The skirmish known as Cleanse the Causeway, or Clear the Causeway, took place in the High Street of Edinburgh, Scotland, on 30 April 1520, between rival noblemen James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran, chief of Clan Hamilton, and Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, chief of Clan Douglas. Background The skirmish was the result of enmity between the House of Hamilton and the "Red" Angus line of the House of Douglas who were locked in a struggle for supremacy since the death of King James IV. James' death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 had created a power vacuum in the Kingdom of Scotland. Both the Douglases and the Hamiltons were powerful noble families with royal connections. The Earl of Angus was married to Margaret Tudor - James IV's widow, sister to King Henry VIII of England and mother of the infant King James V - and the Earl of Arran was the cousin of the late King. Each side was jealous of the others influence over the 8 year old James V. Scotland at this time was under the regency of Angus' rival, John Stewart, Duke of Albany, but he had been detained in France since 1516. In his absence, a council of senior nobles and clergy were to share power; which included Arran and Angus. Albany (who was born in France to a French mother) also added a French ally to the council as a more neutral party, Antoine d'Arcy or De la Bastie. d'Arcy was murdered in September 1517 by members of the Home family with whom he had a feud and this implicated their allies the Douglases and by extension Angus. The murder of a French noble sparked a diplomatic incident and in response the council voted to place Arran as their leader who punished the offenders by seizing Home lands and castles, having a senior member of the family executed and imprisoning Angus' brother George Douglas of Pittendreich, Master of Angus on the island of Inchgarvie. Angus had become estranged from his wife Margaret in 1516 but had managed to reconcile with her against Arran's wishes and took control over her, her Scottish estates and dowager income. Margaret in response attempted to use her influence with her brother King Henry VIII, the absent Regent Albany and her husband's rival Arran to improve her situation. Arran, at the head of the Hamiltons, was determined to