Simon Fraser

The arms of Simon Fraser of Oliver and Neidpath. Simon was captured at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296 and afterwards released in exchange for military service in Flanders. He swore fealty to Edward I on 13 October of that year, and on 28 May 1297 swore a solemn oath to serve the king in Scotland against the King of France. This oath was made at Bramber in Essex, and was a very serious affair. Both Simon and the king laid their hands on the altar as the oath was sworn. Simon’s kinsman, Richard, was present to stand surety. 

Simon served in the English army in Flanders, to King Edward’s great pleasure: the king wrote that the Scotsman’s service had ‘pleased him much’, and commanded that the lands of Simon’s valet, Geoffrey Ridell, should be restored to him. Edward then made Simon a household knight, a mix of soldier-diplomat-administrator, fed daily in the king’s hall and given new robes twice a year. Before the Battle of Falkirk he was gifted a ‘ferrand pomele’ horse by the king, another mark of favour. At the battle Simon was in the king’s bataille and led a small conroi of four valets.