The Battle of Otterburn took place on the 9 August 1388 or 15 August 1388, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scottish and English. August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... Events Beginning of prosecution of Lollards in England The Battle of Otterburn between England and Scotland Births Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury. ... August 15 is the 227th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (228th in leap years), with 138 days remaining. ... Events Beginning of prosecution of Lollards in England The Battle of Otterburn between England and Scotland Births Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury. ... Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion...

The best remaining record of the battle is from Jean Froissart's Chronicles in which he claims to have interviewed veterans from both sides of the battle. His account is still regarded with some concern as details, such as the distance between Newcastle upon Tyne and Otterburn, are incorrect. Jean Froissart (~1337 - ~1405) was one of the most important of the chroniclers of medieval France. ... This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ...

The Scottish James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas decided to lead a raid—one of a continuing series on both sides of the border—into English territory. It was timed to take advantage of divisions on the English side between Lord Neville and Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland who had just taken over defence of the border. Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland (November 10, 1342 - February 20, 1408), was the son of Henry, 3rd baron Percy, and the father of Henry Harry Hotspur Percy. ...

The Battle

The Scots divided their forces with the main force and their baggage train heading towards Carlisle while a raiding party including Earl Douglas ravaged the countryside around Durham and Newcastle. Henry Percy sent his two sons Henry "Hotspur" Percy and Ralph to engage while he stayed at Alnwick to cut off the marauders retreat. Map sources for Carlisle at grid reference NY3955 Carlisle is a city in the extreme north west of England, some 10 miles from the border with Scotland in the county of Cumbria. ... Durham (IPA: locally, in RP) is a small city in the north east of England. ... Henry Percy was the name of several nobles in the line that produced the earls of Northumberland. ... The town of Alnwick, nestling behind Alnwick Castle Alnwick is a small market town in Northumberland, England. ...

Froissart says that the first fighting included the Earl Douglas and Henry Percy in hand to hand combat in which Percy's pennon was captured. Douglas then moved off destroying the castle at Ponteland and besieging Otterburn castle. Percy attacked Douglas' encampment with a surprise attack in the late afternoon but first encountered the Earl's serving men giving the bulk of the forces time to muster and attack them on their flank. A pennant is usually a narrow tapering flag most commonly flown by ships at sea. ...

During the battle on a moon-lit night Douglas was killed and the Percys were both captured with the remaining English force retreating to Newcastle. Despite Percy's force having an estimated three to one advantage over the Scots Froissart records 1040 English were captured and 1860 killed whereas 200 Scots were captured and 100 were killed. When the Bishop of Durham advanced from Newcastle with 10,000 men he was so impressed by the ordered appearance of the Scottish force, the din they set up with their horns, and their seemingly unassailable position, that he declined to attack. Arms of the Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the officer of the Church of England responsible for the diocese of Durham, one of the oldest in the country. ...

Aftermath

Such a decisive victory kept the two sides apart for some time. In 1402 the Earl Douglas' son attempted to emulate his father's great victory and hopefully survive but the Battle of Homildon was almost an exact reverse of Otterburn and a great defeat for the Scots. Events September 14 - Battle of Homildon Hill. ...

Of such renown was the battle of Otterburn that several ballads were composed in its honour including the The Battle of Otterburn and The Ballad of Chevy Chase. Chevy Chase rather mangles the history of the battle and may be confusing other conflicts at around the same time but it is still cited as one of the best of the ancient ballads. A ballad is a story in song, usually a narrative song or poem. ... At least two English ballads known as The Ballad of Chevy Chase exist, but the nature of ballads mean that many more versions of this once popular song may not have survived. ...

External links

• Froissart's account of the battle (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=FroChro.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=4&division=div1)
• Map sources (http://www.rhaworth.myby.co.uk/oscoor_a.htm?NY877936_region:GB_scale:25000) for Percy's Cross which marks the battlefield