War on the Scottish Border: The Battles of Otterburn & Homildon Hill, 1388-1402
The violent life of the medieval knight and men-at-arms was defined by the societal structures of feudalism, crucial to the early periods of Anglo-Scottish conflict from the First Edwardian War (1296-1328) into the start of the 15th century when the English turned their attention to the kingdom of the Scots yet again. Especially true during King Edward I’s early reign when the major battles of the Scottish War of Independence were being decided in 1296-1314, ending with the Treaty of Northampton in the year 1328 which made Robert the Bruce (b.1274-1329), Robert I, King of Scots. [1] King Robert the Bruce, slays the English knight Sir Henry De Bohun at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 Shortly the signing of the treaty in a letter dated July 1328, King Robert sent a letter to Henry de Percy, second Baron of Alnwick [2] (b.1299-1351) affirming Baron de Percy and his heirs their rightful claim to the southern territories of the Scottish Kingdom. Of the several notable Scottish knights wh...