Battle of Glasgow (1560)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Glasgow, 18 March 1560, was fought by supporters of the Scottish Reformation
against French troops.
as Regent of Scotland was challenged by the Protestant Lords of the Congregation
. Guise obtained French military support, and the Lords invited an English army under the terms of their Treaty of Berwick (1560)
. Just a few days before the conflict began to centre on the Siege of Leith
, there was a battle at Glasgow.
and 13 in the Steeple of the Cathedral
. Henri Cleutin
, sieur de Villeparisis, led his French troops to Glasgow in the morning of 18 March. The mounted French Harquebusiers
were resisted by 70 Scots commanded by a son of the Earl of Glencairn
. This party had remained in Glasgow to destroy provisions left behind during the evacuation.
Twice the French and Scots fought at the bridge, but finally the Scots were drawn into the open and 'cut to pieces.' The others were taken prisoner, and the leaders hanged. Mercy was offered to any of the rest who renounced the Congregation. Later in the afternoon the garrison in the Palace and Steeple surrendered under terms. This French account of the battle is confirmed by a letter from Arran to Norfolk
. Arran said he had left a garrison at Glasgow to buy 48 hours time. When the French entered the Castle they ignited gunpowder in one of the towers by accident and 13 were killed. Arran said there were 30 Scots fighting at the bridge who killed 8 Frenchmen.
The French then returned to Leith
shadowed by 800 Scots horsemen led by James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
. The chronicler Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
points out that the Scots did not engage their full force with the French at this time because their allies, the English fleet commanded by William Winter, had just arrived.
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
against French troops.
Background
The rule of Mary of GuiseMary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
as Regent of Scotland was challenged by the Protestant Lords of the Congregation
Lords of the Congregation
The Lords of the Congregation were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured reformation of the church along Protestant principles and a Scottish-English alliance.- Historical events :...
. Guise obtained French military support, and the Lords invited an English army under the terms of their Treaty of Berwick (1560)
Treaty of Berwick (1560)
The Treaty of Berwick was negotiated on 27 February 1560 at Berwick-upon-Tweed. It was an agreement made by the representative of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Scottish Lords of the Congregation...
. Just a few days before the conflict began to centre on the Siege of Leith
Siege of Leith
The Siege of Leith ended a twelve year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Scotland. The French troops arrived by invitation in 1548 and left in 1560 after the English arrived to assist in removing them from Scotland...
, there was a battle at Glasgow.
The battle
According to a French journal of events, the foot soldiers of the Congregation left Fife for Glasgow on 3 March 1560. The leader of the Lords of the Congregation, the former Regent Arran, left Glasgow for Hamilton on the 17 March 1560 leaving 25 men in the Bishop's PalaceBishop's Castle, Glasgow
The Bishop's Castle, also known as Glasgow Castle, was a medieval castle in Glasgow, Scotland. It served as the residence of the bishops and archbishops of Glasgow Cathedral until the Reformation, when the last Catholic archbishop, James Beaton, fled to France in about 1560...
and 13 in the Steeple of the Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral
The church commonly known as Glasgow Cathedral is the Church of Scotland High Kirk of Glasgow otherwise known as St. Mungo's Cathedral.The other cathedrals in Glasgow are:* The Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew...
. Henri Cleutin
Henri Cleutin
Henri Cleutin, seigneur d'Oisel et de Villeparis , was the representative of France in Scotland from 1546 to 1560, and a Gentleman of the Chamber of the King of France.-Rough Wooing to Reformation:...
, sieur de Villeparisis, led his French troops to Glasgow in the morning of 18 March. The mounted French Harquebusiers
Arquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
were resisted by 70 Scots commanded by a son of the Earl of Glencairn
Earl of Glencairn
The title of Earl of Glencairn was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1488 for the first Lord Kilmaurs .On the death of the fifteenth earl in 1796, there existing no original Letters Patent of the creation nor a given remainder in the various confirmations in title of previous earls the title...
. This party had remained in Glasgow to destroy provisions left behind during the evacuation.
Twice the French and Scots fought at the bridge, but finally the Scots were drawn into the open and 'cut to pieces.' The others were taken prisoner, and the leaders hanged. Mercy was offered to any of the rest who renounced the Congregation. Later in the afternoon the garrison in the Palace and Steeple surrendered under terms. This French account of the battle is confirmed by a letter from Arran to Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.Norfolk was the son of the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He was taught as a child by John Foxe, the Protestant martyrologist, who remained a lifelong recipient of Norfolk's patronage...
. Arran said he had left a garrison at Glasgow to buy 48 hours time. When the French entered the Castle they ignited gunpowder in one of the towers by accident and 13 were killed. Arran said there were 30 Scots fighting at the bridge who killed 8 Frenchmen.
The French then returned to Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
shadowed by 800 Scots horsemen led by James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought against French troops during the Scottish Reformation....
. The chronicler Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie was a Scottish chronicler, author of The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, 1436–1565, the first history of Scotland to be composed in Scots rather than Latin....
points out that the Scots did not engage their full force with the French at this time because their allies, the English fleet commanded by William Winter, had just arrived.