English victory The Battle of Neville's Cross took place during the Second War of Scottish Independence on 17 October 1346, half a mile (800 m) to the west of Durham, England.

King Philip VI of France (r. 1328–1350) called on the Scots to fulfil their obligation under the terms of the Auld Alliance and invade England.

[1] In defiance of the truce, hostilities continued on all fronts, although mostly at a lower level; King David II of Scotland (r. 1329–1371) led a six-day raid into northern England in October 1345.

[3] Philip VI wanted the Scots to divert English troops, supplies and attention away from the army under Edward III which was gathering in southern England.

[4] The Auld Alliance between France and Scotland had been renewed in 1326 and was intended to deter England from attacking either country by the threat that in this case the other would invade English territory.

[5] In June Philip VI asked David II to attack pre-emptively: "I beg you, I implore you ... Do for me what I would willingly do for you in such a crisis and do it as quickly ... as you are able.

As the English had also committed troops to Gascony, Brittany and Flanders, Philip VI described northern England to David II as "a defenceless void".

David II agreed to a truce, to last until 29 September, in order to fully mobilise the Scottish army, which was assembling at Perth.

The French were also in difficulty in south-west France, where their front had collapsed, with the major city and provincial capital of Poitiers, 125 miles (201 km) from the border of English Gascony, falling on 4 October.

[2] Once the Scots invaded, an army was quickly mobilised at Richmond in north Yorkshire under the supervision of William de la Zouche, the Archbishop of York, who was Lord Warden of the Marches.

[15] On 14 October, while the Scots were sacking Hexham Abbey, the Archbishop decided not to wait for the Yorkshire troops and marched north-west towards Barnard Castle, and then rapidly north-east to Durham.

[16] He was joined en route by the Yorkshire contingent, and Lord Ralph Neville took command of the combined force of 6,000–7,000 men.

As the mist lifted, it became clear the Scots were poorly positioned, on broken ground and with their movement made difficult by ditches and walls.

[23] The English similarly divided their forces with Lord Henry Percy, commanding their first battle; Neville their second; and the Archbishop of York their third.

[26] Moray's battle led the assault, but the broken terrain and obstacles slowed their advance and made it difficult for them to maintain formation.

[31] David II, badly wounded, was captured after he fled the field, while the rest of the Scottish army was pursued by the English long into the night.

[36] Scottish nobles who were captured included William Douglas, the "Knight of Liddesdale", their most skilled guerilla fighter, and four earls.

[40] Accounts of the time state that after the battle David II was hiding under a bridge over the River Browney when his reflection was seen in the water by a group of English soldiers.

[42] Edward III ordered David II to be handed over to him, rewarding Coupland with a knighthood and an annuity of £500 for life (£590,000 per year in 2025 terms).

[26][44] A significant number of Scottish prisoners were privately ransomed, their captors subsequently attempting to deny they had been taken, which outraged Edward III.

[45] Edward III refused to ransom any of those who were passed on to him, or release them on parole as was traditional; he wished to cripple the Scottish capacity to make war for as long as possible, by depriving them of their leaders.