Talk:Battle of Halidon Hill

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Text and/or other creative content from this version of Siege of Berwick (1333) was copied or moved into Battle of Halidon Hill with this edit. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.

Annan not Arran

Balliol was defeated at Annan-not Arran-near the English border. Rcpaterson 05:47, 11 May 2006 (UTC)[]

The Dead at Halidon.

We cannot say with any certainty just how many men died at Halidon, and the fact that detailed figures are mentioned 'on several web sites' is not evidence. It should not need saying but it clearly does: fictions are in the habit of self-duplification. I must have read every contemporary source on this battle, one of which claims that the Scots lost 35,000 men, probably two or even three times the size of the army Douglas was able to put in the field. The figure of 14 dead for the English is suspiciously precise. All medieval chroniclers should be treated with caution, especially when it comes to the size of armies and battle casualties; but they should at least form the point of departure for informed discussion; not 'several web sites'. Rcpaterson 23:58, 23 July 2006 (UTC) Once again Mr. Paterson has made a useful and well-informed contribution. Chronicle acconts generally offer numnbers that were not intended to be taken literally - BArbour's estimantes of the armies at Bannockburn being a particularly clear example. CB.[]

Agreed. The casualties at Halidon Hill, as at most mediaeval battles, are largely speculative. English casualties would best be described as "unknown but light", and Scottish as "unknown but heavy". Wikipedia needs to show some consistency in this matter, particularly in the summary box. Discussion of contemporary and modern estimates might be appropriate in the full article, but these are inevitably personal assessments (which are often skewed by authorial bias) rather than actual data.