BattlefieldsAlnwick Garrison Defence 1381
Medieval

Alnwick Garrison Defence 1381

1381
England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Scottish raiders
Forces
Scottish raiding force of 500 to 800 border horsemen
VS
Victor
Percy garrison
Forces
Alnwick Percy garrison of approximately 200 men
Outcome
Scottish raiding party repelled from Alnwick; Percy garrison made sorties to drive off raiders; Alnwick town sustained some damage; raiders withdrew north.
The Battle

History & Significance

The Percy garrison of Alnwick Castle repelled Scottish raiders in 1381, during a period when English attention was focused on the Peasants' Revolt in the south. Alnwick Castle was the key fortress of the English East March, home of the Percy family whose power in Northumberland underpinned English border defence. The 1381 episode illustrated the perpetual drain of border defence on Percy resources and the way Scottish raiders exploited any English internal distraction to strike south.

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