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Battle of Otterburn

Coordinates: 55°14′10″N 2°11′42″W / 55.236°N 2.195°W / 55.236; -2.195
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Battle of Otterburn
Part of Anglo-Scottish border conflicts
Battle of Otterburn
Date5 August, 1388
Location
1 mile northwest of Otterburn, Northumberland
Result Scottish victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Scotland Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas† Henry "Hotspur" Percy
Strength
around 2,900 around 3,200
Casualties and losses
around 500 1,500 + killed, wounded, and captured
Pennon of James Douglas, Earl of Douglas.
Captured Pennon of Hotspur
For the ballad see The Battle of Otterburn (ballad).

The Battle of Otterburn took place on the 5 August 1388, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scottish and English.

The best remaining record of the battle is from Jean Froissart's Chronicles in which he claims to have interviewed veterans from both sides of the battle. His account is still regarded with some concern as details, such as the distance between Newcastle upon Tyne and Otterburn, are incorrect.

The Scottish James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas decided to lead a raid—one of a continuing series on both sides of the border—into English territory. It was timed to take advantage of divisions on the English side between Lord Neville and Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland who had just taken over defence of the border.

The battle

The Scots divided their forces with the main force and their baggage train heading towards Carlisle while a raiding party including Earl Douglas ravaged the countryside around Durham and Newcastle. Henry Percy sent his two sons Henry "Hotspur" Percy and Ralph to engage while he stayed at Alnwick to cut off the marauders' retreat.

Froissart says that the first fighting included a meeting of the Earl Douglas and Henry Percy in hand to hand combat, in which Percy's pennon was captured. Douglas then moved off destroying the castle at Ponteland and besieging Otterburn Castle (now Otterburn Tower). Percy attacked Douglas' encampment with a surprise attack in the late afternoon but first encountered the Earl's serving men, giving the bulk of the forces time to muster and attack them on their flank.

During the battle on a moon-lit night Douglas was killed and the Percys were both captured, with the remaining English force retreating to Newcastle. Despite Percy's force having an estimated three to one advantage over the Scots Froissart records 1040 English were captured and 1860 killed whereas 200 Scots were captured and 100 were killed. The Westminister Chronicle gives a more reliable estimate of Scottish casualties as being around 500 or so. When the Bishop of Durham advanced from Newcastle with 10,000 men he was so impressed by the ordered appearance of the Scottish force, the din they set up with their horns, and their seemingly unassailable position, that he declined to attack.

Aftermath

Such a decisive victory kept the two sides apart for some time. In 1402 the Earl Douglas' cousin attempted to emulate his great victory and hopefully survive but the Battle of Humbleton Hill was almost an exact reverse of Otterburn and a great defeat for the Scots.

Of such renown was the battle of Otterburn that several ballads were composed in its honour including The Battle of Otterburn and The Ballad of Chevy Chase (Child ballads 161 and 162). Chevy Chase rather mangles the history of the battle and may be confusing other conflicts at around the same time but it is still cited as one of the best of the ancient ballads.

Houses Involved in the Battle

Some of the various Scottish Lowland Families involved in this battle were theClan Swinton Johnstones, Grahams, Gordons, Lindsays and Montgomerys.[1]

Bizarre Happenings

Several witnesses spoke of a phantom army which had been seen in November 1960 on a road near Otterburn, Northumberland, the site of a fourteenth-century battle. One of the witnesses, Mrs Dorothy Strong, was in a taxi. She said: 'Suddenly the engine died, the fare-meter went haywire and the taxi felt as if it was being forced against an invisible wall. The soldiers seemed to close in on us and then fade into thin air.' Several people said it had happened around that location before.[2]

References

PRIMARY

  1. ^ Lean's Collection By Vincent Stuckey Lean p 266. [1]
  2. ^ "Science Fiction History".
  • Froissart, Jean, Chronicles, 1903 ed.
  • Hardyng, John, Chronicles, 1812.
  • Pluscarden, the Book of, ed. F. H. Skene, 1880.
  • The Westminster Chronicle, 1381-1394, ed. and trans. by L. C. Hector and B. F. Harvey, 1982.
  • Wyntoun, Andrew of, Origynal Chronicle of Scotland, ed F. J. Amours, 1908.

SECONDARY

  • Grant, A., The Otterburn War from a Scottish Point of View, in War and Border Societies in the Middle Ages, ed A. Goodman and A. Took, 1992.
  • Robson, J., Border Battles and Battlefields, 1897.
  • Nigel Tranter, The Stewart Trilogy, Dunton Green, Sevenoaks, Kent : Coronet Books, 1986. ISBN 0-340-39115-4. Lords of Misrule, 1388-1396. A Folly of Princes, 1396-1402. The Captive Crown, 1402-1411.
  • Tyson, C, The Battle of Otterburn: When and Where was it Fought?, in War And Border Societies, see above.
  • Walton, R. H., The Otterburn Story, in History of the Berwickshire Naturalist Club, vol. 35, 1961.
  • Wesencraft, C. F., The Battle of Otterburn, 1988.
  • White, R. H., The History of the Battle of Otterburn, 1857.

55°14′10″N 2°11′42″W / 55.236°N 2.195°W / 55.236; -2.195

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