were pardoned for their previous treasons with England. The Scottish army consisted initially of between 300 and 1,000 "lances" under Angus, and a similar number of troops from Fife under George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes and Norman Leslie, Master of Rothes. They were joined by Borderers under Scott of Buccleuch, whose lands had also suffered devastation at Eure's hands. Together, they moved to confront the English army near Jedburgh. Battle The English Army consisted of 3,000 German and Spanish mercenaries, 1,500 English borderers under Sir Brian Layton and 700 "assured" Scottish borderers. As they settled into an encampment under Gersit Law, a small Scottish force made a feint attack and then retreated southwest towards Palace Hill. Much of the English force followed in pursuit. As they crossed the top of Palace Hill and chased down the far side, they found that the whole Scottish army had been hidden on the far side of the hill. The Scots had the advantage of surprise, and of the setting sun which was behind them, dazzling the English, and of the westerly wind which blew gunpowder smoke from arquebuses and pistols towards the English. A charge by Scottish pikemen drove the English back in disarray. Here the longer Scottish pikes were used to advantage;"the Scottismen's speares war longer then the Inglismen's be fyve quareteris, or an elne, quhilk, when they joyned with the Inglishmen, they had thame all rivin doune before evir the Inglishmenis speares might touch thame." The ground was too uneven for the English to rally at the top of Palace Hill. As they tried again to rally on the eastern slope, the Scottish Borderers with them chose to tear off the red crosses which signified their adherence to England and revert to their former allegiance. The English army broke and was forced to scatter through a hostile countryside. Regent Arran visits the field According to an English report, Regent Arran came to the battlefield and congratulated the Earl of Angus. He asked a prisoner to identify Ralph Eure's body. Arran wept, and said;"God have mercy on him, for he was a fell cruel man and over cruel, which many a man and fatherless bairn might rue, and wellaway that ever such slaughter and bloodshedding should be amongst Christian men." Regent Arran's visit to the field was also mentioned by the 16th-century Scottish chronicle writers John Lesley and Robert Lindsay of