Team Guardian

On 8 August 1300 the main body of the English army reached the estuary of the Cree in southwest Scotland. The previous day this had been the scene of a skirmish between the Scots and an English foraging party, which ended with the capture of several Scottish knights. Piers Gaveston, Edward II’s future best friend, had sampled the waters of the Cree when his horse was killed under him.

Facing the English, on the western bank of the Cree, was a Scottish army. They were led by the brand-new team of Guardians; the Earl of Buchan, Ingram de Umfraville and John ‘the Red Comyn’ of Badenoch. This was an interesting phase in Scottish leadership: Sir William Wallace was relegated to the sidelines after his defeat at Falkirk, and Robert de Bruce had recently been sacked as Guardian in favour of Umfraville. The defence of Scotland was now in the hands of the Comyn faction.

After the disaster at Falkirk, the general policy of the Scots between 1298-1314 was to avoid open battle. In August 1300 Buchan and his lieutenants decided to risk a confrontation with Edward I, possibly in the hope that a victory would not only end the war, but shove Bruce into his box forever. The omens were not especially good: Buchan’s men had come off worst in skirmishes over the past couple of days, and the high desertion rate of Edward’s infantry still left the small matter of 2000 English knights and men-at-arms to deal with.

Edward also wanted a battle, but wasn’t about to rush into anything. At low tide some of his infantry crossed the ford and exchanged missiles with the Scots. The Prince of Wales rode up and down the bank, watching the skirmish with interest. The king ordered his vanguard to cross the ford. Then he was informed the Scots meant to lure him into an ambush, so he stopped and told the Earl of Hereford to recall the infantry. The footsoldiers mistook Hereford’s approach for the signal to attack, and charged the Scots. Their comrades on the other side rushed over to help, led by Prince Edward at the head of his Castilian lancers.

Edward senior had gone back to his pavilion. A galloper came tearing up to inform him that his only adult male heir had just triggered a general engagement. Cursing, Edward scrambled onto his destrier and roared at Earl Warenne to get on parade. The rickety old Warenne, for whom Scotland was his own private hell, puffed and clambered aboard his horse and followed the king into battle; as he had done for much of the past forty years. Trumpets screamed, and together they led two divisions of cavalry down to the ford. At this point Scottish morale disintegrated.

When the king’s banner was seen advancing into the field - the “three leopards courant gold” - Buchan’s division collapsed and his men fled in all directions. Panic spread through the ranks, as it always did in medieval armies, and the other two divisions were “scattered in a moment like hares in front of greyhounds”. Struck by “excessive fear”, the Scots were driven as far ten leagues into the mountains and groves. Over four hundred were killed in the rout, and all their baggage and equipment fell into English hands. The only recorded casualty on the English side was the loss of a single horse, belonging to one Thomas de Kingsemuthe.

Though a humiliation for Team Guardian, the Cree was not a disaster. Edward had raised no Welsh infantry or light horse for this campaign, so was unable to pursue the Guardians further and wipe them out. Thus, the chronicler concluded, “victory was suspended on both sides”.