Loading...Edward invades Scotland
Meanwhile Edward, having commanded his army to rendezvous at Roxburgh on the 24th of June, with, misplaced devotion, made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St John of Beverley. The sacred standard of this saint, held in deep reverence by the king and the army, had been carried with the host in the former war; and it is probable Edward would not lose the opportunity of taking it along with him in this expedition.On coming to Roxburgh, he found himself at the head of an army more formidable in their number, and more splendid in their equipment, than even that which had been collected by the Earl of Surrey six months before. He had seven thousand horse, three thousand heavy-armed, both men and horse, and four thousand light cavalry. His infantry consisted at first of eighty thousand men, mostly Welsh and Irish; but these were soon strengthened by the arrival of a powerful reinforcement from Gascony, amongst whom were five hundred horse, splendidly armed, and admirably mounted. On reviewing his troops, Edward found that the Constable and Marshal, with the barons of their party, refused to advance a step until the confirmation of the Great Charter, and the Charter of the Forests, had been ratified by the king in person: so jealous were they of their new rights, and so suspicious lest he should plead, that his former consent, given when in foreign parts, did not bind him within his own dominions. Edward dissembled his resentment, and evaded their demand, by bringing forward the Bishop of Durham, and the Earls of Surrey, Norfolk, and Lincoln, who solemnly swore, on the soul of their lord the king, that on his return, if he obtained the victory, he would accede to their request. Compelled to rest satisfied with this wary promise, which he afterwards tried in every way to elude, the refractory barons consented to advance into Scotland.