| Battle of Holmedon Hill | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Charge of the Scots at Homildon Hill AD 1402 (illustration byWalter Paget, c. 1900) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Kingdom of England | Kingdom of Scotland | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Earl of Northumberland Henry 'Hotspur' Percy Earl of Dunbar | Earl of Douglas (POW) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 12,000 | 12,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Somewhat low | Very high | ||||||
TheBattle of Holmedon Hill orBattle of Homildon Hill was a conflict betweenEnglish andScottish armies on 14 September 1402 inNorthumberland,England. The battle wasrecounted inWilliam Shakespeare'sHenry IV, Part 1. Although Humbleton Hill is the modern name of the site, over the centuries it has been variously named Homildon, Hameldun, Holmedon, and Homilheugh.
During the time leading to the repudiation of theTruce of Leulinghem, both Kingdoms began to raid the other. On 22 June 1402, a small force backed by the Scots government, returning from one such raid, was attacked and defeated byGeorge Dunbar, theEarl of March's son, at theBattle of Nesbit Moor, at which no quarter was given.
Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, arguably the most militarily powerful man in Scotland, and a key part of theDuke of Albany's administration, used the pretext of Nesbit Moor to lead a punitive expedition into England. WithMurdoch of Fife, Albany's son, Douglas's army marched as far asNewcastle to avenge the battle. At the head of 10,000 men, he laid waste to the whole of Northumberland.
March persuadedHenry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, and his sonHenry "Hotspur" to lie in wait for the returning Scots atWooler. Once Douglas's men had made camp at Milfield, relatively low ground, the English army rushed to attack. The Scots, however, had keen sentries and the army was able to retreat to the higher ground of Homildon Hill and organise into traditionalSchiltron formations; Douglas had not learned from the lesson of his great uncle's defeat at theBattle of Halidon Hill seventy years previously. The Schiltrons presented a large target for the EnglishLongbowmen, and the formations started to break. A hundred men, underSir John Swinton of theSwintons of that Ilk, chose to charge the enemy saying:"Better to die in the mellay than be shot down like deer". All perished. It has been suggested that Douglas hesitated to signal the advance of his main force, and when he did, it was too little too late. Douglas's mauled army met the as yet unbloodied English men at arms, and were routed. Many of Douglas's leading captains were captured, including his kinsmanGeorge Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus,Thomas Dunbar, 5th Earl of Moray and Murdoch of Fife. Douglas himself was captured having been wounded five times, including the loss of an eye, despite the fact his armour had allegedly taken three years to make.[1]
With so many of the Scots leaders andchivalry taken prisoner, Albany was left in a precarious position militarily if not politically. It was only due to King Henry's internal and Welsh problems that the English did not press home their victory with a full-scale invasion of Scotland.Henry IV was keen that so many able soldiers should not return to Scotland to fight against him, so refused to allow those who held noble captives toransom them.[2] This act became one of the many grievances that the Percys had with the Crown. In 1403 they allied themselves withOwain Glyndŵr, and went into open rebellion against the English king. Hotspur set his prisoners free, as there was by now no chance of remuneration for them, and many including Douglas decided to join forces with him. Indeed, Douglas fought, and was again badly wounded, at Hotspur's final fight at theBattle of Shrewsbury.[3]
Sir John Mowbray ofBarnbougle, Laird ofDalmeny, was knighted by Sir Thomas Erskine at the battle.[4]
Here is a dear, a true industrious friend,
SirWalter Blunt, new lighted from his horse.
Stain’d with the variation of each soil
Betwixt that Holmedon and this seat of ours;
And he hath brought us smooth and welcome news.
The Earl of Douglas is discomfited:
Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights,
Balk’d in their own blood did Sir Walter see
On Holmedon’s plains. Of prisoners, Hotspur took
Mordake the Earl of Fife, and eldest son
To beaten Douglas; and the Earl of Athol,
Of Murray, Angus, and Menteith:
And is not this an honourable spoil?
A gallant prize? ha, cousin, is it not?—William Shakespeare,Henry IV, Part 1, act 1, scene 1.
The site of the battle,Humbleton Hill, is now located within theNorthumberland National Park. The hill contains the remains of anIron Agehillfort at the summit, built some 1,500 years before the battle. During the medieval period the sides of the ruined fort were apparently used for summer settlements and sheep shelters.
The Battle Stone atgrid referenceNT968295 was traditionally thought to commemorate the 1402 battle, but is actually a standing stone dating to theBronze Age.[5]
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