Battle of Humbleton Hill

The Battle of Humbleton Hill (or Homildon Hill) was a conflict between the English and Scottish armies on September 14, 1402 in Northumberland England. Led by Archibald, Earl of Douglas, the Scottish army had invaded England on a pillaging expedition in part to avenge the killing and capture of Scottish nobles in the battle of Nesbit Moor. While returning to Scotland, they were intercepted by English forces led by Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. The result was a defeat of the Scottish army.

The battle was recounted in Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Although Humbleton Hill is the modern name of the site, over the centuries it has been variously named Homildon, Hameldun, Holmedon, and Homilheugh.

As recounted by Shakespeare

A detail from Armstrong's Map of Northumberland (1769) showing Humbleton (Homildon) Hill

Here is a dear, a true industrious friend,
Sir Walter Blunt, new lighted from his horse.
Stain’d with the variation of each soil
Betwixt that Holmedon and this seat of ours;
And he hath brought us smooth and welcome news.
The Earl of Douglas is discomfited:
Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights,
Balk’d in their own blood did Sir Walter see
On Holmedon’s plains. Of prisoners, Hotspur took
Mordake the Earl of Fife, and eldest son
To beaten Douglas; and the Earl of Athol,
Of Murray, Angus, and Menteith:
And is not this an honourable spoil?
A gallant prize? ha, cousin, is it not? ---Shakespeare, Henry IV, part 1, act 1, scene 1.

Battle site

The site of the battle is now located within the Northumberland National Park. The hill contains the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at the summit. This was built 1500 years before the battle. During the medieval period the sides of the ruined fort were apparently used for summer settlements and sheep shelters.

According to Keys to the Past, the Battle Stone at grid reference NT968295 was traditionally thought to commemorate the 1402 battle, but is actually a standing stone dating to the Bronze Age.

The Bendor stone at the site of the battle with Humbleton Hill in the background

See also

• Yeavering
• Yeavering Bell
• Battle of Yeavering
• History of Northumberland
• Nisbet, Berwickshire

References

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (October 2009)

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2008)

• Bower, W. (1987), Scotichronicon Vol 8: 1390-1430. Edited by D.E.R. Watt, from the Latin manuscript authored by Bower in the 1440s. Edinburgh: The Mercat Press.
• Cavendish, R. (2002). The Battle of Homildon Hill. History Today, 52(9), 54-55.
• Robson, J., Border Battles and Battlefields, 1897.
• Swinton, G. S. C. John of Swinton: a Border Fighter of the Middle Ages, in the Scottish Historical Review, vol 16, 1919.
• Wylie, J. H. (1969). History of England under Henry the Fourth, reprinted from an 1884 London edition. New York: AMS.

Coordinates: 55°33′32″N 2°03′07″W / 55.559°N 2.052°W / 55.559; -2.052