Review It Yourself All-New Trailer

Welcome to the first video podcast of Review It Yourself, Visit It Yourself Episode 1: The Battle of the Standard (1138)

At this position 884 years ago, a unique clash between forces from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland was about to begin:

A battle which come to be known as 'The Battle of The Standard'.

But what was the reason for this imminent encounter?

First a little background, the United Kingdom of today did not exist in the Twelfth Century. A United Kingdom of Scotland had emerged in the Tenth Century and it's Kings were very eager to exploit the power vacuum in the Northern area of The Kingdom of England.

Henry the First of England ruled from 1100, until his death in 1135. He died after eating an excessive number of 'lampreys' (tiny eels). He had promised the crown to his daughter Matilda (one of his 28 children), after his son died when he drowned during the sinking of the Royal Boat The White Ship, in the English Channel.

Despite making the English Lords swear allegiance to Matilda as his heir apparent, after his death the Lords disliked both the idea of a female Queen and Matilda's personality and went back on their promise.

Matilda was brave, strong and knew how to fight, but whilst she was attempting to rally support for her claim to the English Throne, her cousin Stephen had himself crowned behind her back.

This caused The First Civil War of England, known as "The Anarchy".

How did the Scottish become involved?

By the Twelfth Century, the demarcation line, or boundary, between England and Scotland was far from clear-cut.

Often pre-occupied with France, England's Norman Kings decided to build castles to protect the North. The formation of these castles was not meant to prevent invasion as this was not feasible, their purpose was to buy time until relief arrived from the South.

These castles would be supported once the better-equipped reinforcements from the South of England arrived. The Scottish, lacking any besieging resources usually withdrew. This meant that that face-to-face battles across open countryside between England and Scotland were not expected.

The uniqueness of the battle is that in a time of skirmishes and sieges, this pitched battle stands out. Horsemen got off their steeds and fought on foot.

Alfred Burne said of the battle, "there is probably no battle fought in England, of equal importance, that has so little controversy attached to it".

The Scottish King in 1135 was King David the First. Whilst King Stephen fought to secure his claim, King David took the opportunity to invade Northern England and secure more territory, under the guise of appearing in England on behalf of his niece Matilda's aid. David justified his invasion by claiming that the King was a usurper who should not be on the throne.

As was the tradition with English Kings, Stephen had left Yorkshire to be defended by the commons and the Barons, as the South and West of England had erupted into rebellion. The crown also focused upon France.

Upon hearing of the Scottish invasion, Lieutenant of the North, Thurstan Archbishop of York, described as 'a man of action', preached a Holy War against the 'savage invaders', despite being too old to participate in the actual battle.

Yorkshire men looked upon the challenge as a crusade against 'savages' and followed the banners of St. Cuthbert of Durham, St. Wilfrid of Ripon, St. John of Beverley and St. Peter of York. A major clash of forces now appeared inevitable...

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