ABSTRACT
There are numerous instances of events from English history which have stirred the literary imagination in the medieval period – the Barons' War and Henry III in the 1260s, the campaigns of Edward III, the deposition of Richard II, the siege of Calais of 1435, the Wars of the Roses. But the literature provoked by the battle of Flodden and events surrounding it seems to be rather different from that which preceded it. It is hard to escape the impression that the important military and political events were being played out in France and that, though it turned out to be a national disaster for Scotland, the Flodden campaign was something of a side-show. The tactics of the two armies on the day of the battle and the events of the day are described briefly. The facts about the battle, the estimates, the rumours, the uncertainties, all provided material for the verses which were written about it.
