9 September 2010

This day in history:
The Battle of Flodden was fought on the 9th September 1513 near the village of Branxton, in Northumberland when a Scottish army under the command of king James IV of Scotland invaded England in support of their French alliance as king Henry VIII of England was otherwised engaged on the continent. The battle was originally known (to the English at least) as the battle of Branxton Moor, since that is where the battle actually took place, but following the publication of Walter Scott's work, 'Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field in Six Cantos' it has been more popularly known as the 'Battle of Flodden'. (Field is of course a poetic synonym for battle (as in Flanders Field where the poppies grew) hence the 'battle of Flodden Field' as the battle is sometimes known is pure tautology. read more