Battle of Otterburn, 5 August 1388

A Scottish army led by James, 2nd earl of Douglas, defeated an English army led by Henry Percy, 'Hotspur'. Neither commander faired well - Douglas was killed in the melee, while Percy was himself captured. Some early sources state that Douglas was killed by Percy in hand-to-hand combat, but this was probably not the case. Most early Scottish and English sources agree that Douglas was wounded by three spear thrusts while preventing the English from threatening the centre of the Scottish line and survived for long enough for his last words to be recorded. Percy himself was captured after a fight with Sir John Montgomery of Eglesham in Renfrewshire. Percy's brother Ralph was also captured in the fighting

Battles of the Anglo-Scottish Wars Battles of the Anglo-Scottish Wars

Hotspur – Sir Henry Percy & The Myth of Chivalry, John Sadler. Interesting biography of ‘Hotspur’ looking at the reality behind Shakespeare’s rival to the young Henry V and how the real Henry Percy fitted into the brutal situation on the Anglo-Scottish border during his life, as well as his wider career. Paints a picture of a very different man to Shakespeare’s Hotspur, but almost certainly a much more accurate picture of this experienced border aristocrat (Read Full Review)
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How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (22 August 2000), Battle of Otterburn, 5 August 1388, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_otterburn.html

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