Inventory Battlefield

Battle of DarnickBTL30

Date of Battle: 29 July 1526

Status: Designated

Documents

Where documents include maps, the use of this data is subject to terms and conditions (https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/termsandconditions).

Designation Record and Full Report Contents

  • Name
  • Summary Information
  • Overview and Statement of Significance
  • Inventory Boundary
  • Historical Background to the Battle
    • The Armies
    • Numbers
    • Losses
    • Action
    • Aftermath and Consequences
  • Events and Participants
    • Context
  • Battlefield Landscape
    • Location
    • Terrain
    • Condition
  • Archaeological and Physical Remains and Potential
  • Cultural Association
    • Commemoration and Interpretation
  • References

Summary

Date Added
14/12/2012
Local Authority
Scottish Borders
NGR
NT 53129 34374
Coordinates
353129, 634374

Overview and Statement of Significance

The Battle of Darnick is significant against the backdrop of political turmoil in Scotland following the death of James IV. It comes at the point where James V is attempting to free himself from the control of Angus by any means necessary, Darnick being the first of two battles fought in 1526 for this aim. The King himself likely witnessed the battle from nearby Darnick Tower. Although only a small battle in terms of combatant numbers, it also showed Angus that his enemies were growing, and that other members of the nobility were now an active threat to him. Finally, the battle is also significant as an example of border warfare and politics in the period. Both armies consisted mainly of border reivers and the conflict undoubtedly also had some basis in the complex system of feuds and alliances that characterised relationships between border families at this time. As such, Darnick presents an opportunity to uncover physical evidence of border warfare at the time and to place it in the wider context of 16th century warfare.

The Battle of Melrose was fought between Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, supported by the Kerrs and Maxwells, and Walter Scott of Buccleuch supported by the Elliots. The Earl of Angus had secured guardianship of the young King James V in what was supposed to be a three monthly arrangement where James would be cared for by each of the four members of the Council of Regency; however, having taken James into his care, Angus refused to hand him on to the Earl of Arran whose turn was next. After over a year with Angus and having grown weary of what amounted to his informal imprisonment, James sent a message to Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch, pleading for him to launch an attempt to secure his liberty. After a visit to Jedburgh to participate in a Justice ayre, the king had begun his journey towards Edinburgh, escorted by Angus and his men, when they were intercepted by a large body of reivers led by Scott of Buccleuch at Melrose. Angus' troop, predominantly Kerrs, stood its ground and was able to drive off its attackers, inflicting relatively heavy losses.

Inventory Boundary

The Inventory boundary defines the area in which the main events of the battle are considered to have taken place (landscape context) and where associated physical remains and archaeological evidence occur or may be expected (specific qualities). The landscape context is described under battlefield landscape: it encompasses areas of fighting, key movements of troops across the landscape and other important locations, such as the positions of camps or vantage points. Although the landscape has changed since the time of the battle, key characteristics of the terrain at the time of the battle can normally still be identified, enabling events to be more fully understood and interpreted in their landscape context. Specific qualities are described under physical remains and potential: these include landscape features that played a significant role in the battle, other physical remains, such as enclosures or built structures, and areas of known or potential archaeological evidence.

The Inventory boundary for the Battle of Darnick is defined on the accompanying map and includes the following areas:

  • The field known as Skirmish Field that lies between the Tweed and Darnick Tower.
  • Darnick Tower, where James V was positioned for safety, and from where he likely watched the battle.
  • Skirmish Hill, where the Hydropathic Hotel was built and which is now the Waverley Castle Hotel.
  • Land to the east of Darnick, through which Buccleuch's men advanced from the Eildon Hills to meet Angus.
  • Land to the south-west of Darnick, the route which Buccleuch's men fled, pursued by Angus' forces.

Historical Background

Scott of Buccleuch intercepted Angus and James V at Darnick, just west of Melrose, leading perhaps as many as 1000 men down from Hellidon Hill (now known as the Eildon Hills). Angus charged Buccleuch's men but they held their ground. The result seemed in doubt until Lord Hume arrived with 80 more Kerrs. The reinforcements swung the battle in Angus' favour and the Scotts and Elliotts began to fall back and run. There was a brief pursuit, and in the course of this Andrew Kerr of Cessford was killed by one of the Elliotts in Buccleuch's force.

The Armies

The two armies both consisted largely of border reivers, with Kerrs, Douglases and some Maxwells ranged against Scotts and Elliotts. These were all Border families and there was an element of family politics involved in the battle. There are very few details about the armies but as both sides were effectively drawn from the same populations, they will have been armed and armoured in very similar ways. All the troops were mounted and would have been armed with lances, bows (occasionally crossbows), swords and dirks. They will have carried small shields and worn brigandines or jacks, together with a steel helmet such as a burgonet or a morion.

Numbers

Earl of Angus: There is no indication in the sources of the number of Angus' army. However, Drummond (1655: 189) mentions that the Earl was accompanied by his brother, George Douglas, along with the Earl of Lennox and Lord Areskin (Erskine). Drummond also notes the presence of Lord Hume and the Kerrs, including Kerr of Cessford.

Walter Scott of Buccleuch: There are no firm records confirming the number of Buccleuch's force; however, the Elliots made up a large part of his number and Drummond suggests that the force amounted to around a thousand men (1655: 189). According to Pitscottie (1899: 210), the force included 600 men of Liddisdale and Annandale.

Losses

Earl of Angus: There are no records of how many men the Earl of Angus lost in addition to Kerr of Cessford, though Drummond suggests that Angus lost 'not a few besides the Laird of Cessfoord' (1655: 189)

Scott of Buccleuch: Drummond (1655, 189) states that 80 Borderers were slain in the battle, while Pitscottie (1899, 211) put the number at 94. In addition, Buccleuch and many of his friends were wounded.

Action

It is unclear whether Angus had been escorting James to his late father's favourite pilgrimage location at Whithorn or to deal with disturbances in the Borders from the unruly Armstrong Clan. We do know the King was recorded as being in Peebles on 18 July 1526 then in Jedburgh on 28 July to hold a Justice ayre. Having grown tired of his effective imprisonment by the Douglases, the young monarch:

wrote a quiet and secret writing with his own hand, and sent it to the laird of Buccleugh, beseeking him, that he would come with his kin and friends, and all the force that he might be, and meet him at Melrose at his home passing : and there to take him out of the Douglasses hands and to put him to liberty, to use himself among the lave of his lords, as he thinks expedient (Pitscottie, 1899: 209-10).

When the royal party left Jedburgh to return to Edinburgh, they were indeed intercepted at Melrose.

Drummond reports that when Buccleuch and his men came down from Hellidon Hill, the Earl of Angus demanded to know what their intentions were and told them that they should fall back or be charged with high treason. Buccleuch claimed that he had merely come to offer hospitality to the king and to show him how many soldiers he could raise in times of need. He refused to back off, and Angus left the king with the Earl of Lennox and Lords Erskine and Maxwell so he could lead the fight. According to Pitscottie, the Earl's men were initially fearful of Buccleuch's large force; however, they realised that they knew their enemies and were ready to fight them. The accounts of the fighting are very vague about the detail of the action, but it seems that Angus charged Buccleuch's men, who held their ground. As noted above, Lord Hume's arrival, with another 80 Kerrs, seems to have broken the stalemate and forced the Scotts and Elliotts to retreat.

Aftermath & Consequences

The Battle of Darnick marks the point where James V begins to actively seek ways of escaping from Angus' control, and where Angus realised his enemies were increasing and that some of the nobility had turned against him.

The 14 year old king may have been particularly affected by the battle, realising that he had directly caused the deaths by asking Buccleuch for help (Pitscottie, 1899: 211). However, he nevertheless blamed Angus for the situation and his simmering resentment of his confinement increased, as did his determination to escape his former step-father. James particularly admired John Stewart, the Earl of Lennox, and it was to Lennox that James now turned. He sent a request to Lennox to come and save him from his confinement, which resulted in Lennox raising an army of 10,000 men. They encountered 2,500 men raised by the Earl of Arran in support of Angus at the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge, which ended in another loss for the forces seeking to free the King and also in the death of Lennox, murdered after he was taken prisoner during the fighting.

The crushing victory won by Angus and Arran at Linlithgow strengthened Angus's control over James V and his grasp on the reins of power. Having already placed his relatives in powerful positions in the royal household, he took the chancellorship for himself in 1527, after the resignation of James Beaton, and appointed his uncle, Archibald Kilspindie, first as treasurer then also as keeper of the privy seal. The concentration of power became narrower as Angus could not trust or appeal to Lennox supporters, and a split also developed between him and Arran, with whom the ward of the Lennox Earldom had been distributed equally after the battle. In 1528, when the King reached the age of sixteen and Angus's failure to govern effectively was becoming apparent, James escaped to Stirling with the support of his mother and other magnates. He assumed power himself and proceeded to take his revenge on the Douglases (Cameron, 1998). The Douglases were proscribed and forbidden from coming within seven miles of the King. Angus spent a year fortified in his castle at Tantallon on the East Lothian coast, defying all attempts by James to capture him. He then escaped to England, where he remained until the death of James V in 1542.

Events & Participants

Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, was one of the most powerful Scottish nobles of the sixteenth century. He first came to prominence on 6 August 1514 when he married Margaret, the Dowager Queen, widow of James IV, mother of James V and elder sister of Henry VIII of England. The marriage was instrumental in breaking the fragile peace in Scotland as Margaret's regency was to last until James V came of age or she re-married. She had been holding a delicate balance between the pro-French and pro-English factions at Court, but her marriage to Angus gave impetus to the pro-French group to push her out and install the Duke of Albany as regent. She eventually fled to England, leaving Angus in Scotland, where he promptly took a mistress and started spending Margaret's money. The ensuing enmity between the couple coloured Scottish politics for years to come. Angus was charged with high treason by the Duke of Albany, and was sent as a prisoner to France in 1522. He escaped to London in 1524 and then returned to Scotland with the support of Henry VIII. In 1524, Margaret made an alliance with the Earl of Arran and Angus had to take refuge in his ancestral home of Tantallon Castle. However, with the influence of Henry VIII from south of the border, Angus was able to force his way back into power and was appointed to the Council of Regency, which looked after the King in rotation despite Margaret's declaration in 1524 of his majority. Angus was the first of the council to have physical custody of the King, but refused to hand him over at the end of his three month period. He imposed himself as the Chancellor of Scotland, filled all positions of authority with Douglas family members and supporters and kept the young King effectively a prisoner. The Battles of Darnick and Linlithgow Bridge were both attempts to wrest control of the King from Angus. Despite his victory in both battles, Angus would only retain his control for another two years. James V escaped his custody in 1528 and began to rule on his own account, with his first order of business the removal of Angus, who had retreated to Tantallon again. Despite considerable effort on the part of James, Angus held out until 1529 when he was able to escape to England under a treaty between James and Henry VIII. Angus remained in England until James' death in 1542, at which point he returned on a mission from Henry to arrange a marriage between the infant Mary Queen of Scots and the future Edward VI. However, in 1544 he was in open conflict with the Earl of Arran, son of his ally in 1526, and imprisoned briefly. The English Rough Wooing (1543-1550), which attempted to coerce the Scots into accepting the marriage between Mary and Edward, hit Douglas lands hard and caused Angus to settle with Arran and the two fought together at the Scottish victory of Ancrum Moor and the defeat at Pinkie in 1547. He eventually died in 1557.

Walter Scott, Lord of Buccleuch (also known as Wicked Wat) was from a powerful Border reiver family. Scott was knighted on the field of the Battle of Flodden by James V's father, James IV, on 9 September 1513 and appointed Baillie of the lands of Melrose Abbey in 1519, a position that became hereditary thereafter. In 1524, he was imprisoned by Margaret in a dispute over lands she held in Ettrick Forest. He escaped and joined the party of Angus and Lennox, who were allied against Margaret at this point. In May 1526, he was given a letter of pardon under the Privy Seal for an attempt to take Arran prisoner, which he was presumably doing on behalf of Angus and Lennox. He was then contacted by James, who asked him to bring an army to release him from Angus' control. It is not clear why James thought this was wise, but it may have been a suggestion from Lennox, to whom James was now connected by a secret pact. After Buccleuch's attempt to free James failed he was exiled under a penalty of £10,000 for his participation in the incident; however, he was formally pardoned in February 1528 under the Great Seal and then by an Act of Parliament in September of that year. Buccleuch led raids into England in subsequent years, and fought alongside Angus and Arran in the battles of Ancrum Moor and Pinkie during the Rough Wooing. However, he was eventually killed in the street in Edinburgh in 1552 by a group of Kerrs taking revenge for the death of Andrew Kerr of Cessford in the aftermath of Darnick.

Context

James IV's death at Flodden in September 1513 left his infant son as the new king, James V. This required a regency, which initially was straightforward as his mother, Margaret Tudor (Henry VIII's sister) was declared regent in accordance with James IV's wishes. However, in 1514 she married Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and was disqualified from the regency, ceding the position to John Stewart, Duke of Albany. In May 1524, Margaret staged a coup d'état and ended Albany's regency; he was far more interested in France and gave little resistance to her manoeuvring. Margaret now relied for support on James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, and John Stewart, the Earl of Lennox. The relationship between Margaret and Arran was strengthened by a shared dislike of Angus; Arran and Angus were long term enemies, while Margaret had discovered that Angus had installed a mistress in one of her castles and was spending her money on the mistress and the daughter they had produced. Margaret had the regency declared at an end. This meant that James V theoretically governed in his own right, though in practice power would be controlled by a Council of Regency, led by his mother.

At this point, in 1525, Angus returned from exile with the strong backing of Margaret's brother, Henry VIII of England. Although Margaret tried to keep him out of Edinburgh by threatening to fire on him with the cannons of Edinburgh Castle, Angus used the backing of Henry to ensure he was a member of the Council of Regency. It was agreed amongst the Council that there should be a scheme for the physical custody of the young King to be rotated between each of four groups every three months; the rotation scheme reflected the main divisions between the magnates. Angus was one the leaders of the first group and Arran one of the leaders of the second. James Beaton, Archbishop of St Andrews, was one of the leaders of the third, and Lennox one of the leaders of the fourth. Angus effected a coup d'état by refusing to hand James over to Arran at the end of the first quarter, and in June 1526 set about legitimising this position. Parliament declared that James was now 14 years old, had reached his majority and hence was of an age to exercise his royal authority personally. All prior delegations of authority were annulled; this meant that the agreement of July 1525 was rescinded.

The King was now technically responsible for his own decisions, and did not need to have physical guardianship shared between the magnates. In truth, he was effectively a prisoner in Edinburgh controlled by Angus and a royal household filled with Douglas adherents who were effectively his jailers. This may not have been just a bid by Angus for sole power but a means of preserving his position as one of the lords of Scotland. By holding onto the King and declaring his majority, a tactic which Margaret's supporters had used in 1524, Angus acquired not just a cloak of legitimacy but also a degree of protection, as an attack on him could be interpreted also as an attack on the King. The most likely source of that attack was his former wife Margaret.

The first challenge to Angus came in January 1526 at Linlithgow when there was confrontation between Angus and Arran, but Arran backed down. On 21 June, a secret council was appointed in parliament to advise James. Its members included Angus, Argyll, Lennox, Morton, Glencairn, Lord Maxwell and Gavin Dunbar, Archbishop of Glasgow. Five days later, James secretly obliged himself to Lennox, his uncle, agreeing to take the Earl's advice on all important occasions 'fyrst and befor ony man'. A second challenge to Angus came in June 1526 with an unsuccessful attempt by Walter Scott of Buccleuch to abduct the King (Cameron 1998).

The third challenge to Angus was mounted by Lennox in September 1526, by which time Arran had dropped his opposition to Angus and instead given him the support of the Hamiltons. Lennox called a meeting at Stirling with his supporters including Queen Margaret, Argyll, Cassillis, Beaton, Glencairn, Moray, Home and Ruthven at which he put forward a proposal for freeing the King. They all agreed and marched on Edinburgh (Buchanan 1827). Arran had joined Angus because he offered Arran a share in his administration and also because he was worried about Lennox; James intended to declare Lennox his heir, which would disregard the rights of the house of Hamilton (Lawson 1849).

Battlefield Landscape

A range of historical sources and place-name evidence allows the site of the battle to be confidently located in the vicinity of Darnick village, to the west of Melrose itself. This area mostly comprises relatively flat land on the south bank of the River Tweed. However, several sources mention Hellidon Hill or Halidenhill or Helydon Hill, a group of three hills nowadays known as the Eildon Hills, that lie to the south-east of Darnick and rise steeply above the Tweed Valley.

Location

The Eildon Hills are present in almost all historical maps and contain evidence for lengthy human occupation, including a very important Iron Age hillfort within which there is a Roman signal station (Christison, 1894; Steer, 1952; Rivet, 1965; Owen, 1987; 1992; Campbell, 2010), testifying to their great cultural and historical significance.

Terrain

The parish of Melrose is extensive, stretching from the Eildon Hills in the south to Upper Blainslie almost 10 miles to the north, and from Tweedbank in the west to the Leader some 4.5 miles to the east. The triple summits of the Eildon Hills constitute the highest ground in the area, dominating the Tweed Valley. The flat fertile lands of Teviotdale extend south of the parish with the Cheviot Hills beyond.

Condition

By the mid-nineteenth century, it is clear that the battlefield had suffered from a degree of disturbance from the development of Darnick village in the centre area and Highcross in the south-east sector; further east the town of Melrose had also expanded considerably since the battle. These developments, combined with the construction of Darnlee farm in the west of the area and St Helen's Farm in the east, have probably had some impact on the survival of material remains associated with this encounter. The construction of a section of railway line through the southern section of the site will also doubtless have affected the survival of material from the battle.

More recent developments have also affected the battlefield. By 1895, the Waverley Hydropathic Hotel and some associated outbuildings had been constructed in the centre of the site, just north of Darnick and east of the field now known as Skirmish Field, as well as several small farmsteads to the south of St Helen's Farm. By the 1960s, the Hydropathic had become the Waverley Castle Hotel, and several additional buildings had been constructed immediately to the east of the hotel. The Borders General Hospital appeared on the Ordnance Survey map by 1995 to the south of Darnick, potentially creating more disturbance to archaeological remains associated with this battle.

Archaeological & Physical Remains and Potential

There is a reasonable prospect of archaeological remains surviving from the battle. The armour, clothing and weaponry would all result in the deposition of artefacts on the battlefield. As the action was primarily a cavalry battle, there would also have been a concentration of lost horseshoes across the areas of combat; there is also a reasonable likelihood of pieces of horse tack. However, much of this material will have been made of iron, and it is possible that soil conditions will not have been conducive to the survival of ferrous objects. There are currently no artefacts known from the area of the battlefield that might be associated with the fighting. There is no record of eighteenth or nineteenth century discoveries of bones or weapons in the area.

Cultural Association

Several places in the vicinity of the battle are thought to have been named after the engagement, including Skirmish Hill, Skirmish Field, Charge Law Plantation and Turn-again (Milne 1743; Name Book 1859), although only Skirmish Field and Charge Law Plantation have survived to modern maps. This battle is commemorated in the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map; however, does not appear in any of the later editions, including the current version.

Given its reiver participants, it is no surprise that the battle is commemorated in poems, songs and pieces of music. The killing of Cessford, which began the long running feud between the Scotts and Kerrs was commemorated in a poem written by Sir Walter Scott in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem (1807: 21).

Commemoration & Interpretation

No further information.

References

Bibliography

Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol V.

Donaldson, G. 1971. Scotland: James V to James VII. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh. 39-40

Douglas, G. 1899. A History of the Border Counties (Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles), the County Histories of Scotland Edinburgh, London

Drummond, W. 1655. The History of Scotland, from the Year 1423 until the Year 1542: Containing the Lives and Reigns of James I, II, III, IV, V. With Several Memorials of State, during the reigns of James VI and Charles I. Edinburgh: H. Hills.

Lawson, J. P. 1849. Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland, and of the Border Raids, Forays, and Conflicts.Vol.II. Fullarton A. & Co., Edinburgh, London and Dublin.158-163

Pitscottie, Robert Lindsay of 1899 The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, Vol. 2. Ed. A J G Mackay, The Scottish Text Society, Edinburgh. 315-22.

Information on Sources & Publication

The battle of Melrose is not widely documented in either primary or secondary sources. The background to the conflict is, however, illustrated by some contemporary sources. As to reports of the battle action, the sources provide reasonable detail on specific actions taken by either side during the course of the fighting. Sir Walter Scott, descendent of his namesake in this battle, later briefly records the battle in his The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem (1807).

Primary Sources

Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol V.

Buchanan, G. 1827. The History of Scotland. Trans Aikman, J. Blackie, Fullarton and Co., Glasgow. 293-294.

Drummond, W. 1655. The History of Scotland, from the Year 1423 until the Year 1542: Containing the Lives and Reigns of James I, II, III, IV, V. With Several Memorials of State, during the reigns of James VI and Charles I. Edinburgh: H. Hills.

Lesley, J. 1830. Historie of Scotland, Bannatyne Club, Edinburgh

Ordnance Survey (Name Book). 1859. Object Name Books of the Ordnance Survey, 28, 128.

Pitscottie, Robert Lindsay of 1899 The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, Vol. 2. Ed. A J G Mackay, The Scottish Text Society, Edinburgh. 315-22.

Scott, W. 1807. The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, Sixth Edition. Edinburgh: James Ballatyne & Co.

Stewart, J. Duke of Albany. Reprise of the Memorandum by Albany to the Chancellor [Du Prat] for Francis 1, [November/December 1526], Teulet I, 69, H.iv 2539

Thomson, G. 1791-99. Parish of Melrose (county of Roxburgh, synod of Merse and Teviotdale, Presbytery of Selkirk), Statistical Account of Scotland

Thomson, G. 1834-45. Parish of Melrose, Presbytery of Selkirk, Synod of Merse and Tiviotdale, Statistical Account of Scotland

Cartographic & Illustrative Sources

Ainslie, J. 1821. Ainslie's Map of the Southern Part of Scotland. Edinburgh: McReadie Skelly & Co.

Bartholomew's Half-inch to the mile map of Scotland (1:126,720). Edinburgh: J. G. Bartholomew & Son

Crawford, W. 1843. Map embracing extensive portions of the Counties of Roxburgh, Berwick, Selkirk & Midlothian and Part of Northumberland. Minutely & accurately surveyed. Edinburgh: W. Forrester

Gordon, R. 1636-52. A map of the Clyde and Tweed basins. Available digitally through the National Library of Scotland at: maps.nls.uk/counties/detail.cfm?id=43 [Last accessed: 7 December 2011]

Moll, H. 1732. The North Part of ye Shire of Roxburgh and the Shire of Selkirk called also Etterick Forrest. London: Bowles & Bowles [Last accessed: 7 December 2011]

Pont, T. 1654. Tvedia cum vicecomitatu Etterico Forestae etiam Selkirkae dictus, [vulgo], Twee-dail with the Sherifdome of Etterik-Forest called also Selkirk. Amsterdam: Blaeu

Roy, W. 1747-55. Roy Military Survey of Scotland.

Stobie, M. 1770. A Map of Roxburghshire or Tiviotdale. London

Tennant, M. 1840. Map of the County of Roxburgh. Edinburgh: W. & A. K. Johnston

Thomson, J. 1820. John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland: Roxburghshire. Edinbugh: J. Thomson & Co.

Secondary Sources

Anderson, W. 1867. The Scottish Nation : or the Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, and Biographical History of the People of Scotland. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton & Co.

Cameron, J. 1998. James V: The Personal Rule 1528-1542. Tuckwell Press, East Linton. 9-30

Campbell, L. 2010. A Study in Culture Contact: the Distribution, Function and Social Meanings of Roman Pottery from Non-Roman Contexts in Lowland Scotland. Unpublished PhD thesis, Glasgow: University of Glasgow

Christison, D. 1894 The Prehistoric Fortresses of Treceiri, Carnarvon; and Eildon, Roxburgh. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 28, 100-19

Donaldson, G. 1971. Scotland: James V to James VII. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh. 39-40

Douglas, G. 1899. A History of the Border Counties (Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles), the County Histories of Scotland Edinburgh, London

Fraser, W. 1874. The Lennox. T&A Constable, Edinburgh. 358-360

Lawson, J. P. 1849. Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland, and of the Border Raids, Forays, and Conflicts.Vol.II. Fullarton A. & Co., Edinburgh, London and Dublin.158-163

Milne, A. 1743. A Description of the Parish of Melrose, in answer to Maitland's Queries sent to each Parish in the Kingdom. Edinburgh

Owen, O. 1987. Trial Excavations at Eildon Hill North, Roxburghshire, 1986. Discovery & Excavation Scotland: 1-2

Owen, O. 1992. Eildon Hill North. In: J. S. Rideout, O. A. Owen & E. Halpin (eds.), Hillforts of Southern Scotland. Edinburgh: AOC (Scotland) Ltd. pp 21-72.

Rivet, A. L. F. 1965. Eildon Hill-Fort. Archaeological Journal, 121, 203

Steer, K. A. 1952. A Roman Signal Station on Eildon Hill North, Roxburghshire. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 86, 202-06.

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907'21). Volume III. Renascence and Reformation' re George Buchanan (www.bartleby.com/213/0717.html [Last Accessed: 11/12/2012])

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