Siege and reduction of Stirling castle
The castle of Stirling was now the only fortress which had not opened its gates to Edward. It had been intrusted by its governor, John de Soulis, who was still in France, to the care of Sir William Olifant, an experienced soldier, who, on seeing the great preparations made by Edward against his comparatively feeble garrison, sent a message to the king, informing him that it was impossible for him to surrender the castle without forfeiting his oaths and honour as a knight, pledged to his master, Sir John Soulis; but that if a cessation of hostilities were granted for a short time, he would instantly repair to France, inquire the will of his master, and return again to deliver up the castle, if permitted to do so. This was a proposal perfectly in the spirit of the age, and Edward, who loved chivalry, would at another time probably have agreed to it; but he was now, to use the expressive words of Langtoft, "full grim," and roused to a pitch of excessive fury against the obstinate resistance of the Scots. "I will agree to no such terms," said he; "if he will not surrender the castle, let him keep it against us at his peril." And Olifant, accordingly, with the assistance of Sir William Dupplin, and other knights, who had shut themselves up therein, proceeded to fortify the walls, to direct his engines of defence, and to prepare the castle for the last extremities of a siege. Thirteen warlike engines were brought by the besiegers to bear upon the fortress. The missiles which they threw consisted of leaden balls of great size, with huge stones and javelins, and the leaden roof of the refectory of St Andrews was torn away to supply materials for these deadly machines ; but for a long time the efforts of the assailants produced no breach in the Walls, whilst the sallies of the besieged, and the dexterity with which their engines were directed and served, made great havoc in the English army. During all this, Edward, although his advanced age might have afforded him an excuse for caution, exposed his person with an almost youthful rashness. Mounted on horseback, he rode beneath the walls to make his observations, and was more than once struck by the stones and javelins thrown from the engines on tire ramparts. One day, when riding so near that he could distinguish the soldiers who worked the balistae, a javelin struck him on the breast, and lodged itself in the steel plates of his armour. The king with his own hand plucked out the dart, which had not pierced the skin, and shaking it in the air, called out aloud that he would hang the villain who had hit him. On another occasion, when riding within the range of the engines, a stone of great size and weight struck so near, and with such noise and force, that the king's horse backed and fell with his master ; upon which some of the soldiers, seeing his danger, ran in and forced Edward down the hill towards the tents. Whilst these engines within the castle did so much execution, those of Edward, being of small dimensions in comparison with the height of the walls, had little effect; and when fagots and branches were thrown into the fosse, to facilitate the assault, a sally from the castle succeeded in setting the whole in flames, and carried confusion and slaughter into the English lines.The siege had now continued from the twentysecond of April to the twentieth of May, without much impression having been made. But determination was a marked feature in the powerful character of the king. He wrote to the sheriffs of York, Lincoln, and London, commanding them to purchase and send instantly to him, at Stirling, all the balistfe, quarrells, bows and arrows, which they could collect within their counties; and he despatched a letter to the Governor of the Tower, requiring him to send down, with all haste, the balistas and small quarrells which were under his charge in that fortress. Anxious, also, for the assistance and presence of all his best soldiers, he published, at Stirling, an inhibition, proclaiming that no knight, esquire, or other person whatsoever, should frequent jousts or tournaments, or go in search of adventures and deeds of arms, without his special license ;" and aware that the Scottish garrison must soon be in want of provisions, he cut off all communication with the surrounding country, and gave orders for the employment of a new and dreadful instrument of destruction, the Greek fire, with which he had probably become acquainted in the East. The mode in which this destructive combustible was used, seems to have been by shooting from the balistae, large arrows,to whose heads were fastened halls of ignited cotton, which stuck in the roofs and walls of the buildings they struck, and set them on fire. In addition to this, he commanded his engineers to construct two immense machines, which, unlike those employed at first, overtopped the walls, and were capable of throwing stones and leaden balls of three hundred pounds weight. The first of these was a complicated machine, which, although much pains was bestowed on its construction, did no great execution; but the second, which the soldiers called the wolf, was more simple in its form, and, from its size and strength, most murderous in its effects.
These great efforts succeeded: a large breach was made in the two inner walls of the castle; and the outer ditch having been filled up with heaps of stones and fagots thrown into it, Edward ordered a general assault. The brave little garrison, which for three months had successfully resisted the whole strength of the English army, were now dreadfully reduced by the siege. Their provisions were exhausted. Thirteen women, the wives and sisters of the knights and barons who defended the place, were shut up along with the soldiers, and their distress and misery became extreme. In these circumstances—their walls cast down, the engines carrying the troops wheeled up to the breach, and the scaling ladders fixed on the parapet—a deputation was sent to Edward, with an offer to capitulate, on security of life and limb. This proposal the king met with contempt and scorn; but he agreed to treat on the terms of an unconditional surrender, and appointed four of his barons, the Earls of Gloucester and Ulster, with Sir Eustace le Poor, and Sir John de Mowbray, to receive the last resolution of the besieged.