Chapter II
Part Eight: The Battle of Scuin (April 946) and the End of the Great Highlands War
The Arms of Lord Cóelub of Dunnottar, granted after the Battle of Scuin
After the heavy fighting and terrible losses which both sides suffered in 944, there was little serious fighting in 945. King Alasdair spent the year rebuilding his forces, whilst Earl Cyneric had withdrawn to his lands in Lothian. There were regular raids from Norsemen out of the Highlands, which were met by raids from the Scots into the Norse occupied Highlands .
Lord Cóelub of Dunnottar led a large raid out of Dunottar, through Eilean and up to Calder during which he seized much booty and many captives. Several skirmishes occurred and Lord Cóelub returned victorious.
The King held Christmas court at Scuin in 945, with his friend Lord Cóelub, and his brother, Earl Fearghas of Westoraland, in attendance. Much of the Community of the Realm, the greatest Magnates of Scotland, were also there. Earl Cyneric and his supporters were
not present. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the King asked for oaths from his magnates that they would swear fealty to his brother, Earl Fearghas as their next King.
Earl Fearghas was respected to a degree, but his prestige could not compare to Earl Cyneric’s. Although the Gaelic lords were supportive of Alasdair and were not great friends of the Earl of Lothian, Earl Fearghas’ mother was a Frank and
not a Gael. Fearghas was
not descended from the ancient House of Alpin, as Alasdair and Earl Cyneric were. Both Alasdair and Earl Cyneric were descended from Kenneth McAlpin himself, King of Dal Riata / Alba. As such, the Gaels would not support Fearghas for Kingship. However, Eochaid, Earl of Northumbria, a fierce opponent of Earl Cyneric, swore the oath in favour of Fearghas, and since the Earls of Eoforwic and Lanark were children (their fathers having died at the Heights of Brae), the King himself could choose their vote for now. In this way, Alasdair hoped to block Earl Cyneric from the succession.
At his New Year feast in Lothian, Earl Cyneric learned of these oaths and was incensed. But he was not surprised. The King had, though Earl Cyneric, decided to threaten civil war on his death – simply to keep his rightful heir, Earl Cyneric, from power. It was pathetic, but the Earl was not scared of fighting and was confident that he would crush Earl Fearghas should a succession war break out.
“I am no’ afeart o’ tha’ drunkard’, shouted Earl Cyneric to his guests as they revelled in the firelit hall at Eadinburgh.
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That Spring, the King received word that Jarl Eilif of Groningen, with Jarl Geirr Niklason, was moving South with a great host of Norse warriors. On the 6th March 946, they took Dunnottar and sacked it, killing Lord Cóelub’s wife and daughter. Lord Cóelub himself was with the King at Scuin when they received this news.
“My friend…”, spoke the King, “Oh, my dear friend…”
“My liege”, replied Lord Cóelub. “I know your heart and I know that you feel my pain. I ask only that when we meet Jarl Eilif in battle, I may lead the vanguard”.
“You shall have it, my dear Cóelub, “and God’s vengeance shall go with you!”
The Jarl of Groningen had with him a force of 13,000 men, whilst the King of Scots had only 4,000 men with him at Scuin. Earl Cyneric was at Eadinburgh, only three or four days away at a swift march. The King ordered his captains to call for Earl Cyneric to rally his banners and march north to Scuin at once. But the King was prepared to withdraw if the Earl showed signs of delay. The King did not trust the Earl of Lothian.
On 26th March, Earl Cyneric arrived at Scuin with 4,000 men. He may have loathed the King, but he could not allow the Norsemen to overrun
his rightful inheritance.
This was the first time the King and Earl Cyneric had met since the appointment of Earl Eochaid as regent more than six years ago. Both men looked at each other with contempt and hatred.
“My dear nephew, welcome to Scuin.”
“Uncle…”
“When this is over you will answer for what you did to my herald!” King Alasdair could not restrain himself.
“Any man who calls me a coward must look to himself and ensure that he is armed well. Even if he bears the standard of a King.” Earl Cyneric spoke coolly and without dropping his gaze from the King’s eyes.
“An attack on my herald is an attack on the King!” The King was now raising his voice.
“It was the King’s words he spoke…”, said Earl Cyneric in a slow and deliberate manner. Cyneric did not blink as he looked into the King’s eyes. The King gripped the arms of his chair in fury as his hands turned white. But he calmed himself, relaxed his grip and spoke quietly:
“There will be time for this later. For now, my lord of Lothian, we must drive the heathens from
my lands.”
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Thus, it was, that on the 16th April 946, the King’s army, with the forces of Earl Fearghas, Earl Cyneric, Earl Eochaid III, and Lord Cóelub, faced the forces of Jarl Eilif at Scuin. The Scots had with them a force of some 8,000 men, whilst the Norsemen had arrived with their full force of more than 13,000.
Scuin was the ancient coronation site of the Alban Kings, and the site where both Cyneric I and Alasdair I had been formally anointed King. This sacred place must be defended at all costs.
The famous coronation site was atop a low hill overlooking the River Tatha (or Tay). To the North East of this site was a steeper, wooded hill. Here stood Lord Cóelub with his vanguard, fiercely arrayed in a shield wall, bright shields proud on the hill’s crest. To his left was Eochaid III, Earl of Northumbria. To his immediate right was Earl Cyneric with his men of Lothian. Next in the line was Earl Fearghas of Westoraland. He was positioned at the lowest point of the scots line, where a small burn flowed towards the Tatha. On the high ground to his right was the King, at the far-right flank of the Scots army, anchored on the River Tatha on his right flank. The entire Scots army had its back to the river. There was no retreat.
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Jar Eilif observed the Scots positions from the high hills to the north of Scuin. “Mark how the King is positioned at the right flank against the river, split off from the rest of the army by the shallow ravine where that burn flows. That is the weak point.” He motioned to Jarl Geir Niklason, “My intention is to launch a general attack on the Scots centre and left flank, on that wooded hill yonder. We will pin the forces there in a shield wall skirmish, holding them in place whilst the real work is done.”
“The real work?” asked Jarl Geir.
“The real work I have left for you. You will strike hard and fast with the main weight of our forces at the weak point, along the burn. Meanwhile, Jarl Bertil will attack the Scots right flank, pinning the King there in another shield wall action. You will then crush the enemy forces stationed along the burn and then attack the King from the rear, closing him off from the rest of his army, which will not be able to come to his aid whilst I pin them down on the left and centre. Once we have crushed the King, the Scots forces will break, and we will drive them into the river”.
And so, at noon, Jarl Geir led 5,000 men down the ravine of the burn, defended by Earl Fearghas with less than 2,500 men. Earl Fearghas formed a shield wall, but it was disturbed and weakened by the uneven ground and the flowing water of the burn. And they could not hold back the flood of Norsemen that now hurled towards them in the narrow valley. Bravely Earl Fearghas led his men, shouting encouragement and brandishing his sword before him. But he could see his shield wall would never hold. Yet Earl Cyneric’s positions were in reserve above and to his left. Fearghas could see that Cyneric’s positions were not yet under attack. The wall was breaking, but Fearghas called to his men and held them steady, giving ground only gradually as they heaved under the pressure before them. He now reached for the horn around his neck. If Cyneric could charge down into the valley now, the position may still be held.
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King Alasdair, once again, stood at the centre of his shield wall. His men were the extreme right flank of the Scots army. He leaned on his axe. Since the Heights of Brae he never walked without his axe, both weapon and walking stick. Lord Cóelub had begged him to place himself at the rear of his men, but King Alasdair, the brave crusader, would do no such thing. He may be a crippled old man. But he was the King of Scots. And the King of Scots does not cower behind other men. And so, as the Norsemen of Jarl Bertil assailed him, the King was amongst the thickest fighting and many Norsemen fell to the great blows of his axe. An old man maybe, but even now few could match King Alasdair in strength. The Huscarls of King Alasdair gave no ground and the two shield walls struck and parried in an exhausting, equal balance.
Earl Cyneric watched as the forces of Earl Fearghas were overwhelmed in the dell of the burn. He watched as Fearghas raised his banner high and blew his great horn. He watched as Fearghas caught his gaze and his eyes begged for aid. Yet Earl Cyneric
only watched. His Huscarls remained stalwart on the hill, ready to leap forward at the slightest order. But Earl Cyneric watched. Earl Cyneric watched as Fearghas’ men gradually fell backwards, giving ground step by step and forcing the Norsemen to pay for every yard by its price in blood. He watched as more and more of Earl Fearghas’ spearman were left broken and bloodied on the field, trampled by the advancing hordes. He watched as Earl Fearghas parried blow after blow - as the Earl’s shield shattered. He watched as Fearghas fell to his knees, surrounded by Norse warriors. He watched as the banner of Westoraland was ripped and torn. And he watched as many spears lunged into Earl Fearghas. He watched as the stricken Earl was hacked by Daneaxes and crumpled into the mud. And
then he raised his arm, called to his Huscarls and sallied from the hill and into the melee. But Earl Fearghas was dead.
Earl Fearghas would not be King.
Fearghas I, Earl of Westoraland, brother of the King
Even as Jarl Geir assailed Fearghas along the burn, Norsemen surged towards the wooded hill in the Scots’ centre. At their head stood Jarl Eilif of Groningen, the architect of the disaster at the Heights of Brae. The great Viking stood tall at 6 feet, towering above his men, in his great spectacled helm. Tied to his belt were strips of the standards of Earl Eadwin of Lanark and Earl Malcolm of Eoforwic, and around his neck, Earl Eadwin’s teeth, taken from his severed head at the Abhlainn nam Braithrean, adorned a crude necklace. As the Jarl’s men marched up the hill towards Lord Cóelub’s shield wall, the Lord of Dunnottar saw him and fixed him in his sights. That man had humiliated his King, and that man had sacked Cóelub’s home and killed his family. Rage rose in Lord Cóelub, and in his fury of his heart, with his left hand, he reached for his spear. As the enemy drove closer up the hill, the Jarl roaring encouragement to his troops, Lord Cóelub drew back his arm. Eilif’s men were only 10 yards away, starting to run now towards the shield wall. Eilif turned to spur his men forward, waved his great axe high above his head and, for a second, Eilif lowered his shield. Like a thunderbolt, Cóelub’s spear hit home. Eilif was thrown back, the great spear embedded in his chest and the light extinguished from his eyes. As he fell, the men around him were stricken with doubt and fear, and, at that very moment Lord Cóelub and his men dashed like furies down the hill, crying the highland yell and driving the terrified Norsemen before them.
The Death of Jarl Eilif of Groningen
As the Norse centre collapsed before Cóelub, the Lord of Dunnottar saw the forces of Jarl Geir penetrating deep into the Scottish lines and moving to flank the King. He blew his horn to halt his men, ran in front of them and shouted at the top of his voice, “Follow me! To the King!”
Thereupon, he launched to the right, followed by his men, speeding to the relief of the embattled right flank. Earl Eochaid’s men continued to pursue the Norse centre which had now utterly dispersed.
Jarl Geir hacked his way through the Scots warriors that now hurtled down the hill under the banner of Lothian. His men were now moving towards the rear of the King’s position, and even despite the arrival of the Earl of Lothian, the King was now Earl Geir’s. But then he heard the horn call of Lord Cóelub, followed by the great highland yell and the Scots centre smashed into his own flank - and Jarl Bertil’s. Bertil’s men broke almost at once and scattered back down the hill. With his front now disengaged, King Alasdair’s men wheeled around and descended upon Jarl Geir, who was no hemmed in on all sides by Lord Cóelub, Earl Cyneric and the King of Scots. Jarl Geir’s men were now being hacked to pieces as the space tightened around them. The Jarl gave a mighty yell and swung his great axe, smashing the shields of the Scots in front of him, but as mighty a man as he was, he was overwhelmed from all sides and perished beneath the mud as blows rained down on him from all sides.
The Norsemen broke and fled at all points, scrambling madly for safety, floundering in the mud and drowning in the waters of the burn. Few escaped from the field of Scuin.
In the moment of victory, King Alasdair’s heart soared, and his crippled leg was forgotten as he sprang forward with the vigour of his youth. He raised his axe high and shouted in the Gaelic tongue “Glòrmhor Bhuaidh – Glorious Victory”.
The Battle of Scuin - 16th April 946
Once the Norsemen had been slain or fully driven away, the King called for his captains. He received them at the ancient coronation stone above the River Tatha. “Where is my brother?” He asked them when the Earl of Westoraland failed to arrive, “Where is Earl Fearghas?”
“My Lord, I know not”, spoke Earl Cyneric, “His men were heavily pressed along the burn and the banner of Westoraland fell. My troops then rushed to his aid, but I saw not the Earl of Westoraland”.
The King stared at Earl Cyneric, distrust written on his face. “Where is my brother?”
Survivors of Earl Fearghas forces were called for news of the King’s brother, until one was found who had been with him. “My liege, my Lord of Westoraland bravely held the valley, but I saw him fall to his knees under many blows, and then I saw him no more as the Norsemen surged over him”.
The King’s leg suddenly heaved under him, and all its crippled weakness was remembered in that instant. His bright eyes dimmed and he sat down on his wooden stool.
“Find my brother’s body”, he ordered, his voice weak and old and pierced with the hollow ring of sadness. “We must find his body and bury him in this sacred place.” He paused thoughtfully and looked up at the clouds, “My father, the King, had five sons. Only I now remain. My four brothers all perished fighting these monstrous heathens. Eochaid and Eadgar fell in Hibernia when I was only a boy. Eadwin and Malcolm were slain at Thingvoll and Fearghas at sacred Scuin. Alas for my brothers – ‘tis an evil fate indeed.”
The King dismissed his captains, except for Lord Cóelub. The King buried his head in his shaking hands and gently rocked on his stool. The Lord of Dunnottar approach the King, and firmly embraced his friend. Both men united in their grief.
It took many days for Fearghas’ body to be identified, broken and butchered as it was and buried amongst the Norsemen who fell around him in the mud. He was buried at Scuin, and in thanks for the great victory and in honour of his fallen brother, King Alasdair founded the famous Royal Abbey at Scuin, at which Earl Fearghas was the first to be interred.
And so, the Norse army was crushed at Scuin – the ancient coronation site of Scots and Alban Kings. As has been said, in thanks, King Alasdair founded Scuin Abbey on the field of battle, giving directions that his brother, Fearghas was to be buried there with great honour. From Scuin, the defeated Norse remnants retreated north, leaderless, pursued by the King, Earl Cyneric and Lord Cóelub. Eilean and Calder were taken by the Summer of 946. In the winter, Inverness fell to the Scots forces and the army wintered there.
On the 25th January 947 the final Norse army commanded by Jarl Hjalmar of Norrland, was faced in Ross where it was defeated utterly by the forces of Lord Cóelub of Dunnottar. Shortly thereafter, the Norsemen abandoned the highlands which were annexed to the Scots Kingdom. The Great Highlands War was over.
After five years of war, King Alasdair had won his new lands. But his brothers, and his sons, to whom he had hoped to grant the conquered territories, were dead. There was no doubt in his mind as to who should be raised to the new Mormaerdom (Earldom) of Moray in their stead….