64 The Scalacronica. 



and others. The enemy perceiving him coming in this manner 

 left the skinnishers among the old walls and betook themselves 

 to the open fields. The men who were around, seeing from the 

 fosse their leader coming in this guise, leaped over the fosse and 

 ran into the fields against the enemy, who of their own accord 

 had resolved to return, and had set spurs to their horses to rush 

 upon them. Upon this the said Thomas and his men arrived. 

 They saw that the horses were overthrown and that the men on 

 foot were killing them as tftiey lay upon the ground. They 

 rallied to Thomas, ran upon the enemy and drove them out of 

 the fields over the water of Twede, having taken or killed many. 

 If they had not had horses hardly any of the enemy would 'have 

 escaped. Many of the horses lay dead. The said Thomas was 

 twice besieged in the said castle ; once for a year, and the other 

 time for seven mont'hs. The enemy erected fortresses in front 

 of him; one at Up Sedelingtoun, another at the church of 

 Norham. He was re-victualled twice by the Lords of Percy and 

 Nevyl, in great reliefs of the said castle. They became prudent, 

 noble and rich men, and were a great aid to the Marches. The 

 advanced baily of t'he castle was once betrayed in his time by 

 one of his own men on St. Katherine's eve (24th November). 

 He killed the porter and let the enemy in, who were lying in 

 ■ambush in a house in front of the gate. But the second ward 

 and the keep were held against them. The enemy kept the 

 baily for three days only, and then abandoned it, trying to bum 

 it down, after they had failed in mining it. For they feared the 

 arrival of the said Thomas, who was then returning from the 

 south, where he was at the time. The said Thomas performed 

 •many fine feats of arms ; but these are not here related. King 

 EdW'ard was once before Berwick with all his royal force, and 

 began to besiege the town, which had previously been lost 

 through the treason of Piers of Spalding. He handed it over to 

 the burgesses of the town in order to save the great expenses to 

 ■whic'h he had been put. At the same time the Scots entered 

 •England by Carlisle and rode far into the country. The 

 commons of the boroughs and the men of Holy Church assembled 

 at Milton; but they were defeated there, being men unacquainted 

 with war and out of array against practised men-at-arms. For 

 this cause the King raised t'he siege, with the purpose of having 

 a contest with his enemies in his own realm. But they retreated 



