JUST over 500 years ago, women wept in the streets of Edinburgh as they heard the tragic news of the disastrous defeat of the Scottish Army at Flodden.
The bearer of the horrendous tidings was said to have been Randolph Murray, captain of the city band, who had ridden from the field of battle having recovered the symbolic Blue Blanket.
Yesterday, the streets of the capital once more resounded to the sound of horses pounding up the Royal Mile as the Edinburgh Riding of the Marches commemorated the event.
Nearly 300 horses and their riders turned out to re-enact the return of Murray as crowds lined the roads to watch the spectacle.
The riders were led by 25-year-old Paul Richards, this year’s captain, and 26-year-old Lass Cheryl McVay-Edwards who took part in the return of the flag ceremony before the Lord Provost of Edinburgh Donald Wilson.
There is also now a new version of the Blue Blanket, the affectionate name for the Standard Of The Crafts Within The Burgh of Edinburgh, which could be raised to summon all the craftsmen of Scotland to fight in support of the monarch. This happened in September 1513 with disastrous consequences.
Then, King James IV, having declared war on England, gathered his army on the Burgh Muir in Edinburgh. It is probable that the army was 50,000 strong with an estimated 10,000 men joining as they travelled south through the Borders. According to tradition, Provost Alexander Lauder of Blyth led the Edinburgh men out of the city by the West Bow to assemble with the rest of the King’s army on the Burgh Muir before the march to Flodden.
The battle was fought on September 9, leading to the worst defeat ever experienced by a Scots army. Bishops, lords, clan chiefs, the Archbishop of St Andrews and the king himself were among the estimated 10,000 dead Scots. The loss to Edinburgh was particularly great. All magistrates and able-bodied men had followed their King into battle and very few returned. The news of defeat at Flodden reached Edinburgh the day after the battle and the citizens were said to be overwhelmed with grief and confusion.
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