James Baquet Scotland and England (along with Wales and Northern Ireland) are now part of the United Kingdom. So it’s odd to think that it was in a Scotland-vs.-England war that James IV of Scotland attained the dubious honor of becoming the last monarch in the British Isles to die in battle, but that is exactly the case. Scotland had formed a coalition with France called the “Auld (Old) Alliance,” an agreement to help curtail the invasions of their belligerent neighbor, England. The Alliance, which held from 1295 to 1560, stipulated that if either Scotland or France were invaded by England, the other country would then draw off England’s resources by invading English territory from the opposite direction. So, in 1513, when England’s King Henry VIII led a campaign against King Louis XII of France, James IV, King of Scots, invaded England from the north. Henry had joined the fight against the League of Cambrai — mainly France and Venice — who stood in opposition to the Pope. England became part of the “Holy League” that included the Papal States, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and others. In siding with France, James IV of Scotland found himself excommunicated by the Pope. Nevertheless, with Henry in France and his first wife Catherine of Aragon serving as regent, James set off for the English border — after first following the rules of chivalry by giving one month’s notice of his intention! Thus, the English were ready when the Battle of Flodden took place Sept. 9, 1513. The site was actually nearer Branxton, so the event is sometimes called “The Battle of Branxton.” The King was slain by a spear-thrust, the Scottish guns were captured, and despite fighting valiantly, the Scots were defeated. The 17-month-old son of James and his wife Margaret Tudor — Henry VIII’s sister — was crowned king, and the country ruled by regents. Legends arose that James IV’s corpse had been misidentified after the battle, and that the “Lost King” was seen on numerous occasions thereafter, until he went on a pilgrimage to faraway lands and was never seen in Scotland again. Vocabulary: Which word above means: 1. draw away (from) 2. wound from a spear 3. killed 4. reduce, cut short 5. of doubtful quality, questionable 6. kicked out (of a church) 7. dead body 8. rules of medieval knighthood 9. specified, set conditions 10. war-like, aggressive | 