Page 158 of Bound By Honor
Angus chuckled. “Is not the cunning Black Douglas a giant among the king’s men though he be of lesser height? So feared by the English that mothers tell their children to obey else the Black Douglas will get them?”
The men standing around the king laughed at Angus’ words. “Aye, those be the words,” said Sir Robert Boyd.
The king nodded. “If Wallace had such men as your galloglass at Falkirk, he would have won.”
“Aye,” said Angus. “I have brought them, but I have brought more. The Isles adds five thousand to your army, my lord.”
The king looked behind Angus where his thousands of Islesmen stretched through the forest of Torwood far to the southwest. “More than any single faction and an answer to prayer.”
Angus handed his friend Áine’s sealed message. “When you get time.”
“What is this?” asked the king.
“A message from my lady to encourage you.”
King Robert broke the seal and read. When he finished, he looked up. There were tears in his eyes as he handed the message back to Angus. “You should read it.”
Angus did as the king suggested, for he could see it was not long.
To Robert, King of Scots, from Áine O’Cahan, wife of Lord Angus Og Macdonald and Lady of the Isles,
My lord, as the battle for Scotland’s freedom approaches, I remind you that King David was fearless, always leading the charge, raising his sword and returning with victory. Such a king are you. But one battle was different—Baalperazim. David went there, directed by the Lord, and defeated the enemy. After his victory, David said, “The LORDhath broken forth upon mine enemies, as the breakthrough of waters.”
That is my prayer for you, my lord, that God will, like a flood of waters that breaks over the banks, overflow your enemies, giving you a great victory, for you have trusted Him.
When Angus finished, he gave the message back to the king who tucked it into his belt. “My lady is a remarkable woman.”
“Indeed,” said the king. “As for your men, have them set up camp in the New Park woods.” He pointed ahead and to the left where there was a large forest of trees. “It was a hunting ground used by King Alexander and serves well to hide our forces and give them shade from the hot sun. It is about a mile from north to south and two miles from east to west.”
Angus so advised his captains who greeted the king before setting out for New Park with Angus’ brother and his guard. “I’ll join you shortly.”
Left alone with Angus, King Robert said, “My brother, Edward, is just training his schiltron.” He gestured to an area of cleared land between Torwood and New Park, where a great crowd of spearmen were forming a square with their spears in layers pointed outward.
Angus scanned the warriors comprising the schiltron. The men were not altogether uniform in their appearance. While most wore padded jackets, only some overlaid them with mail and mail coifs, as Angus wore. On their heads, an occasional helmet or a bascinet reflected the sun. A rare few had gloves of plate; most wore leather gloves. In addition to the twelve foot iron-tipped spears, at their belts they carried a sword, small axe or dagger, or all three. “You would use schiltrons as Wallace did at Falkirk?” Angus was thinking they did not work so well for the warrior they all revered.
“Not exactly. These are not merely defensive and stationary as were the circular schiltrons Wallace used. Formed into a square, these will be offensive weapons, moving to attack as one. Knowing the English, King Edward will lead with his mounted knights. I am told there will be some three thousand. The schiltrons will greet them like a spear-tipped hedgehog.”
Angus tried to envision the knights encountering so many spearmen locked in a tight formation.
“It is my hope to force them into the Carse,” the king said, pointing to the flat, boggy area to the east of where they stood. “’Tis bounded by the Bannock Burn, the Pelstream Burn and the River Forth. Water from the hills drains into the Carse leaving pools of water even on hot days like today.”
From where they stood, Angus looked across the old Roman road to the flood plain of the River Forth, the area the king called the Carse.
“Once there,” the king continued, “the knights and mounted forces will be crowded together with no room to move. All the while, King Edward’s foot soldiers and archers will be pressing them from behind. If our men hold together as they have been trained, the knights will not get past their spears.”
“You are a knight yet you will fight on foot?”
“I have a small cavalry of five hundred light horse under the Marischal, Sir Robert Keith. I will hold them in reserve, but the rest of us will be on foot, except for Jamie Douglas who periodically rides out with some of his men on garrons acting as scouts to watch for the English. Even he will eventually lead a schiltron on foot. If we try to fight on horseback, when the enemy is stronger and better horsed, we will be in great danger. On foot, we have the advantage in the woodlands. The English knights will be disadvantaged. Attempting to move, the streams will hem them in, hopefully throwing them into confusion and into our schiltrons. At least, that is my plan.”
“How will you force them into the Carse?”
“I have a few impediments in mind to keep them from any other course. In addition to those, after their long march from Falkirk, they will be wanting water for their horses and the Carse will be invitingly empty and flat.”
Angus smiled at the strategy of his friend. “You have planned well, Rob.”
“I have had a year to do so. I know how the English fight, having trained and fought with them. And I know this ground like the back of my hand. We will be outnumbered by two, mayhap three to one, so we must be clever. If all goes well, the land itself will fight for us.”
“God, too, if you believe in Áine’s prayer.”
