It had been arranged that, while Dorset sought to recover Guyenne, English ships were to keep the Channel as far as Brest, and the Spaniards the sea thence to the Bay of Biscay. Sir Edward Howard was appointed Admiral of the English fleet on April 7, and after cruising about the Channel and chasing French fishing-boats he accompanied Dorset’s fleet as far as Brest. He then landed on the Breton coast, burning towns and villages ruthlessly over a circuit of thirty miles, and returned home. But the Spanish fleet did not come to join the English till September, when it was really useless; and French ships were meanwhile got ready both in Normandy and Britanny, and placed under the command of the redoubted Pregent de Bidoux, summoned hastily from the Mediterranean. Thus by August, when another expedition sailed from England for Brest harbour, the French had a pretty fair squadron there, and on the 10th a fierce action took place between the two fleets. The Regent, the largest vessel on the English side, grappled with her chief opponent the Cordeliere (called by the English the Great Carrack of Brest), till by some means both vessels took fire, and were totally consumed with the loss of nearly all their crews. Sir Thomas Knyvet, commander of the Regent, was among the victims. The King at once determined to repair the loss of the Regent by building a still larger ship called the Henry Grace de Dieu, or “The Great Harry,” which was launched two years later.
In April, 1513, Sir Edward Howard again sailed to the entrance of Brest harbour, intent on avenging Knyvet’s fate. He found drawn up in shallow water a line of French galleys, which rained shot and square bolts upon him from guns and crossbows. Putting himself in a row-barge he faced this tremendous fire and boarded Pregent’s galley, while his men cast the anchor on to the galley’s deck. But the cable was either let slip or cut by the French; and Sir Edward, left in the hands of the enemy, was thrust overboard and perished. The attack was foolhardy; but Howard’s gallantry retrieved the honour of the English nation.
For several months preparations had been in progress for an invasion of France by the King in person. It may have been in order to prevent any possible conspiracy at home that the unhappy Earl of Suffolk, whose brother Richard de la Pole was now in the French King’s service, was beheaded on April 30, notwithstanding the promise given by Henry VII that his life should be spared. The first portion of the invading army went over to Calais in the latter part of May, and the King himself landed there on June 30, having left the Queen behind him as Regent in his absence. Siege was laid to the fortified city of Terouanne on June 22; but it still held out on August 4, when the King joined the besiegers. On the llth he left the camp and had a meeting with the Emperor Maximilian, between Terouanne and Aire, in very foul weather; of which, indeed, there had been much already. Next day the Emperor visited the trenches and returned for a time to Aire. He was afterwards content, instead of joining the King under his own banner, to serve with his company at the King’s wages under the banner of St George; for he was always glad of money, while his great military experience was unquestionably of service to the King. On the night of the llth Lyon King of Arms arrived with a message from James IV, setting forth various complaints against England and requiring Henry to desist from the invasion of a country which was James’ ally. To this an appropriate answer was next day returned by Henry.
On the 16th the King removed his camp to Guinegaste in order to defeat any attempt on the part of the French, who were mustering south of Terouanne, at victualling the place. They were presently descried and, after a brief encounter, took to flight, leaving in the hands of the English some most illustrious prisoners, among whom were the Duke of Longueville and the renowned Chevalier Bayard. The engagement received the name of “the Battle of the Spurs” from the speedy flight of the French. A week later, on the 23rd, Terouanne surrendered. The fortifications which had made it so formidable were then blown up, and the invading army passed on to Tournay, which likewise surrendered a month later, on September 23. These conquests were not valuable to England unless she had an interest in Belgium; but Henry looked forward to the marriage of his sister Mary to young Charles of Castile, which, as we have seen, had been arranged in Henry VII’s time. The city of Terouanne, as belonging to the House of Burgundy, was made over to the Emperor, whose soldiers ruthlessly destroyed it by fire. On the way to Tournay Henry paid a visit to Margaret of Savoy at Lille, which was within the territory of Flanders; and after the capture of the city she returned the visit, bringing with her the young Prince, then in his fourteenth year. Yet another meeting was held at Lille, where on October 17 it was arranged that the marriage should take place at Calais in the following year in presence of the Emperor, Margaret of Savoy, Henry VIII, and Queen Katharine. Provisions were also made for the defence of Artois and Hainault in the winter, and for the further prosecution of the War next year.
The ungracious declaration of war by the Scotch King had not been unexpected. Notwithstanding his treaties with England James had formed a new league with France in 1512, and had given most unsatisfactory answers as to his evident preparations for war to the English ambassador, West, Bishop of Ely. Before embarking at Dover, Henry had accordingly conferred the command of the North upon Thomas, Earl of Surrey, who conducted the Queen back to London, and thence in the end of July proceeded to his charge. Even in August the Scots made a raid into Northumberland under Hume, the Lord Chamberlain of Scotland, in which they came off so badly that they themselves called it “the 111 Raid”; for they were met by Sir William Bulmer and driven home with great slaughter and the loss of all their booty. But on the S2nd James himself entered Northumberland with as large an army as he could collect, won Norham Castle after a six days’ siege, and razed it to the ground; after which he took some other fortresses. Hearing of this at Durham, Surrey advanced with the banner of St Cuthbert to Newcastle, where he had ordered musters from all the Northern counties to be held on September 1. On the 4th he despatched a herald to the King of Scots, reproaching him with his bad faith and offering to give him battle on the Friday following (September 9). James awaited his attack on ground very well chosen. The deep river Till lay between the armies. But Surrey bade his vanguard with the ordnance cross it at Twizel bridge near its junction with the Tweed, while the rear crossed at another point, threatening to cut off the retreat of the Scotch army. Hereupon the Scots made an onslaught which for a time was successful; but the fortune of the day changed, and the invaders were disastrously defeated. The King and the flower of the Scottish nobility were left dead upon the field of Flodden. In reward for this victory Surrey was some months later created Duke of Norfolk, and his son was made Earl of Surrey in his own right.
The success of the English arms in France and in Scotland produced important results both abroad and at home. The disgrace which had attended Dorset’s expedition to Spain was now more than wiped out, and it was clear that, even as a military Power, England had to be reckoned with. But the belief still generally prevailed that she was an «asy dupe. She had been doing the work of Ferdinand in Spain; in Prance she had been winning conquests for Maximilian; and by more than one treaty she had been subsidising that needy Emperor, really to keep him true to his engagements as to his grandson’s marriage with Mary. Henry’s military successes compelled scheming politicians to