Froissart Book 4 Chapter 96. After 19 Oct 1398. When the day of his exile drew near, he went to Eltham where the king (age 31) resided. He found there his father (age 58), the duke of York (age 57) his uncle, and with them the [his father] earl of Northumberland (age 56), sir Henry Percy (age 34) his son, and a great many barons and knights of England, vexed that his ill fortune should force him out of England. The greater part of them accompanied him to the presence of the king, to learn his ultimate pleasure as to this banishment. The king pretended that he was very happy to see these lords: he entertained them well, and there was a full court on the occasion. The earl of Salisbury (age 48), and the earl of Huntingdon (age 46), who had married the duke of Lancaster's daughter (age 35), were present, and kept near to the earl of Derby (age 31), whether through dissimulation or not I am ignorant. When the time for the earl of Derby's taking leave arrived, the king addressed his cousin with great apparent humility, and said, "that as God might help him, the words which had passed between him and the lord marshal had much vexed him; and that he had judged the matter between them to the best of his understanding, and to satisfy the people, who had murmured greatly at this quarrel. Wherefore, cousin," he added, "to relieve you somewhat of your pain, I now remit four years of the term of your banishment, and reduce it to six years instead often. Make your preparations, and provide accordingly." "My lord," replied the earl, "I humbly thank you; and, when it shall be your good pleasure, you will extend your mercy." The lords present were satisfied with the answer, and for this time were well pleased with the king's behaviour, for he received them kindly. Some of them returned with the earl of Derby to London. The earl's baggage had been sent forward to Dover, and he was advised by his father, on his arrival at Calais, to go straight to Paris, and wait on the king of France (age 29) and his cousins the princes of France, for by their means he would be the sooner enabled to shorten his exile than by any other. Had not the duke of Lancaster earnestly pressed this matter, like a father anxious to console his son, he would have taken the direct road to the count d'Ostrevant in Hainault.

Letters. 1403. Letter XXX. Christine Dunbar Countess of March to Henry IV (age 35).

My most excellent and redoubted sovereign lord,.

I recommend myself to you as entirely as terrestrial creature can think or devise to the crowned king of the world, humbly thanking you on my knees for the high favours and benefits that you have conferred upon me before this time, piously supplicating for your gracious continuance, and particularly for the gracious refreshment which you lately sent. May God reward you for it, since I cannot.

My most gracious lord, may it please you to know that my lord my husband (age 65) and I have been in such hardships and distress since we were banished from our country, that I am yet involved in heavy debt, from which without your gracious aid and succour I cannot deliver myself; and now the pestilence is so violent and severe where we are, that I am very fearful lest I shoald die in this great debt that I have incurred. And by no intreaty that we can make can we obtain sufferance from our enemies to retire to our fortress of Colbrandspath [Map], there to wait till the mortality has ceased. And for this cause I humbly entreat your high royal majesty that you will be pleased to have me in remembrance when you shall find leisure, and help me, that by your gracious relief I may be freed from the debt which makes me sad. Besides this, my most redoubted and gracious lord, we suffer great enmity on account of the death of Sir Henry Percy (age 38), which oftentimes is so heavy to my husband and his people, that they wish themselves dead, if they may not retire from this country, seeing that the people of the said Sir Henry Percy do nothing but hear comfortable news of you, in order then to do the malice that is in their hearts. And, my most gracious and sovereign lord, touching the capture of our people by those attending on the Earl of Douglas (age 13) deign to give credence to the bearer of this, and ordain such remedy as you please, according to what the said bearer shall tell you by word of mouth. And I pray most earnestly the ever-blessed God of Heaven to grant you a long life, with all increase of honour and joy, together with victory over yoar enemies; and after this mprtal life may he grant you the kingdom of glory. Amen.

Your humble oratrice, The Countess of March of Scotland.

Scotichronicon Book 15 Chapter 14. [14 Sep 1402]. The new earl of Douglas (the second Archibald) who had custody then of the castles of Edinburgh and Dunbar and who was the king's son-in-law wished to seek revenge on the English for the slaughter of Scots at Nisbet. He approached the governor of Scotland, the duke of Albany, for his help in strengthening his army, because he said it was [only] with the duke’s advice [and backing] that he would be willing to go to England. The duke gave him his eldest son Sir Murdoch with an augmented force of knights and brave men. He therefore assembled a large army in the same year to the number of 10,000 fighting men, including the earls of Angus and Moray as well as the master of Fife (the governor's son), and entering England they plundered it as far as Newcastle. As they returned Sir Henry Percy the younger (otherwise Hotspur) with Sir George de Dunbar earl of March and a large army reached Milfield before them. [The master of Fife and] the earl of Douglas climbed to some rising ground called Humbleton where they waited for the arrival of the English. As they stood on the plain facing the Scots, the English were impatient to attack them on Percy’s order; but the earl of March reined Percy back, saying that he should not move, but should send archers who could easily penetrate the Scots as targets for their arrows and defeat and capture them. It turned out in just this way, for the English bowmen, advancing towards the Scots, smothered them with arrows and made them bristly like a hedgehog, transfixing the hands and arms of the Scots to their own lances. By means of this very harsh rain of arrows they made some duck, they wounded others, and killed many. Observing this a brave knight called Sir John Swinton shouted out in a harsh voice as if he were a crier saying: ‘Illustrious comrades! Who has bewitched you today that you do not behave in your usual worthy manner? Why do you not join in hand-to-hand battle nor as men take heart to attack enemies who are in a hurry to destroy you with their flying arrows as if you were little fallow-deer or young mules in pens? Those who are willing should go down with me and we shall move among our enemies in the Lord’s name, either to save our lives in so doing or at least to fall as knights with honour.’ On hearing this the most famous and valiant Adam de Gordon of that Ilk who indeed for a long time had cultivated mortal enmity against the said lord of Swinton following the death of stalwart men-at-arms from both sides in various fights, knelt down before him to ask pardon from him in particular (as the most worthy knight in arms in the whole of Britain, as he claimed) so that he might be girded as a knight by the hands of the same Sir John. This was done, and a band of a hundred respected knights followed these leaders who had thus been reconciled. They contended intrepidly with a thousand Englishmen; and that whole Scottish group fell dead, though not without a great slaughter of English. It was assuredly believed and it was sworn on oath by some Englishmen, as I have heard, that if the other Scots who had stood on Humbleton Hill had fallen on them with like vigour, either the English would have fled, or the Scots would have achieved victory over them. The following knights fell there: John de Swinton, Adam de Gordon, John Livingstone of Callendar, Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, Walter de Sinclair, Roger de Gordon and Walter Scott, with very many other valiant squires whose deaths were as harmful for the kingdom as they were lamentable and grievous.