Scottish at Battle of Flodden

Map ShowsNorthumbria in the North of England where the battle was fought.

The Battle of Flodden was a decisive victory for the English. For the Scots it had been a disaster,with many of the most important members of Scottish society killed or slain in the conflict. The
Scottish dead included twelve earls, fifteen lords, many clan chiefs an archbishop and above all KingJames himself.
This conflict began when King James declared war on England, to honour the Auld Alliance with France by diverting Henry VIII's English troops from their campaign against the French king Louis XII. England was involved in a larger conflict; defending Italy and the Pope from the French, as a member of the "Catholic League". Using the pretext of revenge for the murder of Robert Kerr, a warden of the Scottish East March, who had been killed by John "The bastard" Heron in 1508, James of Scotland invaded England with an army of about 30,000 men.
The battle actually took place near the village of Branxton, in the county of Northumberland, rather than at Flodden — hence the alternative name of Battle of Branxton. The Scots had previously been stationed at Flodden Edge, to the south of Branxton.
It is said that every great family in Scotland mourned the loss of someone at the Battleof Flodden. The dead were remembered in the famous Scottish pipe tune,

The Flowers of the Forest';

We'll here nae mair lilting at our ewe milking,
Women and bairns are heartless and wae,
Sighing and moaning on a ilka green loaning,
The flowers of the forest are a wede away.

Today a large granite cross marks the site of the Battle of Flodden. It is touchingly inscribed;
"TO THE BRAVE OF BOTH NATION