Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy - The Final Year

The Final Year

King Edward now prepared for a campaign in Scotland in 1314, culminating in his total defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn. Percy, along with five of the earls and many other nobles refused summonses to this campaign because it had not been sanctioned by parliament, as required by the Ordinances. There are no contemporary records of Percy being at Bannockburn and it seems that he remained at Alnwick, defending his land against Scottish raiders. His friend and comrade Robert Clifford did go, and was killed in the battle. Within days of the battle Percy was summoned to Newcastle to prepare an emergency defence of northern England against an invasion. Instead of an all-out invasion, Robert Bruce sent raiding parties to extort money from the northern counties. Only a few months later in the first half of October 1314 Henry Percy died, aged forty one, of unknown causes.