Wharton: pledge with Archbishop of Canterbury.
- Lord Maxwell; keeper Sir Thomas Wharton; remained at Carlisle in person.
- William Cuninghame, 4th Earl Glencairn, keeper Duke of Norfolk
In March 1544, as the War of Rough Wooing or Nine Years' War commenced in earnest, Henry VIII sent the Richmond Herald, Gilbert Dethick, to the Privy Council of Scotland at Stirling Castle to demand the return to England of a number of those high-ranking prisoners who had been allowed to go home on licence. These were: the Earls of Cassilis and Glencairn, Lords Somerville, Maxwell, Gray, Oliphant, and Fleming, with Oliver Sinclair, George Hume of Ayton, Robert Master of Erskine, William Seton, Patrick Hepburn, James Pringle, James Sinclair, Alexander Sinclair, John Maitland of Awencastle, Henry Maxwell brother of lord Maxwell, John Ross of Craigie, the laird of Moncrieff, John Leslie younger son of the earl of Rothes, and John Carmichael. If the council did not organise their return, Henry threatened revenge on their pledges in England, and penalties on future captives. [21]
James V was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England. During his childhood Scotland was governed by regents, firstly by his mother until she remarried, and then by his first cousin once removed, John Stewart, Duke of Albany. James's personal rule began in 1528 when he finally escaped the custody of his stepfather, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus. His first action was to exile Angus and confiscate the lands of the Douglases.
The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory. The battle was fought near Branxton, in the county of Northumberland, in northern England, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey. In terms of troop numbers, it was the largest battle ever fought between the two kingdoms.
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus was a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots. He was the son of George, Master of Angus, who was killed at the Battle of Flodden, and succeeded as Earl of Angus on the death of his grandfather, Archibald.
Sir Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton was an English nobleman and a follower of King Henry VIII of England. He is best known for his victory at Solway Moss on 24 November 1542 for which he was given a barony.
Berwick Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary was an English office of arms created around 1460 for service on the Scottish Marches based at Berwick-upon-Tweed. In the 16th century there was also a Herald or Pursuivant based at Carlisle on the west border.
Gilbert Kennedy, 3rd Earl of Cassilis was a Scottish landowner, soldier, politician, and judge. He served as Treasurer of Scotland.
Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre of Gilsland, KG was the son of Humphrey Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre of Gilsland and Mabel Parr, daughter of Sir Thomas Parr of Kendal by his wife, Alice Tunstall. Mabel was the first of the Parr family to marry into the peerage but she was surpassed by her great niece, Catherine Parr, who became the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII.
Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming, was Lord Chamberlain of Scotland to King James V, from 1524.
Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell was a member of the Council of Regency (1536) of the Kingdom of Scotland, Regent of the Isle of Arran and like his father before him patriarch of the House of Maxwell/Clan Maxwell. A distinguished Scottish nobleman, politician, soldier and in 1513 Lord High Admiral, Lord Maxwell was a member of James V of Scotland's royal council and served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1524, 1527 and 1535. He was also an Extraordinary Lord of Session in 1533. In 1537, he was one of the ambassadors sent to the French Court to negotiate the marriage of James to Mary of Guise, whom he espoused as proxy for the King.
The Rough Wooing, also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the Auld Alliance and prevent Scotland being used as a springboard for future invasion by France, partly to weaken Scotland, and partly to force the Scottish Parliament to confirm the existing marriage alliance between Mary, Queen of Scots, and the English heir apparent Edward, son of King Henry VIII, under the terms of the Treaty of Greenwich of July 1543. An invasion of France was also contemplated.
The Secret Bond was a document drawn up by Cardinal Beaton and signed at Linlithgow by a number of Scottish peers and lairds on 24 July 1543. They agreed to prevent the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to Prince Edward of England. The document is sometimes called the "Linlithgow Bond". After an agreement was reached with the Governor of Scotland, Regent Arran, Mary moved from Linlithgow Palace to Stirling Castle.
Norman Leslie, was a 16th-century Scottish nobleman. The leader of the party which assassinated Cardinal Beaton, he was forced to flee Scotland, serving the monarchs of England and France. He died serving the latter in 1554.
Sir Adam Otterburn of Auldhame and Redhall was a Scottish lawyer and diplomat. He was king's advocate to James V of Scotland and secretary to Mary of Guise and Regent Arran.
Sir James Kirkcaldy of Grange, a Fife laird and treasurer of Scotland. He married Janet Melville, aunt of Sir James Melville of Halhill. Their heir was William Kirkcaldy of Grange. His main property was called Hallyards Castle. The name is sometimes spelled Kirkaldy.
Hugh Somerville, 5th Lord Somerville was a lord of the Parliament of Scotland. He is sometimes reckoned to be the 4th Lord Somerville. He succeeded his brother, John Somerville, 4th Lord Somerville. Hugh and John were sons of William Somerville, Master of Somerville, and Marjory Montgomerie.
George Douglas of Pittendreich was a member of the powerful Red Douglas family who struggled for control of the young James V of Scotland in 1528. His second son became James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton and Regent of Scotland. Initially, George Douglas promoted the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Prince Edward of England. After war was declared between England and Scotland he worked for peace and to increase the power of Mary of Guise, the widow of James V.
Sir Oliver Sinclair of Pitcairnis and Whitekirk was a favourite courtier of James V of Scotland. He was a Sheriff of Orkney. A contemporary story tells that James V gave him the battle standard and command at the Battle of Solway Moss. Another story tells how at the end of his life he shamed the haughty servant of Regent Morton by showing him how his own prosperity had faded.
William Eure, 1st Baron Eure (c.1483–1548) of Witton was an English knight and soldier active on the Anglo-Scottish border. Henry VIII of England made him Baron Eure by patent in 1544. The surname is often written as "Evers". William was Governor of Berwick upon Tweed in 1539, Commander in the North in 1542, Warden of the Eastern March, and High Sheriff of Durham. During the Anglo-Scottish war called the Rough Wooing, Eure and his sons Henry and Ralph made numerous raids against towns and farms in the Scottish Borders.
Laurence Oliphant, 3rd Lord Oliphant was a Scottish nobleman.
Assured Scots were Scottish people who pledged to support English plans for Mary, Queen of Scots to marry Edward VI of England during the war of the Rough Wooing between 1543 and 1550. They took "assurances" and some received English pension money. Their motivations varied, and included favouring amity with England and their support for Protestant faith while Scotland was a Catholic country.
Kingdom of Scotland 
Kingdom of England