[MR] Atlantia Digest, Vol 277, Issue 7

[Mary Dotson]

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On Tue, Feb 24, 2026 at 4:06 PM <atlantia-request at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org>
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> Today's Topics:
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>    1. Wikipedia: Scots Win Battle of Roslin, 1303
>       (Garth Groff and Sally Sanford)
>
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2026 07:52:08 -0500
> From: Garth Groff and Sally Sanford <mallardlodge1000 at gmail.com>
> To: atlantia at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org,  "Garth Groff & Sally Sanford"
>         <mallardlodge1000 at gmail.com>,  Garth Groff Sally Sanford
>         <sarahsan at embarqmail.com>
> Subject: [MR] Wikipedia: Scots Win Battle of Roslin, 1303
> Message-ID:
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> CAHgmDuAs4poUtRamvuaqsqbtaTdK11xTMb_Ha_G7nqhco-BWJA at mail.gmail.com>
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> Noble friends, especially fellow Scots,
>
> On this day in 1303, Scottish troops under the command of Sir John Comyn
> ("The Red Comyn") and Sir Simon Frazier, defeated a larger English force at
> Roslin in the Scottish Lothians.
>
> The importance and size of the battle at Roslin was exaggerated in popular
> accounts as a small force of brave Scots turning back a major invading
> army. This is far from the truth, as both forces were rather small.
> Still it was a bloody encounter won by the Scots through determination,
> sneakiness, and using the terrain as a "force multiplier".
>
> Sir John Seagrave was leading an English force on a reconnaissance raid
> into the Lowlands as a prelude to King Edward I's planned invasion. Most
> sources inflate Seagrave's army to about 30,000, but more likely it was
> around 3,000. The Scots are said to have numbered around 10,000, but
> probably fielded only around 1,000 men. Same odds, but a lot smaller than
> early historians/propagandists would have us believe.
>
> Upon reaching Roslin (yes, near the famous chapel, though it didn't exist
> yet), Seagrave bivouacked his troops in three camps, each about a mile
> apart. During the night the Scots massed on one side of Seagrave's own
> camp. At dawn a small force of Scots stormed the sleepy and as yet
> unarmored Englishmen from the opposite side. The unprepared English were
> driven back into the main part of the Scottish force and were cut down.
> Seagrave himself was wounded and taken captive. The English paymaster Sir
> Ralph Manton was among the dead.
>
> The commotion was noticed in the neighboring English camp, so they quickly
> armed themselves and marched to save their commander. The Scots met the
> approaching force along a bluff over a small river, and their spearmen
> forced the English back over the steep edge, with many plunging to their
> deaths or being crushed under the falling bodies of their comrades. The
> stream was said to have run red with blood for days.
>
> The now-exhausted Scots blocked the third group of English in a narrow
> defile, as their archers poured arrows down on the packed English ranks
> from the high ground. At this point the remaining English fled south,
> Seagrave among them after escaping his captives. The death toll among the
> English troops was likely around 2,700. Scottish losses were negligible.
>
> Probably a legend, but supposedly the Scots were exhausted after the first
> two skirmishes and were ready to go home. The abbot of a nearby monastery
> ordered his monks to spread canvas on a nearby hill in the shape of St.
> Andrew's X-shaped cross. This "sign from heaven" then roused the Scots to
> defeat the third English force. Good story. Probably hooey.
>
> Scottish victories against vast English armies were a rare thing, so the
> triumph at Roslin was important for raising the Scots' morale. Alas, it
> didn't work for long. Edward's huge armies soon overwhelmed the Scots. Most
> Scottish lords threw in the towel and accepted Edward's terms as his
> vassals. By early 1304, all of the Scottish Lowlands were under the Royal
> Thumb except for Stirling Castle.
>
> The Siege of Stirling Castle is a story for another day, possibly through a
> Tournaments Illuminated article I have in the works.
>
> Wikipedia offers a bare bones summary of the battle:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Roslin .
>
> Yours Aye,
>
> Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  ?
> Continuing a crusade to keep the original Merry Rose relevant and in
> business.
>
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> End of Atlantia Digest, Vol 277, Issue 7
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