Chapter LXXVI

When the king of Scotland had done this, he was advised to fall back upon the river Tyne¹, and retreat towards Scotland. As he was on the march, he halted one night hard by a castle belonging to the earl of Salisbury, which was well furnished with men at arms. The captain of it was sir William Montacute, son to the sister of the earl, and so called after an uncle who had that name. When the night was passed, king David decamped, to pursue his march to Scotland; and the Scots passed through roads close to this castle, heavily laden, with the booty which they had made at Durham. As soon as sir William saw that they had passed the castle without halting, he sallied out of it well armed on horseback, with about forty companions, and followed in silence the last division, which consisted of horses so loaded with money and riches that they could scarcely get on, and came up with them at the entrance of a small wood; when he and his companions fell upon them, killed and wounded upwards of two hundred, and took one hundred and twenty horses very richly laden, which they drove towards the castle. The cries and the runaways soon reached the lord William Douglas, who commanded the rear-guard, and had already passed the wood. Whoever at that time had seen the Scots return full gallop, over mountain and valley, with sir William Douglas at their head, would have been alarmed. They made such haste that they soon came to the castle, and ascended the hill on which it is situated with great expedition; but as they came to the barriers, those within had closed them, and placed what they had seized in safety. The Scots commenced a violent assault, and the garrison defended themselves well: the two Williams did all they could devise to hurt each other. This lasted until the whole army, and even the king himself, arrived there. When the king and his council saw their people lying dead, and the assailants sore wounded, without gaining any thing, he ordered them to desist, and to seek out for quarters; for he was determined not to leave the place before he had seen his men revenged. Upon this every one was employed in searching out where he could lodge himself, to collect the dead, and to dress the wounded. The king, on the morrow, ordered all to be ready for the attack of the castle: those within prepared themselves to defend it. This assault was very fierce and perilous, and many gallant deeds were performed.

The countess of Salisbury, who was esteemed one of the most beautiful and virtuous women in England, was in this castle, which belonged to the earl of Salisbury, who had been taken prisoner, with the earl of Suffolk, near Lisle, and was still in prison at the Chatelet in Paris. The king had given him this castle, upon his marriage, for his many deeds of valour, and for the services he had received from the said earl, who was formerly called sir William Montacute, as appears in another part of this book. This countess comforted much those within the castle; and from the sweetness of her looks, and the charm of being encouraged by such a beautiful lady, one man in time of need ought to be worth two. This attack lasted a considerable time, and the Scots lost a great many men; for they advanced boldly up to it, and brought large trees and beams to fill up the ditches, that they might bring their machines, if possible, nearer, to play upon the castle: but the garrison made so good a defence, that they were forced to retreat; and the king ordered the machines to be watched, to renew the attack the next day. Each retired to their quarters, except those who guarded the machines: some bewailed the dead, others comforted the wounded. Those of the castle saw that they had too hard a task, for they were much fatigued; and, if king David were steady to his purpose, they should have difficulty to defend it. They therefore thought it advisable to send some one to king Edward, who was arrived at Berwick², which they knew for truth, from some of the Scots prisoners they had taken, and were looking out for a proper person for this business: for not one would agree to quit the defence of the castle, or of the beautiful lady, in order to carry this message, and there was much strife among them: which, when their captain, sir William Montacute, saw, he said, "I am very well pleased, gentlemen, with your loyalty and heartiness, as well as for your affection to the lady of this house; so that, out of my love for her and for you, I will risk my person in this adventure. I have great confidence and trust in you, and that you will defend the castle until I shall return. On the other hand, I have the greatest hopes in our lord the king, and that I shall bring back with me, speedily, such succour, to your great joy, that you will all be rewarded for the gallant defence you shall have made."

This speech cheered both the countess and all present. When night came, sir William prepared himself the best way he could, to get out of the castle privately, and unseen by any of the Scots. Fortunately for him, it rained so very hard all that night, that none of them quitted their quarters: he therefore passed through the army without being noticed. Shortly after, and about day-break, he met, on his road, two Scotsmen, half a league from their army, driving thither two oxen and a cow: sir William, knowing them to be Scotsmen, wounded them both very severely, killed the cattle that they might not carry them to the army, and said to them, “Go and tell your king, that William Montacute has passed through his army, and is gone to seek succour from the king of England, who is now at Berwick.” When the Scots lords heard this³, they said to one another, “The king often makes his men be wounded and killed without any reason;” and, believing that the king of England would come to give them battle before they should gain the castle, they went in a body to the king, and told him, that his longer stay there would neither bring him honour nor profit; that their expedition had turned out exceedingly well, and that they had done much mischief to the English by remaining in their country twelve days, and burning and destroying the city of Durham; that, every thing considered, it was now proper for them to return to their own kingdom and homes, and carry off safe the booty they had made; and that, at another season, they would follow him to England, according to his will and pleasure. The king did not choose to act contrary to the opinions of his chieftains, but consented to their advice, sore against his will. On the morrow, he and his whole army decamped and marched straight to the forest of Jedworth, where the wild Scots lived at their ease; for he was desirous of knowing what the king of Egland meant to do, whether he would return to his own kingdom, or advance further northward.⁴

Notes:

1: As Wark Castle, is situated on the Tweed, it must be the Tweed, instead of Tyne. I have, in consequence altered Scotland for Carlisle, as it is in the original: otherwise, it would be incorrect as to the geography of the country.

2: This seems incorrect, as in that case the English army would have intercepted the Scots on their return. Lord Berners reads York, and Sauvage's edition Warwick. — ED.

3: Froissart's words, according to D. Sauvage's edition, with which Lord Berners nearly agrees, are as follows: — “They talked one to another whilst king David still continued to make fierce attacks, and seeing that the king caused his people to be wounded and sacrificed (martyrer) without reason, and that the king of England might well come and give them battle before the castle should be taken, they said to king David with one accord, that his longer stay,” &c. — ED.

4: All this seems to be fabulous, and to have been invented by some person who meant to impose on the inquisitive credulity of Froissart. It cannot be reconciled with known historical dates, with the characters and conditions of the persons therein mentioned, or with the general tenor of authenticated events. Had David violated the patrimony of St. Cuthbert in the savage manner related by Froissart, the English histories would have teemed with declamations on an enormity, more heinous, in the opinion of those days, than any crime prohibited by the decalogue. Besides, the sacking of Durham related by Froissart, was an event too singular and momentous to be altogether omitted; and yet the English historians make no mention of it: neither does Fordun, whose simple narration I have chosen to follow. — Annals of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 211.

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Crustus an Mors

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The Chronicles of Sir John Froissart

The king of Scotland besieges Wark castle, belonging to the earl of Salisbury