Richard of Hexham's The Battle of the Standard
Richard, prior of the church of Hexham, wrote an account of Scotland’s invasion of England in 1138, along with their defeat at the Battle of the Standard.
A.
D. 1137.
In the following year, immediately after Easter [11th April], when king
David had levied his troops; he set out to lay waste Northumberland, in
violation of the treaty of peace. But at the command of king Stephen, (who still
remained in Normandy,) the greater part of the earls and barons of England, with
a large force of soldiers, marched to Newcastle in Northumberland, being
prepared to offer resistance should he invade England. At length, by means of
envoys, a suspension of arms was agreed upon until the following Advent [28th
Nov.], and after forty days they retired to their own quarters. On king
Stephen's return from Normandy in Advent, after having, on payment of a large
sum, concluded a two years' truce with the earl of Anjou, the ambassadors of
David, king of Scotland, and his son Henry, speedily presented themselves,
holding out a withdrawal of the armistice unless he would confer on Henry the
earldom of Northumberland, but the king gave no ear to their demand.
A.
D. 1138.
On the fourth ides of January [10th Jan.], king David's nephew William,
son of Duncan, with a portion of David's army, made a nocturnal attack upon the
fortress called Carrum, in the king of England's territory, and having plundered
the neighbourhood around, proceeded to storm the castle. Afterwards the king
himself and his son Henry arrived with a further reinforcement, and applying the
whole strength of their resources, attempted to carry the town by various
assaults with battering machines and other implements, and after that laid siege
to it for three weeks. Yet he gained no advantage, but, on the contrary, every
attempt proved injurious to himself: for the knight's and others who were in the
fortress, most ably defending themselves and the town, killed his
standard‑bearer and many others of his men, under his own eyes, and
wounded many more. The king, perceiving the inability of his efforts, and the
many and daily increasing losses to himself and his troops, at length raised the
siege, and rushed with his whole force to devastate Northumberland. And then
that execrable army, more atrocious than the whole race of pagans, neither
fearing God nor regarding man, spread desolation over the whole province, and
murdered everywhere persons of both sexes, of every age and rank, and overthrew,
plundered, and burned towns, churches, and houses. For the sick on' their
couches, women pregnant and in childbed, infants in the womb, innocents at the
breast, or on the mother's knee, with the mothers themselves, decrepit old men
and worn-out old women, and persons debilitated from whatever cause,
wherever
While
his followers were perpetrating these things, the king of Scotland with a
considerable force occupied Corbridge. At this period a monastery of the
Cistercian rule, founded the same. year on the property of Ralph de Merley, was
destroyed, and very many others were overwhelmed with the heaviest afflictions.
Wherefore the monastery at the mouth of the river Tyne, called in English
Tynemouth, in order to secure itself and its inmates in this urgent need, paid
to the king of Scotland and his men twenty-seven marks of silver. In this raging
and tempestuous period, that noble monastery of Hexham, (although in the very
midst of the collision, and placed as it were on the very route of these
ruffians, so as to be surrounded by them on every side,) yet on account of the
renowned merits of its tutelary saints, Andrew the apostle, and Wilfrid, bishop
and martyr, and of its other patrons, Saints Acca, Alcmund, and Eata, bishops
and confessors, and the other saints who reposed within that church, offered the
most tranquil security to its people and those who took refuge in it, and
afforded them all a perfectly safe asylum from hostile assault.. Nevertheless,
at first the Picts rushed with impetuous haste to the river Tyne, on which the
town stands, and would have destroyed it, as they had others; but just as they
were about to cross this river, two of their number were killed by their own
countrymen, and on this the others retired in fear. Moreover, two of the same
tribe of Picts came by chance upon an oratory of St. Michael the archangel,
situated on that, the northern bank of the river Tyne, and attached to the
aforesaid church of Hexham; thereupon they broke open the door, and carried off
what they found. But the vengeance of God overtook them; for, given up to the
evil one, they were bereft of reason, and, as the madness drove them, fore night
and day, in the sight of all, through forest and country, and both perished by a
horrible death; the one first battering his own face with stones, and then
having his legs cut off by some one, the other drowning himself in the Tyne.
These events striking terror into some of the army, they did not venture to make
any further attempt upon the possessions of the church of Hexham. Thereupon
David, king of Scotland, and earl Henry his son, guaranteed to that monastery,
its brethren, and all belonging to it, continued security from hostilities on
the part of themselves and all their followers; and this they confirmed by their
charters, which are preserved in that church, the sole condition being that
they, on their part, should preserve the peace towards him and his. Thus that
noble church, founded by St. Wilfrid, preserving its ancient and wonted lustre
in this and other storms of battle and contention, became a secure place of
refuge to numberless poor as well as rich, to whom it afforded the necessaries
of life, and the preservation of their property.
Meanwhile,
about the feast of the Purification of St. Mary [February 2nd], Stephen, king of
England, arrived with a great number of earls and barons, and a large force of
horse and foot. On hearing of this the king of Scotland left Northumberland, and
rapidly retreated with his army to his own territory. He marched to Wark, and
afterwards lay in wait with his troops in some wilds near Roxburgh, with a
design to ensnare the king of England, who he hoped would take up his quarters
at Roxburgh. He directed the citizens to receive him favourably, and to make a
show of good faith; but he also directed that when he with his army should steal
up by night, and a number of soldiers whom he had placed in the town should make
a sudden sally and join him with the townsmen, they all should unite in
encompassing the king of England unawares on, every side, and should cut him off
with all his men. But the Lord, who knoweth the thoughts of man that they are
but vain, brought to nought all these devices. For the king, of England crossed
the river Tweed, and did not proceed to Roxburgh, but devastated and burnt a
great portion of the territory of the king of Scotland; and then, because many
of his knights declined to take arms and carry on the war, (for it was now the
beginning of Lent) and also because the king of Scotland and his men dared not
give battle, and moreover, his own army was deficient' in supplies, he therefore
retired with his troops to the south of England.
But, on the Friday of the week follow–ing the celebration of Easter 15th
April, the king of Scotland, so frequently mentioned, with his execrable army,
once more returned to Northumberland, and with no less ferocity and cruelty than
he had previously exhibited, lie devastated first the seacoast of the
county, which on the former occasion had been left undisturbed, and ail those
other portions besides which anywhere had escaped uninjured, and after that the
greater part of the territory of St. Cuthbert, on the eastern side, between
Durham and the sea. And both on
this and the former occasion he in like manner destroyed, together with the
husbandmen, many farms of the monks who served God and St. Cuthbert day and
night. But St. Cuthbert at length took pity on his servants; for, whilst his
adherents were perpetrating these enormities, the king with retinue took up his
abode near Durham, and there a serious mutiny having arisen on account of a
certain woman, the life of the king and his suite was placed in jeopardy by the
Picts. Whilst under much apprehension from this danger, suddenly a false report
was spread that a large army was approaching from the south of Britain; so he
with all his forces, leaving untouched their provisions already prepared, fled
unpursued towards their own country, and marching to Norham, which is in the
territory of St. Cuthbert, and laying siege to it, endeavoured to assault and
reduce it by various plans and devices. And while he remained there occupied in
the siege, he dispatched his nephew William, son of Duncan, on an expedition
into Yorkshire, with the Picts and a portion of his army. When they had arrived
there, and had gained the victory, on account of the sins of the people, they
destroyed by fire and sword the main part of the possessions of a splendid
monastery situated in Southerness, and in the district called Craven. Then,
sparing no rank, no age, no sex, no condition, they first massacred, in the most
barbarous manner possible, children and kindred in the sight of their relatives,
masters in sight of their servants, and servants in the sight of their masters,
and husbands before the eyes of their wives; and then (horrible to relate) they
carried off, like so much booty, the noble matrons and chaste virgins, together
with other women. These naked, fettered, herded together; by whips and thongs
they drove before them, goading them with their spears and other weapons. This
took place in other wars, but in this to a far greater extent. Afterwards, when
they were distributed along with the other booty, a few from motives of pity
restored some of them to liberty, at the church of St. Nary in Carlisle; but the
Picts and many others carried off those who fell to their share, to their own
country. And finally, these brutal men, making no account of adultery, incest,
or such crimes, when tired of abusing these poor wretches like unto animals,
made them their slaves, or sold them for cattle to other barbarians.
The
king of Scots and his men received these tidings with great exultation, and
applied themselves to the capture of the fortress before named with still
greater energy. The townsmen at first defended themselves with great vigour, but
afterwards being few, and many of them wounded, (there being only nine knights,)
despairing also of aid from their lord Geoffrey, bishop of Durham, and being
besides inexperienced in such struggles, they in dismay surrendered to the king,
while as yet the wall was in good condition, the tower very strong, and their
provisions abundant. The soldiers, consequently, and those who were in the town,
incurred great obloquy, because they had made a feeble resistance, and had too
readily given up the castle; and not only were they censured, but their lord
also, because he had not garrisoned his fortress according to his means, and as
the necessities of the period required. The knights retired with their men to
Durham. So the king, having captured the town, and taken the provisions which
were there stored up in much abundance, intimated to the bishop that if he would
desert Stephen, king of England, and swear fealty to his party, he would restore
the castle to him, and make good the damage which it had sustained. This the bishop refused, and the king, therefore, caused the
town to be dismantled.
While
these events occurred there, about Rogation time, the soldiers sallying from the
town of Wark, seized under their walls king David's supplies, which had to pass
close by them, together with the wagons and the attendants: The king,
excessively enraged at this, hastened with his whole force to besiege them, and
by batteries and all the means in his power he again proceeded to assail it. But
by God's blessing all his endeavours fell fruitless. Many of his men were
wounded and disabled, and some slain; likewise, in the conflicts which before
this siege had been fought with the king's son Henry, some were killed, others
wounded or taken prisoners, and ransom received for them. Blessed be God over
all, who protected the righteous, but overthrow the wicked!
The king then, perceiving that his attempts upon the town were useless,
caused the crops to be consumed on the ground, and then levying from his own
country, and whencesoever else he could, a larger force than ever before, he
united his troops into one body. Moreover Eustace Fitz John, one of the barons
of the king of England, who held a very strong fortress in Northumberland,
called Alnwick, and had long secretly favoured the king of Scotland, now openly
showing his treachery, threw off his allegiance to his lawful sovereign, the
king of England, and with his whole strength gave his aid to the Scots against
the realm of England. Leading with him no inconsiderable number of fighting men;
he marched with the king of Scotland to ravage Yorkshire, and had made
arrangements to give up to the king of Scotland and his party another strong
castle of his called Malton, situated in that province on the river Derwent, not
far from York, of which we shall have to say more hereafter. King David then,
consigning the siege of Wark to two of the thanes (that is to say, his barons),
with their retainers, marched with most of his army to the town called
Bamborough, where having taken an outwork of the castle, he killed nearly a
hundred men. And then having destroyed the crops around that place, and around
William Bertram's town of Mitford and in many other parts of Northumberland, he
crossed the river Tyne. Entering the territory of St. Cuthbert, he there waited
for a portion of his army that had not yet joined him, and at his summons the
Picts, and Cumbrians, and the men of Carlisle and the adjoining district, came
to him without delay. The whole army being thus assembled, he regarded it with
unbounded exultation for it appeared to him immense and invincible, and in truth
it vas very large, consisting of more than twenty-six thousand men. His heart
and the hearts of his men were lifted up, and putting their trust in themselves
and their numbers, and having, no fear of God, they spoke boastfully and
proudly. They both designed and threatened to give to destruction not only
Yorkshire, but also the greatest part of England; for, with such a host, they
did not imagine that any one would venture or be able to resist them. These
transactions occurred within the octave of the Nativity of St. Mary [8-15th
Sept.]; and the king then passing by Durham, destroyed the crops as far as the
river Tees, and, according to his usual practice, caused the towns and churches
which had previously escaped uninjured to be dismantled, plundered, and burnt.
Crossing the Tees, he commenced a similar career of violence. But God's
mercy, being moved by the tears of innumerable widows, orphans, and victims, no
longer permitted such wickedness to remain unchastised. For whilst he and his
men were engaged in this course of outrage, information of his crimes, his
proceedings, and his designs was conveyed to the men of Yorkshire, both by
common report and by sure intelligence; whereupon the barons of that province,
to wit, archbishop Turstin (who, as will presently appear, greatly exerted
himself in this emergency), William de Albemarle, Walter de Gant, Robert de
Bruce, Roger de Mowbray, Walter Espec, Ilbert de Lacy, William de Percy, Richard
de Courcy, William Fossard, Robert de Stuteville, and other powerful and
sagacious men, assembled at York, and anxiously deliberated as to what course
should be pursued at this crisis. Much irresolution was caused by distrust of
each other, arising from suspicions of treachery, by the absence of a chief and
leader of the war (for their sovereign, king Stephen, encompassed by equal
difficulties in the south of England, was just then unable to join them), and by
their dread of encountering, with an inadequate force, so great a host; so that
it appeared as if they would actually have abandoned the defence of themselves
and their country, had not their archbishop, Turstin, a man of great firmness
and worth, animated them by his counsel and exhortations. For, being the
shepherd of their souls, he would not, like a hireling on the approach of the
wolf, seek safety in flight, but rather, pierced with the deepest emotions of
pity at the dispersion and ruin of his flock, he applied all his energy and
labours to counteract these great evils. Wherefore, by the authority of his
divine commission, and the royal warrant with which on that occasion he was
provided, he boldly urged them, by their loyalty and their honour, not to allow
themselves through cowardice to be prostrated at one blow by utter savages; but
that rather they all, with their dependants, should seek God's favour by taste
repentance, and turning with all their heart to Him whose wrath these many and
heavy evils proved that they deserved, they should then act with the confidence
and courage demanded in so pressing an emergency. If they acted thus devotedly,
trusting in God's mercy, he assured them of victory; for that infamous people
were directing their hostile endeavours against God and holy church rather than
against them, and therefore were fighting in a cause unrighteous, nay rather
accursed. But their cause was a just and most holy one, inasmuch as they were
encountering peril in defence of holy church and of their country; and if so be
it should please God that this contest should not terminate without the loss of
some of them, yet, by those who were fighting with such an object, death was not
to be feared, but rather desired. He promised them also, that the priests of his
diocese, bearing crosses, should march with them to battle with their
parishioners, and that he also, God willing, designed to be present with his men
in the engagement.
At
this period of perplexity one of the nobles of that province, Bernard de Baliol,
sent to them by the king of England, arrived with a number of knights; and, on
the king's part and his own, he greatly aroused their energy to the same effect.
Thus incited by the charge of the king and their archbishop, coming unanimously
to one decision, they returned to their own abodes; and shortly after again met
at York, each fully equipped and armed for battle. Having there made private
confession, the archbishop enjoined on them and the whole populace a three days'
fast with almsgiving; after which he solemnly absolved them, and gave them God's
blessing and his own. And although he was himself so greatly reduced by age and
infirmity, that he had to be carried on a litter where need was, yet, in order
to animate their courage, he would readily have accompanied them to the field of
battle. But they compelled him to stay behind, begging that lie would employ
himself in interceding for them by prayers and alms, by vigils and fasts, and
other sacred observances; while they (as God would deign to aid them, and as
their position demanded) would cheerfully go forth against the enemy, in defence
of God's church, and of him who was his minister. So he consigned to them his
cross, and the standard of St. Peter, and his retainers; and they proceeded to
the town called Thirsk, from whence they dispatched Robert de Bruce and Bernard
de Baliol to the king of Scotland, who was then, as has been said, devastating
the territory of St. Cuthbert. They very humbly and courteously besought him
that he would at least desist from his acts of ferocity; and faithfully promised
him that if he would accede to their request, they would obtain from the king of
England the earldom of Northumberland; which he claimed for his son Henry. But
he, together with his followers, with a hardened heart, spurned their
solicitation, and disdainfully taunted them They therefore returned to their
associates, Robert abjuring the homage he had rendered him, and Bernard the
fealty which he had sworn to him on one occasion when he had been taken prisoner
by him. All the nobles, therefore, of that province, and William Peverel and
Geoffrey Halsalin from Nottinghamshire, and Robert de Ferrers from Derbyshire,
and other eminent and sagacious men, made a compact amongst themselves, which
they confirmed by oaths, that not one of them, in this difficulty, would desert
another while he had the power to aid him; and thus all would either perish or
conquer together. At the same time the archbishop sent to them Ralph, surnamed
Novellus, bishop of Orkney, with one of his archdeacons and other clergy, who,
as his delegate, should impose penance and give absolution to the people who
daily flocked to them from every quarter. He also sent to them, as he had
promised, the priests with their parishioners. While thus waiting the approach
of the Scots, the scouts whom they had sent forward to reconnoitre returned,
bringing the information that‑the king with his army had already passed
the river Tees, and was ravaging their province in his wonted manner: They
therefore hastened to resist them; and passing the village of Alverton [North
Allerton], they arrived early in the morning at a plain distant from it about
two miles. Some of them soon erected, in the centre of a frame which they
brought, the mast of a ship, to which they gave the name of the Standard; whence
those lines of Hugh
Our gallant stand by all confest,
Be this the Standard's fight;
Where death or victory the test,
That
proved the warriors' might.
On
the top of this pole they hung a silver pix containing the Host, and the banner
of St. Peter the Apostle, and John of Beverley and Wilfrid of Ripon, confessors
and bishops. In doing this, their hope was that our Lord Jesus Christ, by the
efficacy of his Body, might be their leader in the contest in which they were
engaging in defence of his church and their country. By this means they also
provided for their men, that, in the event of their being cut off and separated
from them, they might observe some certain and conspicuous rallying-point,
by which they might rejoin their comrades, and where they would receive succour.
Scarcely,
then, had they put themselves in battle array, when tidings were brought that
the king of Scotland was close at hand with his whole force, ready and eager for
the contest. The greater part of the knights, then dismounting, became foot
soldiers, a chosen body of whom, interspersed with archers, were arranged in the
front rank. The others, with the exception of those who were to dispose and
rally the forces, mustered with the barons in the centre, near and around the
standard, and were enclosed by the rest of the host, who closed in on all sides.
The troop of cavalry and the horses of the knights were stationed at a little
distance, lest they should take fright at the shouting and uproar of the Scots.
In like manner, on the enemy's side, the king and almost all his followers were
on foot, their horses being kept at a distance. In front of the battle were the
Picts; in the centre, the king with his knights and English; the rest of the
barbarian host poured roaring around them.
As
they advanced in this order to battle, the standard with its banners became
visible at no great distance; and at once the hearts of the king and his
followers were overpowered by extreme terror and consternation; yet, persisting
in their wickedness, they pressed on to accomplish their bad ends.
On the octaves of the Assumption of St. Mary, being Monday, the eleventh
of the kalends of September [22nd Aug.], between the first and third hours, the
struggle of this battle was begun and finished. For numberless Picts being slain immediately on the first
attack, the rest, throwing down their arms, disgracefully fled. The plain was
strewed with corpses; very many were taken prisoners; the king and all the
others took to flight; and at length, of that immense army all were either
slain, captured, or scattered as sheep without a shepherd.
They fled like persons bereft of reason, in a marvelous manner, into the
adjoining district of their adversaries, increasing their distance from their
own country, instead of retreating towards it. But wherever they were
discovered, they were put to death like sheep for the slaughter; and thus, by
the righteous judgment of God, those who had cruelly massacred multitudes, and
left them unburied, and giving them neither their country's nor a foreign rite
of burial, left a prey to the dogs, the birds, and the wild beasts, were either
dismembered and torn to pieces, or decayed and putrefied in the open air.
The king also, who, in the haughtiness of his mind and the power of his
army, seemed a little before to reach with his head even to the stars of heaven,
and threatened ruin to the whole or greatest part of England, now dishonoured
and meanly attended, barely escaped with his life, in the utmost ignominy and
dismay. The power of Divine
vengeance was also most plainly exhibited in this, that the army of the
vanquished was incalculably greater than that of the conquerors.
No estimate could be formed of the number of the slain; for, as many
affirm, of that army which came out of Scotland alone, it was computed by the
survivors that more than ten thousand were missing; and in various localities of
the Deirans, Bernicians, Northumbrians, and Cumbrians, many more perished after
the fight than fell in the battle.
The
army of the English having, by God's help, with a small loss, thus easily
obtained the victory, and taken possession of the spoil, which was found in
great abundance, was very speedily disbanded; and all returning to their homes,
they restored with joy and thanksgiving to the churches of the saints the
banners which they had received. They had gone forth to this battle in their
gayest array, and with costly splendour, as to. a royal marriage. Some of the
barons, with a portion of the army, marched to Eustace's town, called Malton
mentioned above; and having destroyed the suburb, they laid siege to it,
because, during the fight, the soldiers had sallied from it by orders of their
lord, and set fire to many villages. A truce of eight days was arranged, after
which the siege continued. The ground on which the above battle was fought was
alone the possession. of St. Cuthbert, the whole surrounding district being
owned by others; and this occurred not by design of the combatants, but by the
dispensation of Providence; for it may clearly be observed that Divine justice
would not long allow to go unpunished the iniquity that had been perpetrated in
the territory of his holy and beloved confessor and bishop, but would speedily
visit it with wonted vengeance.
The
king of England received the news of this event with extreme joy; and, being
informed that they had greatly distinguished themselves in this affair, he
created William de Albemarle earl in Yorkshire, and Robert de Ferrers earl in
Derbyshire. And it is to be remarked that, about this time, fortune in a dike
manner befriended himself and his supporters, both in the south of England and
in Normandy, in their encounters with their opponents. The king of Scotland
added fresh force to the siege of Wark, upon being rejoined by his son Henry,
and reassembling his men, who had fled from the fight separately, rather like
bitter foes than comrades; for when these Angles, Scots, Picts, and other
barbarians, experience a disaster, those who have the power either murder,
wound, or at the least despoil the others, and then, by the righteous judgment
of God, they were cut off by their allies as well as their foes. The king, upon
hearing these facts, imposed upon his subjects heavy penalties and fines, and
drew from them an immense sum of money; at the same time, he bound them more
strongly than ever before, by oaths and pledges, never more to abandon him in
war. He then endeavoured by engines, new constructions, and various devices, to
gain possession of the town of Wark. The townsmen, however, destroyed his
engines, killed in various ways several of the king's men, and wounded many,
with a loss of only one of their own. soldiers, who was cut off and slain by a
multitude of the Scots who had sallied from the castle, and he, rashly confident
in his own valour, was staying to demolish one of the engines. The king at
length, seeing all his endeavours ineffectual, and damaging to himself and his
troops, removed his engines relinquished the assault, and enforced a strict
blockade of the town, much against the inclination of his followers; for in
consequence of the great losses, difficulties, and destitution which they had
there endured, they were completely worn out by the protracted siege.
At
this time certain lawless persons, whose sole study and delight was to plan. and
perpetrate crimes, banded themselves together in a detestable alliance, the more
effectually to carry out their designs of mischief. The chiefs and leaders of
this abominable fraternity were Edgar the illegitimate son of earl Cospatrick,
and Robert and Uctred, sons of Meldred. Urged, therefore, by rapacity,
encouraged by impunity, and frenzied by passion, they overran Northumberland
like wolves, seeking whom they might devour; and crossing the river Tyne, they
came upon the territory of St. Cuthbert, but lighting upon nothing there which
it was within their power or their daring to seize, they returned empty-handed.
They then carried off all the booty they could obtain in a village of the parish
of Hexham, called Herintun (Errington). Two nights after these same robbers
attacked another village called Digentun (Denton). This village was the property
of the canons of the church aforesaid, and was distant eight miles east of
Hexham. Having slain three of the canons' servants, and heaped many insults on
their prior, who had happened to arrive unexpectedly that night, they marched
off with their spoil. This mischance befell these canons contrary to their
expectation, inasmuch as the king of Scotland had promised, as well for himself
as for all his followers, (as was before said,) the most absolute security to
them, their vassals, their effects, their parish, and expressly this very
village.
Originally translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, volume 4, part 1 (London, 1853-58)