HOW THE SCOTS WON THE BATTLE AGAINST THE
ENGLISHMEN
BESIDE OTTERBURN, AND THERE WAS TAKEN PRISONERS SIR
HENRY AND SIR RALPH PERCY, AND HOW AN ENGLISH
SQUIRE WOULD NOT YIELD HIM, NO MORE WOULD
A SCOTTISH SQUIRE, AND SO DIED BOTH; AND
HOW THE BISHOP OF DURHAM AND HIS
COMPANY WERE DISCOMFITED
AMONG THEMSELVES
To say truth, the Englishmen were sorer travailed than the
Scots, for they came the same day from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a six English miles, and went a great pace to the
intent to find the Scots, which they did; so that by their
fast going they were near out of breath, and the Scots were
fresh and well rested, which greatly availed them when
time was of their business: for in the last scrimmish they
reculed back the Englishmen in such wise, that after that
they could no more assemble together, for the Scots passed
through their battles. And it fortuned that sir Henry
Percy and the lord of Montgomery, a valiant knight of Scotland,
fought together hand to hand right valiantly without
letting of any other, for every man had enough to do. So
long they two fought that per force of arms sir Henry
Percy was taken prisoner by the said lord of Montgomery.
The knights and squires of Scotland, as sir Marc Adreman,
sir Thomas Erskine, sir William, sir James and sir
Alexander Lindsay, the lord of Fenton, sir John of Saint-Moreaulx, sir Patrick of Dunbar, sir John and sir Walter
Sinclair, sir John Maxwell, sir Guy Stuart, sir John Haliburton,
sir Alexander Ramsay, Robert Collemine
and his
two sons John and Robert; who were there made knights,
and a hundred knights and squires that I cannot name, all
these right valiantly did acquit themselves. And on the
English party, before that the lord Percy was taken and
after, there fought valiantly sir Ralph Lumley, sir Matthew
Redman, sir Thomas Ogle, sir Thomas Gray, sir Thomas
Helton, sir Thomas Abingdon, sir John Lilleburn, sir
William Walsingham, the baron of Helton, sir John of
Colpedich, the seneschal of York and divers other
footmen. Whereto should I write long process? This was a
sore battle and well foughten; and as fortune is always
changeable, though the Englishmen were more in number
than the Scots and were right valiant men of war and well
expert, and that at the first front they reculed back the
Scots, yet finally the Scots obtained the place and victory,
and all the foresaid Englishmen taken, and a hundred more,
saving sir Matthew Redman, captain of Berwick, who when
he knew no remedy nor recoverance, and saw his company
fly from the Scots and yielded them on every side, then he
took his horse and departed to save himself.
The same season about the end of this discomfiture there
was an English squire called Thomas Waltham, a goodly and
a valiant man, and that was well seen, for of all that night
he would nother fly nor yet yield him. It was said he had
made a vow at a feast in England, that the first time that
ever he saw Englishmen and Scots in battle, he would so do
his devoir to his power, in such wise that either he would be
reputed for the best doer on both sides or else to die in the
pain. He was called a valiant and a hardy man and did
so much by his prowess, that under the banner of the earl
of Moray he did such valiantness in arms, that the Scots had
marvel thereof, and so was slain in fighting: the Scots would
gladly have taken him alive, but he would never yield, he
hoped ever to have been rescued. And with him there was
a Scottish squire slain, cousin to the king of Scots, called
Simon Glendowyn; his death was greatly complained of the
Scots.
This battle was fierce and cruel till it came to the end of
the discomfiture; but when the Scots saw the Englishmen
recule and yield themselves, then the Scots were courteous
and set them to their ransom, and every man said to his
prisoner: 'Sirs, go and unarm you and take your ease; I
am your master:' and so made their prisoners as good cheer
as though they had been brethren, without doing to them
any damage. The chase endured a five English miles, and
if the Scots had been men enow, there had none scaped, but
other they had been taken or slain. And if Archambault
Douglas and the earl of Fife, the earl Sutherland and other
of the great company who were gone towards Carlisle had
been there, by all likelihood they had taken the bishop of
Durham and the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I shall
shew you how. The same evening that the Percies departed
from Newcastle, as ye have heard before, the bishop of
Durham with the rearband came to Newcastle and supped:
and as he sat at the table, he had imagination in himself how
he did not acquit himself well to see the Englishmen in the
field and he to be within the town. Incontinent he caused
the table to be taken away and commanded to saddle his
horses and to sown the trumpets, and called up men in
the town to arm themselves and to mount on their horses,
and foot-men to order themselves to depart. And thus every
man departed out of the town to the number of seven thousand,
two thousand on horseback and five thousand afoot;
they took their way toward Otterburn, whereas the battle had
been. And by that time they had gone two mile
from
Newcastle tidings came to them how their men were fighting
with the Scots. Therewith the bishop rested there, and
incontinent came more flying fast, that they were out of
breath. Then they were demanded how the matter went.
They answered and said: 'Right evil; we be all discomfited:
here cometh the Scots chasing of us.' These tidings troubled
the Englishmen, and began to doubt. And again the third
time men came flying as fast as they might. When the men
of the bishopric of Durham heard of these evil tidings, they
were abashed in such wise that they brake their array, so
that the bishop could not hold together the number of five
hundred. It was thought that if the Scots had followed
them in any number, seeing that it was night, that in the
entering into the town, and the Englishmen so abashed, the
town had been won.
The bishop of Durham, being in the field, had good will
to have succoured the Englishmen and recomforted his men
as much as he could; but he saw his own men fly as well
as other. Then he demanded counsel of sir William Lucy
and of sir Thomas Clifford and of other knights, what was
best to do. These knights for their honour would give him
no counsel; for they thought to return again and do nothing
should sown greatly to their blame, and to go forth might
be to their great damage; and so stood still and would give
none answer, and the longer they stood, the fewer they
were, for some still stale away. Then the bishop said:
'Sirs, all things considered, it is none honour to put all in
peril, nor to make of one evil damage twain. We hear
how our company be discomfited, and we cannot remedy it:
for to go to recover them, we know not with whom nor with
what number we shall meet. Let us return fair and easily
for this night to Newcastle, and to-morrw let us draw
together and go look on our enemies.' Every man answered:
'As God will, so be it.' Therewith they returned to
Newcastle. Thus a man may consider the great default
that is in men that be abashed and discomfited: for if
they had kept them together and have turned again such
as fled, they had discomfited the Scots. This was the
opinion of divers; and because they did not thus, the Scots
had the victory.