BattlefieldsBattle of Northallerton (Scottish perspective)
Early Medieval

Battle of Northallerton (Scottish perspective)

1138
North Yorkshire, England
Also known as: Scottish view of the Battle of the Standard 1138
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
North Yorkshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Scottish Galwegians (foremost in the charge)
Forces
Scots c.8,000–12,000; pitched battle.
VS
Victor
England (Yorkshire barons)
Forces
England c.10,000–15,000
Outcome
Galwegian spearmen shattered by English archers; Scottish army routed
The Battle

History & Significance

From the Scottish perspective, the Battle of the Standard (or Northallerton) demonstrated the bravery and ultimate failure of the Galwegian infantry who insisted on leading the charge despite being unarmoured spearmen facing English bowmen. The Galwegian leaders said that armoured knights in the first rank would bring no more honour than unarmoured men — and died proving their point. The Galwegians who fought here were from Galloway in south-west Scotland.

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