60 The Scalacronica. 



help in the morning, he might easily encounter them without loss. 

 By his incitement they resolved to fight. So in the morning at 

 sunrise, they issued from the wood in three arrays on foot, and 

 boldly took the road aganist the army of the English, who had 

 been under arms all night, with their horses harnessed. They 

 mounted their horses in great alarm, as they had not been 

 accustomed to go into battle on foot. But the Scots were follow- 

 ing the example of the Flemings, who before this had on foot 

 defeated the forces of France at Courtray. The aforesaid Scots 

 came in a schiltrom upon the lines of the English, who were 

 entangled with each other and could not advance against them, 

 while their horses were maimed by the lances of the men on foot 

 behind them. The English recoiling upon the ditch of Bannock- 

 burn fell over each other. Their lines were disarranged by the 

 pushing of the lance-points against the liorses, and they began to 

 fiee. Those whose duty it was to guard the King, perceiving 

 the disaster, drew him forward by his horse"s rein out of the field 

 towards the Castle, notwithstanding that he was reluctant to 

 depart. When the Scotch horsemen who were on foot clung to 

 the covering of the King's charger in order to stop him, he struck 

 so dextrously behind him with a club, that there was no one whom 

 he hit, who was not knocked to the ground. When those who 

 held his rein kept on drawing him forward, Giles de Argentin, 

 one of them, a renowned knight, who had recently returned from 

 over sea from the war of the Emperor Henry of Luxemburg, said 

 to the King: — "Sire, your rein was entrusted to me. Now you 

 are in safety. See, here is your Castle, where your body will be 

 safe. In the past I have not been accustomed to flee, and now I 

 have no more wish to do so. I commend you to God." Then he 

 set spur to his horse and returned to the battle, where he was 

 killed. But the King's charger was maimed and could go no 

 further. So he was remounted upon a courser, and led all 

 round the wood of Torre and over the plain of Lownesse. Those 

 who went with him were saved, luit all the others met with 

 disaster. The Iving escaped with great difficulty. Thence he 

 went to Dunbar, where Patrick, Earl of March, received him with 

 honour and entrusted his Castle to him, and e\-en left the place 

 with all his men, in order that there might be no doubt or 

 suspicion that he would do anything but his duty to his Lord. 

 For at that time he was his vassal. Thence the King departed 

 bv sea to Berwick and then to the South. 



