Battle of Roslin
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Roslin was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence
, taking place on 24 February 1303 at Roslin, Scotland. It is the subject of an extremely highly-coloured account written by Walter Bower in the mid-15th century which bears no relationship to the contemporary evidence.
It was not the normal practice to assemble extensive forces in winter due to the difficulties of keeping men and horses fed and the challenge of finding enough billets to accommodate anything more than a few hundred people. Neither the English nor the Scots raised large armies in February 1303, but both sides conducted operations with fairly small numbers of men-at-arms (heavy cavalry) throughout the winter months in most years.
Despite the unsupported claims of Walter Bower, there is no evidence of any kind to indicate that Roslin was a battle between large armies, but contemporary material from chronicle and record sources indicate a clash between relatively modest forces of men-at-arms; the sort of action that was absolutely typical of Scottish-English warfare in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. It would seem that there were at least two and possibly three separate actions resulting in a clear victory for the Scots.
First War of Scottish Independence
The First War of Scottish Independence lasted from the invasion by England in 1296 until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328...
, taking place on 24 February 1303 at Roslin, Scotland. It is the subject of an extremely highly-coloured account written by Walter Bower in the mid-15th century which bears no relationship to the contemporary evidence.
It was not the normal practice to assemble extensive forces in winter due to the difficulties of keeping men and horses fed and the challenge of finding enough billets to accommodate anything more than a few hundred people. Neither the English nor the Scots raised large armies in February 1303, but both sides conducted operations with fairly small numbers of men-at-arms (heavy cavalry) throughout the winter months in most years.
Despite the unsupported claims of Walter Bower, there is no evidence of any kind to indicate that Roslin was a battle between large armies, but contemporary material from chronicle and record sources indicate a clash between relatively modest forces of men-at-arms; the sort of action that was absolutely typical of Scottish-English warfare in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. It would seem that there were at least two and possibly three separate actions resulting in a clear victory for the Scots.