BattlefieldsJames II confrontation with the Black Douglases at Stirling 1452
Medieval

James II confrontation with the Black Douglases at Stirling 1452

1452
Stirlingshire, Scotland
Also known as: Murder of the eighth Earl of Douglas 1452 · Stirling Castle confrontation 1452
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Stirlingshire, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Black Douglases
Forces
Douglas retinue
VS
Victor
Royalists (James II)
Forces
Royal household
Outcome
James II personally stabbed William, eighth Earl of Douglas, at Stirling Castle after the earl refused to break his alliance with Crawford and Ross; fighting followed in the town
The Battle

History & Significance

One of the most dramatic moments of fifteenth-century Scottish history. James II invited the Earl of Douglas to Stirling under safe conduct, then stabbed him personally at dinner when Douglas refused to dissolve his bond with the earls of Crawford and Ross. Fighting broke out in Stirling town between Douglas and royal supporters. Parliament subsequently excused the king on grounds of self-defence. The murder set off the final Douglas-Crown war that ended at Arkinholm.

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