374 Rev. R. Jones oji the Battle of Flodden Field. 



themselves in readiness for the battle fray. The queen herself 

 had become infected with the chivalrous contagion ; she and 

 her ladies, like those in Scotland, were closely employed in 

 making flags and colours, and in one of her letters to Car- 

 dinal Wolsey she expressed herself thus, " I am horribly busy 

 in making standards, banners, and badges." 



Men from the East, West, and South of England came 

 pouring on in quick succession. Durham and Newcastle 

 were thronged with horse and foot soldiers. Day and night 

 brought fresh supplies ; no sooner had thousands marched on 

 for the North, than thousands took up their places from the 

 South. The watchword, that the king of Scotland had in- 

 vaded England, and was throwing doAvn castle after castle, 

 spread Avith astonishing rapidity from town to town, and 

 every tongue resounded with the depredations committed by 

 the Scottish army. Surrey had ordered all the men capable of 

 bearing arms to hurry on for Alnwick, a town whose inhabit- 

 ants knew well the strife of Border war, even from the days 

 of Malcolm III. king of Scotland, whose blood was treacher- 

 ously spilt before her gates, to the hour when Surrey's forces 

 assembled within her walls on their march for Flodden Field. 



By the 5th September their tents were pitched at Bolton, a 

 small hamlet, about five miles west of Alnwick, and north of 

 the river Aln. Here they were joined by the Borderers, and 

 the men of Northumberland under their different command- 

 ers, all animated with the greatest zeal of doing battle with 

 their foes. They were clad much in the same manner as the 

 Scotch. The leaders and the men at arms rode strong power- 

 ful horses, and they were covered from head to foot in burn- 

 ished mail armour. The warriors in those days never con- 

 sidered themselves equipped for battle unless they were cased 

 in steel or iron. The struggle for victory was generally hand 

 to hand, especially after they had discharged their arrows, so 

 that the shock of battle was more terrible when each man 

 singled out his foe, and was determined to conquer or to die, 

 than it even now is, under all the improvement of the de- 

 structive implements of war. A few hours combat sufficed to 

 cover the field with the dead and dying. The arrow and 

 spear points soon did their fatal work, and the bill, the 

 battle-axe, and the sword, wielded in the hands of the com- 

 batants, quickly laid their thousands in the dust. 



The two armies were now drawing nearer and nearer to 

 each other, the day of battle was close at hand, a few hours 

 wafted intelligence from camp to camp, and all were preparing 



