Adam's last stand

In the summer of 1301 Edward I embarked on another grand attempt to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Stirling. His plans for the campaign were much more ambitious than previous efforts. Rather than one army marching into Scotland, two would invade at once. The king himself would advance from Berwick, while a second host under the nominal command of Prince Edward (but in practice the Earl of Lincoln) marched from Carlisle. The idea was to crush the Scottish field army in a pincer movement.

The military summonses were issued in February and March and the musters fixed for 24 June. It seems barely credible that Adam Gurdun would be called up yet again: after the siege of Caerlaverock in the previous year he had returned to Hampshire, where he might have expected to enjoy his few remaining years in peace. But there he is on the writ, summoned to join the muster of the king’s army at Berwick on the Nativity of St John the Baptist (24 June). The writ insists that Adam must serve in person, which is intriguing. A knight of his advanced years - he was probably about 85 at this point - could hardly be expected to do very much. No doubt his experience was useful, or perhaps King Edward simply liked the company of old friends. Along with Earl Warenne and the Earl of Lincoln, Adam was one of a dwindling band of survivors from the Montfortian era.

The campaign itself was not very eventful. The king’s army marched from Berwick along the line of the Tweed and reached Coldstream on 21 July. From there Edward advanced to Peebles via Kelso and Traquair. By the end of August he had reached Glasgow, where preparations were made for an attack on Bothwell Castle. He wanted the ‘chief honour of taming the pride of the Scots’ to go to his son, advancing from Carlisle, but the Scots refused battle. Instead the main Scottish army withdrew beyond the Forth, though there was some skirmishing around Ayr and Turnberry. On 2 September the king received the good news that his son had taken Turnberry Castle, and oblations were given in thanks at Glasgow Cathedral.


Adam performed his final military service at the siege of Bothwell in September 1301. This was one of the greatest of Scottish castles, with a large circular donjon, possibly modelled on that at Coucy in Picardy. A great movable siege tower, called Belfry, was dragged up a corduroy road from Glasgow and covered with thick hides as a protection against fire. The assault led to Bothwell’s surrender on 21 September and the English army disbanded at Dunipace on 29 September. The siege tower was then dragged up to Stirling, but no assault took place as King Edward, due to French pressure, agreed to a truce in January 1302.

The truce was only temporary, but it marked the end of Adam’s military career. After fifty-nine years of service, a period of outlawry and eight major campaigns, he was finally allowed to go home and rest.