FLODDEN FIELD. A plain in Northumber land, England, at the base of Flodden. the north eastern spur of the Cheviot Hills. It is famous as the battlefield where James 1V. of Scotland was defeated by an English army under the Earl of Surrey. September 9, 1513. Henry VIII. of England had declared war against Scotland's ancient ally, France. .James IV. sent him a peremptory demand to desist, and on Henry's refusal, gathered an army computed at 100.000 men, which, however, dwindled to 30.000 before crossing the border. James had taken up his position tin Flodden Hill, when the Earl of Surrey with 32,000 men, by a skillful movement from the southeast, cut off his communications with Scotland. Observing that the English were strengthening their position, James ordered an advance at four in the afternoon. and a desperate battle ensued. The right wing of the English army, led by Sir Edmund Howard. was defeated by the left wing of the Scotch army, led by the Earls of Huntly and Home. who did not follow- np their success. A furious charge of
the Scottish right on the English left wa-s re pulsed with great slaughter. Aleanwhile desperate resistance was being made by the Scot tish centre, where the King fought on foot among his noblemen. Surrounded by outnumbering ene mies. they fought bravely until darkness Caine on. and the King fell pierced by an arrow and mortally wounded in the head. The hill was held during the night by the Scots; but at dawn, seeing the hopeless nature of affairs, they aban doned their position. Their loss amounted to from 8000 to 10,000 men. Besides the King, the Archbishop of Saint Andrews and twelve earls were killed, and there was scarcely a notable Scottish family without a representative among the slain. The English loss amounted to 4000. The sixth canto of Sir Walter Seott's poem "Marmion" gives a fairly accurate deseription of the action. Consult White, The Battle of Flodden (London, 1859).