The Battle of Homildon Hill, 1402

The Battle of Homildon Hill, 1402: Death by Arrow-Storm

At a glance

Date14 September 1402
WarAnglo-Scottish border war
WhereHumbleton Hill, near Wooler, Northumberland
ScotsArchibald, 4th Earl of Douglas (captured)
Englishthe Percys, & George Dunbar
OutcomeDecisive English victory

Background

Archibald, 4th Earl of Douglas, led a strong raid deep into England and turned for home laden with plunder. The Percys intercepted him near Wooler, blocking the route to the Tweed.

The battle

Douglas drew up in dense schiltron on the slope of Homildon Hill — a large, static target. Rather than close, the English archers poured arrows into the massed Scots. Douglas led a downhill charge to break them but was beaten back by the arrow-storm; the Scots broke, many killed or drowned recrossing the Tweed. Douglas fell with five wounds and lost an eye before being captured.

This was a battle decided by the longbow almost without hand-to-hand fighting — the same lesson as Halidon Hill (1333). Sir John Swinton’s doomed charge (“rather die in the fight than be shot down like deer”) is chronicle colour; the substance is credible, the speech literary.

Outcome & significance

A textbook demonstration of the war-winning longbow. The haul of noble prisoners — and Henry IV’s demand that the Percys hand them over — helped push the Percys into rebellion in 1403, ending at Shrewsbury where Hotspur was killed.

The battlefield today

The Bendor Stone and a “Battle Stone” are associated with the field, within Northumberland National Park; it is a registered English battlefield.

The clans & people involved

  • Clan Douglas — the 4th Earl, captured; with Sinclair (Earl of Orkney) and Gordon among the Scots.
  • The Percys, with the Scottish defector George Dunbar advising.

Sources

📝 Kevin’s note: a photo of Humbleton Hill / the Bendor Stone — add from our own visit.

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