The Society - History

The War with Scotland 1482

King Edward had signed a treaty with Scotland in 1474 and relations between the two countries had been amicable, with the king paying instalments on his daughter Cecily’s dowry in preparation for her marriage to the Scottish heir. By the late 1470s, however, the Scots began breaking the truce and once again the border country was the subject of raids and pillaging. European politics may have been at the root of the problem. France and Burgundy were at odds and Louis XI of France may have encouraged James III of Scotland to renew the auld alliance with his country. If Scotland breached their treaty with England and Edward had to concern himself with his northern border, Louis could hope that the English king would not become too interested in what was happening on the continent.

Edward’s response to the Scottish aggression was to send Alexander Legh to demand reparation, and, if this was not agreed, to threaten James III with war. However, Edward would be satisfied if the Scottish heir was handed over to the English to guarantee the marriage with Cecily and that Berwick was restored to England. James III refused on both counts and the English began preparations for war. On 12 May 1480 Richard of Gloucester was appointed lieutenant-general, and in June commissions of array were issued in three of the northern counties. James became nervous at this point and made overtures to the English but these were rejected and in November Edward announced he intended to prosecute the war personally the following year.

In the late spring of 1481 John Lord Howard sailed into the Firth of Forth destroying and capturing Scottish ships and burning Blackness. Richard of Gloucester had in the meantime recruited men to the border garrisons and worked closely with the earl of Northumberland to establish how many men could be called upon for the invasion. Richard, along with the Scottish renegade earl of Douglas, was also given the task of suborning key Scottish lords to weaken King James’s support, but this covert activity met with little success. In March Richard had visited London to discuss the invasion plans but was no doubt dismayed later in the year to learn that the king had decided not to undertake the campaign himself because of ‘adverse turmoil’ and left Richard and Northumberland ‘to wage a vigorous war against the Scots’ (Scofield II, p. 321). King Edward did travel as far as Nottingham where he arrived on 1 October and stayed until the 20th. Richard met him there, and it was no doubt agreed that it was too late in the season for the full invasion to take place that year. In Richard’s absence from the immediate vicinity of the war Northumberland may have appealed to the citizens of York for men in a letter dated 13 October when he reported the Scots were already in his eponymous county. The year of the letter is uncertain (Kendall attributed it to 1480) but the incident may well be the one recorded by the Scottish historian John Leslie that the ‘borderers invaded the marches of England and took away many preys of goods and destroyed many towns and led many persons in Scotland’. Following the fresh news of Scottish incursions into England Richard returned to the front, laid siege to the town and citadel of Berwick, which he failed to take, and was no doubt involved in the ‘intermittent warfare [that] continued all along the border during the winter’ (Ross, p. 282).

The new year brought a new campaigning season and on 21 February Richard received a commission to obtain the necessary victuals for his army, with leave to find them anywhere in England, Wales and Ireland. The harvest had been poor, hence the permission to find grain and crops wherever they were available. On 22 May Richard led an attack into southwest Scotland and reached Dumfries which he burned amongst other towns. Events now took an unexpected turn when the brother of James III, the duke of Albany, arrived in England from France where he had been living since fleeing Scotland in 1479. King Edward welcomed the Scottish traitor and during a stay at Fotheringhay, where they were joined by Richard, a treaty was agreed on 11 June, in which the English king recognised Albany’s claim to the throne of Scotland. The following day Richard was confirmed as Lieutenant-General of the North and with Albany set out on the invasion of Scotland. He had authority to raise an army of around 20,000 men and sufficient funds to pay them for four weeks. The muster was complete by mid-July and the army crossed the border. The English host was large enough to terrify Berwick and the town fell to Richard without further delay, although the citadel held out. Lord Stanley was left to continue the siege whilst Richard moved north, devastating Roxburghshire and Berwickshire, all the while expecting to meet the Scottish army. He was to be disappointed. On 22 July King James’s dissatisfied subjects had taken their king prisoner at Lauder, executed his favourites and returned with their royal prisoner to Edinburgh. As Richard moved towards the capital the rebels moved to Haddington, situated fifteen miles to the east, and awaited developments. Richard found himself entering an undefended Scottish capital. He controlled his army and the city was not molested. The king’s captors were prepared to negotiate with Richard. Albany immediately abandoned his hope of becoming king and settled for the restoration of his lands and position. The Scots asked for a peace treaty and that the proposed marriage between the Scottish heir and Cecily take place. Richard demanded the return of Berwick Castle and the dowry paid for the princess. The settlement was that the marriage would go ahead if it were Edward’s wish, otherwise the dowry would be repaid. Richard left Edinburgh, disbanded most of his army at Berwick on 11 August, and continued with the siege. The castle fell on 24 August and has been part of England ever since.

The Crowland Chronicler was dismissive of the campaign – that it cost too much for too little gain and that King Edward was grieved at the ‘frivolous expenditure’. It is, however, difficult to see what other outcome there could have been. Richard, on the ground, would have appreciated the mood of the Scots and that it would not be possible to establish Albany on the throne, although the situation might have been different if the Scottish army had been vanquished. In any event, this was not one of the original aims of the war. Richard himself was also keenly aware of the cost of the army and that he could not afford to prolong the negotiations or his stay in Scotland.