Battle of Largs - Events

Events

While lying off the Cumbraes, on the night of 30 September, Hakon's fleet was battered by stormy weather. During the night, the saga records that a merchantman dragged its anchor and was driven aground. The following morning, it and four other vessels were floated off by the rising tide but carried by the current towards the Scottish mainland where they ran aground again. The crews of the beached vessels were soon harassed by a small force of Scots armed with bows. After the Norwegians had suffered some casualties, Hakon sent reinforcements ashore, and the Scots fled the area. Hakon's reinforcements remained ashore for the night, and the Norwegian king himself came ashore to oversee the salvage operation the next morning.

According to the saga, the main Scottish force, consisting of heavily-armoured cavalry and infantry, arrived on 2 October. The saga numbers the mounted troops at about 500, and states that they rode high-quality horses protected by mail. The use of a substantial force of mounted knights or sergeants appears to be corroborated in contemporary records of payments made to troops. For example, Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith had to maintain 120 sergeants—which could include knights, mounted men-at-arms, archers, or other footsoldiers—at Ayr Castle for three weeks. Although surviving records fail to mention the number of knights assembled at Ayr, the record of wages suggests that it was "more than a mere handful". According to the saga, the Scottish infantry were armed with bows and "Irish axes", and since at one point the Scots are said to have thrown stones at the Norwegians, the Scottish army must have also included slingers. The Latin Chronicle of Melrose simply describes the Scottish infantry as pedisequi patrie (the "foot-sloggers of the locality"). If this description refers to the men of the surrounding countryside, the Scottish infantry would have been made up of men from the 'common army', drawn only from Strathgryfe, Cunninghame and Kyle. These levies would have been mustered by the Sheriff of Ayr, the Sheriff of Lanark, and the local magnates. At the time of Largs, the Scottish king thus had at his disposal men from the 'common army' (lesser men who owed service to their king), the feudal host (greater men who owed military service for their lands), and also paid troops.

There is evidence to suggest that the main Scottish force arrived from the south, rather than from the west or from the north. For example, Alexander III is recorded to have been south at Ayr in September, and the power centre of Alexander of Dundonald, Steward of Scotland (d. 1282), who is thought to have commanded the Scottish forces at the battle, was also located to the south. Furthermore, at the time of the battle, the Sheriff of Ayr was probably a member of the steward's family—probably his younger brother, the Earl of Menteith. If the Scots had indeed arrived from the south, then they would have also assembled at a muster site to the south, possibly somewhere near Ayr. The saga indicates that the Norwegians were divided into two groups. The smaller force, numbered at 200 men, was stationed atop a certain mound, somewhat inland from the beach, under the command of Ogmund Crouchdance. The main Norwegian force, numbered at about 700 to 800 men (including Hakon himself), was stationed on the beach below. These two detachments were likely only a fraction of the total number of forces at Hakon's disposal. The numbers that the saga allots to either side may well be exaggerated. A more likely number may be only about one hundred or several hundred men per side. For example, the actual number of knights present may have been closer to 50 than the saga's 500. The forces which Hakon had mustered in Norway formed part of his realm's leidang, a naval levy in which certain districts contributed men, ships, and provisions for military service.

As the Scots advanced towards the Norwegians, the saga indicates that Ogmund withdrew his troops from the mound to avoid being cut off from his comrades on the beach below. If the Scots had indeed marched northwards, their advance would have threatened to drive a wedge between the Norwegians on the mound and those on beach. Once the Scottish vanguard came into contact with Ogmund's men, the saga indicates that his orderly withdrawal disintegrated into a chaotic scramble. On the beach below, Hakon followed the advice of his men and retired to the safety of his ships. To the men on the beach, the rapid descent of Ogmund's men towards them looked like an all-out retreat; they turned and fled. The Norwegian army was thus routed, and in the mad dash back to their ships they suffered substantial casualties. Some of the Norwegians may have used the beached vessels as makeshift fortifications, since the saga notes that a group of them made a valiant stand by their ships, out-numbered ten to one, in a fierce engagement in which a particularly valiant Scottish knight was slain. This particular entry confirms that at least some of the Scottish knights present were able to engage their foes on horseback.

According to the saga, the Scots then withdrew from the beach and consolidated atop the mound abandoned by Ogmund's men. Minor skirmishing followed in which both sides attacked each other with arrows and stones. Before nightfall, the saga maintains that the Norwegians made one last determined assault, and forced the Scots from the mound, before making an orderly withdrawal to their ships. On the morning of 3 October, the Norwegians returned ashore to collect their dead and burn their beached vessels. For several days, Hakon's forces laid off the coast of Arran. After rendezvousing with the returning fleet that had plundered Lennox, Hakon's entire forces made for the Hebrides. At Mull he rewarded a number of his Norse-Gaelic vassals with grants of lands. By the end of October, the Norwegian fleet reached Orkney. In mid December, the Norwegian king fell ill and died at the Bishop's Palace, and was temporarily buried in nearby St Magnus Cathedral.