by G. A. Henty
Chapter 21: Shrewsbury.
The Percys' preparations could not be carried on without excitingattention; and in March the king, seeing that the open defiance of hisauthority, by the release of the Scottish prisoners, would assuredly befollowed by armed rebellion, which the Douglas would probably havepledged himself to aid as the condition of his release, began, on hisside, to make similar preparations. Levies were called out, and thePrince of Wales was appointed to the command of the Welsh marches, andthe governorship of Wales.
Towards the end of June Douglas, faithful to his agreement, crossed thefrontier; and was at once joined by Hotspur, with the force he hadgathered. Hotspur's father was lying sick at Berwick, but was tofollow, as speedily as possible, with the army collected in the northof the county, and from Dunbar's estates.
It had been arranged that Glendower should meet the allies atLichfield; and on his being joined by his uncle, the Earl ofWestmoreland, with his following, Hotspur marched south. His intentionwas, after effecting a junction with Glendower, to march and givebattle to the army with which Henry and the Prince of Wales wereadvancing against him. At Lichfield, however, he learned that Glendowerhad not completed his preparations in sufficient time to join him. Hetherefore changed his direction, and made for Shrewsbury, towards whichplace Glendower was marching.
Percy's array had swollen as he went south. He had been joined by anumber of archers, from Cheshire, and by other adherents of the lateking; these regarding the war as an attempt, not to place the Earl ofMarch upon the throne, but to overthrow the usurper who had dethronedtheir king.
Oswald rode with sixty spearmen from his own estate; while his father,with thirty men from Yardhope, rode in his company. Both regarded thefailure of Glendower to come to the place appointed as a seriousmisfortune.
"Of course," Oswald said, "if he joins us at Shrewsbury, before theking comes up, it will not matter much; and indeed would be, in onerespect, the better. Mortimer with his force will be coming on; andthough he is scarce likely to arrive at Shrewsbury in time for thebattle, for he could not leave Wales, to summon his levies to thefield, until the Prince of Wales had drawn off his force and marched tojoin his father; his reinforcement, afterwards, will fill up the gapsin our ranks, and be a great assistance, should Henry be able to rallyanother army in the Midlands. He cannot hope to do so before we reachLondon."
"That sounds fairly, Oswald, but 'tis always better to carry out theplans you have made; and this absence of Glendower, at the pointarranged, to my mind augurs ill."
Henry was an able general. Believing that the Percys would make for theWelsh border, he had posted himself at Burton-on-Trent; but as soon ashe heard that they had changed their course he started for Shrewsbury,and marched so quickly that he arrived there before Hotspur, thusthrowing himself between the Percys and the Welsh.
Hotspur, on arriving near the town, was enraged at hearing thatGlendower had not arrived, according to his promise. The king's armywas encamped on the eastern side of the town, and the northern forcestook post a short distance away. That night Hotspur sent a documentinto the royal camp, declaring Henry to be forsworn and perjured: inthe first place because he had sworn, under Holy Gospel, that he wouldclaim nothing but his own proper inheritance, and that Richard shouldreign to the end of his life; secondly, because he had raised taxes andother impositions, contrary to his oath, and by his own arbitrarypower; thirdly, because he had caused King Richard to be kept in thecastle of Pontefract, without meat, drink, or fire, whereof he perishedof hunger, thirst, and cold. There were other clauses, some of themregarding his conduct to Sir Edmund Mortimer. The claims of the youngEarl of March to the throne were also set forward, and the documentended with a defiance.
Henry simply sent, as reply, that he had no time to lose in writing;but that he would, in the morning, prove in battle whose claims werefalse and feigned.
Nevertheless, in the morning, when the two armies were arrayed in theorder of battle, the king sent the Abbot of Shrewsbury to propose anamicable arrangement. Hotspur and Douglas, however, rejected the offer.The trumpets then blew on either side, and the armies joined battle.
Their numbers were about equal. Each consisted of some fourteenthousand men. Douglas and Hotspur had taken their place in the centreof their line, having behind them a party of their best knights. Thesecharged with fury down upon the king's standard, which stood in thecentre of his array. Hotspur and Douglas, his former rival, wereaccounted two of the best knights in Christendom, and the fury of theircharge was irresistible. The centre of the royal line was cleft insunder, the king's guards were at once dispersed; and, had not Henrytaken the precaution of arraying himself in plain armour, while two ofhis knights had put on royal surcoats, the battle would at once havebeen decided.
As it was, the two knights were both killed, as were the Earl ofStafford and Sir Walter Blount. The royal standard was overthrown, andthe young Prince of Wales sorely wounded in the face.
He had already shown signs of great military talent; and, in spite ofhis wound, now showed a courage and presence of mind that justified theconfidence his father had shown, in giving him important commands. Herode hither and thither among the disorganized troops, saw that the gapin the centre was again closed up, and was ever to be met where thefight was hottest.
The impetuous charge of Hotspur and Douglas was the ruin of themselves,and their army. Had they paused until their troops had advanced closeto the enemy, and the mounted men-at-arms were all ranged closelybehind them, and in a position to support them, the fight wouldassuredly have speedily terminated in their favour; but before thesearrived the royal army had closed its ranks, and the rebel leaders,with all their principal knights, were cut off from the main body. Invain the men of the north tried to cut their way through the southernranks, and to come to the assistance of their chiefs; who, surroundednow by the English knights and men-at-arms, were fighting desperatelyagainst overwhelming numbers.
An hour after the battle began, many parties of Welshmen came up andjoined in the conflict; but the absence of leaders, and the loss oftheir respective captains, Hotspur and Douglas, paralysed the effortsof the Northumbrians and the Scottish contingent. Yet both foughtstoutly, and suffered very heavy losses.
For upwards of two hours Hotspur maintained the unequal fight; but atlength an arrow pierced Hotspur's visor, and he fell dead from hishorse. Further resistance was useless, and the survivors of the group,which had been reduced to a mere handful, surrendered. For another halfhour the main battle raged; then came the news that Hotspur was killed,and Douglas and Westmoreland prisoners; the English horsemen dasheddown on the flanks of the northern line, the spearmen pressed forward,and the Scotch and Northumbrians broke and fled.
When the knights first charged, Oswald had been with his own following,and a hundred other horsemen, on the left flank. As soon as he saw whathad happened, he endeavoured to ride round the right flank of the royalarmy; but was met by a much larger force of men-at-arms and, after hardfighting, driven back. Oswald himself, with Roger on one hand and hisfather on the other, had several times hewed his way deep into theenemy's squadron; and would have been cut off, had not the Yardhopemoss troopers spurred furiously in to the rescue, and brought them alloff again.
Several times the charge was renewed, but ineffectually. Half the rebelarmy had been killed; and when, at last, the infantry broke, and it wasclear that there was no more to be done, Oswald, who was wounded inhalf a dozen places, called the survivors of his troop to follow him;and, with his party, rode off in good order.
A mile from the field they halted for a few minutes. Not one of thembut had been more or less severely wounded in the desperate melee. Theynow took off their armour, and bandaged each other's wounds; and then,mounting again, they rode off.
"What do you say, Father," Oswald asked; "shall we circle round, andjoin Glendower? We know that his army is close at hand and, were theyto attack tonight, they should win an easy victory; for the king's menhave suffered well nigh as
sorely as we have."
"No, Oswald; we have done enough. We have not been fighting for theEarl of March. We have been simply following our feudal lord, as wewere bound to do. He is dead, and we have nought to do with thisquarrel. What is it to us whether March or Henry is king?"
They were not pursued. The greater part of the English cavalry wereexhausted by their exertions against Hotspur and Douglas. Their losswas extremely heavy, and those in a condition to pursue took up thecomparatively easy work of cutting down the flying footmen.
The battle had been a disastrous one, for both sides. Their losses wereabout even, the number who fell altogether being put at ten thousandmen. With Douglas, the Earl of Westmoreland, Baron of Kinderton, SirRichard Vernon, and other knights were captured. Westmoreland,Kinderton, and Vernon were at once executed on the field of battle, asrebels; but Douglas, as a foreign knight, was simply viewed as aprisoner of war, and was kindly treated.
Glendower took no advantage of the opportunity for striking a blow atthe royal army; and instead of attacking it, when spent by fatigue andencumbered with wounds, retired at once to Wales. Had he, instead ofdoing this, marched to meet Sir Edmund Mortimer, who was hurryingforward with a powerful array, the united force would have been fullydouble the strength of the English army; and a great commander would,at once, have fought a battle that would probably have altered thewhole course of events in England. Glendower's conduct here showedthat, although an able partisan leader in an irregular warfare, he hadno claim whatever to be considered a great general.
Travelling rapidly, Oswald and his party crossed the Tyne; and hearingthat the earl, now recovered from his illness, was marching down withhis army to join his son, they rode to meet him. It was a painful dutythat Oswald had to discharge, and the old earl, when he heard of thedefeat of the army, the death of the son to whom he was deeplyattached, and the capture of his brother, the Earl of Westmoreland,gave way to despair, dismissed his army to their homes at once, andretired, completely broken down in body and spirit, to his castle atWarkworth.
So depressed was he that when royal messengers arrived, summoning himin the king's name to surrender, and journey with him to London, heinstantly obeyed. When questioned by the king why he had displayed thebanner of revolt against him, he said he had done so on the urging ofHotspur; and the king, who was always inclined to leniency, whenleniency was safe, pardoned him, and permitted him to retain hisdignity and estates.
Oswald speedily recovered from his wounds, but his father sufferedmuch.
"I have fought my last fight, Oswald," he said, when his son rode overto see him, a few days after their return from the south. "I say notthat I am about to die, but only that methinks I shall never be able towield sword manfully again. I have talked the matter over with yourmother, and she agrees with me that it were well that I handed overYardhope to you. I do not mean that I should leave the old place--forgenerations my fathers have lived and died here, and I would fain dothe same--but that I should hand over to you the feu, and you shouldtake oath for it to Northumberland, and lead its retainers in thefield. Were it that there was a chance of another raid by the Bairds, Iwould still maintain my hold myself; but their power was altogetherbroken, at Homildon.
"Moreover, the border Scots and we are at peace now, as we have notbeen so long as memories run; seeing that we have fought side by sideagainst the King of England, and have suffered the same misfortune indefeat; therefore, I can hang up my sword.
"But for you there may be more fighting. From what I know of the oldearl, I am sure that he will never forgive Hotspur's death; andalthough, at present, he is reinstated in his estates, there can be nodoubt that the king will strike further blows against the power of thePercys. Northumberland is a valiant soldier, tenacious in his purposes,and lasting in his hatreds. Had it not been that he was utterly brokenby the news that we brought him, he would assuredly have marched downwith his army, and tried to join Glendower and Mortimer; and at leasthave died fighting, the end that he would best like. I doubt not thatwe shall see his banner raised again, ere long."
"I hope not, Father. The undertaking would be desperate."
"However that may be, Oswald, as I can no longer render service for thefeu, I wish to hand it over to you. 'Tis but a nominal change, but Ishould like to see the estate yours. I and my fathers have held ourown, and were content to do so, adding somewhat to our means by suchplunder as we could carry off from Scotland; but you have greatlyadvanced the family, and as a deputy warden of the marches, it is aswell that Yardhope should be added to your holding. I should be glad,too, to have you known as Sir Oswald Forster of Yardhope, and not asSir Oswald Forster of Stoubes; and in time, if things go well with you,I charge you to build a castle here, in place of this hold; which hasbeen good enough for plain men like myself and my father, but which isno fit residence for the estate you now hold.
"I don't mean to say that I wish you always to live here, for, maybe,Stoubes is a more pleasant abode, standing in a fair country, and withthe climate somewhat less hard than this; but I should like you to comeup here, at times, and to be known as Forster of Yardhope."
"I will carry out your wishes, Father; but it would please me more forthings to remain as they have been."
"My plan is best, lad. I shall be seneschal here for you, and littlewill be changed; save that you will ride at the head of the retainers,instead of myself. 'Tis not meet that I should hold the feu, when I canno longer render due service.
"Your mother is wholly of opinion that I have done enough of fightingfor my life, and should trouble myself no longer with raidings andwars. Your mother has shown sound judgment, and her advice hasgenerally been good; though I never fully recognized this, till I sawwhat great good had come of her wishing you to learn to read and write;for it is to that, to no small extent, that you owe your rapid rise andpresent dignity."
Accordingly, a few days later, Oswald rode with his father toWarkworth, to which castle the earl had returned after his visit toEngland. At the request of John Forster he received back the feu fromhim, and appointed his son to it. This done, Oswald rode to pay a visitto his cousins; while his father returned to Yardhope, with tworetainers he had brought with him.
Oswald had not seen Adam Armstrong, since the latter had come toYardhope after the rescue of his daughters; and he was received by himwith the greatest warmth, as also by Allan, who, although now nearlyrecovered from his wounds, had, fortunately for himself, not gainedsufficient strength to be able to accompany Douglas, either to Homildonor in his march into England to join Percy.
The girls were out when he rode up; but, upon their return, both showedthe greatest pleasure, Jessie being the most demonstrative in herwelcome.
"It has always been a sore subject with me, Oswald," Allan said, "thatyou should have ridden away in that gallant enterprise to rescue mysisters, while I was lying here helpless; and knew, indeed, nought ofit, until after you had taken them safely to Yardhope.
"Ah! Roger, I am glad to see you again; and to thank you, too, for theshare you took in it."
"In faith, Master Allan, there are no great thanks due. It was but apoor affair, and I had but one opportunity, and that not worth naming,of striking a hearty blow. It seems to me that these things are neverfairly divided. Both in that adventure, and at Homildon, I scarcestruck a blow; while in that affair in Wales, and at Shrewsbury, therewas even more fighting than I cared for. I had to be nursed like achild after the first, and I am still stiff from the wounds that I gotin the second.
"There should be reason in such matters. It vexed me sorely that we hadto ride away from the Bairds, without striking a few good blows in partpayment of their raid here."
"I am very glad that you did not have to do so," Janet said. "I thinkthere was quite enough excitement in it, and especially as we went downthat rope; though indeed, you are so strong that I felt that I wasquite safe with you."
Roger laughed.
"I could have carried two of you; and sooth, you did not show your
confidence at the time, for you held on so tightly to the rope that Ibegan to think that we should never get to the bottom."
"You told me to hold tight," Janet said, indignantly.
"Yes, yes, that was natural enough. The difficulty was, that you wouldnot let go, and at each knot it was as much as I could do to get you tolet it slide through your fingers."
"Very well, Master Roger. Then I shall take care not to let you lowerme down a rope again."
"I trust there will never be the need," Roger laughed; "but indeed,although your weight was as nothing, I felt uneasy myself as we wentdown; for I feared that I might grip you too tightly, seeing that I amaltogether unaccustomed to the handling of girls."
"Well, I suppose, Roger," Jessie said, "that now the wars are over, youwill be marrying and settling down."
"I don't know how that might be," Roger replied, slowly. "I do not saythat the matter has never entered my mind; and seeing that I am nowseven-and-thirty, 'tis one that should not be much longer delayed. Imean not that I have ever thought as to who should be the woman, but Ihave thought whether, when the time comes that Sir Oswald takes him awife, it would not be well that I should do the same.
"But I know not how I stand. The abbot of Alnwick has, so far, allowedme to go out into the world, to unfrock myself, and to become aman-at-arms instead of a peaceful monk; but I have not been dispensedfrom my vows of celibacy and, were I to marry, the matter might betaken up by the Church, and I might be put to many and sore penances,and punishments, for the breach of them."
The others all laughed at the seriousness with which Roger had answeredthe girl's jesting remark.
"It is a matter that I have never thought of before, Roger," Oswaldsaid; "but assuredly it would, as you say, be fitting and right that,when I take a mistress, you should do so also--like master like man,you know. Since your thoughts have been turned that way, I will see theabbot, next time I go to Alnwick, and lay the case before him. Of atruth you have made a most excellent man-at-arms, and 'tis equallycertain that you were an exceedingly bad monk. It would doubtless bewell that you should obtain a complete absolution from your vows; foralthough I am sure that the good abbot regards you, now, as altogetherbeyond his control, and would take no steps against you were he to hearof your marriage, it might not be so in the case of his successor. Heis an old man, and the next abbot may be of a very different character;and, looking through the books of the convent, he might say, 'What hasbecome of Brother Roger? I see no record of his death.'
"Then, pushing matters further, he might discover your backsliding, andmight summon you before him, and there is no saying what pains andpenalties he might inflict upon you."
Roger moved uneasily in his seat.
"Do not speak of such a thing, I pray you, master--imprisonment in acell, flagellation, nay, even worse might befall me at the hands of arigorous abbot; for in truth, nought could well be more serious thanthe offences that I have already committed; and he might hold that,even though the present abbot had been backward in taking notice of thematter, this in no way would absolve him from doing his duty.
"And indeed, as it is, it was to Hotspur that he gave permission for meto go out into the world. Hotspur is dead, and there is nought but myown word in the matter."
"That, at any rate, I can put right, Roger, by going myself to theabbot; and learning, from his lips, that he did give that permission toHotspur. Moreover, I received it from Hotspur's own lips. Still, itwould be useful for me to obtain, from the abbot, a letter giving fullabsolution for all offences committed, up to the present time."
"That would be a great thing," Roger said eagerly. "'Tis a matter thatI have often turned over in my mind, when on a long day's ride, and Ihave thought of what might happen were a new man to become abbot ofAlnwick; but such an absolution would assuredly go for much. No one candoubt, more especially an abbot, that absolution by an abbot is mosteffectual; and that the offences committed before it are wholly wipedout, and cannot be revived."
"It would be best to obtain total absolution from your vows. Can theabbot grant that, Roger?"
"'Tis a moot question," Roger replied. "Many affirm that he can do so,and assuredly many abbots have exercised that power; others again holdthat, although abbots cannot lawfully do so, bishops can; while a fewmaintain that even these are incapable, and that nothing short of theabsolution by the Holy Father himself is of avail. Still, whatever bethe true state of things, I should be well satisfied with an abbot'sabsolution, and still more so by a bishop's; for though, were a greatprince concerned, someone interested might contest the matter, nonewould be likely to do so in the case of a man-at-arms or an esquire."
"Very well, Roger. Then I will endeavour to obtain a full absolutionfrom your vows, by the abbot; and should he decline to give them Iwill, when I next see the earl, pray him, in consideration of the goodservices that you have rendered, to obtain it for you from the bishop."
"And you have not yourself thought of marrying, Oswald?" Adam Armstrongsaid.
"Nay, Uncle. I came of age but a few days since, and it will be time tothink of taking me a wife four or five years hence. So, until thesetroubles have wholly ceased, it were better, methinks, for a knight toremain unwed than to take a wife, with the risk of leaving her a youngwidow."
"In that case, Oswald, methinks there would be little marrying inNorthumberland; for, saving short truces, and these but ill observed,there is ever trouble on the border."
"I speak not of that," Oswald replied. "Doubtless we shall always besubject to border raids, on both sides, and even to serious warsbetween the two countries; but I speak not of that, but of troubles inEngland. 'Tis natural to fight when Englishmen and Scotchmen meet,arrayed in battle; but when Englishmen meet Englishmen, 'tis terribleindeed; and though the slaughter at Shrewsbury was great beyondmeasure, who yet can say that the fire is extinguished? As long as onemay be called to arms again, by the earl, it is, in good sooth, betterto remain single than to have to ride to the wars, leaving the youngwife behind."
"Spoken very wisely and well, Oswald," Adam Armstrong laughed. "'Tiswell to argue as to policy; but such arguments go for nought, as soonas a man's heart is fixed on any particular woman."
"It may be so, Uncle; but as I have never thought of marriage, I amable to look at the matter dispassionately."
"Ah! Well, the time will come, Oswald, and you will then speedily cometo consider that there are other things than the reasonableness ofwaiting to be considered.
"By the way, I trust that, should England invade Scotland again by thevalley of the Esk, you will not forget our debt to the Bairds. Though Ilamented the disaster at Homildon, where many of my friends andacquaintances fell; I could not but feel that the death of WilliamBaird, and so many of his kin, was a relief, indeed, to me. I havestrengthened my hold, as you see, but I should have been ever obligedto remain on guard. The Bairds never forgive nor forget, and the mannerin which they were tricked out of their captives must have discomposedthem sorely, and rankled in their minds; and, sooner or later, theywould have tried to wipe out the memory in blood. I wonder that theyhad not done it before Homildon, but doubtless they had other mattersin hand.
"Now I can live in peace; but I, too, have not forgotten the injuries Ihave suffered at their hands, and should rejoice, greatly, did I hearthat their stronghold had been levelled to the ground."
"I hope that it will be long before our kings march against Scotlandagain. The ill success of all our efforts should have taught them that,do what they will, they will never conquer Scotland; and Henry is notlikely to court another failure, such as he met with two years since.'Tis not like the wars with the Welsh. They are a different people,speaking in a different language, while we and the lowland Scots are ofone blood and one language--scarce a noble in Scotland who is not ofNorman descent--and a quarrel between us seems, to me, almost as bad asa civil war."
"I hope that all will come to think so, some day, Oswald; but as longas the two kingdoms stand apart, with various i
nterests and differentalliances, it will hardly be likely that there will be a permanentpeace between them."
"That is so," Oswald agreed. "'Tis the part that Scotland plays by heralliance with France, and the aid she gives her by always choosing thetime when we are fighting there to fall upon us, that keeps the troubleafoot. If Scotland would hold herself aloof from France, I see noreason why we should interfere with her in any way."
"No good has ever come to us from such alliance. No French army hasever gone to Scotland, to aid her when pressed by Englishmen. Franceuses Scotland but as a cat's paw, with which to annoy and weakenEngland."
"That may be so; but you must remember that France does aid Scotland,when she keeps the main army of England busily occupied."
"Yes; but she does not fight England with that intent. She simplyfights to gain back the provinces she has lost, and is ready to makepeace when it suits, wholly regardless of the interest of Scotland."
"France is never to be trusted," Oswald said. "Glendower made a treatywith her, a few years ago, and what good has it done to him? Why, whenhe needed her aid the most, she had made a truce with England. 'Tiswhispered that she made a treaty with the Percys, and what good came ofit? She is ever ready to make treaties, but never observes them, unlessit is to her plain interest to do so."
"I suppose it is with nations as it is with individuals, Oswald.Selfishness has a large share in the management of affairs. France,being a powerful country, is glad enough, when pressed by the English,to have diversions made for her, whether in Scotland or Ireland; butshe has no idea of putting herself out, for the sake of her allies,when she desires peace with England."
France had indeed been quick to take advantage of the trouble caused toHenry by the rising in the north. While he was gathering his army,although there was a truce with England, a French expedition, in whichmany of the royal princes took part, had invaded Guienne, capturedseveral castles held by the English adherents, made frequent descentson our coast, plundered every ship they met with, captured a wholefleet of merchantmen, taken the islands of Guernsey and Jersey and,while Henry was fighting at Shrewsbury, landed near Plymouth andplundered the whole country round. On the news reaching them of theresult of the battle of Shrewsbury, they at once burned Plymouth to theground, and then, re-embarking, sailed for France. All remonstrances onthe part of Henry were met by declarations that these raids werecarried on without the knowledge of the French king, and were greatlyagainst his inclinations, which were wholly for the strictestobservance of the truce.
Nevertheless, a few months later, the Count of Saint Pol landed a forcein the Isle of Wight; but the people of the island rose in arms, anddefeated the invaders, who sailed hastily away.
Although, having other matters in hand, Henry professed to believe theFrench king's assurances; the sailors and ship masters were in no waycontent to suffer unresistingly, and the men of the seaports of theeast coast, and of Plymouth and Fowey, banded themselves together, andcarried on war on their own account; capturing several fleets of ships,loaded with wine and other valuable commodities; burning the coasttowns; and making several raids into the interior of France, andcarrying off much plunder.
Enraged at this retaliation, the French incited the Flemings, Dutch,and Hollanders to cruise against the English; and these, sailing ingreat ships, executed so many atrocities upon English crews and shipsthat, later, Henry himself sent out a fleet, under his second son, whoexecuted his commission, effectually destroying ships, burning towns,and putting the people to the sword without mercy.
Thus the breaches of the peace by the French recoiled terribly uponthemselves, and they suffered vastly greater loss than they hadinflicted upon the English.
From the time when he let slip the opportunities, both of joiningHotspur and of falling on the royal army after their victory,Glendower's power declined. For a time he continued to capture castles,and to carry out raids across the border, but gradually he was drivenback to his mountain strongholds. His followers lost heart. He became afugitive, and died on the 20th of September, 1415, in the sixty-firstyear of his age, at the house of one of his married daughters, whetherat Scudamore or Mornington is unknown.
Mortimer died in Harlech Castle, during the time it was besieged by theEnglish. It is said that his death was caused by depression and griefat the misfortunes that had befallen him.
The Earl of Northumberland, as John Forster had anticipated, raised thestandard of revolt in 1405, in concert with the Archbishop of York andsome other nobles; but before he could join these with his forces, theyhad been forced to surrender to the king, who had marched north with agreat army. The archbishop and some of his associates were executed,and the earl, finding himself unable to oppose so great a force, fledinto Scotland. Alnwick surrendered without resistance, and Warkworthafter a siege of eight days. Berwick was captured, and its governor andseveral knights executed.
Escaping from Scotland, where he feared that he might be seized andsurrendered to England, the earl sailed to Wales, and for some littletime stayed with Glendower; then he crossed to the Continent, and in1408 landed in Yorkshire and again raised his standard. The sheriff ofthe county called out the levies, and attacked him at Branham Moor,where the old earl was killed and his followers defeated.
In 1415 the king, being on the eve of war with France, and anxious toobtain the goodwill and support of the Northumbrians, restoredHotspur's son, who had been for years a fugitive in Scotland, to theestates and honours of his father and grandfather.
Fortunate it was, for Oswald, that the capture of his fellowconspirators caused the earl to retreat, in 1405, without givingbattle. The young knight had, at his summons, called out his tenants,and with them and his retainers had joined Percy. As soon as the latterdecided to fly to Scotland, his force scattered, and Oswald returnedhome with his following.
He took no part in the final rising. Before this took place he hadmarried his cousin, Janet. His father lived to be present at thewedding, but died the following year; and, in accordance with hiswishes, Oswald took up his abode at Yardhope, which he largely addedto, and strongly fortified. Here his mother lived with him until herdeath, ten years later.
Oswald offered to Roger the command of his castle at Stoubes, but theburly squire preferred staying at Yardhope, with his master. He himselfhad taken a wife, the daughter of one of the principal tenants on theestate, on the same day that Oswald married Janet.
His uncle, after the surrender of Alnwick, lived at Yardhope until, atthe return of Hotspur's son as Earl of Northumberland, he resumed hisold position as captain of the garrison, and maintained it until hisdeath.