First Scottish Invasion and Ravaging
No sooner had Stephen returned than David demanded the earldom of Northumberland for his son Henry, allegedly half-promised the year before.
Stephen’s Counter-Ravaging
On Stephen’s refusal, David led an army into England in early January 1138, besieging Carham (Wark) and then harrying the land from Tweed to Tyne with unprecedented savagery, thou…
David Returns with Eustace Fitz-John
Stephen marched north in early February, forcing David to abandon Carham and retreat to an inaccessible swamp near Roxburgh, where he laid a trap for the English through feigned S…
The North Organizes Resistance
Stephen discovered the trap—possibly through treason among his own barons—and crossed the Tweed, but instead of attacking Roxburgh he turned southwest to ravage David’s territorie…
Archbishop Thurstan’s Leadership
When Stephen had gone, David re-entered Northumberland and ravaged along the eastern coast until a mutiny forced his retreat; he then sent William Fitz-Duncan to ravage Craven whi…
The Battle of the Standard
Meanwhile the Empress Matilda urged David to support her cause through her father-in-chief’s old minister Eustace Fitz-John, lord of Bamborough, Knaresborough, Malton, and Alnwick…
The Standard Itself
David gathered all Scotland’s forces and joined Eustace in an unsuccessful attempt to retake Bamborough; the combined host then burned through the thrice-wasted Patrimony of St.…
The Scottish Divisions
The north could expect no help from Stephen, who was fully occupied suppressing revolt in the south and west, so the barons organized resistance under Archbishop Thurstan of York,…
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