in forming up on an equal front
with greatly superior numbers, found his army almost hopelessly cramped.
The attacking army was formed in an unwieldy mass of ten "battles," each
consisting of horse and foot, and the whole formed in three lines each of
three "battles," with the tenth "battle" as a reserve in rear. In this
order the English moved down into the valley for a direct attack, the
cavalry of each "battle" in first line, the foot in second. Ignoring the
lesson of Falkirk (_q.v._), the mounted men rode through the morass and up
the slope, which was now crowned by the three great masses of the Scottish
pikemen. The attack of the English failed to make any gap in the line of
defence, many knights and men-at-arms were injured by falling into the
pits, and the battle became a _melee_, the Scots, with better fortune than
at Falkirk and Flodden, presenting always an impenetrable hedge of spears,
the English, too stubborn to draw off, constantly trying in vain to break
it down. So great was the press that the "battles" of the second line which
followed the first were unable to reach the front and stood on the slope,
powerless to take part in the battle on the crest. The advance of the third
English line only made matters worse, and the sole attempt to deploy the
archers was crushed with great slaughter by the charge of Keith's mounted
men. Bruce threw his infantry reserve into the battle, the arrows of the
English archers wounded the men-at-arms of their own side, and the remnants
of the leading line were tired and disheartened when the final impetus to
their rout was given by the historic charge of the "gillies," some
thousands of Scottish camp-followers who suddenly emerged from the woods,
blowing horns, waving such weapons as they possessed, and holding aloft
[v.03 p.0355] improvised banners. Their cries of "slay, slay!" seemed to
the wearied English to betoken the advance of a great reserve, and in a few
minutes the whole English army broke and fled in disorder down the slope.
Many perished in the burn, and the demoralized fugitives were hunted by the
peasantry until they re-crossed the English border. One earl, forty-two
barons and bannerets, two hundred knights, seven hundred esquires and
probably 10,000 foot were killed in the battle and the pursuit. One earl,
twenty-two barons and bannerets and sixty-eight knights fell into the hands
of the victors, whose total loss of 4000 men included, it is said, only two
knigh