Invasions of the British Isles
Encyclopedia
Invasions of the British Isles have occurred throughout modern history. Indeed, the various nations comprising the British Isles
were invaded several times; by the Romans, Scandinavians, the French, and one another.
This page currently covers invasions from 2000 BC up to the Siege of Leith
in 1560.
under Julius Caesar
. Caesar's two invasions did not conquer Britain, but established it as a major trading partner of Rome. However, the Roman emperors wished to extend their domain to the island, and invasions were planned. A botched attempt was made under the insane emperor Caligula
.
Caligula's uncle and successor, Claudius
, was the first emperor to oversee a successful invasion. He used as an excuse the pleas for help that came from the Atrebates
, Celtic allies of Rome, and landed an army near present-day Richborough
. The initial landings were unopposed, and the Celts delayed in responding to the invasion. When, under their leaders Caratacus
and Togodumnus
, they did, they were too late and were defeated in several battles, most notably that of the River Medway
.
Claudius arrived himself, bringing up to 38 war elephants with him. When the Celts were finally defeated and Caratacus forced to flee to Wales
, Claudius returned to Rome.
In the early AD 60s, the Celtic tribal queen Boudicca led a bloody revolt against Roman rule. While the governor Suetonius
was pursuing a campaign on the isle of Anglesey
, Boudicca, angered by maltreatment at the hands of the Romans, urged her people to rise up. They did, and marched on Camulodonum (now Colchester
), where many former Roman soldiers had settled.
The Romans in Camulodonum were massacred after a brief fight. Meanwhile, the Legio IX Hispana
(Ninth Legion) had been sent south from Lindum (now Lincoln) to put down the revolt. It failed to arrive in time, and, when it encountered the Celts, was annihilated. The battle, however, may have enabled Governor Suetonius to arrive in Londinium (London
) with a small Roman army. Despite the pleas of the civil officials, Suetonius marched out of the city with his troops, knowing that any stand would be disastrous. Boudicca sacked London and pushed on to Verulamium (now St. Albans), which was also razed. Suetonius had gathered a large enough army, however, to do battle
on the Roman road Watling Street
. Boudicca was defeated, and Roman rule was restored to Britain.
began to invade Britain. There seems to have been no large "invasion" with a combined army or fleet, but the tribes, notably the Jutes
, Angles
, and Saxons
, quickly established control over modern-day England
.
raiders landed near the monastery on Lindisfarne
Island and looted it. This began more than two centuries of Viking incursions into England, which was then divided into several kingdoms.
In 866, the Viking chief Ragnar Lodbrok
fell into the hands of King Ælla of Northumbria. Aella allegedly had Ragnar thrown into a snake pit. Ragnar's enraged sons, taking advantage of political instability in England, recruited the Great Heathen Army
, which landed in Northumbria that year. York
fell to the Vikings, but Aella, together with forces from rival English kingdoms, attempted to retake the city. He was unsuccessful, however, and was captured by the Vikings, who executed him, possibly as punishment for Ragnar's murder.
By 1000, the Vikings had overrun most of England and had even conquered parts of Ireland. In Wessex, King Alfred the Great
managed to hold off the Vikings during his lifetime, but the Norsemen managed to unite much of England with Norway
and Denmark
in the eleventh century, during the reign of the Danish king Canute.
When Canute died, however, he was succeeded by the Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor
. Edward managed to reign until his death in 1066, when he was succeeded by the powerful Earl of Wessex
, Harold Godwinson
. Harold's accession, however, was not unanimously embraced. To the north, the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada invaded England, to be defeated by an army commanded personally by Harold Godwinson at Stamford Bridge
. Harold, though, faced an even more serious threat in the south—the Normans.
William, having gathered together an army and a fleet to transport it, landed in Pevensey Bay in the late summer of 1066. Harold, having just defeated Hardrada in the north, marched his troops back south, where, exhausted, they encountered William near Hastings.
During the battle
that followed, William's forces suffered heavy casualties but managed to rout Harold's infantry. However, Harold and his housecarls stood firm, despite a torrent of arrows fired at them by William's archers. Soon after Harold was hit by an arrow and killed, the housecarls were overwhelmed by William's victorious soldiers. William was crowned in London by the Archbishop of York
, then set about restructuring the English government and imposing the feudal system on the nobility.
. In June 1070, they returned to Denmark.
succeeded him. John continued the war against King Philip II
of France, whose forces overran much of the English territory in France, including Normandy.
After John's second attempt to invade France failed, his nobles forced him to agree to the Magna Carta
in 1215. However, the king disregarded the charter's contents, and the barons rose up against him and appealed to the heir to the French throne, the future Louis VIII
, to replace John as king.
The first French troops arrived in November 1215, with 240 knights and a similar number of infantry following in January 1216. In May 1216 Louis himself arrived with his army and moved quickly to capture London. There was little resistance when the prince entered London and at St Paul's Cathedral, Louis was proclaimed King with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. Even though he was not crowned, many nobles, as well as King Alexander II of Scotland
(1214–49), gathered to give homage.
The French took a number of castles in Southern England including Winchester
in June, Chichester and Reigate Castles, and began a major siege of Dover Castle
. John died in October and was succeeded by his son, Henry
and Louis' support began to wane as barons who had grievances with John took the opportunity to make peace with the new king. The French abandoned the siege of Dover Castle in November but the campaign continued in the south-east. In early 1217, the focus shifted northwards, culminating in a major French defeat at the Lincoln
in May. In August, a fleet carrying French reinforcements was defeated off Sandwich
. Louis realised that the cause was lost and in September 1217 signed the Treaty of Kingston, leaving the country later that month
The war, and the invasion, left England with few territories in France but with the Norman Plantagenet dynasty still on the throne.
secured the recognition of the title Prince of Wales
from Henry III
with the Treaty of Montgomery
in 1267. Later however, a succession of disputes, including the imprisonment of Llywelyn's wife Eleanor
, daughter of Simon de Montfort
, culminated in the first invasion by Edward I
.
As a result of military defeat, the Treaty of Aberconwy
exacted Llywelyn's fealty to England in 1277. Peace was short lived and, with the 1282 Edwardian conquest, the rule of the Welsh princes permanently ended. With Llywelyn's death and his brother prince Dafydd
's execution, the few remaining Welsh lords
did homage for their lands to Edward I.
. Warfare between the English and the French would therefore provide a strategic context of many of the major Scottish invasions of England, in particular in 1346, 1385 and 1513. French troops were also involved in the Scottish invasion of England in 1464, during the Wars of the Roses.
sailed from Sluys to Leith
in Scotland. It consisted of at least 1000 men-at-arms plus servants and crossbowmen, and carried 50,000 gold francs as gifts for the Scots nobility A joint attack on the North of England was planned but there was considerable disharmony between the Scots and French contingents. Eventually a joint force invaded England in July and succeeded in taking the castle at Wark
. However, an English relief army was approaching and the Franco-Scottish force fell back before them to Edinburgh
, which was burned by the English on August 11. Admiral de Vienne led his men on a counter attack on the English West March
, launching an assault on Carlisle
on September 7. The assault failed and the French force fell back into Scotland harried by English forces. De Vienne returned to Edinburgh hoping to over winter but morale among his army was failing and many determined to return home to France, despite the lateness of the season.
was murdered by an English Northumbrian. Taking advantage of the political crisis caused by this incident, the French king, whose nation was at war with the English king, Henry VIII, convinced James IV of Scotland
to invade his southern neighbor.
Since King Henry was in France campaigning, Queen Catherine of Aragon
organized an English army and placed it under the command of the elderly Earl of Surrey. The army marched north and met James' forces at Flodden. James surprised the English by leading his centre in a wild charge against Surrey's, but the English stood fast and repulsed the Scots, unhorsing and killing James. The battle ended in an English victory.
There were numerous French raids on the English coast during the Hundred Years' War
. Few of these had the scale, or purpose, of invasions. Perhaps the closest was the overrunning of the Isle of Wight by a French fleet commanded by Jean de Vienne
in August 1377. Some more significant French operations do warrant mention, however.
, intent on capturing the island. Although the island was overrun, the main fortification on the island, Gorey Castle, remained in English hands. The French remained until September, when they sailed off to conquer Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. In 1339 the French returned, allegedly with 8000 men in 17 Genoese
galleys and 35 French ships. Again they failed to take the castle and, after causing damage, withdrew. The English were able to recapture Guernsey in October 1340 but the French held out in Castle Cornet
until 1345.
In July 1373, Bertrand du Guesclin
overran Jersey and besieged Gorey Castle. His troops succeeded in breaching the outer defences, forcing the garrison back to the keep. The garrison came to an agreement that they would surrender if not relieved by Michaelmas
and du Guesclin sailed back to Brittany, leaving a small force to carry on the siege. Fortunately for the defenders, an English relief fleet arrived in time.
The French would not succeed in capturing Jersey during the Hundred Years War, but did capture Gorey Castle in the summer of 1461, allegedly as part of a secret deal between Margaret of Anjou
and Pierre de Brézé
to gain French support for the Lancastrian cause. The island was held by the French until 1468, when Yorkist forces and local militia were able to recapture the castle.
began to prepare for an invasion of England, assembling ships in the Low Countries and Brittany. Preparations continued all through the spring and summer of 1386, with the assembly of large quantities of stores, equipment and men. Amongst the stores assembled was a large prefabricated wooden fort, 3000 paces long, with walls 20 ft (6m) high. The English responded by raising forces of men-at-arms and archers, who were stationed on the coast from the Humber to Cornwall
. Originally intending to attack in August, Charles put back the date to October, and early in the month joined his fleet in Flanders. However, he persuaded by his admiral, the Duke of Berry
, to postpone the attack to the following year. A smaller scale expedition was planned for the summer of 1387 but it came to nothing
and capturing Carmarthen
. According to the French historian Monstrelet
, they then invaded England and for eight days faced the English army of Henry IV
at Woodbury Hill. No battle however occurred and the Franco-Welsh force returned to Wales. Although some of the French returned home in November, most overwintered. Attempts were made to bring French reinforcements in 1406 but these were intercepted by the English fleet. The remaining French troops were withdrawn sometime during the year.
. In February 1399, Henry's father, John of Gaunt, had died and in March 1399, Richard had declared that Henry's inheritance was forfeit and that he was a traitor, permanently banished from the realm. Richard had then, in what was to prove a major strategic error, proceeded with his army to Ireland. This gave Henry the opportunity a chance to return to England and, on 4 July 1399, he landed with a small force at Ravenspur. From there, he marched into the Lancastrian heartlands of Yorkshire, building his forces. At Bridlington
, he was joined by the Earl of Northumberland
and his son Henry Percy. The army marched southwards and on 20 July reached Leicester. Meanwhile, Richard's regent, Edmund, Duke of York
had raised an army and was in Hertfordshire. The Duke of York had little desire to fight, however, and detached himself from the army, met Henry at Berkeley Castle
on 27 July. Henry then marched his army to Bristol
, where Richard's major supporters had gathered to await his return from Ireland. The castle rapidly surrendered and Richard's chief counselors were promptly executed.
In the meantime, Richard had returned from Ireland, landing in Milford Haven
in South Wales. However, fearing a plot, he had abandoned his army and fled to North Wales where he had stronger support. However, support was not forthcoming and at the beginning of August, Henry and his army were at Chester
while Richard with a few men held Conway Castle. Henry sent a force under the Earl of Northumberland to capture Richard, which they did by a trick on 15 August. Richard was taken to London and on 29 September was forced to abdicate. On 30 September Henry was proclaimed king at Westminster Hall, the first of the Lancastrian kings.
against France
and Castile
, but it was plagued by 32 years (1455–1487) of civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses
. The Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet
, which had overthrown the direct royal line in 1399, was embroiled in fighting against the Yorkist wing of the dynasty.
The Lancastrian king, Henry VI, was deposed twice during the wars and was murdered after the second deposition. He was replaced by the Yorkist claimant, Edward IV
, who ruled until his death. He was succeeded by his young son, Edward V
, who, along with his brother, was placed in the Tower of London, where he disappeared under suspicious circumstances. The main benefactor of Edward's disappearance was the boys' regent and uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester
, who was then crowned king.
In exile in Brittany
, Henry Tudor, a distant relation of the Lancastrians, gathered a small, mainly mercenary army and mounted an invasion of Wales in 1485. Welshmen, Lancastrians, and disaffected Yorkists rallied behind Tudor, whose forces encountered Richard and the royal army at Bosworth Field on August 22. Richard was killed during the fighting, and his forces lost the battle.
Tudor was crowned king as Henry VII, and, after defeating Yorkist rebels in 1487, established the House of Tudor as the sole English ruling dynasty.
made three attempts to invade England. The first, on 3 July 1495, occurred at Deal
. Warbeck had arrived on a fleet of ships provided by Maximillian I
. An advanced force of supporters and Flemish mercenaries was put ashore to attempt to raise local rebellion. Local forces however, defeated the landing party, killing 150 and capturing 163. Warbeck himself did not land.
The second invasion came in September 1496. Warbeck had been received in Scotland in January 1496 and James IV
supported him in an invasion of England later in the year. Unfortunately for the invaders, there was again no local support for Warbeck and the invaders soon returned across the border.
The third, and most successful, invasion took place in Cornwall in September 1497. In May and June 1497, there had been a revolt against Henry VII in Cornwall. This had been suppressed following the rebel's defeat at Blackheath. However, there was still sufficient dissatisfaction that when Warbeck arrived with a small force, he was accepted by many locals as Richard IV and soon raised a force of up to 8,000 rebels. With this army, he besieged Exeter. The fighting, over two days, was bloody, with the rebels making assaults on North and East gates. One or both gates were penetrated but the attackers were driven out after fierce street fighting. 3–400 rebels are alleged to have been killed during the attack. With the failure of the attack, the rebel army withdrew to Taunton
. By this time, however, a royal army was approaching and the morale of the rebels began to crack. Warbeck fled on 21 September but was captured at Beaulieu Abbey
in Hampshire.
in 794, the year following the raid on the other holy island of Lindisfarne
, Northumbria
.
In 839, a large Norse fleet invaded via the River Tay
and River Earn
, both of which were highly navigable, and reached into the heart of the Pictish kingdom
of Fortriu
. They defeated Eogán mac Óengusa
, king of the Picts, his brother Bran
and the king of the Scots of Dál Riata
, Áed mac Boanta
, along with many members of the Pictish aristocracy in battle. The sophisticated kingdom that had been built fell apart, as did the Pictish leadership, which had been stable for more than a hundred years since the time of Óengus mac Fergusa
. The accession of Cináed mac Ailpín
as king of both Picts and Scots can be attributed to the aftermath of this event.
, Edward I led an English invasion in 1296, sacking Berwick upon Tweed and subjugating Scotland. The following year the Scots rose under the leadership of William Wallace
. They decisively defeated the English in the Battle of Stirling Bridge
, and began a brief invasion of northern England. Edward rushed north with his army and inflicted a crushing defeat on Wallace at Falkirk
. Wallace was captured and executed afterward. Further campaigns by Edward in 1300 and 1301 led to a truce between the Scots and the English in 1302. After another campaign in 1303/1304, Stirling Castle, the last major Scottish held stronghold, fell to the English, and in February 1304, negotiations led to most of the remaining nobles paying homage to Edward and to the Scots all but surrendering. However, the Scots rose again under their new king, Robert the Bruce, and routed the army of Edward II during the Battle of Bannockburn
in 1314. Peace was concluded in 1327.
In 1332, Edward III of England
supported the claims of Edward Balliol
to the Scottish throne. Balliol led an invasion, and following his success at Dupplin Moor
, Edward III also moved north. By 1333, much of Scotland was under English occupation, with eight of the Scottish lowland counties being ceded to England by Edward Balliol. In 1334, Edward III invaded again, but he accomplished little and retreated in February 1335 having failed to bring the Scots to battle. He and Edward Balliol returned again in July with an army of 13,000, and advanced through Scotland, first to Glasgow
and then Perth
, where Edward III installed himself as his army looted and destroyed the surrounding countryside. In May 1336 an English army under Henry of Lancaster invaded, followed in July by another army under King Edward. Together, they ravaged much of the north-east and sacked Elgin and Aberdeen
, while a third army ravaged the south-west and the Clyde valley. Philip VI of France
announced that he intended to aid the Scots by invading England, prompting Edward's retreat. By late 1336, the Scots had regained control over virtually all of Scotland. Although the war continued until the Treaty of Berwick
in 1357, the English did not return to Scotland.
sought a dynastic marriage between Mary and his son Edward
. An initial proposal was agreed, but due to internal divisions between pro-France and pro-English factions, the Scots rescinded the agreement. War broke out and the English army sacked Edinburgh
in May 1544. The battle of Ancrum Moor
the following year led to the English withdrawal. After Henry's death and the installation of Protector Somerset, the English returned, defeating the Scots at the battle of Pinkie in September 1547. They established a base at Haddington and put much of southern Scotland under military rule.
In response, the Scots requested aid from the French, and French troops arrived at Leith
in 1548. The Treaty of Norham ended hostilities in 1551, although the French remained until the Siege of Leith
in 1560, when they were ejected by combined Protestant Scottish and English forces. This latter period of the conflict is sometimes referred to as a proxy war
, fought by Scottish factions on behalf of France and England.
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
were invaded several times; by the Romans, Scandinavians, the French, and one another.
This page currently covers invasions from 2000 BC up to 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...
in 1560.
Roman invasions
In 55 BC, Celtic Britain was in turn invaded, this time by the RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
under Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. Caesar's two invasions did not conquer Britain, but established it as a major trading partner of Rome. However, the Roman emperors wished to extend their domain to the island, and invasions were planned. A botched attempt was made under the insane emperor Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
.
Caligula's uncle and successor, Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
, was the first emperor to oversee a successful invasion. He used as an excuse the pleas for help that came from the Atrebates
Atrebates
The Atrebates were a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests.- Name of the tribe :Cognate with Old Irish aittrebaid meaning 'inhabitant', Atrebates comes from proto-Celtic *ad-treb-a-t-es, 'inhabitants'. The Celtic root is treb- 'building', 'home' The Atrebates (singular...
, Celtic allies of Rome, and landed an army near present-day Richborough
Richborough
Richborough is a settlement north of Sandwich on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet....
. The initial landings were unopposed, and the Celts delayed in responding to the invasion. When, under their leaders Caratacus
Caratacus
Caratacus was a first century British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest....
and Togodumnus
Togodumnus
Togodumnus was a historical king of the British Catuvellauni tribe at the time of the Roman conquest. He can probably be identified with the legendary British king Guiderius....
, they did, they were too late and were defeated in several battles, most notably that of the River Medway
Battle of the Medway
The Battle of the Medway took place in 43 AD on the River Medway in the lands of the Iron Age tribe of the Cantiaci, now the English county of Kent...
.
Claudius arrived himself, bringing up to 38 war elephants with him. When the Celts were finally defeated and Caratacus forced to flee to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Claudius returned to Rome.
In the early AD 60s, the Celtic tribal queen Boudicca led a bloody revolt against Roman rule. While the governor Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
was pursuing a campaign on the isle of Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
, Boudicca, angered by maltreatment at the hands of the Romans, urged her people to rise up. They did, and marched on Camulodonum (now Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
), where many former Roman soldiers had settled.
The Romans in Camulodonum were massacred after a brief fight. Meanwhile, the Legio IX Hispana
Legio IX Hispana
Legio Nona Hispana was a Roman legion, which operated from the first century BCE until mid 2nd century CE. The Spanish Legion's disappearance has raised speculations over its fate, largely of its alleged destruction in Scotland in about 117 CE, though some scholars believe it was destroyed in the...
(Ninth Legion) had been sent south from Lindum (now Lincoln) to put down the revolt. It failed to arrive in time, and, when it encountered the Celts, was annihilated. The battle, however, may have enabled Governor Suetonius to arrive in Londinium (London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) with a small Roman army. Despite the pleas of the civil officials, Suetonius marched out of the city with his troops, knowing that any stand would be disastrous. Boudicca sacked London and pushed on to Verulamium (now St. Albans), which was also razed. Suetonius had gathered a large enough army, however, to do battle
Battle of Watling Street
The Battle of Watling Street took place in Roman-occupied Britain in AD 60 or 61 between an alliance of indigenous British peoples led by Boudica and a Roman army led by Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. Although outnumbered, the Romans decisively defeated the allied tribes, inflicting heavy losses on them...
on the Roman road Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
. Boudicca was defeated, and Roman rule was restored to Britain.
Germanic invasions
As the Roman Empire declined, its hold on Britain loosened. By AD 410, Roman forces had been withdrawn, and small, isolated bands of migrating GermansGermans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
began to invade Britain. There seems to have been no large "invasion" with a combined army or fleet, but the tribes, notably the Jutes
Jutes
The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time, the other two being the Saxons and the Angles...
, Angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
, and Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
, quickly established control over modern-day England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Viking raids and invasions
In 793, VikingViking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raiders landed near the monastery on Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
Island and looted it. This began more than two centuries of Viking incursions into England, which was then divided into several kingdoms.
In 866, the Viking chief Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok
Ragnar Lodbrok was a Norse legendary hero from the Viking Age who was thoroughly reshaped in Old Norse poetry and legendary sagas.-Life as recorded in the sagas:...
fell into the hands of King Ælla of Northumbria. Aella allegedly had Ragnar thrown into a snake pit. Ragnar's enraged sons, taking advantage of political instability in England, recruited the Great Heathen Army
Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Great Army or the Great Danish Army, was a Viking army originating in Denmark which pillaged and conquered much of England in the late 9th century...
, which landed in Northumbria that year. York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
fell to the Vikings, but Aella, together with forces from rival English kingdoms, attempted to retake the city. He was unsuccessful, however, and was captured by the Vikings, who executed him, possibly as punishment for Ragnar's murder.
By 1000, the Vikings had overrun most of England and had even conquered parts of Ireland. In Wessex, King Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
managed to hold off the Vikings during his lifetime, but the Norsemen managed to unite much of England with Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in the eleventh century, during the reign of the Danish king Canute.
When Canute died, however, he was succeeded by the Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
. Edward managed to reign until his death in 1066, when he was succeeded by the powerful Earl of Wessex
Earl of Wessex
The title Earl of Wessex has been created twice in British history, once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom...
, Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
. Harold's accession, however, was not unanimously embraced. To the north, the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada invaded England, to be defeated by an army commanded personally by Harold Godwinson at Stamford Bridge
Battle of Stamford Bridge
The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire in England on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway and the English king's brother Tostig...
. Harold, though, faced an even more serious threat in the south—the Normans.
Norman conquest of England
Duke William of Normandy had held Harold prisoner for a time in 1064, and had extracted a promise from him to the effect that Harold was bound to support William in any attempts the latter would make to claim the English throne. William was angered by Harold's accession, and set about gathering an invasion army.William, having gathered together an army and a fleet to transport it, landed in Pevensey Bay in the late summer of 1066. Harold, having just defeated Hardrada in the north, marched his troops back south, where, exhausted, they encountered William near Hastings.
During the battle
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
that followed, William's forces suffered heavy casualties but managed to rout Harold's infantry. However, Harold and his housecarls stood firm, despite a torrent of arrows fired at them by William's archers. Soon after Harold was hit by an arrow and killed, the housecarls were overwhelmed by William's victorious soldiers. William was crowned in London by the Archbishop of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, then set about restructuring the English government and imposing the feudal system on the nobility.
The Danish invasion of 1069–70
William's rule was not yet secure and a number of revolts against the Normans took place, notably in the North of England and East Anglia. A large Danish army arrived in England in 1069 to support an uprising in the North. Though there was no direct fighting between the Danes and William's army which he led north in December 1069, the Danes were forced to make a truce. After overwintering, the Danish force sailed on to attempt to join the rebels in East Anglia but succeeded only in the sacking of PeterboroughPeterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
. In June 1070, they returned to Denmark.
First Barons' War
When the Norman King Richard I was mortally wounded during fighting against the French in 1199, his brother JohnJohn of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
succeeded him. John continued the war against King Philip II
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
of France, whose forces overran much of the English territory in France, including Normandy.
After John's second attempt to invade France failed, his nobles forced him to agree to the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
in 1215. However, the king disregarded the charter's contents, and the barons rose up against him and appealed to the heir to the French throne, the future Louis VIII
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
, to replace John as king.
The first French troops arrived in November 1215, with 240 knights and a similar number of infantry following in January 1216. In May 1216 Louis himself arrived with his army and moved quickly to capture London. There was little resistance when the prince entered London and at St Paul's Cathedral, Louis was proclaimed King with great pomp and celebration in the presence of all of London. Even though he was not crowned, many nobles, as well as King Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II of Scotland
Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...
(1214–49), gathered to give homage.
The French took a number of castles in Southern England including Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
in June, Chichester and Reigate Castles, and began a major siege of Dover Castle
Dover Castle
Dover Castle is a medieval castle in the town of the same name in the English county of Kent. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history...
. John died in October and was succeeded by his son, Henry
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
and Louis' support began to wane as barons who had grievances with John took the opportunity to make peace with the new king. The French abandoned the siege of Dover Castle in November but the campaign continued in the south-east. In early 1217, the focus shifted northwards, culminating in a major French defeat at the Lincoln
Battle of Lincoln (1217)
The Second Battle of Lincoln occurred at Lincoln Castle on 20 May 1217, during the First Barons' War, between the forces of the future Louis VIII of France and those of King Henry III of England. Louis' forces were attacked by a relief force under the command of William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke...
in May. In August, a fleet carrying French reinforcements was defeated off Sandwich
Battle of Sandwich (1217)
In the Battle of Sandwich on 24 August 1217 a Plantagenet English fleet commanded by Hubert de Burgh attacked a Capetian French armada led by Eustace the Monk and Robert of Courtenay. The English captured the French flagship and most of the supply vessels, forcing the rest of the French fleet to...
. Louis realised that the cause was lost and in September 1217 signed the Treaty of Kingston, leaving the country later that month
The war, and the invasion, left England with few territories in France but with the Norman Plantagenet dynasty still on the throne.
Invasions of Wales (793–1284)
Llywelyn IILlywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
secured the recognition of the title Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
from Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
with the Treaty of Montgomery
Treaty of Montgomery
By means of the Treaty of Montgomery , Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was acknowledged as Prince of Wales by the English king Henry III, the only time in history that an English ruler would recognise the right of a ruler of Gwynedd over Wales...
in 1267. Later however, a succession of disputes, including the imprisonment of Llywelyn's wife Eleanor
Eleanor de Montfort
Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon was a daughter of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England. She was also the first woman who can be shown to have used the title Princess of Wales....
, daughter of Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...
, culminated in the first invasion by Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
.
As a result of military defeat, the Treaty of Aberconwy
Treaty of Aberconwy
The Treaty of Aberconwy was signed in 1277 by King Edward I of England and Llewelyn the Last of modern-day Wales, who had fought each other on and off for years over control of the Welsh countryside...
exacted Llywelyn's fealty to England in 1277. Peace was short lived and, with the 1282 Edwardian conquest, the rule of the Welsh princes permanently ended. With Llywelyn's death and his brother prince Dafydd
Dafydd ap Gruffydd
Dafydd ap Gruffydd was Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282 until his execution on 3 October 1283 by King Edward I of England...
's execution, the few remaining Welsh lords
Welsh peers
This is an index of Welsh peers whose primary peerage, life peerage, and baronetcy titles includes a Welsh place-name origin or its territorial qualification is within the historic counties of Wales....
did homage for their lands to Edward I.
Scottish Wars
Anglo-Scottish relations were generally poor throughout the Middle Ages. Edward I's attempts to become feudal overlord of Scotland after the death of Alexander III in 1286 led to a long struggle for Scottish independence. Significantly, in 1295 it led to a long running alliance with France, later known as the Auld allianceAuld Alliance
The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...
. Warfare between the English and the French would therefore provide a strategic context of many of the major Scottish invasions of England, in particular in 1346, 1385 and 1513. French troops were also involved in the Scottish invasion of England in 1464, during the Wars of the Roses.
The Franco-Scottish invasion of 1385
In May 1385, a French force led by admiral Jean de VienneJean de Vienne
Jean de Vienne was a French knight, general and Admiral of France during the Hundred Years' War.-Early life:Jean de Vienne was born at Dole, in what is now Franche-Comté. As a nobleman, he started his military career at the age of 19, and was made a knight at 21.-Career:By the age of 24, de Vienne...
sailed from Sluys 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....
in Scotland. It consisted of at least 1000 men-at-arms plus servants and crossbowmen, and carried 50,000 gold francs as gifts for the Scots nobility A joint attack on the North of England was planned but there was considerable disharmony between the Scots and French contingents. Eventually a joint force invaded England in July and succeeded in taking the castle at Wark
Wark
Wark, a Scots noun for a building, from the noun wark [wark, wA:rk] . The verb form is wirk [wIrk, wVrk]. The past tense is wrocht [wroxt].Wark may refer to:-Places:...
. However, an English relief army was approaching and the Franco-Scottish force fell back before them to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, which was burned by the English on August 11. Admiral de Vienne led his men on a counter attack on the English West March
Scottish Marches
Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras—from the late 13th century, with the creation by Edward I of England of the first Lord Warden of the Marches to the early 17th century and the creation of the Middle Shires, promulgated...
, launching an assault on Carlisle
City of Carlisle
The City of Carlisle is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages...
on September 7. The assault failed and the French force fell back into Scotland harried by English forces. De Vienne returned to Edinburgh hoping to over winter but morale among his army was failing and many determined to return home to France, despite the lateness of the season.
The Flodden Campaign 1513
In 1508, a warden of the Scottish East MarchScottish Marches
Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras—from the late 13th century, with the creation by Edward I of England of the first Lord Warden of the Marches to the early 17th century and the creation of the Middle Shires, promulgated...
was murdered by an English Northumbrian. Taking advantage of the political crisis caused by this incident, the French king, whose nation was at war with the English king, Henry VIII, convinced James IV of Scotland
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
to invade his southern neighbor.
Since King Henry was in France campaigning, Queen Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
organized an English army and placed it under the command of the elderly Earl of Surrey. The army marched north and met James' forces at Flodden. James surprised the English by leading his centre in a wild charge against Surrey's, but the English stood fast and repulsed the Scots, unhorsing and killing James. The battle ended in an English victory.
The Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
. Few of these had the scale, or purpose, of invasions. Perhaps the closest was the overrunning of the Isle of Wight by a French fleet commanded by Jean de Vienne
Jean de Vienne
Jean de Vienne was a French knight, general and Admiral of France during the Hundred Years' War.-Early life:Jean de Vienne was born at Dole, in what is now Franche-Comté. As a nobleman, he started his military career at the age of 19, and was made a knight at 21.-Career:By the age of 24, de Vienne...
in August 1377. Some more significant French operations do warrant mention, however.
French invasions of the Channel Islands
In March 1338, a French force landed on JerseyJersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, intent on capturing the island. Although the island was overrun, the main fortification on the island, Gorey Castle, remained in English hands. The French remained until September, when they sailed off to conquer Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. In 1339 the French returned, allegedly with 8000 men in 17 Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
galleys and 35 French ships. Again they failed to take the castle and, after causing damage, withdrew. The English were able to recapture Guernsey in October 1340 but the French held out in Castle Cornet
Castle Cornet
Castle Cornet is a large island castle in Guernsey, and former tidal island, also known as Cornet Rock or Castle Rock, which has been part of one of the breakwaters of St Peter Port's harbour, the main one in the island, since 1859.- Geography :...
until 1345.
In July 1373, Bertrand du Guesclin
Bertrand du Guesclin
Bertrand du Guesclin , known as the Eagle of Brittany or the Black Dog of Brocéliande, was a Breton knight and French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He was Constable of France from 1370 to his death...
overran Jersey and besieged Gorey Castle. His troops succeeded in breaching the outer defences, forcing the garrison back to the keep. The garrison came to an agreement that they would surrender if not relieved by Michaelmas
Michaelmas
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
and du Guesclin sailed back to Brittany, leaving a small force to carry on the siege. Fortunately for the defenders, an English relief fleet arrived in time.
The French would not succeed in capturing Jersey during the Hundred Years War, but did capture Gorey Castle in the summer of 1461, allegedly as part of a secret deal between Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
and Pierre de Brézé
Pierre de Brézé
Pierre de Brézé was a French soldier and politician in the service of King Charles VII. He had made his name in the English wars when in 1433 he joined with Yolande, queen of Sicily, the constable Richmond and others, in chasing from power Charles VII's minister La Trémoille...
to gain French support for the Lancastrian cause. The island was held by the French until 1468, when Yorkist forces and local militia were able to recapture the castle.
The invasion threat of 1386
From December 1385, Charles VI of FranceCharles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
began to prepare for an invasion of England, assembling ships in the Low Countries and Brittany. Preparations continued all through the spring and summer of 1386, with the assembly of large quantities of stores, equipment and men. Amongst the stores assembled was a large prefabricated wooden fort, 3000 paces long, with walls 20 ft (6m) high. The English responded by raising forces of men-at-arms and archers, who were stationed on the coast from the Humber to Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. Originally intending to attack in August, Charles put back the date to October, and early in the month joined his fleet in Flanders. However, he persuaded by his admiral, the Duke of Berry
John, Duke of Berry
John of Valois or John the Magnificent was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was the third son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg; his brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy...
, to postpone the attack to the following year. A smaller scale expedition was planned for the summer of 1387 but it came to nothing
The French Invasion of 1405
In July 1404, Owain Glyn Dwr signed a treaty with the French by which they recognised him as Prince of Wales. This led to a French expeditionary force landing in South Wales in February 1405 to support Glyn Dwr's forces. In August these were reinforced by a further expedition of 2500 men. The combined army campaigned in Pembrokeshire, destroying HaverfordwestPembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
and capturing Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
. According to the French historian Monstrelet
Enguerrand de Monstrelet
Enguerrand de Monstrelet , French chronicler, belonged to a noble family of Picardy.In 1436 and later he held the office of lieutenant of the gavenier at Cambrai, and he seems to have made this city his usual place of residence...
, they then invaded England and for eight days faced the English army of Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
at Woodbury Hill. No battle however occurred and the Franco-Welsh force returned to Wales. Although some of the French returned home in November, most overwintered. Attempts were made to bring French reinforcements in 1406 but these were intercepted by the English fleet. The remaining French troops were withdrawn sometime during the year.
The overthrow of Richard II 1399
In October 1398, Henry Bolingbroke had been exiled for ten years by Richard IIRichard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
. In February 1399, Henry's father, John of Gaunt, had died and in March 1399, Richard had declared that Henry's inheritance was forfeit and that he was a traitor, permanently banished from the realm. Richard had then, in what was to prove a major strategic error, proceeded with his army to Ireland. This gave Henry the opportunity a chance to return to England and, on 4 July 1399, he landed with a small force at Ravenspur. From there, he marched into the Lancastrian heartlands of Yorkshire, building his forces. At Bridlington
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
, he was joined by the Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG, Lord Marshal was the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy and a descendent of Henry III of England. His mother was Mary of Lancaster, daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, son of Edmund, Earl of Leicester and...
and his son Henry Percy. The army marched southwards and on 20 July reached Leicester. Meanwhile, Richard's regent, Edmund, Duke of York
Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York
Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, 1st Earl of Cambridge, KG was a younger son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault, the fourth of the five sons who lived to adulthood, of this Royal couple. Like so many medieval princes, Edmund gained his identifying nickname from his...
had raised an army and was in Hertfordshire. The Duke of York had little desire to fight, however, and detached himself from the army, met Henry at Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle
Berkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK . The castle's origins date back to the 11th century and it has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.The castle has remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the...
on 27 July. Henry then marched his army to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, where Richard's major supporters had gathered to await his return from Ireland. The castle rapidly surrendered and Richard's chief counselors were promptly executed.
In the meantime, Richard had returned from Ireland, landing in Milford Haven
Milford Haven
Milford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...
in South Wales. However, fearing a plot, he had abandoned his army and fled to North Wales where he had stronger support. However, support was not forthcoming and at the beginning of August, Henry and his army were at Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
while Richard with a few men held Conway Castle. Henry sent a force under the Earl of Northumberland to capture Richard, which they did by a trick on 15 August. Richard was taken to London and on 29 September was forced to abdicate. On 30 September Henry was proclaimed king at Westminster Hall, the first of the Lancastrian kings.
The Wars of the Roses
England was spared invasion during the Hundred Years' WarHundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
against France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Castile
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
, but it was plagued by 32 years (1455–1487) of civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
. The Lancastrian branch of the House of Plantagenet
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...
, which had overthrown the direct royal line in 1399, was embroiled in fighting against the Yorkist wing of the dynasty.
The Lancastrian king, Henry VI, was deposed twice during the wars and was murdered after the second deposition. He was replaced by the Yorkist claimant, Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
, who ruled until his death. He was succeeded by his young son, Edward V
Edward V of England
Edward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...
, who, along with his brother, was placed in the Tower of London, where he disappeared under suspicious circumstances. The main benefactor of Edward's disappearance was the boys' regent and uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
, who was then crowned king.
In exile in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, Henry Tudor, a distant relation of the Lancastrians, gathered a small, mainly mercenary army and mounted an invasion of Wales in 1485. Welshmen, Lancastrians, and disaffected Yorkists rallied behind Tudor, whose forces encountered Richard and the royal army at Bosworth Field on August 22. Richard was killed during the fighting, and his forces lost the battle.
Tudor was crowned king as Henry VII, and, after defeating Yorkist rebels in 1487, established the House of Tudor as the sole English ruling dynasty.
Perkin Warbeck
The pretender Perkin WarbeckPerkin Warbeck
Perkin Warbeck was a pretender to the English throne during the reign of King Henry VII of England. By claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger son of King Edward IV, one of the Princes in the Tower, Warbeck was a significant threat to the newly established Tudor Dynasty,...
made three attempts to invade England. The first, on 3 July 1495, occurred at Deal
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
. Warbeck had arrived on a fleet of ships provided by Maximillian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
. An advanced force of supporters and Flemish mercenaries was put ashore to attempt to raise local rebellion. Local forces however, defeated the landing party, killing 150 and capturing 163. Warbeck himself did not land.
The second invasion came in September 1496. Warbeck had been received in Scotland in January 1496 and James IV
James IV of Scotland
James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...
supported him in an invasion of England later in the year. Unfortunately for the invaders, there was again no local support for Warbeck and the invaders soon returned across the border.
The third, and most successful, invasion took place in Cornwall in September 1497. In May and June 1497, there had been a revolt against Henry VII in Cornwall. This had been suppressed following the rebel's defeat at Blackheath. However, there was still sufficient dissatisfaction that when Warbeck arrived with a small force, he was accepted by many locals as Richard IV and soon raised a force of up to 8,000 rebels. With this army, he besieged Exeter. The fighting, over two days, was bloody, with the rebels making assaults on North and East gates. One or both gates were penetrated but the attackers were driven out after fierce street fighting. 3–400 rebels are alleged to have been killed during the attack. With the failure of the attack, the rebel army withdrew to Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
. By this time, however, a royal army was approaching and the morale of the rebels began to crack. Warbeck fled on 21 September but was captured at Beaulieu Abbey
Beaulieu Abbey
Beaulieu Abbey, , was a Cistercian abbey located in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1203-1204 by King John and peopled by 30 monks sent from the abbey of Cîteaux in France, the mother house of the Cistercian order...
in Hampshire.
Viking raids and invasions
While there are few records, the Vikings are thought to have led their first raids in Scotland on the holy island of IonaIona
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
in 794, the year following the raid on the other holy island of Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
, Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
.
In 839, a large Norse fleet invaded via the River Tay
River Tay
The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom. The Tay originates in western Scotland on the slopes of Ben Lui , then flows easterly across the Highlands, through Loch Dochhart, Loch Lubhair and Loch Tay, then continues east through Strathtay , in...
and River Earn
River Earn
The River Earn in Scotland leaves Loch Earn at St Fillans and runs east through Strathearn, then east and south, joining the River Tay near Abernethy. The Earn is about long. It passes by Comrie, Crieff and Bridge of Earn....
, both of which were highly navigable, and reached into the heart of the Pictish kingdom
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
of Fortriu
Fortriu
Fortriu or the Kingdom of Fortriu is the name given by historians for an ancient Pictish kingdom, and often used synonymously with Pictland in general...
. They defeated Eogán mac Óengusa
Uen of the Picts
Uuen [Wen] or Eogán in Gaelic was king of the Picts, or of Fortriu , in what is now Scotland....
, king of the Picts, his brother Bran
Bran
Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains. When bran is removed from grains, the grains lose a portion of their...
and the king of the Scots of Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
, Áed mac Boanta
Áed mac Boanta
Áed mac Boanta is believed to have been a king of Dál Riata.The only reference to Áed in the Irish annals is found in the Annals of Ulster, where it is recorded that "Eóganán mac Óengusa, Bran mac Óengusa, Áed mac Boanta, and others almost innumerable" in a battle fought by the men of Fortriu...
, along with many members of the Pictish aristocracy in battle. The sophisticated kingdom that had been built fell apart, as did the Pictish leadership, which had been stable for more than a hundred years since the time of Óengus mac Fergusa
Óengus I of the Picts
Óengus son of Fergus , was king of the Picts from 732 until his death in 761. His reign can be reconstructed in some detail from a variety of sources.Óengus became the chief king in Pictland following a period of civil war in the late 720s...
. The accession of Cináed mac Ailpín
Kenneth I of Scotland
Cináed mac Ailpín , commonly Anglicised as Kenneth MacAlpin and known in most modern regnal lists as Kenneth I was king of the Picts and, according to national myth, first king of Scots, earning him the posthumous nickname of An Ferbasach, "The Conqueror"...
as king of both Picts and Scots can be attributed to the aftermath of this event.
The Wars of Independence
Following the disputed succession of the Scottish crown on the death of Alexander IIIAlexander III of Scotland
Alexander III was King of Scots from 1249 to his death.-Life:...
, Edward I led an English invasion in 1296, sacking Berwick upon Tweed and subjugating Scotland. The following year the Scots rose under the leadership of William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....
. They decisively defeated the English in the Battle of Stirling Bridge
Battle of Stirling Bridge
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth.-The main...
, and began a brief invasion of northern England. Edward rushed north with his army and inflicted a crushing defeat on Wallace at Falkirk
Battle of Falkirk (1298)
The Battle of Falkirk, which took place on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence...
. Wallace was captured and executed afterward. Further campaigns by Edward in 1300 and 1301 led to a truce between the Scots and the English in 1302. After another campaign in 1303/1304, Stirling Castle, the last major Scottish held stronghold, fell to the English, and in February 1304, negotiations led to most of the remaining nobles paying homage to Edward and to the Scots all but surrendering. However, the Scots rose again under their new king, Robert the Bruce, and routed the army of Edward II during the Battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...
in 1314. Peace was concluded in 1327.
In 1332, Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
supported the claims of Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol was a claimant to the Scottish throne . With English help, he briefly ruled the country from 1332 to 1336.-Life:...
to the Scottish throne. Balliol led an invasion, and following his success at Dupplin Moor
Battle of Dupplin Moor
The Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between supporters of the infant David II, the son of Robert the Bruce, and rebels supporting the Balliol claim in 1332. It was a significant battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence.-Background:...
, Edward III also moved north. By 1333, much of Scotland was under English occupation, with eight of the Scottish lowland counties being ceded to England by Edward Balliol. In 1334, Edward III invaded again, but he accomplished little and retreated in February 1335 having failed to bring the Scots to battle. He and Edward Balliol returned again in July with an army of 13,000, and advanced through Scotland, first to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and then Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
, where Edward III installed himself as his army looted and destroyed the surrounding countryside. In May 1336 an English army under Henry of Lancaster invaded, followed in July by another army under King Edward. Together, they ravaged much of the north-east and sacked Elgin and Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, while a third army ravaged the south-west and the Clyde valley. Philip VI of France
Philip VI of France
Philip VI , known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328...
announced that he intended to aid the Scots by invading England, prompting Edward's retreat. By late 1336, the Scots had regained control over virtually all of Scotland. Although the war continued until the Treaty of Berwick
Treaty of Berwick (1357)
The Treaty of Berwick, signed at Berwick-upon-Tweed, Scotland, in 1357, officially ended the Second War of Scottish Independence. In this second phase of the Wars of Scottish Independence, which began in 1333, King Edward III of England attempted to install Edward Balliol on the Scottish throne, in...
in 1357, the English did not return to Scotland.
The Rough Wooing
In 1542 the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, acceeded to the Scottish throne. Henry VIII of EnglandHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
sought a dynastic marriage between Mary and his son Edward
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
. An initial proposal was agreed, but due to internal divisions between pro-France and pro-English factions, the Scots rescinded the agreement. War broke out and the English army sacked Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in May 1544. The battle of Ancrum Moor
Battle of Ancrum Moor
The Battle of Ancrum Moor was fought during the War of the Rough Wooing in 1545. The Scottish victory put a temporary end to English depredations in the Scottish border and lowlands.-Background :...
the following year led to the English withdrawal. After Henry's death and the installation of Protector Somerset, the English returned, defeating the Scots at the battle of Pinkie in September 1547. They established a base at Haddington and put much of southern Scotland under military rule.
In response, the Scots requested aid from the French, and French troops arrived at Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
in 1548. The Treaty of Norham ended hostilities in 1551, although the French remained until 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...
in 1560, when they were ejected by combined Protestant Scottish and English forces. This latter period of the conflict is sometimes referred to as a proxy war
Proxy war
A proxy war or proxy warfare is a war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly. While powers have sometimes used governments as proxies, violent non-state actors, mercenaries, or other third parties are more often employed...
, fought by Scottish factions on behalf of France and England.