In Defense of the Scottish Renaissance Army

In the early 16th century, Scotland suffered a series of devastating defeats, which scored the Scots a reputation for backwardness. At Flodden (1513), Solway Moss (1542), and Pinkie (1547), though numerically superior, Scottish armies were well beaten by the English. To many, the armies of Scotland seemed almost archaic compared to the orderly forces of continental Europe.

The historian G. J. Millar has even called them “the English crown’s ‘most backward of adversaries.” Still, this allegedly most backward of adversaries did not succumb to the English, denied them substantial territorial gains, and even went on the offensive. Hence, we need to ask how such a supposed relic of old times kept up with the modern armies of the period.

In the early 16th century, Scotland suffered a series of devastating defeats, which scored the Scots a reputation for backwardness.