Volume 15 Number 061 Battle of Flodden Field Part I

Lead: In 1513, locked in an alliance with France, Scotland invaded England. The decisive battle, that at Flodden Field, was disastrous for the Scots but was one of the few military triumphs of King Henry VIII.

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: When good King Hal came to the throne of England in 1509 there was peace between traditional enemies, England and Scotland. After many years of struggle, the northern Kingdom was still fiercely determined to retain its independence, and in 1502, the two had signed the ill- named Treaty of Perpetual Peace, which, for a short time, ended over two centuries of intermittent warfare. As part of the treaty, young Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII and sister of Henry VIII, became Queen to James IV, King of Scotland.

Henry VIII never quite mastered the complex game of diplomacy, and early on found himself and his Kingdom isolated as diplomatic power on the continent began to shift toward France. Thinking himself clever, in 1512 Henry VIII, allied with Spain, went to war with the French. France called in Scotland’s assistance under an ancient Treaty called the Auld Alliance, a mutual protection agreement designed to checkmate England. James IV agreed take up hostilities against his wife’s brother. He was persuaded to loan the Scottish fleet to France and invade England to draw English arms, attention, and pressure away from the Henry’s main enemy, French King Louis XII. France sent money and arms to Scotland, and James began to assemble his army for a large scale invasion of England. It would become an enormous disaster. Next Time: Flodden Field

Research by Ann Johnson, at the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts. Resources

Barrell, A. D. M. Medieval Scotland. Cambridge: University Press, 2000.

Eaves, Richard Glen. Henry VIII’s Scottish Diplomacy 1513-1524. New York: Exposition Press, 1971.

Fry, Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry. The History of Scotland. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1995.

Mackie, J. D. A History of Scotland. New York: Dorset Press, 1985.

Magnusson, Magnus. Scotland: The Story of a Nation. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000.

“The Battle of Flodden Field 9th September 1513.” .

Copyright by Dan Roberts Enterprises, Inc.