The Battle of Flodden 1513 by John Sadler

Author:John Sadler
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780752479132
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2013-04-09T16:00:00+00:00

The Scots had thought themselves secured against the approach of their enemies from the opposite side of the Till, by the depth and bad fords of that river, through a long tract of its course on each hand of them, and by a battery of cannon they had erected near the foot of the eastern declivity of Flodden Hill bearing full on the bridge of Ford.12

It seems entirely logical that the crossing at Etal would be similarly covered. Whilst the Scottish magnates did not fear a fight, they were loath to witness their king hazard his own person in the melee. Pitscottie portrays their chief spokesman as being Lord Lindsay of the Byres (his own grandfather). Lindsay, with smooth eloquence, summed up the case for the king avoiding the field: ‘So my lords, ye may understand by this you shall be called the merchant, and your king a “rose nobill”, and England a common hazarder that has nothing to jeopard but a bad halfpenny in comparison of our noble king and an auld crooked earl lying in a chariot.’13

This homely analogy pointed to an essential truth. Scotland had far more to lose than England. James, predictably, would have none of it, even threatening to hang Lindsay for his temerity.14 His whole character and ambition inclined him to the hazard. It is possible this exchange was largely the work of Pitscottie who was on something of a mission to lambaste James for his shortcomings. Though James had an understandable yearning to prove himself as a general, he was not some reckless Custer figure willing to chance all on do or die. He took his responsibilities as sovereign most seriously and had previously, as in 1497, demonstrated a canny intuition for realpolitik. It is more likely that, if it came to a fight James was confident in the ability of his army, despite the visible cracks, to hold its own. Precisely because the Scottish army’s morale was uncertain, he felt the need to lead in person. Whilst this added immeasurably to the risk it was, in the circumstances, also entirely understandable.

Therefore this was not mere impetuosity. James knew the value to his army of personal leadership, the paladin at the head of his disparate force, welding them into a cohesive whole by the force and charisma of his example. In this he was perhaps wiser than his councillors understood. The Renaissance prince was a different type of ruler. His power was becoming more absolute than that his medieval predecessors had wielded but the burden of policy consequentially sat more heavily. Military triumph, glory and renown, were the hallmarks of success, the measure of his fitness to be admitted into the wider counsels of his fellow monarchs. Such triumphs and the attendant risks could not be delegated or the lustre would vanish. Those meagre rewards doled out to the victorious English peers by a grudging monarch reflected this same consideration. Henry might offer thanksgiving and fulsome praise but in reality he was jealous of Surrey’s achievement.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.