Battle of the Standard 1138
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On the 22nd of August 1138 a Scottish army led by King David I and an English army led by Walter d’Espec met near Northallerton in North Yorkshire. This was one of the only two major battles during the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda.
The Scottish army was the larger of the two but an ill disciplined attack by Galwegian infantry against English forces dug into defensive positions with dismounted knights interspersed with archers. The English battle array may well have been planned by Bernard of Balliol the head of King Stephen's household knights. The Scottish attackers were 'destroyed by arrows'.
The battle lasted some two hours until King David was forced to leave the battle by his friends as the Scottish lines disintegrated.
