Bruce humiliates another English king
The Battle of Old Byland on 14 October 1322 was a stunning Scottish victory that demonstrated Robert the Bruce's mastery of mobile warfare and Edward II's continuing inability to deal with him. Bruce led a raiding force deep into Yorkshire, catching Edward II at Rievaulx Abbey and routing a hastily assembled English army on the steep escarpment of Sutton Bank near Old Byland.
The Scottish raid was characteristically audacious. Bruce had marched his army through the eastern Borders and deep into Yorkshire, bypassing English garrisons and moving with a speed that left the English unable to concentrate their forces. Edward II, who was staying at Rievaulx Abbey, had assumed his position was safe. He was wrong.
The English defence at Sutton Bank was commanded by John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond. His men held the steep scarp slope and should have been able to repel any attack. But Bruce sent a flanking force under Sir James Douglas around the English position. When the Scots attacked from two directions simultaneously, the English line collapsed. The Earl of Richmond was captured. Edward II fled from Rievaulx with such haste that he left behind his personal treasure, his seal, and his dinner.
Old Byland reinforced what Bannockburn had established eight years earlier: Scotland under Bruce was unconquerable, and the English crown could not protect its own northern counties, let alone reclaim Scotland. The humiliation of Edward II at Old Byland contributed to the political crisis that would eventually lead to his deposition in 1327. His successor, Edward III, signed the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328, formally recognising Scottish independence for the first time.