Pretender Perkin Warbeck

‘…It was probably by an appeal to this romantic cast in James's disposition that the Scottish king was prevailed on to take up the cause of Perkin Warbeck, the pretended duke of York. He received this adventurer at the court of Scotland; he permitted him to wed a near relation to the crown, the daughter of the earl of Huntley; acknowledged Perkin's claim to the kingdom of England as authentic; and supported him with an army, at the head of which he himself marched into Northumberland, expecting a general insurrection in favour of his ally. The expectations of James were entirely disappointed: no one joined with Perkin. The Scottish king gave a loose to his disappointment, and laid waste the country. Perkin affected compassion for the subjects whose allegiance he claimed, and interceded in their behalf. "You are too merciful," answered James with a sneer, " to interest yourself for a people who are tardy in acknowledging you for their sovereign." These words intimated that James felt himself engaged in a losing adventure, which he soon afterwards terminated by a truce with England.

In the previous negotiation, James firmly refused to deliver up Perkin Warbeck to Henry; but he dismissed him from his kingdom, to pursue elsewhere that series of adventures which ended with his life on the gallows at Tyburn. His unfortunate widow was honourably supported by Henry VII., and long distinguished at the English court by the title of the White Rose, from her husband's claim to be the representative of the house of York…’

England’s own Pretender, Perkin Warbeck, claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury, a son of King Edward IV.  The supposed Richard was officially recognized by Margaret of York, Edward’s sister.  It wasn’t enough to convince a Tudor king.  Warbeck enticed James IV of Scotland to rise against England’s Henry VII, as Sir Walter Scott discusses in “The History of Scotland” (text above).  After James backed off, Warbeck incited Cornish forces to invade England on his behalf.  Henry handled the challenge with little effort, and Warbeck was captured.  Warbeck, under duress, confessed to being a fraud, and was ultimately executed; November 23^rd, 1499.

The Thistle and the Rose

COMPOSITION OF ‘MARMION.’

In 1791 Scott accompanied an uncle into Northumberland, and made his first acquaintance with the scene of Flodden.  Writing to his friend William Clerk (Lockhart’s Life, ii. 182), he says, ‘Never was an affair more completely bungled than that day’s work was.  Suppose one army posted upon the face of a hill, and secured by high grounds projecting on each flank, with the river Till in front, a deep and still river, winding through a very extensive valley called Milfield Plain, and the only passage over it by a narrow bridge, which the Scots artillery, from the hill, could in a moment have demolished.  Add that the English must have hazarded a battle while their troops, which were tumultuously levied, remained together; and that the Scots, behind whom the country was open to Scotland, had nothing to do but to wait for the attack as they were posted.  Yet did two-thirds of the army, actuated by the perfervidum ingenium Scotorum, rush down and give an opportunity to Stanley to occupy the ground they had quitted, by coming over the shoulder of the hill, while the other third, under Lord Home, kept their ground, and having seen their King and about 10,000 of their countrymen cut to pieces, retired into Scotland without loss.’  Fifteen years after this was written Scott began the composition of ‘Marmion,’ and it is interesting to note that, so early in life as the date of this letter indicates, he was so keenly alive to the great blunder in military tactics made by James IV and his advisers, and so manifestly stirred to eloquent expression of his feeling.

Today’s remembrance (August 8^th ) is the marriage of James IV of Scotland to Margaret Tudor, Henry VII of England’s daughter.  The year was 1503.  This wedding, uniting the thistle and the rose, brought perpetual peace to the kingdoms of England and Scotland, as had been agreed under the Treaty of Everlasting Peace in 1502.  Ten years later, perpetuity ended, with Scotland caught between its alliance with France, and its treaty with England.

James declared war on England after Henry VIII sailed to France for battle.  The war ended quickly for James, at Flodden Field (1513).  The Battle of Flodden Field did provide fodder for Walter Scott to produce  his poem “Marmion”.  The text above is from the preface to Marmion.

Battle of Flodden Field

Walter Scott's poem "Marmion" is set at the Battle of Flodden Field, which took place on September 9, 1513.  Scott's Lord Marmion is a favorite of England's Henry VIII, against whose army James IV of Scotland fought.  James and most of his nobles were killed at Flodden Field, a disastrous event in Scottish history.

XX.


And why stands Scotland idly now,
Dark Flodden! on thy airy brow,
Since England gains the pass the while,
And struggles through the deep defile?
What checks the fiery soul of James?
Why sits that champion of the dames
Inactive on his steed,
And sees, between him and his land,
Between him and Tweed's southern strand,
His host Lord Surrey lead?
What 'vails the vain knight-errant's brand?--
O, Douglas, for thy leading wand!
Fierce Randolph, for thy speed!
O for one hour of Wallace wight,
Or well-skill'd Bruce, to rule the fight,
And cry--'Saint Andrew and our right!'
Another sight had seen that morn,
From Fate's dark book a leaf been torn,
And Flodden had been Bannockbourne!--
The precious hour has pass'd in vain,
And England's host has gain'd the plain;
Wheeling their march, and circling still,
Around the base of Flodden hill.
 

Treaty of Everlasting Peace

The Treaty of Everlasting Peace refers to an agreement made between Henry VII and Scotland's James IV, with Pope Alexander VI binding the treaty with the threat of excommunication to whoever violated the pact.  Part of the deal involved James marrying Henry's daughter Margaret Tudor.  The treaty was signed on May 28, 1502.

Peace benefitted both kingdoms.  Henry, for his part, had recently taked the throne in battle over Richard III.  The Wars of the Roses were not out of mind.  In Scotland, James consolidated his power over the Lord of the Isles.  Peace eternal; until 1513.  In that year, King Henry VIII invaded France, forcing James into an invasion of England under Scotland's Auld Alliance with France.  James died in that invasion, at the Battle of Flodden.

Everlasting peace gave way to centuries of warfare, and there is some sentiment in opposition to the prospect of peace in the poem below, which was included in "A Legend of Montrose".  The poem was written by Sir Alexander Boswell; biographer James Boswell's son, and a friend of Walter Scott's.

"IV. APPENDIX.


No. I

The scarcity of my late friend's poem may be an excuse for adding the spirited conclusion of Clan Alpin's vow. The Clan Gregor has met in the ancient church of Balquidder. The head of Drummond-Ernoch is placed on the altar, covered for a time with the banner of the tribe. The Chief of the tribe advances to the altar:

And pausing, on the banner gazed;
Then cried in scorn, his finger raised,
"This was the boon of Scotland's king;"
And, with a quick and angry fling,
Tossing the pageant screen away,
The dead man's head before him lay.
Unmoved he scann'd the visage o'er,
The clotted locks were dark with gore,
The features with convulsion grim,
The eyes contorted, sunk, and dim.
But unappall'd, in angry mood,
With lowering brow, unmoved he stood.
Upon the head his bared right hand
He laid, the other grasp'd his brand:
Then kneeling, cried, "To Heaven I swear
This deed of death I own, and share;
As truly, fully mine, as though
This my right hand had dealt the blow:
Come then, our foeman, one, come all;
If to revenge this caitiffs fall
One blade is bared, one bow is drawn,
Mine everlasting peace I pawn,
To claim from them, or claim from him,
In retribution, limb for limb.
In sudden fray, or open strife,
This steel shall render life for life."
He ceased; and at his beckoning nod,
The clansmen to the altar trod;
And not a whisper breathed around,
And nought was heard of mortal sound,
Save from the clanking arms they bore,
That rattled on the marble floor;
And each, as he approach'd in haste,
Upon the scalp his right hand placed;
With livid lip, and gather'd brow,
Each uttered, in his turn, the vow.
Fierce Malcolm watch'd the passing scene,
And search'd them through with glances keen;
Then dash'd a tear-drop from his eye;
Unhid it came--he knew not why.
Exulting high, he towering stood:
"Kinsmen," he cried, "of Alpin's blood,
And worthy of Clan Alpin's name,
Unstain'd by cowardice and shame,
E'en do, spare nocht, in time of ill
Shall be Clan Alpin's legend still!"

Henry VIII Acceeds to the Throne

Henry VIII took the throne of England upon the death of his father Henry VII, on April 21, 1509.  Aspects of Henry VIII's reign are used as material for Walter Scott's "Marmion".  Marmion himself is portrayed as a favorite of King Henry.  The action takes place around the Battle of Flodden Field (September 9, 1513), in which King James VI of Scotland declared war on England to honor an alliance with France.  James marched into Northumberland, where he was met by English forces under Earl Thomas Howard of Surrey.  Surrey carried the day, in a very one-sided battle.

From Marmion:

CANTO FIRST.



THE CASTLE.


Day set on Norham's castled steep,
And Tweed's fair river, broad and deep,
And Cheviot's mountains lone:
The battled towers, the donjon keep,
The loophole grates, where captives weep,


The flanking walls that round it sweep,
In yellow lustre shone.
The warriors on the turrets high,
Moving athwart the evening sky,
Seem'd forms of giant height:
Their armour, as it caught the rays,
Flash'd back again the western blaze,
In lines of dazzling light....