Editor in Chief Bill | 30 Aug 2019 11:40 a.m. PST |
A metal detector enthusiast has found a treasure trove of silver coins that may have been used during a bloody battle in the early 14th century… link |
JimDuncanUK | 30 Aug 2019 12:33 p.m. PST |
Just down the road from me. |
Old Glory | 30 Aug 2019 1:48 p.m. PST |
I misread at first and thought it was alien money !!?? |
Dn Jackson | 30 Aug 2019 4:56 p.m. PST |
Those coins are beautiful. Well made and in great shape. |
Zephyr1 | 30 Aug 2019 9:48 p.m. PST |
"The Scottish Treasure Trove unit has confirmed it was analyzing the find, but a spokesman said they would not offer additional comment after the items were appraised." Really? That raises a red flag… |
Gunfreak | 31 Aug 2019 4:30 a.m. PST |
How do you use silver coins in a battle? Put them in a hand cannon and fire them as shotgun pellets? |
uglyfatbloke | 31 Aug 2019 6:07 a.m. PST |
The coins may or may not have a connection to the battle, though it is less than likely, but the rest of the article is utter nonsense. Roslin was an action involving a few hundred men-at-arms, not thousands upon thousand, and as for mercenaries….. |
Steamingdave2 | 01 Sep 2019 2:53 a.m. PST |
@ uglyfatbloke. Spot on, small forces on both sides; but then the report was from Fox News, so we cannot really expect accuracy and reliability. Interestingly, the English paymaster is supposed to have been killed, so perhaps he had ordered the coins to be buried for security and after he died they were forgotten about in the inevitable chaos of defeat |
Asteroid X | 01 Sep 2019 9:31 a.m. PST |
Steaming Dave, no, this is what you get for using the Internet to do your research: link link Second and third hits from a simple google search for 'Battle of Roslin'. The first result had no numbers (Wikipedia). Please keep your personal political opinions to yourself, this forum is not the place for them. |
Steamingdave2 | 02 Sep 2019 7:13 a.m. PST |
@wymers The numbers you quote are actually based on inflated accounts from the late medieval period, which have been repeated without checking their feasibility. If Edward's army really lost 35000 soldiers in February 1303, how come he was able to mount a major invasion of Scotland only three months later? There was not an inexhastibke supply of soldiers in England and Wales. In 1298, when Edward decided to avenge the defeat at Stirling Bridge, he took around 15000 men into Scotland. Does it really seem likely that 5 years later he would entrust 35000 plus to subordinates? At Bannockburn, the English army was supposed to have been the largest ever to invade Scotland. Modern historians suggest it could not have been more than 25000 men, and probably fewer, but still more than twice the size of the Scottish army and it was comprehensively defeated by careful use of ground and tactics, which was probably the case at Roslin. Remember how we were always told that HenryVth's "little band of brothers" ( 5000? 6000? 7000?) defeated a massive army of 30 or 40000 French? Turns out that the French army could not have numbered more than around 15000. link Anybody who looks at battle histories should be well aware that victors often exaggerate the size of their enemies forces and their losses, whilst down playing their own.
As for my opinion of Fox News, not a political opinion, clearly your own politics made you jump to that conclusion, but if you don't like it just stifle me. I will write what I like. Bill can decide whether it is politics or just a judgement on the trustworthiness of a media outlet. Nobody appointed you as TMP policeman. |
uglyfatbloke | 03 Sep 2019 9:22 a.m. PST |
The big numbers come from Bower 150 years after the event. The English force was drawn from garrisons and knight service obligations of the gentry in the north of England, and according to Grey (Scalacronica)it was sent to foil a Scottish attack on the English garrison at Linlithgow. The expedition was met and defeated in two or three sharp actions around Roslin. If you think in terms of a couple of hundred men-at-arms on each side you'll not go wrong – rather more English than Scots. If anybody really wants to know about this stuff and can cope with reading a very dull book there's my Ph.D thesis which was 'bookified' as 'Knights of the Scottish Wars of Independence' from Tempus/History Press about 10-12 years ago and is all about knight service obligations in 13/14th C Scotland. |
uglyfatbloke | 03 Sep 2019 9:28 a.m. PST |
Oh dear…just looked a the 'clan' Sinclair piece and the Scotsman newspaper piece……. The latter used to be a pretty great paper but has declined dreadfully over the last 30 years or so; it 's the political equivalent of 'National Enquirer' but without the journalistic gravitas and integrity. . The former is just what historiographers call 'made up stuff'. |
Steamingdave2 | 04 Sep 2019 7:25 a.m. PST |
@uglyfatbloke. Thanks for confirming my opinion of the more exaggerated reports. I like a dull book! |
Uesugi Kenshin | 04 Sep 2019 8:46 a.m. PST |
Been there twice. Lovely countryside and Chapel. |
uglyfatbloke | 04 Sep 2019 9:26 a.m. PST |
Steamingdave2…I've written quite a few dull books – you might enjoy/endure 'The Second Scottish Wars of Independence' and 'Bannockburn 1314' under my actual name of Chris Brown. |