In July of this year, members of Perfidious Albion and
Lothene Experimental Archaeology attended an
event organised by The Commission of Array to commemorate the 700th
anniversary of Edward I of England besieging Caerlaverock Castle near
Dumfries.
The presence of five knights and only one squire in the party led to a
certain amount of dispute as to whose turn it was to make the squire do
all the work, but the argument was resolved amicably when it was suggested
that Sir Hrolf's absent squire be persecuted mercilessly by all present at
the next convenient occasion.
Day One - "Gentlemen in England yet abed..."
On Saturday morning we woke early and ate bacon and mushroom rolls as
well as porridge for breakfast. Thus fortified we unloaded an assortment
of looms, chests, chairs, mailshirts and assorted weaponry into the castle
kitchen, where we proceeded to demonstrate sprang, tablet weaving and
spinning to passing tourists.
Around noon there was a call for all combatants to turn out for a weapons
inspection. Lady Ragnhild thought it unnecessary to change from her dress
into more martial gear, until it became apparent that there was a crowd of
about 100 people waiting to see the garrison, and furthermore, in addition
to the advertised weapons inspection, there was a parade around the castle
followed by a practice fight on the wooden battlements in front of the
castle. Fortunately no damage to brocade, surcoate or hairstyle was
reported during the engagement.
Around 2pm, we were asked to join the English ranks instead of the Scots
and proceeded to form a solid two ranked wall which so intimidated the
opposition that very few people dared risk a fight with us.
Sir Hrolf entertained us during the boring bits between fights with an
alternative version of the speech from Shakespeare's Henry VI concerning "Gentlemen
in England yet abed shall hold their manhood...." and diuerse other
edifying tales. Lady Ragnhild declared that she would never think of the
classics of English literature in the same way again.
We manned a siege engine to charge the gates, but its axle broke as we
were wheeling it across the rather uneven ground, so we detached the
battering ram and broke the gates by force of arms. Shortly thereafter the
Scots surrendered.
The evening was spent partaking of Sir Gunnar's excellent chilli and,
inevitably, a certain amount of ale was consumed around the camp stove,
although Sir Rhodri, of course, remained steadfastly sober.
Day Two - Target Rich Environment
Yet again the morning was spent demonstrating an assortment of crafts to
an assortment of tourists.
Halfdan succeeded in miscalculating the distance to the rank behind him
during the midday weapons inspection and accidentally hit a fellow member
of the garrison with the butt of his spear, missing both legs and causing
the gentleman's eyes to water somewhat.
Our request to be allowed to reinforce the beleaguered Scottish garrison
was granted, and we were assigned to be Lord Maxwell's guard. This
occasioned much sallying forth into a gloriously target rich environment.
Our unit formation proved to be almost unbeatable, and our opponents were
reduced to the strategy of ignoring the kills we scored on them in order
to avoid defeat.
The English siege engines fired water balloons into the castle, but as it
was raining anyway this caused little additional discomfort to our forces.
pictures from Caerlaverock from Historic
Scotland Magazine and The Dumfries and
Galloway Standard and Advertiser