Who’s Who?

The English

Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Richard in the story)

Better known as King Richard III. Youngest brother of Edward IV, King of England. Warden of the English West March towards Scotland since 1470 and in charge of the north of England during the war. Commanded the army during the 1482 invasion of Scotland.

Edward IV

King of England 1461-1470 and 1471-1483. Renowned warrior who won the throne at the Battle of Towton in 1461 and again at Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471.

Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (Henry Percy to distinguish from the county)

Richard’s deputy commander in the north and during the 1482 invasion. Warden of the East and Middle Marches towards Scotland. Owned Bambrough and Alnwick Castles. Led the Roxburghshire division in the 1480 raid and the largest division in the 1482 invasion. Appears to have accepted Richard, Duke of Gloucester’s command during the war.

John, Lord Howard

Norfolk landowner. Ship owner and captain of the English fleet in 1481. Richard III created him Duke of Norfolk. He was killed fighting for Richard III at Bosworth.

Thomas, Lord Stanley (Stanley)

One of the divisional commanders during the 1482 invasion of Scotland, leading 4,000 men of Cheshire. Step-father of Henry Tudor (Henry VII), he betrayed Richard III at Bosworth.

Richard, Lord Fitzhugh of Ravensworth and Sir John Neville of Liversedge (Fitzhugh and Neville)

Two experienced Yorkshire soldiers who were divisional commanders during the 1482 invasion. During the invasion, Fitzhugh commanded the west wing with 2,000 men and Liversedge the rearguard with 3,000 men. Both were made knight bannerets by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, during a large raid on southeast Scotland in August 1480.

The French

Louis XI

King of France 1461-1483, sometimes called the ‘spider king’ because he was seen by some as a master of intrigue. Also known as Louis the prudent and has been called ‘the father of diplomacy’. A complex character who did not want France to be involved in war with England and used various means to avoid it, including encouraging the Scots to attack England.

The Scots

James III

King of Scots, third king of the Stewart dynasty. In conflict with his nobles who held power in the Scottish Marches. Many of his nobles disliked his choice of counsellors, seeing them as upstarts. They also objected to James’s production of ‘black money’ – copper coinage which devalued the currency. Seen by many as a weak king. Killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488.

Queen Margaret of Denmark and James, Duke of Rothesay

Queen Margaret, the consort of James III, was at odds with her husband when this story took place. The heir to the Scottish throne, James, Duke of Rothesay, was 9 years old when the invasion took place and was living with his mother at Stirling Castle. He acceded to the throne as James IV in 1488, at the age of 15, when he was the figurehead of a rebellion against his father that ended at the Battle of Sauchieburn. James IV was killed at the Battle of Flodden.

Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany (Albany)

Younger brother of James III. Ambitious prince who entered into several treasonous actions against his brother, the King. He held Dunbar Castle in the east and Lochmaben Castle in the west. He refused to answer for treason in 1479 and fled to France, where he was financially supported by Louis XI and allowed to marry a French noble woman. He came to England in 1482 where his treason against his brother was even greater. Albany is an important character in part 3 of this story. He fled back to France in 1483 after rebelling again but returned to Dumfriesshire in 1484, where he fought the Battle of Lochmaben against his brother and lost. He was captured after the battle but escaped and fled to France once more. He died the following year.

John, Earl of Mar

Youngest brother of James III. Little is known about him. He was imprisoned by James III in 1479 and was not heard of again, presumed to have been killed on the orders of James III.

Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus

Warden of the East March towards England. His main fortress was Jedburgh Castle in Roxburghshire. A border lord who fermented trouble by raiding England and encouraging his supporters to do the same. Aligned with Albany, opposed to James III and his favourites.

‘The Common favourites’

A group of ‘low born’ men who had influence with James III. The established nobility of Scotland believed that they should be the King’s advisors and greatly disliked the ‘common favourites’. The most prominent of the ‘common favourites’ was Thomas Cochrane. He was a mason and is said to have encouraged James III to attack his brothers Albany and Mar. After Mar’s death in prison, Cochrane was given the earldom of Mar by James III, which stirred up enmity among Scottish lords against both James III and Cochrane. The extent of the influence these men actually had with James III is doubtful.